Alas, today was to be the day of the party. It has been showering on and off and is quite cold so I hope I made the right decision.

The Prince arrived home from his trip around noon, it is wonderful to have him back and hear the story of his little adventure. He went away to Brisbane for a week on duty and got to stay at a lovely five star hotel and even attend a halloween party!

I have been feeling a little down today, working on something for so long only having to delay it is a bit dissapointing. However I’ve just had a yummy chocolate brownie and received this little care package from Emily (who is one of the sweetest girls in the world) It is a butterfly cookie cutter and a packet of star sugars It was such a kind gesture and am definitely feeling a little less blue now, thank you Emily!

Today was a hard day. Unfortunately the weather has become cold, wet and miserable and looks to remain so for the rest of the weekend. I have made the very difficult decision to postpone my party, I don’t think it would be enjoyable tomorrow night given the weather conditions as there are no indoor areas available.

On the bright side, this means some people like Skwerlie will be able to come as they were unavailable tomorrow. Also, I have more time to prepare and wait for my wings to arrive (they were shipped far later than expected.) I am hoping for a lovely balmy night soon to make the party far more enjoyable.

This morning I recieved my custom made ear curl from the talented aereonyx. She has been working with me for about a month to design something that matches my Titania costume for the party. It is made of wire wrapped in gold thread, swarovski crystal drops and a tiny purple flower with a crystal heart, I think it’s perfect!

Darling Clara came over tonight to cheer me up and we watched a movie together. She and Wilson gave me the most lovely birthday present! A Teapot, Cake platter and Dessert cup set all in a matching antique white lace pattern. I can’t wait to use them at my next tea party!

Mirai and I spent today shopping for my birthday party (which is exactly a week away!) in the morning we went to IKEA and bought a trolley full of cushions, it was amusing to push around and then try and fit them in the car. We also picked up some tea lights and glass holders for them.

Following this we went and picked up some shoes (gold and silver roman style sandals) some glasses and these gorgeous candelabras! They look like vines with twisted iron stems and glass leaves, I think they are perfect for the theme and can’t wait to see them all lit up at night!

Our last stop was the craft store where we bought fabric to cover the cushions with, we want them to look like the night sky so they are black and silver and will have designs of silver glitter and stars on them. The table cloths are black too and will be sprinkled with silver stars and little tea lights.

I am so excited but very busy with the final preparations, my main concern is that the weather won’t be nice. If there is sunshine or warm weather wherever you are, please send me a little for next saturday! Thank you

For my birthday from my brother I received this beautiful quill, its such a rich royal purple but the colour has not come out quite so nicely in the photo. This morning I sat down to write some letters, there are a few I had been meaning to respond to and one I had yet to begin. I love handwriting, though I fear mine is not the neatest, the art has very much fallen in to disuse these days.

I am working on making some personalised stationary with my monogram on it, I am having difficulty getting the printer to line it up centrally and I need to buy some higher quality paper on which to print it. I love the idea of personalised stationary and envelopes and I should like to make some calling cards too!

This afternoon I have been relaxing with Miss Charlotte and watching the old BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, I am reminded of how much I prefer this adaption over the recent one. The BBC productions are usually of higher quality than hollywood adaptions when it comes to Jane Austen, though I don’t mind Gwenyth Paltrow’s Emma.

The theme of my birthday party is to be “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and so as a gift, last night my mother took me to see the Opera. It was a very interesting adaption, quite traditional in most ways but with a little twist here and there, I though the choice of a counter tenor as Oberon particularly appealing. They also had children performing the parts of the faerie court and they were just perfect! The way they moved, and their light lilting voices really gave the parts an innocent charm, I think children know best how fairies should dance.

The greatest vocal talents I think were the roles of Titania and Helena, in particular the latter seemed to soar off her high notes where others simply sung. Puck was a little dissapointing in both his manner and voice, but this did not spoil the performance. The costumes were delightful! They had chosen colours for each set, blue and purple for the Faerie court, Red and gold for the lovers and Browns for the actors. I have been given some fresh ideas for the Prince and my costumes too.

It was a truly enjoyable evening, we had japanese for dinner before we left and I wore my Victorian Maiden black velvet jsk with my hair up in semi-regency style with pearls in it. I haven’t been to the Opera in some time and I think now I must make an effort to go more often.

You may have noticed that the “Wishlist” section of the site has gone, I have removed it because I found myself forgetting to update it and wished to make room for the new page I am working on.

I have recieved some lovely suggestions for the Princess Code lately, thank you! There are three new ones added that you can read here I hope you will like them. I would also like to start a link list of those who have adopted the code on their own site or journal, if you would like to comment with your name and the url of your site (where the princess code banner is displayed) I will link to you! You can also email me these details if you like. I would love to see your websites too

Such a busy day! This morning I went to the market to buy some groceries, apples, lemons, sugar, potatoes, carrots.. so much to carry home! I bought fresh flowers and these tiny baby strawberries which are so sweet and taste like they were picked in the wild. This is the tiniest of the lot, isn’t it adorable?

The weather has not been so nice this week and I miss the sunshine I hope that it starts to get warmer soon, at least in time for my party. In the evening Clara came over to help us make more mead and Toffee apples! It was a bit tricky to coat the apples but I think they look quite cute if a little less perfect than the store-bought ones. I added vanilla to the toffee so they are nice and sweet!

For dinner I made vegetable and beef soup, something I hd not tried before. I often find that after reading a book I am hungry for the style of food mentioned, and this is the case as the book I am reading described a delicious salty soup! I am happy to have lots left over for lunch tomorrow.

Today was my Birthday! I had a delightful time. When I woke in the morning quite early I could not go back to sleep so I walked out my door only to find a card from Mirai with a clue for a treasure hunt in it! Over the next half hour I had to seek out my presents all over the house, it was fun and I think amusing for the both of us. Mirai’s gifts included the most beautiful “Beauty and the Beast” faberge style egg framed in brass and pink crystal with two little dancing figurines inside, some yummy hello kitty strawberry marshmallows, a new suitcase for Miss Charlotte and best of all a package from BABY the stars shine bright! A lovely pink nightgown from their In the Room collection, a gold bow shaped hair clip and Bunny Slippers!!!

The Prince made us french toast for breakfast and then let me open his present which was a new notebook computer! I had to slap him obviously, as I had told him not to buy me something so expensive, but I am grateful none the less the one I am using previously is a hand-me-down and is getting a bit old and slow. My new laptop is Pink! I am still trying to think of a name for her, maybe Cherry because she’s that colour pink. Now I can play pretty games and open more than one thing in photoshop ^_~

For lunch we drove up to meet the Queen and visit at one of my favourite gardens, the Melville Heritage Rose gardens. I had a yummy Ciabatta for lunch and iced tea and then we went for a walk in the gardens and Mirai took some photos. Here is one of me beside a creek in where trailing rose briars were growing. The flowers weren’t as good as my past visits there, but it was still enjoyable and I look forward to having a Tea Party here in the future as Eugene is planning one. I wore a dress I have had for a little while but was saving for a special occaision, it is BABY’s angel gobelin print and I just love the pale tea rose colour! I was also wearing the new clip from Mirai, but you can’t see it in the photos.

The King took us all out for dinner to Hayashi, a japanese restaurant I have not visited before. The food was delicious (I had teriyaki beef and we all shared tempura and agedashi tofu) and the service was the best I have had in a long time. The waitress even wished me Happy Birthday! For desert we had Azzura kisses, little balls of ice cream in a candy coating, they were so delicious and trying the different flavours was fun. It was a lovely night, I feel truly spoilt and I haven’t even had my party yet!

Lastly, I wish to thank everyone who sent me emails, messages and e-cards! You are so sweet it really made my day perfect to come home to an inbox full of birthday wishes *hugs* thank you so much!

The Ball was so much fun! We arrived at 7pm with some friends and were escorted in to the building where the tables were all set up and the band was getting ready. The first act of the night was a brass band and they were fantastic! They played tunes from spy movies as that was the theme of the ball. It was fun to see everyone all dressed up, and the masks made it hard to recognise friends which was quite amusing.

I think everyone had a really enjoyable time, and I attribute this mostly to the company in my case as I am not too fond of the modern interpretation of a “Ball”, call me old fashioned if you like but I tend to imagine candlelit ballrooms, a string quartet and a great deal of waltzing at the very least (though of course I expect none of this these days). It was a good night out all the same.

Highlights of the night for me were; Mirai, Vanessa and Clara’s outfits dancing with my Prince, keeping my mask on to the very end of the night, having photos taken by the excellent photographer, trying to do the dance from the ball scene in Marie Antoinette with three lovely ladies, the amazing brass band, the lunar decorations and the great atmosphere. A few let downs for me were the food, the Dj (we left when he came on) and that the volume of the music prevented much conversation.

I am looking forward to seeing the professional photos which should be available in a couple of days, in the mean time here is a picture Mirai took of me before the ball. I wore my BABY Pocket Monogram JSK, tiara, gold opera gloves, BABY sceptre, ivory stockings and arabesques. My mask was hand made in france and gilt with gold leaf to match the outfit.

One of the things I look forward to most in my day is my morning walk. Unless the weather is positively dreadful I will make some effort to get out of the house and take my exercise. Usually I have some small purpose in mind, to visit the library, the antique shop, the post office, the market but this morning I had nothing of the sort and so enjoyed a walk for the sake of walking.

I think many people underestimate the pleasure of this pastime, so I am going to make a suggestion. On your next day off, choose a time to enjoy a walk, mid morning or late afternoon are usually the most pleseant but whatever suits, allow yourself at least an hour. Dress comfortably, if you are wearing lolita wear flat shoes and loose fitting clothes, carry nothing but your keys, a book, a bottle of water and a piece of fruit If it is sunny bring your parasol, likely to rain, your umbrella. Leave your house and set out in whichever direction takes your fancy, I usually pick which street to go down based on how interesting it looks. Wander to your hearts content, don’t get lost in your thoughts but be aware of everything around you, the wind on your face, the sun in your hair, the insects and birds and flowers and plants. Stop to smell pretty flowers, pick fruit from trees, sit in a park and read or lay on your back and watch the clouds. Enjoy not having to be anywhere or do anything. Have an adventure for one.

This morning I brought my camera with me which I usually don’t, but I thought I would share a photo of this pretty cottage I found. It had such a lovely garden gone wild with daisies and nasturtiums and red roses growing over the porch! I also saw a beautiful swing hanging from a willow tree, a mulberry tree heavy with fruit (which I couldn’t reach) and loquats (which I could!) and so many butterflies! Cabbage Butterflies and Wanderers everywhere, there was a field of wild grasses with a cloud of white wings fluttering above it. I love spring