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‘April’ by Elsa Beskow, ca. 1909

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Flower Transparent Embroidery Kits for Beginners

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Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter (1984)

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The Leavenworth Post, Kansas, March 21, 1914

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by Elsa Beskow

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The fairytale art of Swedish author/illustrator, Elsa Beskow (1874-1953).

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Cranberry Almond Cream Puffs

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and I was catching my breath, barefoot in the wildest winter, catching my death

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Follower of Jean Baptiste Monnoyer (1636 - 1699)

A pair of flower still lifes

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MADE FOR EACH OTHER (1939)

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Is that paradoxical to be torn between princess and cottage aesthetics?  That’s exactly what I am. I want to know which spoon to pick first, and  how to make embroidery. I want to have eggs Benedict, or brioche with jam in the morning. I want to learn curtsy, horse riding, fencing and waltz, and how to grow pumpkins, make a fire pit, and take care of hens. I want to have breakfast in bed with a silver tray, and to sip my tea on my porch, listening to birds singing in the morning. I want to go to fancy balls in astonishing crinoline dresses, and to quietly  read by the fire in a practical cotton dress and apron.  I want a palace full of crystal chandeliers, silver cutlery, canopy beds and gilding, and I also want a cottage with gingham curtains, spider webs, and an old timey gas cooker. I want to drink champagne and homemade lemonade. I want to eat with silver engraved cutlery and monogrammed napkins, and with clay bowl. I want to play chess and to make leek soup. I want to wear authentic diamonds and embroiled corsages. I want to speak several languages, be erudite about nearly everything, and read fairy tales in my bed. I want to sleep under silk sheets, and a patchwork blanket. I want to give money to charity, and crumbles to little birds in winter.

I want elaborated gardens and to be near a deep, mysterious forest. I want to be served beef with grand veneur sauce and I want to bake pies myself. I want an army of maids, bodyguards,  and be surrounded with people with brilliant conversations, and I want to be alone with animals as well. I want to wear high heels and laced ankle brown boots. I want people to bow before me and call me your highness, and to be gently greeted by the postman. I want to salute people from my carriage and to politely return hellos from the baker or the dairyman when I go for shopping with my basket at the nearby village. I want to go to the mass in a cathedral and see it from a private box, and to go to a small village church.  I want to go to the opera and to picnics in the forest. I want to wear a tiara with a very elaborate hairstyle and a flower crown on my loose hair. I want a busy agenda, and I want a slow life.

Is it impossible? Paradoxical? Not at all, it’s wanting to be Snow White. Born to be queen, but who perfectly adjusted to life in dwarfs ’s house. I think it could be done by living in the palace during weeks, and in the cottage during week-ends. That sound cool: the week princess -week-end cottage girl.

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The Evening Sun, Baltimore, December 21, 1917

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Yule Art by Lady Viktoria 

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Women use compact mirrors in packed crowd to catch sight of the queen in London, June 1966. Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic

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Beth Harmon appreciation 26/26

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