The last time I went to Ulta, I finally caved and bought the Rimmel London eyeshadow palette shaped like a Union Jack. I'd been coveting it for months, but didn't really need more eyeshadow. Well, it turns out, I also didn't really need anything else with the British flag on it.
Just like anything that is Carolina blue, polka dotted, or shiny, if it has the flag on it, I must have it. It's not only just a pretty flag, but also reminds me of fond memories of London and the U.K. And again, in light of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, I thought it was a perfect time to explore my stuff and take pictures of anything with the flag on it that I could find.
Now all I need is a Union Jack pillow or rug like I see in design magazines. Then I'll stop. Or probably not.
Rimmel London Glam Eyes eyeshadow in True Union Jack, Journal from Paper Source, Sewing box from Home Goods, Reusable bag from British Embassy Open House, Picture frame from Anthropologie, Flags from National Cathedral Flower Mart, Metro card holder from Accessorize, Shirt from Wal-Mart clearance, Royal Wedding mug from Etsy, Shirt from Target.
I feel like I use my journalism degree all the time, but my history degree less often. I chose it as my major in high school and never wavered from it. Always a passion, it was also going to help me get into law school, but in the end just made me happy. Now, on occasion, and maybe only just for me, I want to use it.
In the course of my history education, from grade school through college, more time was always spent on America's role in, and the general impact of, World War II than on World War I. In my experience it was just never discussed and analyzed as much. And by comparison's sake, I don't really think we were impacted the same way in terms of resources and personnel. Why we were fighting WWII was also more clear: in the simplest form, it was because of Pearl Harbor. While WWI, in its simplest form, began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. And in 1914, and even today, not sure how much effect the death of an Austrian has on America.
The memorial to the residents of D.C. who fought in WWI.
The only WWI memorial on the Mall.
I began thinking of all this because the last British combat veteran of WWI recently died. Just several months after the last American veteran died. My knowledge of WWI finally went beyond what I learned from "All Quiet on the Western Front" and that awful scene in "Legends of the Fall," when I took a British history course my junior year of college. (Which was actually not a good class in large part due to a sub par professor, who happened to be a Duke grad. I'm not saying that was the reason he wasn't a good professor.)
But the one thing -- literally the one thing -- I remember from the course textbook was the effect the Great War had on Great Britain. They gave so many of their young men to The Cause that they effectively lost the equivalent of a generation's worth of leaders. Potential leaders in science, industry, literature, business, and politics -- gone. That still astounds me. Now, they've managed to do pretty well since then and not to be obvious, but it did let some females step up to the plate, too. (Hello, Margaret Thatcher.) But who knows what may have been achieved. What disease cured? What groundbreaking business formed? What literary masterpiece written? What world leader launched?
The summer after taking the course I went to London for summer school. The scars of the Second World War are everywhere, from the singed dome of St. Paul's to a plaque on a building explaining how it was rebuilt after the Blitz. But WWI and its effects are still seen, too, like in the Imperial War Museum.
I loved this museum not just because I love history, but because it was the first museum I visited where "home front" wasn't in reference to America. It presented the view of wars I thought I knew so much about, from a completely different perspective. And through each floor of exhibits, my earth shifted a little each time I saw the word "home," and knew it wasn't the home I knew. At one point you can step through a mock up of a trench. (Trench warfare is one of the most lasting legacies of the conflict.) While I'm sure the mock trench was nothing like the real thing, it still made its point: dark, tight, loud, and even smelly. An entire generation lost in these trenches, so far from their own home fronts? It is still unfathomable.
Today in Britain, veterans of all conflicts are remembered each November with remembrance poppies, which began as a way to honor the Great War's fallen. When I moved back to England after college, I was there for Remembrance Day and felt like the city was awash in paper poppies, including these outside Westminster Abbey. Resiliency, recovery, and remembrance, that's the British way.
One of my most favorite scenese from an episode of "Doctor Who" covers a lot of these points. (What could be more British than that?) It beautifully shows the sacrifices asked of the young men of Britain at that time, the hell they went through, and how they came out on the other side. (And the young man happens to be Sam from "Love Actually.")
It was to be "the war to end all wars." Oh how we all wish that were the case, that the 20th and 21st centuries weren't riddled with conflict after conflict after conflict. Especially as we've been fighting our own wars for a decade now. When all is said and done we don't yet know the final death toll, the final footprint on history. 100 years from now there will be an obituary on the last surviving member of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and who knows what his or her legacy will entail.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
There are very few things in life for which I am willing to rise before the sun. No, actually, willing isn't the correct word. Rewind: There are very few things in life for which I will begrudgingly, crankily, and groggily rise before the sun.
A Royal Wedding, however, is most certainly one of those things. Especially when it can be done in my pajamas, with my Mom, in my apartment, with British goodies, homemade muffins, and mimosas.
Now, I am not a romantic person. I am far too rational and think entirely too much to ever really get swept away by something. (Exceptions: U2, The Notebook, Bell Bottom Blues, Crazy Love, and Leslie and Ben on Parks and Recreation.)
But when those boys (Princes) drove out of the Palace so grown up in their uniforms. Or when Diane Sawyer announced upon Kate arriving at the Abbey that "her Prince was waiting." Well, my heart melted a little bit. There is just so much awful in the world. and to take a few hours, or even a whole day, to stop and celebrate the love of two people, even strangers, is just refreshing.
In preparation and celebration of the event I decided to channel my inner-Martha and decorate my apartment a bit. I got free printables from here and went to town. Starting with a pennant banner or four:
These were so simple to make I may start making a new one every week. But for now, these are still up.
Next are the British flags adorning my TV. (With a random shot of NPH.) I took it at this weird angle to show what rampant Anglophiles the roomie and I are every day: The photo of St. Paul's and the Big Ben statue are there all the time. (Though I already had the flags, they aren't there all the time.)
Then with the help of some paper bits from World Market, bamboo skewers, and more printables, I made a few arrangements.
And this was the spread for the morning.
First tier: Some of my favorite British goodies from World Market: Cadbury biscuit fingers, McVitties Digestives, and Walker's Shortbread.
Second tier: Mom made Nigella's British strawberry cream muffins. They were excellent.
If you're going to have to be up at 5 a.m., there might as well be a little alcohol involved.
The ONLY pieces of wedding-related paraphernalia I have purchased. (So far.) And they're from Etsy, so I don't even feel remotely dorky about these lovely mugs.
And those were our surroundings for the wedding. And the early start and general malaise of the day as a result was well worth it.
As for why I love the Royals: I just do. From loving William as a kid, to admiring the presence and grace of Diana, to the stubborn strength of Queen Elizabeth, I find them quite riveting. A lot of people don't get the monarchy, think it's archaic and unnecessary. I kind of view them as harmless. They aren't going around beheading people, causing wars, or declaring themselves appointed by God anymore, so they don't really bother me. I lived in England and barely remember ever talking about them with anyone. (But I'm not claiming to speak for even 1/10th of a British person.) With their history, pageantry, and very existence so foreign to America, I just find it all fascinating.
This is old news at this point but I have about 10 posts I started and never finished last week, starting with this one.
From the time that the magazine below first hit newstands, was bought and read by my mother, and then ended up in my hands, I've been in love. Since July 1, 1996.
(And I still have this magazine, as well as every other issue of People he's been on the cover of since. It's in a box in my closet at home with all my teen magazines featuring NSYNC or Leo.)
All that to say, I was a bit melancholic when this happened:
Like any good American girl, I love royalty. I'm intersted in the details of any royal family, but my heart lies with the Brits, of course. And though not very fond of her at this point, I don't think I would have liked anyone he ended up with. It's stupid and childish.
But I'll forget it and become obsessed with her too at some point. Because she's beautiful and stylish and probably a very nice person. And even though he's grown a bit squishy, he's still Wills and still a prince.
And now, to begin plotting how to celebrate their union. My west-coast friend says she will throw a viewing party and serve crumpets and wear a tiara. Seeing as how she is my west coast friend, I have about a year to find enough people on my coast to gather and watch with. And who won't mock me for wearing a tiara. Perhaps for the entire month.
Because it's not just about the history. Not just about the tradition. Not just about their love. It's about the tiara, people.
The only thing I love more than American culture, is British culture.I like our music, I like their music, I like our TV, I like their TV.I am fascinated by the way we view the world, and the way they view the world.And now, thanks to a BBC news team touring the states in the weeks up to the election, I get to see in-depth their view of our world, through their blog and news reports on Talking America, which I read for the first time.
(To be fair, I visited the site yesterday, but they didn’t update it until today.)
It’s enlightening to read an outsider’s take on our electoral process, on our beliefs and practices.With some Kinks and Clapton providing the background music.
