Tuesday, October 25, 2011

what i'm all about...



is depicted perfectly in this old snapshot i came across while pinteresting or tumblring one day...


i could stare into this old photograph for hours, and i think i must have sat gazing at it already at least a hundred times since i found it.  at first glance, it is a picture of a rather festive family from long, long ago, celebrating All Hallow's Eve.  it had to be taken at least a hundred years ago...

but there is so much to take in!  first, i scan the faces of the merry partygoers...all of them jovial and almost giddy in their happiness of the occasion.  some of them hold up halloween dolls, or paper mache jack o lanterns, even a paper mache cat sits atop the patriarch's head!  their dress, along with the furnishings in the room, give away the likely time period of the picture -- we see Arts & Crafts style architectural features and decor details (like those drapes! *swoon).  these findings suggest that the photo was likely snapped in the early 1900s, most definitely before the 1920s. 

what i really focus in on, however, are the decorations...they must be inspired by the Dennison Bogie Book for that year (and if you don't know what a Dennsion Bogie Book is, i implore you to do a quick google search on the subject...prepare to be charmed!).  there is crepe paper fringe, in black and orange, no doubt, strung across the room from the gaslit chandelier..from amongst the fringe hang rice paper lanterns along with paper mache jack o lanterns and skulls...the dining table is decked out in a halloween themed paper cloth and skirt, and if you look really closely at the table settings, you can see some handmade skull centerpieces.  the setting looks absolutely magical, and what i wouldn't give to be able to slip into an old victorian frock and right into one of those chairs at the dining table amongst such light-hearted, happy folk to celebrate my most favorite time of year...

i love this photograph for so many reasons...its not simply because it captures a Hallowe'en of yesteryear.  i love it for what it suggests, for the enchantment found within.  i think of the family preparing for the evening, readying the decorations and the table settings, of what they must have eaten that night, if they played any fortunetelling games or held a candlelit seance...i can almost hear the laughter, the raucous joy of the evening.

for those of you who haven't already noticed or heard, my personal life has undergone a great upheaval and transformation in the last months.  it has rocked my world, but in the most surprising ways.  it has been difficult, and painful at times, but i have always known in my heart that it has all been for the better, that it has happened because the universe has greater things in store for me.  i can't thank all of my patrons and friends enough for their understanding and support throughout this time, because The Crepe Confectionary has regrettably had to take a backseat at times to the craziness that has infiltrated my present life.  the lessons i have learned have already been many, and this photo illustrates one of the greatest lessons i've learned thus far: moments shared with the ones you love mean, or should mean, everything.  at the end of the day, its your family that will always have your back, who will love you despite all of your faults, and who will pick you up when you have fallen or been pushed down.  i could not be more grateful for mine...now, just wait til they find out what sort of tricks and treats i have up my sleeve for them this year! (*muhahaha!)

HaPpY HaLLoWe'En to ALL, and to ALL, a frightful night!