metamorphosis

{via pinterest}

metamorphosis. this has become my state of being, my mind-set.

there is so much about this place, this condition of womanhood set upon me, that i have grown to fear and grown to loathe. but this cannot be. how can i raise my daughter to love herself, to face the world with a lifted head and a cry to the heavens, if i do not believe it myself?

i ache to redefine womanhood. i am more than tatted lace and teatime socials. i yearn to let my hair down and dive in, swim down deep, to drown in His spirit and rise anointed from the ashes holding the hands of those who walked before me. 

Hosea whispered, 

He will come to us like rain. 

and i want to dip my head back, mouth open and eyes aglow, and take Him in with my whole heart. i want to be baptized in the water and fire that is His glory. i am unwilling to wrap myself in a veil that He tore in an impossible way for me, and if only for me, it would have been enough. 

and so i am breaking from this place of stagnant dwelling, this place of sit here silently. i am a Lioness, He promised, and renewed i shall be. 

paint scales on my skin, for i shall be a mermaid. 

no fear of depth, great fear of shallow living. 

:: a paraphrase of a quote by anis nin

i will be a mystic, with candle light and war paint mingling on my cheeks. and i will lift my small hands and place them against His pierced palms and speak bravely. 

mermaid girl come to drown

to rise again. 

to live mightily. 

for my God hears me. 

turning pages {September Giveaway Winners}

fall is here. 


officially. 


and hand-in-hand with the end of summer comes the end of September's fantasy giveaway. 


the blessings i have received from each of the beautiful artists involved has been more than i can say, and the amount of entries was mind-blowing to me.


you all have blessed me once again. 


and now the time has come to announce the four beautiful winners, chosen via Random.org. 


please join me in congratulating: 

Mary-Kate -- bitter purity, authoress of this is just my temporary home, winner of item no. 1: the Ice-Fruit necklace from anafiassa. 

I would most definitely go to Hogwarts. (I'm still waiting for my letter :D)

******

Sara Elizabeth -- princess & my God is vow, authoress of Daughter of the King, winner of item no. 2: "Lucy" -- Narnian-inspired earrings from Bramblewood Fashion

I would love the chance to travel through Alagaesia (as a dragon rider/elve of course) on the back of Saphira. 

******

Heather -- floral, authoress of RainingSilence, winner of item no. 3: Harry Potter Snape & Patronus Charm necklace from PrettyLittleCharmsUK

If I could step into any book it would be Peter Pan. Oh how I would love to visit Neverland!

******

Amaranthine -- meaning unknown, authoress of Amaranthine Forever, winner of item no. 4: Harry Potter snitch locket from PrettyLittleCharmsUK

I would step into the world of Harry Potter. XD

******

my delight for you all is beyond words. please send me an email (dramaticelegance1009 [at] yahoo [dot] com) accepting your gift, along with your mailing address. 

may you never stop searching for these world you ache to experience

all within those touchable pages. 

fantasy (third giveaway)

item no. 1

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

i love books. i love being able to dream. 

i love the concoction of new worlds which i never could have touched before. i love having a new world to enter every time i close my eyes and open the rustling pages of a brand-new portal. 

hogwarts
alagasia

narnia

wonderland

never-never land

mossflower wood 

these are the places of magic. these are the places that have inspired this third giveaway. 

three beautiful shops have volunteered their stunning workmanship to this giveaway out of the sheer goodness of their hearts, and their own love of printed magic. 

this is also the giveaway that will celebrate my twenty-first year of life. twenty-one years of dreaming. of wishing. of imagining. all culminating on the 23rd of september. 

item no. 2

my greatest and most beautiful thanks to anafiassa (Jenny), Bramblewood Fashion (Ashley), and PrettyLittleCharmsUK (Leigh) for their own taste of the printed realms. 

Item No. 1: the Ice-Fruit necklace from anafiassa. 

Item No. 2: "Lucy" -- Narnian-inspired earrings from Bramblewood Fashion.

Item No. 3: Harry Potter Snape & Patronus Charm necklace from PrettyLittleCharmsUK

Item No. 4: Harry Potter snitch locket from PrettyLittleCharmsUK

Here is how to enter to win one of these three beautiful items (leave a separate comment PER ENTRY, please. Also, please include your email or blog link in at least one of the entry comments).


(IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are one of my lovely international readers...i.e. not from the United States...please comment as such in one of your entry comments. This giveaway is certainly open to you, as well, but one of these shops is not an international shipper. Many lovely thanks!)

Entry No. 1 (mandatory): if you could step into the pages of any book, any magical world, any place that dwells not on this plane of existance, where would it be? where does it come from? and why would you chose that place? (+1)

Entry No. 2 (mandatory): follow this blog and put the new and improved button on your sidebar. (+1)

item no. 3

Entry No. 3: blog/tweet/Facebook about the giveaway, and leave a link to your post/tweet/blog post in the comment. (+3, one entry per and one comment per, please)

Entry No. 4: go to Jenny's shop, heart it (if you have an Etsy), and comment with your favourite item from her shop. (+2)

Entry No. 5: go to Ashley's shop, heart it (if you have an Etsy), and comment with your favourite item from her shop. (+2)

Entry No. 6: go to Leigh's shop, heart it (if you have an Etsy), and comment with your favourite item from her shop. (+2)

item no. 4

this world is full of other worlds. foreign and sweet. dangerous and full of adventure. 

places where fauns leap

mice and badgers lead human-esque lives

young wizards find their place under four banners
where riding dragons is a legacy of warriors

and fairy dust leads you home again. 

you're never too old to dream. 

i'm about to turn 21. the age of "growing up." 

i refuse to grow up if it means i have to stop dreaming

if i have stop looking in wardrobes

or cheering for Gryffindor

or tumbling down the rabbit hole.

so when i am old, they will say, "after all this time?"

and i will say

always

This giveaway closes on October 4th at midnight CST. Winners will be drawn that night using Random, and announced the following day. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their gifts, or new names will be drawn. 

Nouveaux (Novel)

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled "This could change your life." ~Helen Exley

I spent a portion of my morning at the library.

This might be one of my favorite locations in the entire world.

Granted, I am a huge fan of expansive fields under perfect blue skies, the whisper of a breeze in my hair as I tuck myself under a tree with a brand-new paperback and a soft blanket.

However, if I had to remain indoors for any extensive period of time, I would rather it be lost among the melodious stacks of our anciently elegant library.

There is something hypnotic about this place.

Almost as if a portal to Narnia exists somewhere among the aromatic books, aching to be discovered by an attentive and observant seeker of knowledge and fantasy.

Today, my fingers reached out and darted from one spine to another...

...as if begging my sensitive fingertips to ascertain if the information to be found inside was worth the moments of my time to read.

And indeed, I found several such volumes...

... exquisite volumes flooded with such words as to intoxicate and overpower me with their beauty and worth.

I have met my match.

I have found my weakness.

Who would have imagined that the feeble scratchings of ink upon a bit of parchment would cause tears to spring to my eyes and my world to be changed forever?

The written word is my weakness.

Be gentle with me, oh poet.

Be cautious with my heart, oh composer...

...for you have woven a spell over me

from which I pray

to never

awaken.

La Belle et la Bête

"The way to read a fairy tale is to throw yourself in." ~W. H. Auden

Every little girl has her favorite fairytale. The reason the story is her favorite is as unique and individual as she is -- a seemingly innocent glimpse into her psyche and her own brand of romance.

For me, it has always been "Beauty and the Beast."

Ever since I was old enough to pick up a book, I have been captivated by the rich romance and the sensual mystery wrapped up in the tale itself.

...a handsome yet arrogant prince, cursed to bear the visage of a beast until he can find someone to love him for his heart and not for his looks.

A dreamy and intelligent French girl who finds herself in an enchanted castle with a moody, romantic creature because of her father's careless mistake.

I don't know what it is about the story of the melancholy beast and the beautiful young bookworm that captivates me so strongly.

In fact, no matter what version or retelling of the story, I have yet to find one that does not capture the unspeakable essence of the story.

Perhaps it is the dramatic emotions of the story...maybe it is the elegant intensity found as the tale progresses...it might even be the gripping and beautiful truths found wrapped in this breathtaking package...

...the idea that beauty is more than just the outward appearance...that the heart is more important than the skin...

...the reminder that pride should be tempered with grace and elegance, and that books are doors to a vast world of imagination and romance...

For even in our adult world, filled with real-life problems and sorrows more than our hearts can bear at times, sometimes we need to remember a few basic truths from the fairytales that whisper to our youthful hearts.

Perhaps we need to take the time to crack open the long-forgotten spine of a familiar story, inhale the sent of leather and dust, and allow ourselves to find that place again...

...that place where roses are magical and castles in France hold our imaginations spellbound.