A Proper Tea Party

More significance of the teapot from Monica:
My former boss got me hooked on collecting porcelain teacups, several years ago. Even for a Brit, her collection is vast and highly impressive. She gave me my first pieces: a gorgeous, vintage Aynsley cup & saucer. Slowly, I have been adding to my collection.
My daughter, who typically has no interest in "girly" things, has recently been begging me to have a proper tea party. We were all set to do so one day, but she called an abrupt halt and pointed out that I didn't have a "proper" teapot with which to have our soiree. Such a stickler for details, she refused to go forth until we had all of the necessary components.
Tonight, we were able to have our first Mommy/ daughter tea party, thanks to Monica! I only wish she could have joined us. I'm certain our fancy British accents would have tickled her to no end. The white bits you see, peaking out from under the teapot, is a "doily" my daughter made and insisted we use: a paper snowflake cut-out, actually. Clever girl!

The Most Wonderful Surprise

The easiest way for me to write this post is to copy the email I sent to my sister yesterday. The rest is self-explanatory!
"I'm going to wait a day or two before I blog about this....just so it doesn't seem like I'm running a Monica Fan Club. Mind you, I haven't shared 1/4 of the things she sent me from our swap. There were 2 packages jammed with Italian goodies (magazines, pages from antique books, vintage stamps, etc.). Yesterday there was a slip from the post office in my mailbox, letting me know I had to pick up a piece of registered mail. Of course I'm thinking: Now WHAT? I didn't even notice that it said 'Italy' in a tiny box on the slip. Backtrack a minute....when Monica got the package I sent her, she emailed me right away, but said she needed to brew a pot of tea before she opened it (I think I blogged about that). I had written her back, saying I'd wished I was there to join her in a cup of tea while she opened her goodies. Okay....back to today :-) The lady at the post office hands me this big box and I immediately recognized Monica's handwriting. There was a card inside that said: 'You said you would have liked to have tea with me...now you can! Love and Hugs~ Monica'. I'm attaching some pictures of what she sent me...handpainted by her. I just can't believe how sweet she is! And I SO needed a good surprise today!