Friday, April 26, 2013

Mailboxes...

When I was growing up our mail came through a slot in the door - a little brass window into our lives. It was a handy little thing if someone other than the mailman needed to drop something off too (a key, an invitation, money...). If I was home I was immediately alerted that the mail had arrived by the banging of the metal on the door. And I imagine my childhood neighbours with dogs probably were alerted a few seconds faster that their mail had arrived.

I have fond memories of sitting on our stairs, with the sun warming me through the "windows"around the door (in quotations because they were yellow, textured glass that you couldn't see through and made the entrance way look yellow - ah the 70s and 80s), flipping through the mail.

But what I coveted as a child was a real honest to goodness mailbox...the kind you find at the end of a long driveway on top of a post. Something you might see in more rural areas I guess. The kind that has the little red flag that the mail carrier flips up once mail has been deposited inside - so fun!

My next few mailboxes at various homes all turned out to be cubbies with lock and key (around the corner, in the lobby and now, in a "gazebo" type locale)...and don't get me wrong - love my little cubby and especially when it fills up with fun mail (like a beautiful dress for my daughter from my aunt - just in case "she has the urge to dance." The chiffon even fans out when she twirls - it is precious).



What I dream of now is of the mailboxes I saw in Italy and England - gorgeous wrought iron beauties. I'm contemplating getting one for my house (even though we have a central mail pick up area) but maybe my friends would drop things off for me...I'm hoping to do a post of mailboxes I love (coming soon to a blog near you...well actually this blog, stay tuned).

356/1000 Three thank you notes, one wedding invite reply (yay) and one just for fun! 5 more into the great wide open.

And can I just add that I know lots of people send out email wedding invites (saves money, is convenient) but a mailed paper wedding invitation is a beautiful thing to receive! The design, the vellum and all the possible fun responses for the reply card. Love.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Pen Pals

Have you ever had one? Do you have one now? The bigger question may be...do they still exist...duh, duh, duh....

I remember with fondness my first penpal...she lived in Papua, New Guinea. I remember her paper thin envelopes and the beautiful stamps that graced the upper right corner. There was no chance that we were going to meet so we took our time and our letters to share our worlds with each other. It was a magical experience - writing discovery.

I've had many penpals over the course of my writing lifetime - many relatives (of all ages - cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces), people I worked with who live all over the world (thank you Disney) and a few through school trips/projects/assignments.  Of course this all started in an age before email/the Internet and texting. How would our relationships have been different if we just texted or messaged or emailed (if we didn't pour our hearts out on the page, send photos or wait an agonizing week or more for our letters to arrive)? Different, just different I guess.

So the cool thing is that my daughter has a penpal! Her name is Abby and she turns four on April 16th. They've only had two playdates (and one of those was just before we left for Cali because she lives quite far away) but they play wonderfully together. They send each other drawings, letters (with a little dictating to their Moms), little gifts and are building a friendship  in a really cool way. I'm so excited for the both of them. Abby is Piper's girl and Piper is Abby's girl. They love each other. This is how they talk.
Penpals!

We are sending a special girl (Abby), some special mail (it's her birthday), and maybe, just maybe Tinkerbell might be involved!

Penpals...rethink it. Maybe a new way to get to know an old friend or maybe, a new way for your kids to interact with others. I'd love to hear if anyone gives it a go. I can't tell you how excited my daughter gets when she has mail. It's a wonderful thing to see.

And looking for something different to send? I'm sending out two Sincerely Scent cards from Scentsy! They are so fun! As soon as I heard about them I knew I needed to get on board. Thanks for introducing them to me Penny. A card you can personalize with photos and text and a scent of your choosing! Check them out here and my girl Penny can hook you up with credits!

351/1000 One special package, two thank you notes, two Sincerely Scent cards, a postcard, something for fun and...that makes 7 for the count!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Wish You Were Here!

Yep, it was our turn to send postcards!  

My Beautiful Princess!
We were lucky enough to be able to take a trip to Disneyland and celebrate birthdays while we were there (Sam - 1 and Piper - 4). What a magical adventure! From favourite rides (Teacups, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room) to becoming a princess, Rapunzel to be exact, (at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique) it was amazing to see my daughter discover Disney for the first time.  We all enjoyed Carsland and Fantasy Faire - the imagineers do such an amazing job with all of their projects! We are big fans!

The Amazing Bus!

My son (who turned one) was really just along for the ride. And funnily enough his favourite ride was the bus that we rode to and from the airport and to and from the park - easy to please! He did grab a Winnie the Pooh off the shelf that was the size of him and wouldn't let it go. It was his birthday so we figured it was the perfect gift! And really who could say no?

As I mentioned we sent out some postcards from our lovely, warm, fun-filled spring break! And as one person has already mentioned - a little Disney magic in mailboxes here and there from us! Wishing you all could have been there or at least that you get to experience the magic with your own loved ones sometime soon.


Also, heading out into the world is a stack of thank you notes for birthday gifts and various other sundry reasons! Also, a couple other special pieces! I love the mystery and gift of mail!

Would love to hear some of your favourite Disney memories/moments!

344/1000 12 postcards, 24 heartfelt thank you cards & 2 mystery pieces of mail! On a roll!