Monday, February 28, 2011

Red Carpet musings on a rainy day at home....

Today is a rest day for The Countess.  After being on the go every day for over a week, traveling to Boston, the Berkshires, and back to Manhattan...AND partying every night, I need a day off :)

While lounging around this afternoon, I picked up the current copy of ELLE, the fashion magazine that my roommate Bridget subscribes to.  I'm not sure why Bridget wants this magazine as all the models are a size 0 and all the clothes are made for women with no boobs....something that Bridget and I have in abundance!! It started me thinking about self image and how we are perceived by others.

When I was younger I had quite the nice figure, one that made men's heads turn.  I was the classic thin girl with the big boobs.  Why that is appealing to men has always been a mystery to me but there is no denying it....most men like the boobs!  Even gay men!  I have been felt up more in gay bars than I ever was in straight bars.  Maybe it's because gay men are more fun.....big smiley face here :))

Anyway, after I married my late husband Bob, we both gained weight.  We used to laugh at how contented we were.  Bob liked to cook and we both liked to entertain, and that combination led to us packing on a few pounds.  But my self image was always high as Bob complimented me no matter what I weighed.  Because of him I learned to love my body and myself as I am, not as society deems I should be. 

I have women friends who have actually put off doing things until they lose weight.  That means that they have wasted precious time because they have let society dictate their own self image.  As RuPaul says "If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an AMEN on that?"

Bridget is also a great role model for women to embrace themselves no matter what size they are.  She was recently named the #1 cabaret performer of the year in NYC for 2010 by New York Times magazine.  Isn't she fabulous!?!




One of the things that I love about my life in the Berkshires and in New York City is that I get to dress up every night.  Recently I went to an aerobics dance party where I was invited to assist at the Transformation Station.  How neat is that?  You go out and there are costumes, wigs, make up, feathers, jewels to pick from and dress up in.  I think it is fabulous!!!  So I put together a Countess aerobic outfit.....



And I felt beautiful and vivacious!  Isn't that what it is all about?

Last night I went to Murray Hill's Oscar party at Joe's Pub.  So much fun!  From the moment I walked in I was treated like the Countess I think I am.....OK, really big smiley face here :)  But the most memorable moment occurred, not when I was interviewed by roving reporter Jenn Harris, or even when the Pub staff made people change their table so that I could be seated (OK, that was fun...hehe), but when I walked past the bar on my way to the ladies room.  A young man stopped me and said that he just had to tell me how he loved my outfit, my jewels, my spirit.  Wow!  What a tremendous compliment.

Sooo, NO, I am not a size 0.  NO, I am not young anymore.  BUT I feel like I am.  When I walk out my door I am, in my mind, walking down the red carpet waving to the crowd. 
Countess Bedelia 2/28/2011 07:43:00 PM | 0 comments |

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Me and my Baby

As much as I enjoy my New York City lifestyle, I always get excited when I return to Massachusetts and am reunited with my little red BMW, or "Baby Beamer" as I affectionately call her.  There is something about getting behind the wheel and being in control of where you are going that is a little intoxicating. 

In NYC you spend a lot of time getting from one place to another and most of the time you have little or no control over your journey.  The subway can be late or delayed, taxis are not responding to your frantic arm waving, and even the limo driver can't find the address you want to go to.



But when I click the garage opener and the door rises up and reveals my little baby, I get a little giddy !!  So, even though at 7 pm on Sunday night the stores are closed up tight in suburbia and I was lucky to find a corner store open....unlike my treks home at 3am in NYC where the corner deli will make you a sandwich AND deliver it at that time....I still took the Baby out for a spin when I got home from the train station. 

She gave a little purr of happiness and leaped out into the road with just a touch on the gas pedal.  Reunited and it feels so good :))
Countess Bedelia 2/20/2011 08:14:00 PM | 0 comments |