The Royal Report

Find out what's been going on in the lives of your favorite royals...

October 21 - Carole, Michael, and Pippa Middleton are seen flying coach from Scotland to London, England.

October 22 - Kate stunned in a Temperley London dress and Jimmy Choo heals at the Action on Addiction Fall Gala. The event was held at a restaurant called L'Anima in London’s East End. The Duchess has been a patron of Action on Addiction since January 2012.

October 28 - The Cambridges leave London for a family getaway at Balmoral in Scotland.

October 30 - Prince Harry jumped on a classic 1960s Routmaster bus in front of Buckingham Palance. The stop was the first on a journey across London to promote The Royal British Legion's Poppy Day. This fundraising effort aims to raise as much money as possible in a single day to support the armed forces.

October 31 - This photo of Kate and George on June 27, 2014 surfaces.

The pictures shows Kate, George, and George's nanny at Buckleberry Farm Park inn New Berkshire. It was reported that Carole Middleton was also there.

November 4 - Page Six reports that NBC is ready to offer Pippa Middleton a correspodent gig on the Today show. NBC denies these reports; however, Pippa was spotted in NYC and then doing a test shoot in Utah. 

November 6 - Prince Harry paid his respects to soldiers who lost their lives for Britain at Westminster Abbey's Field of Remembrance in a visit with his grandfather Prince Philip. The royals each laid a Cross of Remembrance in front of two wooden crosses from the Graves of Unknown British Soldiers from the First and Second World Wars.

November 7 - Kate is spotted shopping in the kitchen department at the department store, Peter Jones.

November 8 - William and Catherine tour the Pembroke Oil Refinery in Wales. The Duchess wears a Matthew Williams wool coat over a deep brown Hobbs dress.

Later that day the Duke and Duchess attened a Wales v. Australia rugby match in Cardiff.

November 9 - 100 years after WWI broke out, the Queen led the Remembrance Day ceremony at Whitehall’s Cenotaph to honor those who lost their lives in combat. Remembrance Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of November annually. The Duchess of Cambridge, in Alexander McQueen, took in events on the balcony with the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex. Protocol dictates those who have married into the Royal Family, with the exception of Prince Philip, must watch at a distance.

November 9 - Prince Harry led Remembrance Day tributes with British troops in Afghanistan. In a surprise visit, the prince joined troops at a base in Kandahar, laying a personal wreath and giving a reading. More than 450 British soldiers have been killed during the 13-year fight against the Taliban.

November 12 - Catherine's brother, James Middleton, appeared on the ABC morning show Good Morning America to promote his new business Boomf. Boofm sells personalized marshmallow 9 per box for $25.

James also spoke of his sister and brother-in-law and nephew Prince George. Read the article here.

November 12 - Kate attended  Sportaid's Athlete Workshop in London. She wore the "Vreeland"dress in a purple color by the designer Goat. The Duchess met with 30 athletes who are training for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

November 13 - The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the Royal Variety Performance at London’s Palladium Theater. The Royal Variety Performance is an annual concert event in aid of the Entertainment Artistes’ Benevolent Fund (the EABF), often referred to as the Royal Variety Charity. The first show was held in 1912 for King George V and Queen Mary.

The Duchess wore a Diane von Furstenburg "Zarita" gown. Kate accessorized with Kiki McDonough aquamarine hoop earrings and pumps by Jimmy Choo.

Carole and Michael Middleton also attended the event.

November 14 - It's official! Their Royal Highnesses will be visit the East Coast of the USA from December 7-9. Looks like they will be spending time in New York City and Washington, DC. See their itinerary here!

November 18 - Prince Harry arrives in Oman. He will spend 2 days in Oman before heading the the United Arab Emirates.

November 19 - The Duchess of Cambridge hosted the first annual Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards held in the State Apartments at Kensington Palace. The charity's focus is reaching children undergoing emotional and behavioral problems in the classroom and providing them with the support they need to improve their classroom learning. For the event, Kate paired an off the rack Hobbs top with a silk satin weave Jenny Packham designer skirt. She accessorized with an Alexander McQueen belt, Vikki platform pumps by Jimmy Choo, and Cassandra Goad Temple of Heaven earrings.

November 20 - Pippa is spotted shopping at Peter Jones in London! We also learn she that completed an advanced wine course at the Grape Experience Wine & Spirit School.

November 25 - Kate camouflages her baby bump in red Katherine Hooker shift dress as she launched the East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH)'s latest appeal at the Norfolk Showground in Norwich. The Duchess of Cambridge is launching the charity's new appeal to raise £10 million ($16 million ) to build and equip a new children's hospice in the area.

That's all for now! Keep a look out for the next Royal Report.

Happy Hump Day and Happy Thanksgiving!



Travel Tuesday: Road Trip Essentials

Tomorrow Nick and I leave for Pennsylvania! I can't wait to get home and see all my friends and family and celebrate the holidays. The journey home is not a short one. It takes 10+ hours each way. Nick and I have been doing this back and forth, Michigan – Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania – Michigan, thing for nearly eight years. We always drive because it's still cheaper than two plane tickets. Over the years I have found certain items that are essential for the drive.

Adults need an activities backpacks too! It's so much easier than jamming everything into my purse. All must haves go into my activities backpack.

If you're not the driver you'll want these!

It's really hard to eat healthy on the road. Pack your own healthy snacks and water.

Keep these within reach. You will want to freshen up at some point.

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!



Monday Madness Link Up 11.24.14

It was the weekend of never ending laundry and house work. However, I now have a very clean and organized house and I left time for naps!

Nick and I are gearing up to drive to Pennsylvania on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving to my family. It's so weird to be home for a week and leave again. I've been living out of my suitcase! I can't wait to have Christmas with my nieces and nephew while I'm there. I got all of the gifts wrapped this weekend!

My friend Laura asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! Of course I said yes! I'm really excited to be able to support her and Josh. She's doing a black and pink theme and I'm really exited about the dress she picked out for us!

Nick has been participating in the American Cancer Society's No Shave November. The goal to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. You are also encouraged to donate the money you usually spend on shaving and grooming for a month to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.

I'm really proud of Nick for doing this. He lost his best friend to cancer in 2010. My brother also had cancer and this will be his 5th year cancer free. We are hoping we can say he is in remission in the next month or two! #letitgrow

Have a great week and a very happy Thanksgiving!

Girls Getaway: The Bahamas

In case you haven't heard, I just got back from a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas! The weather was amazing the entire time! Let's relive it, shall we?!

I went on my first cruise with my friend Laura. One of the best things about this vacation was just getting to spend time with her. We met our junior year of college, moved in together our senior year, and became fast and super close friends. She was in my wedding and last person I slept with as a single lady! She's such a selfless, loving person and such an awesome mom!

I drove to her place on Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday Laura's fiance, Josh, drove us to a tiny, tiny airport in Labtrobe, PA where we left from for Ft. Lauderdale, FL!!!

We were soooo excited to be on the plane and headed to warm weather!

However, once we landed in Ft. Lauderdale we sat on the runway for an hour. That was a total bummer!

By the time we made from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami we ened up checking into our hotel around 10pm. We were up bright and early the next day to check out the South Beach area before we had to board our cruise ship.

 

After South Beach we headed to the Port of Miami and boarded the Carnival Ecstacy! The ship was MASSIVE!

We spend the first night exploring the boat. We enjoyed sit down dinner and some spa services!

We were docked in the Bahamas by the next morning on Day 2! Laura and I spent the day at the Melia resort enjoying the private beach, pools, and ocean! Swimming in the ocean was one of my favorite parts of the whole vacation. The water was a beautiful blue color, clear, and warm! We checked out the Nassau Straw Market on the way back.

That night we again enjoyed dinner, visit the piano bar (which was sooooo much fun!), and went to a party of the Lido Deck. Ummm no one showed up to the boat party, so Lar and I ventured off the boat to find some dancing.

We spent Day 3 at sea and lounging by the pool. We witnessed a sexy man contest, which realllly wish I had taken pictures of because it was super entertaining to watch! We also did some line dancing on the Lido Deck stage, and I napped enjoyed some time on the ship's Serenity Lounge area.
Our last night at dinner was so fun! The wait staff did this whole dance routine to Gangum Style. Again, I really wish I would have gotten pictures!!!

I think that evening was the most fun. I convinced Laura to go to the Motown show with me because (1) I like that music and (2) I'm slightly obsessed with music, dance, and theater. The show ended with everyone dancing into the atrium for a Motown dance party. SO. MUCH. FUN. Laura and I won medals for our awesome dance skills. We ended up playing Motown trivia and danced even more with some other guests. I ended up singing 'You Can't Hurry Love' into the cruise director's mic. He recognized us when we were dismebarking the next day and said, "Thanks for dancing and singing! You are the two least likely people I expected for Motown!" Haha, yes Cruise Director James, I am a huge dork.

We got off the boat on Monday and flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Labtrobe. I drove home to Michigan on Tuesday and went back to work on Wednesday. It was such a fast trip, but it was so much fun!


Here's where I'm linking up for Friday: