Friday, November 28, 2014

Living Like a Princess



So, I’m not a real Princess and I’m probably more the age of a Queen than a Princess, but I still like to dream of my Princess life.  I like to think beautiful and elegant thoughts, and move like a Princess, the old-fashioned ones I used to read about when I was young girl.  The kind that had long, bouncy hair and wore gowns with a bodice and full skirt.

I love the movie Enchanted even though it is sort of a children’s movie.  Amy Adams as the main character Giselle is rather enchanting as the movie title says and she gave me a renewed appreciation for the fairytale Princess stories of my childhood.  Giselle dances around with a broom sweeping Patrick Dempsey’s apartment, she has birds and mice singing and helping her and also whips up a dress for the ball, oops, from the living room curtains.

I don’t do any of those things but I have found that dreaming of being Princess-like inspires me to remember my femininity and lightness, treat my darling like the handsome Prince that he is and flit around my home as if it is my castle.  It really makes housework go much quicker and it becomes more pleasant.  And the end result is a sparking clean and fresh home fit for a Princess.

There used to be a website called the Princess Portal which I loved.  I always felt uplifted and inspired to live a more beautiful life after reading one of this lovely lady’s articles, however sadly it is no more.  I saved a couple of things the author Skye wrote, including this:

The Princess Code
written by Princess Skye

A Princess inspires others to follow their hopes and dreams through pursuing her own.

A Princess greets everyone with a welcoming smile, melting the hearts of friends and disarming her enemies.

A Princess has dignity, which protects her from the opinions and spite of ignorant people.

A Princess always looks beautiful, even when she is asleep.

A Princess aims for perfection in every step.

A Princess should be given fresh flowers everyday, even if she has to give them to herself.

A Princess grows in recognition and stature in proportion to how much she treats others as royalty.

A Princess reflects her inner beauty in her aesthetic choices.

A Princess goes to war against the violence of incivility with the weapons of etiquette and prodigal generosity.

A Princess lives each day from the heart, expressing herself freely and treasuring every moment.

A Princess has the right to spend her funds on beautiful things she does not need because beauty in itself is priceless.

A Princess should follow her heart and believe in her dreams, even if the whole world seems to be against her.

A Princess respects her environment and nurtures the beauty of nature.

A Princess is never too busy to give a kind word or smile where it is needed.

A Princess’s most precious jewel is Hope, which lights her darkest days and shows her the beauty in every soul she meets.

--

When I am in a Princess mode I wear my most feminine and flattering clothing.  Well, most of my clothing is flattering and those items that are not I am eliminating from my wardrobe, but not all are out-and-out feminine.  Some can be stark or very simple, but I like to wear my few very feminine pieces when I am feeling in a Princessy way.  It’s nice to celebrate being born a girl!

One way to determine if clothing is feminine enough for your Princess days is to ask ‘would a man wear this’.  If the answer is yes and you still love the item, can you wear it in a feminine way?  One example is jeans.  Wear them with a pretty top and heels or ballet flats.  Or if it’s a t-shirt, choose a cut and/or colour that a man wouldn’t be caught dead in.

Of course women can wear man-tailoring well but I still think you can be feminine.  The cut of a woman’s tweed jacket will be different to a man’s.  And you can zazz it up with feminine details such as makeup and jewellery.

Some take Princess style literally, but there are many ways you can add magical touches to your everyday life without looking like you’re wearing a costume or acting in a play.

- Be light and feminine in your movements

- Speak in a pleasant, musical voice

- Laugh a lot (in a pretty rather than a guffawing way)

- Be easy to get along with.  I love The Rules credo of ‘being hard to get, but easy to live with’.

- Practice your mystique on every occasion, and have a small mysterious half-smile, in a friendly way of course

- Smile with your eyes as well as your mouth.  In fact you can play up your eyes and play down your mouth when smiling, it’s more effective.

All of this will filter through to the way you do other things in your life, because, as the saying goes ‘the way you do one thing is the way you do everything’.

I know I will have to put a disclaimer on this post because some of you won’t like it.  But that’s ok.  I know myself and that I am not a pushover.  I know what I like and what I don’t like and I create my life to my own recipe.  Just because I have a fairytale Princess as one of my chic mentors doesn’t mean I am not also a strong, independent and confident woman.  Vive la différence!

100 Things Update

Two weeks ago I started my 100 Things challenge.   Please feel free to join me if you'd like to spruce up your home before Christmas!  This week's list:

14. A doggie jersey that I found while out walking.  I didn’t pick it up the first day I saw it because I thought the owner might walk past and retrieve it.  By the third day I felt sad for it so took it home to wash and will donate.  It’s from the doggie brand ‘Yours Drooly’.  How cute is that?

15. and 16.  A magazine, and a movie on dvd.

17. – 46. I had a big linen cupboard sort out.  Even though there’s only two of us and we have guests to stay once or twice a year at most, we had so much more than we’ll ever use, and it was all stuffed into our narrow cupboard and coming out like an overstuffed cushion (not chic).  So I took everything out, put only the nicest and newest back and donated the rest.  It's so wonderful to open the door to now.  I donated:

- A flannelette sheet set (I just kept the one newest set)
- Two bright sky blue towels (I’m not a bright sky blue kind of a gal)
- Towels, flannels, bath mats, duvet covers and pillow cases.  I had many duplicates and because I did, I never used our nicest ones.  Now I’m using our nicest ones every day.

I forgot to count numbers before I donated them, but it was a big cardboard box.  I’m going to estimate 30 items.  I know, I feel like I’m cheating on the count but promise you I’m probably underestimating!

15 comments:

  1. I parted with my grandmother's friend's silver and the remainder of a set of stoneware. Also found two more sets of dishes in the attic that will be donated to the local refugee center.

    Your princess rules made me smile. My sweet granddaughter always had me sit with her in the back seat of the car where we would be princesses, speaking politely, waving at our subjects. She seemed to be a princess naturally, as I suspect you might be. Lovely!

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  2. 100 Things Update:
    17. Nokia bar phone I purchased while studying abroad almost a decade ago. My current smartphone and service function internationally.
    18. inflatable travel hanger
    19. black polyester passport/travel wallet with velcro closure
    20. empty CoverGirl powder compact with mirror that I saved among my travel items
    21. Santa and snowflake-themed box
    22. empty cookie tin saved from last year
    23. sealed original Chapstick that was part of a larger gift from last Christmas
    24. Venus refillable razor handle because I am buying the much cheaper store-brand disposable razors now which work well enough that I will not go back.

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  3. Greeting everyone that one meets with a smile and a "good morning" makes one feel princess-like and certainly "smiling with one's eyes" is more elegant. I just read a really funny book from the ship's library
    called"Mrs. Queen Takes the Train". It followed the premise of taking "queenly manners" out among the people. You might find the book amusing.

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  4. great post.. will defo implement the princess code into my life :)
    xxx Marina
    beautiful me plus you by Marina Bergmann

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  5. I totally get the princess code. I have a board on Pinterest called "Cinderella...the dignified Princess". She has always been my favorite since I was a kid and there are "deep" reasons why. : ) Maybe I will do a post on her and link back to this, Fiona. Enjoyable, as always.

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  6. hello Fiona!

    that princess credo is beautiful, thanks for sharing. I know that I am probably more of a princess in my head than I actually am to outside observing folk. haha. And enchanted is such a wonderful movie, but then again, I'm such a disney princess movie girl at heart. I'm still hoping to find that perfect tweed jacket one day.

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Fiona! Here in the states it's Thanksgiving weekend and there is just so much to be thankful for this weekend. so, happy thanksgiving to you!

    xx Lenna
    http://www.lennajennie.wordpress.com

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  7. I aspire to 'princessly' ways, although I often end up wide of the mark. For one thing, I have real trouble with even high-ish heels - oh well!

    Am up to sixty things in the challenge. A real hodge podge of things from widgets to greyed sheet sets. This is a great idea and I think I'm going to turn it into a quarterly challenge for the next year.

    Alison

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  8. Very cute about the Princess Code and I agree with you that a woman can have both the inner princess qualities of a good heart and regal bearing and love her Prince while at the same time be independent and strong. It reminds me of the Estee Lauder book you shared on your blog (which I loved reading) and Estee seemed to have a beautiful and giving inner spirit, a strong sense of her femininity, while also being a strong, independent and savvy business woman. Well-balanced, I think it's called. :) Have a wonderful day in New Zealand, Fiona, and keep your crown shining, my dear! :)

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  9. Love the pointers for princesses, and no apologies necessary.
    I haven't counted exactly, but I think I'm well over 20 items, including a lot of expired or unused makeup.

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  10. Fiona- you always inspire me to keep on decluttering! I agree that taking everything out of the linen closet and evaluating each item is the best method. Thanks, wendy

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  11. 100 Things Update:
    25. Glade plug-in (given to mother)
    26. red kiddie star sunglasses
    27. LL Bean travel alarm clock with broken cover/stand
    28. luggage tag that was a gift
    29. empty photo album that was a gift
    30. pair of kitchen curtains that was a gift (I only used the valance and rod.)
    31. pair of silver earrings
    32. dying azalea plant

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  12. Fiona, it's easy to see that you live your Princess Code. The picture at the top of your blog is an example of elegant/mysterious/happiness. You are obviously beautiful inside too!

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  13. Fiona!
    love this. these are my favorite parts:
    Be easy to get along with. I love The Rules credo of ‘being hard to get, but easy to live with’.

    - Practice your mystique on every occasion, and have a small mysterious half-smile, in a friendly way of course

    - Smile with your eyes as well as your mouth. In fact you can play up your eyes and play down your mouth when smiling, it’s more effective.

    xo
    K

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  14. Kristien, Your granddaughter sounds adorable. I might start doing that on the way to work.

    Michelle, yay!

    Madame, I've heard of that book, I must look it up, thank you.

    Marina, it's lovely isn't it?

    Bliss, I love that you have a Pinterest Princess board! Hugs to Rocky. He is looking particularly handsome in his latest photo.

    Lenna, being a Princess in your head is the first step AND the most important part. It all flows from there. Thank you for your thanksgiving wishes!

    Alison, high heels aren't necessary for princessly ways, I'm sure. The Princess in my mind wears little ballet pumps now that I think about it, maybe with a kitten heel maybe not. Sixty items is great! Quarterly is a good idea, you'd certainly keep on top of things.

    Kathryn, thank you for your great comment. I love what you have to say both about Princesses and also Estee Lauder. Now Estee, she was definitely a Queen, the Queen of Cosmetics.

    Thank you Deborah, and great job with the decluttering.

    Wendy, thank you!

    Michelle, when you gather them up there are so many items around our house that are there almost by default. Good job!

    Well, thank you Brenhna, that is very sweet of you to say.

    Kristi, thanks!

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  15. Thank you, loved your tips

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Merci for your comment. Wishing you a chic day!

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