The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton

A Royal Wedding cream tea.

This is my hat for the day - a Red Hat!

From the moment I Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their wedding date, I knew that it was an event that I simply couldn't miss!  

It helped that I had lived in Pimlico, London, for a time.   I got to visit Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace (where I had tea at the Orangery), St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.  

I even visited Althorp, where Princess Diana is buried.  I saw her wedding dress, and I met her brother, Earl Spencer there.  He autographed a copy of his book, Althorp: The Story of an English House for me.

I took the day off and prepared to celebrate the nuptials in my own way - with an English cream tea, my style!  

I live on the East Coast of the USA, so I woke up early - at 4:15 A.M.  It was perfect timing, and I was able to watch the wedding while commenting on the entire experience with friends via Facebook and Twitter - something that wasn't around when Prince Charles and Lady Diana got married.  My fingers flew across my iPad and iPhone and we gossiped and commented on all of the proceedings from four different countries - The USA, South Africa, England and Australia.

I absolutely loved the entire experience.  The term "Waity Katy" became a thing of the past the moment HRH Catherine Duchess of Cambridge stepped out of Westminster Abbey on the arm of her beaming new husband,  HRH Prince William Duke of Cambridge.  His surname is Mountbatten-Windsor.

Our verdict - the bride was simply stunning and elegant, while her husband was intense and dashing, and he looked like he was completely in love with and enthralled by his new bride.

Her dress was gorgeous - simple yet intricate - apparently the seamstresses had to wash their hands every thirty minutes and change out their sewing needles every three hours in order to keep the dress as perfect as possible.

I was disappointed by the lack of flowers in Westminster Abbey.  The trees were a nice touch but I felt that it looked rather like trees in a shopping mall.  I think even just a few flowers would have been a nice touch.

Kiss and kiss again! The two kisses on the balcony were enough to make William flush with embarrassment and pleasure, it seemed, making him appear to be even more down to earth and appealing.

And as they drove off to Clarence House after the reception, in Prince Charles' vintage car, we all wished them well and everyone really does hope that they get it right and live out a happy life together.

Scones with Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam.

As for our cream tea, I had to have my all time favorite - Twinings English Breakfast Tea, served with raisin and orange walnut scones with clotted cream (yes, the real thing) and strawberry jam.  If you have never had clotted cream before, you should try it.  It is an extra thick velvety cream that is made by heating milk and then leaving it to cool slowly in a shallow pan.  Cornish clotted cream is made only by using milk from cows in Cornwall.

Chocolate Petit Fours and a Vanilla Petit Four shaped like a red hat with a flower were perfect to nibble on.

A Teapot Teaspoon is a nice touch.

Cheesecake, orange cake and a cherry tartlet helped make my simple tea simply decadent!
 

My favorite cuppa - English Breakfast Tea.

If you are interested in Cream Tea or High Tea (which includes sandwiches), check out the two videos that I included in this post.

I make a point to have cream tea or high tea wherever I am in the world, including The Ritz in London and The Victorian Lounge in the Old Winter Palace Hotel in Egypt.  Below are two videos that I made, one about the charming New Leaf Tea Room in Riverton, New Jersey, and the other about The Victorian Lounge in Egypt.  Enjoy!

If you watched the Royal Wedding, I hope that you had as much fun as we did!

Until next time!

- The Sassi Wench

Rebecca Minkoff Review and Unboxing Prada

Rebecca Minkoff Erin and Un Deux Trois Pouch

I have been interested in Rebecca Minkoff for a long time, ever since I saw her studded Double Rocker crossbody bags.  It was time for a new large makeup bag, because I found that my Coach makeup bag, which is a similar style, is having an issue with the fabric wearing down from constant use after almost two years.  I mostly keep large items in here - like nail polish, and nail care tools, and large palettes, a comb or a small hair brush.  Enter, the Rebecca Minkoff Studded Erin! It was love at first sight, for sure.

Rebecca Minkoff Studded Erin

It has a roomy interior - perfect for toting around larger makeup items.


The zipper is metal YKK - one of the best!

The interior of both accessories has Rebecca Minkoff printed inside

Rebecca Minkoff Un, Deux, Trois Pouch

Rebecca Minkoff pouches are EVERYWHERE.  They are affordable at around $55, and they have a multitude of uses - store makeup, accessories, keys or money inside.  The leather is soft, the zipper is YKK, and the whole effect is stunning.  These pouches are available in different colors with different wording - like "Allowance" "Trustfund""Gas Money"
www.rebeccaminkoff.com

Rebecca Minkoff care tag

Prada uses a lot of packaging!

This was my first time ordering from the Prada website.


The most shocking aspect of receiving this item by mail, is that Prada feels it is necessary to use excessive packaging!  Watch my video (above) to see how absurd it is!

Prada Tissue Holder

I originally saw a Prada tissue holder years ago - and I thought it was fake!  As it turns out, the Prada Tissue Holder is very real.  Prada understands that women like to be super-organized.  Since then I have tried to order one on two separate occasions, only to be sent the dreaded email that my order was canceled due to the item being sold out!  But the third time's a charm!

And here it is!  No more ugly plastic baggies with the nasty sticky tab sticking to everything I put in my purse.  Now I am organized, and I'll be able to find my tissues with ease because of the bright color.
www.prada.com
Click here for a link to my YouTube Channel: The Sassi Wench

Until next time, 

The Sassi Wench!

Review: Coach Gallery Leather East West Tote and Accessories

Coach Gallery East West Leather Tote in Pewter.

I haven't bought a Coach purse in about 10 months, but when I saw this new Gallery East West tote, I was instantly smitten and I decided to buy it!  

The Coach Gallery Tote designs are a Coach staple, and they alter the basic structured design by changing out hardware, handles and fabrics on each new edition.

This particular version appears to be inspired, in part by Gucci's Sukey Tote bag.  That is evident by the two pleats under the handles.  The Gallery Tote is a structured bag, and it can rest upright without falling over.

Coach has high quality hardware.

The metallic suede is absolutely stunning on this purse.

I personally love metallic finishes, so all of the sparkle instantly attracted me.  

The purse itself is roomy enough to easily carry around an iPad, magazines, large water bottles, makeup and a long wallet with ease.

Coach East West Tote Interior is lilac.

The great thing about this particular tote are the number of pockets.  Two small and one large pocket on the outside, a regular pocket, a cell phone pocket, and a zippered pocket all on the inside!  You can be highly organized and find everything you put in there with ease.

It's always exciting to see brand new Coach accessories still packaged!

All of these accessories are from the Coach outlet.

Coach Passport Cover and Business Card Holder in Shell.

The interior of the Coach Passport cover is lilac fabric.

I bought the passport cover out of sheer necessity.  I travel quite a lot, and my passport is starting to look a little weathered.  This is the perfect passport cover for me!  I wanted it in a lighter color, so that I can easily locate it in my purse when I disembark and have to go through customs.  I always wanted a leather passport cover, because leather will last far longer than fabric.

The Coach Business Card holder is in metallic pebbled leather.

I already have too many loyalty cards, and the number is growing.  I also carry business cards around with me, and that is why I chose to purchase a card case.  

It will serve another purpose as well - this case will hold cash, my ID and debit cards with ease - and fit easily into a small purse, clutch or swingpack/crossbody bag.

The Coach Business Card holder is very functional.

This is an elegant and well made card holder.

The key chain is for my Mom.  I chose this particular one because we both love the ocean, and because of something funny that happened on the beach when I was a little girl - it's one of my Mom's most mortifying moments, and a funny, sweet memory for both of us.  So this is a gift for her for Mother's Day.

Coach Pave Ocean Beach Charm Key Chain Legacy.

Click here for a link to my YouTube Channel: The Sassi Wench

Until next time, 

The Sassi Wench!

Birchbox April 2011: Earth Day

April 2011 Birchbox

Birchbox does it again!  This month's Birchbox took a little longer to arrive because it included perfume and nail polish, but it's the most eclectic Birchbox yet!

The Earth Day Birchbox includes:
Juice Beauty - Green Apple Peel
Juice Beauty - Stem Cellular Repair Eye Cream
LIV GRN - Earth de Parfum
Weleda - Wild Rose Smoothing Facial Lotion
Zoya - Nail Polish in Caitlin
Bloomin - Seed Paper

The April Birchbox contains perfume and nail polish!

Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Lotion and Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel.

Bloomin Seed Paper and Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair Eye Treatment.

LIV GRN Earth Eau de Parfum.

Zoya Nail Polish in Caitlin.

Zoya Caitlin with other Zoya colors.

If you like Birchbox, sign up for the monthly $10 subscription.  You can cancel it at any time, and you earn points to put towards the purchase of full size products that you enjoyed from your sample selection.

Click here for a link to their website: Birchbox

Click here for a link to my January 2011 Birchbox: January 2011 Birchbox

Click here for a link to my February 2011 Birchbox: February 2011 Birchbox

Click here for a link to my March 2011 Birchbox: March 2011 Birchbox

Click here for a link to my April 2011 Birchbox: April 2011 Birchbox

Click here for a link to TestTube: TestTube

Click here for a link to Beauty Fix: Beauty Fix

Click here for a link to my YouTube Channel: The Sassi Wench

Until next time, 

The Sassi Wench!