Danielle Steel's Blog, page 35

6/27/16, Fabulous!!!

Hi Everyone,

I hope it’s been a good week. I have been working hard!!! Writing and thoroughly enjoying it. Writing always grounds me and keeps me on a steady path, and I enjoy it so much. I hope you enjoy the books I have coming up!!! There will be a new hardcover out on July 5th , “Magic”. It begins at the famous White Dinner in Paris, and follows the sometimes turbulent lives of 4 couples, from Milan, New Delhi and Paris. There is lots of fun stuff in the book!! I hope you love it, as your summer beach or vacation read!!

There is nothing more exciting than seeing the evidence of talent, and young people with a real passion for what they love. Two years ago, I was invited to the ballet recital of the daughter of my closest friends in Paris, she’s also the sister of my Godchild.  Tonight, 2 years later , I had the thrill of attending the ballet recital of both my Godchild and her sister, who are 5 and 12. The recital was given by the absolutely amazing ballet school they attend. It is the most serious ballet school in Paris, run by a Russian woman. They teach children from 4 to about 20, who are serious about ballet, boys as well as girls. And it is obvious from the recitals, that the teaching and the training are intense. I don’t think we have another school like it in the States, 2,000 students attend, and 1,000 participated in the recital, including their first prize winner for the year, an incredibly talented young girl. I can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful it all was, how well done, how professional, how dedicated those young people were, how well trained and how talented. It was given in a very big theater. The costumes were beautiful, the music, each vignette, the dancing was gorgeous—-as good as any professional ballet.  There was a Russian dance segment, an Alice in Wonderland segment. Each ballet was interesting, all classic ballet, and one modern—-and one can can. Sometimes there were over 100 students on the stage. You had to remind yourself these were kids performing, not professional adults. They leapt, they twirled, they danced on pointe. The choreography was wonderful. Their training for the event must have been intense. It was extraordinary to see the discipline they had, the control over their bodies, and the talent. I sat riveted to my seat for 3 and a half hours, and wasn’t bored for a minute. And I was very proud of my Godchild and her sister!!

All 5 of my daughters took ballet, two with no great interest, two enjoyed it and did well at it, and one of my daughters had a total passion for it and dedicated herself to it with love and discipline. She began as my other girls did at a very nice ballet school in San Francisco called Miss Tillie’s, which still exists, the kids all loved it, and the teaching is very good. For those with serious talent, they go on to the San Francisco ballet school, for much more intense training, and the hope of making it a career. My passionate ballerina followed that route, and danced from 3 to 16, and performed with the San Francisco Ballet and was in the Nutcracker. She never doubted for a minute that she wanted to be a professional ballerina. She had real talent, took classes 6 days a week, added to rehearsals and eventually performances. The crunch came when they told her she had to give up school and be tutored, and she didn’t want to give up her education to dance. I think it was a tough choice, but she made the right one for her, stayed in school, continued taking ballet classes, but didn’t give up school, finished high school and went on to college and graduated. The decision to continue her academic education meant that she wouldn’t become a professional dancer, even though she had the talent for it. And to this day, she takes 2 or 3 ballet classes a week, wherever she is in the world, and has a rewarding career in fashion. But she was passionate about ballet for many, many years. It’s a hard life for serious ballerinas, and a very short term career. (by their 30’s most dancers are teaching and no longer on stage). And that’s the kind of dedication those young people had at the recital I saw. You have to pour your heart and soul into it to dance like that.  We spoke of it the other day, and my daughter thinks that the discipline required, and the intense training, teaches you discipline about other things. She says that discipline has served her extremely well in her life and her work.

The recital was so beautiful I wanted to tell you about it. So MANY talented young people, such hard work, such beauty and grace, and yes discipline. And what a wonderful woman the head of the school must be to produce results like that!!! Brava!!! Bravissima!!! 

Have a great week ahead,

love, Danielle

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6/20/16, Dreams

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’ve had a great week, and that some really nice things happened to you this week. We can all use that, to give us a boost, even something small, a nice moment, something that makes us smile, or some piece of really good news.

I’ve been somewhat pensive, and quiet, in the almost two weeks since the passing of my ex-husband Tom. It’s a sad event for those of us who knew and loved and admired him, but he had an extraordinary life, a truly great life, and I think he got to do everything he wanted to do, and more. He lived to be a great age, and had opportunities and experiences few people have. He once went to Antarctica for several months on one of his boats—-(I stayed home!!! I would pay money, serious money, NOT to be on a sailboat, dodging icebergs in the dead of winter. He loved it, I would have hated it, so I didn’t go. But what an amazing experience for him, and the photos he brought back were fabulous!!). For those of us left behind when someone we love passes on, we are left with memories, the loose ends to tie up in our minds, and some introspection about their impact on our lives. So I have been quiet and reflective.

I’ve seen some close friends for lunch, and really enjoyed their company. And I had dinner at the home of good friends a few days ago. The wife is Japanese, so there were a number of Japanese people there, which was interesting, and nice to meet them. One of the couples had brought their nephew to dinner. He looked to be somewhere in his late twenties, was a biologist, and was leaving soon for a 6 month research project in Finland, so it was interesting talking to him. And at some point in the conversation, despite his youth, he said something that really caught my attention. He said that “You’re not old until your dreams become regrets”. Wow!! That is a very deep, and very true thought. No matter how old we are, we still have dreams, we ALL have dreams, or we should. Things we’ve always wanted to do, haven’t gotten to yet, and hope to get to one day. Some of it may not be realistic: Winning Miss Universe or Miss America at 55 or 65 or 70 is not likely to happen, you may have missed the boat on that. Or climbing Mount Everest. That could be sketchy too. But going somewhere that is actually feasible, traveling somewhere, building something, learning a language—-taking classes of some kind, or even writing a book. There’s no limit to what we can do—there may be some limits, but in many cases, we can fulfill at least some of our dreams. Some people even find their soul mate late in life. And bitterness and regret is not unique to old age. Some people give up on their dreams early, and shouldn’t. One of my favorite role models is an 88 year old friend of mine in New York. She is still working as an interior designer, takes classes to learn something new, goes to a book club, the theater, and sees nearly every movie and reads every book that comes out. She is still learning things at 88. She is a knock out, and so much fun. She is a living example to me of how I want to be when I’m her age, full of life, and busy, and still growing and doing, and fully alive. And obviously, good health helps.

I try to keep track of what my goals are every few years, and what I want to do. I try to keep track of it so those dreams don’t slip away. It’s easy to put our dreams away, and get bogged down in the every day. And sometimes I achieve those goals better than others. But I thought that what that young man said was so true….that you’re not old until your dreams turn into regrets (about what you didn’t do). It was a good wake up call for me, and I wanted to share it with you.

What are YOUR dreams? What do you want to do, that you haven’t gotten around to yet? It’s good to think about it from time to time. I have a rock on my desk with a saying carved on it, “It’s Never too late”. And another one that says “Follow your dreams”. It’s not too late for you to meet the right person, to take a class you’ve always wanted to take, to learn a language, learn to cook, take a writing class, a dancing class, to get in shape, to make new friends. I think that’s how people do stay young, interested and interesting, by opening new doors and windows, learning new things, even small things, and hanging onto those dreams.

It was a good reminder hearing that, and maybe for you too. Take good care, and have some fun! We all need it, a good belly laugh from time to time, and even just a warm moment with a friend. Have a terrific week!!

love, Danielle

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6/13/16, A Mount Everest of a Man

Hi Everyone,

I hope all of you are well, and that life is going smoothly.

I always hesitate to share sad personal news with you, but sometimes it seems important, and defines me in a way, so maybe it’s okay to share it with you, so we know each other better. So I will share my sad news with you this time, of a few days ago.

I’ve told you about my marriage to my husband John, a long and mostly happy marriage to a truly lovely elegant, aristocratic, charming man, who was the father of eight of my nine children. A heroic feat in itself. We were married for 17 years, most of which were happy, and not all love stories last forever. We divorced after 17 years, but remained very close until he passed away five years ago. I’ve always had a great attraction to much older men. He was a great deal older than I. And after we divorced, I married another man of the same ‘vintage’, also a lot older than I, Tom Perkins. He was in my life for 32 years, 10 as a friend, 8 as husband, and another 14 as beloved, dear friend after we divorced. And much to my sorrow, and that of my children, Tom passed away last Tuesday night, after a long illness. He fought valiantly against the illness for the past seven years, and continued staunchly living life until the very end. And even knowing how ill he was, his death comes as a shock, and a great sadness to me and my children.

I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to have been loved by, and to have loved two very remarkable men.

When I met Tom, we were both happily married, I to John, and Tom to a lovely woman he was married to for 32 years. We were in a group of friends. Ten years later, my marriage to John fell apart, Tom’s wife died at the same time, and he told me he wanted to go out with me. And in very old fashioned style, out of respect for my failed marriage, and his late wife, we waited a whole year to date—-we didn’t even have lunch. And after that, our romance began which led to our eventual marriage.

When I met Tom he was already a legendary man, larger than life. And without question he was a genius, the only one I have ever known. A graduate of Harvard and MIT, he was by training a physicist, an engineer, an expert sailour, a sculptor in his spare time, an inventor (he invented an important laser in his garage at 27, that is still in use today). He loved harpsichords, and when he couldn’t find one he liked, he built his own. He became one of the first and most important venture capitalists in the early days of Silicon Valley, and started the firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers, started famous companies, Genentech and Tandem among others, was deeply involved in high tech, provided the funding for Amazon, AOL, and later Google (and was able to make fun of himself—-he readily admitted with a chuckle that he had turned down the opportunity to invest in Apple, and thought it would go nowhere). But he recognized genius when the young men who started Google came to see him. He worked at Hewlitt Packard and later served on the board. He was a philanthropist, had a passion for sailing and sailboats, had a 300 ft. sailboat built and designed the system of sails himself with a completely innovative design (which everyone said wouldn’t work, and of course it did), that was a brilliant success. The boat is The Maltese Falcon, which was and is as legendary as he was, and an amazing boat. It could be sailed by a single person, and the sails furled and unfurled by pressing a single button. He used to wake up in the morning, thinking of physics theorems to share with the physicists at MIT. And like all truly brilliant people, he was able to explain intensely complicated concepts with total simplicity and make them chrystal clear. He had no need to make anyone feel stupid by complicating things or using words no one could understand. He wrote a novel (determined to show me that he could do it better), and wrote his memoirs. He was fierce and funny and brilliant, and a terror at liar’s dice. I can’t think of many things he couldn’t do, he had a vast number of talents. When we began our life together, he was already retired, and I had a house full of very young children, and he spent most of his time on his boats. I joined him as often as I could, which wasn’t often enough, but I was driving car pools and raising kids and he was past that time of his life. He had two grown children by then. When his wife died, I tried to fix him up with a widowed friend who had 2 children—-and he told me he would never go out with a woman with children—-so he fell in love with a woman who had 9 of them, one of the ironies of life.

Tom was the embodiment of the American dream. Born in the Depression, he grew up simply, his high school teachers recognized him as a genius, and begged his parents to send him to college. They refused and wanted him to become a TV repairman. One of his teachers applied to MIT for him, and he was accepted, graduated, and went to graduate school at Harvard, and his success took off after that. At 27, the laser he invented in his garage made him his first fortune, which became the cornerstone of what he did after that. His success is legendary, and huge. He was without a doubt the most brilliant man I’ve ever met. He wasn’t easy,—what genius is—I always said that I was sure Mrs. Beethoven didn’t have an easy time either, but I was thrilled to be with him. We had a somewhat bumpy road, but always loved each other. And we never had children together. And although ultimately the marriage was not a success, I felt privileged to have known him, and loved him, and to have been on the sidelines of his life. He always read my manuscripts, and enjoyed them. It was a meeting of minds and hearts, even though we parted company as a marriage after 8 years together, but we remained very close, and became part family, part best friends, and loved each other until the end. My children still love and admire him too. There was SOOO MUCH to admire about Tom, his brilliant mind, and on the right day, sailing somewhere, or on a good day, there was no one more wonderful to be around. Even though the marriage wasn’t a success, our bond to each other never waned. We stayed close until his very last day. We spoke several times in his last few days, had lunch the week before and thoroughly enjoyed it, and he sent me a tender email a few hours before he died.

I will never again know anyone as remarkable, there are few in the world. He was an astounding success, and talented in so many fields. He annoyed a lot of people with his bold outspoken ways. He was fearless, a warrior, a gladiator of sorts, always ready to ride into battle over what he believed. I knew him for half my life, and he was part love, part best friend. I will miss him terribly, and I thought you should know what a remarkable man he was. It’s rare to meet someone like him, and to be loved by a man like him, and love him. He was truly unique. His loss now shouldn’t come as a surprise, at his age and after a long illness, and yet it does. I am startled and sad and shocked, and grateful to have known him. It’s sad to think he is no longer in the world. He was a special and most unusual gift in my life….when we married, he complained that he wanted a small wedding, and kept telling me to make it smaller. He even cancelled our wedding plans twice, and when we did get married, he laughed heartily in his speech that he had down sized the wedding so much that he had accidentally eliminated the bride.

He was an amazing man, truly the Mount Everest of Men. I will miss his love and friendship and our long talks…..and I hope that he is in a place of peace. What a truly remarkable man. And what a loss for the world, and for his family and mine that he is no longer here. Have a good week!!!

love, Danielle

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6/6/16, Spring Cleaning

Hi Everyone,

I hope that all is well with you, and that things are going well. I have had a bussssyyyyyy month, jam packed with projects, things on my ‘to do’ list, and writing. I feel like I haven’t stopped.

As I shared with you recently, I ‘attacked’ a big storage unit we had filled with years of old stuff, right down to my children’s art projects and baby clothes from years ago, one of my daughters saved every homework assignment from first grade through college. I kept all of that. But we also had A LOT of ‘stuff’, furniture of my mother’s that no one wanted, some REALLY ugly chairs of my grandmother’s, and some pretty things too, mostly furniture. For years anytime someone had something they didn’t know what to do with, the battle cry was ‘send it to storage’. They did, and for years I have wanted to weed it down, and get rid of what no one wanted, and never will again. I managed to reduce it to about half, and it was a HUGE job. I felt very virtuous for finally doing it. I set a date, and stuck to it, and did it. And I set a trend for the month: cleaning house and spring cleaning. I’ve been on a roll all month!!

Every year, I help one of my daughters get the family vacation home that they share, ready for summer. I don’t know how, but things just gather all year, and that turns into a huge cleanup project too before every summer, hosing things down, setting out cushions, repainting patio furniture. The place is very old, but has a lot of charm and they love it. They spent their childhood summers there, so they really love it. And having just cleared out a lot of the storage unit, I was much ‘tougher’ this year. If it was broken, we fixed it, if it couldn’t be fixed, we replaced it (at Ikea—–one of my favorite stores at very reasonable prices, and you can find everything for the home!!), if it was ugly, we finally faced that and dumped it, if no one wanted it and it was decent we sold it, and if it was less terrific, we donated it. We cleared the decks, and worked like dogs!!! With great results. They’re starting the summer free of cobwebs, and the junk that collected all year.

They also have a really small house they rent out, and that needed spring cleaning too for a new tenant, and we did the same thing there. I feel like I have spent the month moving furniture, cleaning everything, buying clean potholders, throwing out old ones. I have definitely done my spring cleaning for the year. Let me loose in your house right now, and I can strip it in an hour, dump all that stuff you don’t want, and convince you to go to Ikea to buy something (cheaper) and new!!! I’m a menace right now. After three major cleaning sessions—by the end of it, my battle cry was ‘get rid of it!! And we got some really cute stuff at Ikea, some new plates, pots and pans, some rugs, 2 benches. We had a ball!!! I love shopping there!!

So the illusion that I have a glamourous life is dispelled. I wore combat boots for most of the month, hauling a lot of broken old stuff to the trash. I love projects where you start out with a mess, and can see real results in a short time. It takes a long time to finish a book, and to solve most problems. Spring Cleaning has fast results, and you’re all proud of yourself when it’s done.

And after all that, I got to work on a new book. So it has been a busy month, now we can enjoy the summer—-and spend the rest of the year making a mess again!!! And as summer begins now, I hope you have some wonderful plans, to relax and take some time off (and read of course!!) Have a wonderful week!!

love, Danielle

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5/30/16, Memorial Day

Hi Everyone,

I hope that wherever you are, you have a holiday, and are taking the day off today!! The Memorial Day weekend is special because it is the unofficial start of summer, even though summer doesn’t really start until June 21st. But this is the first long weekend of warmer days, with the promise of real summer just lining up. Kids are almost finished with school, college kids already are. Summer plans, summer jobs, summer days, summer camp, we have all of that still in store for us!!

I’ve been to two graduations in the last week, both of which meant a lot to me. One was the business school graduation of a young man who is very, very dear to my family, and to me. He has been part of our family for the past fifteen years. So I went to LA last week to attend his graduation. He worked hard for that degree, and I wanted to be there to cheer him on, and watch him receive it. I got up at 4 am, to be sure I wasn’t late, left my hotel at 6am, for the drive to his University, and be at the graduation when it started promptly at 8 am. I had lunch with him afterwards, with him and his friends and family, and then went back to San Francisco, with cherished memories of a special day, and very very proud of him.

Two days later, another graduate who is dear to my heart had her high school graduation. And I was watching young people in caps and gowns lining up for their diplomas once again. The high school seniors were livelier than their graduate school counterparts, and it was fun, an exciting moment that I felt privileged to share.

So with two graduations under my belt, summer is definitely just around the corner!!!

I’m spending this Memorial Day quietly working. I’ve never been exactly sure about the meaning of Memorial Day, if it was to remember one’s lost loved ones, or about Veterans, so I looked it up, and as you all probably know, it is to honor the men and women fallen in wars. And apparently the tradition began after the Civil War. So today, we honor the brave men and women who have defended us, and lost their lives in the wars, in service to their country. We are grateful to them for the freedoms they have protected and gave their lives for, and for keeping us safe. It’s a serious holiday, with a noble purpose.

I hope that you’ve had a wonderful day, and will have a happy week ahead. I still have lots of work to do, before I can abandon myself to the lazy days of summer a little later. I have to earn some time off first!!!

Take good care, and have a great week!!

love, Danielle

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5/23/16, Shoe Confessions

Hi Everyone,

I was packing for the summer, surrounded by tee shirts, bathing suits, light clothes, and mostly shoes, when I decided to make a confession to you. I’m not addicted to gambling, and have never been interested in it. Not addicted to any special past times, and never fooled around with booze or drugs…..but SHOES!!! I am confessing: I am totally addicted to shoes. Nothing makes me happy or cheers me up like a pair of pretty new shoes. I know this is not an area of great fascination to men, and their comment to any shoe purchase is usually, “but you already have a pair of black shoes”. Yeah, so??? That has never stopped me!!!! A girl can’t have too many shoes. Or I guess we can, but if it makes me happy, it’s not hurting anybody. I’m always finding some pair of shoes I love, and sometimes, some really crazy ones!!  My father always said that my first word was “shoe”, so apparently I started early!!

In the past, when the world was more formal and people dressed up more, I wore suits and dresses, but as the world got more informal, and we all live in jeans and people wear running shoes and flip flops even to work, I have settled into a sort of uniform: black pants and a black sweater (or black tee shirt in the summer), and I wear a lot of black loafers, or flats in the daytime. If I go out to dinner, I wear black pants and a nicer sweater. A coat, a bag, and a great pair of shoes I love. For me, shoes make the outfit. I love the black jeans at Zara, for about $20, I live in them almost daily, and reasonable black slacks that I find in Paris, but I go all out on shoes. I can’t resist!!!And I have much smaller feet than all 5 of my daughters, so my shoe wardrobe is safe!! I keep some shoes for years and years, and some of them still look great. I can wander through a store and not go crazy buying clothes….but the shoes snag me every time!!! I wear super high heels sometimes when I go out at night, am grateful for the little kitten heels that are in fashion right now, and most of the time I wear flats in the daytime, to run around in. And I am scared to death of platform shoes, terrified I will fall and break a leg or fall flat on my face. And there are still a lot of cobble stoned streets in Paris, even right outside my house, which don’t seem like a good mix with platforms!!

Anyway, as I packed this morning, I decided to share my shoe addiction with you, a lot of women seem to love shoes, and I thought you might get a good laugh out of some of my shoes!!!

The brands I seem to wear most are Chanel (some very classic, and their ‘ballerina flats’ are super comfortable!! And they do some very modern looking shoes too), Stubbs and Wooten (from Palm Beach and New York), and Charlotte Olympia (from England) are THE MOST comfortable. Their sizing is so consistent, you can buy them online and know they will always fit in your size. You can wear them for 18 hours of running around on the first day. Manolo Blahnik, are my most elegant, Gianvito Rossi the sexiest.

The Craziest:

-These are by Balenciaga, they are an architectural wonder. I bought them as a work of art, not to wear them. I can’t walk across the room in them, and have never worn them. But they are ‘cool’ to look at. I have another crazy pair too, in brown leather with wooden soles and orange laces, with antique buttons on them, they’re very exotic and strange, by Manolo Blahnik, they were a sample and were never produced. I couldn’t resist them at a sample sale. I wore them once, and felt like I should be riding a yak when I wore them. But I’ve kept them, because they’re unique!! (my children screamed at me when I bought them.)

The Most Comfortable:

– Stubbs and Wooten: The “I love U” shoes one of my daughters gave me for Valentine’s Day, I wear them all the time.  The black velvet ones with my initials on them. I love them!!! Also incredibly comfortable. And their fancy ones for this past Christmas, with big rhinestones on them.

 

 

The Cutest, ‘Fun’-est:

– Charlotte Olympia: They do a lot of very high platform shoes that I don’t wear, and some pretty evening shoes. But what I love are their “Kitty shoes” I have a lot of them, and I think they’re soooo cute. AND so comfy. Great running around fun shoes.

 

 

The Silliest:

-These are by Celine, silly but fun!

 

The Highest/Tallest:

– A pair of beautiful Chanel platforms, the only ones I own. REALLY tall!! I wear them at home.

The Sexiest:

– by Gianvito Rossi, classic shapes, high heels. Really pretty to wear in the evening or to go out to dinner.

The Newest (that I couldn’t resist):

– in the middle, a multi colored pair of Prada, on a low heel, that I’ve already worn a lot.

-The other four are all Chanel, my favorites are the pearl sandals. I can’t wait to wear them, and will wear them this summer in the evening, soooo cool!!

The Most Elegant:

-Manolo Blahnik are always my most elegant shoes, comfortable even in a high heel. They look so pretty. I wear some of their flats in the daytime, which are always very feminine looking, and their evening shoes are gorgeous.

The Most Classic:

– Hermes: they make some ‘hot’ sexy shoes, but they also make wonderful loafers, and pretty flats and sandals, and some evening shoes. Beautiful quality. And I wear them forever, year after year. They never go out of style.

 

 

 

My Oldest:

– Chanel sometimes makes beautiful classics. The little flat denim pumps, I have worn for about 25 years, and I just love them, and still wear them all the time with jeans. The combat boots are also Chanel. I wear them whenever I have some ‘mission’ that requires solid shoes. I wore them for 11 years on the streets when I worked on a homeless outreach team. So comfy, solid and sturdy. I’ve had them for about 25 years too and still wear them a lot. And the denim loafers are by a company I loved in Paris that is no longer in business, Harel. I’ve worn them with jeans for at least 20 years and still love them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now you know one of my worst vices and indulgences. Superficial and naughty, and sometimes expensive, but shoes just make me happy!!!

love, Danielle

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5/16/16, Memories

Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a good week, and that good things are happening for you.

I had a letter from a friend this week, which brought back memories I’ll share with you. I don’t usually dwell on the past, I’m busy living life every day, meeting deadlines, talking to or visiting my children. We all have enough to think about with our jobs, our work, our families, and I realize now, when I do look back, that I have had some golden moments in my life. The friend who wrote to me was reminiscing about the parties I used to give, which seemed ‘normal’ to me at the time, and I realize now how special they were, and the memories they provided for the people we shared those moments with.

I was married to my husband John then, (the father of 8 of my 9 children), he was the most dashing man I’ve ever met, dazzling, elegant, incredibly handsome, movie star handsome. I led a very quiet life when I met him, writing my books, working hard. I didn’t go out much, and my life was certainly not glamourous. I met him, and he swept me off my feet. He was 20 years older than I, but dashing and youthful. He loved parties, life, entertaining, going to grand events, and married to him, my life became very exciting. It was a different time, when entertaining lavishly wasn’t shocking. I’m not sure that people had more fun, but they were more daring about it. We lived in a Victorian house built in 1895, and restored it. And as our family kept growing—-every year!!—-until we had 9 children, he had his eye on a wonderful old house still owned by the original family, but no one had lived in it for about 40 years. The house was like a beautiful grande dame, that needed to be dusted off and brought into the light again. It was built in 1910, and once again we restored it and returned it to what it once had been. We filled it with our 9 children, their friends, and our friends, John loved to entertain, and I enjoyed it with him. He was the original Prince Charming, and at his side I always felt like Cinderella. He lifted me from my more mundane life to a more glamourous, sophisticated one. It took me by surprise at first, and I eventually came to enjoy it, and we gave some wonderful parties together, with music and dancing, and a band, 100 people for dinner, and afterwards people would stay until the wee hours dancing. It was very romantic!!! At the beginning of the evening, our children would come to say hello to the guests, and then they disappeared when we sat down to dinner. It sounds silly now, but for our Christmas dance, we had a snow machine on the roof, so it would look like it was snowing, as the snowflakes drifted past the windows. We had some wonderful times, and I’ve never danced as much since. People don’t give parties like that anymore, and I don’t either. It wouldn’t feel right today, but it was acceptable then.

 

 

We were married for 18 years, but even fairytales end. Mylife changed, more importantly the world has changed. These are troubled times of poverty and anguish and danger in the world, of people struggling to survive, and economies shaky worldwide. Our marriage ended, my son Nick died as you know. I spent 11 years on the streets working with the homeless, and you see homeless people on the streets everywhere now, we live in a troubled world. My children grew up, and the world is such a different place. The kind of glamour we indulged in then is rarely, if ever, seen today. We all live in jeans. I have the beautiful gowns I used to wear at our parties, and haven’t worn them in years, and have nowhere to wear them, but I’ve saved them for my daughters as a piece of history. Even if I were still married, I can’t imagine giving parties like that today, with 100 people and a band, dancing the night away, with a snow machine on the roof. But what fun it was then. The friend who wrote to me, was reminiscing about how beautiful those parties were, with the snow falling past the windows. I never realized then how magical those nights were. But I do now, as cherished memories. My children remember them too, as part of their childhood. It’s a time that will never come again, and we were fortunate to enjoy those days. The world is a more serious place now, and so am I. We’ve all grown up…..but how pretty it was, how lucky we were to live it and share it with friends, who remember it too. If I go out for an evening now, I wear black slacks and a sweater, not a ballgown. There is no snow machine on the roof. We have family dinners, in the same house, on holidays, and I cherish these times too. But the memories, and the echoes of the music are very sweet. I just wanted to share that with you, and these old photographs of John, and me, and the children……sweet memories of a fairytale time…Now back to real life today!! Have a great week!!!

love, Danielle

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5/9/16, Not Perfect But Wonderful!

Hi Everyone,

I hope that where appropriate, you had a lovely Mother’s Day. I realize every year, that after Christmas, it’s my favorite holiday!!! I really enjoy it with my kids. I spent it between two cities, and two countries, in my “double life”. For many, many years, with 9 children, I was rooted and planted in one spot, we went away in the summer for vacation, but the rest of the time, I was solidly planted in one place, driving kids to school, ballet classes, baseball, lacrosse and soccer games, organizing birthday parties, sleep overs, play dates, buying school supplies, and dropping off forgotten lunches. My life revolved totally around my kids, their school vacations, school plays, dance recitals, track meets, etc. multiplied by 9. It was a super busy life, beyond busy, I was always running to pick someone up, drop someone off, get their sick dogs to the vet, get baseball uniforms, all the things that fill and rule one’s life when you have kids, and I have a lot of them!!! I hardly traveled at all, never in fact, except in the summer with the kids And then one day the kids grew up, several moved to other cities to pursue their careers (for my 3 in fashion, they had to be in the cities where fashion is made, one went to LA to produce movies,) the chicks flew away, the husband left, and I found myself in an almost empty house, looking into empty bedrooms, and waiting for them to come home for holidays. I still have one child at home, fortunately, but she’s always busy, work, gym, concerts, friends. They all have their own lives now. So I flew away too, and began living in 2 cities, in 2 countries, flying back and forth between the 2, every few weeks, to my two home bases, and to visit my kids along the way in their cities. It has evolved into a nomadic life of constant travel, I see new movies on planes, work in both places, I have a typewriter in both houses, and fly away, land, unpack that night, and start work the next day (sometimes I wake up in the morning, and in the first few minutes, wonder which city I’m in). It’s a very different life than I used to lead when my kids were little, but with grown kids busy with their own lives, and unmarried myself now, it’s a wonderful way to live life, and not feel the absence of my old life quite so much!!! And on special days, like holidays, I realize what a gypsy I’ve become. I’m always packing and unpacking, flying, visiting kids, or working/writing in my 2 cities. It’s a crazy life, but I love it.

So Mother’s Day was a 4 day event for me, I flew to one city, and celebrated an early mother’s day with 3 of my kids, had a wonderful time with them, we had an early Mother’s Day dinner, and the next day I flew to my other city, unpacked, attacked my desk, worked on a re-write, and then celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday with the others. Mother’s Day spanned 2 dinners and a brunch, 6,000 miles apart. And I managed to finish a re-write of a book between meals and seeing my kids (and stayed up very late to write). My kids were very thoughtful with me and always are. I got wonderful gifts, some really pretty bracelets, one with big black beads and a green stone, a vintage 1940’s bracelet that says “U R My Love” (which I will wear forever with others they have given me). I got a T shirt that says “Mom Knows Best” (YESSS!!! Finally they admit it!!), a towel that says “Home is where Mom is”, some vintage red leather earrings I’ve always wanted, a beach bag, some cushions with hearts on them, a hot water bottle (always useful), some really cute dog photographs, and a water color of my 2 dogs, and a sign that says “You’re the Mom Everyone Wishes they had” (Who can resist that??!!!) And since they know I love sayings, my youngest son gave me a little plate that says “Life Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Wonderful”—–Now that is a powerful message, and the crux of it all. How often we forget that, or I forget it, and think that if this or that would just happen, life would be wonderful. But that saying is true; Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. It’s never perfect, but in spite of that, it sure can be wonderful.

The night after I reached my destination for Mother’s Day Round 2, I couldn’t sleep. I was wide awake, probably on some other time zone. I don’t usually get jet lag (I sleep on the plane), I lay awake worrying about a thousand things—-and I can really worry when I put my mind to it, about my kids, or my work, or life, or something someone did, and I suddenly realized how lucky I am, and how grateful I am for the good things in my life, the good people, good children, the work I do that I love, the books that I enjoy writing, the children I fly half way around the world to see, I suddenly realized how precious it all is, and the good moments are.

So today, instead of thinking of all the things that could go wrong, worrying about one child or another, are they happy, are they with the right people, do they like their jobs, will you like the next book, will everything or anything happen the way I want it to, will the people I love be safe, will my children find the right path in life, or the right partners…..I suddenly realize how true that saying is on the little plate, that Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. It’s never perfect, but there sure are wonderful moments sometimes, and I am so grateful for them, those little islands of joy that surprise us in a sometimes turbulent sea. I cherish those moments, and even my spread out holidays spent with my kids in several cities, in my currently Nomadic life, living in and out of suitcases and on and off planes.

This week I am doing a big project. I’ve had a big storage unit for 30 years, into which we sent anything we couldn’t figure out what to do with, furniture, old dolls, my mother’s furniture, my late son’s, cribs and strollers, and just a mountain of stuff. I’ve finally decided to go through it and get rid of what we don’t want, and will never use again. It will take me all week, but I’ve been wanting to do it for years. I’m sure memories will surface, and things we’ve forgotten that we have (old Barbie dolls, old ice skates, old furniture) —–so it’s clean up time. It will be a big job, but I’m looking forward to it!!! So that’s what I’ll be doing. I’ll let you know what I find.

And in the meantime, for this moment, I am so grateful for a far from perfect, but sometimes wonderful life. I had a wonderful Mother’s Day with my kids, I can’t ask for more than that, and I hope you are having some wonderful moments too, whatever they are. Take good care. Have a great week!!!

much love, Danielle

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5/2/16 “Happy May Day!”

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re doing well, and enjoying spring somewhere. It snowed briefly in Paris last week, and has been freezing!!! So much for April in Paris. Now on to May, which is off to a sweet start, and very busy!!!

First, before anything else, so many of you have very kindly asked about my niece, who was severely injured in the attacks and explosion in Brussels exactly a month ago. She is doing well and hanging on bravely, undergoing many (daily) surgeries. Unfortunately, she lost both legs from the damage, which is very hard at 17. But little by little she is healing from her many injuries (hand, spine, burns, shrapnel throughout her body, much of which can’t be removed). My hope for her is that in time, she will recover and be able to lead a good and full life again. I am VERY, VERY grateful and touched by your good thoughts and prayers. I didn’t want to write the blog without thanking you, and letting you know how she’s doing, since you’ve been kind enough to ask.

Yesterday, May 1st was May Day, which is a big national holiday in France. It is Labor Day, but May Day has always been an important holiday in France. There were flower stands set up on every street, to sell little sprigs of lily of the valley, which people give each other for good luck. Everyone exchanges them, lovers, friends, relatives, employees and employers. Every street is filled with the delicate fragrance of lily of the valley, and the tradition of giving it to everyone is wonderful. The day also has special meaning for me, because May 1st was my late son Nick’s birthday, so the day is tied to sweet memories of him and his May Day birthday. The day is always somewhat bittersweet for me because of him, so I spent the day quietly alone, getting calls and emails from my children and close friends. And then in the evening, I had dinner in a group with 9 friends, at a restaurant I like (and gave them each a tiny vase of lily of the valley, and a box with a chocolate lily of the valley in it). I had a really nice time with them, and it made the day easier for me. We enjoyed the conversations, and just being together, until midnight. People stay a long time after dinner to talk in France. No one is in a rush to go home. It was a really lovely, long congenial evening!!

I was writing all last week, so didn’t go out too much, and I saw family for dinner on Saturday, my friends on Sunday night, and next week, I have some lunches and dinners planned with friends.

And major publishing news this week, On Tuesday May 3rd, my new novel “The Apartment” comes out, and I’m really looking forward to it. And my new children’s book “Pretty Minnie in Hollywood” comes out on the same day. I hope you get them both and LOVE them!!! The Apartment will make a great Mother’s Day gift, and the children’s book is perfect for any little girl who likes pretty clothes!!

Preorder THE APARTMENT: http://bit.ly/1XqGf0x

Preorder PRETTY MINNIE IN HOLLYWOOD: http://bit.ly/1Sc1fdm

Take good care of yourself and have a GREAT week, filled with joy and blessings. And I hope your Mother’s Day on Sunday will be fabulous!!!

love,

Danielle

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4/25/16, “Pretty Minnie in Hollywood” & “The Apartment”

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is fine and doing well. I have Book News for you today—–two new books!!!! Both are coming out next Tuesday, on May 3rd.

I have a new hardcover coming out, “The Apartment”, about four young women who meet each other when they become room mates, sharing an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen in New York. Many, many years ago, Hell’s Kitchen was one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in New York, home to several conflicting gangs who clashed regularly. It was an area no one respectable wanted to live in, or even walk through, on the West Side of New York, and deserving of its name. Today, all those once bad neighbourhoods, Hell’s Kitchen, the Bowery, parts of the lower East Side, have become gentrified, even fashionable, rents and sale prices have skyrocketed and they are highly desirable. Today, Hell’s Kitchen is an interesting mix of renovated old buildings, some of which were warehouses, and some beautiful newer buildings. It’s near the theater district, ballet schools, and some of the more creative areas in New York. So the apartment in the book is there, there is even a terrific produce market and flea market there on the weekends to add local color. The four young women in the book meet when they get together to share the apartment, and most of them didn’t know each other before. One is a young writer/playwright, involved with a much older Off Off Broadway theatrical producer, who is clearly taking advantage of her naiveté and her talent, and she is foolishly and madly in love with him. She grew up in LA, and is the daughter of successful TV producers. The other room-mate is a young shoe designer from San Francisco, with lots of talent and ambition and a horrible boss in a shoe company going nowhere. Her mother scrimped and saved to put her through design school, the young designer has very little money, and needs to share the apartment, a loft in an old building. The third room mate has a very successful job in the financial world, and a very dashing, handsome boss. And the fourth room mate is a Resident/medical student, who has no time for anything except her shifts at the hospital, and she has an identical twin who is a very successful and daring top model, with a slew of bad, dangerous boyfriends. The mischievous twin loves to show up with her own key, and fool the other room mates, as to which twin she is, often masquerading as her medical student sister. One twin naughty and one nice, which adds some spice to the group in the apartment. The room mate who works on Wall Street has a really great boyfriend who owns a restaurant in the neighbourhood, and keeps them well fed, and they host a family style dinner at the apartment every Sunday night for their friends. The book is really about the relationships that form among friends once they leave home and set out on their adult lives and careers. The four women are in their twenties and early thirties. All are from other cities. The young woman in finance grew up in Boston in a fairly broken family (her brother also moved to New York and works in PR). And the medical student/Resident moved to New York from Atlanta (Her parents hate each other after a bad divorce, and her father is remarried to a very young woman). The book is about the room mates’ hopes, dreams, and lives in New York, and who they become as they grow up, in the same apartment, and become good friends. It talks also about their families at home, and how their families affected them growing up, as is the case for all of us. Our original families leave their mark on us, both good and bad. The book is exciting and fun, warm and real as they face victories and disappointments, and some shocks as they learn more about the men they date, the people they meet, and those in their immediate circle, and at their jobs. It is a time in life which is important and forms us all as we become independent and grow up, often far from our original homes. I really hope you love the book, and reading about the four women in it and all that happens to them.

The other book coming out on May Third is my second ‘Pretty Minnie’ book, an illustrated children’s book, inspired by my white long haired teacup Chihuahua Minnie. The illustrations are just adorable, by a talented illustrator, Kristi Valiant. This second Minnie book is “Pretty Minnie in Hollywood”. Minnie lives in Paris, goes to Hollywood, and stars in a movie. She gets to wear lots of pretty clothes, stay at a fancy hotel, and wear a sparkly gold dress in the movie. Little girls will love this book and Minnie’s adventures. I LOVE writing children’s books. This is a huge splash of happiness, and fun, watching Minnie on all her adventures, in her adorable clothes. Lots of glitter, and the cutest illustrations ever. If you have a little girl in your life, she will love it—-I even give the Minnie books to my grown up friends who love clothes or dogs or know my Minnie. I really hope you love it!!!

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

So I hope you enjoy my new books as much as I did writing them. I am thrilled to share them with you.

Lots and lots of love, Danielle

Preorder: http://bit.ly/1XqGf0x

Preorder: http://bit.ly/1Sc1fdm

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