Peter and Autumn Phillips on their wedding day with their parents and grandparents

After years of a PR drought–and general public indifference–the royal family’s press officers must be jumping for joy at the unbelievable streak of excellent publicity The Firm is having thanks to the Queen’s grandchildren: first Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton, then Zara Phillips’s engagement to rugby player Mike Tindall, and now her brother Peter Phillips has had a baby girl, the Queen’s first great-grandchild, with his wife, Canadian-born Autumn Phillips. C’mon, Harry: show us what you’ve got!

Peter is the Queen’s oldest grandchild, as well as, reportedly, her favorite–the baby’s name hasn’t been confirmed yet; according to the Express’s royal reporter Richard Palmer, it took Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex 5 days to name their son James. Baby Girl Phillips is now 12th in line for the throne, knocking Zara Phillips down one slot. (UPDATE: Peter and Autumn have named their daughter Savannah.)

If you’re not familiar with Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly’s courtship, it’s almost as much a fairy-tale as that of William and Kate!

Autumn is Canadian, and met Peter Phillips in Montreal in 2003 at the Canadian Grand Prix. He was there working for BMW; she was an events organizer. As soon as he met her, he was smitten–although he mistakenly thought her name was Megan, and humiliated himself by calling her that–and minutes later invited Autumn and her friends to the post-event party. Coincidentally, Autumn, who was still at university, had been offered a job in England that very day and had plans to move to London.

Now, here’s the good part: Peter and Autumn dated for several months before she discovered–while idly watching a documentary on Prince William while at her parents’ house–that her boyfriend Peter was actually the grandson of the Queen of England. How very “The Prince and Me“! (Her mother’s response that night: “Oh, Autumn, what have you got yourself into?”)

A few housekeeping details that are peculiar to the royal family: After Peter proposed, Autumn had to make the decision whether she would convert from Catholicism to Anglicanism so that Peter wouldn’t lose his place in the succession to the throne. (She decided to convert.) Thanks to the Act of Settlement 1701, which is incredibly still on the books, British Royals in line for the throne are forbidden from marrying Catholics. Can you believe it?

Also, in case you’re wondering why Peter doesn’t have a title, his mother The Princess Anne asked the Queen upon his birth not to grant him an HRH–or, in fact, any title. His father Captain Mark Phillips is a commoner who refused a title from the Queen upon his marriage to The Princess Anne, so Peter didn’t automatically inherit a title–even though his mother is the daughter of a monarch, which is why she gets the “The” in front of her name. Still, the Queen has the power to grant titles at will, and if Anne had decided she wanted it, Peter and his sister Zara would have titles.

Peter is the first legitimate grandchild of a monarch in over 500 years not to have a title.

Phew! I’m exhausted now. It’s all so confusing.

While lazily clicking through this InStyle fashion article about the 10 Things Every Woman Must Own (red flats! leopard-print scarves!), I stopped on this photo:

Claire Danes in a Burberry Trench

The Classic Trench. Of course.

However, I’m used to trench coats in tan or khaki. A trench coat in black isn’t reinventing the wheel…but it’s something I simply never considered. Smashing!

I hightailed it on over to Net-a-Porter, and found this Burberry version for $650. Similar to above, no?

Black Burberry Trench available at Net-a-Porter.com

Santa, will you turn the sleigh around and make a quick stop back at my apartment?!

Alternately, if you wish, you may bring me a white coat…

Jack by BB Dakota white belted pea coat at ModCloth.com

…kind of like Kate Middleton’s mystery white-coat that she wears from time-to-time:

Kate Middleton's now-famous white belted coat

I’ve searched high and low (well, okay, for about 10 minutes), but am unable to discover who designed Kate’s coat. She’s worn it several times: notably, on her 26th birthday, at Prince William’s RAF graduation, and when touring Westminster Abbey last month after her engagement. With all the “OMG Kate Middleton” going on in the blogosphere, you’d think a quick search would yield her coat designer–but alas, no.

UPDATE: As you can see in the comments below, Kate’s coat is by Reiss!

Ari Sturm writes:

I am not a rock star. That statement should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, and frankly, it’s really not something that needs clarifying. To be honest, I’m okay with that. Sure, like most, I’ve had delusions of grandeur, written some songs, strummed my guitar, and even gotten up on a few stages, but let’s be real–I don’t have the hair for it anymore. Once upon a time, maybe, but not anymore. This does bring up an interesting question though: what really makes rock star hair?

Of course, there is the modern day rock star with the $1200 hair cut, followed by hordes of people whose sole purpose in life is to primp and preen and fuss over every little strand–but real rock star hair, from days of yore, is long, flowing and, most importantly, dirty. Yup, I said it: greasy, oily, and matted down, dirty. Truth be told, all those natural oils can actually be good for our hair, and lots of professionals say that shampooing daily can actually strip away the nutrients our hair needs… that’s what I’ve heard anyway.

For those of us, however, who like to keep a clean head, we’ve been given a wide range of pomades, pastes, putties, waxes, gels and cremes. Many of these products can nearly replicate that same weight and texture that avoiding your daily/weekly regiment of upkeep can afford you. What I’m advocating here is to use a product like Redken Shine-Form Defining Wax for Men. It’s a lightweight, refreshing product with no flake or stiffness to it, which gives you a natural look and feel, and best of all, smells really good.

At times I do whish I did have my long hair back, just so I could slather it in Defining Wax, to play the rocker, without smelling like one. If you are a longhaired guy, or girl, I’d be interested to know how this works-out for you. Take a shower, get all clean, wash, rinse, repeat, and when you get out, with your hair damp, not wet, but damp, rub a couple of good helpings of the Redken Shine-Form Defining Wax into your hands, and generously coat that mane of yours. And for any lovely ladies in the LA area unclear on how to execute, let me know, and I’d be happy to assist in the application. Rock on.

For now, keep it clean,
Ari Sturm

Comment below on my Facebook page for an extra chance to win Proactiv Makeup Removing Cloths! There are 12 winners that will be picked, so don’t forget to tell your friends, and check out Lianne Farbes‘ The Makeup Girl tomorrow for Proactiv’s 3rd Day of Christmas!

Several months ago, I was having late night drinks with a friend from the Bay Area.

San Francisco was always one of Mama Jolie’s favorite cities; we lived in Menlo Park briefly when I was younger; and I currently have tons of friends in the area. At times, it seems to me much more cultured and “grown-up” than LA.

Long story short: I decided that, come March, I would move to San Francisco.

Taking silly photos of myself on Christmas Eve in my fur hat...

I told a few friends and colleagues about the move, which seemed perfect because I’d just turned 30, wanted a change of pace and scenery–the Hollywood thing isn’t 100% cutting it anymore, you know?–and am lucky to have a job that I can do from anywhere with an internet connection.

But I’m glad that I waited a bit before making an official announcement because–surprise!–I’ve decided to stay in LA after all! Instead of hoofing it all the way to the Bay, I’m just moving slightly west: to Santa Monica in February.

Fracturing my elbow in November slowed me down tremendously and forced me to think–since that’s basically the only thing I could do, what with typing and driving out the window. The friends who knew about the move asked me if I was still planning to go in March and I said no, since my hurt elbow meant things would be inevitably delayed.

“Maybe June,” I said. “Except, LA is gorgeous in June, so not then…August is out, since that’s my birthday month and I want to spend it with my close friends. I’ll be gone in September for fashion week…and October is sure to be busy playing work catch-up, plus Halloween in LA is really fun…”

As luck would have it, an old high-school friend had a room in her gorgeous Santa Monica apartment opening up in February–and, just like that, I realized my LA story wasn’t complete. (Wasn’t nearly close to being in the same vicinity as complete…)

When the going gets boring, Jolie gets moving: I’ve lived as an adult in New York, Paris, London, West Sussex, Palm Beach and LA. After the San Francisco plan was hatched, I even briefly fantasized about putting my things in storage and heading further west: Hawaii, Australia, Hong Kong, Bali, South Africa…the world! (more…)