Saturday, October 07, 2017

Exchanging Mugs

Do you remember when I said I was going to take part in the 11th tea cup and mug exchange hosted by The Enchanting Rose?  Well, the exchange has taken place!  Here is what I received:


That's a floral scarf that kind of matches the travel mug, plus some hot cocoa mix, plus a portrait of Arwen from LOTR, plus a cute hair clip from Lilla Rose!  As you may know, I have LOTS of hair (about 4 feet right now), and it's hard to find clips and so on that are strong enough and big enough to hold it all up.  I tried this one out right away, and here's an awkward-cuz-I-took-it-myself picture of the hair clip in action:


It's really springy and strong, which it would have to be to hold up my heavy hair.  I'm not sure if it will work if my hair is loose and then coiled up, but when I have it braided and then coiled like I do right now, it does the trick!

Just for fun, here's a shot of what I sent off to the person whose name and address I received:


She said she likes to read and that she has country/western decor in her home, so I sent her an autographed copy of Cloaked and a mug from Tweetsie Railroad, one of my favorite places on earth.  It's a little Wild West theme park in the North Carolina mountains with a real steam engine to ride and so on.  The mug is actually enamel-covered metal, just so cute.  I also sent her a cowboy boot Christmas ornament and a pack of Tim Tams.  Tim Tams are Australian cookies that a Combat! friend of mine taught me to love years ago.  Once in a while I can find them in stores here in the US, which always makes me so excited.  So when I found them while getting coffee for this package, I was really happy because I could include them too.  (Caffe Verona is my fave blend from Starbucks, just in case you were wondering.)

So, that was my adventure participating in the exchange!  I will definitely be doing this again in the future -- maybe not every time, but once a year for sure.

32 comments:

  1. TimTams are THE BEST! Have you done a TimTam slam with them??

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    1. Evangeline, they are! But what is a Tim Tam slam? I mostly dip them in my coffee :-9

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    2. Evangeline, I am happy to report that I have now done a Tim Tam slam. I googled what that was, bought a fresh pack of Tim Tams at the store yesterday, and did my first slam just now with my breakfast coffee. That was amazing!

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  2. I love the little baby cowboy boot :) It's adorable!

    What do TimTams taste like? Are they crunchy? They look sort of crunchy.

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    1. Jessica, I know, such a cute Christmas ornament. I got a couple for my own tree too, actually.

      They make different flavors of Tim Tams. I like the dark chocolate ones and the mint ones best, but my kids like the milk chocolate. They have a crunchy cookie, a layer of creamy frosting, then another crunchy cookie, and the whole thing is covered in chocolate. So kind of imagine a Kit Kat as a rectangular cookie, in a way?

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    2. Ahhhhhhhh okay! And that does sound yummy! I love Kit Kats :)

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  3. What fabulous packages, Rachel! And WOW! 4 feet of hair! The Lilla Rose clips are amazing and it looks lovely in your luscious locks {{smiles}}

    Thanks for joining the fun and have a wonderful day! Hugs!

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    1. Stephanie, yeah, I've had waist-length hair all my life, but a couple of years ago I decided to see how long it would get if I quit trimming it every six months, and so now... it's getting very long indeed.

      Thanks for hosting this! It's been amazingly fun.

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  4. What a great exchange! I also got a Lilla Rose piece in the exchange...my first one ever. :) Enjoy!

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    1. Ang, that's cool you got a Lilla Rose clip too! I am thinking of getting some as Christmas gifts for friends, they're so pretty.

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  5. Wonderful swap. It's always exciting when the box arrives and you wonder what tea goodies are inside!

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    1. Snap, I know! These came in a pretty red box and I was sooooo excited while opening it, wondering what was inside.

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  6. Gorgeous hair - and the clip is beautiful on you. LOVE the coffee mug you sent. You will enjoy looking so smart with a mug and scarf that go together. :-) Very nice. Now I have to go look into your book "Cloaked". Boy does it look intriguing.

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    1. Thanks, Linda! My natural color is what you see on top of my head -- I dyed it bright red in 2016 and it's still pretty red from about the neck down.

      I'm glad Cloaked looks intriguing to you! I really love the cover -- my talented sister-in-law designed it :-o So nice to have a cover artist that I have a personal relationship with so I know she really *gets* what my stories are about! It's available on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble's website in paperback, and as a Kindle ebook from Amazon.

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  7. What a delightful post! I've come to visit from my dear Stephanie's party.
    Your hair is gorgeous!! Those are wonderful hair pieces as I have a couple, though my hair is not 4 feet long, I do have extremely thick hair. I can than both sides of my family for that gift. :)
    What a beautiful portrait of Arwen.
    You really put a fun package together for your recipient.

    Enjoy your treasures ♡

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    1. Thank you, Debbie! I think I could become a Lilla Rose addict very easily. My hair is long, but not really all that thick, though it has a bit of a natural curl to it (hard to tell as the weight drags it down a lot) so it has a lot of body and looks thicker than it is, hee.

      This party was so much fun! I'm definitely going to participate again.

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  8. Oh, I cannot believe your most beautiful hair! The clip is just great for you and very pretty. Fun exchange, right?

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    1. Lady Linda, thank you! I do sometimes have a lot of fun with my hair :-)

      I loved the exchange! Delightful in every way.

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  9. That hair clip was definitely made for you! The swap is such fun isn't it - and now to get to go around and visit with everyone is a blessing too.

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    1. Magpie, I think so too! It's taking me a while to visit all the blogs, but I don't mind -- prolonging the fun!

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  10. What a cute travel mug. I'm sure your swap partner loved the Western-themed package that you sent her. Now I'm off to check online if Tim Tams are available in Canada...

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    1. Margie, I hope you can find Tim Tams! They are delightful :-)

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  11. What a lovey mug you received! I love the cute cowboy boot ornament that you sent to your partner! I love anything cowboy! ;) I also like Tim Tams, although you don't find them often in South Africa but I like to keep an eye out for them! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog! Your blog is very interesting! Will be sure to visit again! xx

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    1. Dozen, I love all things cowboy too! My living room and various other bits of the house, are all decorated with fun cowboy decor.

      Glad you enjoy my blog :-)

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  12. Wow...four feet of hair, and the clip looks beautiful in it. The gifts you sent and received were all wonderful and so unique! Enjoy all your special gifts.

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    1. Kitty, yup. It's a lot of hair. I've always had long hair, but when I turned 35, I decided to just see how long it would get instead of trimming it back every six months. If it gets much longer, though, it's going to be hard to brush, and I may have to call the experiment quits.

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  13. Oh, a pretty travel mug- that's a new take on mug exchanging - love those, and really like that one. Usually they're so manly or plain!

    LOVE the hair clip. I too have long heavy hair and about nothing holds it up well. That is a gorgeous clip! And the portrait of Arowen? WOW - that's amazing. I can't even draw stick figures - what a talented artist!

    Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Michele, I agree! It's one of the cutest travel mugs I've seen.

      I'm planning to get some more of these hair clips, as they're unusual and pretty! Just have to settle on which ones :-)

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