A Teacup Full of Blessings

I have wanted to join Stephanie's Teacup & Mug Exchange for a while now.
It seems like one thing or another just kept getting in the way!
Well, as soon as I found out about this one,
I decided then and there that I was going to do it this time...
...and I'm so glad I did!
~
What fun it was to secretly find out a little about the sweet lady that I was matched up with!
I was to send my teacup and other lovelies to Judy who blogs over at 20 North Ora.
I had seen several of Judy's posts but hadn't yet started following her lovely blog.
 A few things I discovered was that she was a super crafter, collector and decorator...
...with a perfectly wonderful whimsical style!
I came across a darling yellow bumble bee teacup that I thought she would enjoy.
By reading her posts, I could tell she was quite a busy lady...
...as busy as a bee buzzing all around possibly!
It was so much fun shopping for her!
~
And what a surprise to find a package on my doorstep,
even before the deadline for mailing them out!
My package arrived all the way from Oregon from Linda.
Her beautiful blog, Lady Linda is just overflowing with all things lovely!
~
Even the bright pink tissue paper excited me!

Here's what I found inside...

Isn't she a beauty?
It seems Ms. Linda had been doing a little poking around and discovered my red kitchen :)

I think the solid, darker tone with the gold edging is simply stunning!
And in addition to this gorgeous teacup, I received...

...a tasty assortment of my favorite fruity teas...now how did she know that??
I've never mentioned the kind of tea I like on my blog that I can remember.
Linda must have psychic abilities too! :)

There was also a really cool silicone tea infuser...

...some perfect rooster goodies including these recipe cards...



...the cutest pot holder...

...a darling little pottery dish for my tea bag that was filled with chocolate {smile}...

...and this cute little "rooster under glass" refrigerator magnet.
(not to be confused with Pheasant Under Glass...whatever that is)




I just loved everything!
~
But I have saved the best for last.

Years ago my MIL passed down her beautiful Red Rose vintage Sadler tea set to me.

And just look at how beautifully my new teacup matches it!



I sat up a little faux tea party out on my deck to see how they looked together...



...and as you can see, "we" had us a little photo shoot.

I was having a really hard time deciding which photos were my favorites...

...so I decided to just throw way too many into this post.

Okay...just one more for good measure :)
~
This was so much fun!
Thank you so much Linda, for these lovely, lovely gifts...
...they have truly blessed my heart.
How wonderful it was to finally be a part of this lovely exchange!
~
And Stephanie...what can I say?
 I can only imagine the amount of time and effort that you put into every single one!
I so appreciate your heart for the Lord and everything you do.
Sweet {{hugs}} to you, my friend!
~
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…
It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”
~ C. S. Lewis