Oh man, the floating candles!!! In the 70s I thought those were the epitome of sophistication! I had read some book where the fancy people did that in their fancy bathtub so I convinced my mother to buy some for me and I put them in our bathtub and turned off the lights and of course it was nothing like what I had imagined in the book because you know we didn’t have a marble tiled walk-in gigantic Hollywood-style bathtub in a separate room from everything else usually in a bathroom, with a bow window looking out over the Hollywood valley. LMAO
But now seeing yours I want them all over again!!!
And i love the idea of a journal to match the book! That is brilliant.
I received from the ever talented and amazing @ArtsyCandice and oh my, she went above and beyond and spoiled me with sweetness.
Here is a pic of it all together.
She send me a hilarious dinosaur Christmas sweater. I love Christmas sweaters and I LOVE dinos, so this is definitely helped put me in the spirit. She send me three amazing chocolates. The Neapolitan was so yummy, and white chocolate is my fave so the other two won’t last long! The book is The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin and looks good! Last but not least is the painting. I will show a close-up of that in a minute.
Sweater - ArtsyCandice knows I have been having a bit of a rough spell lately and sent this as a pick-me-up. It did the trick!
and if all of that wasn’t enough, she painted a picture of my Dad with his little baby TJ. She recently passed away and it has been hard on the family. She was a treasured member for 20 years and my Dad’s constant sidekick. We all took her passing hard. This painting is so beautiful. Thank you so much. You captured her little smile!
A note on the book… I really struggled with getting a Kindle one, I know you said you preferred that but I am old school and well… you got a book. I asked my friends for book suggestions in your genres and a woman I went to high school with and respect very much suggested this series. She said that each book in it received an award that they were so good. I hope you haven’t read it yet and that this book,the first in the series, will drag you into a wonderful new place.
The sweater I had been eyeing for myself but couldn’t bring myself to get it for me. When we were paired up and you expressed having a rough time I knew it was meant for you.
I wanted to do a project featuring TJ after I saw your Instagram post and may have expressed that when partnering was happening. I am sorry that life is especially challenging for you right now. We all love you out here in lettuce land. Take care.
In the pic is the card she sent that says “Aloe my friend”, baby Yoda stickers, holiday stickers, dia de los muertos stickers, and scratch stickers (which I have never seen before, but am excited to use). There is a choco-covered pretzel which I already ate and a hazelnut truffle, also eaten. There is a handmade milk chocolate lip balm that smells absolutely wonderful. There is salted caramel cocoa, very berry loose leaf tea, cranberry echinacea loose leaf tea, and a Cock-a-Doodle Brew loose leaf brewing chicken. My husband has a loose leaf tea brewer, but he’s always using it so now I have my own!!!
Then there are the four books she sent. She said she enjoyed looking through my Goodreads and picking out different genres. I’m super pumped about reading them.
The Natural History of Unicorns by Chris Lavers
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet
The Haunting of Ashbury House by Darcy Coates
Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy by Hallie Lieberman
Thank you, @Bugaboo! I really appreciate my swap package and it came at just the right time amidst the holiday craziness.
So glad it arrived safe and sound!!! Enjoy the cock a doodle brew when I saw it (after having purchased Buzz) I knew it had to make it in the box! Theme?!?!
I received from @mel !! We said yes to extras, boy did we!
I got two really interesting books, already looked up recipes in one, am saving the other for my holidays! Then she sent fantastic strong mints (very yummy, these won’t last long!) and three different chocolates and two teas I have not tried before. They are in line for sampling this weekend, behind a few advent teas this week. What a horrid situation to be in, having so many teas to try!!
Then she crafted me multiple items! A mug cozy (on my Christmas mug already, goes great!), a great adjustable bookmark with a tiny Christmas tree, and a mug rug (actually already holding my 2-cup teapot at my desk, perfect size to catch any drips when I pour while clacking away at my keyboard).
yay!! glad you got it!! kept debating on the teas…santa’s secret is one of my faves for black minty tea…and YES!! you are in a very, very horrid situation…too many teas, not enough time, for sure!!
Finally been able to sit down and spend some time looking through the gallery. First up, so many tasty looking chocolates
In terms of books - Love Rosamunde Pilcher - The Shell Seekers is one of my favourite all time books Love both Cassandra Clare and Marissa Meyer, Gilded is one I haven’t read yet The Untethered Soul looks like a good read I have never heard of Merry Midwinter, but after the last couple of years, rediscovering the magic of Christmas feels very needed I have not heard of the author Alyssa Palombo, but a story of sleepy hollow sounds intriguing Will have to take a look at the Sleep Experiment, sounds like it could be interesting I have had Fifth Season on my to read list for ages now I read the bottom book in the pile as Bunn and was a little confused on the link between name and subject (made more sense when I scrolled a little further and read the actual name) The Victory Cookbook sounds like an interesting read
And on the extras -
Loving the hoops, especially the serene lady and her coffee
The embroidered towel
The little bird stamps are so cute
I keep looking at those tablet stands, even have a sewing pattern somewhere to make one
The journal is such a lovely idea
The little altered tin is so adorable, I love it
The painting of gozer’s dad and TJ is such a beautiful idea
I have just started playing Animal Crossing, so love the glass trivet
I love the little mug rug and cozy
And then to the item that I missed from the group shot. As I was taking everything out of the box, I put this to one side and then forgot to add it back in, but it absolutely deserves its own spot anyway. These paintings are just stunning. This is going to be hung around my little reading area
The most stunning bunting - it makes me think of crisp autumn days
Oh my goodness! So much to catch up on! @Chr1stchan you are SO talented! That book looks really good.
A victory cookbook! EEEP! That sounds wonderful! Loving that mug cozy!
The trivet is so pretty and fancy!
and what did i get today? i always gap out when i send my thing and then something shows up for ME!!! it took me a bit to figure out. ha…like, “that name sounds familiar…what could this be…hmmmmm…” then i was all, “oh yea…book swap!!!”
so THANK YOU for such an awesome swap @Camelama !!! you were def correct. those extras were very me. ha. i LOVE them. will prob have to fight the eldest for the socks. she’s a saucy one and she loves books.
The extras have swear words on them which are kind of a thing for Mel. I am not a swear word person so when I found & bought each of these, cackling all the while, the friend with me said “why in the world are YOU buying an F-word magnet/sock??! AND LAUGHING ABOUT IT??!!!””
But they were swear-y book-y things & they made me laugh! So of COURSE i had to get them for Mel!
Also, @mel , when i opened your package I laughed when i realized that we were exchanging military cookbooks!!! Hee hee!
Remember - books only in the sleeve, no electronics. If you want to use it for smaller paperbacks, you can just move & sew the button way down, & the sleeve can just fold over the book.
Love Rosamunde Pilcher - The Shell Seekers is one of my favourite all time books
