Take my quiz and find out. If you find yourself nodding to five or more of the following statements, then red rover, red rover, gallop right over.
* * * * *
You have definite romantic tendencies if:
1. You have ever craved a rainy day over sunshine.
(via Flickr)
2. You think a candlelit table overcrowded with the remnants of a meal is a work of art in itself.
(via Flickr)
3. You don't see anything wrong with watering flowers in this outfit.
(Cecily "Parsley" Mure. Photo by Valerie Finnis)
4. You believe that in a kitchen, books should be allowed as much shelf space as food.
(Photo by Chris Tubbs)
5. A dark morning, a quiet house, a bubbling pot of coffee and some reading material are enough to send your heart into spasms of delight.
(via Flickr)
(The only thing that could possibly improve it would be enjoying the above in a dressing gown like this.)
(Painting by T.F. Simon)
6. You understand exactly what Daphne Guinness meant when she said:
"What's great is tying a bit of net around your face, and everything looks like it's in Super 8. It gives a bit of grain to the world."
(Daphne Guinness/Pelican Inn by LBG)
7. You prefer a path that's slightly unkempt and dishevelled to one that's manicured within an inch of its life.
(Brussels, Belgium, 2009. Photo by LBG)
8. You have ever wondered what it would have been like to be a Victorian explorer.
(Jane Digby)
(Isabella Bird. Photos via Flickr)
9. You find cloakrooms kind of sexy.
(Photograph by Chris Tubbs)
10. Sartorially speaking, you think a sweet disorder in the dress...
(via the Sartorialist)
...and a wild civility...
(via the Sartorialist)
11. A long-simmering stew in a battered old Creuset is your idea of Sunday heaven.
(Nigel Slater's chickpea and harissa stew. HERE. Photo by Joanna @ZebBakes.)
12. You derive great pleasure from all the elements of a house's patina: creaky wooden floors, tattered rugs and surfaces worn smooth by generations of feet and hands.
(via Light Locations)
(Detail from my solo show at ACME, 2010.)
13. Roses. Enough said.
(Maharam's new wallpaper line. Here.)
BUT. You have no beef with hydrangeas. Unlike Madonna, you are an equal opportunity flower-lover.
(via Flickr)
14. You are partial to jewelry that resonates with history.
(Via Flickr)
15. Gazing at this photo for 30 seconds involuntarily causes your blood pressure to drop in a most enjoyable manner.
(Via Flickr)
* * * * *
Well...how did you do?
61 comments:
You have me completely pegged. Every single one.
I have never thought of myself as a romantic, but I scored high on this quiz!
My favorite deshabillé is Fanny Ardant in 'Callas Forever', in white linen nightgown and rich red Paisley robe: one day I will recreate it, then water the garden...
Oh Lisa you know me so well and I score 100 percent on this one.
I love all of it and now you have me thinking of other romantic images, such as heading out early morning with a french easel to spend a morning painting outdoors, new yarn and my sketch pad with a new design for knitting a sweater, a basket of apples, waiting to be baked, heading out at dawn to pick mushrooms ...such fun
Wishing you a week of gladness and romance
Helen Tilston xx
I passed with flying colors, much to my delight. I'm so happy I took a few moments out of my day to participate. :-)
CK:
Yippee!
Tricia Rose:
Have just added "Callas Forever" to the top of my Netflix queue. Can't believe I missed it -- Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons and Joan Plowright? That's like the golden triumvirate!
helen tilston:
LOVE those images so much.
Joanna: I am too. :) xx
Long time reader, first time commentor....
Your blog today was just so bang-on! I continue to be inspired by you, your art, and your joie de vivre! I must say I was particularly taken with the books in the kitchen picture - just love that!
So, red rover, red rover, am coming right over and bringing all the quirks along with me! THANKS!
WMM: I am very honored that you decided to comment! So glad you're on our "team" -- any and all quirks welcome! xx
Have never commented here, but had to with this quiz. I was spot on in every one...well, perhaps not with the historical jewelry one, but still...loved it. Thanks for going to such trouble for our enjoyment! :)
Wow. Apparently I am the reincarnation of John Keats.
98%....I cannot manage anything in front of my eyes. I constantly swipe my bangs away...so I do not think a veil would do for me. But give me a pair of rose colored glasses and I am fine! We live in a 1911 house and I cannot bring myself to fix the original front steps.....they are cracked and breaking apart, but new ones would just not do. Now if I could just de-noise the leaf blowers, our neighborhood would be perfection....especially in the Fall when our tunnel of elms turns golden.
Romance....YES!
15 out of 15, time for a bath and bed I think. Thank-you, as ever for the lovely posts.
Oh Lisa, how do you know me so well. I simply thought I was a true romantic born in another century long ago!
Xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Yes to all 15. And as for that final image? I'd like to be there right now.
Wonderful post.
Hello Lisa, I'm so glad I stopped by! You have captured being a Romantic perfectly with this quiz, it was such fun and I scored 100%! The beautiful photographs reminded me of all the things I love.
Jane x
ps. I once entered a flower arranging competition, using Herrick's poem as a theme.. I did NOT win.....
100 percent! Love love love
Yes to all of it. A rainy day with the a good book and a pot of tea. Happiness. Also the Crueset bubbling on the stove for the evening meal. And the patina of a house, evidence of lives lived there. We just visited the Denis Severs house in London on your recommendation. A living, breathing still life every where I looked. Let's throw in a production of "Much Ado About Nothing" at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London. I was transported by the history and the language. Yes I am a 21st Century romantic.
This was great fun. Fifteen out of fifteen!
... and the immense sulk that you fall into after watching Howard's End/ Gosford Park/ Downton Abbey for the tenth time and realize that the world around you is not one Edwardian long tea party...
but at least we have your blog to indulge in!
I don't mind you using my photo and indeed I am flattered that you like it, but would you be so kind as to put a proper credit on your blog saying where it comes from as it is my copyright. Kind regards, Joanna @ Zeb Bakes
yes, yes, and yes.
melissa:
Awesome!
Overdue:
I think I need to see "Bright Star" again.
katiedid:
I miss you! Next time I'm in SF let's get together... xxx
kate in kigali:
15 out of 15? Love it.
Karena:
So glad there are so many of us out there!
Mrs. Parker:
Love your head shot. And yes, that last image does it for me too.
Jane the Booklady:
That is a TRAVESTY that you did not win that flower show!
The Silent Storyteller:
See Karena's comment. xxx
Sunday Taylor:
Want to hear all about your trip and Dennis Severs' house -- so glad you went! xx
Hausfrau:
The color palette in your profile photo is kind of unbelievably amazing. Love.
Lily:
Oh, Lily. Re: your Edwardian comment, I know. I know. I KNOW. xxx
Joanna@Zeb Bakes:
A million apologies!! Please tell me which photo is yours ASAP so that I can properly credit it...and what you would like the credit to read.
catie:
Goodness, everybody has such beautiful profile photos, you included! :)
Zeb@Zeb Bakes:
Figured it out. Gorgeous photo. Again, apologies for the oversight.
Well that I was the easiest quiz I ever passed. Yep, I'm a romantic! I swear, I was born in the wrong century!
100%
Leave a key under the mat.
Emily:
You and me both. xx
Pamela Terry and Edward:
The key will be big and rusty and made of iron, as you no doubt realize.
I read your blog all the time, and love all your photographs, videos, artwork and writing, but this is the first time I've ever commented. Today's entry is my favorite. You have made my day by invoking all those wonderful, wonderful pleasures. Well done!!
~Jenny
Jenny:
Thanks for taking the leap -- your "first-time" comment has made my day! xx
Everyone scored! What an eclectic choice.
Tonight on British television- Channel 4 ( was a brilliant programme on Charleston the farmhouse and details of a forthcoming exhibition entitled' Radical Bloomsbury'
A wonderful oil portrait of Vanessa and Virginia's mother in a red dress has been taken out of storage at Brighton museum and framed for this exhibition.
I hope you are able catch the programme online at 4OD (channel 4 on demand) in California. You'll love it!
Love all of these - love your blog. You describe perfectly the things I adore - the rain, the reading, the coziness - the gloom.
This explains so much. I had always fancied myself a classicist, but clearly the Romantic is sneaking in.
Wow. That totally nailed my personality with every.single.point. I forwarded it to my husband who laughed out loud!
regarding Madonna & the hydrangeas - she's like school on Sunday: no class
I've also loved your blog for awhile and never commented, but this- well,it made my day! Here I was having a day where I felt misunderstood and out of sorts and lamenting the current trends (my toddler needs to be "prepared" for Pre-K? Honestly? Like I should be concerned he isn't writing his letters?) Then my son quoted Shakespeare in his bath (from a London community production on dvd, but still) and I got my family to bed and myself a cup of tea and this post made me realize I am not alone in my tastes at all!
I am afraid I belong to "the club" - is it viral???
I cannot get over the books in the kitchen.....gorgeous!! and I must take out my grandma's hats to have a try at looking at life through a net....how simply delicious!!
good grief, woman...
there must B
a huge ~Flock~ of us
out here!
i think i DO recognize us
by our socks,
maybe,
sometimes, in a crowd...
:-)
{{ thank goddess! }}
100% Romantic. What a quintessentially British and enjoyable quiz!
Lisa, thank you for your posts, they are remarkably inspirational.
spot on! I would normally cringe or have a vein twitch when someone associates me with the word 'romantic'... but if you put being 'romantic' in a manner that you just listed above; then I don't mind being one at all :D
I suppose the idea of being romantic evolves over time. The side of romanticism that I dislike is the part about falling in love and giving up everything for one person or believing love-at-first-sight. Having strong feminist inclinations and being around alpha female figures like my mum and my aunts, I was never one to be the damsel-in-distress.
What I love with the author's elaboration on being a 21st century romantic is it focus on the lifestyle and one's view in life--what makes us feel at home in this turbulent and increasingly stressful world. It is not just about love life anymore (thank God!); but being productive and self-sufficient and of course, in a romantic relationship with the quaint and essential joys in life.
:D
A lot of the things applied to me (though I would prefer to have tea instead of coffee). The part about the dressing gown is especially true with me (as I'm wearing one right now).
This was so nice. I wonder what she's going to come up with next time? /though if it's about classic English Literature I won't be able to relate too much (I know more about Japanese literature)/ :)
Great fun, as usual. And a big yes to all your questions. I take great delight in being a 21st Century Romantic ... and happy to know that there are others out there like me!
Loved this and your blog. Thanks for the beautiful escape as always.
Guilty of 100%. What a fun quiz. Nice to know I'm not the only 'weird' one in the world. My children constantly tell me that I was born 100 years too late.
I designed and built a house to look old, and when it came time to lay down the antique heart pine floors, I told my contractor not to put in too many nails. I wanted it to squeak. You should have seen the look of incredulity he gave me. I got a lot of those during the six months it took to build. But I knew what would make me happy, and it does ever so much.
Greetings from France...5,7,12 & 15 at this time...right now...to funny.
All the best
Where did you find that photo of me in the garden?
That is so me! Yes, yes, yes.
pve
I, too, have been enjoying your blog for some time but have never commented. Couldn't let this one go ... loved this post. I'm in too. Thank you!
Oh, I thought it was just me, wow, nice post!
beautynaturalment.blogspot.com
We should all just run away together!
I think we were all separated at birth...at least we've found each other in the land of blog...and can act, think, dream, and revel accordingly. I'd love to try a bit of netting...long past overdue as a fashion comeback I think!
100%...
xo J~
(loved Lily's comment...so true)
I knew it....you've got me! (Sing like in 'My Fair Lady')
You are a hopeless romantic my dear. The divine Italian is a lucky man.
I, too, am a long-time follower, first-time commenter.
Number 5 has been my nirvana since my children were
small and the same holds true now in my emptying nest.
Yes! Although I would add some bit about critters. Cows, kittens, hounds, hogs, horses, etc. It is too eerily quiet without them. I've been a lingerer but never a poster. This was just great though!
aurora raby:
I will look for that program -- it sounds BEYOND and so up my alley -- but it's so hard to view English tv here (unless it's BBC America). Thanks for the heads up!
Betze:
Thank you sooo much xx.
Kate@Savour Fare:
It has a way of doing that. :)
Michelle:
I love that your husband laughed out loud!
Lisa:
HAH! Well put!
Tara:
Your comment is so fabulous -- trust me, you are NOT alone!
Rocio:
Dear Rocio, so happy to see your comment...and thrilled that we all look at the world in such a similar way!
somepinkflowers:
Colored socks...or striped hair...or strange eclectic clothing...or keychains with furry tails on them...you're right, if you start looking, you'll see we're everywhere!
aracelisrandomness:
If I have inspired someone to look at life through an Old World lens, my day is complete. xx :)
Juchin:
Totally agree with you about the use of the word "romantic." We need to hijack it back from all the Harlequin Romance people.
Michelle:
Look how many of us there are! xx
Kim:
Thank you. xx
debbie bailey:
That is the MOST WONDERFUL thing ever about your floors!! Love it!! How fabulous are you? Now you have inspired me!
Tavarua:
Hello to you in France! I have NO DOUBT you are living up to all of these ideas -- you are also a huge inspiration to me!
pve design:
I thought that lady in the garden looked familiar. :) xx
Jane:
You made my day too with your comment. Thank you!
Beauty, Naturally:
We need to form an army. A romantic army!
Slim Paley:
YES!!
Victoria Art:
You crack me up.
Julie Anne Rhodes:
Right back at you, oh glorious one. xxx
Annie:
Love love your comment! It makes my heart smile.
Ann:
A glaring omission on my part! Yes, there MUST be paws about...and big devoted eyes, drool and animal hair... it's all GOOD.
Just add experiencing everyone of those delicious romantic episodes with your favorite lover at your side ... mmmmmh ... now that's the height of romance!
Lisa, Love all these pictures, I am totally a romantic!
xo
bb
I admire the humor and intrigue you have on these lists. I can not fully understand why the old woman watering the plant made into these lists. Mysterious!
J. Harp
writer @ Murano Chandeliers
Where you talking about me??? That spoke straight to my soul! What a fun post!
lisa
delicious!
as always.
particularly this line: A dark morning, a quiet house, a bubbling pot of coffee and some reading material are enough to send your heart into spasms of delight.
ah, yes.
#sigh
and especially when walking to the newsstand at the end of our block in soho, nyc and seeing the small pile of financial times and realizing there's a gorgeous glossy supplement due to the thickness of the stack......bliss.
love your blog. keep writing and dreaming and being splendidly inspirational.
team gloria
nice list.
i do prefer rainy days over sunny one :)
Online Parenting Class
I aced this test!
I of course answered yes to everything, and I a romantic in every way I like though books hidden as people steal them, and I like to keep them. I especially water my flowers in ridiculous costumes, wear net on my face at every opportunity, dream of men in Japanese dressing gowns, and love Lavender and ancient roses. I like the children of Elizabeth 1st, yes she had a few...
I like to dream of Elizabethan England and the court of Versailles.. You know I do.. Love you AMANDA
Good another post :)
STD Symptoms and STD Patient Management
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