On a recent visit to one of my favourite cities, I came across a tribe of filmmakers, artists, gardeners, farmers, a cross-dresser named Delores and around 30 other shiny happy people doing great things – of all places – by a bridge!

A sign by the gates of a disused plot of land by Kew Bridge is inviting: “Welcome to our Eco-Village – please come in for a cup of tea” it beckons.  How could I refuse such a charming invite?

What I found inside was pretty incredible.  Part community garden, part music and arts festival, there are constant workshops hosted by people who come and visit – not only from the local area but around the world, bands play there, seed swapping days are held where the locals are encouraged to stop by and share their ideas about what to do with the land, as well as having the chance to plant vegetables.

Their gates are always open and everyone is welcome.  Which basically means there’s never a dull moment – journalists and musicians and artists are always stopping by – some decide to move in and stay, there is definitely a Woodstock feel about the whole place and I love it!  Sipping my English tea, I chatted to Delores, who was wearing a mini-skirt that made me blush and a wig that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 18^th Century French Royal courts!

This merry group come from all walks of life, young and old, they are a melting pot of cultures and experiences from all around the world but what brings them all together is their shared vision to create a completely ecologically sustainable community within a city.  Their motto is Ghandi’s “be the change you want to see”.

Over the last year they have built a clothes swap shop, a kitchen, library, shower, toilet and are digging a well – they plan to develop an irrigation system, using water from the River Thames, to grow their plants.  Local businesses donate wood and other building materials as well as food – nothing goes to waste here!  Cans get turned into chimneys for their tents, plastic bags get weaved into welcome mats!

This place is an oasis of calm, good vibes and has a real spirit of positivity.  As Simon one of the founders told me: “It’s about showing that you can live a simple life and be happy.”

So after eating cake like Marie Antoinette, putting the world to rights with Delores and not so subtly admiring a Polish prince with the cheekbones of a model and beautiful blue eyes you could swim in I’m starting to think the simple life seems very appealing!

The other morning started as usual, I picked up my packages and placed them in a basket that is connected to the front of my bicycle.  As I rode along, the streets began to come alive. I watched and smiled at each person I passed, secretly hoping it would provoke a chain reaction.  At this hour, the day seems to have so much potential and mystery just waiting to be unfolded.

My first delivery was a box of chocolate truffles for Ellen a seventy years young proud grandmother of two.  She was so excited about the delectable contents of the parcel that she invited me in to try some. For twenty minutes we snacked and chatted about simple pleasures.  So much delight came in such a small box. The day is shaping out well.

My next two deliveries involved smaller boxes as well as an exchange of smiles and by mid-afternoon, I was getting a xylophone lesson from Dennis, a cute-twenty-something musician.  Throughout the rest of the day I tested home-made body lotion with Wanda, had lemonade with Gladys, played a quick game of checkers with George, Jump-roped with Cindy and Suzanne and helped Sam organize his new record vinyls appropriately in his library.  I began writing my signatures on the receipts so that each recipient had something to remember me by, a simple XOXO

I tried spending as much time as I could with every parcel receiver and I had so much fun doing so.  Unfortunately, this did not suffice with the Courier powers-at-be so for now my delivery services to the world have been suspended.  But who knows what the future might bring.  A new day brings new possibilities.

With Love & Mischief

XOXO

I was searching for a valentines present for myself today and believe I may have found a new fetish if you will.  I came across something with the term Eco-Sexy in the title and this tickled many parts of me but more importantly it sparked my interest.

I held off on scoping out the product and decided to explore this phrase.  To my disappointment I did not find anything that I believe truly defines it. Maybe the term will forever retain a certain je ne sais quoi, but for now I am on a mission to figure it out and would be very pleased to hear what my fellow hedonists have to say about it.

What is Eco-Sexy?  I found inspiration in this term when I came across the Eco-Sexy Kit which will has been delivered to moi just in time for the big V-Day.

Maybe you can use it for some inspiration as well?

http://store.babeland.com/new/eco-sexy-kit

There was an exhibit at the Museum of American Art that I would have loved to have seen.

It was called A Thousand Kisses – a collection of love letters from the museum’s archives. They’ve collected love letters from all sorts of oh-so-interesting people. From Frieda Kahlo (above) to Jackson Pollock.

This started me thinking on the many ways to write a love letter, from bubbly hearts and lipstick kissed paper to the downright dirty & teasingly erotic. It also made me realize how precious and timeless love letters are… and how interesting… So for my next FOUND project… I want anybody whose interested to go on a hunt for love letters. Dig them out of your personal collection, borrow some from friends, find one at an antique store, ask your grandparents! Then scan and send them to me and I’ll put them on my blog for everybody to enjoy!

Who’s in?

With lipstick kissed paper and teasing eroticism

x

But I wish we could have that brand of positive energy year round. Why are we only supposed to make positive changes in our life for one night? Is my decision to switch up my attitude any less exciting on June 20 than January 1? And personally I find myself locking late night lips far more often than once a year!

So here’s my list… And who knows, maybe I’ll make a new one every month, just to keep life interesting.

1. Start an urban garden… Perhaps grow my mint and chives on the rooftop… or explode my window boxes with some beets and arugala.

2. Explore wilderness wonderlands. I love my urban adventures but I think it’s time for me to exit the city and dabble in things au naturale. Perhaps climb a mountain… Dive off a waterfall?

3. Gather a group of friends and organize a dinner party rotation. Allow us all to spend more time together… Share appetizers and conversation.

4. Explore all my senses. I think I too often rely on sight. I want to feel and taste and smell and listen to everything around me.

5. Read more. I get lost in the .com universe and forget how nice it is to flip pages and run my fingers across old bindings.

From the many photos and messages I’ve been receiving from all over the world it looks like you’ve all fully stepped up to the challenge – from masked balls to intimate gatherings and sensual adventures, ladies and gentlemen you’ve done me proud!  All that remains is for me to ponder a goody bag filled with indulgent treats that can fully match and reward your efforts, and once again I am leaving it to you to let me know some things you’d like to see in there.

You never know… you may be the lucky hedonist who gets to play that little bit longer!

The Challenge: Host your own dark party.
What to do: Turn out the lights and put your energy into more creative exploits! Your dark party can be as simple as inviting some friends over for a midnight, candle-lit tea party or as extravagant as putting on a dark ball for one hundred of your closest friends.

Document your party in whichever media you choose. Love taking photos? Capture your friends in their barely-lit glory and send them my way! Aspiring poet? Be inspired by your party and regale me with poetry. Filmmaker? Send a mini-documentary! Painter? Collage-artist? Dancer? Singer? Stripper? The ways to document your party are as unique and diverse as all of you!

Just send it all to me at cherrygirlfan@gmail.com
The prize: I will feature the most gorgeous dark parties on the site as well as send you some very personal little tid-bits from me…a kind of dark party tool-kit you might say.

PS check out what I’ve gotten so far!

The photos below, sent to me all the way from Istanbul!

This lovely little poem, was written and sent to me by the lovely Harriet Jerusha Korim:

“Two of us walked our way with candles, illuminating favorite walls, trees…un-noticed mysterious details got a chance to shine… when the town turns out the lights…”

A mysterious envelope was slid under my door in the barely lit hours of the morning.  I saw it out of the corner of my eye and I ran to see who left it but the elusive purveyor had already slipped out of sight.  When I opened the envelope I found this:

“You never know what you’ll find when you turn out the lights

A secret rendezvous of the “road less travelled” persuasion 

Midnight at the umbrella factory”

I have to take candles…and the mask!  I instantly recognized the handwriting…Dear I <3 NYBoy, what kind of mischief do you have up your oh-so-vintage-and-lovely sleeve?

Midnight didn’t come too quickly. The day seemed to linger on and on. Time is funny that way—it can drag its heels in the dirt or sprint like hell and it always seems to do the exact opposite of what you want it to.

But when 11:30pm acquiesced, I carefully picked a candle and set to the street… eagerly and curiously moving towards that dodgy old umbrella factory. The closer I got the more people I saw carrying unlit candles…. We stole glances at each other as if part of some secret society. Why were we all here? And what was the meaning of this midnight tryst?

There was a flaming torch outside the steps of the factory accompanied with a sign offering simple instructions:

“Light your candle. Climb the stairs. Third floor.”

I put the wick to the flame and trudged up the staircase.  Floor 1. Floor 2. Floor 3.  The whole place was alight with flickering flames… Hundreds of tea lights multiplied against the tall, shattered windows and shadowy faces were glowing under musky, high ceilings. 

I had heard of this before: a dark party. A late night mingling sensa electricity… So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I noticed a drum circle pick up in the center of the room. Barely visible hands giving life to a rhythm… and everybody in the building starting to dance. I floated through the small crowd to get a better view of the musicians. One of the drummers had an all-too familiar face. 

I <3 NY boy, you have outdone yourself…

I love brainstorming… sitting down and making lovely lists… covering scraps of paper with doodles and bite-sized ideas. So when I recently stumbled on a mess of mismatched buttons, I knew I needed a little collaborative brainstorming to dream up what I could do with my newest trinket treasures. I put it to my lovely friends on facebook…

“FOUND: a bag of mismatched buttons… but what to do with them? Anybody floating through facebook have a whimsical or cheeky idea?”

Hardly to my surprise, my always-creative friends had quite a few ideas.

Below are some of my favorites:

“Go into telephone booths and leave them in the change dispenser, you could do it in vending machines too!” –Louise Clohessy

“Drop them into peoples handbags or pockets, and when they look inside they will find a button, and it will make them smile.” –Freddie Peppiatt

“Go to a bookshop, and leav ea button between the pages of some books! When people open the book, they will be rewarded with a cute button for reading!” –Sofia Best

“Leave a trail of them from a train station to a second hand bookshop.” –James Lawford

So with my little bag full of buttons, I faced the cold, blustery day to carry out some of these lovely ideas… Of course, I wish I could’ve taken all of you with me… but these photos will have to do!

With love and mischief,

Cherry Girl

Fhrustuck just means breakfast but it is a very specific kind of breakfast. One for sharing – sharing meat, cheese, bread, coffee, fruit…the list goes on. For me this was a breath of fresh air from the usual “in a hurry skinny-cap-in-a-paper-cup-to-go” kind of breakfast.

Another advantage of a long breakfast is it makes room for my favourite pastime of people watching. It seemed like everyone comes out for Fhrustuck – from people like us night owls en route to bed, to ordinary folk with their dogs, new mom’s gathering, walk of shames and kissing couples.

I think the very idea of Fhrustuck is what weekends at the very least should be about. Relax, and make the days and nights as long as possible. We should take the time to enjoy a slower pace and ease ourselves into the day.