Lifestyle Guides

Princess Cosplay

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As a princess lover, I like to imagine what it would be like to live a day in the life of my favorite princesses. Thanks to the magic of cosplay, this is possible. The term "cosplay" is a mash-up of the words "costume" and "play." It originated in Japan in 1984, referring to fans who dress up at anime conventions. I learned about it through my high school's anime club, when its popularity grew heavily in America around the anime craze of the '90s. My first attempts at cosplay were feeble, to say the least. My skills took off when I studied a "Fashion Design" elective class at my school. I learned how to sew properly by both machine and hand using Simplicity patterns. After I bought a crinoline skirt at a Renaissance Faire, my gowns started to look perfectly princess. Since then, I have cosplayed as several of my favorite princesses.


Cosplay is a very expensive and time-consuming hobby, so I don't recommend doing it often unless you h…

Princess Weddings

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Japanese company Kuraudia Co. recently partnered with Disney to create a new line of gorgeous Disney Princess wedding dresses. This is far from the only company that makes wedding gowns inspired by our favorite animated heroines. Though they recently went out of business, the popular American bridal chain, Alfred Angelo, had recently revealed several new designs for Disney Princess inspired dresses that were more modern-looking than the ones from Japan. Designer Kirstie Kelly also unveiled a Disney Princess inspired collection several years ago, which has since been discontinued. Though the Americanized versions of these dresses hardly resemble classic princess fashion, the correlation between weddings and princesses seems to date back an eternity. Do the two concepts go hand-in-hand like a bride and groom at the altar? Let's find out.


Since the very beginning, most fairy tales that end with "happily ever after" included a wedding. In fact, the direct translation of the …

Why Princesses Inspire Me

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Can you believe this is my 50th post? It's been an uphill climb to bring you new and exciting princess topics every day thus far. Thank you to all of my readers for your support. As much as I would love to get to 100 posts as soon as possible, I'm afraid I might not be able to keep coming up with new topics every day. Keep your suggestions coming, and I will try my best. I changed the comments settings recently, so if you were having trouble posting comments before, please try again because I'd love to hear from you.

If the Tiara Fits

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A tiara is considered the ultimate symbol of being a princess. Yet, surprisingly few princess characters wear them in their movies. While it may not seem very practical to wear a tiara in every day life, I try to come up with as many excuses as I can. Tiaras make us feel beautiful and important, just like a real princess. It's considered socially acceptable to wear a tiara on your birthday, at your wedding, to a fancy party, or at the Disney Parks. Like princesses, tiaras come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. There are shimmering crystal and rhinestone tiaras, flower circlets, mermaid crowns, headbands and more. Let's take a look at these sparkly symbols of princesshood.


Rapunzel would win in a contest for best tiara hands down. Her tiara was a major plot point throughout the entire movie. The moment she put it on for the first time was incredibly magical even though she didn't even know it was meant for her. It has a stunning amount of detail for an animated movie…

How to Dress Like a Modern Princess

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Earlier this week, high fashion designer Paolo Sebastian unveiled a Disney Princess-inspired dress collection. In addition to being strikingly gorgeous, these gowns convey a modern style that does not look like cosplay or the outdated old-time princess fashions of corsets and crinoline cages. The collection shows us that it is possible to dress like a princess without looking like you're going to a fan convention or a Renaissance Faire. However, these particular types of gowns are exorbitantly expensive and impractical to wear during everyday life. Is it possible, then, to dress like a modern princess on a modern millennial budget without attracting too much unwanted attention? I say it is.


Let's begin by examining the details of my favorite dress from Paolo's collection. Unlike a costume or DisneyBound outfit, it is not suggestive of any specific princess, yet it contains elements that are common to all fairy tale princesses. The two things that stand out the most are the…

How To Be a Modern Princess

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I've been making a lot of posts here about fairy tale princesses from movies and TV shows and how they inspire me, but the real challenge is taking these traits and bringing them into the real world. I will be the first to admit that it is not easy. The older I get, the harder it becomes to maintain my dignity and grace as a princess. I can understand why queens often lose their sense of innocence. If you've ever worked in a customer service job, you know what I'm talking about. Despite this, being a princess simply means trying your best every day, which is something everyone can do. If you can believe in yourself, you will always grow and improve as a person. No one knows this better than Haruka from the Magical Girl anime Go! Princess Precure.


Haruka is a modern teenage girl who dreams of one day becoming just like the flower princess from her favorite fairy tale book. She attends a special private school to chase after that dream and studies subjects that would improve…

The Best Jobs for Modern Princesses

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Here I am trying to come up with an idea for my last post before my big 100th post extravaganza. It seems I've exhausted practically every relevant princess topic there is. So, I decided to switch things up a bit and talk some more about how to be a princess in the real world. Plenty of little girls say they want to be princesses when they grow up, but when that fated day arrives, is this dream truly practical? Though it is possible to be a professional princess at a theme park or as an independent contractor, that isn't necessarily the best thing for a long-term career. There are plenty of more realistic options for a young woman with the personality of a modern princess.


Let's start with the obvious. Girls who take their dream of wanting to be a princess into adulthood do have the option of going to the Disney Parks and doing a face character audition. However, not every grown-up princess lover is eligible for this job. The company has many strict requirements regarding …

Does Race Determine Which Princess You Can Dress As?

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Halloween is just around the corner. Did anyone go to any fun Halloween parties this weekend? Who's your favorite princess to cosplay as? Halloween is the one time of year that people can pretend to be someone else and to look and feel different from their everyday life. I dressed up as Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time this year. For me, Emma is a makes me feel empowered because she is more assertive than I am and has survived through many hardships in her past. It's fun to dress up in unique costumes once a year, especially if you've always wished you could be a princess. Recently, certain articles have been popping up on social media claiming that dressing as a princess who is a different race than you or your child is "cultural appropriation" and therefore wrong. As you can probably guess, I am of the dissenting opinion on this not only because I think kids should be able to dress as whatever they want for Halloween, but also because I believe that it goes agai…

Are Princesses Only for Kids?

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It's a little surprising this topic hasn't come up yet, but I suppose it was inevitable. A little while ago, I saw a Facebook ad for a Broadway Princess Party in which three women who played  princesses on Broadway will be performing a concert consisting of their favorite princess songs. Of course, I immediately bought tickets. The post continued to show up on my feed for the next few days because it was sponsored, and I eventually saw a comment from someone asking if the event was for little kids even though the ad said nothing implying it as such. To make matters worse, another person replied that they were confused because the concert is at night, which seemed late for a children's event. Considering that most Broadway shows have 8pm performances regardless of their target audience, I would say the time of the concert is irrelevant. The target audience is another story entirely, though. Is this directed at children despite featuring performers who most children would h

The Struggle of the Introverted Princess

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There are many princesses who come off as introverts. Cinderella, Belle, and Tiana prefer to keep to themselves and avoid social situations if given the opportunity. Since they were not raised as princesses and lead generally quiet lives, this is not a problem for them during the course of their movies. However, as we get older, it becomes more and more difficult to avoid such situations. An inability to maintain the proper amount of social decorum can make it challenging to show the world that you are a modern princess. Keeping to yourself is often misinterpreted as pretentious, a criticism that even Belle has faced from naysayers. Is it possible to maintain your princess mannerisms in social situations without running away like Elsa?


How introverted or extroverted you are has nothing to do with how much of a princess you are. Yet, there are certain struggles that introverts face that do not affect extroverts as much. A princess must be the face of order among chaos, the glowing beac…

How to Decorate Like a Princess

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Many times, when people see my room, they ask me for decorating advice. I usually don't have anything useful to tell them. Knowing how to decorate might just come naturally to modern princesses. We have a strong sense of style and aesthetics, buy whatever looks nice, and find a good spot to put it. Princess fans also rarely throw anything away because there's a high probability we will still love all the same movies we did as children. Many of us have huge collections of merchandise that we have been building for years for years. I've gotten so many compliments on the way I set up my room the years that it's only fair for me to try to give a few tips and tricks for people who are struggling to make their rooms look as perfectly princess as possible.


The first thing I recommend to any modern princess is to find a sheer canopy to hang over her bed. Nothing says "princess" more than waking up to the world through a rose-colored filter every morning. Canopies suc…

How Princess Culture Affects Society

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A few days ago, I saw a meme pop up on my Facebook feed listing a bunch of empowering adjectives to use for girls to replace the words "princess" or "beautiful." I admit I might be a little bias as the proud owner of a princess blog, but when I saw this, I couldn't help but think to myself "Those two things are not mutually exclusive!" In recent years, there has been a huge surge of princess-related content in the media that has not only changed what it means to be a princess but has also created an entire culture around it. Just like with all movements, princess culture enthusiasts were quickly met with a large opposition who focus heavily on the negative aspects what it means to be a princess. As a result, we end up with books like Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein, which claim that princesses may prevent girls from living up to their full potential.

Being a princess today means something completely different than it did 50 years ago, 1…

I Tried IGK's Foamo to Get Mermaid Princess Hair

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I don't generally write about cosmetics because I don't use them very often. Even though I may have a bias toward natural beauty, I can certainly appreciate the lovely aesthetics that skilled makeup artists are able to create. In fact, when it comes to anything I could wear that would make me shimmer and sparkle like a faery princess, I actually have a pretty low resistance. When I regularly frequented the princess-themed attractions at Walt Disney World, I used to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and ask to be pixie dusted by one of the Fairy Godmothers in Training far more often that what someone would probably consider healthy. That's why when I first heard about Foamo Holographic Hair Foam from IGK, which turns your hair sparkly and iridescent, I scoured the internet for weeks impatiently awaiting its release.


I first heard about Foamo from a viral Facebook video entitled "How To Be a Mermaid in 2018." There were a lot of things about it that appealed to me…

The Desire To Be Free

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While compiling songs for my next princess karaoke medley, it occurred to me that an overwhelming amount of princess songs are about freedom. It's no secret that freedom is a common theme among fairy tales and princess-like characters, but the concept goes much deeper than that. What's particularly interesting about it is the fact that it applies just as much to characters who were born princesses as it does to the ones who found their freedom by becoming princesses. The desire to be free is such a universal concept that it transcends status, power, or race. Everyone can feel as though they are trapped at some point in their life.


The beautiful song written for Princess Jasmine in the retired Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular show (which got replaced by the inferior Broadway production) was simply entitled "To Be Free." The song's opening line, "Lucky bird inside a gilded cage," is recited with perfect irony because telling someone they are fortunate to li…

Princesses of the Animation Industry

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What are the first names that come to mind when you think of the people behind your favorite fairy tale princesses? The Brothers Grimm? Hans Christian Anderson? Walt Disney? Don Bluth? John Musker and Ron Clements? Considering how empowering so many of these stories are to women, it's surprising that the overwhelming majority of people behind them are men. The recent success of Patty Jenkins behind the 2017 Wonder Woman movie and the inspirational writing team of Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna behind the CW's princess culture-inspired Crazy Ex-Girlfriend series got me wondering why Disney has so few women behind its own female-driven classics. Even independent princess filmmakers like Don Bluth and Richard Rich got their start at Disney, making it virtually impossible for anyone to find much success in the animation industry without working there or at another major animation studio first. In an industry that's so biased toward men, animation ingenues like myself bar…

The Magic of True Love

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Today is a very special day for me. It's the one year anniversary of the day I married my true love. My wedding was truly magical and made me feel like a princess because I was surrounded by all the people I love. Love is an important theme in princess stories. Even though they have shifted direction somewhat in recent years, it is still very much relevant to the princess genre. In fact, love is probably the biggest defining factor of a princess story. It is what gives them their strength against the bad guys and what ultimately allows them to achieve their goals. Of course, I'm not just talking about romantic love. Many people take issue with the unconscious kiss in "Sleeping Beauty" that gives the cursed princess new life. Though that particular act itself may be problematic due to issues of consent, it is still significant because it represents a universal idea--Love will set you free.


Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone must fall in love and get marrie…

Do Princesses Ever Get Angry?

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As we all know, princesses are the most interesting when written as fully fleshed out characters with a wide range of personalities and emotions. However, some sources claim that princesses, or at least the ones from Disney movies, never experience any feelings other than happiness or sadness. Disney even made this jab at themselves in one of their own movies. In 2007, Giselle from Enchanted was shocked to learn that she was capable of experiencing anger when she left her animated fairy tale world for the grungy reality of modern-day New York City. The implication was that she needed to be a real person in order to experience real emotions. Do two-dimensional princesses really only experience two dimensions of emotion? Let's explore.


To be honest, I find such claims confusing because animated princesses get angry all the time. Ariel's motivation to become human in The Little Mermaid is cultivated by a heated argument she has with her father over whether or not she's old en…

How To Get Princess Nails

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I've never been much of a makeup person, but I am obsessed with my nails. I started growing them out in high school, and I get very sad when one breaks. Since I get so many compliments on my nails, I decided to write a little guide to help you have princess nails too! With the recent advancements in nail wraps, there have never been more easy princess and affordable princess nail options than the are now. You never know when having long nails will come in handy for something. If you use a computer a lot, you tend to look at your fingers fairly often. That's why I try to find the best designs to make my nails look as princess-like as possible. If you like how your nails look, you'll smile every time I look down at your keyboard. Check out these amazing Swan Princess nail wraps I just got from Espionage Cosmetics!


These Moonlight Transformation nail wraps are officially licensed by The Swan Princess and portray the effect of moonlight over the waves on Swan Lake during Odett…

Confessions of a Grown-Up Princess Fan

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There's certainly no shame in loving princesses when you're older. However, ever since I entered my 30s, I noticed that there were certain aspects of princesses and fairy tales that I could no longer relate to. I still believe in fighting for what's right and following my heart, but I don't view the world with the same wide-eyed innocence as I did when I was a teenager. Most princesses are roughly 16, and they tend to act their age. When we're younger, everything is new and exciting, and there are infinite possibilities for the future. Our lives may not be the easiest, but we've never been let down or had their heart broken yet. The older I get, the more I understand why queens are often portrayed as dark or evil. Though I still relate to Ariel's passion and desire for freedom, I probably act more like Megara from Hercules or Kida from Atlantis. These animated heroines have been around long enough to see the world for what it is and don't feel the need…

Do Princesses Want To Be Queen?

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I've made some posts in the past about how more often than not, princesses are portrayed as good and queens as evil. Since this is so often the case, does that mean that the storybook princesses we love are not willing to fulfill their royal destiny as the hope for their kingdom's future? While it's true that princesses often seek freedom from the confines of palace life, they don't necessarily want to run away from their responsibilities either. The problem is that princess stories usually reveal only a brief period from their heroine's life that takes place before the biggest trials and tribulations of reaching full adulthood. I expanded upon this briefly in my "Confessions of a Grown-Up Princess Fan" post, where I discussed how even though I still relate to certain aspects of being a princess, I have developed a sense of cynicism that I did not have the first time I watched their movies. Seeing the world through the eyes of a princess now feels more li…

Disney Is Celebrating International Day of the Girl With Their #DreamBigPrincess Campaign!

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Did you know that today is International Day of the Girl? It's a great day to be a modern princess, and Disney is promoting it in a very big way. When the Disney Princess toy line was bought out by Hasbro in 2016, they began their "Dream Big, Princess" campaign, which focused on girls being active and working toward difficult goals to achieve great accomplishments. The campaign was promoted with several new Disney Princess anthems, leading up to the most recent, "Live Your Story," performed by Auli'i Cravalho. Around this time every year since the campaign started, Disney promotes International Day of the Girl with their princess line by supporting Girl Up, a United Nations organization that started the day. Last year, they celebrated with a photo shoot of girls being active while wearing Disney Princess Halloween costumes, and this year, they did a series of videos of young women from all over the world interviewing women who have accomplished what they ar…

What Writing an Original Princess Screenplay Taught Me

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Some time ago, I promised that I would turn my story The Stolen Jewel into an original full-length screenplay under the UCLA Professional Program for Screenwriting. I am pleased to announce that I successfully completed my polished first draft a few weeks ago. The Stolen Jewel is not the first princess story I have ever written, but it is one of the few that was not adapted from a pre-existing fairy tale. Through the program, I received incredibly valuable feedback that carried my writing to a level that I didn't even realize was possible. I also learned a lot about how people respond to modern princess stories and how that attitude has changed over the years. I am so happy with how The Stolen Jewel has turned out, and I would like to share some of my experience working on it with you.


My intention with The Stolen Jewel was to reverse the tired old "Cinderella" formula of "rags to riches" by telling the story of a princess who starts out having everything she c…

How Princesses Inspire Creativity

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I've written before about how princesses inspire me during daily life, but I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to these stories when it comes to my creative endeavors. Fairy tales have been evolving for hundreds of years. The solidarity between the storytellers who pass these tales along to new generations so we can retell them in unique ways is incredibly motivating to me as an aspiring writer. It sets an idea in place to get the creative gears turning while opening up possibilities to create something entirely new and original. Being that today is Mothers Day, I'd also like to point out that mothers who share princess stories with their daughters empower them with endless potential to play make-believe in a world where anything is possible and girl can be anyone or anything they desire.


It isn't just the stories themselves that act as a catalyst for creative minds. Mythological, royal, and fairy tale women have been portrayed in artwork for just as long as their stories …

How Princesses Use Technology

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The first teaser trailer for Pixar's Onward dropped a few days ago, and it got me thinking. Onward has a typical fantasy setting of mermaids, faeries, and unicorns, but instead of taking place once upon a time, it takes place during our time. Therefore, these mythological beings whose ancestors lived in the days of magic and adventure now live in your average suburban neighborhood watching TV and surfing the internet. The combination of magic and technology is not entirely new. Series like Mysticons and Winx Club also take place in modern settings, and the characters are shown to take advantage of computers and technology just as much as we do. However, most princess stories are set in the medieval or Renaissance era, long before such things were heard of. Sometimes it's fun to imagine how they might behave if they were brought up with access to all of the modern conveniences we have today.


The first time I saw a traditional princess use modern technology in a fairy tale setti…

We Need to Talk About Princesses and Racism

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I can't believe I need to post about this again. The response to my post about the actress chosen to play Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid was quite frankly appalling. In fact, Disney removed the post announcing her casting from many of their official Facebook pages yesterday. People are judging Halle Bailey solely by the color of her skin when many of them have never seen her act. None of us know what she's going to look like in the film after her hair, makeup, and costumes are finalized, which is why I didn't have much to say about the casting choice yesterday. Anyone judging this movie at such an early stage is basing their decision on a racist mindset to at least some degree. As a natural redhead myself, I understand why many people were hoping that Ariel would have red hair in this version, and I look forward to seeing if she will when the time comes for them to reveal her final image. Besides, it isn't like we've never seen a non-white pr…

Never Mess With a Princess

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Betrayal has been a common theme among princess shows as of late, and I think that may be something worth exploring a little further. I incorporated an act of betrayal into my own story, The Stolen Jewel, even before it appeared in three of my favorite princess shows. The betrayal of a princess by someone she cares about is a big trend among Disney properties within the past five years or so. It began with the popularity of Frozen which had a novel twist for a Disney movie in which Anna's true love turned out to be using her for power and tried to kill both her and her sister. Once Frozen became the cultural phenomenon that it did, Disney decided to duplicate the formula with varying results. In my opinion, the most effective of these was Cassandra's betrayal of Rapunzel. The Tangled series gave us over two years to feel as close to Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting as she did, which made it sting that much more when she stabbed her in the back during the previous season's fi…

With a Smile and a Song

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I'd like to expand a little on my "Confessions of a Grown-Up Princess Fan" to discuss how getting older has not only affected my perspective on princesses, but also my attitude toward the world in general. Thinking about how a live-action "Snow White" movie would inevitably be different for a modern audience sparked some of these thoughts. One of the biggest complaints about the "Damsel in Distress" stigma that Disney has been working hard to overturn is that princesses only smile and look pretty while their princes do all the hard work. I personally think that the movies from the Disney Renaissance have the best balance of proactiveness between the male and female protagonists. In today's movies, it's often the men who sit back and do nothing while the women lead the majority of the action for the plot, which creates an imbalance in the opposite direction. It also forces princesses to take on a lot more responsibility, which impedes their car…

Princesses and the Power of Forgiveness

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There has been a growing trend among princess shows over the past few years. Princesses always forgive the ones who hurt them the most. Though the Warrior Princess archetype has grown more popular now than ever before, it is still an inborn characteristic of a princess to choose the path of the lover over the fighter unless she is given no other option. The parallels between the endings of Tangled: The Series and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power this year are so prominent that they could have been written by the same person. Both shows feature a princess who is betrayed by her best friend and end with the two frenemies working out their differences and confessing their love for each other with the fate of the world at stake. Even though both Cassandra and Catra chose to lash out against their former princess allies with violence, Rapunzel and Adora proved to be the bigger person by refusing to fight back because violence only leads to more violence. This is an important and powerful…

Why the Cinderella Trope Doesn't Work in Modern Settings

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After I shared my post about Hallmark princesses, I went ahead and watched every Hallmark movie I could find that involved royalty. Let me tell you; there are a lot. Sitting through one low-budget romcom after another, I found that the overwhelming majority of them have the exact same plot. A quirky American career woman falls in love with a mysterious stranger who turns out to be a prince from some obscure nation. She goes to live with him at the castle, finds that she doesn't fit in, runs away, and eventually, the prince comes back to her and proposes. At first glance, these movies appear to be attempts at modernized versions of "Cinderella," but upon closer inspection, they are vastly different. The protagonists in these romcoms are not being oppressed by abusive family members, nor are they living in a time period where the only way for a woman to get ahead in the world is by marriage. In fact, most of these women are doing just fine long before the dashing love inte…

How To Design Your Dream Castle

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I've been living in my new castle for almost three weeks now, and it's been a lot of work. As promised, I'm ready to tell you all about the homebuying process. Before I begin, I would like to point out that buying a house is a personal process that varies with each individual. Something that worked out for me might not work so well for you, and that's perfectly fine. After all, a "dream" castle is entirely dependent on the dreams of the person living in it. For smaller spaces, please refer to my "How To Decorate Like a Princess"  post, which focuses on individual rooms or small apartments. I've realized that decorating a small space is a very different process from transforming an entire house into an enchanted home. For example, it's better to put up as many decorations as possible to make a smaller space feel larger, while houses are more about using little touches to show off the space you have. The first step in the home-buying process is

I Channeled Moana and Went on a Hawaiian Adventure!

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Though not technically a princess , Moana lives an adventurous lifestyle that would be coveted by many other Disney Princesses. I wanted to do something special for my five-year wedding anniversary , so we decided to check out Hawaii and go on our own adventure! At first, I did some research on Aulani , Disney's hotel on the island of Oahu but ultimately decided against it when I realized that one night at the cheapest room there would cost as much as my entire round-trip plane ticket from Texas. Plus, lunging around a hotel isn't much of an adventure, so I set my sights on other options. My husband wanted to check out the volcanoes, so I looked into accommodations on the Big Island , which is the only one that still has an active volcano, Mt. Kilauea . In doing so, I discovered a really neat Airbnb called Lava Lookout , which is built directly on top of a field of hardened lava. What a way to start off our adventure! The best adventures involve an equal amount of planning and

It's a Good Year to Be a Little Mermaid Fan!

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Disney has been very kind to my favorite fairy tale  over the past few years. It had an impressive 30th anniversary reception at the D23 Expo , a live televised concert , and an upcoming live-action movie that has unfortunately struggled with a few unexpected setbacks. Now fans of the redheaded Disney Princess have even more treats to look forward to. The Disney Wish , the newest Disney cruise ship setting sail this summer, will feature an all-new Little Mermaid stage show. Details  for the show have just been revealed along with an exciting new collection of Little Mermaid-printed merchandise from Vera Bradley . On top of that, Jodi Benson , the voice of Ariel, recently announced she will release her autobiography, Part of My World: What I've Learned from The Little Mermaid about Love, Faith, and Finding My Voice , this September! Sometimes it's hard to please a superfan, and I found myself sorely disappointed with the 2007 Broadway production of Disney's The Little Merma

The Princess Blog's Five-Year Blogiversary Extravaganza!

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Can you believe I've been writing articles about princesses for five years? I still remember posting a list of  100 princesses for my 100th post , and now I have over 600 posts and counting! That's a lot of princesses! For most blogiversaries, I've shared free or deeply discounted Kindle copies of my books , but unfortunately, I haven't written anything new this year. Instead, I've been busy getting settled in my new castle , so I filmed this mini-music video in some of my favorite rooms as a video tour. I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to pause it to get a closer look at some of my new furnishings and old memorabilia. Let me know how many princess easter eggs you can spot in the background! As for what's next, I'm very excited to announce that I've applied to be a big sister through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America  in the hopes of sharing my experiences with a special little girl, attending more princess events, and getting a better grasp on

The Best Tabletop Games for Princess Fans

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Too much screen time can lead to eye strain and cause headaches, so I've been researching some fun  princess board game options to save my eyes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the games I played as a child are still around. If you're throwing a  princess party and need some fun activities to do with your friends, here are a few of my favorites. Unfortunately, not all of these games are available right now, so I'll start this list with the ones that are. Pretty Pretty Princess This game was a staple of my childhood. I was amazed to see that they still make it as I perused the game aisles of a book store. It looks a little different from the mint green box I remember as a kid, but it's still very much the same game. Each player must collect every piece of jewelry available in her preferred color and top it off with the bedazzled crown to win. Not only is the  classic game  still available with some minor updates to the crown, but there is also a Disney P

Adventures Onboard the Disney Wish

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When I heard that Disney was building a new ship called the Disney Wish  with three princess shows, a Frozen restaurant, and princess-themed staterooms, I just knew I had to find a way onboard. Last weekend, my wish came true at last! I embarked on a magical three-night cruise with stops at Port Canaveral in Florida, Nassau in the Bahamas, and Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, and I'm here to tell you everything you need to know about the Disney Wish. Make sure you have plenty of time to read because this will be a long one! For your convenience and mine, I've divided this post into five sections:  The Ship, Shows, Dining, Characters, and the App,  including a new onboard game called Uncharted Adventure . I will not be discussing the ports of call in this post because they did not have any princesses nor did I spend much time at them, but I would be happy to answer any additional questions that I didn't cover in this post in the comments. The Ship The moment I ste

Wouldn't You Think I'm the Girl Who Has Everything?

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Look at this stuff! Isn't it neat? I posted a couple of videos on my YouTube channel  several years ago showing off my collection, but it has grown quite a bit since then, especially after getting a castle of my own . As a self-proclaimed princess enthusiast, I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting additions to my collection. And let me tell you, I've hit the jackpot recently. From 3D prints of enchanted jewels to rare memorabilia from classic and upcoming princess movies, I've added some truly amazing items to my collection. My household recently invested in a 3D printer, and I've found that it's a fantastic tool for growing your princess collection with items that might be difficult to find online such as Magical Girl transformation wands, tiaras, and more. I also may have inherited some of Ariel's hoarding tendencies lately as a side effect of my hype for the upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid . Having a 3D printer is a lot of work, but it can

3 Craft Ideas for Little Princesses

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I don't have anything to review this week, so I'm going to try something a little different. Since my new job involves working with small children, I've come up with some ideas for fun crafts that girls who love princesses can do at home. Not everyone has  a 3D printer , but there are smaller things that children can do at home with affordable materials. For princess crafts, it's best to look for craft supplies that sparkle or shimmer such as glitter, sequins, plastic gems, or metallic paper. Here are some ideas that I've done in the past or have seen at events . Decorate/Make Your Own Tiara You will need: A foam tiara with decorative gems OR Metallic posterboard  with sequins or gems Every princess needs her signature crown! There are many affordable sets of foam tiaras available in various colors and styles that come with stick-on gems so princesses can customize them in a way that is unique to their own personal tastes. For further customization, make a template

Deconstructing the Wicked Stepmother

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It was common in the early days of fairy tales  for the enemy of a princess or future princess to be her vain stepmother. There were many reasons for this, most of which are no longer relevant by modern standards, causing that trope to fall by the wayside. One outdated reason is that girls rarely left the house (or "tower" if you will) in the old days because they were expected to do housework and eventually become mothers. Therefore, meeting an enemy outside of their own homes would have been unlikely. Why do you think so many princesses long for freedom ? The other reason is that fairy tales are meant to encourage children to love and obey their parents, so it would be counterintuitive for them to go up against their biological caretakers. There are  a few rare exceptions , but these disturbing stories about horrible parents never made it into the mainstream media for good reason. Giving them stepparents who were brought into their lives at a later time solves this problem a

I Celebrated My Birthday at a Real Castle!

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There's one day a year when every girl has the right to be treated like a princess – her birthday. That's why I like to find something fun each year that allows me to bring out my inner royal. Last year, I was regaled with a wonderful performance of Beauty and the Beast . This year, I decided to branch out and visit a local castle. Since  my home castle  is no longer within driving distance of any of the kingdoms , I discovered that there is another castle in Twxas that does tours. It didn't hurt that the town of Bellville happens to share the same name as the fantasy kingdom from  Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella , which I am a huge fan of. Newman's Castle is a hidden gem about two miles away from Austin that gives tours six days a week as well as private events. It isn't a true historical castle as it was completed in 1998, but it is built with 13th-century style medieval architecture. I did my research in advance and had no issues with my visit, but there ar

Happy World Princess Week!

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We are two days into World Princess Week , the annual celebration of the Disney Princess brand , which takes place from August 25th to 31st this year. The beloved brand has moved on from its Ultimate Princess Celebration campaign  to begin a new marketing campaign called "Create Your World." The campaign kicked off at the beginning of the month with a commercial entitled  "The Magic Within"  in which little girls imagine Disney characters and symbols popping into their ordinary lives so they can live the modern princess life . This particular brand campaign seems more consumer-based than "Live Your Story,"  which encourages incorporating princess traits like kindness and bravery in everyday life. "Create Your World" sounds like an invitation to buy lots of Disney merchandise and turn your home into a castle , which is on brand with modern  Disney's questionable decisions that favor corporate greed over good storytelling. Although World Princ

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