Evening With A Princess

 

 

If anyone knew how to make people fall in love with them in five minutes, knew a decadent party dress, and was a REAL princess it was Grace Kelly!!!

 

Over the weekend, the Professor, my good friend Pixie Stick, and I had the special treat of going to see Saturday evening the much anticipated exhibition here in Buck's County the Grace Kelly showing-

From Philadelphia to Monaco: GRACE KELLY- Beyond the Icon, which featured  Grace Kelly's personal belongings including fashionable dresses, letters, photos and home movies at Doylestown's Michener Museum.

 

 

 Prince Albert of Monaco and Princess Charlene were among the distinguished guests who attended the opening night gala two weeks ago when it first arrived. 

I also didn't know that the Grace Kelly exhibit here will be the only U.S. venue to display the exhibition. Pretty cool. And the exhibition was befitting for a princess!

It's the golden Oscar that grabs you first, then that sleek, mint-green dress behind it. Both share a statuesque radiance, the unmistakable sheen of the iconic. The Oscar is Grace Kelly's, which she won in 1955 for her role in "Country Girl," co-starring Bing Crosby and William Holden. The dress, a stunning body-hugging silk gown designed by Edith Head, is what she wore when accepting the award. You could even still see a hint of faint sweat marks from her nerves that night. After that..... it was pretty evident  that  fashion is at the heart of this show, and with Kelly's wardrobe sporting designs by Dior, Chanel, YSL, Lanvin, Oleg Cassini, Givenchy and Balenciaga, it would be impossible to have it otherwise. Even here, something of the real person behind the facade of the fabric is revealed. There were also some pretty neat letters from her husband Prince Rainer III, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cary Grant. Many oversized pictures, and home movies also played.

 

 

 

 I was also amazed to read that Kelly’s stage acting debut happened in New Hope at the Bucks County Playhouse, where she was in the plays “The Torch-Bearers” and “The Heiress.” According to the theater’s producing director, Jed Bernstein, even after she had made her way to Hollywood to build her film acting career, Kelly returned to the Bucks County Playhouse stage in 1952 for the show “An Accent on You.” Pretty cool again.

 

In addition to the legendary fashion, there was her sunglass collection and her famous, ever faithful Hermes bag she so loved.....

 

 

After the show it was off for a nice libation at Honey, and glam it up. It was a lovely evening.

If any readers are visiting the area or you locals would like to go see the exhibit it is in Doylestown at the Michener Museum and runs through till January 26th. Info here.

 

The Michener Labyrinth

If one lives in this area, with Philadelphia, New Hope, and Doylestown all so close by then one can't complain they have nothing to do. While off on my last vacation I had two free days left so after the pool the one day, the Lad and I went for a light bite, then off to check out the historical sites in Doylestown, which is where I am. I have been many times, but what I really wanted to check out was the new Michener Labyrinth that was added as part of the Michener Museum. The labyrinth is an ancient pattern found in cultures around the world dating back thousands of years. Today people from all over the globe, like blog buddy Deb, walk to quite the mind, find balance, encourage meditation, gain insight and promote well-being. They are historical, cultural, and a land sculpture all in one. So after the pool the one day, we ventured over to check out this find. My first time to ever walk one too I might add.
 

And after a couple wrong turns, I made it to the center!!!!

I was very excited to walk my first labyrinth, as they aren't that common around here. I don't know if I felt more calm or not...it could also have been the libations I had earlier! And if you enjoy labyrinths you must check out Deb's blog, She Who Seeks in my blog roll. She often features many labyrinths of all magnitudes. Right behind the labyrinth is the James A Michener Museum. yes- that James A Michener, who was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories.

Opened in 1988 in Michener's hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the James A. Michener Art Museum houses collections of local and well-known artists. The museum, constructed from the remains of an old prison, is a non-profit organization, with both permanent and rotating collections. Two prominent permanent fixtures are the James A. Michener display room and the Nakashima Reading Room, constructed in honor of his third wife's Japanese heritage. The museum is known for its permanent collection of Pennsylvania Impressionist paintings and swank champagne art exhibitions.

Across this street from all this is the Mercer Museum which I have written of before. Henry Mercer personally designed plans for a museum to house his collection, six stories tall and cast of poured-in-place concrete. Mercer's museum was completed in 1916. In addition to tools, it displays furnishings of early America, carriages, stove plates, a gallows, antique fire engines, a whaleboat, and the Lenape Stone. The Spruance Library, which houses historical research materials, is located in the lovely adjoining mansion. Mercer decided to build with concrete after the Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed his aunt's prized collection of medieval armor, which had been stored in wooden structures. He did not want his own collections to suffer the same fate. Locals mocked his choice of building materials, but on completion of the museum, he lit a bonfire on its roof to prove that it was fireproof. Mercer's museum was an early demonstration of rebar-reinforced concrete as a structural material. You can see this castle of sorts all over town.

And what's really cool is all these sites are all on the same block. And this is just the tip of the iceberg in Doylestown sighting and seeing.