Happy Anniversary to…Me!

Happy New Year royal watching friends! In addition to being the first day of 2013, today is also the one year anniversary of my first blog post! It has been such an incredible year putting my royal thoughts to paper (well, wordpress) and getting to know all of you. The best part of this whole blogging thing has been the Twitter conversations and relationships developed – us royal watchers have to stick together! I can’t thank you all enough for reading, posting and tweeting along with me.

So, in honor of this special occasion I’m taking a different approach to the typical “royal year in review” posts. I present to you, my top ten favorite blog posts from 2012. In chronological order – I don’t want to play favorites with my favorites!

1. Prince Harry’s Tour – Top Moments

2. An Interview with Victoria Arbiter

3. Happy Anniversary William and Catherine!

4. Hey Harry, Call Me..Maybe?

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5. Keep Calm and Float On

6. Today’s News: Kate Looks Great, Harry Has Date

7. America for the Win!

8. Confession: I Miss Prince Harry

9. Christmas Gifts for the Royals

10. A Chat with Kelly Lynch

It was difficult to pick just ten..but there you have it! What were your favorite royal moments of 2012?

Happy Birthday Prince Charles!

A very happy 64th birthday to Prince Charles! The next in line to the throne technically celebrates his birthday twice this year, as he is currently in New Zealand with his wife, Camilla, on the final leg of the Diamond Jubilee tour.

 So, what does one get for the future king who has everything? A hobbit, of course! The Prince of Wales, a reported Tolkien fan, spent time meandering about Middle Earth at the studio behind Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit movie. Jackson himself provided the birthday boy with a personal tour of the property, leaving Charles saying, “I can’t tell you how grateful I am — the best birthday present I’ve had in a long time.”

After an eventful morning in his very own fantasyland, Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall attended a government shindig alongside 64 people also born on Nov. 14. And what’s a 64th birthday celebration without a rendition of “When I’m 64” by the Beatles? Dad, if you’re reading this – don’t expect your 64th birthday in a few years to come complete with a military band.

Happy Birthday Prince Charles!

Kate’s Closet

I know, I never blogged William & Kate’s Diamond Jubilee tour – I am the worst. I know most of you can relate when I say keeping up with a 12 hour time difference in the midst of “real life” was next to impossible. One thing I did take away from the tour was this – Kate is the ultimate in class, elegance and style. So, to make up for the lack of posts and to have a little fun during this royal lull, I have decided to compile some looks I would love to see hanging in Kate’s closet.

We all envy her wardrobe and if you’re anything like me (and some of my Twitter friends – you know who you are), you often see an outfit and think it would look stunning  on The Duchess of Cambridge.

‘Casual’ Engagements 

Petite Sailor Button Sleeve Dress, The Loft
I actually own this dress and it is currently my favorite item hanging in my closet. I don’t pretend I can pull off half the looks that Kate can, but I could definitely see her wearing this to an afternoon charity engagement or on a plane ride to/from a tour.

Duck Egg Lace Skater Dress, Miss Selfridge
These colors would be perfect on Kate in the spring/summer. Maybe she’s already worn it because the item is sold out!

I don’t know where this dress is from or who designs it (I even got WhatKateWore in on the case), but when I saw this a few months ago I immediately thought it would have been the perfect dress to wear on the South Pacific tour.

Zarita Lace Sheath Dress, Diane von Furstenberg
This has Kate written all over it! The Duchess of Cambridge has worn DVF before (green dress worn in LA/Zara’s rehearsal dinner), and the lace is right up her alley. It also comes in blue – Kate’s signature color!

Micro-brushed, cotton blend dress, Victoria Beckham
A classic, clean look designed by one of her friends – need I say more?

Pleated silk crepe dress, Chloe
This would look fantastic as is or with a blazer and the color is one that I wish we would see Kate in more often.

Again, the downfall of Pinterest – no idea who makes this dress! It would be perfect for a night at the National Portrait Gallery.

Ermanno Scervino Spring/Summer 2012
The most coveted dress on my Pinterest boards by far. This might be considered ‘risky’ for Kate, but how amazing would she look in that long, tailored skirt?

Petal-collar wool-blend dress, Oscar de la Renta
This is quintessential Cambridge – neutral color, classic fit, paired perfectly with her L.K. Bennett nude pumps. I could see her wearing this to Trooping the Colour or an engagement with Her Majesty.

Black Tie Elegance

Jason Wu, Fall 2011
This dress is absolutely stunning! Kate proved in Malaysia that she can pull off gold well (okay, she can pull off anything). Paired with her sparkling Jimmy Choo stiletto sandals, Kate could turn heads in this shimmering frock.

Embroidered tulle gown, Alberta Ferretti
This dress would look quite elegant on Kate for her next royal dinner party at Buckingham Palace or on an overseas tour. Hair up of course!

Again, I have no clue where this dress came from but I think it speaks for itself.

Elie Saab
I have made no secret of the fact that my dream designer for Kate is Elie Saab. How she hasn’t discovered Saab yet is baffling to me, but either of these dresses would be heavenly on Kate.

Now I’m just on an Elie Saab kick…

Do you envision The Duchess of Cambridge in any of these looks? Who is your dream designer for Kate? Leave some comments!

I Can’t Wait for London 2012

There is less than a month to go until the opening ceremony for London 2012 – and I cannot wait! I’ve always been a huge fan of the Summer Olympics and the fact that the Games are taking place in London this year.. I’ll be glued to the 3,500 hours of online coverage.

So, why am I so excited for the Olympics? Here are my top ten reasons why the Summer Olympics will be kick ass..in no particular order.

1. Two Words – Ryan Lochte.

2. That look of pure joy on The Queen’s face that she had throughout the entire Diamond Jubilee and we are sure to see during the opening and closing ceremonies. C’mon, Her Majesty is too adorable when she grins from ear to ear!

3. Two weeks of possible wardrobe heaven from The Duchess of Cambridge – who knows what events she will appear at!

4. If London can do this with the Diamond Jubilee, I can only imagine the spectacle we are in for when the entire world is watching. No one does pomp and pageantry like the British!

5. The slight chance that Usain Bolt will challenge Prince Harry to a do-over. Okay, yes..the chance that will happen is way less than slight.

6. Endless coverage of my favorite city in the world..it’s like a free trip to London from the comfort of my couch.

7. Uniforms. I can’t wait to see how each country’s uniforms, especially after all of the controversy surrounding Team GB’s Stella McCartney kits.

8. Team USA is guaranteed to bring home some serious hardware and well, that makes me proud.

9. Is there anything more exciting than Olympic swimming? Nope. Don’t think so.

10. Call me a dork, but something about the world coming together, despite war, economic bailouts, governments collapsing and all of our problems..that’s pretty special.

If you want to keep up with all of the excitement on Twitter, be sure to follow @London2012 (all individual sport handles are listed on this page), @Olympics, @NBCOlympics, @TeamGB, @USOlympic, @VisitBritain, @VisitLondon and @HeathrowAirport.

Can’t wait to see you amaze the world, London!

What is your favorite part of the Olympics? Are you as excited for London 2012 as I am? Leave some comments! Go Team USA!