10 Style (& Life!) Commandments, Courtesy of Meghan Markle

Before soon-to-be duchess Meghan Markle met Prince Harry, she was already a style icon. The American actor and humanitarian started lifestyle blog The Tig (named after her favorite red wine, Tignanello—which, if your keeping track, isn’t actually pronounced with a hard ‘g’) back in 2013. She shut the site down back in April 2017, but thanks to the wonderful internet archive, we can still sneak a peek at some of her timeless advice. Here are ten of her best tips.

That’s what Meghan said in this 2015 interview with The Chalkboard. Apparently, it’s also the one thing she asked about Prince Harry before meeting him. “‘Cause if he wasn’t kind, it just didn’t seem like it would make sense,” Markle said in the couple’s first joint interview.

Meghan loves a good quotation, and she even asked some of her fabulous friends to share their favorites as well. She writes that “they are the golden nuggets that become my mantras; they are the best accompaniment to a moving meditation as we go through our daily rigmarole.”

In a post about inspirational books, Meghan defines badass as someone “strong of spirit, brave and fearless, self-aware yet selfless, and always striving to be the best version of themselves.” Agree on all counts.

In a post about staycations, Meghan notes that a few simple things can make you feel luxurious: “We often forget the little gestures that hotels make when you are away. Be it spa water (with sliced cucumbers in it), extra cozy slippers, plush bathrobes, perfectly crisp and ironed sheets; all of these elements can make your humble abode feel like a boutique hotel.”

Meghan shares the invigorating feeling she had when she first took herself to a movie. Happiness begins with self love, she writes, so do nice things for yourself, like going out to dinner alone, buying yourself flowers, and even taking solo vacations.

The actor grew up both on set of glam TV shows with her father the lighting director, and taking trips with her mother to the slums of Jamaica. In a post about the balancing between the worlds of the haves and have-nots, Meghan notes that without her acting career, she wouldn’t have been asked to be a a global ambassador for World Vision or an advocate for UN Women, “both of which are honors I relish.”

Every year on The Tig, Meghan shared some musings on her birthday (August 4, for anyone who’s curious). In her 2016 post, though, she didn’t really have any specific resolutions for the year ahead, besides gratitude: “I have to say that when I close my eyes and think of what I wish for, I come up with a blank. A big old happy blank. I am feeling so incredibly joyful right now, so grateful and content that all I could wish for is more of the same. More surprises, more adventure, more opportunities to grow, more days filled with giggles and cheeky jokes, more delicious meals, and more inspiration. Always more inspiration.” Same, Meghan, same.

As if there was any doubt. Meghan loves the City of Lights: “The food, the accent, the je ne sais quoi of the women with their inherent chicness – I sigh un petit peu just typing this.” The blog’s Insider Guide on the city comes from Elettra Wiedemann (daughter of Isabella Rossellini), and c’est magnifique.

In a post on her 33rd birthday, she shares how a casting director once told her, “you need to know that you’re enough.” She says about the now-mantra: “That five pounds lost won’t make you happier, that more makeup won’t make you prettier, that the now iconic saying from Jerry Maguire -‘You complete me’ – frankly, isn’t true. You are complete with or without a partner. You are enough just as you are.” Preach.

We definitely agree with this one, as does Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton, and The Kitchn.