Following on from my post on being Queen-like on Day 21 I wanted to share with you something I'd written six months ago and forgotten about. I love asking myself a question and then brainstorming as many answers as possible. Sometimes the results are just so-so if the topic doesn't inspire me and sometimes I get fantastic results.
I love the answers I got from brainstorming the question 'How can I be the Queen in my life?' I let my mind run away with itself and didn't filter. I found this list really inspiring and I hope you enjoy it too.
How can I be the Queen in my life?
- Rise above pettiness, gossip and negativity
- Have high standards in everything I do, wear, eat and the way I live
- Be regal and above petty things
- Be fair, loyal and dignified
- Have firm boundaries at the same time as being caring to others
- Carry myself with dignity and poise
- Allow my life to be wealthy and abundant – let these things in
- Appreciate the ‘wealth’ I already have – what I’ve achieved so far in buying our house and running our business, all my possessions big and small, our retirement savings accounts etc.
- Trust desires that I have – go for them and see what happens. Know that nothing is a desire in my life unless there is some way for me to do/have it.
- Uplevel my environment continually and incrementally. Make my surroundings opulent.
- Have a mantra – ‘I am the Queen of my life’.
- Treat my husband like he is my King.
- Have a crystal clear vision of what being a Queen means to me and keep it in mind
- Be authentically me and Queenly at the same time.
- I am not afraid to roll my sleeves up and muck in – the Queen drives her own Land Rover off-road around her country estates; she’s not just sitting by the fire in her crown all helpless
- I am down to earth and practical
- I take care of myself and look after myself
- I love and enjoy my life, I don’t wish I was anyone else. How could I wish that – I’m the Queen of my life
- I have a sense of duty
- I project femininity and strength in equal measures
- I feel empowered and in my power
- I conduct myself with elegance and grace
- I am always well-presented and appropriately groomed
- I take pride in my appearance
- I remember I am a Queen at all times
What question would you like to ask yourself? What question would you like me to brainstorm?
Until tomorrow, be chic, and queenly, yet again!
Bonjour Fiona
ReplyDeleteI must again express my delight at this series which is so inspiring me to cultivate a more chic lifestyle.
I have recently come to the sobering realization that I have slouched my way through 60 years, unkempt, ungracious and ungrateful. After a fair, wasted time of bemoaning all the losses, due to my own choices, I have been encourage by articles, books, blogs, most notably yours, Fiona, to redeem the remaining days, years, moments and deliberately choose to cultivate a more regal chicness in attitude, attire, and additions of petit adjustments daily until the outer me reflects the regal princess I so long to be, not only for myself and Hubby's benefit but as a legacy of true contented femineity, for my granddaughters.
Thank you too to Margaret, you are an inspiration.
Merci Fiona
lorraine
Lorraine I could have written your comment word for word. In fact I wrote something similar as a comment on one of Fiona's earlier posts in this series. But even at our ages ( I'm 58) it's never too late for us is it? We CAN redeem the time ..after all Queen Elizabeth is 90 and still showing the world how it's done. Fiona you have just outdone yourself, I am savoring this wonderful series!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, thank you Lorraine for saying I'm an inspiration. Really, I'm truly a very ordinary person, and that isn't being modest but being honest. I don't always come up to my own high standards but it's trying to make small improvements that count, I think, as eventually our behaviour, appearance and attitudes change - we then remain feminine but are never subservient; able to voice an opinion but without becoming strident.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
I will make that my manta: I am the Queen of My Life. There is responsibility and control.
ReplyDeleteWow again, Fiona, you seem to have struck a chord with your Queen thoughts. This is becoming 30 Chic Days - the regal edition. (Your next book title, perhaps?). I love it. I've been thinking hard about royalty since Day 21. And there seems to be a synchronicity at the moment. Helen Mirren's "The Queen" was televised last weekend; I hadn't seen it before. While it portrayed Elizabeth at a very low ebb in her popularity, her steadfastness and thoughtfulness had me hoping the movie was factual.
ReplyDeleteI was particularly affected by the beauty of the rooms and the architecture shown in the movie. As a non-European, my daily life contains very little that is beautiful and historic. Most western Canadians are only a generation or two removed from the immigrants who homesteaded. Even if Granny foolishly brought a china tea set with her instead of a bolt of heavy cloth or something else practical, a granddaughter's portion is very small.
Calgary, a city of over a million, contains only 500 century homes, thanks to several floods and a fire that razed the early city. My own home, built in the 1960s, has low ceilings, minimal trim and is swathed in vinyl siding. But as I gaze round my living room, I am proud of how successfully I have developed a sense of history and tradition here. My husband and I were lucky in that all 4 sets of grandparents were downsizing just as we were getting started. None of the other grandchildren seemed interested in the "old stuff", so we got it all. Most of our furniture is family from the 1930's, or is something even older that my mother managed to pick up. My earliest memory of her is of her walking ahead of me down the sidewalk, carrying an old chair discarded from a private gentlemens' club, to the upholsterer's shop nearby. I still have that chair, wearing the heavy cotton velvet she chose that day.
Does having my grandparents' furniture, instead of IKEA, matter? Maybe not to anyone but me. But I adore the tick of the clock from Grandad's law office. To me it says "Slow down. Make your choices carefully. Your time is not infinite, but you are part of something that is. Be worthy of the gift." It seems to me that the same message has shaped the royals.
Thanks again, Fiona. Deep thoughts for an early morning.
Fabulous sentiment, phrased perfectly!
ReplyDeleteI love Kerry's comments ... and no, it doesn't matter, Kerry, that you don't actually own any truly historic items yourself; it is sufficient to appreciate your heritage, those homesteaders were brave people, and yes, a bolt of cloth would've been far more use than a pretty tea service! But you can still read about our joint Canadian/British history, we share the monarchy (although some in Quebec would rather we didn't, I do know that)and you can buy, when funds allow, small items with perhaps some history attached. I am sure your "old stuff" will be appreciated by the next generation - appreciation usually skips a generation or two!
ReplyDeleteSome time ago, the National Trust produced some short videos of some of their properties here in the UK. I don't know whether they are available on Amazon or even if they are suitable for your region, but unlike in movies, where sometimes sets are used, you would see some of our lovely historic buildings. However, in Downton Abbey, that really is Highclere Castle standing in as Downton - the 'above stairs' is real, 'below stairs', the kitchens, etc, are sets.
How lovely you have your grandfather's clock. He would've heard that tick just as you are now doing; a real connection with your past.
Margaret P
I think what is interesting about the royalty/queen mentality is that the real royalty is always "on". I think they have to be, so rarely do they live double lives one way at home and another in public view. I actually really like this concept of holding my standards high all the time, even when nobody is looking. It really does make a difference. I love the question you posed!
ReplyDeleteLorraine, don't be too hard on yourself, I think we all feel like that at some stage or another - I know I certainly have. And it's nice to know that it's never too late to start to do things differently. As long as we're alive, there's still time. Thanks for your lovely comment, I think you're definitely on the right track :)
ReplyDeleteMichele, it's my pleasure and thanks so much for your comments too. Queen Elizabeth is one of my chic mentors.
Margaret, see, I told you you need your own blog! You have many keen readers already :) I love your comment and how you've expressed your thoughts.
Madame, nicely done. Love that mantra.
Kerry, I saw Helen Mirren in The Queen when it first came out at the movies and loved it, I'm going to watch it again soon, thanks for bringing it up. I love your thoughts and I too enjoy family history. Such a great story of the chair!
"Slow down. Make your choices carefully. Your time is not infinite, but you are part of something that is. Be worthy of the gift." - best advice ever!
Thank you, Anonymous!
Margaret, both the internal and external shots of Highclere Castle ('upstairs') are absolutely stunning. The house is as much a character of this series as the actors.
Stephanie, I agree. I can't imagine the Duchess of Cambridge lying on her sofa watching trashy tv eating cheese puffs from the bag, or Princess Caroline of Monaco wearing a hot pink velour tracksuit at home (it's probably winter-white cashmere...)
Such a great thought to entertain - imagine you are being filmed for a documentary about you, even if you are by yourself. I'm much better at this now, it's nice to marry up the public and private sides and it feels good.
That just might be my favorite picture of the queen.
ReplyDeleteD.
D. I know, I love it too!
ReplyDeleteThis has been one of my favourites writings so far, Fiona. I love your lost and the intentions behind it.
ReplyDeleteI also very much enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Each person added their own wisdom. Beautiful.
There is no right or wrong, just what is right for YOU.
I, too, have furniture and furnishings that have been passed down from family members, op shops, old landlords and I wouldn't part with ANY of it.