Ornament Swap!

Many of you also participated in Micaela's annual ornament swap.  I was lucky enough to have two partners!  My original partner was Lauren Nicole, but then Micaela asked if I would also pair up with her younger sister, Madeline . . . swap ornaments with another lovely Lechuga girl?  Of course I will!

I was psyched to hunt for just the right ornaments for these girls.  Micaela gave me a couple tips for Maddie--that she loves owls, and that she'd like a San Francisco ornament since she wants to visit here one day.

I scooped up this adorable owl from Etsy shop Beets and Bernice.  If you like it, I highly recommend buying from her--she's so sweet and ships quickly!  Plus, the ornament was even more adorable in person that it was in pictures:

I wasn't willing to venture into tourist-land for an SF ornament (I imagine I would've had to go to Fisherman's Wharf or some other tourist-laden 'hood), so I made one for Maddie:

amateur, but cute-ish, right?

and wrapped 'em up like this:

and sent 'em off to Texas!

Maddie had a similar idea about what to get me: one from her home state, and one ornament representing something I  looooove.

I love this!!  Makes me think of all my Lechuga girls.

love me, love my shoes

A pretty perfect exchange, right?  I wouldn't have expected anything less from a partnership with Micaela and Marianne's sister.  :)  Merry Christmas, Maddie, and thanks for the sweet ornaments!

My exchange with Lauren Nicole was just as great.  All I knew about her was that she has impeccable taste . . . so I ordered some vintage ornaments from my sister's etsy shop, Very Fine House:

(four) turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree

sweet vintage deer ornament, also from my sister's shop

Aren't they darling?  But I decided to attempt to make one for Lauren, also . . . so I tore up some Vogue magazines and broke out the holiday sparkly modge podge and ended up with this (it's spherical, so I couldn't get a good picture of it! but you'll get the idea):

Lauren sent me two exquisite beauties from Anthropologie.  They're pretty much exactly what I would have picked out for myself . . . how did she know? and I quickly placed them front & center on my tree!

This delicate little bird is so pretty, and her underbelly is grayish-silver glitter!

a colorful knit K for my last name

Thank you, Lauren!  I love both my ornaments so very much, and as you can see, they went right up on my tree!  I've already yammered on and on about how in love I am with my Christmas tree, and now it has four new, special ornaments that make it all the more lovely.  

Micaela, I'm already looking forward to next year's swap. ;)

So much birthday love ♥

I swear, my friends know me so well. People have always told me that I'm "easy to buy gifts for" (not that their love & friendship isn't more than enough) . . . and these pictures of some of the wonderful things I got in the mail for my birthday last week prove it!

(Please forgive the iPhone-quality pics. With a broken camera, it's all I got).

From darling Faiza, who most would agree is one of the most delightful people around. She sent a lovely golden scarf, a "party in a box" (so cute!), a babysitting notebook (how thoughtful!), some candy, and a card with an adorable monster on it. I feel so lucky to have gotten to know Faiza--she inspires me to be patient and gracious, and I'm so thankful for that.

Pretty sure that any of you can guess who this is from . . . my sweet girl, Micaela. I don't think I've ever known a better gift-giver; Micaela sent a custom-ordered embroidery of Leo, the constellation of my birth sign, a wire hanging of our favorite word ("adore"), a vintage floral tin (which I love btw) with a pretty doily inside (crocheted by Mama Lechuga), a beautiful black & gold ring with a Leo the lion symbol, a Gypsy candle, and a collection of poems (all along with some school supplies for the first day of school). I am so full of gratitude for this precious gift and this precious girl! What's most amazing about all these sweet presents is that they show how incredibly well she knows me. Micaela and I are so much alike. I love you pretty girl!

close up of Leo ring!

One of a few funny gifts from my little mama. She sent me a weighted hula hoop, hoping that it would help with my terrible back. She included a note reminding me of my championship hula hooping skills as a kid, proven by my victory at a hula hooping contest at the ever-classy Panama City Beach, Florida circa 1988. AWESOME.

My dear friend Heather, whom I've known for years and miss terribly (she lives in Chile now), sent this gorgeous Chilean scarf, some bright red earrings, a beautiful hand-made card, and some candy which isn't pictured because I devoured it immediately upon receipt. I love the bright colors in this scarf and can't wait to wear it! Lucky for me, San Francisco is scarf-weather about 10 months out of the year. :)

Flowers at work on my birthday from my daddy and stepmama! They also sent an gift card which I think I'm gonna put toward a Brazilian blowout . . . yessssss. These flowers made me so happy, since my actual birthday was the dang first day of school.

From another champion gift-giver, my bff Tiffany. Tiff has good reason to know me well, as we've been friends since we were 14. See those earrings? Those are pictures of Anais Nin, one of my very favorite writers, and with whom I am generally captivated. I couldn't love these earrings any more! She also sent supplies for my card-making and a funny little hanging pillow that says Please remove your Jimmy Choos . . . though why on earth would anyone want to remove Jimmy Choos?? Thank you Tiff for these amazing and so very "Claire" gifts!

One of my other best friends, Amy, sent two canisters of cupcake mix from the most delicious cupcake store in southern California. I can't wait to make the red velvet cuppies . . . YUM! I wish I could share them with Amy, cause I miss her so much. :(

My Lane--my other half--sent me this necklace with a note that says "to wear to remember true love." Sometimes Lane and I feel like the only remaining single women on the planet, so we have to remind each other that we're not gonna end up sharing a double room in a nursing home as spinsters 4 life--ha!

Oh, Tim Riggins. How I love you so. Cari and JJ (and Milo and Jude) gave me some fantastic gifts this year, the best of which was this Tim Riggins jersey. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am now the proud owner (wearing it now!) of an authentic RIGGINS #33 jersey, which I might never take off. It makes me feel just a little bit closer to him. And perhaps make me just a little bit more of an obsessive stalker freak. Good thing I don't have his address.

Thank you so much for all the love, gifts, cards, calls, texts, comments, and everything else that made me feel so loved this year on my birthday. Here goes the last year of my 20s . . . hoping for something remarkable!

Thank you Micaela!

It's so rare that we meet someone and instantly connect to them in a deep, profound way. Someone whose soul is clearly so similar to our own, who is moved by the same things, makes the same mistakes, experiences the same love, and giddiness, and excitement, and sorrow. These connections are SO SPECIAL to me!

Which is why I cherish my friendship with Micaela so much.

Most of you who follow my blog probably follow hers as well, but if not, then go to her page immediately and experience how beautiful, thoughtful, open, and full of heart she is!

Imagine my delight when I found this on my doorstep yesterday morning:

My excitement made me squeal! I was on my way to a stressful, long afternoon at San Francisco City Hall, to once again beg the Budget Committee to reconsider funding my job. But when I opened Micaela's package in my car before I drove off, I was too amazed to be worried about the meeting . . .

Micaela just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Everyone says that this book is all about the timing--where you are in your life when you read it--and Micaela was at the exact right place. There's a line in the book about how snails carry their homes with them wherever they go, so she got me this sweet glass snail, and included a note that said: "from one snail to another . . . "

For years, I've been enamored with the relationship between Anais Nin and Henry Miller. There have been so many times in my life when I've been so inspired and/or comforted by reading Anais Nin's journals--especially the parts about her illicit, romantic, wonderful, and destructive relationship with Henry Miller. Can you believe Micaela found this tank top for me at one of her favorite online boutiques?? It's perfect! (Excuse the poor quality of the picture, though--it's hot pink!)

Coffee from her favorite local cafe, and an old mug . . . I'm drinking the coffee right now and it's delicious! I might be hooked.

Micaela remembered that I'd written a blog post about wanting some new art for my dining room wall, so she got me this incredible, perfectly-me print. Two (of many) reasons why it's so perfect: 1. My favorite art is that which incorporates text; 2. It's written by THE American female poet. :)

M and I are both nostalgic about our home states (I'm from Georgia; she's from Texas). She sent me this adorable Georgia plate--can't decide whether to hang it on my wall or use it as a serving platter or put my perfumes on it or what! Whatever I do with it, I LOVE it (and everything that reminds me of home).

Micaela loves all things Italian, and we both love all things love . . . I fell asleep too abruptly to start this book last night, but I can't wait to start reading it today.

Just as much as I love all those incredible gifts, I love these sweet notes that M included with each of them. We're both writers/talkers/explainers, and I love that she so sweetly wrote little explanations to go with each present. ♥

I can't stop gazing at all of these wonderful gifts from my darling friend. My heart is so full and grateful today; thank you so much sweet Micaela!