A Lovely Valentine's Bottle Swap

Has it really been a year since I last posted? Google tells me so, and I won't argue. And this post is almost a week later than I'd intended, but I've been waging computer battles of epic hair-tearing proportions. (Shhhh. Everything seems to be working reasonably well this evening. Don't even whisper that to the computer jinxing gods!)

Last Thursday was Valentine's Day, and in honor of that I participated in a bottle swap! My sister-I've-never-met-in-person, darling Miz Mollye, over at Fruit of the Spirit was our hostess for it. Have you ever tried one? You take an empty 2 liter bottle, cut a trap door in the side, stuff it full of goodies, and then mail it. (I loved the look on the postal worker's face when I placed the one I was sending on the scale!)

I am here to show off the lovely wonderfulness I received from my swap partner, Terry Lee. (Her blog is here: AllThingsTerryLee .) Are you ready? Here's what the outside of the bottle looked like:

See how she surrounded all the little gifties with pink paper shreds? So pretty! And a close-up of the heart-shaped picture:

I opened my bottle with a girlfriend who'd come for a visit. We could hardly believe our eyes as we pulled one item after another from the bottle. How on earth did she get all this in there?! And almost all of it was gift-wrapped, so there was the delight of anticipation, and opening each one.

Whoo-hoo! Lookit all the CHOCOLATE! I have nibbled, and nibbled, and nibbled, and when I'm not nibbling, I'm hoarding. I swear, sometimes thinking about that chocolate waiting for me is as good as actually eating it. (Well....maybe not quite, lol.)

And so many prezzies! Socks, a bracelet (haven't taken it off since), a little note pad for my purse, a darling hanging heart, decorated box, my initial on a hat/coat hook....

"AC sweet as can be" (My initials are AC. How darling is that? Not to mention flattering!)

The sweet card and envelope, and a delightful stamped and decorated cloth tag:

And last but not least, this metal hanger. I love it, and I'm looking for just exactly the right place to put it.

All I have to say is my swap partner spoiled me absolutely rotten. I have smiled, and smiled, and smiled. Thank you, Terry Lee!

BOTTLE SWAP

MizMollye has been busy again, this time organizing a Bottle Swap! Before I say what a Bottle Swap is, I'm going to tell you it was so much fun I think I'll need to host one myself, to keep the fun rolling, lol.

Bottle Swap: Each swap partner takes a plastic bottle (we used 2-liter pop bottles), cuts a trap door in it, and stuffs it with as many goodies that match the theme of the swap as possible, seals up the flap, addresses the bottle and mails it. Simple!

This swap had a Mother's Day theme. The idea was to stuff our bottles with things our own moms would love, and send them to our swap partners, including a bit of explanation and tribute to our moms.

My swap partner was Ragamuffin Gal. I had a great time choosing the things to send her, and she obviously had a good time, too, selecting the things she'd send me, because my first question was...

How on earth did she get all that in there?!

Just look at all those goodies! My daughter was looking over my shoulder when I opened the bottle, and I think she had a serious case of envy going on, especially when she saw this:


It was all I could do to get her to relinquish that bracelet, once she'd put it on. I Am Mama, though, and that is my wrist the bracelet is on. Oddly ESPish: I was wearing a tee shirt just exactly that color when the bottle arrived, and it is not one I wear frequently.

I adored these lovelies:



The little girl by herself is a tile pendant I can hardly wait to wear, she's so sweetly pretty and pensive.

And I think stickers are so wonderful, I have to force myself to actually use them, so the sight of these plastic packets drew an excited, "Stickers!" from me.



Other items you might not have noticed in that tray--tea bags, ribbons, a number of small adornments, a delicate hankie, and a gift card for Michael's craft store, which I plan to use indulging a guilty pleasure, magazines. Oh, I am such a sucker for a good magazine.

Last photo is of Ragamuffin Gal's (Katie's) moo card, which I consider a treasure in and of itself:

Now I'm going to reprint the note Katie wrote about her mom. She sounds and looks like such a fun and adventurous woman, and Katie clearly knows how special she is!

Last Mother’s Day On her 80^th Birthday at 18 when she married dad

Introducing ~ My Mother ~ Millie

I am so fortunate to not only have the best mother in the world but also to still have her a daily part of my life. She is 81 years young and she has truly taught me that “the best is yet to come.”

She has a very full and active life, still lives on her own, drives, and has a very full social calendar. She loves to play Bridge and all sorts of card games. She works out at a fitness facility 3 days each week. She belongs to several Bridge Groups and has season tickets to the Symphony and several Theatres. She has traveled and cruised to many exciting places, including Spain, Italy, The Cayman Islands, and most recently Ireland. She loves to read and go to the movies. She is very stylish and likes lots of bling (totally opposite of her daughter on the bling part).

Despite having Lupus, and having endured cancer and a heart attack, she has faced and overcome these obstacles with grace and dignity. She nursed my father during his last days in such a loving, humane, and compassionate way that it was a lesson to all of those around her on tender loving devotion . She has taught me many other great lessons, but this one is probably the most important one!

Much Love to you Anitra and many blessings ~ Katie

If I sound like I love my mom then I have succeeded because I really really do! I am looking forward to this summer when we will have lots of ''Girls' Days Out''!

What a lovely tribute Katie wrote!

Happy Mother's Day to both my mom and Katie's!