The Enchanting Rose Tea Cup Exchange #8

I recently participated in a tea cup/mug exchange sponsored by The Enchanting Rose. Erika had done this previously and really enjoyed it and sent me an email when this most recent one was announced. You may recall that Erika actually wrote a guest post on the blog describing the goodies she received from her last mug exchange. I loved hearing about all the lovely things Erika received in her package and since I don't have enough going on in my life right now (she says sarcastically) I decided to go ahead and participate this time around. 

A week or so after the sign-up deadline, I received an email with the information of the person to whom I was supposed to send a mug and gift. You are supposed to send a mug or tea cup (depending on what you signed up for) and some tea or coffee and another small gift. I signed up for the tea cup exchange and received the name of Maggie in Missouri. I bought her a tea cup and saucer and spoon set that was a pink floral pattern, a bag of Front Porch Special Tea from Piper and Leaf (my favorite!) and a dish towel with pictures of historical landmarks in Huntsville. I included a note describing why I chose each item and included my information inside and sent it to her on Monday, March 21.

When I went by my house this past Monday to check on the progress of things and collect the mail, I had a thank you note from Maggie and a package from the person who got my name. As it turns out, Maggie is 12 years old and is the fifth of eight children! When I signed up for the exchange, I didn't even consider that there would be young girls participating. I guess I just assumed it would be a lot of old ladies (yes, Erika and I often consider ourselves old ladies). Maggie's thank you note was very sweet and she mentioned she would like to get to know me. This brought back very fond memories for me because as a child I had many pen pals and loved writing letters to people. In fact, I still have most of those letters. This was long before the days of email and blogs when the written word was still cherished. At any rate, I wrote Maggie a letter and am planning on sending her another small package soon with some small gifts I think she will enjoy. One gift I had actually ordered when I got her name, but it didn't come in before I had to send my package. I've thought a lot about Maggie since I got her thank you note. I hope we will stay in touch over the years. I think it will just warm my heart to watch her grow into a young lady and see what life has in store for her.

 

As for the package I received, it was absolute perfection. I really don't recall what all I included in my likes and dislikes on the information page, but Emilee from Utah interpreted it beautifully and sent me a box full of wonderful surprises. First of all, she taped the box so well I wasn't sure I would be able to open it; but, I was finally successful in the opening of the box and loved everything that was inside. 

The tea cup Emilee chose was a cream color with a navy pattern and it was just gorgeous! I am planning to paint my new dining room navy and so the tea cup is just perfect! Also in the box was some pomegranate tea and lemon cookies. I'm really looking forward to trying the tea and will probably enjoy a cookie as well. My cousin Jan and I have been having hot tea at night and so I have no doubt the pomegranate tea will be put to good use. Emilee also sent a cute "things to do" note pad which is just perfect for me because if anyone loves to make a "to do" list it's yours truly. Finally, there was a cute dish towel inside which depicted flowers and birds and water cans and was very cute. I'm anxious to use everything included in my basket. Emilee did a fantastic job of picking out items for me without even knowing me! 

I told Erika just the other day that I wasn't sure if I would participate in the mug exchange again because I had spent a little more money than I had ever intended. However, after receiving my thank you from Maggie and my package from Emilee, I think I will definitely participate the next time. Erika had told me she found the last exchange very encouraging and uplifting and you know what, so did I. I'll be on the lookout for the next time The Enchanting Rose does an exchange and I'll try to remember and post it here so you all can participate as well if you want. 

Until next time...