I love the music of Leonard Cohen. I have a playlist I love of Leonard Cohen covers and know nearly all his songs by heart. One of them, Anthem, is one of my favorites because although on one level it despairs of the world; it also calls us to act with hope. “Ah the wars they will be fought again.  The holy dove, she will be caught again, bought and sold and bought again. The dove is never free.” It is true, endless wars are a constant stream throughout history,  started by governmental leaders,  the “killers in high places who say their prayer out loud.”

But then there is the chorus.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring acknowledges that as bad as it is, there are still some things that you can do. Don’t let excuses stop you from doing what you can. “Forget your perfect offering” reminds me of Voltaire’s aphorism “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”  Do not wait for the perfect answer, the perfect solution, go with what you’ve got because good enough is better than nothing, and nothing is what you get if you wait for perfect. Everything we can do is going to be slightly imperfect, “there is a crack in everything” but it is those imperfections that reveal our humanity and “that’s how the light gets in.” I love how he asserts that it is in our imperfections that we will save ourselves.

The light was very much part of my visit to Hattusa City where I shot a few pictures wearing this fabulous draped dress from NYU I ha the hardest time choosing just one to wear. The dress comes in twelve textures. I chose the black houndstooth, but I also really loved this pink plaid. I liked all of them, to be honest. The NYU Satin Draped Dress is available at My Attic, the quarterly showcase at The Deck. The theme this time is Town & Country so I expect to see lots of the plaids and knits of the “horsey set.”

Essence produced these gorgeous shoes for My Attic and called them Alabama. The look great with the dress and come in several colors.

Cae knocked it out of the park with her Equestrian necklace, earrings and bracelets. Using the D-Ring that is ubiquitous in equestrian tack, part of the snaffle bit, the saddle cinch, halters and bridles. Still it has this elegant and sophisticated look that is the essence of the Town & Country aesthetic.

Here you can see the jewelry more closely and get a good look at the gorgeous short haircut, Jade, by Tableau Vivant. I really love this cut. I also love how Tableau Vivant’s ombres are deftly done with a more gradual progression and with some of the red still remaining even at the ends

The skin is from Glam Affair. It is called Rachel and is at Shiny Shabby. I thought it’s subtlety suited the Town & Country style.