Three beautiful things

There was once a time when I recorded three beautiful things on this blog each day. I gave that up for a while, but I shouldn't have. For me, right now, it is especially important to take note of all the lovely little things around me. To soak them up and let them wash over me. I try to write them down each night before I go to sleep, so I have something good to think about as I drift off. Here are my three beautiful things from yesterday.

Sitting in the park {in the sunshine, in flip-flops!} while the kids played, writing a stack of postcards to some friends of my very dearest friend. We have started a post club in her honour and I know that she would adore that.

Weather warm enough to dry my laundry on the clothesline. Your clothes always smell so nice after. And striped shirts feel very French, n'est-ce pas?

Cherry blossoms. Millions of them. Hooray for spring and all its bloomy beauty.

Have you got three beautiful things to share? "Oh, how I wish you would..."

Happy Wednesday, friends.

We love London

The boys received a summertime parcel in the mail from Nanny on Tuesday afternoon, and yesterday morning we opened it with her through the magic of Skype {"Nanny" is Alan's mum who lives in England}. How perfect that it actually was the first day of summer. 

Look at the treasures we found inside {and check out the smiles on the boys' faces!}:

 Each of them got a fabulous double decker tin full of Cadbury's chocolate!

 And a super cool London Summer Olympics t-shirt.

 And a Peppa Pig mug!

Dylan's holding tight to his tin full of goodies

"Cheers, mate. Innit?"

Thank you so much, Nanny, for the wonderful goodies. What an exciting way to start the day, and the summer! Now we're looking forward to watching the Olympics on TV even more than we were before. We'll be wearing our t-shirts for sure! I can't promise there'll be any chocolates left by then though...

I believe that everyone should...

mary kate mcdevitt is a wise woman

Lately, more than ever, I am enjoying sending and receiving real mail. Email is great, but there's nothing like opening your mailbox to discover an envelope with your name written on it in a friend's handwriting. Am I right? {Em? I'm totally right, aren't I?!}With Christmas coming {in less than 5 weeks! gulp!}, I'm buying stamps and gathering up pretty cards and making lists of who to send which card to.  I've even begun to write some festive messages. It seems a little bit soon to mail them though, so I've been writing lots of plain old letters in the meantime. But "just because" letters don't have to be plain or boring. Look at some of these lovely notecards...

I think I'd like to buy some of these lovely grey and yellow notecards from sparrownestscript. Everyone can use some cheering up once in a while, non?

Bethany sent me a beautiful set of Katie Daisy notecards a while ago. I love writing letters in them.

I was so excited yesterday to discover I'd won some very pretty quote notecards from the Etsy shop lettergirl. My address stamp is from her shop, so it's perfect! Can't wait for them to arrive.

And since we're talking about stationery, I'm pretty sure I need this tote from shopsaplingpress. I love writing paper. I love good grammar. It's pretty much meant to be.

Do you like to send handwritten letters? Who do you write to? And have you started your Christmas cards yet???

Happy mail

Yesterday was rainy and grey. I had a dentist appointment and some errands to run {note to self: never, ever go to Wal-Mart ever again}, and was still really stuffed up and feeling gross. Add to that a sick husband asleep on the couch and it wasn't such a fabulous day. But in the afternoon, things took a turn for the better when the mailman arrived... with a parcel! It was from Cassie, and it was just exactly what we needed.

 Look at all the little packages!

 Cassie always has the prettiest ribbons and the sweetest little tags.

Here's the decoration she mentioned. Love it! It's going straight up in my office.

 And she always sends chocolate for the boys {"She's so lovely, Mum," said Dylan}

Excellent. A nice, light read. Something to distract me from the awfulness of the constant nose-blowing. I'm already well into chapter 1.

I was just thinking today that I could use a new lipbalm, Cassie! How did you know? {and wow, is this ever a fabulous lipbalm... the honey is so soothing}

There's nothing like some happy mail to perk me up on a dreary day. Thank you, sweet friend...

xo

PS: Have you had any goodies in the mail lately?

J'adore

... my letter E necklace from Amy Cornwell Designs. Amy was partnered with me in the Love & Envelopes Birthday Club last month and, not only did she send a lovely card, she also sent me this beautiful necklace.

The charm is tiny, and totally charming. Thank you, Amy! I love it.

etsy shop
amy cornwell designs

Postcards and other happy mail

I've had a lot of lovely mail recently. Would you like to see some of it? 

Pretty postcards from Karolina in Poland, and one of my favourite quotes: "Happy girls are the prettiest." - Audrey Hepburn

May 1st wishes from Em, and Royal Wedding-ish mints from the picturesque French village of Flavigny, where they filmed Chocolat!

Gracie sent these gorgeous Belle and Boo postcards, and included this quote: "If you want your children to be smart, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be even smarter, read them more fairy tales." - Albert Einstein

From Micaela and Marianne, on their recent getaway to NYC... From running in Central Park, to cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, to the top of the Empire State Building, these two crammed a lot into their four days in the Big Apple!

One can never, ever have too many postcards from Paris. Here's the most recent one from my lovely Em. On the phone the other day, we were planning our one-day birthday trip there... still several years off, but it can't hurt to plan ahead, right? ;~)

 Pretty paisley notecard from Sheba. She's going to NYC for the summer. Am v. jealous!

Fun card from Megan in Australia. I like the sentiment. Happiness is a fantastic accessory. Doesn't really matter what you're wearing, if you've got a smile that lights up your face, right?

Eeee! My new address stamp! I love it. The font is just gorgeous {and much like the one you see on the business card above}. I can't stop stamping everything! If you write to me, expect a letter in reply, with my pretty address stamped on the back, maybe more than once ;~)

I also got a beautiful belated birthday card from Brandi and some really pretty recipe cards, which I forgot to get a photo of before I uploaded everything to the laptop. When she gets here in July, I expect her to share some of her favourites with me. I'm so excited to have her coming to visit {and not just because she's some sort of baking goddess and makes her own homemade chocolate croissants...}!

Have you had any fun mail lately? Have you sent any? {Oh, that reminds me... Kayla got her package of goodies that I sent her for winning my giveaway, and she really loved them all. I was so happy to hear it! Photos coming soon...}

Happy Thursday, wherever you are! Now I'm curious... where are you?

Lots of love in my mailbox

I can't get over all the mail I've been receiving lately! So many letters and cards and presents have been filling up my mailbox every day this past week. Sure it was my birthday, and then I had to go for surgery and people like to wish you well, but I'm still amazed at the generosity and overall loveliness of so many people, some of whom I've never actually met!

Want to take a peek at all my fresh-from-the-post presents?

Fabulous teapot-shaped hook for the kitchen wall and embroidered tea towel from my sweet friend Cassie {whom I have indeed met!} in England

Beautiful card, C.S. Lewis bookmark {you may recall that that is one my favourite quotes!} and swoon-worthy Mr Darcy tea towel {which until now I have admired from afar}, all from gorgeous Gracie in Australia

Pretty card, tea and a Starbucks gift card {chai tea lattes, here I come!} from Sheba, my almost birthday-twin, in Toronto

Super fun vintage London handbag from my real-life friend Jess {we kept having to cancel plans due to sickness, so she finally gave up and sent my presents in the post!}. Inside the bag? Adorable Etsy address labels and bookplates!

Delicious recipe book/memoirs of a pastry chef in Paris, from Em {you all know Em!}. I started reading it last night and it's really good. And, guess what? The author has a blog... 

Package o'fun from Cass in Saskatchewan! 

 ... including minty chocolate, Starbucks {oh, you all know me so well!}, a fabulous Marta Writes mini-diary and some really excellent stationery that must remain a secret for now. Love, love, love it all!

 Cookbook I've been wanting, from my lovely sister-in-law/friend in Ireland

 I love what she wrote inside

 This cookbook is full of the most mouth-watering recipes and some really fabulous photos, too. 

Jamie Oliver is awesome! Have you seen his Food Revolution L.A. series yet? It started this week and Twitter was on fire the night it premiered!

Finally, a sweet little parcel from a new blogging friend, Elaine, in Alberta. Elaine's co-written a book about an extraordinary correspondence between two friends... "a mutual exchange of letters: not electronic mail, mind you, but real letters, written in ink, sealed in colourful envelopes and mailed at the post office-with stamps." Now that has me written all over it, don't you think?

And it's the perfect way to end this post. Thank you so much to all my lovely friends across the blogosphere and around the world. I am so lucky to know you, and to be on the receiving end of so much amazing mail! I owe you a reply really soon... Good thing I've got all this time off work to catch up on my correspondence, huh?

Kisses!
E xo

On collecting quotes {and getting my appetite back}

my delicious lunch and a little light reading {thanks, Cassie!}

The boys were at school today, and I was at home on the couch. I took naps, read magazines and books, and really, truly rested. It was lovely, and just what I needed after a long and difficult Monday {I was on my own again when Alan went back to work, and I tried to do way too much}. I also tried to eat a bit.

Since the surgery, I've had a sore throat and a strange taste in my mouth, I think from the tube they must have put in me while I was under. Ugh. Anyway, my appetite is finally starting to come back, because I actually wanted to have lunch today {and what I did manage to eat tasted not too bad}. Whilst I was sipping soup and nibbling a veggie sandwich, I was collecting favourite quotes. Do you ever do that? Write down words that move you, words you want to live by? I've joined Gracie's postcard swap, and the assignment is to send a pretty postcard to your partner, and on it to write a quote that you love. Well... I happen to love a lot of quotes! Not sure how I'm going to choose just one. Here are a few I'm especially fond of:

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship. ~Louisa May Alcott

Happy girls are the prettiest. ~Audrey Hepburn

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

If you have built your castles in the air, your work need not be lost. There is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. ~Henry David Thoreau

They're good, aren't they? I think they sort of sum me up. Do you have any favourite quotes you'd like to share? I've got a journal to fill up, and postcards to get sent, and I'd love your input. I could really use some inspiration these days, too. All this sickness and being an invalid is starting to get discouraging!

Much Love Monday {mail and other stuff}

via here

Hello, and welcome to the last Monday in March! Soon it will be April. I love April, and not just because it is my birthday month, but because it means warmer days and tulips and Easter, too! Other things I'm loving this Monday include:

• spinach and ricotta canelloni, made by me
• my friend Shannon, whose birthday is today! I have something exciting up my sleeve for her birthday present {stay tuned...}
• all the letters I've managed to write lately- it's fun to send off lots of love in the post
• this gorgeous little bird that I bought as a present to myself for getting through the miserable month of March {March isn't usually miserable, but this one has been particularly bad for illness and injury and plague-like symptoms!}

I obviously couldn't resist him

• Parenthood, Season 2 {am powering through episodes at breakneck speed! Love that crazy Braverman family}
• watching Dylan carefully follow the directions to construct another Lego vehicle {we've got an entire city of Lego taking over the playroom} and seeing how proud he is of himself when it's done
• reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the boys each night. Dylan's face, when he discovered Alan was alive again... pure joy!
• making plans for my birthday, which is a week from tomorrow {I'm thinking afternoon tea with my favourite girlfriends sounds fun}
• the letters I received this week from Gracie, Kelly and Kim {Kim's contained a silly LOST joke that totally made me laugh out loud!}
• the fabulous and completely unexpected package I received from Bethany a few days ago... {thanks, Bethany! I love it!}

Beautifully wrapped, lovely card, amazing fabric flower

 It took me ages to open... didn't want to ruin the pretty packaging!

Fabulous London calendar, full of gorgeous vintage prints like this one

The flower is actually a brooch which I will be wearing soon {Easter Sunday, maybe?} but Sawyer just couldn't resist trying it on. "Do I look beautiful, Mum?" he wanted to know!

* * *

Hope you have found loads of things to love this Monday, too!

Pleasant distractions

I am in the middle of some major cleaning up at the moment. The place is ripped apart as I sort things into piles: keep, toss, donate, put aside and come back to later... I am so not good at this sort of thing. It makes me feel anxious, all the mess around me. Panicky. I can't see the end in sight and I start to get all worked up and freaked out. It's part of my desire for things to be "just so." Unfortunately, I'm a procrastinator, so things often get put off until I can put them off no longer! And then it's just stressful, because not only am I working amidst piles of stuff, I'm also working to a deadline.

Anyway, a girl needs to take a break, no matter how close the deadline may be and I've been lucky today to have a few fun things to distract me when I needed to turn my back on the mess for a bit {it's okay... I've got three more days until everything has to be done, and though I have to work two of those days, and attend a super-long preschool meeting tonight... I'm sure it will all come together in the end! Right?}

Here are a few of the things that have distracted and cheered me as I've tackled my to-do list:

Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies {left over from last night's book club meeting} and a cup of tea

Valentines in progress {I love to watch Dylan with the glitter and glue!}

A great long letter from Kelly, and her local newspaper, too! 

A fun {and always beautifully wrapped} parcel from Cassie

... containing a gorgeous, handmade Valentine banner to string up above the fireplace! LOVE IT.

Oh, and this little blog of mine. It distracts me regularly!

Okay. Break's over. Now, back to work...