Bllliiinnnggg!

I'll admit it - I am easily distracted by shiny objects. It's true! I looooove jewelry. So I was really excited to see what Kate Middleton was going to wear for her royal wedding. So here is a picture of her wedding bling.

The tiara is the Cartier "Halo" tiara that King George VI purchased for his wife in 1936 and was given to Queen Elizabeth for her 18th birthday. The Queen loaned it to the Duchess of Cambridge for her special day.

The earrings were a gift from Kate's parents. The dangle in the middle of the earrings is an acorn - from the Middleton family crest.

And, of course, there is the ring. The beautiful 18-carat saphire and diamond ring that Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana for their engagement. It was then presented to Kate Middleton by Prince William as his "way of making sure that my mother didn't miss out". I haven't heard anything about the actual wedding band that the Duchess of Cambridge wears but I believe it to be either a gold or platinum band - simple and just like Diana.



The Duchess didn't wear any other jewelry for her wedding. She is truly a classy, elegant, yet simple lady.

More hats

Here are Carole Middleton, Queen Elizabeth II and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the royal wedding. I love their hats. They are much more conservative than Princess Beatrice's hat but still have that Kentucky Derby vibe. I probably would have added some sort of feathers to Camilla's hat just to add a little more interest though.

I adore big sunhats and cute conductor caps and interesting beanies . . . that sort of thing. I am a hat person. I buy hats and I wear hats. Why don't more people wear hats?

It finally got here!

The Royal Wedding finally got here and whizzed right by me! I'm sad to say that I actually fell asleep before the wedding so I didn't get to watch it live but I did watch it after I got up.

I stayed up all night. I read, I did crossword puzzles, I watched crime shows, I did everything I could but, alas, it did not work. But moving on . . .

Could this wedding or Catherine Middleton been any more perfect or beautiful?



Catherine Middleton was one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen! Even more so than Princess Diana, I think.



Her dress was so simple, yet it was incredibly regal.



Everything was so appropriate, including her bouquet, which was a flower called Sweet Williams.



And her Prince was so dashing and handsome and regal and so much his mother.



He even blushed a little bit after the kiss(es) on the balcony.



And just the incredible love and comfort that they share with each other is absolutely amazing!

They were so natural and relaxed around each other, even though you could still see that they were both nervous (even after all these years together). Prince William winked at his Princess. They shared loving glances and smiles. Their waves were not the typical small circle like Queen Elizabeth II uses. Catherine was so regal and composed the entire time. And I was EXTREMELY impressed to learn that she had done her own makeup!

She didn't want Prince William to see her in her dress until she arrived at the altar and he honored that request. He actually ended up being the last person to see her in her dress. But I bet, it was worth the wait. She . . . was . . . stunning!

Did anyone else know . . .?

In honor of the upcoming royal wedding, I have been doing research online about various members of the royal family.

Was anyone else aware that the Queen Mother had passed away in 2002 at the age of 101 ??? I guess I just do not remember ever hearing about it. I had been wondering what she was up to these days. Now I know.

The Queen Mum was a very interesting woman (Just look her up on Wikipedia). She had a dry sense of humor and was always smiling. She seemed pretty down-to-earth and sometimes was known to go against the norm. Queen Elizabeth II could pick up a thing or two from her mother.

Speaking of Queen Elizabeth, I was looking through a scrapbook that belongs to my Dad and in there, was a birthday card from his sister. It had a picture of Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, on it. It was signed from "Liz and Phil". I just found that to be so hysterical. My Dad's family members have very dry senses of humor also.

In closing, I just have one question for which I've never heard an answer - why do so many Brits have such terrible teeth (look @ the Queen Mum's)?