“Others are Worse.” Times Marie Antoinette’s Mom Had the Best Advice

Maria Theresa was a busy body and a force of nature. That's a fact. That's also a power combination. She was the type of woman who'd give birth -- and go back to work signing papers. She's the type of woman who'd use her family to help secure her influence in her empire. And as …

What Happens When You Find A Mistake in the Guinness World Book of Records

Dear hearts and darlings -- I found a mistake in the Guinness World Book of Records. You read that correctly. And like you, I didn't think it could happen. I must have been wrong. What must I be missing? The record in question was the 'world's worst fireworks disaster.' And you can likely guess the …

Here’s What 18th Century Paris Sounded Like

Or might have sounded like, Darlings. It's a project by a musicologist named Mylène Pardoen and is the first of its kind. This historical audio reconstitution was crafted by a group of historians, sociologists and 3D specialists. The sounds take the listener between the Pont au Change and Pont Notre Dame bridges. There they can hear the toil …

Read Marie Antoinette’s Resume

Our girl could have escaped. And lord knows, plenty of folks tried to help her. So what would she have done if she did break away? It's a good question. Chances are she'd disappear into life in exile in Europe or, if she were lucky, a life of anonymity in the Colonies. Of course that …

Woman to Dress as Marie Antoinette for an Entire Year

Darlings, you think you're committed to our Queen, but Helen Hopcroft has you beat. This writer and artist from Australia is spending an entire year dressed as our girl in part to improve her community of Maitland, Australia. As she mentions in ABC Australia this week, she hopes the project will show her community's creative …

A Blogmistress Goes to Albuquerque

Darlings, I'm not sure if you've ever been to New Mexico, but I recently went and I don't think I've been so welcomed in all my days. It's a place where people are eager to meet you and so glad you came. I happened to be in New Mexico for my livelihood, dear hearts, and …

How I Plan a Dessert Party

I used to host a dessert party every year. Until I didn't. In those years, I talked about having a dessert party. I thought about what I'd serve. And modify the dishes as we moved from winter to spring to summer to fall. Until I realized that I wouldn't have a dessert party that year. …

What We’re Watching When We Watch Victoria and The Crown

It's a wonderful time for a monarchist, darlings, and I can't say enough for the programming these days exploring the challenges a queen like me faces, like Victoria and The Crown. A royal's life has special challenges and it's about time I had some shows that I could relate to. I came across a piece I …

Marie-Worthy Things You Should Own

Disclaimer: These are things I bought with my own money that I earned and are not ads in any way and I received nothing for them but my own joy in finding and using them. Being a modern Marie lies in the strength of one's heart and the mind -- as we well know. It's …

There’s a Marie Antoinette Connection to Melania Trump’s Inaugural Gown

Over the past few weeks, there had been a lot of talk about the new American First Lady and who might or might not dress her for the inauguration. Of course, these stories use themselves up in the telling. Some of them were right -- Ralph Lauren did design her very elegant coat for the swearing …