Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wednesday's Preppy Guest Blogger

All you cutie college girls, to enter my giveaway click on preppy

I LOVE Entertaining Mom! She is so chic and kind. That is what I love about the blog world....I always wanted a pen pal as a young girl. Now I have all of you. We've become friends here and everywhere. She is so supportive, and ALWAYS makes me laugh! To read more: click here

So I had to have her as a preppy guest blogger because she has had a fascinating life! When I meet someone I admire I want to study them (I guess that is the Anthropologist in me) and find out EVERYTHING.

So I had to ask, Who embodies what you want to be when you grow up, style wise? or for any reason.

"My Grandmother (maternal side) embodies everything I want to be when I grow up. She was grace; she was elegance; she was style and she was class. And she was a warm person who cared about others. When she was in her late 30s/early 40s her husband passed away. Her children were grown and in college (Mom at Skidmore, uncle at Princeton before he got booted!!!) and she decided, just like that, that she was going to leave her little, comfortable society life and move to Paris to start all over again. This is extraordinary in any terms, but when you factor in the fact that a few years earlier she nearly lost her own life to Polio and was now in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down, and she still managed to pack up and move across the Great Pond is truly inspirational. She bought herself a pied a terre in Paris on the Seine! She met a few wonderful (and famous) people there. One such person was Thornton Wilder, author of many fabulous stories and plays, including another favorite of mine, Our Town.

My grandmother was sitting at a cafĂ© one day minding her own business when a handsome and very distinguished gentleman asked her, in terrible French, if she had a light for his cigarette. She replied, in English (!) that she didn’t. After small talk he introduced himself to her. Her jaw fell to the ground as she gasped. “I thought you were dead!” They shared a chuckle and many more over the years. My grandmother told Mr. Wilder that she had to quit smoking while she was in the Iron Lung. She would reward herself with one when her first grandchild was born. They remained lifelong friends. Shortly after I was born, there arrived in the mailbox a post card that read “Congratulations, La Jolie Grandmere!” She must have mentioned that cigarette… anyhow, while I knew nothing of Mr. Wilder, he knew of me!!! (After I was born she smoked one Gauloise ( extremely strong, unfiltered) cigarette daily.

It was in Paris that my grandmother would meet and marry an MGM movie executive and they would move to and settle in Cannes for many, many years."


OK! I officially want to be her too when I grow up. She is beyond! EM Thank you for sharing with us. XOXO

SC

31 comments:

  1. What a story about a beautiful lady. Our grandmothers are near and dear to our hearts. I enjoyed our visit with your guest speaker today.

    Have a perfectly preppy day!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great post!! Her grandmother could have one heck of a book! Just that little recap was so fun to read!! I want to be her too! :))

    ReplyDelete
  3. How fabulous! What a rich and interesting life!!! She was one beautiful woman, and I love J at Entertaining Mom!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Her grandmother sounds absolutely FABULOUS. What a lovely post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow!!! Goes to show we never know what facinating stories someone has in their family!

    ReplyDelete
  6. One word. WOW! I want to be your grandmother when I grow up=)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an amazing story! A life full of adventure, romance and life in Paris is definitely one to admire. She sounds like a wonderful woman!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is stuff books and moves are made of. So fun to learn something about a fellow blogger who I have been reading for awhile.

    ReplyDelete
  9. thank you all! My grandmother would have been a fabulous subject for a book. Before she died she wrote stories for me telling me all about her fabulous childhood... I have so many stories, but not enough for a book. I do wonder if my mother could fill in some of the blanks?

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is such an amazing story!! I am loving the guest blogger series and getting introduced to new bloggers!! xoxox - BB

    ReplyDelete
  11. This post was very unique and intriguing I loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love it! And I love J and her would love to have known her grandmother!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such a great story, Jessica!! I smoked a Gauloise once (when I used to smoke), or let's say took one inhale and almost fell to the floor.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a blindingly gorgeous woman!

    ReplyDelete
  15. this is a great story...that sounds like one fantastic grandmother!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a lovely, lovely lady & you were lucky to have such a role model. Great guest post!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post, thank both of you for sharing this amazing woman's incredible story! Love blogging because we get to be privy to all sorts of fabulous slices of people's lives!

    kHm

    ReplyDelete
  18. Very, very interesting!! I love hearing stories like that!! I added her blog to my list so I could follow her adventures.

    Thanks for the great post!

    XOXOXO
    Margaret

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a great post!!! Those pictures are awesome! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. thank you all... I'd like to think I look just like her ;)

    If you look closely, you will see my mother has a Gauloise in her right hand!

    Yes, I tried one too when I was younger... knocked me off my feet as well!

    I'm finding oodles and oodles of great photographs... those were stylin' times... seriously, my mother could have been plucked out of Mad Men... her preppy lime green cords and plastic purple raincoat?!?! Alas she made a few Seventies whoopsie daisies!

    ReplyDelete
  21. AMAZING family story! Beautiful post my love XO

    ReplyDelete
  22. How special to have such a great story to share. What am amazing woman your grandmother was.

    Holly @ 504 Main

    ReplyDelete
  23. Your grandmother sounds like an amazing woman. I love your recollections and stories of her.

    ReplyDelete
  24. man that's cool. I have nothing cool. I'm the coolest my family has to offer and I'm a blogger.

    ReplyDelete
  25. More! More! More! What a great question and an even better answer! hehe! Thanks and have great day!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love her. What a fabulous life. Jess, You really should consider writing a book. I'm sure your mother has plenty of fabulous stories to add. I can't wait to read more about your childhood.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What, what a happy post. I love stories like this, especially real ones! Thanks for following my blog! I love your blog and your posts!
    Thanks again, have a great day! Deborah

    ReplyDelete

Talk preppy to me! xoxo