Royals

 With Love, Megan

Mary Ann

Ladies from my generation, do you remember when you were little girls and being enchanted with John F. Kennedy, his wife Jackie, and their children, Caroline and John-John?  They were American royalty – remember it was the time of Camelot.  I think when they were in the White House, I fell in love with fashion and just adored seeing the latest pictures with Jackie’s outfits with her iconic pillbox hats and her adorable children riding their pony Macaroni or playing in the Oval Office.  Then the time was gone in a puff with the presidential assignation, yet I continued to watch for pictures of Jackie and her children.  

Then during my daughter’s youth, Princess Diana reigned more than the British Isle.  She was a fashion icon with her cute little boys, Prince Wills and Prince Harry.   Her clothes were just beautiful, and she epitomized a true English rose.  It was fun again to see what she was wearing and what she was doing.  Princess Diana was a breath of fresh air from the stodgy monarchy.  (I can’t remember Princess Anne as a fashion forward icon.)  Her time ended too quickly with her untimely death. However, she still dominates a good bit of the news.  

Then the next generation, in our present time, came on the scene with Wills and Harry growing up and marrying.  Prince William marries Kate Middleton, and the new princess is just lovely as well.  They have three adorable children, George, Charlotte, and Louie. 

Later, Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle.  The new Duchess of Sussex has an exotic beauty about her and has a flair for fashion.  They have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – again adorable.    

The larger world and our own personal lives have been full of challenging times, and there doesn’t seem to be much making us smile.  Yet, when I look at the news and the British Royals are featured, I know I will be uplifted with beautiful clothes and cute pictures of their children.  It may seem shallow, but I am thankful for the respite from the woes of our world.  

I realize that the Royals themselves have their own set of problems – stay calm and carry on is something they live by. I was a big fan of Meghan Markle when she was on Suits.  Her blog, The Tig, was an early lifestyle site.  She has always loved food, wine, entertaining, crafting, and travel.  She had a healthy following.  Then you fall in love with a prince and your whole life changes where you must put away the things you love.  

The honeymoon with the British press lasted for a few years then they turned on Meghan.  I am sure that all the accusations have some truth about her, but who would like to live under the pressure of constant judgment.  Whatever you do, it is not right. You might decide to leave that life behind.  Fast forward to present times, Harry and Meghan did just that, and they had to make a living to afford the lifestyle they have been accustomed to and most importantly pay for protection for their family. – all big bucks!

Which brings me to a review of Meghan’s new lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, on Netflix.   I was trying to watch with an open mind because I like her, and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the series.  I learned something new every episode either about cooking or decorating or gardening or entertaining.  I appreciated all her creativity. She moves throughout her world in confident and caring ways.  She has come back to the roots of the things she loves.  Again, she is being judged on everything she presents, but she perseveres. She is a little worker bee even if she is a queen bee! 

I loved the little edible flowers in the first episode and cannot wait to get some.  I will be sprinkling everything.  I loved the idea of using a Ziplock bag as a pastry bag with a scissor snip.  I love hosting so she gave me a few ideas to spruce up the guest room.  I haven’t tried the recipes yet, but I will.  I am going to rewatch the series again and catch the things I may have missed.  And it is exciting there is going to be a second season.  I can hardly wait.  So, despite how other may feel about her, she has given me a place to escape our challenging times and enjoy a pretty life!  I can’t wait for her to reissue her products – they sold out within an hour.  She may be more popular than presented.  

When I was a young woman, we had Alexandria Stoddard.  She wrote books about living a pretty life. I always loved reading her suggestions.  I think this is what Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is trying to do – giving us ideas for making the ordinary extraordinary in simple ways!  Then came Martha Stewart.  I lived by everything she said.  She went off to prison, and we all seemed to still like her.  

If you haven’t watched With Love, Meghan, I think you might enjoy it.  No need to judge her, just use her ideas in your life to make things more interesting and enjoyable. Get some dried edible flowers sprinkles and spread a little joy!    

Note: The Second Season dropped earlier than I anticipated. I just finished watching Season 2. Again, lot of ideas to make your life prettier. I also purchased some of the products that As Ever offered. The packaging was very well done with little details such as personal notes and the like. The products seemed to be of fine quality – I got my flower sprinkles. The apricot jam I ordered was out of stock. They reimbursed me for it and are sending a free jar once they restocked. I think that is excellent customer service and encourages future purchases.