Just Being Audrey

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Let’s go back a couple weeks or so, back to when I thought the most stressful thing about the fall would be four birthdays in the same week. We kicked off Birthday Week, the Friday before it really began. All about birthday traditions, we happily said , “Yes!” when my friend Megan suggested that last year’s tea in Leesburg become a tradition. Yes, ma’am we’d love to do it again this year and every year forever!

Tea is always fun. The tea house has an authentic vintage vibe and the ladies are truly British, so it’s the real deal.  They’ve gotten their gluten-free menu down nicely since last year, too.

As an added treat, Megan gave the girls a copy of Just Being Audrey.

Such a perfect book for them!

It’s a nicely illustrated storybook that brings to life a young Audrey Hepburn who wanted nothing more than to be a ballerina. We see an age-appropriate glimpse of living in hiding during World War II and then we are treated to the grown up Audrey—first an actress and then an activist speaking for children who could not speak for themselves.

It’s a sweet, sweet book. It reminded me of a book my friend Mindy recommended to me years ago, an Audrey book for grown-ups. Her best friend from home wrote a book called How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life. It popped up as an Amazon recommendation once for me and I scrolled through reviews to find Mindy’s name. Since Mindy is pretty much not on the internet, the whole thing startled me. So, I asked her about it at soccer one day and she shared a little insight to the author. If you’re an Audrey Hepburn fan, you’ll love the way Audrey’s philosophy of life is brought to life in the pages. In Mindy's words, 

This is the perfect book to give for birthdays, hostess gifts, Christmas, Mother's day, graduation, or any special event in a woman's life. I sent it home with 15 ladies who attended a baby shower, and it has inspired several Audrey "film-festivals." Her thoughts on how to carry oneself with style, dignity and grace will translate to any generation. "How to be Lovely" should be on every woman's night stand.

So there you go, a little Audrey Hepburn rabbit trail and a perfectly lovely birthday tea.

{{For more about our Storybook Year, please visit here.}}