From Andrea

My turn, my turn! :)  Remember me posting about the Secret Santa package I sent off?  (You must remember, it was only 2-3 days ago!!)  Well, I got mine in the mail right after Thanksgiving! :) And if I must say, it's a great way to round out a long holiday weekend! :)

The wonderful Andrea (andreaadams) put together a fantastic swap package for me.  Although, I should sort of say "us" because she included things that both J & X would appreciate as well. And almost all of it was overflowing a big red stocking! :)  So instead of a lot of talking, I'm just going to do what I do best.  Show you pictures.  I know, you're shocked, I can tell!

(Okay I fibbed a little...just a bit more talking.)  The mailman brought our mail to the door but I had to sign for a package.  Okay, no big deal....except there was no package to be seen.  Turns out, he had to go back to his truck to get it because...well...we're the last stop on his route and it was too big for him to carry all over the neighborhood!

The package included:

Starting with the knitty goodies this time - 3 skeins of Mission Falls 1824 Wool yarn in Mist.  Beautiful colorway, by the way.  I've not tried this yet, but it's a lovely, soft superwash that's made in Canada!  I've heard some great things about it on the boards.  I can't wait to try it!  (That's what I love about swaps...trying new things!)

And then there were these little folded scissors (my mom had a pair like this for her cross-stitching when I was little...) and a set of stitch markers.  Awesome! You can never have too many stitch markers. Ever.

Just wait, the crafty fun's not done yet!  Then there were these buttons!!! LOVE (1000000).  A set of 5 sailboat buttons!  I love them!  I must find something to knit for X and use these for him!  The best part? Andrea picked this up earlier this year when shopping, and thought of X & I when she found them!  She must be psychic!  There were also 2 sets of fun, orange buttons.  And a stack of fat quarters.  A bundle of fat quarters are just as necessary as stitch markers, in my opinion.

For X, there were a ton of goodies too.  First and foremost, this yellow taxi car.  He loves this thing and has been carrying it around the house since he pulled it out of the box. (Yes, he saw it and took it out, not me!)  In addition to that was "Merry Sparkling Christmas."  This book is filled with sparkly Christmas goodness on every page.  Perfect for little children...and my sister...lol.  And although we may get crayon or marker all over, there is a fun wooden snowman ornament for us to color together.  We just got X a new set of "smooth stix" Crayola crayons that I'm thinking would be perfect for this!

I almost forgot to get a picture of the next bit.  In every swap, someone from Canada sends their swap partner "Smarties."  Well, this time it was my turn!  (Others may get them too, but I was pretty excited we got to try them.)  They were out of the box and shared with everyone before I took pictures  In fact, they were already stored on the counter by the candy by the time I got around to getting the camera out!  So I almost forgot.  Smarties are much like American M&Ms, but flatter, and with a thicker candy coating.  To J & I, they taste similar to the candy coated chocolate eggs you can find at Easter time.  (Both Smarties and the eggs are made by Nestle.)   I love them and X has been enjoying a Smartie or two every day. :)   I also got a small glass container of maple syrup, in the shape of a maple leaf!  It's time to make some waffles or pancakes!  And a tiny little pine-scented candle to celebrate the Christmas season!

See this lovely blue scarf?  It's for me. :)  It's soft and warm and I've already worn it. :)  Have I said how much I love blue?

And finally, a few Christmas decorations.  An adorable set of Santa ornaments and holiday gift tags.  When the tree goes up this weekend, they will find a home! :)

I feel so spoiled and blessed to have such a great friend who thought to make this swap so special!  Andrea has a daughter, C, who is right around the same age as X.  It's so fun to see all the stuff Andrea makes for her.  If we ever have a girl, I will be checking out her project page for ideas! :)

Thanks so much, Andrea!  I (we) loved it all! :)

(Okay, WAY more talking than I meant to do, but it all required explanation!  And please excuse the photos taken in the photo box.  Trying to get good light for all this swap loot at once is not an easy task at 8 o' clock at night!)