Realm & Britain Magazines

These two magazines are much anticipated in my home. Afew years ago my parents surprised me with a subscription to Realm: I was hooked. It, along with Britain magazine which I began getting two years ago, is one of those magazines that is meant to be read properly: with a cup of tea, a few cookies and time. Thankfully they only arrive once every other month, because quiet time to savor such gorgeous publications is slim in my house.

So these magazines are in a neat pile in the living room, not in the basket in the bathroom with my Ballard Designs catalogs. Realm Magazine has the most in depth articles about people and places in the UK, with particularly tasteful updates on the upcoming royal wedding. Britain Magazine has sumptuous photographs, travel advice and fascinating history articles.

Did you get your invitation?

OK, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the cheesy engagement pic at the corner is not part of the actual invitation that was mailed out today to 1900 of their closest friends.
Did you get yours? Since today is President's Day in the States, the mail wasn't delivered. I'll check tomorrow.

Emma Bridgewater does the Royal Wedding

Emma Bridgewater Pottery is one of the most adorable products out there. Everyone should have a plate that says "Bubble & Sqeak" on it!

Seeing as the Royal Wedding is going to leave Britain awash in (potentially tacky) memorabilia, it's nice to see that Emma has taken on the Royal Wedding and made it, well, adorable.

Downton Abbey

Highclere castle, location for Downton Abbey

Really? As if waiting for the new Upstairs/Downstairs series to begin wasn't torture enough, the world now has Downton Abbey: GORGEOUS and GLORIOUS. My daughter and I were hooked (after a couple of "cover your eyes!" we made it through relatively unscathed, she is, after all, only 11. But then again that's about how old I was when I saw Jeremy Iron's naked butt in Brideshead Revisited...). So now we wait patiently for them to make a second season of DA.
If you didn't see it when it aired on PBS, do try and watch episodes 3 & 4 online at PBS. The costumes are amazing, and an old favorite of mine, Elizabeth McGovern, is lovely as the Countess of Grantham, american born wife of the Earl of Grantham. And of course Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham is perfection. I literally laughed outloud several times because of her.
If you need some help sorting out all the upstairs/downstairs characters, there is a good wikipedia page you can find here.

An Insider's Guide to Britian

This precious site is devoted to all things wonderful and "local". http://www.thisisyourkingdom.co.uk/ is charming and informative even for those of us whose kingdom it actually isn't. Did that make sense?
But a girl can dream.
And this would be a great site to check out before you travel, especially if you will be visiting some of the smaller towns, or are traveliing with children.

BBC America's Anglophenia

If you get BBC America then you are able to catch some of the popular shows (a few seasons behind) that pop up in the UK. And then you see their dopplegangers on American (or Canadian) TV not long after (Being Human, anyone?)

This little blog on the BBC America website is a lot of fun to read, and keep one up on the latest British pop culture gossip.