She is an amazing woman who lives in Paris and writes a blog.
Witty, talented, creative, funny and her strength will surprise you as she bravely faces ALS head on.
Be warned that she does not mince words.
She has been living with and battling ALS for several years...it is a terribly debilitating disease and Ellie has enlightened and educated readers about the various challenges that she faces with this condition.
Quite recently her health has deteriorated...and the lovely and gracious Vintage Contessa who met Ellie when she visited Paris, has posted a couple of items for sale to help Ellie...
one of which is a Chanel handbag.
If you prefer to donate on a Go Fund Me Page her friend BFF Yolanda, wife of David Foster and one of the Real House Wives Of Beverly Hills has set one up here.
Ellie needs your support...and prayers.
On our recent trip to Vancouver we explored some new venues...
I though you might like to see a few snapshots.
Pottery Barn Kids window display had ballerinas and a tea party theme.
Meinhardts, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Williams Sonoma, Indigo,
Diane's Lingerie, Lords Shoes, Ming Woo Kitchen Shop, Anthropologie and many more...
Emma Bridgewater HUGE teapot for sale at the consignment shop Turnabout Home.
You would need to use your muscles to pour tea from this pot!
After perusing South Granville we walked towards Granville Island
on our way we popped into a few shops
Granville Island Florists
Heather Ross is a Vancouver based artist and she has just released a new book
Natural Eclectic."
Her studio is a mix of her paintings and natural and vintage finds.
It is small but well worth a visit.
The Imported linen towels were very tempting...
Fullhouse is a large home decor warehouse that features mid century modern
mixed with a few choice new items.
I love this vintage Dansk ice bucket that they have used as a planter.
Kay Bojesen monkey
larger than any of the other monkeys I have seen by Bojesen.
We walked through Granville Island and the market.
Ate a tasty lunch at SandBar restaurant before hopping on a little ferry to cross False Creek to Yaletown and walked back to our hotel.
We had a fun filled weekend with good friends, lots of walking and a wee bit of shopping.
The weather was fabulous and the views spectacular.
We are back into our usual routines...
with a lovely weekend away still fresh in our mind
which reminds us of why it is so important to take time off and get away
time to relax and to recharge our batteries
explore something new and different
and enjoy the scenery
if you cannot travel far
go to a local event or peruse a new shop
visit an exhibition
walk in a different area of town
buy local produce from a farm market stand
have a coffee somewhere new
try something new
be bold
stretch yourself
try being a tourist in your own home town
Have Fun.
Carpe Diem
~ Be Well and Be Kind ~
60 comments:
Hello Hostess,
Thank you for letting us know about Ellie and her health. Off to do what I can.
On a lighter note, it's lovely being able to explore a new place. As you say, even if it is not too far from where you already live. Just a different turn at a main road is enough to explore a new suburb or new part of the suburb in which you live.
Seize the day!
SSG xxx
sad about Ellie too xxx
Hoping Ellie gets better.
Good suggestions there, Leslie, especially playing at being tourists at home, which we sometimes do - it opens the eyes to beauty and the mind to new experiences. And it's easy on the purse!
What a fun weekend. I also wanted to thank you for the great book list on your previous post. Some of them I have read and one of them I am currently reading but you gave me lots of other choices. Thank you!
Oh what fun, I have an almost identical photo I took of the Same Bird, outside my hotel room, in Vancouver! He must make a habit of it...
Next time, I absolutely must see the Granville area, which looks like my kind of shopping. Have just discovered Ellie on today's posts, and what a sad story. I wish I had found her earlier.
From Margie in Toronto - I found Ellie's site through your blog a few months ago - it is such a terrible disease and she certainly does not mince words about anything - she is someone that I would have liked to have met and had a great argument with - and then a few glasses of wine. I have it on my list to make a contribution this weekend - thank you for the reminder - and your lovely photos.
Thank you Hostess for helping to spread the word about one helluva courageous, gutsy woman.
Cindy F
xx
YOU are a KIND and GRACIOUS person to do a follow post.......THANK YOU!WE have a bid for $500.00 on the CHANEL bag in my comment section and I hope it continues UP UP and AWAY!
I didn't know what ALS was when I read your page. I've since read up on this terrible disease and of poor Ellie and I've contributed. It was good deed to raise awareness via this post, Leslie.
We've lost 3 friends to ALS, such a horrible disease. She's a very courageous woman. Very sad.
I visited Ellie's blog. It's so sad yet she seems to be a strong person. I haven't visited South Granville for a long time because of my austerity program. I really love Diane's and Lord's Shoes. The Steveston Market and the Ladner Market open soon and I'd really like to buy local produce throughout the summer.
So glad you took us along on this adventure....you always have neat and interesting things for us! Love all the neat shops
My heart goes out to Ellie's plight, and I did have a look at her blog, but I don't appreciate foul language.
Thank you so much for saying this. I feel like I'm the only person in the world who does not worship this woman. I am sorry she suffers with ALS....and I do realize that she is terminal. I feel sympathy for her situation, as I would for anyone else. That said, I find her blog difficult to read. I just cringed when she would disparage her caregivers in such cruel terms, turn on friends on a dime....and the cursing...oh my! Also practically calling her husband and/or daughter stupid depending on the story. Ellie sounds like a handful on the best of days. Yet, blog readers everywhere seem to adore her. I struggle to understand the wide appeal.
I'm also the person who commented above, who is surprised at the appeals for financial support. Ellie is probably more affluent than 90%of the people reading her blog. The other 10% or more are Hollywood people, famous people from many walks of life....a who's who list of fabulous. People....there are people in your own communities who could use your help when it comes to medical situations...but so many just fawn over this woman.
Help me understand.
Gloria I don't think I can help you understand how other people feel about Ellie only perhaps how I feel...
While I do not "worship" Ellie, I have read her blog posts and yes they do have profane words but I think that is just her way of getting her point across.
It must be incredibly stressful and emotionally draining living with a terminal illness and I am not in a position to pass judgement.
I do respect her right to free speech and feel incredibly sad that she is losing her fight to this devastating disease. I think she has done a great job sharing her ups and downs with her readers and shedding more light into ALS.
I have no idea about Ellie's financial affairs...but I do understand there is a need so sharing these links on my blog seemed like an easy way to help.
Hopefully funds raised will help cover some of her costly medical expenses.
You raise a good point about helping those less fortunate...I agree that we all need to be mindful of those in need whether it be near or far.
Helping others is a noble gesture and one that we should all participate in if we have the energy and the means.
Hope this helps you better understand how I feel.
I agree. Many people with much less struggle with terminal illness; themselves, a partner, family member and do not reach out internationally for financial help. I of course understand compassion but this I find distasteful.
Your point is noted and I respect your opinion.
A public plea for help on Ellie's behalf by The Vintage Contessa is an act of kindness. The Contessa visited Ellie when she was in Paris and she knows first hand what Ellie has been dealing with, the help she requires and the machines that help keep her alive...not to mention the cost that is required to manage her illness.
If Ellie lived in my city I would take her some flowers and a home cooked meal or a casserole. That's the kind of thing I do...but Ellie is in Paris, which is far away.
When I read that The Vintage Contessa was offering to help Ellie I jumped at the chance to help spread the word.
Go Fund Me pages are very common now and our community has many of these pages set up for local people who need help. Total strangers will help others when they hear of the need. It is an easy way to make a difference.
I just sent a donation to The Red Cross and I wrote a cheque, put it in an envelope, added the address, popped on a stamp and walked it to the post box a few blocks away...a Go Fund Me is super fast...just a few clicks and it's that easy.
Please keep in mind that Ellie did not ask for this help...the gesture is offered by people who know her and understand what a significant financial outlay is required and they have taken it into their own hands to help the best way that they know.
I can't imagine how frightening it must to have ALS? I'm going to check out Ellie's blog.
My husband and I take the saying; charity begins at home, to heart. We first help people we know; or know of, and it's a very good feeling to see your help is making a difference. We donate to charities too; but you never really know how your money helps.
Gloria, if you are offended by Ellie's language on her blog ... you just don't 'get' Ellie. I love her and her blog, her dog Teddy, her daughter Gracie, her husband David ... and all that she has taught me.
This is not about Ellie's need for money, it is about her readers' desire to help her in any way possible. I suspect if it would help, we would all board planes and visit her on short notice if there was a remote chance it would be of help.
I agree and love the idea of being a tourist in your own town. Travel is so expensive these days. And living on an island the costs of getting off are very high!
I am very sorry to hear that blogger has ALS-a brutal and cruel disease but please -her BFF is David Foster's wife? She runs with a very wealthy crowd then. If she need funds they can give them to her. There are so many more needy people and causes. gofundme drives are out of control! Those of repelled by the idea of giving her money are not mean people-we just don't see the point.
Beautifully stated HOSTESS Of the HUMBLE BUNGALOW........Beautifully stated.
THANK YOU for your comment on my POST!
I will stay POSITIVE and FOCUSED on finding TEDDY A HOME!
XX
Well said, France is a country with a excellent health care system and to my understanding, Ellie and her husband are not needy people. I do not support go fund me, as I feel in many cases it is being used as a moneymaking venture, and preying on kind people who blindly donate. I prefer to donate to animal causes and children who are truly underprivileged in the world, without basics such as clean water and food. As for worship of bloggers, we don't know these people, I have done a Google search and found tweets from Ellie being extremely rude to palliative staff, so she is not deemed a nice person in my book just because she has a terminal illness. I enjoy your blog, hostess, but perhaps adding links to go fund me campaigns is not a very good idea
Thank you for allowing your readers to voice their opinion and disagree or agree
With all due respect, if you do not need money, you or your friends on your behalf, should not be asking for it. As for crass language, the use of it says a lot about us, and I dislike any blog that uses crass vulgar language, it isn't smart, witty, or clever, it is just unlady like and crude, this is why I like the hostesses blog, She is a true lady with class and grace
Why does teddy the dog need a new home?
I also noted that even though Ellie has just pulled through this most recent crisis.she has wasted no time in putting up some new items in her her shop...expensive antiques at that. get 'em while you can , I guess. It's a miracle!
Please don't type in capital letters, it is rude
Hello Hostess, I thoroughly enjoy your blog and feel you are a warm and generous person. I also follow Ellie's blog for the main reason, aside from whatever social standing she has, she has put a face on ALS and raised awareness of what this terrible disease is capable of. Her humor and strength in the face of this situation is inspiring and she tells it like it is without sugar coating. By raising the awareness level of diseases like ALS will encourage people to donate and be that much closer to a cure. The comments above are very mean-spirited and immature as if you all have a personal vendetta against a woman you have never met.
What is rude is posting comments like this on somebody else 's blog then hiding behind the name "anomymous". I am truly sorry hostess that your generous deed has brought on such hostility.
Donating to a go fund me does not contribute to medical science or research, if you would like to do that, I am sure there is the appropriate ALS research charity
Excuse me! I think we all know that typing in capital letters is the equivalent of shouting, and in my book, that is rude
I would love a Hermes scarf, maybe I need to start up a gofundme? Seems every man and his dog is begging for money these days!
Please hostess I am sorry for this back and forth ranting when I know you had only the best intentions in mind. I was not implying a donation to a go fund me. I was stating that her blog raises awareness of ALS for people like me who had no idea what horrible consequences the disease has.
Now that she has shed a light on it I may be more apt to donate, for example, to the chapter in my community, as other people may be inclined to. How someone chooses to donate their money is their own personal business not subject to judgement by others.
Perhaps teddy should have his own gofundme page, so they can buy him a new house
Gloria, you seem to spend a lot of time following Ellie for someone who claims to be uninterested.
I am sorry Hostess but I 100% agree with Gloria and Anonymous.
It seems shocking to me to call someone who is plainly mean and condescending a “funny and witty person“. I understand the anger and pain caused by having ALS but I knew and know many, many people suffering with terminal diseases and yet… they do it with grace and dignity which Ellie – I am afraid – is lacking. I find rather pointless to elaborate the point any further...
By the way - the French health care system is one of universal health care largely financed by government national health insurance. In its 2000 assessment of world health care systems, the World Health Organization found that France provided the "close to best overall health care" in the world – please check the link below.
https://internationalliving.com/countries/france/health/
Thank you for this comment! I have seen too much on the net re Ellie and her treatment of nursing staff. My heart goes out to anyone suffering, however both nice and mean people get terminal illnesses, one is not deemed an angel simply because they have ASL
As for gofundme, she is not needy, she is not impoverished, it is simply using using a disease as a grab for cash
It's simply using a disease as a grab for cash, Gloria, I agree with all your comments
There are people that will use a disease to prey on vulnerable soft hearted gullible people
There is no pride anymore, it's all about making money any way you can, regardless of whether you are needy or not
This lady has had a priveleged upbringing, she has wealthy celebrity friends, and I assume a waged husband, lovely home and comfortable lifestyle, I certainly will not be donating
Everyone is welcome to their own opinion. If you don't agree with the position taken by Leslie's blog, please don't use it as a platform to 'educate' her readers. Settle down, go for a long walk, have a glass of wine, and come back when you are able to be a good 'guest' on her lovely site.
Yes, I agree this type of typing creates a hysterical writing voice, and I pointed that out to La Contessa on her blog. I also took a stand against the idolization of Ellie .....and for that I have been called a troll. I will carry my new moniker with pride.
Hostess....I appreciate your alerting La Contessa to my comments. I am hoping to be come a member of this blog mean girls group someday....and now I have a special name too !
Yes, and we are expressing our opinions on a blog that welcomes readers comments!
Not trying to educate anyone, and don't patronise readers by telling us to go for a walk and drink wine, you are clearly very childish and immature
Btw, having a contrary opinion to others does not make me a bad guest
This post generated quite a wide variety of responses...not exactly what I was expecting, but nevertheless you are free to express your opinions and I appreciate the time you took to express your thoughts.
I am putting together a new post on a completely different topic...
please take a deep breath and try to relax, while we shift gears.
The focus here is meant to be calm.
A place to showcase flowers, scenery and simple snippets of everyday life living in a small bungalow...generally I try to promote a quiet respite for readers.
Apologies for all this kerfuffle!
Jill...could you please elaborate on the things Ellie has taught you? I'm serious...I really want to understand. Why do you admire her so much...and please go beyond being brave in the face of illness and death. We all know people doing this with so much more grace. You and I will face it too, someday. Is Ellie someone you'd really like to emulate? I'm really curious.
Gloria, having a contrary opinion here seems to make us trolls, in which case I must be one too!
Quite frankly, there us too much ass kissing going on with blog comments, and if someone dares to disagree, they are shot down in flames
Gloria, I'm not going to answer your questions. You don't care. I do not share your nasty attitude or lack of manners and common decency. I'm not wasting another second on you.
Adore your blog, hostess, but perhaps it was a mistake to use your blog as a forum to promote a gofundme page
I have had a look at her blog, and I don't find it witty or funny at all, I just see a rude narcissistic person with a potty mouth
Good for you, Gloria!
The only thing Ellie's blog has taught me is how to be a potty mouth, how to be rude and treat medical staff in a shameful manner, and the list goes on
I am also interested in why people seem to hero worship some bloggers?
I think they are trying to live vicariously through these people
I have never claimed to be uninterested. I am merely fascinated. Some commenters also think I have not read her blog in any depth. I have. In fact I went back to the beginning, and have read every post. I was curious about the admiration for Ellie so many bloggers were expressing in their posts.
What I read was surprising.... and dismaying....but I'll admit it was was a trainwreck I could not stop reading.
Most perplexing to me is the admiration and the intimacy of emotion many women express in their fervent defense of this woman....as if they know her in a very personal way.... very curious. the "Me Too" syndrome comes to mind.
I seem to be the first person to step up and disagree....if there have been others...good for you. You have my respect. It is not easy. There is ridicule...there is intimidation.
PS Hostess...could you just forward this comment to La Contessa and Ms. Bianchi , since you seem to be so tight with them, and please read my comments there about my identity you have speculated about. Finally, I want to add that until now, I have left only one comment on a blog, a few years ago...about someones pretty, new curtains
I'm with you, Gloria, and I agree with all your comments
I would rather be respected than liked, and most blog commentators are too gutless to offer any contrary opinion, because they need to be liked
Seems as soon as anyone disagrees with the masses, they are labelled a troll
If that makes me a troll, fine, not a problem with me
There we have it. Jill has dropped the ball and is unable to articulate her thoughts on her great friend, Ellie.
Would anyone else like to try ?
What is the attraction. the magnet,if you will...that has made so many women "love' and "adore", or "cherish" this woman whom they really do not know? Why are they insistent on ignoring very, very bad behavior to keep the fairy-tale going?
ANON:BINGO!
You have won the prize. This has been my theory. I think most readers are fascinated with Ellie because they themselves might like her lifestyle, love Paris, like antiques, etc,etc. Also her affiliation with Hollywood, as flimsy as it is, attractive French husband....and on. They feel if they admire her enough, that they can be , somewhat, a part of that too. Even to think of themselves as a personal friend of hers. To speak candidly about Ellie threatens and spoils that narrative for them.
So, attack the messenger people. If Ellie thinks and writes so badly about those close to her...you can only imagine what she might say about all of us little people in blogland.
Hostess, I got a little giggle when I read that if you were closer, you would bring flowers and a casserole. Hostess, you are so kind....but don't you know from reading Ellie's blog, that she is quite the gormand, and is very particular. Unless your flowers were gorgeous and numerous from the best florist in Paris, she would probably laugh at your flowers, and she would look at, then sniff, your delicious casserole....and dump it in the trash. Then, she and David would laugh.
Sorry Hostess, if you don't know this.... you were not reading her blog with much comprehension.
Yay for Gloria!
Tried to read your blog but the all caps usage is ridiculous, immature and just plain annoying. Just as it is in your comments here. No need to shout dear Contessa...have some class and decorum!
I have read Ellie's blog and what stands out to me is her hatred of overweight people, how anyone sees this as talent or wit is beyond me
Oh, and now she has published her address so we can all send cards
This all sounds like narcissistic personality disorder to me
a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.
Having an opinion is starting an argument?
Scroll through the comments, Gloria and several anons have never used profane language, never used defamatory language
If having an opinion is being inflammatory or a ' troll' then I am shocked that talk back radio exists? Does every caller agree with the presenter, or discussion? No.
Penelope, if it makes you feel better to label me a troll, that is totally okay, I would rather be a 'troll' than a gutless wonder who has to agree with the masses, and doesn't dare offer a different opinion
Get a back bone.
From Margie in Toronto - Well said!
a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.
NOT SHOUTING!!!!!!!!!!!
MORE LIKE ENTHUSIASTIC...................
I write the way I speak..............
CLASS & DECORUM.............YOU are SPEAKING TO HER!
GREAT IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!
TO ASK WHY TEDDY needs a NEW HOME?SHOWS ME YOU KNOW NOTHING of what is going on HERE!
GOOD
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