READ MY PINS.

OMG, MY APOLOGIES BLOGGIESPHERE!! I cannot believe my visit to the Museum of Arts and Design well over a month ago completely SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS!!! I wanted to share with you some highlights from the READ MY PINS exhibit, which featured Madeline Albright's extensive BROOCH collection. OOHHHH, SPARKLY. Unfortunately, the exhibit has since closed and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas and will be on display in Washington, DC in Summer 2010.

Madeline Albright, as you are most likely already aware, was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and also the first female U.S. Secretary of State under the Clinton administration. Apparently she was famous for her "pin diplomacy" - which I had NO IDEA ABOUT...and would have maybe taken a greater interest in politics and foreign policy HAD I KNOWN. Throughout her diplomatic career, she donned pins to represent her mood and feelings. If she thought a message was "something like a sting", she would wear a bee pin. If she was in particularly high spirits or if negotiations were going well, she might have adorned herself with a balloon pin. If she was called a serpent by Saddam Hussein's government and press, she may have chosen to sport a snake pin at her next meeting with Iraq. She "found that jewelery had become a part of [her] diplomatic arsenal." SO PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE. I LOVE IT. And without further ado, I present to you two photos I snapped illegally while at the MAD.


ERMM..LOBSTER BROOCH!?!? Madame Albright, you and I are speaking the same language!! But instead of wearing it because lobster is one of her favorite foods and one of her interests on Facebook, she wore it to convey her impatience with the pace of a discussion.


And OF COURSE, she wore my personal favorite - OWLS!!! They were obviously a symbol of her intelligence. Oh, Albright, you wise sage.

So then I got to thinking...what kind of brooches would I wear to best exemplify MY feelings and thoughts?!?


I found this one that is shaped like an ALMOND so I can wear when I'm feeling a little NUTTY...aka daily.


RAWR. This Panthere brooch from the House of Cartier will obviously represent how BLINGBLINGCASHMONEY I am, as it values at just over $1.3 million.


And finally - I thought this one might be useful on all of those DATES I go on (right)!! Perfect way to make the statement that he TICKLES MY FANCY.

If you are interested in learning more about the mystique and intrigue of Madeline Albright's brooch collection - feel free to purchase her new book, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box, and then let me borrow/keep it afterwards. KTHXBAI!