The Young Lady Meets the Queen ♥

“Julie Andrews signing books for the little ones!” - Courtesy of s5a

Julie Andrews Book Signing of The Very Fairy Princess at Saks ♥

Today was perhaps one of the most memorable and special experiences in my entire life. I was given the amazing opportunity to meet none other than Dame Julie Andrews, otherwise known as Queen of the World, at a signing for her book series The Very Fairy Princess! I am still pinching myself to make sure it happened and if it were not for the picture I managed to get of her, I would think this entire day was all a dream!

I'll skip the part about getting there and get straight to Julie! I walked up to her, bubbling with excitement on the inside because HELLO! JULIE ANDREWS. IN. FRONT. OF. ME. She was dressed in a dark pant-suit and look abso-bloomin-lutely beautiful, elegant, sophisticated and just practically perfect in every way. She smiled and said something in that lovely voice of hers about waiting a minute, she needed to put on her glasses because the glare from the light was hurting her eyes. Here I am, lil ol’ Miranda, and Julie is discussing her eye problems with me! I was instantly put at ease and my nerves miraculously left me. I was surprised I was not shaking or in tears at this point.

As she autographed my newly purchased children's book in her perfect penmanship, I thanked her for being there to sign the books and for giving the public a great opportunity like this to meet her. I think I actually but unintentionally said “Thank you for being here today” :D To which she responded, “Oh no, thank you for coming!” She was absolutely sweet!

Love from Julie Andrews ♥

She was very touched when I told her I came from Connecticut to see her and she even told the assistant next to her that I’d made the hour-long journey from my school to NYC for the event. Imagine that, Julie Andrews telling someone else about my journey to meet her! And she thinks traveling over an hour on the train is bad enough lol So cute! All concerned, just like a Granny should be :)

I told her how much of an honour it was to meet her, thanked her for being an inspiration to many and told her that I thought that writing the books with her daughter was such a beautiful project for them to do together because we really must give credit to both of them even though Emma wasn’t present at the signing. She mentioned that there was another book in the series being released in April and that I must come again to see her. Yeah, that’s right, Julie wants to see me again lol (Let me have my special moment and pretend we’re BFFS ok?) To think we had a nice, lovely little chat and I was surprisingly calmer than I expected to be! How awesome is that?! Then the time came for us to part ways and we said our goodbyes and smiled at each other. I swear I would have hugged her and never let go were it not for the table between us. Next time I’ll get the hug! Yes, there will be a next time because I am determined as ever now :)

When the time came for me to reluctantly leave, Julie did her queenly wave from Princess Diaries and said … you guessed it! “Thank you for being here today!” What a wonderful wonderful woman! Perfect! JUST PERFECT! And as I left I blew her some kisses as she waved back and we took our leave. It was all so surreal and just wonderful!

When I think about it, I realize that this day was really so much bigger than it seems. The fact that I met Julie is a HUGE deal in and of itself already but experiences like this always take me aback and when I later on reflect about it, it strikes me of just how significant something like this is. Meeting her and seeing her right there in front of me was truly a dream come true for me. Never in a million years would I have thought this would happen, that I would actually get to be in the presence of a living legend and have a few words with her, listen to her speak and laugh in person, have her smile warmly at me, or anything at all really. This is literally the kind of things you dream about and wish it were real but lo and behold, there we have it! This actually happened and I have the picture to prove it!

"You just have to let your SPARKLE out!" - The Very Fairy Princess

It’s moments like this when I am reminded more than ever of Walt Disney’s quote: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

And this past year, I really must admit that so many of my biggest dreams have been coming true little by little when I really go after them (what with England, and Judith Light, and then today meeting Julie) and I often have to take a step back to appreciate it because I can get so caught up in the daily routine of life and feel as though I’ve accomplished very little because things aren’t happening fast enough for me. But then things like this happen, which usually involves me making a decision, sticking with it and seeing it through. Today was based on a simple decision I made to just go to the book signing, the opportunity couldn’t have been more perfect and it always amazes me that such a simple choice can make a big difference, especially as I could have stayed home and missed this. Now I can only say that I live a very blessed life. That common phrase “All in good time” … yeah, it’s true. We just have to have a little patience, painfully tedious as it might be to bear a long wait. I waited with a glimmer of hope to meet Julie and finally our paths crossed. Magical? Yes indeed!

If there’s one thing that was re-emphasized for me today it’s to hold fast to your dreams because you never know what will happen and to remember that we too have to make an effort to go after them.

Miss Maggie Smith, you are next darling!