A Royal (Wedding) Viewing

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. 

And also, I love the tiaras.

Royal Wedding Prep

I'll do a proper write-up after the event, including why I love the Royals as I do, but for now, a preview of what my surroundings will be for that (ungodly early) hour tomorrow morning.

Another one bites the dust

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.

Photos: People

Q&A

Stepping onto my soapbox for just a moment. I made the decision when I started this blog to try and leave my thoughts on anything that came up in politics and the news out of it. I’m not sure why, since it is my blog and that is a huge part of who I am, but I did. But I just have to say that if you get the chance, everyone needs to watch CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 at least once over the course of the next week. He and a team at CNN are in Africa covering two of the biggest humanitarian crises happening right now, in Darfur and the Congo. No other news channel is doing what they are doing and everyone needs to tune in, even though it’s upsetting, and hear the stories they have to tell. From Anderson’s blog:

“So many people in the Congo and Sudan have already lost their lives; so many more lives hang in the balance. There are few things worse than dying in silence, too many already have.”

So if you get the chance, it’s on from 10 – 12 p.m., re-runs at 1 a.m., I think it will be worth your while. Ok, off my soapbox. For now.

Now, responding to the questions I got a few weeks ago.

Q: How are your flatmates? -Brandie
My flatmates are really nice. They are all Italian, two girls and then one guy. The two girls went to school together in Italy, and at least one is from Sardinia. The guy is from Milan. They didn’t know each other until moving here, but eat dinner together every night, which I think is cute. And they are amazing cooks! Especially one of the girls, the smells are wonderful. When we first met the guy and he asked us where we were from, as soon as I said North Carolina he smiled really big and said, “Oh, Michael Jordan!” I thought it was cute. And something that I find really funny, and reminds me of home, is the fact that he’s always on me to put socks on. I’ve had a bad cough the past two weeks, and he always points at my bare feet and shakes his head. It’s hilarious because my entire life Daddy would never let me and Melissa and Joey walk around without socks on inside, and shoes on outside. I’m convinced now that it’s an Italian thing.

Q: Have we had any royal sightings? -Amee
No, as of yet, which is unfortunate. But supposedly a guy at work saw both princes at the Burger King near our work on a Saturday. Apparently all the girls were going crazy, which I mean, how often do you see two princes in a Burger King? Almost never! I would probably just die on the spot.

Q: How’s the weather been? Have you been watching much TV? -Jill
The weather here has been really nice, up until this week. I was expecting it to be already cold when I got here, so to have it in the 70s every day was surprising and nice. Unfortunately, I brought pretty much no summery clothes and one skirt, so I’ve been re-wearing a lot of the same stuff, but it’s worth it to have pleasant weather. It has also rained very little, which has been nice simply because I walk so much, especially to and from work. But it’s beginning to get cooler, getting darker earlier, so I feel like fall/winter is right around the corner. This week it hasn't made it to the 70s, and there's been more rain. I'm hoping we get just a few more warmer days before the cold sets in for good. I’m currently hunting for a good winter jacket, and praying I can make it through the winter.

I haven't been able to watch TV because the one in our flat isn’t hooked up to get BBC, and the satellite channels are all in Italian. Except for the MTV, which is MTV-Austria, so everything is either in German, or in English with German sub-titles. So I’ve seen one episode of “My Super Sweet 16” with the German sub-titles, way too many dating-show episodes, and one documentary on Tupac that was dubbed in German so I pretty much only understood the occasional rapper’s name. “German german german Ice-T.” Our landlord is in the process of fixing it, so he says, I will be reminding him yet again because it would be nice to unwind after work with some good or trashy British TV.

Q: Have you met any blokes? Are the people there as rude to receptionists as they are here? – Angela
I haven’t really met any guys here, which is to be expected because I never do. But I’m really just interested in meeting different people and making friends, finding someone to share my glasses with will have to wait for now. ;-)

It’s hard to say really if people are nicer to receptionists simply because when they call me all I have to do is transfer them to someone else, I don’t have to tell them that I really don’t care if they don’t have hot water, that I don’t know when their door is going to get fixed, or that of course they’re going to have spiders, they live in the woods. Though the day our phone system was down and I couldn’t transfer anyone, one guy did get rather impatient and rude. When he called back for the third time, and I told him that our phones were still down, he snapped, “That’s what you keep saying!,” which made me flashback to angry tenants who didn’t believe that maintenance was on their way. But at least it’s all done with a British accent, so that softens the blow a bit.