As the year comes to an end, many of us are thinking towards what we hope to achieve in the new year. Perhaps some bad habits we would like to give up or some plans we wish to put in to action. Maybe we would like to be more forgiving of others or improve our public speaking. I think one of the most exciting challenges we might set for ourselves is to learn something new.

In the past when wealthy young women were not permitted to pursue careers or work at anything that involved hard labour, they spent their time in learning and appreciating various arts. Music, painting, embroidery, dance, languages and flower arrangement to name just a few! There were many to choose from and a Lady who was skilled in several areas was considered ‘Accomplished.’ I think its great that these days we are not limited to activities and interests that society deems ‘feminine’ but I still think learning some of these skills can be good for self development.

Learning to dance teaches graceful movement, languages and singing will improve your speech, fine arts can give one a wonderful form of self expression and all of these things can improve your self confidence. You may already be talented in one of these areas, so perhaps spending more time there will see your skills rise to new heights. Some may feel that they lack any artistic talent, or that they are not gifted in a skill they would really love to learn. The truth is, with most artforms, natural talent is a blessing but almost anyone can become skillfull with some guidance and determination.

Make a little promise to yourself, noone else has to know, that next year you will learn a new ‘accomplishment’. Choose something you have always dreamed of doing or perhaps something you have been inspired to try recently. Become passionate about it, take lessons, read books, practise practise practise! Set yourself definite goals, such as “By September I will be able to play my favourite song on the Piano.” and reward yourself when you achieve them! If you don’t quite make it, reassess those goals, are they reasonable? Do they require more time than you expected or have you not put in enough effort? Failing is an opportunity to refocus not to give up. Believe in your ability to succeed and nothing is beyond you.

Wishing you all the best with your goals and dreams, have a beautiful New Year!

It is warm today, but there is a wind outside howling past the palace windows. There isn’t a cloud in the sky and I am happily scribbling away at my sketchbook and listening to some old songs from movies and musicals. Miss Charlotte is watching, comfortably perched on her new chair with her feet resting on a pillow. I changed her in to her pretty pink summer frock

I love drawing but I don’t do it very often because I find it hard to just sit down and draw something. There has to be an idea, usually a nameless emotion or expression I want to capture on paper. It frustrates me sometimes because I never can quite get it to appear exactly as it is in my mind. At the moment I am thinking about wishes and dreams and trying to draw a little of that inner longing for something.

I have been so busy since the convention I haven’t yet had a chance to take photos of this lovely book Disney’s “Princess Magic” was a late birthday gift from Tiffy, along with some beautiful soaps and cute plush keychains all of which I adore The book is a collection of quotes and images from classic disney movies, some romantic, some inspirational and a few quite funny!

What I love best about the book though is the introduction, so I’m going to share part of it here: “… there is another, more understated magic that the princess stories embody so well. It’s the kind that can be found in living life to the very fullest - believing in yourself, seeing the good in those around you and seizing the day.” I found the whole book delightful, even the contents page reads like a Princess Code - The glass is half full, Put your best foot forward, Confidence is key, Listen to your heart, Family and friends are there for you, A little imagination goes a long way, Looks can be decieving, Be your own person, Give peace a chance, Lend a hand, Respect nature, Anything’s Possible and Live for Today!

It really is a little treasure for Disney fans and Princesses alike. The other treasure in this photo is a gift from Mirai, a little glass egg with my favourite Disney Princess, Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I love the gold frame with its little jewels and roses! Thank you to my friends for these lovely gifts!

One of the most well known and oldest of our fairy tale Princesses is Cinderella. I have always found her story enchanting, I think many girls might have day-dreamed at some point of meeting their Fairy Godmother and having their wishes granted. Cinderella is really inspiring though, in her attitude to life. In most versions of the tale, while she is so poorly treated by her step-family, she still remains a kind, sweet natured soul and is in the end, very forgiving of their flaws. To meet such bitter treatment and cruelty with forgiveness and kindness (In the Perrault version she even finds her sisters rich husbands!) is truly admirable.

Fairy tales have a habit of travelling, and the earliest written version of Cinderella is Chinese, dated to the middle of the ninth century A.D. In this version there is no Fairy Godmother but instead a magical fish, and her slipper is not glass but gold. The heroine’s name is Yeh-shen.

From then there are references, and most likely an oral tradition of the tale until the appearance of what it probably the most well known (and my favourite) version, published in 1697 by Charles Perrault. Many of the motifs we now associate with Cinderella such as a pumpkin carriage and midnight deadline come from this version. It is also rather more of a moral tale then some others, emphasizing Cinderella’s good nature and kind behaviour. In typical Perrault style it is very descriptive with lovely references to the clothing and decor of the period.

Aschenputtel is the German name for the tale, recorded by the Grimm Brothers in their collection. Interestingly, in this version the Stepsisters are also beautiful and it is their inner qualities that set them apart from the heroine. My favourite part of the Grimm version is that Cinderella recieves help from birds throughout the tale, both with the tasks set for her by her Stepmother and in recieving the gifts needed to attend the ball. A white bird perched in the tree over her Mother’s grave serves the purpose of ‘Fairy Godmother’ when she calles out “Shiver and quiver, little tree. Silver and gold throw down over me.” In a less forgiving ending to the story the two Stepsisters are punished for their cruelty with blindness, perhaps a reference to their vanity.

The main themes of Cinderella seem to be popular in many cultures and different versions of the story appear all over the world.

Reference

I had a lovely lazy day today, its Boxing Day so still a holiday where I live. I believe it was supposed to be 44 degrees celsius outside at one point, but I barely left the pleasantly air-conditioned Palace. For christmas I was given some lovely dvds so Miss Charlotte and I relaxed and watched a few, drinking sparkling apple juice and nibbling on slices of pavlova. I flipped through the embroidery book from Mirai-chan and the lovely Pop-up book from Imuin, thank you both!

In the afternoon I made a pearl braclet with a ribbon rose as a Christmas gift for Miss C. Feeling like scribbling I also drew this sketch, its been floating around my mind for some time now and I’m happy to see it on paper, though it never comes out quite the same. Please click the image for a larger size. Sometimes its nice to do less and daydream more, especially when its toasty warm outside.

Hoping all your Christmas Wishes came true

1 large punnet of fresh strawberries
2 tbsp Honey
Vanilla Icecream
200ml Sour Cream
400ml Whipping Cream
4 Shortbread biscuits
Butter
Fruit, chocolate, or wafer to decorate

Makes about 4 depending on the size of your glasses

This is one of my favourite desserts to make around christmas time, when fresh strawberries are easy to find in my kingdom. It is a nice treat at any time of the year though and you can substitute frozen strawberries if need be.

The Parfait is meant to taste a bit like strawberry cheesecake, so first we start with the biscuit base. Crush up several shortbread biscuits with a fork until they are in crumbs. In a small bowl mix this with butter until it sticks together and forms lumps. I usually add a little butter at a time until it looks right. Scoop a spoonful of the biscuit base in to the bottom of each of your parfait glasses, press it down with the back of your spoon. To set the biscuit base put in the fridge for about 30mins.

Next we make the strawberry sauce. Take the stems off your strawberries and cut them in to small pieces. Put the strawberries in to your blender and blend until they are liquid. Add your honey and blend for a bit longer. It should taste sweet and fruity. Depending on your strawberries you may need to add more honey.

Then you will need to whip the cream, its easier with electric beaters but I don’t have any so I do this by hand which can take a long time. When it forms peaks it is ready. In a bowl blend your whipped cream with the sour cream using a spoon, it should have a slightly sour taste to it when you’re done.

Now comes the fun part, it’s time to layer your parfait! You can do this in whichever order you like. Put layers of cream, icercream and strawberry sauce until you fill up the glass. To make the layers visible you need to make sure the cream or icecream is fully blocking the edges of the glass or the sauce runs down the sides (it did a bit in mine.) Decorate the top with a strawberry, some chocolate sticks or wafers as you like. Enjoy!

Mirai and I watched this movie yesterday and I was enchanted by it. When I first read about the story it seemed a little dull to me, the subject of “childhood sweethearts” has been done many times before. However I really enjoyed this film, not so much for the story, though that was more clever and interesting than I expected, but for the atmosphere.

The plot is set in Vienna at the turn of the century, it is about a very talented stage Magician who’s performances baffle everyone and who has a dark air of mystery about him. He attracts the attention of the Crown Prince, who’s beautiful fiancee turns out to be the Magician’s first love. I can’t say much more without giving the plot away, but the musical score is beautiful and eerie and the whole film is bathed in candlelight which transports you back to the theatre and the time. The CG, while not revolutionary, blends in quite well. I really love the ‘illusions’ he performs, they are all so subtle and simple and seemingly natural which makes them far more magical than the lights and smoke and sequins of today’s conjurers. Mechanical trees, butterflies, red capes, ghosts and mirrors, it is a really delicious feast for the eyes. Edward Norton’s performance was excellent, and never overplayed which would have been an easy mistake to make with the role.

The costumes were beautiful as well, from Eisenheim’s frock coat to the gold buttoned suits of the Prince and delicate lace of the Duchess. If you like magic and royalty and history with a bit of mystery I think you might enjoy this film, don’t think too hard about it but go along for the ride and it may just surprise you.

Its Christmas Eve, one more sleep to go (if you can even sleep!) The tree is sparkling and I have a whole bowl of cherries to munch my way through. Cherries are one of my favourite christmas treats, they’re always in season around this time of year and I love their sweet-but sour taste. Sometimes I eat too many and end up with purple lips.

Christmas foods in australia are a bit different because it’s summer here and christmas day is often 100 degrees or over Popular dishes include salad, cold meats (even turkey!) and seafood. My family usually has prawns in garlic sauce, avocado salad and fruit salad with berries and honey, ginger beer or sparkling apple juice and Pavlova! Pavlova is an australian and new zealand dessert made of a soft sweet meringue with fruit and cream on top. It’s delicious and always reminds me of christmas. I often make Strawberry Parfait on christmas, this year I might share my recipe and take some photos!

It’s already quite hot here. Most of my christmas memories are warm, dry, sunny mornings when I would run down to the christmas tree still in my nightgown and look at all the presents that had magically appeared over night! I love hearing about different traditions, how do your family celebrate the holidays?

Christmas is nearly here! I have put up the tree and wrapped all my presents and I can’t wait for the day to come! This year I was actually feeling a bit down about christmas It’s such a stressful time of year, with the Convention and my stall I had even more work than usual. Not to mention these days it is such a heavily commercialised event, I think its a lovely holiday but sometimes the masses of christmas merchandise and the amount of money that is spent on gifts and food takes away from the simple pleasure of what christmas means to me - which is spending time with your family and loved ones.

I used to love christmas as a child, and I’ve been trying to find some of that magic again this year. I think part of the fun of christmas is in traditions, everyone has different traditions based on their religion, family or culture In my family we have Christmas morning, when we all gather around the tree and share presents and then have a big yummy lunch with lots of cold meats, seafood and salad. Since I’ve had a home of my own I’ve started some other traditions. A couple of years ago, the Prince and I bought a tree. Its white with little pearly strands in it and we have strings of beads that are clear and pearly like bubbles, large and small glass balls in pink, purple, silver and pale green. This year I made some bows out of pretty wire edged ribbon and bought a star for the top. Putting up the tree itself is a bit of a tradition for me, but I’ve also decided to buy or make one new ornament a year. This year I found this beautiful resin Swan, she reminds me of my favourite ballet ‘Swan Lake.’

I also love christmas parties, we had ours last night. It was so much fun, we played games and exchanged presents and cards and I baked a Christmas Cake! Christmas Cakes are a modern Japanese tradition, they are iced with whipped cream and strawberries and usually have some christmas decorations. This was my first time making one and think the cream I used was too soft, so I’ve learnt for next year. I hope it was yummy anyway!

Another thing I like to do, and I know its a bit cheesey, is watch Christmas movies. My favourite of all time is “Prancer” which I really reccomend if you haven’t seen it! This year I watched “The Polar Express” which was really very sweet, the animation was amazing too and I liked the overall message of “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!

I would like to clarify my last entry a little, as I have recieved some criticism on the subject which may have been based on misunderstanding and poor expression on my part. I would like to first of all thank those who sent me their feedback on the issue, I have tried to email you individually in response to your concerns. I always appreciate feedback, even if it is negative, but I do not appreciate inflammatory comments and arguments on this site so they have been removed.

The purpose of the Princess Lesson - Dealing with Ogres, was about self defence against bullying. Unfortunately, bullying does exist and whether you call the people that behave this way Bullies, Rude People or Ogres it does not change the fact that they have a negative effect on others and that their behaviour is both uncalled for and offensive.

Using the term ‘Ogre’ was not a personal attack on any specific group of people, but a general reference to the behaviour of some individuals on certain occaisions. It was also, as many of the fairy tale references I make on this site, not meant to be taken literally. I apologise if it was seen as an offensive term to use by others, it was not intended thus but was purely in reference to the behaviour described. As an example, the word ‘Troll’ is often used to describe people who are behaving badly online, I am using Ogre in much the same way, but for real life examples.

I do believe that in this world we are defined by the choices and actions we make, and not everyone who makes a mistake or behaves rudely is a bad person, but that doesn’t mean that others will not be offended by that behaviour and I merey intended to make some suggestions on how to respond to such attitudes.

Thank you again for your feedback, I hope that I have managed to clarify some points that may have been misunderstood. I know that this is not going to please everyone, but I have tried my best to explain my choice of words. I apologise for any unintended offense I may have caused.