lucky penny is dusting off her glass slippers, trying on gowns, and practicing a curtsy.
operanation, canadian opera company‘s annual fundraiser, is one of *many* lucky penny-approved social events of the season. this year’s theme takes inspiration from gioachino rossini’s opera, la cenerentola.
the ball is next friday, october 29th (post-paws for the cause and cooper’s runway début) at the four seasons centre for the performing arts… with a *special* broken social scene and opera mash-up.
get ready to rock, cinderella.
***psst… lucky penny will be fairy godmother to one lovely reader… win 2 tickets to operanation (worth $150 each)! please leave a comment below, and tell us the sweetest thing your prince charming has ever done… or could do for you. contest ends on wednesday.
my (unfortunately, now ex-prince charming) wanted to brighten my day. after i got a fabulous new job, he got me (as my combined birthday/anniversary/congrats on the new job gift) my first ever pair of beautiful gray patent leather christian louboutin pumps. an indulgence i likely would not have allowed myself for a long time. i know it sounds materialistic, but the thought behind it really warmed my heart
when my phone was lost, he would leave me love letters in the mail at my work!
on one birthday, my guy was going to be quite far away. timing it perfectly with the mail, i received a package with a disc in it. this dvd contained a video of all the memories and photos throughout our relationship. as well, him recounting the amazing times we shared through each of the frames. too thoughtful!
my ex-boyfriend surprised me for my birthday with a “skinny pig”, which is a nearly hairless guinea pig. i was a bit apprehensive at first, considering i never had a pet before. and he offered to keep the pig if i didn’t want it. i picked up the pig, held him in my arms and fell in love with him. i named him montague oliver aka “monty”. monty lived for over 4 years and i was so sad when he passed away. about 1 month after, i bought another pig named chocolate who has been my pet ever since. if it wasn’t for my ex, i never would have discovered the world of skinny pigs and how great they are for a pet.
one day my beau and i, who had been dating for a couple of months, went on a walk. suddenly i was required to put a blindfold on in the middle of the downtown city we were both living in. stumbling along over city grates amid traffic noise i thought: “oh boy, this better be good. i must look like an idiot.”
i was led into an interior space, and told to stand still and my blindfold was taken off. voila – in front of me was a huge painting that i had been admiring for days, in an art gallery. one with a very hefty price tag. i was told it was mine, and shown the little red dot to prove it. almost best was the beaming face of the gallery owner! such a romantic, over the top, out of the blue gift. it led to us living together, as i insisted that the painting had to live with both of us.
the sweetest thing my prince charming could do for me is write a love song for me. one ex prince charming painted me an original work and wrote me a poem. i’m a sucker for that stuff – if it’s good. sometimes the most wonderful thing to do is just stay in bed a day.
new year’s was coming up and i was trying to think of fun things to do knowing that my prince charming would be out of town. dinner and drinks with the girls? a random house party? still undecided on the eve of the 31st, my prince charming showed up at my doorstep, having changed his flight to come home early and surprise me so that we could spend that special night together
for me its not just one thing. its many many small things each day. i can sum it up by saying that he is just the most loving, supportive, sensitive, caring, generous man and i’m glad to be his future bride!
i had gotten my car broken into while i was staying near his place before we were even officially bf & gf. the very next day he surprised me with a trip to the mall to buy me a new cd player to replace the one that had been stolen! i thought it was so sweet and definitely didn’t think he needed to do that
my prince charming is the ultimate romantic. he makes sure to remind me everyday why i love him. one of the sweetest things he has done most recently was take the day off of work, so he could surprise me me at work with a coffee and a pastry.
my prince charming makes the bed, does the dishes, and vacuums without me having to ask. sure, he surprises me with flowers and love notes, remembers our anniversary, and makes soup when i am sick, but it’s the everyday actions that make him my prince charming 365 days a year.
my pc brought me home cupcakes when he went for a bike ride, but i had to stay at home grading papers. sweet (on several counts). also, nothing beats cupcakes!
my (ex) prince charming used to tell me every day “well gorgeous… did i tell you how beautiful you are today?” it was a small, non-material gesture, but he’d always whisper it in my ear with the utmost sincerity at the most random times just to make me smile. even when i was sick he’d tell me i was always beautiful. the relationship may have ended, but i’ll always remember him with kindness.
i’ve yet to find my prince charming. i assure you that when i do, he would make the sweet gesture of buying me tickets to next year’s operanation and always be my +1 to events.
i once had a dream to go on this big adventure, and start a new and exciting life in toronto. (i’m from paris.) my prince charming made it come true. we have been living here for 2 years now, and we both fell in love with the city. i got the dream, the prince charming and the happily ever after…
we’d just been dating for about a year, and we were living overseas. one day, i got into a scooter accident. it was terrible – i had the worst road rash all over my body, and very badly sprained wrists.
i wasn’t allowed to get any of my road rash wet, which made it extremely difficult to shower/bathe, since it was literally all up my right side. my bf took the time every day for over a week to essentially give me a sponge bath. he was so careful and so concerned about hurting me that it took ages, but never once complained about it. he made my meals for the week, helped me get dressed every morning, and basically took care of me – cheerfully.
it was really sweet, and it was the first time that i realized i wanted to marry him. we’re getting married next year.
one day my prince will come…
and when he does, the sweetest thing he could do for me is make me realize that i am loved. just by looking me in the eyes, i’ll know it’s everything true.
i’ve yet to be in love, but i imagine it’s the sweetest thing anyone could ever experience.
the sun was up, the morning was cold and wet.
a peep of a knock sounded on the door: tap, tap……tap.
i was still sleeping, so my mother opened the door. she did not expect to see my boyfriend at the time (my husband now), but there he was with a sack in hand. after saying hello, in barely a whisper he asked, “is allie awake?”
she replied that she wasn’t, but that she would go upstairs and wake me. she knew how much i liked him and was certain i would be happy to see him.
he however had a better idea. he asked, “if you do not mind, i have brought everything i need to make allie breakfast in bed. may i use your kitchen?”
she couldn’t say no to that?! i think i fell in love that day, too.
he went into the kitchen and prepared me breakfast and he even cleaned up. everyday since has been a revelation and i feel so incredibly grateful and thankful that i found him.
love the site lucky penny! although i am of the other gender, i believe the question could be turned the other way as well. i think the sweetest thing that my gf (or my “belle” – reference beauty and the beast (afterall, she did save him!)), did for me was keeping my mind, body and soul positive after i had lost my job. i had been exposed to an extravagant and almost privileged lifestyle. but that quickly disappeared once i was unemployed. yet during such a difficult time in my life, she would teach me the simplest things to not only better myself as a person, but to also keep myself active. altogether, it was a humbling yet rewarding experience. and while we as a society seemed to be fending for ourselves, she warmly offered herself in sympathy of my difficulties. not only did she help rescue me, but she showed me how to rescue others in need as well.
i decided to spend a year in tokyo to teach english and while living there, i contracted the flu. this was around the time of the bird flu pandemic and when people heard the word “flu” the went running the opposite way.
i went to the doctor who gave me antibiotics and sent me packing fast. there i was. alone in a foreign country. a pariah. unable to call tele-health ontario to make sure i wasn’t dying. after a day of flipping through the radio to find an english station, kicking myself for only ever buying japanese fashion magazines with immaculate spreads but no english copy, with nothing else to do, i pressed play on my dvd player. at this precise moment, my dvd player decided to break. tears welled in my eyes and i did what no independent woman trying to make her mark in a foreign city likes to do. i called my boyfriend for some much needed cheering up. he didn’t answer. like most women do, i began to downplay our relationship and became even more sad.
about 20 minutes later, i heard a knock at my door. it was my boyfriend who insisted that i stay with him until i felt better. he took me to his place, made sure i kept warm and fed me regular doses of hot water, lemon and honey (mixed just so) and chicken broth for 5 days. he put up with hot sweats, cold sweats and the random whiny outbreaks we all subside to when we’re sick. during that week, we became so close. it was nice to see the nurturing side of him, and to go from the “is he/isn’t he my boyfriend” conundrum to “he’s my prince charming”.
til this day, he holds the bar for great guys.
i know i am not a princess writing about my prince, rather i am a prince who moved to toronto to be with his princess and after dating for over a year were still good and golden. from swimming in fountains to rooftop picnics everyday is a new adventure.
i’m quite fortunate to have a hard time thinking of the sweetest thing my prince has done – because he does the sweetest things all the time!
one of my favourites though: during my university years, i was often over-stressed, over-worked, and generally losing my mind. the boy and i rarely got to see each other, but tried to make the best of it when we did. one day, he was rather late coming over to visit. finally he knocks on my door, tells me to drop my homework and come out side.
what do i find? prince charming, knowing my love for autumn and all things childish, had made a huge pile of leaves in the park for me to jump into. over and over again, i got to jump in the leaves like my 7 year old self used to do.
a small gesture, sure, but one that proved to me just how well he knew me, and above all else, he much he cared for me.
one of the sweetest things my hubby, aka prince charming, has done for me is not complain when our “cultural vacation” honeymoon turned into a largely girls event. there was a group staying at the same manor as us, and we cooked and ate together and one evening turned into a perfect girls night with lots of sharing and stories about relationships gone bad and how the ladies survived and moved on.
prince charming was the only man, and he cheerfully, if wearily, listened to the stories with compassion and without complaint. it took a lot, and i really appreciated it. at the end of the evening, i told him he had a six month pass to turn down chic flicks and the like – and he declined! said it was fine, and it was clear everyone had been enjoying the night & the wine! i love that man!
prince charming… does he really exist? i’ve yet to find mine… i’ve definitely found a bunch of posing princes, but not the one who has lasted. i know that the one who will love me for who i am is out there, and that just as i will want to do special things for him he’s sweep me off my feet. recently unemployed, i’d love a pair of tickets to operanation so i can get out and spend some time enjoying the night.
who knows maybe i’ll find my prince on october 29th?
the sweetest thing my prince charming ever did for me? it’s a tough decision. it would have to be my first christmas in toronto. it’s my favourite holiday, and i was miserable in the city. we had just moved, didn’t really know anyone, and had no family here. i was in such a mood that i told him no tree, no anything, since i was going to be traveling up till the 23rd anyhow.
he went on a mission for me while i was gone. any boyfriend can get his girl a tree, but we didn’t have a car, nor did we know anyone with one. nor will a cab pick up anyone with a 10 ft tree on yonge street. he carried it the entire 40 minute walk, in the hail and snow, without gloves. it took him over an hour as he had to stop to warm up his hands every 10 minutes, since he didn’t have any gloves. all so i wouldn’t be without a tree for the first year ever.
because of him, my christmas tradition is unbroken. although we now borrow a friend’s truck to get the tree home
we married 11 years ago and never went away because i had children i didn’t want to leave. for our 10th anniversary he said he was going to plan our celebration for us. i have wanted to go to paris since i was 17, and he knew this.
on our anniversary weekend he told me to pack a bag for a few days, but wouldn’t tell me where we were going. we got in the car, got onto the highway, and then he put a blindfold on me. i was not allowed to take it off. an hour passed and finally i felt the car slowing down, and stop. next, i heard ‘la vie en rose’ playing on the cd in the car, and he told me to take off the blindfold. ahead of me was a sign which read, “welcome to paris”. he gave me a rose and said, “happy anniversary, honey. i knew we couldn’t get to paris, france, so this was the best i could do for now”.
he had booked us into a very luxurious b&b for the weekend in paris, ontario. it was incredible:)
he holds my purse at the bar while i dance and always holds my hand as we cross the street. now that’s a real man