Miss Pettigrew lives for a day

I saw this movie on the plane coming here - I enjoyed it a lot !



The delightful and talented Amy Adams!



The equally talented Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.




Her bathroom was d-i-v-i-n-e !!


The whole film is filled with great outfits.



Frances McDormand with Ciarán Hinds.



I want this outfit and her boudoir!



Amy Adams and Shirley Henderson.



Lee Pace and Amy Adams.



I recommend this movie - it was so much fun watching it!

Last & Final Revelation !

So here I am in Ghana in my Bollywood/Aladdin bedroom and look what Santa brought me ( if you disregard the little detail that I bought it for myself :) Ditas flip book !

Merry Christmas everyone !

My little Christmas chalet...

Dear Vintage Friends !

Thanks for all your well wishing thoughts ! ( Keith Amanda, Frollein von Sofa, Kristen ( happy you liked your earrings !) and Lemondrop Marie )

I have now been in Ghana for 5 days and have been hard at work in the sweltering heat. Yes, I heard its a bit cold in Europe, dear me ;)

In the beginning we stayed at a hotel, but since we are here for a longer period its simply got a bit expensive and we went apartment/house hunting.

We found a place not to far from the National Theatre and it looked great with a swimming pool. But inside ... OMG it was like out of a 1930s Hollywood film or 2009 Bollywood ! :)

I just had to send you some pics ( and it turns out the Internet in the house is quite good - hooray ! ) and at the same time wish you all A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS ! as we Swedes celebrate Christmas Eve - Julafton !

Diva



Our apartment is Barbie meets Prince Aladdin - kitsch divine !



Our living room. My camera doesnt do the room justice. Everything is cream and gold...



For you my dear Vintage Baroness ;)



My bedroom - With my mouth opened wide I immediately decided to imagine myself as Jean Harlow ;)



My bath tube de luxe.



Our darling Persian producer and project manager whipped up a meal...



... it was sooo good !



Outside our house at night - Merry Xmas !

Hello & Goodbye for a few days !

Dear vintage friends ! Sorry for taking so long since my last post ! But I´ve been so busy with all my preparations for my travel to Ghana. I´m leaving in the morning and feel quite excited ! Neos up in the north with a friend bouncing about in the snow and here in Stockholm ( which is where I´m flying from) its been completely snow chaotic today! I´m sooo longing for heat and humidity ! :)

I don´t know yet how often I´ll be able to post, but I will try my best to get back on track in a few days and give you an update of A Subtropical Life.

Take Care ! XXX Diva

Ps. I don´t think I´ve told you what I´m doing - I am to direct an African "Cinderella" with a touch some of the ideas behind the UN declarations for women and children !

Admiration

Sometimes you just have to give a fellow blogger praise where praise is due !

Ladies - I give you The Vintage Baroness. Her style is such an inspiration even if were a decade apart in taste ! ;)

An because she is forever changing the templates of her blog as well as her name (!!) I did a little quick re-decorating - ha ha.

Revelation #2

As I am moving in the direction of showing more of myself I need to know how you all take your own pictures ???

Ten Things About Me

1. I am 45, I was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. My mother is Swedish, my father from Ghana.

2. I currently live in Helsingborg ( in the southern part of Sweden ) and have worked as a professional actress for 19 years and 9 as a director. My next directing job is in Accra, Ghana at The National Theatre there.

3. I am single and have no family of my own, but love children . I do have a dog who's name is Neo. He´s a Tibetan Spaniel, 6,5 yrs old and way cooler than me :)

4. My best friends name is Rebecka and she is a gift from God to me ...

5. I love the look of the 1940s and high fashion couture corsets.

6. I can not stand miserly people ( and I don´t mean money) nor do I have patience with intolerance or any other form of stupidity.

7. I believe in re-incarnation, karma, Buddha, God and doing good to others simply because life is short.

8. I try to live my life with no regrets, which is why I tried to get pregnant for 4 years before calling it a day. I´m proud I did, but I will never put that amount of "stuff" in my body ever again...

9. People see my as a focused and ambitious person. But personally I always feel I could do more and be more, if I was less of a procrastinator...

10. My real name is Fransesca and my full blog name Diva Darling :)

Retro Wednesday !

This is just for fun ! There are so many cute retro outfits that would be great to play around with. This is what I´ve been looking at lately.

Think Betty Paige in COLOUR ! :) All clothes are from Anthropology.



A nice "office" dress with a little sexy oomph ! ( I like that word !




Wear them with a pair of smart sassy black shoes.



And spice things up with a flower ( the bigger the better ! ) on your head.



This ones from Zappos. Which would go great with this little purple dress ...



Or... you could work it with a pair of no-place-like-home red shoes...



In which case you could top if of with a classic, funky red beret from John Lewis. !

We have a winner !

Sometime ago I wanted to celebrate my 50th post by having a Give Away. Unfortunately for reasons unknown to me only one (1) person showed her interest...

But that doesn't not take away anything from the fact that we have a winner and her name is...

Kirsten over at This Homemade Life !! Hope the earrings will give an extra "sparkle" to your Christmas this year ! :)

Another give away is happening over at LemondropMarie. Hers is the sweetest little Xmas charm bracelet ever !

It´s here !! ( and more Lulu bags)

My package has arrived !

Exciting ! Can you tell who its from ?

Everything looks so sweet !

Those of you familiar with this shoe know who it´s from :)

Yes ! Its my little birdies ! My fascinator from the exquisitely talented hands of Frollein von Sofa is finally here !! I immediately rushed to he mirror to place "Bo" & "Beep" into my masses of curls to see if they would nest there :) And they looked awesome !

And wouldn't you know it she threw in a festive little pompom too !

Ah, the many talents of Frollein von Sofa ! Look at this is a collection she did for Lulu Guiness.

Dita von Teeses favourite! ( no, for real ! )

Delicious !

Tea for two?

Elle etait une petite mademoiselle ...

I´m so happy - this is coming with me to Ghana ! :) And I promise I will post a picture of me wearing it. That´s for "Revelation #3"... ;)

The fabulous bags of Lulu Guiness

I have only recently taken an interest in bags. These are from the fabulous Lulu Guiness.

This would go great with a vintage black dress.

And this bag I think would be really smart with a dark blue fitted suit.

This is with out a doubt your classical pinup bag !

This is just sexy :)

How cute is this little purse !

This is a great purse for makeup, as is

this one.

And this necklace ( also in gold ) would give an instant "oomph" to a black turtleneck with black slacks.