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BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD

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The tale of my discount wedding dress – another post from the beginning of Beguiling

July 20, 2014 by Vickie Lester

Hello, kittens. Well – it appears that Lanier Smith of SCENTS MEMORIES and I have entered into a pact. We demand stories of each other. To that end I am posting this little memory of a time 25 years ago, right before I got married, and Lanier is going to post about the morning he heard Marilyn Monroe had died. Word to the wise – his memory is profound and moving – and mine is not. MEMORY ~ Marilyn in […]

Categories: Culture, Design, fashion, Fiction, Film, History, Hollywood, Humor, Literature, Los Angeles, Marriage, Movies, Photography, Short Stories, Story, Wedding, Writing • Tags: "The Help", anniversary, behind the scenes, Beverly Hills, Costume Designer, family, Get on Up, growing up, humor, husband, MarilynMonroe, marriage, memory, Mom, Neiman Marcus, Portico, relationships, Scents Memory, Sharen Davis, story, wedding day, wedding dress

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LETTERS FROM FRIENDS

March 27, 2013 by Vickie Lester

My friend responds to my post (FRIENDS | BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD) about growing up together: So you remember Jilly the Gerbil’s funeral! That was one of the first stories I told my kids about us too! I think we dressed up in our Sunday dress-up best because I distinctly remember dragging my dress through the dirt, and your hat…very appropriately two sizes too big! As the bereaved surviving relative I said a few solemn words at the grave site, you “quoted” […]

Categories: Blogging, Children, Culture, Design, Entertainment, Film, Friendship, History, Hollywood, Humor, Life, Los Angeles, Memoir, Movies, Parenting, Pets, Photography, Relationships, Short Stories, Story, Truth & Rumors, Uncategorized, Writing • Tags: actress, altruism, behind the scenes, best friends, bonds of affection, childhood development, constancy, dogs, education, family, friendship, growing up, history, Hollywood, home, imagination, Mary Pickford, medicine, Memoir, Old Hollywood, parenting, photography, school, security, spirit, surgery

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instagram: toobeguiling, behind the scenes

Do nondisclosure agreements apply to #fiction? I don’t think so... Link in the profile. . “I had become a suit, and I vowed to myself, if not anyone else, I would never forget movies were made on cavernous stages and dusty streets all over the world; not in the corporate tower where my old boss had held sway. What of my old boss? The guitar-strumming scion of the old Hollywood family had decamped the area for the trout streams of Montana... I do get distracted sometimes. Please forgive me. What was it I meant to say? Oh, yes. I remember. In Hollywood employees are contractually obligated not to squeal on social media about the internal workings of the dream factory.” . . . . . . #romanàclef, #hollywood, #studio, #behindthescenes, #amwriting, #writer, #novel, #explore, #reading, #visualsoflife, #agameoftones, #bookquotes, #wordsmith, #reflection #postitfortheaesthetic

Night falls on the red roofs of California. Sweet dreams. . . . . . #historic #historichome, #historichouse #historicpreservation #oldhomelove #architecture #architecturelovers #exteriordesign #architecturaldetail #style #design #nightphotography #lightandshadow #nightsky #uplighting #nightscape #garden #curbappeal #losangeles #houseportrait #captivatinghouses #romantichome #californiadreaming #goodnight

What am I hiding? A spider bite! Do I hide much in the pages of my new Hollywood novel? Nothing you won’t have fun trying to figure out... “Late in the summer following my sophomore year, I was living in the Beverly Hills home of a blonde former figure skater. She had met Mr. Major Movie Star on a commercial promoting California cheese...arguably a metaphor for something.” There are more pages up on the blog today, link in the profile. . . . . . #portrait #author #authorlife #blackandwhitephotography #bookaddiction #bookstagram #bibliophile #booklover #behindthescenes #hollywood #moviemagic #lovereading #bookworm #bookish #lovereading #excerpt #amwriting #readers #lovetowrite #californiadreaming

See what’s unfurling on the blog, it might be a new #Hollywood novel... “Life never is a simple linear narrative; it’s too messy and senseless. On the other hand a memoir, no, make that a novel (a much less contentious prospect) is an attempt to resolve the random acts of a life and give them meaning — put them into some sort of context. Whether this reads as simply an insider chronicle of a life lived in Hollywood or another of those cautionary tales about the same, I’ll leave to you, gentle reader, my unknown confidant.” . . . . . #bookaddiction #bookstagram #bibliophile #author #booklover #mustread #petals #rose #behindthescenes #moviemagic #lovereading #bookworm #bookish #ilovereading #amwriting #readers

It’s a good night when @kfullermendez calls me from the east to herald a moonrise over the west. #goodnight #supermoon #sweetdreams @heybillkuhn @antiquegoddess

“These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationary store, and when almost everybody wore a hat. Here is the last of that generation of chain smokers who woke the world in the morning with their coughing, who used to get stoned at cocktail parties and perform obsolete dance steps like “the Cleveland Chicken,” sail for Europe on ships, who were truly nostalgic for love and happiness, and whose gods were as ancient as yours and mine, whoever you are.” . I picked up a sweet #volume of short stories in the new year, continuing my #love affair with fictional Manhattan. . . . . . #stories #manhattan #nyc #johncheever #bookbliss #bibliophile #exploretocreate #empirestatebuilding #architecture #streetscape #citylife #literature #author #writer #bookstagram #bookstoread #cityscape #skyscraper #bluesky #writerslife #thestoriesofjohncheever

Traveling SW I promised @heybillkuhn I’d take pictures... Over breakfast in the dining car I learned how to bet the horses. Sharing a meal with people I’ve never met is now one of my favorite things to do. . So relaxing watching the country roll by, thinking about what to make for Christmas dinner back home. #Pavlova? #ChocolateMousse? For recipes check out the link in the profile. . . . . . #trainstation #exploretocreate #artofvisuals #waiting #portrait #citylife #architecture #homewardbound #urban #dawn #interior #graphicdesign #art #lifeisbeautiful #journey #style #friends #everyonehasastory #itsinhiskissbyvickielester #amwriting another #hollywood #novel

Sometimes places look #enchanted — because they are. This town sends me. There’s a little free library in front of the police department, #design students everywhere you turn, early risers who stroll around the park, and #bookstores like @thebookladybookstore where you can browse and talk for hours — discovering #treasures. All that and I had a eureka moment working on my manuscript. Where am I @williee64 ? In #Savannah! Thank you @heybillkuhn for giving us a proper introduction 😘. . . . . . #bibliophile #books #amwriting #library #exploretocreate #historichome #federalarchitecture #architecture #december #hollywood #novel #author #southerncharm #style

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