My 2012 Ornament Swap.

Dear ornament swappers, I hope by now you've received your ornament (except for perhaps international shippers) or at least have heard something from your partner and agreed to extend the mail out date together, which is fine. If you have any problems, please let me know!

I thought it would be fun to swap with another first time Mama who is just as excited about their baby's first Christmas. Felix and i couldn't have found better swap partners than Jessica and her adorable son Reeve. 

aren't they beautiful?

First, I love that Jessica thought to send a Baby Girl's 1st Christmas card. We were incredibly spoiled!

How girly is that first ornament? Jessica said she found it at this super cute etsy shop called LalaDangerous. Jessica wrote, "that if the pink ornament with flowers and tulle is super sweet and girly, then the puff ornament is sassy and full of personality. Shouldn't a little girl be both?"

Absolutely! As if I didn't love those two already, this last one is hands down my absolute favorite one. 

Jessica wrote, "the little girl ornament was just so sweet... dark hair, sweet smile, cheeks and has that vintage feel that I know you love." 

Did she get me perfectly or what? 

Jessica's little guy is named after Superman himself. She told me Reeve has already owned over 20 Superman onesies in his 8 months which they'll turn into a blanket some day. 

I couldn't contain my happiness when I found this Superbaby ornament for Reeve, from Felix. 

Jessica mentioned that they were having a hard time finding the perfect Baby's 1st Christmas ornament. When I found this sweet Giraffe (i mean look at that tail!) I had to get him. 

I always have fun with this swap dear to my heart, but this year was extra magical as a Mama. This year was extra special all thanks to Jessica who could not have chosen more beautiful ornaments. ♥

I love that she is most looking forward to sharing the Spirit and story of Jesus with her son. 

Check out Jessica's post on our exchange on her blog To Those Who Wait. 

I can't wait to show off what everyone else swapped! If you've received your ornaments, please email me a photo {micaela.maxham[AT]gmail[DOT]com} so I can use it in an upcoming post. Thank-you lovies xo

swap fun with Kait.

It's been awhile since i've blogged about a good swap. Earlier this summer, Sarah put together an exchange between some of her blog friends and paired me up with the adorable Kait of Yuppie Love. 

i mentioned to Kait that i was on the hunt for a cute apron and was about to go on a girls' trip to San Francisco. The apron she got me? has pockets. Pockets! not only did that instantly make me fall in love with it but they come in handy when you have to call your momma about a recipe (or your twin sis calls every 5 minutes *wink). I love the journey journal by cracked designs and how it's the perfect way to remember that epic trip with some of my favorite girls.

The striped onsie was one of the first gifts for our baby and how awesome is the confetti-in-a-jar?

Kait mentioning loving all things glitter and when she's stateside, how she'd stock up on gluten-free goodies at Trader Joe's. We don't have a Trader Joe's but I did manage to find some gluten-free snacks I hope she liked. We also agreed one can never have too much twine for packaging etc. so i bought her a spool from Bahana Splits Boutique in her favorite color.


thank-you Sarah for hosting and Kait, for the swap fun & our new friendship (best part about a swap)!


Have you participated in any swaps lately? (i love seeing what people send/receive) As i'm baby shopping and getting all these sweet presents for felix, i think a baby gift swap would have been fun. :) 

My 2011 Ornament Swap.

Forgive me for this long overdo post. As host (especially as host) of the ornament swap, i've been meaning to blog about my end of the exchange and showcase everyone else's thoughtful gifts to one another. 

so without further delay, these are the beauties i received and sent. 

since we had an uneven amount of exchangers, i paired myself up with two wonderful girls. the first one was Bianca from Romania. 

what Bianca sent me : unfortunately, the postal system wasn't kind in transit and two of them as you can see were damaged. i tried to get the pieces of the snowflake back together but i think small pieces fell out of the envelope. drats! but it's the sweet thought that counts... Bianca, thank-you for my ornaments and the chocolate (the bottom right one is actually a magnet and she's currently holding my grocery list). 

what i sent Bianca : i went with a flight of fancy theme for her. My fingers were crossed the glass bauble would travel safely across the atlantic and i was happy when she emailed to say it did. Thank-you air mail!

i also paired myself up with Lauren Nicole over at Letters, She Wrote, a good friend of mine. I had planned to swap ornaments as Christmas gifts with my close friends and it was perfect when she joined and suggested we be swap mates. She had never got around to sending mine from last year so as her cute note read, "i present the Lechuga-Maxham ornament collection of 2010-2011!"

what Lauren sent me : don't you just love every one of them? she said the skating shoes are what it would look like if i designed skates (sparkly and pretty). i adore the anthropologie M from last year and this year and i can't get enough of that hot air balloon! but everything is absolutely gorgeous. 

what i sent Lauren :  i fell in love with the deer glass bauble and had to include it but the above two are the ones that really stood out as very lauren.


those were the ornaments for my third annual Ornament Swap. Below are the ones exchanged between me and my closest girlfriends as part of our holiday tradition and christmas gifts to one another (because honestly, is there anything more sweeter or fitting for Christmas?)

what Claire sent me : a cute little birdie from Anthro (her most favorite place) and a glittery heel for our shared love of shoes.

what i sent Claire : i thought these mini kisses were adorable and what says Christmas more than a christmas tree ornament? (i was a sucker for the pom poms too)

what erin sent me (both made me gasp, both were so perfect!) :  the sweetest deer ornament and festive Rockin' hot chocolate a la ELVIS, knowing what a fan i am of both.

what i sent erin : because she's a sucker for a cute snowman, this little one just seemed to have her name all over it! rosy cheeks included.

what my bestie sent me : i fell in love with the charming vintage/country feel to the ornaments M sent me this year. Don't you just love the fabric candy canes? and the key one is perfect from my soul mate since she carries the key to my heart always. 

what i sent Marisa was a combination of my favorites : the glass deer bauble (like the one i sent lauren) and the fabric christmas tree (like i sent claire). 

sweet surprises from sweet girls : a cowboy boot from rhianne, a locally handmade ceramic star from gracienne, and a winged christmas fellow from athanasia.

what amanda sent me : a hand made ornament of our wedding kiss... magical! 

what i sent amanda : a mermaid ornament from jupiter designs (combining her love of crafts and mermaids)

what april sent me :  hello birdie! i love the beads and the romantic vintage feel.

what i sent to april : a day of the dead sugar skull ornament from liz miera embroidery. how awesome does it look on her christmas tree?

i had to show you this cute mug i threw in for april who loves polar bears. look at the little one sitting inside the mug!

i'm such an ornaments girl... there's nothing like hunting for the perfect one for dear friends and swooning over the perfect one they find for this girl. xo

since i've already overloaded you with photos, tomorrow i'll round up your photos, promise!

ps. who else is sad to be taking down their christmas tree?

(see my ornament exchange 2011 & 2010)

giving / receiving sparkle.

As you might already know, i love a good swap. My dear friend Kaileen hosted a Sparkle Swap where you send another blogger four unique gifts-- a bit of sparkle, a treat that soothes, something sweet, and a surprise. I was excited to receive my sparkle gift today from Heather of Day Dreams & Fairy Tales.

sparkle included chocolate raspberry coffee i can't wait to try out, journal with glittery pencils and cupcake stickers, "lay seeds not stones" packets, wine coaster with wine stem charms, and two of my faves-- a book and chocolate. Heather, i've already devoured the espresso filled dark chocolates and wished there was a world market nearby so i could buy some more! thank-you for a wonderful swap package xo

i got Ginna of My Pretty Pennies who wrote this very sweet write-up about my swap package to her and why i chose each four things. 

getting to know a blogger through swaps are my favorite. 
*speaking of swaps, it's almost that time of year for the ornament exchange on my dolce vita! 

my Truth, Love & Insight.

Kaileen is one of my very dear blog friends. She is behind a brilliant blog series called Truth, Love, & Insight. The idea in her own words:

"Do you ever stop and think about what it would be like if all us — bloggers, blog readers and other online adventurers — lived in the same neighborhood?

We could meet up at the coffee shop. We would bump into each other at the grocery store. We would go shopping, decorate our homes and play with make up together. We’d borrow each other’s books, share music and cook meals together. When someone new moved in, we would have a big block party to welcome them.

In a lot of ways, the web is like a big city with many different neighborhoods. I’ve referred to (and heard others call it) this community. That’s what it is, isn’t it? A lovely, welcoming and inspiring community."

i just love that image! {dear reader, i would always invite you over for coffee and thrifting dates, just so you know} That was the inspiration behind her series of which i was honored to be part of. Please stop by Kaileen's blog today to check out my guest post. I would love for you to and I'm curious to know how you would answer these prompts? 

thank-you Kaileen for having me! xo

ps. she's hosting a sparkle swap... doesn't that name alone make you wanna sign up? 

mixed tapes are my favorite.

my first mixed tape for bianca's Mix Share Swap Vol. 2 went to Carissa in Australia who was so sweet to email me when she received it with this pretty photo below. 

in my little note that went along with the mix, i told carissa i hoped she wasn't getting out of a relationship or else i'd feel horrid taking the chance to send a mix all about love. rejoice! she has been in a serious relationship with her childhood sweetheart. kismet! 

this one went to laura in california, a mix of some of my favorites.

i haven't received both of my mixed tapes from whoever got my name (i'm hoping they're just late in sending?) but i did get a most fabulous mix from sharni in australia! i actually haven't stopped playing it.

she wrote her track listing on the back of this sheet:

she also included some really awesome postcards!

thank-you sharni! xo and thank-you bianca for hosting another fun round of swaped tunes.