Make a wish!

I'm sure that pretty much all of you have heard the old adage, "careful what you wish for!" It does sound cautionary but, in truth, those words are usually delivered with a wink and a smile and is accompanied with a little flutter of the heart.... you never know.... you may just get what you wish for!

A few years back, Blogland's darling, Elyse Major, from the, oh-so-pretty Tinkered Treasures, was having a giveaway and I made a wish that I could win the giveaway. Ha! It didn't matter if I won or not because, soon after, this box arrived in the mail.

THE BOX....!!!

Now, I'm sure that probably most of us have heard of 'Random Acts of Kindness' and this was certainly one of them. Little could Elyse know that, the moment before her box had arrived, my life had crumbled in many ways. It was just one of those really, really tough 'moments', and the start of one of those seasons. (But, just don't you fret about that - the season has brought me to a wonderful place in life! =]) The point is, I cannot even express how much this box meant to me!!! I mean just the box and, really, of course the sweet thought behind it.

But, Elyse must have thought that I was cavalier about it all and didn't care because it took me almost two months to open it. Little did she know how I had the box right there in the kitchen with me and it would constantly make me smile and sigh. =] (I'm literally laughing as I type this... I just LOVED that plain old box - unopened! =D)

The reason for my delay was.... I knew that I had a young friend who needed a box just as much as I did and we made a pact to open it together. It just took longer to get together for 'the moment' than we thought it would. (erp!)

But, the truth is....

when the moment came to open the box, it was SOOOoooooooooo worth the wait!

I really can't put words to expressing the time we spent together. I want to keep it hidden in my heart anyway. I mean, it really was just one of those moments. =]

Yet, still, next week, I want to share some pictures from it! ;-)

I want to share pictures and something about my friend because, you see...

...she has a wish....

well, perhaps, really a bit of a cherished dream...

but we know that dreams are kissing cousins to wishes! =]

 In the meantime,

here are pictures that I took, back then, of a few things we found in the box....

The moral of the story is....

Elyse (wise woman that she is), said, "pffffft!" to 'being careful what she wished for' and, lo and behold, little did we know, then, what would happen now....

NOW!

TODAY!

I mean,

THIS VERY DAY - AT THIS VERY MOMENT!

(Valentine's Day, no less - how cute is that?!?!?!)

Elyse's book, Tinkered Treasures: 35 simple projects to bring charm to the everyday, has been published!

and...

At this moment (or very close to it, anyway), she is winging her way to England for festivities and to fulfill another deep desire of hers - to visit a for-real, official Cath Kidston store!!!!! (GOL!!! Lucky duck! =])

(She's doing much, much more than that but that part is just too fun and perfect to not mention! heehee!) 

It is certainly, most definitely a 'giddy-licious' moment!!!!

But, you know...

I do keep getting choked up as I type this!

I am so happy for you, Elyse!!!

and,

it teaches me to dream and not be afraid!

So....

....make a wish!!!

xxoo, Elyse!!!

=]

a winter's table

A month ago (ahem. whistle, whistle.... oh! Alright! At Christmas-time.... =P), we had several weeks of company for dinner. The friends and family kept rolling in - a wave of fun that lasted well into the beginning of January! This year, however, I didn't feel like setting a very rich Christmas table but, having had snowflakes on the brain since we had seen some of  Snowflake Bentley's photos* in November and being inspired by this and the general ambiance that was on my winter Pinterest board, I set simply a wintry themed table. It was basically blue and white, lacey, with evergreens instead of flowers and a splash of Swedish style. For two weeks, I just kept washing and resetting and enjoying the table. I have to confess that the last luncheon I enjoyed at it was a very light chicken waldorf salad with greens. Anyway, I thought that I would just quickly share it with you before winter is long gone - in my dreams, anyway.  My thoughts started turning towards color and spring when I flipped the calendar page to February. Time to get organized and order seeds for the garden! =D

By the way, lest any of you feel sorry for me after my last post... 'my ship came in' in regards to Christmas gifts in January. Our little financial bottleneck popped open in a lovely way and I was caught in a flood of very happy gifts - things that I had been hoping and waiting a long, long time for. Some of them including, a new hood over the stove, Photoshop, new boots and warm socks (it's true!) and a punch ladle. All that I can say is that I seriously 'cleaned up' this year! ;-)

By the way.... if you're interested in some artsy takes on the table (heh, heh! =D), I, also, posted about it here. =]

(pssst! There's the punch ladle!)

...and, when I do the dishes, this is what I see out of the window over my sink!

Have I ever mentioned how good life is?

xo

* Snowflake Bentley, a Vermonter no less, was the first person to ever photograph a snowflake. He was the one that discovered that no two are alike. Tom and I saw some of his photos and sketches at the Fairbanks museum in St. Johnsbury, this past Autumn.