Back from France!

Hi everybody! Well, we reluctantly came back from France last night as we have things to do here in England this week. Even the doggies were very reluctant to come back, we had problems getting Poppy into the car, all she wanted to do was get back into the garden, sit in the sunshine and let the lovely country smells tease her rather keen nose. They are so very happy there, as are we of course. More about France tomorrow though, I have some much more important things to blog about!

When we got back last night, one of the first things my darling No. 3 son said to me was " you got two parcels in the family room, whats in them? ", nosy little soandso. My little heart went skippedeedoo, I was pretty sure they were my flower swap parcel from my swap partner Helen and possibly a package all the way from New Zealand from a very very dear blogger friend, Sarah.

As DS No. 3 handed me the Kiwi one first, I'll show the beautiful contents of that package first. Oh my, where to start. Everything was beautifully wrapped, but of course I got stuck into unwrapping before it occurred to me to take pics of the wrapped goodies. Hmm. Patience I have in abundance. NOT, lol. So, I'll just get straight to the goodies. Sarah does know me rather well, I have to say, she sent me some really lovely papers, which I'll use on some tags I want to make this week -

And then there was this oh so pretty notebook. The photos really don't do it justice, it has the most gorgeous cover with sparkly bits and wonderful roses, and inside are the sweetest little sheets, which are way too nice for just doodling on, they will be used for little notes to be sent to only the bestest friends. Or maybe the will be just treasured and fondled and drooled over by me, lol -

Oh, and just look at this beautiful little purse! The fabric is fabulous and it is so beautifully made, it just has to have been made by her own fair hands, because she is such a perfectionist, and no shop bought purse could be this well made. The fabric is very similar to a Scottish Comfy Quilt I have in France, both the pattern and the colours as well. I can't wait to take it to France with me and compare the two.

Inside this gorgeous little purse were - a bag of Cadbury's Mini Eggs and two packets of wipes............. rofl, she is such a naughty girl sometimes, is she trying to tell me that I am a messy old soandso? She always makes fun of me being a granny, perhaps she thinks all that chocolate will make me drool and I need something to wipe the dribbles of my chin??? Cheeky, isn't she?
But the wipes are very very pretty, so I'll be gracious, lol.

She also sent me the sweetest card -

But the most precious gifts weren't from Sarah, they were from two of her daughters, Lucy and Molly and I almost cried when I read on the card that the girls had made these beautiful gifts for me. They are such talented young ladies, and I just wanted to take them in my arms and give them a great big hug each. They have never met me, yet they have spent so much time and effort on making me a birthday present, isn't that just the most wonderful gift anybody could receive? And here they are, the much treasured hearts, which will take pride of place in the pink bedroom in France -


Thank you so much, Sarah, Lucy and Molly! Somebody please invent an instant transport system a la Star Trek real soon, I so want to meet these wonderful people in person!
Sigh, there you have it, that was my first wonderful surprise parcel.

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And then I was allowed to open my second parcel, and yes, it was from my Flower Swap partner, Helen . I was spoilt rotten by her, she was such a generous swap partner! Everything was beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and had gorgeous little tags attached. Sometimes I really wish I had more patience, sigh. I am afraid, I dived straight in and started unwrapping the first gift, before I thought to take a pic of the the box with all the wrapped goodies. Ooops. But you gals understand, don't you?

This was the first thing I unwrapped, beautiful flower tags in two sizes!
I really don't know whether I can part with them, perhaps for very dear friends, hhmmm, or maybe they will just have to stay with me. So pretty, aren't they?

Next out of the box was this pretty lavender birdie. I had seen the birdies on her blog before, and was hoping that she might include one! Yay, she did -

After that, I found the flower seeds. I think Helen must have had a psychic moment there, because I love cornflowers. They are flowers from my childhood, when I used to go for walks with my grandmother, past wheat fields where the cornflowers and poppies grew. When I see cornflowers I am taken straight back to my childhood days with my Oma and thats so precious. I am hoping that they will flourish in our garden in France -

What was next? This was, a little stack of lavender sachets in the prettiest floral fabrics! Destined for the armoire in France of course, to gently scent the bedlinen I keep in there -

Now, Helen knows that I am a Victorian/Vintage kinda girl and thought that the following gift probably wasn't going to be my cup of tea but would suit my granddaughter. HAH! It is gorgeous and summery and colourful, and it is going to look just great in our garden in France, where I am going to pin it to the barn door or the bread oven door ( when its not raining, of course ). I know that all our friends will admire it when we are sitting out having a little glass of wine or a cup of tea. So, sorry, Helen, you were so wrong, lol, I love it -


And look, look, a decent size mug for my beloved tea, a CK flowery one!

My mind has already been working overtime, thinking about these glorious fabrics. I think I will use them to make patchwork hearts with for the pink bedroom in France. The colours are just right for that -

Am I a lucky girl or what? Beautiful flower themed gifts I just love. But........... that wasn't all, because there was another gift waiting for me in the box. And what a precious gift it was, too. Helen's 4 year old daughter had chosen, sorted, packed and wrapped this all by herself!

Isn't she a little sweetie? Thank you both very much, Helen and daughter, I am so delighted with everything you have sent me!

A big thank you also to Louise from Sew Scrumptious, who organised this swap. Its been a great success, and I was so lucky to have such a great swap partner.

Of course, I forgot to take photos of what I sent to Helen, I only realised that after I had wrapped everything up. You can try and guess whats inside, lolol -

Or alternatively, you could go to Helen's blog and check it out on there!

Now I am pooped and ready for bed. I'll do my best to edit some France pics tomorrow and post. See you all then, xx