Beauty Queens

Here are a couple of pics of my cousin from back in the 50's.  She is, by the way, wearing a swimsuit under the sweater...

She's in her 70's now, and still looks great.  

When I look at old pictures or movies, the women all seem to be (even the ones who weren't known for being so) beautiful.  I've been trying to figure it out.  I'm thinking that it has to do with their very perfect hair and skin.  Did acne not exist  back then?  Did processed foods and air conditioning usher in bad skin and dry, flyaway hair?  I know it ushered in FAT, but that's for another post. In an attempt to get back to the basics, I bought a jar of cold cream yesterday.  I hadn't seen or smelled the stuff in years.  Rather than some pricey skin cream, I decided to see if something more traditional might be the way to go.  Next purchase--Noxzema.  I kind of miss that medicinal smell.  And the tingle!  It was a medicine cabinet  mainstay in the 60's and 70's, and I have occasionally bought it over the years but when I run out, it's years before I buy it again.  Other brands just tend to be more front and center when I go shopping, so I overlook the tried and true products like Pond's cold cream, Noxzema and Oil of Olay.  My daughter just came home from school with a bin full of cosmetics, representing more money than I care to think about.  Since neither of us looks like my gorgeous cousin, I'm thinking we can shave a little (a lot) off of our primping budgets.  I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Guess what they just did in Chicago?

Well, you know how much I love head vases, right? 

I just adore their perfect little ceramic faces. I think it's the Pond's. Their expressions vary from "Oh really?" to "Oh Dear!" to "And I care, why?" to "My eyes are painted shut, therefore I shall continue to get my beauty sleep, but go ahead and talk if you feel like it." 

I even had this as my profile picture for awhile.  I think it is absolutely cool and I can't wait to duplicate it one day:

I just think this is so amazing!  A combination of a few of my favorites--gardening, heads and concrete.  The guy with the dreadlocks looks like Karl Malden.

But now, I may have something new to aspire to.  Talk about going to the extreme.  This is the urban equivalent of Easter Island:

This is our newest exhibit!  One summer we had cows.  Then we had the giant eyeball and the giant Marilyn Monroe (Attack of the 50 foot bombshell!)  Today, we got this.  A parade of giant heads planted up with greenery.  I think they're mocking my head vase obsession.

"You mocking me?"

I think I'll be taking a little picture taking trip into the city soon.  I'm hoping that I can get a kind stranger to take a picture of me with these enormous and obnoxious pieces of art. 

By the way, I did get the shoes painted yesterday.  I'll be posting pics tomorrow.  Holla!