This is not a lesson as such, because I think love is something you can only learn from experience, but as Saint Valentine’s Day is but a few weeks away I thought I would record my thoughts on the subject of romance, scattered as they are.

To be in love is a feeling like nothing else, it overrides every other part of our person and can make us go against our reason, logic, plans and very nature. For love we do wild crazy things, it intensifies every waking moment and gives a purpose to life beyond simply living. Likewise loosing this feeling, or the person we love can bring unimaginable pain and disillusionment.

I have often wondered, debated with myself, the concept of ‘true love.’ Of there being one person out there who is perfect for us, who we should love at first sight and never part from. My heart would very much like to believe in this ideal, I am a romantic princess afterall and I love tales of true love and soul mates bound by Fate. However experience seems always to show me otherwise. I have seen people deeply in love with those who only ever hurt and use them, I have seen people leave their life partners only to find someone else far more perfect for them, and I wonder, maybe love is not as simple as we like to imagine it.

A very wise person once said to me ‘Love is when you care more for another’s happiness than your own’ and that is the only definition I have ever felt holds true. Love changes, from passion and desire to care and compassion and a deeper connection. I think sometimes when we loose the initial intoxicating feelings we think we no longer love the person who inspired them. Suddenly we start to question our relationship, what do they do to make us happy? What don’t they do? We see their flaws and find the gaps where they don’t meet our needs. To get past this, to find the love that lasts I wonder if maybe all we need to do is open our eyes and see the other person for who they are, flaws and all, and learn to love them for that. When simply seeing them smile makes us happy beyond measure, when we feel their pain as our own, isn’t that love?

I am sure there are many Princesses out there waiting for their Prince Charming. We can’t always choose who we love, but I truly believe everyone in this world can be loved and is worth loving. I think beneath the surface of appearance and persona there lies noble traits in each person; loyalty, compassion, empathy, kindness, honesty, courage. They might not be as obvious as sparkling blue eyes or playing the guitar, but they last the longest and give far greater rewards.

When I think about what I would love in a person, it is very simple, I think I would love someone whom I could tell anything to, share everything with and feel equally trusted by them. What I want most is to feel a connection, to feel understood and appreciated for who I am. In the old tales Princesses often set tasks for their suitors, to fight a dragon or find a treasure or count a thousand grains of sand. The test I would set would be to make me laugh, and also to make me cry.

What are your thoughts on love?

This might not seem like a very Princess-ly topic, but I think it’s really important. Being healthy gives you more energy, a clearer mind, better skin, brighter eyes and shiny hair. No beauty products will give you the same glow as being naturally healthy. Starting a healthy lifestyle when you are young is also the best health insurance for when you grow older, long live the Princess!

Now, I love sweets. They are my weakness, and I know you’d probably rather see some cute cake recipes here aswell. However I do try and moderate my diet. I studied Nutrition for two and a half years and I have a pretty good idea of what to eat, but coming from a family that didn’t really cook, I’m not always sure how to eat it! Salads for example, are great, provided they contain a good variety of nutrient rich vegetables and not just a mass of iceberg lettuce, but they don’t usually taste that nice and aren’t very filling. While I was searching for a recipe for greek salad dressing today I came across this website MediterrAsian.com. Its about asian and mediterranean cooking and has some fantastic recipes and ideas, as well as a great daily food plan. Take a look, there’s more good information there than in a lot of the popular diet books.

Despite all the lovely cake and champagne in Sophia Coppola’s recent movie, Marie Antoinette actually ate very well especially considering the time she lived in and the rich foods she had access to it. According to Campan’s Memoirs the Queen “breakfasted on coffee or chocolate; at dinner ate noth­ing but white meat, drank water only, and supped on broth, a wing of a fowl, and small biscuits, which she soaked in a glass of water.” Which I think is a pretty fine example for any Princess to follow.

I think that Healthy Living should be simple, it shouldn’t be about counting calories, denying yourself the occaisional treat or being starving all afternoon because you only had carrot sticks for lunch. I also believe that eating well alone is not enough. These are the three main points I try and keep in mind for being a healthy Princess.

Eat Well.
I suggest educating yourself first, read about nutrition, learn about different cultural cuisines and find healthy recipes that include foods you love. If you really have no idea where to start, see a Naturopath or Clinical Nutrition who can help you set up a simple diet plan that works for you. There are also heaps of great sites online like the one I mentioned above it even has recipe makeovers for healthy burgers and fish and chips! You don’t have to give up the foods you like, just learn to moderate them. Allow yourself little treats but only when you know you’re doing well with your regular diet. For a simple thing to start with, try increasing your intake of fresh fruit and raw vegetables for this week. It won’t take long before you notice a difference! Always drink lots of water too.

Exercise.
I admit, I hate getting sweaty. I am useless at sports and I’ve never set foot inside a Gym in my life. My idea of exercise has always been walking. I love taking long walks by the river, walking to the library, carrying my shopping home from the markets etc. However lately I’ve noticed I’m not very flexible, so a couple of friends and I are going to enroll in Ballet classes to improve our fitness. Some other elegant and old fashioned exercise options are: badmington, croquet, tennis (very popular with the victorian gentry), fencing, ballroom dancing and horse riding.

Relax
Ever wondered how people can have a perfect diet, go to the gym four nights a week and yet still always seem tired and run down, easily catching colds and flu? Stress causes more health problems than you would believe. Our bodies need time to recover and repair themselves, and this means stopping once in a while and finding some time to relax. Meditation is excellent, but it doesn’t work for everyone, there are lots of alternatives. Take a slow walk on the beach, or through a park. Being connected to nature has amazing effects on our health and peace of mind. Read a book of poetry, take a hot bath, lay on your bed and listen to relaxing music. Do whatever it takes to help you wind down. Having at least 30 mins a day of ‘time out’ will go along way to dropping your stress levels. Also make sure you get a good nights sleep, that means at least 8 hours. Early to bed and early to rise, makes a Princess healthy, beautiful and wise!

It’s no secret that I’m a big Marie Antoinette fangirl. I have been completely fascinated with her life, story and image since I first watched Rose of Versailles, many years ago. I’m not the only one it seems, because there are some beautiful and interesting websites out there devoted to the last Queen of France. I hope you will enjoy these links!

Marie Antoinette Online
Our first stop is very informative, MA online has some excellent articles and biographies in different languages. I believe the articles have different authors however, so take them with a pinch of salt and remember that everyone has different opinions on this controversial Queen. There is also a nicely presented image gallery and a forum.

Le château de Versailles
The official site of Marie Antoinette’s home in france, Versailles has been beautifully restored and is now a museum of french culture and history. You can find some gorgeous images of the palais here, including panoramic views of the Hall of Mirrors. There are notes on the history of the buildings as well, from the Sun King to Napoleon and of course, MA herself.

Antoinette’s Closet
One of my favourite Marie Antoinette websites! All about the gowns worn by the Queen both in history, and in the many films that feature her. Excellent reference images and inspirations for lovers of period fashion. There is even a gallery of fan made costumes. I would love a replica of one of her dresses someday. If you look under “The Queen of France” you can see images of the few surviving pieces of her possession.

Marie Antoinette Style
A lovely article by Miss Gala on dressing in a modern version of Marie Antoinette’s style. Inspired by the sumptuous movie by Sophia Coppola, she reccomends powdered hair, pink blush and a little glitter for added sparkle! Rich perfumes and hair jewels give the finishing touch.

The Marie Antoinette Flickr Group
To really immerse yourself in her lavish lifestyle and gain some royal inspiration, I suggest setting this to slideshow, putting on some Mozart and enjoying a bowl of strawberries in cream, with a silver spoon. Portraits, film stills, photos of Versailles and the Trianon, dolls, furniture, crockery, sculpture, jewelry everything here is a visual feast. Enjoy!

This evening was Lee’s birthday party, a picnic dinner at the beach! Mirai and I arrived as the sun was just starting to set and the ocean was glittering blue. We saw a big sailing ship on the horizon which might have been the Endeavour! There were quite a few people there and we waded through the dry sand until we found the others. The party was a really nice, laid back gathering. It was so good to be surrounded by fun people, some who I hadn’t seen since Wai-con. Lee looked very pretty in her eyelet dress, I made her a little pearl and rose bracelet which I hope she liked! Happy birthday Lee!

After dinner Mirai and I went down to the beach to make a sand castle. It was too hard without a bucket though so we made a Sand-Turtle instead! Emily and Bert came to help us and he was really cute when we were done. I wish I had a picture but I forgot my camera The sun had set by then and the sea was inky black, I couldn’t see where the water met the sky, it just blended together.

I think there is something about the breaking waves that just makes you feel happy and relaxed, it washes away all your worries and cares and makes you feel like a kid again. Being on the beach with my friends, being silly and drawing things in the sand and making up dances just filled me with more happiness than I can describe. I nearly fell asleep afterwards, laying on the grass and looking up at the stars.

I have been very busily baking away at the Petit Miel Pâtisserie here, and I am happy to announce that the first few items will be ready for sale by next weekend! In preparation for this I have set up an Etsy store through which to sell these little accessories and items. There is nothing for sale yet, but you can visit the store here:

Petit Miel on Etsy.com

I am in the process of organizing shipping and packaging so as to be more efficient when it is open. I will be shipping internationally and will try to keep postage costs as low as possible. Thank you to everyone who has helped, supported and inspired me with Petit Miel so far! I really appreciate your interest in my little shop.

Today is Australia Day! That is the time when we celebrate… well, being australian I suppose. Though I’ve never been particularly patriotic myself, it is a fun day to visit friends or family and enjoy the fireworks display

This morning after my french lesson I went in to the little Bubble Tea place that also sells chinese cakes and pastries and bought these yummy Madeleines. I love how they wrap their baked goods in cute packaging like this. The other day I bought a honey and walnut cake that came in a little box with scalloped edges and teddy bears on it! Milky likes these Madeleines too, so she’s very glad they come in packets of two. One for her and one for me!

In the afternoon Mirai and I went to Paula’s house to see the fireworks. It was very warm and we ate lunch outside where there was a slight breeze. I was glad I wore my strawberry jsk which is nice and cool. We played games and read some of Paula’s amazing manga collection before heading down to the foreshore as the sun was setting. The fireworks were so pretty! I think they had some new ones this year too. My favourites were the red love-heart shaped ones and the ones that exploded in to silvery-gold rain which floated down to the river. The still water looked so beautiful all lit up in different colours.

Thank you to everyone who made suggestions for the International Princess Day! May seems to be the most popular month, and Louisa suggested May 5th which is Eugénie de Montijo’s birthday, she is one of the Princesses featured on this site so I think that’s a great choice!

International Princess Day is May 5th

Lets all celebrate it this year together! Maybe you would like to have a special day out to treat your royal self, go to the theatre or the cinema, eat at your favourite cafe, get a manicure or go shopping. Whatever makes you feel happy and spoils your inner Princess. Perhaps you might like to use this occaision to focus on something you consider particularly worthwhile, donate to a charity, have tea with your Grandmother, bake cookies for all your friends. You could even have a Princess party and invite other Princesses to celebrate with you! Wear your favourite dress (and a tiara of course) have a princess cake and play party games. Even if your idea of a real treat is a relaxing day spent reading and daydreaming followed by a nice bubble bath, celebrate your inner princess-ness however you see fit!

I would love to hear about your Princess days after May 5th, so please send me photos and descriptions! I think this is going to be really special, knowing I am sharing this Princess day with all of you

Hi there! I have some very exciting news for all you Princess Portal readers, starting today there will be a new section on this blog, written by me! Princess Skye is very busy these days researching lots of new and interesting things to write about, so in the mean time I offered to entertain you with some exciting stories and interesting facts. The Princess said I’ve been watching too much Card Captor Sakura, but she agreed to let me write. This column will be cute, fun, silly and hopefully an enjoyable and light-hearted part of the Portal.

I have just one problem, I’m not exactly sure where to start ^^; I know so many wonderful things and I’m sure you’d find them all amazing, but I think I should have some sort of theme going, like the other Princess Portal sections. Also, Skye said I have to choose one. So I made a little list and I was wondering if you could please tell me what you’d like to hear about?

Cute things from Japan - I’m an Amigurumi and I came here all the way from Japan so I know lots about japanese culture and since Lolita is also a part of that maybe I could tell you some fun things about Japan?

Princess insider - There’s a lot of stuff on this site about Princess Skye already, but I bet I know some things she’d never post about! I live in her room too so I have access to all the cool pretty stuff here, some of which you’ve never seen before!

Milky Letters - Princess gets heaps of letters and emails these days, and she already has a page for questions on the site. But I don’t get any mail yet, and I think I should. If you wanted to write and ask me about things I could post the answers here. Skye says I can even have my own email address!

Thank you so much for helping me choose! Please look out for my column very soon.

xoxox Milky

Throughout history, Princesses have had talented perfumers design for them a signature scent, blending rare oils and floral essences to create a fragrance that is truly unique. A signature scent captures something of it’s wearers essence too, our memories respond very strongly to smell and we often associate a scent with a particular person, time or place. It is not necessarily the perfume you wear all the time, for it is always good to have a few to choose from, but it is your most favourite scent, the most comfortable and the one that makes you feel more beautifully ‘you’ like a warm embrace or cool breeze wrapped around you. While we may not all have the talents of a perfumer at our disposal, we can choose or make our own signature fragrance from the wide variety on offer today.

Perfumes can be categorized in many ways, but one of the most common these days is to identify them by their major notes. Scents will usually fall in to the catergories of Floral, Fresh, Woody or Oriental.

Floral scents are those derived from flowers. It may be a single note of violet or a whole garden full of different flowers. They are usually light, pretty, feminine and ladylike, sometimes with richer headier notes like a deep red rose. Lavender, Violet, Rose, Carnation, Lily, Iris.

Fresh scents have a clean, bright zest to them. They often combine citrus and other fruits and have a fun, cheerful, summery feel. Exhilarating and refreshing, they clear the mind and suit people with a lot of energy. Lemon, Orange, Apple, Berry, Mint, Green tea.

Woody scents are more sophisticated and elegant. Think of green velvet or walking through a pine forest. The rich earthy scents of nature, they may be grounding and contain the essences of woods and resins. Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Pine, Mandarin wood.

Oriental scents are spicy and seductive. Recalling exotic places and rare flowers, spices and silk. They are opulent and tempting and sometimes a little dark, mysterious and rich. Opium, Anise, Cocoa, Vanilla, Ginger, Cinnamon, Neroli.

Knowing which type of scent you are drawn to will help narrow down your choices. For example, I almost always wear Floral perfumes, though sometimes I like a few fruity Fresh scents as well. Now that you have a general idea in mind, go to your local perfume counter and start trying different scents! To test a scent, spray one of the small cards provided lightly, then move it back and forward beneath your nose. Often stores have coffee beans available, these are to clear your senses between trying different perfumes. When you find something you really like, spray a little on your wrist and leave. Smell your wrist every few hours and notice how the perfume changes, and how it smells on your skin. A large part of choosing the right perfume is finding something that works with your individual skin chemistry. You will know you’ve found your signature scent because it will make you feel good, remind you of fond memories and other people will comment on how nice you smell.

When wearing perfume daily, it is always better to wear too little than too much. One of the best ways to apply with a vaporiser bottle is to spray the air in front of you and then walk through it. If you are sensitive to perfumes (as I am) you might find perfume oils are a better choice. These are made from essential oils and are usually less intense and artificial. Apply a little dab at your wrists and on your neck, where your pulse will warm the oil and bring out it’s fragrance.

My signature scent is a combination of Rose, Carnation and White tea, from the talented people at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and I highly reccomend their perfume oils.

Princess Ka’iulani of Hawaii’s story is both inspiring and tragic. She was born in 1875, the daughter of mixed parentage, having a Scottish father and Hawaiian mother. She was beautiful, intelligent and talented and had a great sympathy for her people.

Ka’iulani lived a peaceful childhood among the royalty of Hawai’i and was even a friend of the Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson. At the age of 13 she was sent to England to receive her education for the next four years. The Princess mastered many languages and subjects and expressed a desire to be a painter, at which she showed quite some talent. It was while she was in England that she received the news that her Kingdom, to which she was Crown Princess, had been annexed by the United States and the monarchy deposed.

A strong willed, determined young lady she travelled to America to stand up for the rights of her people against the government. Despite her addresses to the press and congress her plight was ignored and she was never to assume her birthright as Queen of Hawai’i. Her efforts did have the effect, however, of impressing upon the people of the US that the Hawaiians were a civilised, cultured people and far from the barbarians they had been portrayed as. She returned to England where the deaths of several of her close friends greatly added to her tragedy and her health began to deteriorate.

Hoping that a change in climate would help her recover, the Princess returned to Hawai’i in 1897. Unfortunately after many years in Europe she had trouble re-acclimatising to the tropical Hawaiian temperatures and sadly passed away on March 6th, 1899. She was only 23.

I feel a certain small kinship to Princess Ka’iulani, being half Scottish myself. Her story is so tragic, and yet she is an ideal example of a Princess. Intelligent, elegant, noble and with a strong sense of duty to her people. She loved Chinese jasmine and kept many pet Peacocks of whom she was very fond. It is said her peacocks screamed when she died. Whenever I see a peacock I am reminded of her strength and beauty.

Reference