Ava Gardner, Love is Nothing by Lee Server (2006)

Ava Gardner was the sex symbol who dazzled the other sex symbols. Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner thought her the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. She drove Frank Sinatra to the brink of suicide. Ernest Hemingway carried around one of her kidney stones as a sacred memento. Howard Hughes begged her to marry him: she punched his front teeth out. Her charismatic presence, jaw-dropping beauty and scandalous adventures fuelled the legend that she became. Yet she was a farm girl who became a reluctant goddess, and who retreated from the world's gaze for the last years of her life. Filled with fresh insights gleaned from interviews with Ava's colleagues, friends and lovers, this is the definitive biography of Hollywood’s most glamorous, restless and uninhibited star.

Author: Lee Server is an American writer who has written several books about Hollywood and cinema.

My thoughts: I just had to introduce you to Ava Gardner's story! I have read two, maybe three biographies of Ava, but this one is very well written and complete. It is an overview of Ava the actress, the woman, the lover. I was eight or nine years old the first time I saw her on the screen in a Sunday series of old black and white movies. That is how I became acquainted with great movies and Hollywood stars. I thought, and still think today, that Ava is the most beautiful woman in the world. She was dark, exotic and had great sex appeal. Astonishingly, she never underwent plastic surgery, she ate and drank like a man and she swore like a trooper. She lived a free and passionate life, so passionate that Ava invented her own rules. It will surprise you to learn that Ava never wanted to be an actress, but fate, as many would have it, decided otherwise.  I love this book and I feel that her life was both exciting and chaotic, as she was prone to sabotaging her happiness. After all, she did shut herself away in her own gilded prison. I strongly recommend to you this excellent and heart breaking biography of a very shy farm girl who became a barefoot goddess.

Me, Myself and I

After the recent busy weeks, I have been taking it easy for a few days. The only thing on my agenda has been total relaxation!

But I will come back next week with new posts: book reviews and news of what is going on in my little city.

I may live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but I am a simple girl at heart. There is nothing I like doing better than curling up on an afternoon, with a cup of tea, a book and listening to music.

Today, I’ve put together some of my holiday looks for you.

Have a lovely day!

Happy 2016! My Six Months in Pictures

How is it possible that the festive season is over in a flash! Can you believe it? After all that fuss! After all the time it took us to prepare everything and to think about all the details and now the magic has flown by too fast... Another year has gone...

Never mind... My message to you for 2016 is: live with optimism even when all seems lost. Highs and lows will always exist. As they say in my home town "When we lack luck, we have to have attitude, because bad luck is terrified of determined people."

That said, let's talk about my blog. It has been six months that my little corner exists. I like to use it to share some snippets of my life, especially things that make me smile. It's good to know that some of you really like what I post here and think that my opinion is worth something.

I love the interaction that I have with my readers. I like recognising familiar names and always enjoy responding to your comments. I cherish your opinions!

Obviously, if my life changes, my little corner will take new directions too. But I know for sure that I will continue as long as it brings me the pleasure that it has been giving me until now.

To finish, I want to thank all of you...Those who send emails, those who always comment, those who just comment once in a while, and those who don't comment but just come here to visit.

So here I have put together the highlights in photos of the most read posts.

I hope you like them!

About Me (July 2015)

Lagos: Sun Sea Seafood (July 2015)

Best Desserts in Geneva - Martel (August 2015)

Save one last dance... (August 2015)

Afternoon Tea at The Royal Horseguards Hotel, London (September 2015)

A Fabulous Bookstore in London (September 2015)

Idyllic day at Lavey-Les-Bains thermal baths and Saint-Maurice (September 2015)

Tourist, not mannish! (October 2015)

Saudade Cocktail (October 2015)

Where to stay in the Swiss Alps? Etoiles des Montagne - Part I (November 2015)

Hello Autumn - A stroll in Parc de La Grange and Parc des Eaux-Vives (November 2015)

A Birthday...Details that make the difference (November 2015)

Montreux Christmas Market (December 2015)

Oriental White Lily (December 2015)

DIY - Christmas Tin Baskets (December 2015)

The New Year's Eve dress

Tomorrow, we are at the end of another year! So we will celebrate, laugh, play and have fun. Put the champagne on ice, prepare 12 grapes, think of your 12 wishes and put on your outfit to rock the world...

For New Year's Eve, I always like to get dressed completely in white for good luck. This year I will break this ritual since I will put on this Bordeaux dress. I think this dress shines by its elegance and simplicity.

When I found this silk Bordeaux dress at Tattoo (some fifteen years back) I thought it was perfect! But I did not wear it for that New Year’s Eve, as I got sick and had to stay in bed. I have only worn it on one occasion since then. For some time now, it has been stored in my wardrobe...

Still as beautiful as the first day, I will wear it with jewels and these new ballerinas by Zilian.

What about you? Are you going to wear a new outfit or take something from your wardrobe? I am eager to read your thoughts!

2 days to go before Christmas!

This will probably be my look for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This lovely mint pullover, a gift from my mum, and these white pants. Comfortable, simple and fresh.

Reader’s Look:

Pullover: Mum's Christmas gift

Jewellery: clover earrings and ring

Loose pants: Alberto Bini

High heels shoes: Bagatt

Have a mellow Wednesday!

Pineapple with ginger syrup

Sunday, I made this simple and delicious dessert…I think that it can be a beautiful dessert for a Christmas table, along with the other traditional Christmas cakes. A fresh fruit dessert with an exotic touch is always welcome…

Ingredients

1 pineapple

1 piece of fresh ginger

180g sugar

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1/2 cup peeled pistachios

Preparation

1. Peel the pineapple and save the most perfect leaves as a decoration.

2. Remove the central part of the pineapple and cut the flesh into pieces.

3. Pour the pineapple in a bowl and add the peeled and grated ginger. Sprinkle with a little boiling water, cover and allow to stand for about half an hour.

4. Drain the liquid into a saucepan and add the sugar and the lemon juice. Simmer over a low heat for about 5 minutes.

5. Allow the liquid to cool and pour over the pineapple. Leave the mixture to stand for an hour or more.

6. Serve in individual glass bowls decorated with pineapple leaves and salted roast pistachios, roughly chopped with their skin.

Serves 4-6

My Christmas Table

Hello ladies! This may be a crazy time around your home, with the feverish Christmas feast preparations…Today, my post is in response to a faithful reader and friends who asked me for decorating tips for a Christmas table. Therefore, I prepared this post instead of answering each one individually.

I love decorating tables for entertaining friends (my family lives far away). It is one of the things I like doing most, whether for a romantic tête à tête dinner, for a birthday or for the Christmas and Easter holidays.

The Christmas table is very important, because we come together around it and spend several hours sharing good conversation, laughter and, of course, delicious food!

For Christmas, I prefer a simple table without a theme. This will be my Christmas table - I hope you like it!

White is always my colour of choice for a Christmas table. Therefore, I set the table with a white tablecloth and napkins and white dishes to match.

I mixed the traditional and the modern: I put a beautiful and delicate lace tablecloth, a gift from my mum a long time ago, in the centre of the table.

I usually decorate the centre of the table with natural elements to give colour. However, this year I opted for elements of Christmas decoration: baubles, stars and candles.

I'm a fan of candles, so they are a must for the Christmas table! I have these little lanterns from last year: their decorations revolve with the heat of the candles, quite fairy-like.... I combined them with the “vin chaud” candles that I bought at the Montreux Christmas Market (their scent is simply gorgeous). The idea here is to have different heights of light to create a beautiful effect and a welcoming atmosphere

Most of my decorations are from the El Corte Inglès department store. They have a wonderful selection of Christmas articles to make you lose your head - and their prices are attractive too.

As you can see there is nothing expensive or over the top, you just need to use a little imagination!