To be honest, today hasn't been the best day so far. I've taken some pictures for eBay listings (always fun...somehow there's perfect lighting for small objects, but never for clothing!) and then ran a couple of errands that took twice as long as they ought. I came home and heated up my favorite microwave lunch, Amy's Cheese Enchilada Meal. Took it out of the microwave and promptly dropped it on the floor. Enchilada sauce and corn everywhere. While I cleaned up the mess (during which I microwaved my back-up enchilada meal...never buy just one!), I pondered about how to turn this day around. I mean, it's only 2pm. That's 8 entire hours in which I'll still be awake! I decided to read some blogs (shocker) and Wise Craft led me to Abbytrysagain where she's started Beautiful Book Week. I'm a day behind, but I'm jumping in! I LOVE BOOKS. As a kid, you could find me in my room, reading. Or in an apple tree, reading. Or in the woods, reading. So, I thought I'd start with 2 of my favorite books from childhood, A Hidden Magic by Vivian Vande Velde (and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman) and The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye.
I love this book. The illustrations are gorgeous. The best one is the cover (I'm a sucker for color). It's a princess book, my favorite kind. Love books about princesses. Why? Hm...didn't we all think we were princesses from another land when we were kids? And that someday a page would show up at your door to let you in on the secret? That was just me? oh. I read this one often, long before the likes of Harry Potter and Shrek were conceived. And just a couple of years before I read The Hobbit and all that came with it.
"Now Jennifer was not your average beautiful princess living in a magnificent palace. In fact, she was actually rather plain and shy, with the chubby, good-natured face parents tend to call nice. And as for the magnificent palace -- the kingdom over which Jennifer's father reigned was very tiny, and the nicest thing that could be said about the old castle was that it hadn't fallen down on anyone yet."
How perfect is that? It's books like this, with the delicate touch of humor and detailed descriptions that helped me grow up to love Terry Pratchett, Amelie, Lemony Snicket and Pushing Daisies (which is *wonderful*, if you haven't seen it, please treat yourself!). It's the descriptive imagery in this book that makes it so beautiful to me. (as a brief side note, if you're thinking of purchasing this book, please look for the 1988 copy that I've shown above. The current copy shows a diminished Jennifer on the cover, which is not what young girls should look at when reading, "...chubby, good-natured face")
Book 2, The Ordinary Princess, is one of my all-time favorite "princess-in-disguise meets a guy who she thinks is a gardener/dishwasher/shopkeeper, but he's really a prince and doesn't tell her till the end, then they get married and live happily ever after" books. To this day, this book evokes a dreamy look on my face, a sigh and gazing out the window. Another wonderful detail book, with great illustrations by the author. It's so dreamy. This book means so much to me that I can't get into it here. It would take ages and you'd be bored. Or nauseated with the sweetness of it all. Let it suffice to say that I've found my happily ever after. 
