Benevolent Postcard: March 2010

*Sophia is my niece's name.

My March BPS will travel to Portugal today.

Sharing Sundays... i-zilla the terrible.

meet my friend Iris of i-zilla the terrible.

A few reasons i adore her: she likes bows and cupcakes, has the cutest glasses and a frilly apron, and check out those kitty cat slippers.

She's a craft goddess and a student of Style School. Here a few of her creations:

i looooved these cupcake ornaments she made. in fact, she sent me one way back when i was hosting my ornament exchange and in return i sent her glittery ornaments. I have a penchant of writing notes on pages from romance novels and she joked that she looked to see if she got any juicy parts. lol

my kind of girl.

and i think you'd like this cupcake of a girl too.

in a week and a day i will be 26...

in a week and a day i will be 26 in TEXAS!!!

my darling fiance gave me the BEST birthday gift ever... a ticket to visit home and celebrate my 26th birthday with my twinkie soul. It means the world that i get to celebrate our birthday together.

am i not blessed to have the most wonderful husband-to-be?

Home... i can't wait to see you. March 6th-16th. My Momma is already excited to cook my favorite meals / i can't wait to surprise my old co-workers by sitting at my old desk and calling up to their offices and playfully demanding they come to suite 109 / trips to Sevis to have their yummy burritos are already in order / drinks and laughter with my girlfriends / hugging my parents again.

Home... i can't wait to see you.

and to my husband-to-be, i love you!!! thank you for giving me the best birthday gift. You never cease to amaze me. you truly are my life's blessing. xo

(beautiful TX necklace from meshelmybell that i saw on Etsy & had to have. i considered it a birthday present to myself... after all, a girl only turns 26 once.)

Oh, Apolo.

i always get sad when the Olympics end...

and tonight, well I don't know what I'm going to do without my Apolo Ohno fix. Apolo, you were epic {and beautiful as ever!}

P.S. Elaine & Erin, because i adore you Canadian girls, i won't mention my feelings on the silly disqualification in the 500. *wink. I'm so glad you girls got to experience the spirit of the Olympics!

A Happy Friday!

1. When I'm nervous I tend to ramble .

2. My favorite item in my closet is my trusty black heels. Black goes with everything and I'm most comfortable in high heels. "I don't know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot." -Marilyn Monroe .

3. Enjoying a glass of wine paired with a bubble bath is my favorite thing to do when I need to relax.

4. My favorite childhood memory is birthdays with my twin sister. My Momma would get a list of our classrooms and invite everyone, including the teachers lol So on birthdays we'd have a house full of all our friends. One year that is my favorite childhood memory is when we were leaving to move to another air force base (so our house was pretty empty) and we had a sleepover. All our friends brought their sleeping bags and board games and we stayed up late and felt like half the house was ours. I was in 2nd grade and I remember everyone telling us our parents were the coolest. I still smile when I think of that birthday and that compliment, because at 25 I still believe my parents are the coolest.

5. Something you may not know about me is i was born in Madrid, Spain .

6. A true friend never judges you and because of that, you can tell them everything. It's a blessing to find someone you can confess the big things to as well as discuss the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy and in that same conversation talk about sex lol The comfort of openness; i value that in my friendships .

7. Something I hope people think of when they think of me is that I'm easy to get to know, oh and that I'm the biggest Robbie Williams fan there ever was.

Play along on Lauren's blog. I love Fill in the Blank Fridays and reading your answers.

i'm off to drink Toucan Mango Chai tea, a gift from Alex & Mina over at ...Sending Postcards. (the cutest newly weds who sold everything to travel the world together. Mina is gorgeous and Alex has always had my vote cos he reminds me of Chris Martin, and we know how much i love my Coldplay) Thank you love birds! xo

& speaking of happy mail, Caroline at Coeur de La is hosting a mail scramble. One of the things i really love? is going to the post office. Seriously, i love going.

enjoy your Friday darlings! I'm in the best mood today: call back from a job i really wanted, exciting birthday plans i promise to tell you about tomorrow, tonight me and Max are taking a photograph for our new church directory & celebrating said call back with a burrito date night.

it's a good day, good day indeed!

what's something you're excited about?

youth.

while unpacking a couple of boxes, i found childhood photographs of an ex boyfriend. My first serious ex boyfriend. The first guy i dreamt of spending forever with.

i knew he should have these, that they no longer belonged to me.


inside the card, i wrote this:

"As much as I'm going to miss these (my little Jolie) I know that you should have them. I found them tucked away in an old wallet and was sad...

sad for failing this little boy.

"Think only of the past as it's remembrance gives you pleasure." -Jane Austen

ps. I am so thankful you are still part of my life."

and honestly i am.


i often forget that he was very much my heart's first lesson. I don't give him that credit because i'm much too blind from a greater love than i've ever known.


but Once Upon a Time....

knick knack exchanges.

remember Danielle's Knick Knack Exchange? The beauty of the swap was to send off something that described you. My exchange partner was Carin of Already There. I sent her off a little jar that could be a keeper of beautiful buttons, a vintagesque frame, and since i love postcards; i included an antique postcard found at an old shop.

Carin was so sweet to say that what she loved most was probably my hand written note. That made me smile.

the talented and sweet Brittan of Little Owl Arts got me and it was fate because i actually won a giveaway she was hosting too. Seriously, lucky! She sent along the cutest little hand made owl who i've named Sebastian, hand made card that included the most beautiful feathers & a note i loved reading about her, spring earrings she also made, and a hand crafted nuno felt garland inspired by the Scandinavian culture she is intrigued by.

Max loves it too!

i wish i was a craft goddess, because i believe hand made gifts are the best. Thank you sooo much Brittan xo

and thank-you Danielle for hosting such a fun swap!

Wish List: Round Edges.

from the top: brass apple dish from littlebyrdvintage, vintage lampshade frame from mushroom and moss, vintage retro phone by western electric from blue bell bazzar, vintage hand mirror from My Vintage Backyard, Rings and Things from OliveVintage.

play & link your wishlist wednesday at Dinosaur Toes.

There was all kinds of eye candy on tv tonight for me: Apolo Ohno, Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to a win against the LA Lakers, & Casey James on American Idol. Good night on TV indeed.

ode to Anna Karina.

guess what came in today???! my giveaway win from Every Little Counts. I couldn't believe i won this beautiful t shirt! i loooooooove it!!!

I wore it tucked into a black bubble skirt, black tights, and these b&w heels.

Amy, THANK-YOU for hosting such a fabulous giveaway! I absolutely loooove it and moreso in awe of how you and your husband adam started up such a gem of a collection. I will cherish this win, i promise. The quality and comfort is just beautiful. I love it!!! a million x's and o's.

check out Every Little Counts le blog / le shop.

absence makes the heart grow fonder : lyrically inclined.

i always dreamt of a red door, but this could possibly change my mind...

lovies, darling fiance has today-wens. off so we've been spending this time together {i love this time!} so i've been scarce as far as escaping to your worlds. I'm still around, i promise! and i'll visit your corners of the internet just as soon as i can.

we're off to eat indian food (my fave), a well deserved treat after an hour of non-stop cardio at the gym this morning.

while i'm away, leave me a song lyric you love? here's one of mine:

"She wears my love like a see-through dress"

- U2

Two Things i Love... Around my Home.

our vintage phones

Marilyn a biography by Norman Mailer

pictures by the world's foremost photographers

copyright 1973

i picked up this book at an estate sale and though i remember it being pricey, i had to have it; fragile spine and all. 270 pages of iconic Monroe. Stolen moments. Candid expressions. And the above; a gorgeous series.

play along by linking up to BacWoods Fern.

Happy Birthday to my Brother : #18 you are the winner!!!

hello lovies!!! Me and Max just got back from our day trip to Durham, N. Carolina. It was so much fun spending time with his sister and her family- especially her new baby girl Nora (short for Eleanor). I had so much fun holding her!

it was a good day.

and i hope it was a good day for my brother Marco! Happy Birthday!!!!! You've always been the best older brother.

THANK-YOU kisses to all 30 of you who helped make this birthday special by sending birthday cards to him in Iraq. It means THE WORLD to me. To show my appreciation, i entered everyone in a giveaway to win this beautiful necklace, donated from Danielle's etsy shop.

using Random.org, #18 YOU'RE THE WINNER!

chelsea, i'll email you shortly for your address details.

i hope you love it, as much as i do!!! xo

just so you know... i wish i could send every one of you 30 loves a necklace. Perhaps if i ever win the lottery or um, get employed. {sigh}

Danielle, once again- a special THANK YOU sooo very much.

My brother's birhday is tomorrow which means...

Last Day to sign up to send him a Birthday Wish and be entered in a giveaway to win this lovely necklace, donated by the equally lovely Danielle of Dinosaur Toes.

for those of you who have already sent off birthday cards or emailed me for his mailing address... THANK-YOU! it really means a lot to me, his proud sis. What's completely touching to me, is the friendships I've made with people who've stumbled upon my little corner of the internet and emailed without hesitation. THANK-YOU!!!

for instance, Carrie M. emailed me pictures of the collage card she made Marco this morning. I got her email on my way to church, and it gave me something extra to thank God for. (Carrie's birthday is actually tomorrow too. Happy Early Birthday to her!!!)

I know Elaine is also sending me photographs of the goodies she's sending. THANK-YOU to every single one of you who has emailed. So far, 27 of you lovies. It makes me smile!!!

tomorrow is his birthday, and i will be picking the winner late tomorrow night. Me and Max are taking a day trip to North Carolina to visit his sister and her new baby Eleanor. I'm excited to meet her.

You can still enter until then (and i hope you do!) .... xo

Sharing Sundays... tinypaperheart.

i love the simplicity over at tinypaperheart. How she can say so much in few sentences. That she had a Jcrew wedding {my dream} and honeymooned in Paris.

But what i love most is her "today, i appreciate" posts, especially this one.

{simple things}

getting back to the gym. {nothing like a sweaty run, even if it made my legs feel like fire afterwards}

massages from my ever so giving fiance. {pms, note- you are not on this list}

taking maverick for a walk. {bichon frise's have the best little trot. & oh sun, i've missed you. glad to see you out too}

cups of coffee.

phone calls to my parents.

email from my bestie.

this lyric from coldplay: "so meet me by the bridge... when am i going to see that pretty face again..."

finding these perfect vintage clutches.

Simple Things that make me Happy. Deliriously Happy.

nothing like hand made valentines in the mail.

i signed up for two valentine card swaps last month and what a joy it's been to see all these crafty valentine treats. I shared mine awhile back (i've LOVED the feedback from my valentines, thank you ladies & new friends. I had so much fun making them for you!) and I thought I'd share with you what was sent to me.

from Brandi {love her blog and layout}

from Nicki {craft goddess, i loved the vintage touch!}

left to right: from Molly {who prints lovely cards}, from C {is that crayon melts? reminds me of elem. if it is and made me smile}, & from Jillian {who's stickers on the front of her envelope made me giggle}

from Rebecca {a Texas girl like me!} & from Sarah C., one of the hostesses behind the brilliant swap. {your message meant SO much to me. I loved that you remembered it was my first vday as "a soon to be wifey!"}

from Erin, my dear Erin who didn't even have me, but included me on her list because she's just lovely like that. I loved her valentine she made with her two darling boys. She included tea and a heart cookie cutter with instructions that included additional info for chocolate cookies & "have a tea party."

i loved each and every one of them. thank-you valentines!!! and to sarah & angelina and carina for hosting such fun swaps.