Teacup & Mug Exchange Reveal

 Well, it's that time once again...
...time to reveal to the world what we received in our lovely packages from

 Stephanie's 
Teacup and Mug Exchange
This was my 6th exchange to participate in and each one has brought such joy.
And you just couldn't ask for a more fun way to make new friends!
It is beyond me how our dear and gracious hostess pulls these events off twice a year.
Just thinking about all of the time, commitment and organization that goes into each one...
well...I just can't even imagine! 
As much as I enjoy the anticipation of receiving a teacup package from a new friend,
I get as much joy, if not more, from shopping, wrapping and getting together the package to my lady.
~

Before I show you what was in my goodie box, I'll show you what I sent to my new friend, Sam,
a lovely lady from the Sunshine State of Florida.
Sam does not have a blog but I discovered that she and I like many of the same things.

So I purchased a few things I would like, although I have never tried Darjeeling tea.
I fell in love with this teacup when I saw it...perfectly vintage that I found on eBay.
For a fleeting moment I was just a bit tempted to keep it for myself!
Of course, I'm kidding....mostly. {smile}

I also included some honey straws (something new to Sam), yummy biscotti,
and a quilting magazine since I found out that she was an avid quilter.
Sam is also a member of the Red Hat Society so I added some darling clip-art onto her card.

She also collects vintage handkerchiefs and she absolutely loves yellow roses.
 How blessed I was to find this true vintage hankie with none other than yellow roses on it!
I think I may have been as thrilled as she was!
I was able to find Sam on Facebook and I hope to keep connected with her there.

My lovely package was sent to me all the way from New York by Jacqueline.

"Jackie" does not have a blog but she had evidently been reading mine a bit...
...the girl knows what I like!
First things first...my teacup was just exquisite.



I fell in love with the all-over pattern of delicate flowers and butterflies.
I don't have a teacup that's anything like this one.



Along with my beautiful teacup and saucer was an array of other goodies...



...including this darling vintage tin with chocolates inside (mmm...Hershey's Nuggets!),

 

zinnia flower seeds, a variety of teas including homemade strawberry mint julep loose tea,



a package of lovely note cards, some yummy chocolate mint cookies (she must be psychic),
and this darling wooden sign which now sits in my kitchen window sill.
And of course, all of these lovely gifts were accompanied by a sweet note card.

And it didn't take long for temptation to set in...
the cookies were calling my name and I'm pretty sure I heard them say, "Open me, open me!"



So I did...imagine that!

Girl Scouts of America, you've got nothing on Benton's Minty Fudge Cookies!



So another one of Stephanie's Teacup & Mug Exchanges in the books.
Each one unique, yet the sentiment is the same, time after time.

 

Stephanie, you put so much of yourself into each one of these exchanges.

Thank you for all you do...and what a blessing you are to so many!

Have a beautiful week!

Teacup & Mug Exchange Reveal

It's that time again...

...time for us to reveal all of our lovelies from...

Stephanie's Fall Teacup & Mug Exchange

This makes the fifth exchange that I have had the joy of participating in.
Each time I have eagerly awaited for Stephanie's email to arrive
 with the name of the lady that I was to send my package to.
I immediately click on their blog and do some snooping familiarize myself a little with who they are.

I was delighted to find out that I was to send my package to Dee at Traditional Simplicity.
I was unfamiliar with Dee but found out she has been blogging since 2006!
Wow...I don't even think I knew what a blog was back then!
It was fun getting to know a little about her on the sly and shopping for her teacup and other goodies.
This is what was in the box of goodies that I sent to Dee.

She favors soft pastel colors so I found this lovely teacup set with matching spoon...

...pretty tea party napkins and plates, a variety of gluten-free yummies, a 2018 datebook,

a couple of vintage doilies, some of her favorite mint teas
and a darling set of Pioneer Woman love bird salt & pepper shakers.

Now, on the other hand, I found out who was sending a package to me right away.
She even sent me an email, introducing herself and telling me to be expecting my surprise any day!
That delightful lady was none other than the sweet Lauren at Wonderfully Made.
Let me tell you, everything contained in my box of goodies had her special and unique flair,
with so many personal touches, right down to the packaging.
 I had to take photos during each step of the "unveiling" since it was so beautifully done!

There were three separate boxes inside the big box plus a darling hand made card...



...and this beautiful bookmark, also hand made.

What a treat it was to open each box, finding such lovely and unique items inside.



This box contained a wonderful array of loose teas.
 Printed on a label inside of the box lid was a description of each one...
including the ingredients, how long to steep them, and even the caffeine content!
Then there was this cutest bundle of...well...sticks of some kind and after I opened the plastic,
I still wasn't sure what they were but I had an idea...

...and that's when I got the brilliant idea to send Lauren an email and just flat out ask her!
We had a little chuckle over me not knowing and her forgetting to mention what they were.
I have to admit that I am still somewhat of a novice when it comes to tea-drinking.
Most of you probably know that they are straws filled with different flavored honey.
You just snip off the end and squeeze it into the tea.
I can't wait to try them!



On opening box #2, I found this beautiful silver spoon adorned with a vintage chandelier crystal...



...a lovely vintage linen hand towel
and a package of decadent buckeye chocolates.

These candies are also a favorite of Jim's and he didn't hesitate one little bit when I offered!

Being from Ohio with the buckeye as the state tree and the Ohio State Buckeyes a favorite team,



our families have made these yummy peanut butter-filled chocolates often.
In fact, every year at Christmastime, they were on Jim's wish list.

Talk about delicious!
So when I finally got to the last box, I unwrapped this exquisite and most elegant teacup.

I just love the soft pink roses, the gold edging and it's beautiful shape.



I feel so blessed to have received this delightful package.
Lauren most definitely is one talented lady...just look at her beautiful blog!

And what a precious heart for the Lord she has which is quite evident.
She and I have become Facebook friends as well.



But of course, none of this would be possible if it were not for our dear Stephanie.
It has to be a full time job for her with all that she puts into these exchanges.
Thank you once again, dear Stephanie for all you do to make these exchanges possible!

♥You are precious blessing from the Lord, my dear.♥

We will be traveling on Thursday to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with our Tennessee bunch.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Until next time....

A Beautiful Box of Loveliness

Yes, it's that time again!

Come on over to Stephanie's and check it out!

~

I do believe I'm going to need to do some rearranging in my cupboards...

...I seem to be running out of space to put my teacups!

I just may have to pay a visit to Pinterest for some inspirational ideas :)

This was my 4th exchange and once again I have 'met' a couple of very lovely ladies.

First off, I will show you what I gifted my exchange partner with. 

I sent my package to Cindy who blogs at none other than Creations by Cindy.

And what a sweetheart she is!

I had such fun picking and choosing what I would send her.

Cindy is an avid deer hunter and loves all things deer but I learned something as I was shopping.

Do you know that it is very difficult to find a dainty teacup with a deer on it?

Oh there tons of mugs out there but teacups, not so much.

And then wouldn't you know I got so excited that I forgot to take photos of what I sent her.

So I went online, found the items I had purchased and copied photos of them.

 Here is her lovely and very springy Lenox teacup that I chose.

There is a bee, a butterfly, a dragonfly, some pretty flowers...but no deer...

and of course a few other pretties for her tea party :)

I found out that Cindy just LOVES caramel when I was snooping reading her blog

so since I couldn't find a deer teacup I decided to focus on the caramel.

The great thing is, you can just about find caramel anything!

 So I went back and revisited the shelves where I had previously picked up these goodies...

Too bad I couldn't find any caramel tea although surely it must exist.

And now it's true confession time...
I was so tempted by the salted caramel biscotti that I got myself a box too.

Oh my....just let me tell you...they are SO DELICIOUS!

 Now on to my box of lovelies....and what a box of lovelies it was!
Even on the outside!

I was so excited as I dug into this beautiful package from Lea at CiCi's Corner.



Oh. My. Word.
I think it has to be one of the most beautiful teacups I've ever seen!



At first glance, I thought it was white and silver but upon further examination,
I realized it was an oh-so-delicate pink!





I don't know exactly how long our photo shoot went on...probably too long...

...but I just couldn't seem to capture all of her pink and silver gorgeousness!






The photographer in me kept snapping and snapping away...I just couldn't help myself.



My package was just filled with so many beautiful things.
I must say that dear Lea has exquisite taste!

There were heavenly smelling lavender soaps, an adorable box of fragrant drawer sachets
and sweet springy napkins...



...some lovely note cards by Vera...



...yummy tea, a beautiful fruity glass tray, a little bit of sweet and salty...
(now, how did she know that cheese straws are one of my favorite things??)
 

...and of course, CHOCOLATE!

Now tell me, have you ever seen such adorable Easter candy wrappers?

And not only were they the cutest things, they were also delicious.
I have yet been able to throw away one of those darling papers!



Yes, I'd say I was overjoyed with my box of goodies!
Thank you again, Lea...you sure know how to make a girl feel special :)

And then right after I put my camera down, I opened the cookies.

They were oh so buttery and delicious...
 

...and you know I had to take a few more pics of my little tea party for one :)



What a beautiful box of lovelies, wouldn't you say?
~

I just can't even imagine the work that goes into putting together these exchanges, can you?

Thank you once again, lovely Stephanie, for helping to spread so much joy and the love of Jesus.
You are truly a blessing to me and to so many others all over the world...

God bless you for all you do!
♥♥♥

 Hugs to all,