How many Kilometres?

Outgoing

2011-08-19T07:44:00.004+01:00

Finally, I get off my ass and post some letters! Albeit, only two, but it's better than nothing.

I am actually on holiday... right now. I'm waiting for the bf to be ready enough to have breakfast so we can hit the beach and I can get in the SEA!

Postcards will be sent! xx

Outgoing

2011-04-06T16:29:00.004+01:00

Remember I said I was going to catch up with my correspondence? Well, I didn't lie.

These all went out this afternoon.

Outgoing

Many a reply to many a country... ok, just 3 countries then :b

More to come soon people, I'm cutting through the pile! Weeheee!!!

6 Letters
1 Postcard

1 EU
6 NA

Update

2011-04-05T08:59:00.003+01:00

Well, I've been AWOL for nearly 6 weeks. I have been busy, as always, but have hadrly had a breath to get online and I haven't sent any letters (only 2 birthday cards to my mum and nephew)... Oh, and I managed to break my new camera :(

So no pics of fabulous letters either sent or received, but I'm hoping to make up for that rpetty soon!

I am off work today so I'm hoping to soak up some sun on the balcony while catching up with some correspondence. I'll even get my laptop fired up so I can take some webcam pics of the rpetties you have sent me recently.

I'm trying to improve myself on so many levels right now I feel a little lost... in amongst the positive thinking, the not drowning in pressure at work and trying to be organised, tidy, healthy, a good friend and girlfriend, I feel like I've lost myself along the way.

Now I'm going to pick up the pieces and mail copies of the best bits to you all :)

March Stats

2011-03-31T08:56:00.001+01:00

February Stats

2011-02-28T08:53:00.000Z

Incoming/Outgoing

2011-02-24T19:55:00.004Z

Sadly, these are pretty old pieces of mail (1-2 weeks old) but I feel like I've had no time to myself :( Since I had a tummy bug a couple of weeks back I've just felt so run down that I've been indulging in early nights and hardly go online for more than 5 minutes at a time. I'm such an old lady ;)

Incoming

OMG! The best package ever, from the sweetest girl ever! (That's you Caiti) Me and the bf devoured these treats in around 18 hours. YUM!

The cutest little valentine from Micaela (heart) I adored the tiny heart shaped doily she enclosed too.

Outgoing

A bear+bear to my niece in Ireland, a bear+bear to Ilaria in the south of Italy and one of my favourite ever bears to Megan in Aus.

And a really lovely card I've held onto for years (but stupidly forgot to photograph) to Lyn in the States.

I haven't written a letter in a week and a half, but I'm hoping to get a few sent out this sunday or Monday, so keep an eye on your mailboxes peeps!

And now, in true old lady style, I'm going to hang up my clean washing to dry, brush my teeth and go to bed! I'm on my lonesome as the bf is in Germany :(

I hope you have a better Friday than I'm expecting xx

4 Letters

1 AU
2 EU
1 NA

January Stats

2011-02-13T15:40:00.000Z

Africa: 0
North America: 6
South America: 0
Asia: 1
Australasia: 0

Outgoing

2011-02-13T15:31:00.002Z

These actually went out on Monday last week... oops!

A letter to the lovely Muriah in response to her adorable Christmas card.

Cute teeny owls to Shelita in the States.

Some pretty sunflowers to Carla.

3 Letters

3 NA

Uh Oh...

2011-01-20T18:36:00.000Z

I want you to just have a quick look at this...

Like the numpty I am, I only thought to check the price for overseas post AFTER I posted those 6 letters yesterday.

To my absolute HORROR, the prices have inevitably gone up. Not just by a little, but have almost DOUBLED! Previously, to send to zone 2 (USA and most of Asia) it cost a mere 85c, now it's 1,60! And to Australia, it HAS doubled, from 1Euro to 2Euros.

Not only will this have a huge impact on my bank balance, but I am extremely worried about those letters I have just posted.

I know not all of my penpals read this blog, but if you do, and your letter is in the post below, please, please forgive me if you have to pay a postal charge at your end!

I am hoping they'll just send the letters back to me and I can repost them with correct postage, but that's wishful thinking I'm sure.

My deepest and most sincere apologies... xx

Incoming/Outgoing

2011-01-19T18:22:00.006Z

The incoming all reached me on Saturday of this week and the outgoing were posted this morning. Look at me go ;)

Incoming
A very sweet Christmas card from Audrey.

A letter from the marvelous Megan.

A second letter from Shelita. Such a cute envie :)

Outgoing
A reply to a first letter from Ilaria in Italy, I hope she understands it, her letter was in Italian!

A reply to another first letter from Italy, this time to Erika.

A reply to Zoe in the States.

I LOVE Rilakkuma and this stationery is adorable, it's the first time I've used it in writing to Audrey in Malaysia.

A reply to Gina in the states.

Something for the newly wed Maxhams.

And where they all sit in the morning, on our key rack, so I don't forget to take them with me :)

6 Letters

1 Asia
2 EU
3 NA

Incoming - YAY!

2011-01-10T18:55:00.002Z

I don't send Christmas cards, I feel a little bad about that when I happen to receive them. I received two pretties in the mail today and I actually love the fact that these arrived late (Thank YOU Poste Italiane!) because it brought a little holiday cheer to warm my heart. Today was the first day back to work, don't you know.

This light up Christmas card plays Jingle bells too and included a letter from the sweet Muriah.

This little cutie is from Jen in the states and has left me permanently covered in glitter...

No, really, it doesn't brush off! Not that I'm complaining ;)

And I'm sitting here with a glass of white wine, consoling myself because my baking experiment went terribly and now I don't have sweet things to feed my colleagues with. I mean, it's only been 4 months that I've been promising them baked treats... too much pressure perhaps?

Worried?

2011-01-08T11:50:00.003Z

... A little.

I posted a fair few letters during the month of December but have only received one reply. I take this as a good sign as I often worry that my letters don't reach their destinations due to several factors, all involving Poste Italiane. But also a bad sign... an empty mailbox makes me sad.

Again, my lack of pictures kicks me in the butt as I don't even have a record of what I sent and when, so I cannot even console myself in that way.

My awful response to correspondence of late, doesn't exactly instill me with hope and I am sure there are some of my pen friends who will have given up on me, not convinced that I value their efforts enough to get my act together. I hope this is not the case, but I'm not so naive as to think my actions have no consequences.

I don't always deserve the beautiful post I receive, but I want to try and work toward deserving it more.

2011, a new year. A fresh start?

2010-12-26T16:06:00.002Z

The end of ths year has been a terribly hectic time for me and I'm kind of glad it's coming to an end! The last two working weeks rarely saw me home before 9pm, but I still managed to get 4 letters in the post to my neglected penpals.

Sadly I have no pictures :..(

I can blame it on the batteries, or the fact my camera has taken another turn for the worst, but it's mostly due to me not getting up early enough to sort all these problems before heading out to work.

I hope you have all enjoyed fabulous Christmas days with loved ones, I hope you all ate and drank a little too much and have no regrets :)

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! xx

Apologies

2010-11-28T09:17:00.002Z

(^ Pronounced Apoh-loh-ghies i.e. with a hard G - for all you Blackadder fans)

AWOL status explained here. Posting, commenting and letter writing will resume shortly.

I hope :)

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-11-14T20:44:00.004Z

A much delayed update :)

Incoming

The white envie is from Gina in the states and the purple is from Audrey in Malaysia

Outgoing

The HUGE pile of postcards I sent from Venice two weekends ago.

An angel for the Taboo subjects swap

A reply to Caiti.

A long overdue response to Nicola.

I hope you're all enjoying fabulous mail days :)

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-10-26T18:27:00.008+01:00

Oh my goodness! Could it be? ANOTHER post so soon?!

I kid you not dear readers, I have written TWO more letters and received two letters today, so no matter how proud I am at getting back into writing and no matter how fabulous it was to find the pretties in my mailbox, I can't help but think of the pile of mail I have to reply to and how todays mail just cancels each other out.

Sigh.

SO pessimistic. I'm not a true sagittarian, that's for sure ;)

Incoming

The little pink one is my very first letter from Italy! A first letter from Erika, written in Italian which was a real test or me! The little cute black one (I have that stationery too!) is a reply from Fabi in Germany :)

Outgoing

This little piggy went to Carla in America!

And the cat cat cat is off to Canada to Muriah.

I'm hoping for another couple of letters to go out this week. Fingers crossed ;)

2 Letters

2 NA

Outgoing! YAY!

2010-10-25T18:43:00.005+01:00

I have had little time for posting, little time for the internet at all to be honest. In the past week I've been online only twice and mostly to check emails and catch up with all your lovely blogs.

Aside from the usual mundane things like working and adding to our flat, I've been writing! Now I just need to get my arse in gear and post the little pretties. I'm hoping to write another two this week. I'm not going to push myself because we have a lot of things to do at home before Friday when we GO TO VENICE! WOOOOO!!!!!

Ahem.

So slowly but surely, I'm working my way through my pile. I have a few incoming that I haven't recorded on here. I need to do so, as well as updating my outgoing figures which are lagging behind. Oops.

Dear readers, I know you shall forgive my sporadic posting, my inability to update my blog info correctly and my terrible tardy replies, because, after all, we are all merely human :)

Outgoing

A reply to Candi in Australia.

A reply to Zoe in the States.

A second letter to Gina in the States.

A reply to a first letter from Rosemary in Canada.

And finally a reply to Sarah, in the States.

I contemplated taking a pic of me to show off my new wrap around and super warm scarf, but I'm looking half dead after a ridiculous morning of transport problems, getting soaked twice and a hard day at work so, I'll leave it for now ;) But you can see a bit of my messy hair, part of the headboard of my bed and our fantastic blue wall in the bedroom... what more could you want eh?

As a random ps, my hands are suffering greatly from the cold, excessive washing at work and the use of hand sanitizer gel, does anyone have some good tips for something quick and easy just to perk them up and get a bit of moisture back into them? I know I need to take better care of them, but alas, I have no beauty regime anymore and forget to moisturise anything more often than not :(

5 Letters

1 AU
4 NA

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-10-10T09:27:00.006+01:00

Do you remember in my last post I pledged to get three letters posted by Monday? Well, YAY for me, because I did it ;) I may even indulge and write a fourth one today!

I still have 12 letters to reply to and 3 postcards to send, so thank you once again for your patience :D

I've found that now I'm not sleeping on the train so much I can actually write letters during that small space of time to myself. It does, however, mean, that every so often, my writing gets a little crazy thanks to the movement of the train, but I'm sure you all understand ;)

Incoming

A lovely and unexpected first letter from Sheilta in the States.

An equally lovely letter from the fabulous Darcy.

Outgoing

A letter to Michelle in Singapore. She sent me the amazing Kawaii package I most recently received.

A reply to the sweet, sweet Audrey in Malaysia.

And finally a reply to my niece in Ireland.

I've had a lot of fun with stamps because I'm finally running out of exact value stamps so I've been decorating the envies with a multitude of stamps, which has made me happy to no end!

I'm currently sitting on my kitchen balcony, trying to enjoy a home made cappucino from a sachet, which is proving difficult after enjoying milky coffees from cafes for the past two weekends. The air is fragrant and crisp, the courtyard is quiet and there is a light Autumnal mist hanging in the air.

I'm happy and inspired and I want this feeling to last all the way through to Monday... but with a 5.30am alarm call, I'm not sure it will :b

3 Letters

2 AS
1 EU

Incoming

2010-09-29T18:29:00.005+01:00

Hello!! I know, I know, it's been an age, I'm sorry :( I've been at my new job for three and a half weeks now but I've still not found a routine. Although, to be honest, I've not been trying to find one. Oops!

I had an ok day at work but then the checkout lady at the supermarket totally ruined my day, so my list of things to do for the evening has gone out of the window and I'm going to veg out with a movie this evening. After posting and reading all your blogs of course ;)

If someone had told me a month ago that I'd only go online every 3-4 days for ten minutes to check my emails, I'd never have believed them. How life changes eh?

Incoming

Letters from Caiti, Muriah and Carla

Posties from Postcrossing and the red telephone is from Nicola

The above is but a small selection of the wonderful mail I've been receiving. Sadly there have been no outgoing pretties, but I have resolved to change that as of this weekend!! Also, sorry for the poor quality of the pics, I am on my balcony, having enjoyed another spectacular pink and orange sunset and now the sun has disappeared and I am left with autumnal blue twilight. Too pretty.

I wish you all fabulous mail days and make a pledge to get three letters posted by this coming monday! xx

Outgoing/Incoming

2010-09-14T18:44:00.002+01:00

I am working on an outgoing letter, but managed to get one finished on the weekend. Sadly, of late, my written, addressed and sealed envies seem to sit on my kitchen table for days before making their way to the post box :(

The following is going out tomorrow. For sure ;)

Outgoing

A reply to the lovely Micaela!

Incoming

I had this pretty waiting for me in the mailbox this evening (along with an annoying letter from the Comune) from sweet Sarah in the states.

I'm hoping to finish the letter in progress tonight, so maybe it will even make the post box without the kitchen table delay? One can only hope ;)

1 Letter

1 NA

Stamps!

2010-09-13T09:30:00.000+01:00

I had to wait a lot longer for my stamps than anticipated, but I picked them up from the post office a couple of weekends ago, and although I haven't needed to use them yet, I'm going to start pretty soon.

I must say, I was super excited to have them in my hands and I leafed through them, caressing them lovingly, like the strange person I am. Here they are...

All the pretties lined up together :D

What you can't see is that the little envies on these stamps are shiney!

In Italy there is no 0,50 stamp, so I had to settle for 0,52 instead :/

The 1,00E stamp is by far my favourite. So simple and elegant!

I still have some other stamps left over, so the stamps you'll find on your letters may or may not include these. Next time I order stamps I'm going to have some fun mixing and matching designs ;)

Incoming

2010-09-12T09:39:00.002+01:00

I checked the mailbox last night in an effort to cheer myself up after my shoulder/neck muscle inflicted an awful cramp on me (which now means I can’t move my neck properly and am in pretty much constant pain) and I wasn’t disappointed. I found these two little pretties waiting for me.

The letter on top is a lovely little note from a reader, Rosemary, in Canada. It was terribly sweet and she sent some very cute little stickers too. The letter underneath is from Zoe in the states who wrote on adorable handmade Moomin paper :)

I received this awesome package some time in the week, from Michelle in Singapore for the few flat kawaii goodies swap. Not only is it cute, cute, cute, but she jam packed it with awesome stuffs.

She included a HUGE stack of memos, most of which I shall find hard to part with!

AND two letter sets, a sticker sheet, some cute sticker flakes, a little zipped pouch, some adorable tissues and a lovely little letter. Too sweet! :D

I didn’t get round to writing any letters yesterday. In fact I hardly crossed off anything from my to do list :( so today will have to be extra productive!! Wish me luck ;)

Incoming

2010-09-11T09:48:00.004+01:00

Wow, this week was incredibly busy. I ended up staying behind for 1, 2 or more hours after work everyday... and always get there 30 minutes before my official hours start. I'm exhausted! I ache from head to toe because I've gone from being a sloth since I stopped dancing when I was 17 to now running around after children, having to pick them up a lot, changing nappies and bending over constantly. And I can't count how many times I go from standing to sitting on the floor and back again in one day. I need to find a good masseuse and maybe even a chiropractor as I've developed a problem with my shoulder/neck.

Anyhow, back to the mail... I've had a few incomings this week, but no outgoings so far. I am planning to write 3 or 4 letters this weekend, alongside the huge list of chores and DIY, so will hopefully have more exciting news to come :)

Incoming

A cute little card from my mum to say good luck with the job and to let me know how she's doing. If you don't know, she badly broke her right humerus about 6 or 7 weeks ago, but is much better now. She was even able to write with her right hand for this card! :D

A fabulous huge envie and colourful letter from Gina in the States. I sadly ripped the envie a little when opening it, because, like a child, I was too impatient to find a knife to make a careful opening :/

This is a huge, long letter from Candi in Australia. She also sent along the gorgeous little painting you can see. It's funny because I've been planning to get some art for our living room and all the pieces I've fallen in love with have been floral, so this can go up with the rest of them :D

Even though I'm tired and achey and a bit grumpy in the week, I'm super duper excited! Why? Because Autumn is coming, I can smell it in the evenings. It's always been my favourite season, I particularly love the way the air smells in autumn, crisp and earthy and a little bit smokey, it's divine. I got even more excited a couple of nights ago when it was misty in the evening and although it was a comfy 16 degrees, I felt I should start to dig out my scarf and gloves in anticipation of the cooler weather.

Today is a sunny and warm 25C so the gloves will have to wait, but I'm hoping I get to see the fog rolling over the fields again on my train journey to work on Monday. I can feel the butterlies building up in my tummy as I type!

Buon Weekend ragazzi!

Outgoing

2010-09-03T07:15:00.002+01:00

Haha, do you remember that I complained earlier in the month at not being able to find my little stash of Italian stamps? Well tonight I pulled out my crappy piece of paper that documents the price of sending various letter sizes and weights from Italy to other countries and guess what fell out from in between the folds? Yep, stamps! So I'm happy :D

Outgoing

Yesterday's training day did not have the same effect as on Tuesday. Sure, it was tiring, but not nearly as bad. I got home, sealed and stamped the letters from the previous post and even wrote a WHOLE letter!! Crazy huh? ;)

I'm feeling mischevious, so I'm not declaring the destinations of these letters, hehe. Know that they are all going to people who have blogs, who have been waiting a while for replies and are all lovely ladies. Fit the bill? Maybe one of these is yours ;)

I'm obviously tired because I'm starting to sound like a game show hostess! So I'll wrap it up! Hopefully I can get some posties posted tomorrow, but for now my main supplies are trapped behind locked doors and nylon sheeting while our spare room is being painted.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

3 Letters

1 EU
2 NA

AHA!

2010-09-01T22:54:00.003+01:00

So, I've no idea as to why I am still awake at such a ridiculous time, considering I have to get up in around 5 hours. And as to why I am contemplating yet another cigarette is again, beyond me.

But no fear! I have insane black circles under my eyes, my brain is even more fried than yesterday and I keep accidentally slipping random Italian words into sentences and yet I have begun to write again :D Well, I finished one at least. One that I started, um, a week ago, added to over the weekend and only just finished... Shame on you Maria! But another part of me needs to be reminded that, for me at least, letters take on a life and shape all of their own. It's not my hand that moves the pen, it's my mind. Anyhow, enough blathering, before I start typing in Italian too!

Incoming

WOOHOO!!!! Finally! I now know that Micaela's lovely letter and fabulous doily (courtesy of her mamma) are not lost forever in the Italian postal system, they are here with me at home! YAY!

AND

Also, my niece is too cute, and has sent me another letter. (This stationery I actually bought for her older brother many years ago to write to me with. I got her some too, but it was girly ;)

Outgoing

I have these two lovelies waiting to go out. I don't want to promise that they will go out tomorrow, as I still have to add a little to one, but depending on the time I get home tomorrow (17:40 today - WOW - early!) I may be able to slip them into the letter box ;)

p.s. I'm Sorry!

2010-08-31T19:08:00.004+01:00

I started training for work this week and I had forgotten how draining training is (hehe I'm a poet). So much information, total overload and my brain is fried. Add in 2 hours on the train each day, moving out and cleaning the Cameri flat, spending last weekend in Turin and I'm sure you can imagine... I'm exhausted.

So I apologise for lack of update recently.

I apologise for lack of outgoing mail to those who are expecting a reply.

I'm adjusting, it will take me a while to get used to working again after a year of unemployment. It will take a lot to get used to commuting, for the first time ever and let's not talk about having to get up at 5am (eep!), so please forgive me, it will take a couple of weeks for things to get back to normal on my end.

Thank you for your kind patience my lovelies :)

Incoming

2010-08-27T08:51:00.001+01:00

I had two deliveries this morning. One was a package of stationery I had ordered from Artbox.co.uk (part of my last kawaii sationery haul of the year) and the other was a letter from Audrey.

She covered it with beautiful stamps to the front

And endless amounts of sparkly tape to the back.

As if that wasn't enough she has filled this wonderful envie full of amazing goodies for me, including a photo of her and her bf, a gorgeous little cross stitched cat and foreign money!!! :D (I love to collect money from other countries, hehe).

Just WOW. As if the time to write and post a letter wasn't enough, I am gifted with such wonderful friends across the globe :)

I hope you all have great mail days and a fabulous weekend xx

Incoming

2010-08-25T06:58:00.005+01:00

I've been having lots of geeky fun organising my pictures of incoming and outgoing mail. The only problem is that I've noticed holes in my records :( For the incoming I can easily fill the gaps (which I may do today) but for my outgoing it's pretty sad :((

I am trying not to send repeat stationery for each of my penpals, so these records help, it's also nice to remember what went to who and when. But alas, there shall forever be some gaps in my records!

As promised, here are the missing incomings, pics in order of when they were received.

Incoming

The gorgeous housewarming card from my Sister in London. It's so pretty it could go into a frame :)

A letter from Caiti, received at the end of last week. (Much love to you Caitlin)

A letter from Megan, received yesterday.

Packed with two awesome recipes I'm dying to try out :D

A scrummy postcard from Esme. I love that she thought of me, even though she's only written to me once (and I still haven't replied - OUCH! But it shall be written today, promise!)

And finally a kawaii swap parcel complete with these AMAZING letter sets.

AND this HUGE haul of memo sheets. This parcel was ace and I squeed a lot over it. My partner also managed to psychicly pick my favourite kawaii characters, even though they aren't stated on my swap-bot profile!

I didn't write any letters yesterday (I spent an eternity on the internet) but I'm hoping to write two today... anymore than that and I get very sleepy very early! Letter writing is taxing for lazy bums like me who haven't worked for a while ;) I have 5 in my 'reply to' pile, which is a great relief from the 10 I had this time last week!

I wish all you lovelies amazing mail days! xx

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-08-24T14:10:00.005+01:00

Oops! I made a mistake!

^ That's my favourite saying at the moment. My mistake this time was judging everything here by English standards. I assumed my stamps would be processed and posted on Monday and so here by now, but no. Only today did I get an email insinuating, but not explicitly stating, that my order has been processed. It doesn't say it's been completed or dispatched, but I'm hoping they will arrive tomorrow. Fingers crossed eh?

I got so sick of waiting and as my pile of outgoing mail grew, I went to the post office, which is a mere 82 flip-flop steps away (they are smaller than normal steps for me) and bought a bunch to cover my outgoings for today and any letters I write in the next couple of days. It totalled 16E, so I'm going to deduct that amount from when I next buy stamps. Which shouldn't be until the end of October I believe.

Anyway, a few of these outgoings were posted yesterday, but the bulk of them went into the box this afternoon. Seeing as everything is still running on 'holiday time' here, they likely won't be picked up until tomorrow morning.

Warning... there are a lot of them ;)

Outgoing

On Saturday, we stopped at a Tabaccheria to fuel my filthy habit and we found postcards of NOVARA!!! WOW!!! So we picked up a couple, the top one is going to my mum and the bottom one is to our friend Michael, who we ALWAYS send posties to, whenever we go anywhere. Seriously... anywhere ;)

This letter is for the taboo topics swap, this time the theme was 'Weight'. I like how the envie came out, I addressed it well for once, and added some stickers ontop of the vine like plant and butterfly which came printed on the envie. It's a shame I had to get rid of most of the address :\

(The following are penpal-letters, shown in the order they were written. I tried to reply in the order I received them, and went by post marks if they came in a bunch)

This was a VERY overdue first letter to Gina.

Again, an overdue letter, in reply to Rachel's letter for my Kawaii swap held last month.

I wanted to show you the back of the envie because I bought a couple of Sakura glaze gel pens while in London and I used the white one on my airmail design. I LOVE how it came out :D

A reply to the sweet Sarah who recently returned from a trip to Europe, hence the London themed stationery :)

A reply to Julie in CA who is now the proud mother of 19 hens!!!

A reply to the wonderful Candi in Australia. She always writes me long letters and I try to send long ones back :)

This is one of the lovely notecards Elle sent me on it's way to Muriah. She's expecting her 2nd child and I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!!!

And finally a bit of Fairyland to my niece Niamh in Ireland. She was too cute to send a letter to my new mailbox (I believe the words my sister used to tell her how excited I was were 'She's wetting her knickers') so she gets this pretty in return :)

There were also a couple of packages for WTA winners from swap-bot, but I won't bore you with those!

Ok, WOW, this is a long post. Don't worry it won't be much longer ;)

As for incoming I got a letter from Miss Caiti last week, a bunch today including a letter from Megan, a Postie from Esme, a postie from Candi and an AWESOME stationery swap, BUT I have no pics... maybe tomorrow??

2 Postcards
8 Letters
2 Packages

1 AU
6 EU
5 NA

A Wordy update.

2010-08-20T15:56:00.005+01:00

I finally ordered stamps online. I ordered twice as many as I've bought enough to cover August and September's part of the 'budget'. I'm SO excited to receive them, I think they look fabulous, especially the 1Euro stamp, it's gorgeous. I'll be sure to post pics here when they arrive. EEEE!!!!

Budget you say?? Yes, well this is the sad part :( I need to start being more responsible with money, especially seeing as I don't get paid until the 1st of October, so all my money left over from my generous mother and my savings account will go on rent, food and my train pass (which will be over 600E for the year *gulp!*) so I've budgeted 25E a month on stamps.

This means that for all my lovely penpals out there, receiving letters may be a little slower than usual because I seem to have collected so many wonderful letter writing friends, I may only be able to send you a letter once a month. So please forgive me!

This may only be temporary, the budget is flexible because we have no idea what electricity or gas is going to cost us here. It's apparently way more expensive than the UK, but with both of us working full time (a new experience, haha) hoepfully we won't be using so much juice. So if I find that I've got money left over each month, you can bet it's going to one of two places: Savings or Postage costs.

I'm a little worried about post... I've been waiting for a pretty from Micaela for a while. I truly hope it isn't lost in the post :\ To be honest, with Ferragosto and the insane amount of people who take holiday in August (around 2/3rds of the country!) I should have been expecting this. Anything that is a little bulky or oversized seems to take 3 times as long to reach me. Waiting is pants!

Also, just a reminder to everyone who reads here, please don't send mail to my old Cameri address, despite pics showing up here to that address, I won't have access to the mailbox after next weekend, so it's a big fat no go :) Although, most people have been sending to the new mailbox, but there a a few stragglers (thanks to Ferragosto) and I'm worried I'm going to lose some post along the way :,( Maybe we can talk to Drago from downstairs and see if we can hijack his mailbox for a month?

I hope you all have a buon weekend and great mail days to come :D xx

Outgoing

2010-08-20T10:33:00.005+01:00

I panicked a little yesterday, when I realised I had to get a swap out by today. Not just any swap, but a decorated envie too! I had much fun cutting and sticking and our Cameri flat is covered in bits of sticky tape. Still! I decided to send out the two package swapas at the same time (minimises the trauma!) and I have two bday cards to send, one to my sister and the other to my niece. Sadly I forgot to take pics of the cards before I sealed them, but know that they are cute.

Outgoing

The little pile of post that is going into the post box today.

For the 'simple kawaii swap' 22 memo pages and a letter set.

For the 'few flat kawaii goodies' with decorated envie (front)

And the back. This is my first time doing this kind of mail decoration and I'm not sure I'm happy with how it came out, but I can't re-do it. It's all stuck on now ;)

The contents... A letter set, a bunch of memos and little envie containing stickers.

My partner said she liked food with faces, sushi and sea animals. So I picked these little flakes for her. I hope she likes everything!

2 Packages

2 Cards

2 EU

2 NA

Incoming

2010-08-19T07:44:00.004+01:00

I had THREE packages (all for swaps) waiting for me in Cameri the day I wasn't there. The bf brought them over to MteSanto in the evening for me. I haven't got a picture though becuase we still don't have electricity and my laptop died earlier in the day.

When I got back to Cameri yesterday I had this little cutie waiting for me from Jen in TN

I stil have no outgoing because I have no stamps, well, that's a lie. I have two but they are for bday cards to my sister and niece... but I'm going to order a whole bunch online today so should have them by Monday at the latest. Be prepared for a big outgoing post ;)

2010-08-16T08:40:00.003+01:00

I was wonderfully surprised by a lovely haul of mail waiting for me in my new mailbox! Sadly some of the envies got a bit squished because the opening just isn't that wide, but luckily nothing was truly damaged.

Incoming

A letter from my niece and a postie from Garci

A lovely long first letter from Esme in this cute handmade envie

This fantastic envie contained an equally great letter from Elle

And she sent me these gorgeous notecards, which I can't wait to use :)

I wrote two letters yesterday, replies to letters I received in Cameri before going to London. I was hoping to spend a lot of today writing too, but the bf's mum is coming to Novara to help me get our utilities changed over/activated. Well, she'll be doing it, I won't be able to do anything because my Italian still sucks!

I guess it doesn't really matter how many letters I write, because until I order stamps they ain't going anywhere :\ I'd better get onto that eh?

I hope you're all having great mail days today, there's nothing like a pretty mail gift to perk up a Monday! xx

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-08-13T10:52:00.003+01:00

I had two lovely letters waiting for me in Cameri last night. AND a gorgeous Hello Kitty package for a swap. I haven't taken pics of the package as I'm still unpacking (only to repack again next week. sigh.) and haven't sorted out my camera yet.

But here are the letters... Incoming

A letter from Julie over in California and a lovely letter in a card from Muriah in Canada.

As you can see my nails are hideously long. I desperately need to cut them and it's on my to do list today. I can't stand how quickly they grow these days, I keep scratching myself and catching them on things and other people! I wish I were one of those girls who could keep long nails all pretty and manicured, but they just get in the way (and I think they make my fingers look fatter *ahem*).

Outgoing

After a long time looking for my stash of Italian stamps, I've decided some little gnome or monster has found them and eaten them, because they've just gone *poof* and vanished. This meant a traumatising trip to the post office where upon leaving, a group of teenagers refused to get out of my way and meant I accidentally boshed one of them with the brake/handlebar of my bike. I felt pretty bad (especially since my actual post office experience was pretty painless) but come on people! Don't try and be 'cool' and buck against the system by getting in other people's way and causing harm to yourself. That's just stupid.

But back to the post. I got some pretty awesome stamps today, one of which is on a swap envie I posted, but forgot to take a picture of today (D'oh!). When I get my camera up and running I'll be sure to share them :)

1 letter

1 EU

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-08-09T15:42:00.003+01:00

I've been pretty bad about updating here, I've been busy on and off, but moslty it's due to my guilt about not writing letters. I have 4 letters to reply to but I haven't put pen to paper for a while. Part of it is forgetting to bring pretty letter sets to the UK and then accidentally packing my left over supplies. Part of it is feeling guilty about packing. I haven't really done much packing. I've been a bit lazy about it all (ahem, as usual) and so don't feel I deserve to take time out to myself. I guess that hasn't really stopped me from benig online, or sitting in the sun as I am doing now, but guilt is a strange thing.

Anyway, I finally took pics of my 4 most recent incoming letters. I also posted two packages today, the giveaway goodies for Passion and a package to Micaela's brother Marco in Iraq. I did take pics of these on my mum's camera, but we can't find the cable so pics will have to wait. Possibly indefinitely.

But here is my incoming nonetheless

A letter from Ireland for a swap

A letter from the sweet Sarah

A letter from the lovely Candi waiting for me in London. You can't see it but the 10c stamp is of Maria Island!!

And a letter from the wonderful Nicola, waiting for me in London.

She included this awesome postie for me. This is totally me by the way. It shall be proudly displayed in our new flat, along with our other awesome postcards :) Thanks lovely!

I will get replies out to you all once I'm back in Italy with my wonderful stationery again. Yes, I'm a bit bonkers :)

I'm also really looking forward to checking my mailboxes. Although the thought of even more letters to reply to overwhelms me a little. I've never had so many outstanding letters before! Eek!

Why I love letter writing

2010-08-04T21:20:00.002+01:00

Reason 1

Magic.

I genuinely think the exchange of handwritten letters is magical. There is something so special about finding a letter on your doormat or in your mailbox, knowing someone from somewhere else in the world has taken the time to pick out stationery, has painstakingly filled pages of paper with their thoughtful words, has sealed and stamped the envelope with love (and if you're extra lucky decorated the envie too), has posted it with hopes of making you smile, touching your heart and is now patiently waiting for your beautiful reply.

When I read a letter I feel like I am receiving the special opportunity to peek into someone's soul, a letter says a lot about a person. The way they write, the subject matter, the questions they ask, they are all little glimpses into that person's personality and way of life, despite them never giving it a second thought.

I shan't go into the magic contained within the actual letter, that is another subject entirely.

But the joy of seeing that letter waiting for you to delicately peel, cut or tear open the envelope and share it's tiny spark of magic with you is fantastic.

And for me, imagining my own letters bringing my pen pals that little spark of magic, packed into the envelope many days and kilometres ago, makes me even happier.

Much happier.

Just a short one...

2010-08-03T09:51:00.003+01:00

I had two lovely letters waiting for me upon my return from Torino (the trip was made sitting in the back of a Nissan GTR, which was both fun and funny) but I haven't gotten round to taking pics yet. We were busy on Sunday, lazy on Monday and were packing today. But I will take pics when I get back to London and will send any outstanding letters from there too.

I will be on a short mail hiatus while in London (though, I know I have one letter waiting for me there) but am looking forward to checking TWO mailboxes when I get back to Italy :D

So I am wishing you all fabulous mail days and hope you're wishing me luck with the big move ;)

Giveaway Winner!

2010-07-31T19:16:00.004+01:00

Well, I remembered to bring our internet key to Turin, so I was able to go ahead and pick a winner for the giveaway...

And the winner is PASSION!! Here are the wonderful quotes she shared:

"I've loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." Galileo Galilei

"Nothing is inevitable. The future is not written in stone." Claire from the show Heroes

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."Galileo Galilei

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."Good old Darth Vader

I love the Galielo and chuckled to myself when I read the Star Wars quote (Vader is a favourite of mine ;) Thank you to all the entrants for sharing your wonderful quotes, you've given me much food for thought and have enriched my days with such wonderful words :)

I'll be sending you an email Passion, congratulations!!

Can you help?

2010-07-30T15:23:00.003+01:00

Do you like...
Decorating?
Crafting?
DIY-ing?
Revamping awesome second hand finds?

Do you love...
seeing other people's decor projects?
hunting for inspiring pictures of people's rooms and houses?
tutorials for creating great spaces on a budget?
your room/DIY/handmade furnishings so much you want to share them with me?

If so and you have ANY information, links, pictures that can help me with decorating and furnishing our new apartment, please pop over here and leave me a comment. It will be GREATLY appreciated :D

Incoming

2010-07-30T09:38:00.004+01:00

There was a lovely little package sticking out of my mailbox this morning. Most of the non-letter post I get is either too fat or too stiff to slip into the mailbox so it ends up sticking out, into the street and I have to bare my tired looking face (and pj's usally) to the world to retrieve my mail, heh.

The package was delightful, a really thoughful swap parcel that I'm so grateful to receive! Have a look...

Everything was packed into this adorable little bag.

And here are all the bits, some journalling tags, some candy in a HK tin, a delightful selection of tea and a wonderful poem.

My partner even wrote her little note to me in this adorable card. It's definitely me :)

This was for the scavenger hunt swap, we listed 6 themes of items we'd like to receive and our partner picked 3 to send us. Mine were something cute, something wordy, something paper, something animal, something kitchen, something red and I got ALL OF THEM! The return address label even had a cat on it :) This has restored my faith in swappers, I really loved everything here and will be sure to share the poem with you all in another post. It's wonderful. Thank You Lisa! x

Outgoing

2010-07-29T11:14:00.005+01:00

Dont forget tomorrow is the LAST DAY to enter the stationery giveaway!! I'll be collecting all the entries at 23:59 GMT+1 (or thereabouts) tomorrow evening, so if you're reading this and haven't entered, go have a look NOW ;D

Today was another empty mailbox day. But it's cool, it means I'm totally up to date with my replies. I just have a first letter request to complete.

Outgoing

A letter to Micaela. Have you seen her coffee date?

A letter to Patty.

A reply to Megan.

Letter for my Getting to Know you swap.

Some goodies for the "I heart suprises in my mailbox" swap. (3 envies, 2 notecards and some stickers and memo sheets as extras)

I am in London from the 3rd - 12th of August, so I won't have incoming or outgoing post to document. BOOO! :( But it means I get to ramble at you on various subjects... in between packing of course ;) Wishing you all good mail days!! xx

4 Letters

1 Package

1 AU

1 EU

3 NA

Don't Panic!

2010-07-28T21:34:00.004+01:00

All went well and we have the keys to the new apartment :D However, we don't technically move in until the 1st of August, but I'm going to see about getting our names on the mailbox as soon as possible ;)

So, here is the long awaited new address

Maria Nagy

Via Monte Santo, 16

28100 Novara (NO)

Italia

BUT

Don't panic, we still have the keys to the Cameri apartment until the 29th of August, so if you've just sent something or haven't seen your sent mail on here yet, don't worry, I'll get it.

So, update your address books and start filling my new mailbox with love people ;)

Incoming

2010-07-28T14:24:00.003+01:00

There was no post today (BOOO!!!!) but I did receive two swap packets yesterday. I won't post pictures, for a few reasons. I got some stationery from Brasil, some of which creeped me out a little and I'm not entirely sure how to use it. I also received my kawaii swap package.

I won't go into too much detail, for fear of sounding spoilt and ungrateful, but I was a little disappointed with the items I recieved... they were just not very good quality. I can deal with receiving items not to my taste, hell, I expect that every every so often, but it wasn't even that. It's left a bitter taste in my mouth and I'm loathed to participate in public package swaps for being flaked on or receiving substandard goods. People seem unreliable all of a sudden.

Trust me when I say that I don't swap to receive. That is exactly the reason why I try to send things I think my partners will like, enjoy and get use from. It's the first time I've received things that were poor (and I'm not talking about monetary value) and it stings a little.

Meh. What will be will be. As I said, I don't want to sound ungrateful (although I'm sure I will to many) but I will never use these things and they aren't things I'll feel comfortable in recycling for future swaps. Maybe I can post pics here and see if any of you would like them?? Let me know if you're interested.

As for outgoing, I've been working on letters and have another small stack awaiting a trip to the post box, but I shant do so until I can forward on my new address. We have a meeting at the Immobiliare (letting agents) in 3 hours, so as soon as a new address is agreed on and finalised I'll be posting it here (well, after aperitivo and some booze (; ).

Flip! I'm so excited to move you have no idea!!! A few people have expressed concern at mail getting lost, but HAVE NO FEAR we have the keys to this apartment until the end of August, so I shall be able to pick up any strays until then :)

Incoming

2010-07-27T09:00:00.002+01:00

These beauties were found in my mailbox yesterday morning. I was super excited to receive not one, but TWO items. Two lovely gifts of postal happiness and I was a very good girl by not opening them straight away, but waiting until everything was done so I could sit down and enjoy them properly. Much love to the senders x

The adorable little letter was from Megan and was a joy to read :)

A package from Micaela, I worried about it reaching me to no end.

Fawns! How did she know I love fawns?

And the contents were darling, a really funky little ring that I wore yesterday (and that fit perfectly on my favourite finger to wear a ring), a quirky notebook with handwritten note inside and an absolutely beautiful vintage handkerchief. And of course, a wonderful letter, that was again, a real joy to read.

Thank you both for making my day :D

Yesterday I wrote two letters and will likely write one or two more today, but I shan’t post them until I have packed and sent a swap. Which should happen today or tomorrow.

I’m a little apprehensive about visiting my mailbox today… how could there possibly be any treasure awaiting me after yesterday’s haul?

Also, I should have some definite news about my address by tomorrow evening and shall update that with you all here.

Take Care my lovelies x

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-07-26T09:48:00.004+01:00

I feel a little sick today. I’m hoping it’s just hunger and not actual sickness. Last night the bf’s parents took us out for dinner and I ate some lovely seafood and drank a little too much Sicilian wine, which of course, forced me to sleep in. Today will be a lazy one (I hope) reading up on Reggio and planning for our move, which will be nuts.

Anyway, onto the post….

Incoming

This little pretty came from Patty and arrived on Saturday morning. I was really excited because her return address had rubbed off from the front of the packet so it was a little mystery until I opened it. Thanks for the stationery Patty!!

Outgoing

I got pretty creative with sellotape on these envies because the stickers weren’t very sticky and the envies were a little waxy, so I didn’t want anything to fall off in transit. Overall I’m so happy with how they came out I’m sharing the front and back of each envie with you :)

This one is going to Caiti, hers was unsealed at the time of photographing it because I’d promised to send along a poem that I forgot to include last time. This time, I remembered ;)

A reply to Audrey in Malaysia

A reply to Zoe in the States

A reply to a first letter from Kendra

A reply to a first letter from Elle

A postcard reply to Maike in Germany, who sent me a cute penguin postie to cheer me up when I was having some bad mail days :D (this postie was handmade by a swap partner, i love it!)

And finally a card for my Mum to cheer her up seeing as she’s incapacitated at home with her badly broken arm :( I wanted to take a picture of the card because it’s gorgeous, beautiful paper with raw edges and pressed flowers, but silly me sealed the envie without snapping it :(

I’m going to drop these off at the post office later today, so the recipents should have their little envies within a week. I hope.

I’m going to go and check the mailbox now… even if it’s empty, today is a good mail day because these letters and envies I worked so hard on will start their journey to the hands of their deserving recipients :)

EDIT:// eeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!!! I just checked the mailbox and today is a fantastic mail day! Will share tomorrow, I promise xx

5 letters

1 card

1 postcard

1 AS

2 EU

4 NA

Thank You (& stamps)

2010-07-25T09:17:00.007+01:00

Firstly I wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful quotes you've all shared with me. I'm having a wonderful time reading them and think I may even dare to stain the pages of a new notebook to keep them all in... maybe. I'm getting quite excited about picking a winner ;)

On Friday I mentioned getting some stamps. Lovely, real, Italian stamps. I was so excited about this I decdied to photograph the pretties.

I know it may seem strange, but in this post office, they tend to use the printed stickers instead of stamps, but even when they do use stamps, I never get to tsee them because the staff stamp the letters and put them into a collection box for when the Pote Italiane van comes round to collect all the mail. So this is the first time I've gotten to see the stamps up close. I was delighted.

I sat on my doorstep and enjoyed every second of placing the stamps onto each letter. They definitely add the final touch to each envelope.

Now I just need to get off my bum and post them ;)

ps, next time I'm going to order them online. It caused WAY too much hassle and distressed looks from the post office staff and other customers in the queue to bother going through that again. Totally worth it for now, but I'm going to keep a low profile in the future ;)

Outgoing

2010-07-24T08:25:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I made a trip to the dreaded post office to bulk buy some stamps and send a couple of swap bot packages.

It felt amazing to have real stamps in my hands again and know that my letters will get the postage they deserve (rather than those ridiculously ugly metered mail stickers). It also means I can avoid the mean post office lady who always complains about my letters... she's just jealous I think.

Anyway, I haven't posted my letters yet, but I'm going into town today so will likely post them from there, but I did post my two swaps, here they are, in all their glory. I really hope they get to their homes ok!

Outgoing

Goodies for a Hello Kitty Swap. There was also a little mobile

phone charm thingy that somehow managed to escape the photo :1

Contents: postcard, card, letter set, memo sheets, notebook, keyring, sticker,

sticky notepad, eraser, cotton candy with popping candy and lipstick

style candy thing. Oh and said mobile phone charm.

I had some fun with the envies too. The airmail design is my definite

favourite of all the ones I've created. It's going on EVERY big envie I

send these days :D

This is for a super kawaii swap. Including a card, a letter set, a sticker

sheet, some ribbon, that little envie contains around 30 sticker flakes,

a cute cookie man keyring, a HK eraser. I also popped in one of those

HK candy lipstick things, but again, it evaded the pic. How does this

happen?

I also sent whole bunch of memo sheets, because my partner's

profile stated she loved them. Lucky I spent a fortune in Artbox

during my last London trip eh? ;)

Again, my fun with the envie. :D

Apart from wanting these to get to their destinations for the obvious reasons, I also don't have the means to make up identical packages if they go missing. I'm sure I'm worrying over nothing... so far my mail from here has arrived without a problem. But I'm still paranoid. I suppose that won't disappear for a while...

It's Saturday morning and the bf is still dozing in bed. I want to check the mailbox but fear it's too early. We're off into town today to discover the San Martino shopping centre. I'm leaving my money at home ;)

Buon Weekend xx

2 Packages

1 EU

1 NA

Blog Award Time

2010-07-23T08:18:00.004+01:00

The lovely Fabi tagged me for this award and the rules are that I tell you 10 facts about myself and pass it along. I'm no good at nominating people, so I nominate ALL the bloggers who follow this. I tag you all with this lovely award and challenge you to tell the world 10 facts about YOU :D

I am the youngest of 3 daughters, the eldest is 13 years older than me, the middle one is 10 years older than me. I am technically the product of irresponsibility and incorrect medical advice. My dad used to say I was their love child, but it took me many years to understand what that meant.
I have three tattoos. A star on my wrist, an Ankh on my inner left forearm and a fantastic gecko on my back. Each of them holds a special meaning for me and I don't regret any of them. Although I do wish I'd placed the ones on my arms in less conspicious places.
I have a fear of falling. I can't stand walking over grating or glass panels and I get really dizzy walking down 'new' stairs. Oh and escalators. I irrationally believe I'm going to fall through/down with every step. But I'm working on conquering that fear.... slowly but surely.
I used to have recurring nightmares that the Terminator was trying to kill me and my family. They would always end in my mum's house where I'd stupidly run into a bedroom with no way out. I would always wake up just as he got to the bedroom door.
I spent an amazing 3 weeks in Africa in 2008. We took a tour of Namibia and spent 3 days in Botswana. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far. I will never forget seeing the milky way in all it's glory like a belt across the sky, nor the 15 minutes we spent following a leopard through the bush in the cold mist of the morning. In fact there are a thousand different memories (and over 1,000 photos) I want to share with you... maybe another time?
When I was in my teens I was dead set against marriage, but wanted 4 children. Now I'm ok with the idea of marriage, but not sure if I want children anymore...
I am half Hungarian and am in love with Budapest. If you ever have the chance to go, please do. It's a beautiful, enchanting city. Unfortunately it's become much more 'mainstream' and western since the early 90's, but there are still wonders to be found. Especially the Christmas and Easter market in Vörösmarty tér. And the view from the top of Gellert hill is magnificent. Oh and go and have a soak in one of the many thermal baths. One day I will own a flat there and spent my weekends relaxing in the water from hot springs and eating too much sour cream on my stuffed cabbage, hehe
Just before I went into hospital many years ago a friend wrote to me and said that if the lit end of your cigarette becomes pointy, it means someone is thinking of you (...and that would be her), it's one of the myths that I still hold to my heart, even now. Sometimes I hope that it's her thinking of me. We lost touch some years ago... (And yes, I smoke :\)
I tend to have very deep, intense, but short lived friendships. I have lost so many friends along the way that it makes me terribly sad inside to think of them. I am determined not to lose anymore, so forgive me if I seem distant sometimes, it is because I am trying to stop our friendship from burning out too quickly.
My favourite alcoholic drink is Mead. If I get married I am taking a month off work and ordering several barrels of mead to keep the tradition of the honeymoon. A month of mead, that's my kind of holiday ;)

I hope you've enjoyed my little snippets. I'll really enjoy reading yours, so please, join in! :)

...

2010-07-22T10:01:00.003+01:00

Ok, it looks like there won't be an outgoing mail post today :( BOOOO!!!!

I have to go back to Milano to pick up my translated degree, then we are going to Torino tonight to pick up one of the rent receipts because the idiot landlord is claiming we still owe him a month's rent which is complete rubbish.

Ugh.

So I have a bus, a wait, a train, a tram, another tram, another wait, another train, another bus then tidying up at home and getting some food together because we won't have time for dinner before we have a bus, a wait, a train, a walk to the flat, a walk back to the station, another wait, antoher train and finally a 20Euro taxi home. If we're lucky we'll make it home by 10:30, if not then it will be 11:30.

I'm not looking forward to this... :(

Also, my mum has been in hospital because she fell and badly broke her arm. I wanted to call yesterday but they kept her in for another night, so I'll have to make do with a phonecall from the train this evening. Assuming they let her go home. I hope we manage to get decent trains. With air conditioning, clean seats and empty carriages.

Wish me luck!

Incoming

2010-07-21T06:34:00.007+01:00

On the one day that I actually have to leave the flat and not just to make the short trip to the supermarket either, it's raining like crazy. I have to cycle up to my bf's workplace to pick up some emails he's kindly printing for me (because we haven't moved all of our things yet) and I have to go into Milan in a few hours to go to my workplace and later meet with a sworn translator to get my degree translated.

So, I have a dirty, wet bike ride to look forward to, being splashed by cars and trucks alike, then after getting home, showering and drying off I have to go to Milan and spend time walking and waiting around in the rain. Such a pain!

Anyway, onto better and brighter things. I've had some lovely post days recently, but due to my terrible habit of letting my camera batteries die down to nothing, I haven't gotten round to showing you all. Here goes :)

Incoming

Artsy postcard swap, received on Saturday

A first and suprise letter from Kendra, received on Monday

Another first and suprise letter from Elle, received on Tuesday (ie yesterday)

I've spent an age replying to everyone and setting up swap packages, so tomorrow will be my posting day. I hope you're looking forward to seeing all the pretties (and hope I can pull my finger out and share the pics with you on time ;)

Giveaway!! :D

2010-07-19T10:10:00.005+01:00

I promised to set up my giveaway when I got back to Italia and I’ve been here for long enough now that I’ve settled back in, unpacked everything and tidied up, so no excuses. It’s Monday and what better way to start the week than with a giveaway?

Here are the goodies you could win…

A selection of postcards (9 to be precise)

6 sheets of labels and stickers. 4 French inspired and 2 from the Dutch Door Press.

4 letter sets (made up of 1 envie and 2 sheets per set).

3 envies recycled from clothing factory waste fabric & 1 uber cute kawaii card & 1 Fabriano Milano map bookmark.

(Sorry for the poor quality pics… you can click to enlarge :)

Giveaway rules:

You must be a follower of this or my personal blog (because all of you matter to me) to enter.

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite quote and credit appropriately (I've started to collect them :)

For an extra entry, blog about the giveaway and leave a comment here linking to your post

Please remember to leave a link to your blog or leave your email address so I can get in touch with you if you win.

The giveaway will end on Friday 30th July and the winning entry will be picked on Saturday 31st of July. Remember I’m in Italy, so my time zone is GMT+1.

This is international, so everyone is welcome :D

Outgoing/Incoming

2010-07-16T09:50:00.006+01:00

I hastily posted some letters yesterday morning as I bought some more Euros and topped up my oyster card before going to the Airport. I did take pictures of them, but ok my mum's camera as mine was packed and I ran out of time and didn't manage to upload them. Which is typical, because my flight was delayed by two hours, so I needn't have rushed :/ I'll have to get my mum or someone to forward them to me at a later date... Instead, here's a boring list of what I posted: A reply to Muriah in Canada, a reply to Candi in Australia and a suprise letter to someone in Italy. I also posted mundane things, a letter of great importance to the student loans company, my mum's credit card payment and I returned by very last love film disc

Incoming

Letters from Zoe and Caiti

A lovely postcard and letter from Audrey

And 3 swap items... just draw, a stationery swap and the taboo subject letter

I've also been flying high because I spend a little too much money on stationery while in London.
You probably don't remember, but when I compiled this stationery wishlist, I said the next time I was in London I would treat myself to this notebook. Well, when I was faced with it, I had to decide whether I would rather have the London book or the Someday Diary by design doma. In the end I went with the someday diary and I'm writing a little in it every day to keep track of my first year in Italy. It's a splendid little book full of dreamy photos to keep me happy and inspired. Or happily inspired ;)

I hope that you all have wonderful things planned for your weekends. I'm going to Turin, where the forecast is said to be somewhat cooler than the 36 degrees expected for Milan tomorrow. This heat is really getting to me :(

Buon weekend ragazzi!

3 Letters

1NA

1 AU

Getting to know you swap

2010-07-12T19:39:00.003+01:00

I've been lucky enough to have been made an officer for the Kawaii Europe group on Swap-Bot.

To celebrate I'm hosting my very first swap which is a getting to know you introduction letter type swap for the group members. If you're based in Europe, love kawaii, love swaps and love letters, please stop by to join the group and the swap :)

For any members of the group stopping by, feel free to post any questions or comments here, you can also email me or leave your questions on the swap page.

Happy Swapping!

Outgoing

2010-07-12T11:49:00.004+01:00

Well, I'm posting on time for a change ;)

Outgoing

Two cards for an 'Artsy Postcard Swap'

3 packages, all for swaps, two for stationery swaps and one for a scavenger hunt swap.

The Scavenger hunt swap detail

All the little bits. Something ephemera, something travel inspired and something I think she'd like :)

2 Postcards

3 Packages

1 EU

3 NA

1 SA

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-07-11T22:04:00.007+01:00

I don't know why I've been so pants about posting my mail on time. I've just gotten out of the habit I suppose, anyway, here is the latest and I will try my best to post on time from now on!

Incoming

I had a couple of lovelies waiting for me in London...

This cute little letter from Muriah.

This wonderfully long letter from the beautiful Candi.

Outgoing

This went out on Thursday, for a 'Taboo Subjects' Swap.

The taboo subjects swap is planned to be an ongoing letter swap of different taboo themes, this one was sexual fantasies. I found it a real challenge to write without being too embarassed and therefore too reserved. I'm really looking forward to the next one!

The back of the letter, to try and keep it for her eyes only ;)

I mentioned before that I wanted to host a giveaway and it is in the process of being set up. The main thing that sparked my ideas to host one I won't be able to send this time as I'm worried it will damage the other goods in transit, so maybe this will become a regular thing? It really shouldn't as I'm broke, but I can't help it :D

Of course, I'm hoping for many beautiful mail goodies to be awaiting my return to Cameri, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high. It's terrible to be let down by your own foolishness.

On the up side we may be moving sooner than originally planned. This means the earlier buying of home things and this warms my heart (and my bank card) to no end :)

I've been busy busy busy all weekend and it's been great. I hope you've all had equally wonderful weekends xx

1 Letter

1 NA

Incoming/Outgoing

2010-07-06T07:12:00.004+01:00

I've been more than awful about charging batteries for my camera. The charger was in a suitcase I hadn't unpacked from getting back from France two weekends ago *shame* so this pic is overdue!

This wonderful little postcard of joy was sitting in my mailbox on saturday. It was totally unexpected and had me grinning for ages, thank you so much Maike!!

I also wanted to show you the beautiful stamps gifted with the postcard. I love looking at stamps from other countries. Sadly the lady at the post office has been using metered mail stickers lately... and then complaining that I haven't left enough space for the HUGE sticker, when she could just use a freaking stamp and there would be plenty of room. If only I could argue in Italian.

I've had in my possession 3 letters that were written last Thursday and Friday, but lack of cash and energy prevented me from posting them until today. I took a couple of pics before I went out this morning but my batteries were pretty much dead and I managed not to get macro shots, so they are terribly out of focus and do no justice to the letters whatsoever. So, no picsture I'm afraid :( I can tell you that there were 4 letters in total, 1 reply to the sweet Sarah and 3 mystery letters... wooO0Ooo!

4 Letters

4 NA

Letter writers block

2010-07-01T09:27:00.000+01:00

I have noticed recently that there has been a lot of banter about writing long letters. Maybe it's always been the way with those who write letters, so many longing for kindred spirits who will reply to pages and pages with novellas of their own? I'm relatiely new to the scene, so I can only guess. I to have felt the distant pang of vague disappointment when a reply finds me at one single page, but I am also aware that my correspondence is all new, fresh and difficult. These early letters are a challenge. The anxiety of not wanting to write selfishly, or to come across as boring. Not knowing your new pen pal makes it difficult to know what they will find interesting in a letter and also makes it difficult to share those feelings and secrets we share with a partner of many months or years.

I love every single letter I receive, I enjoy every word written by each individual pen pal, because it is theirs and I value the time they give me by writing their letters immensely. Please don't misunderstand this post, don't feel worried that your letters aren't long enough! Each of you gives me something different from your precious paper packages, but they all bring me happiness, and that is more than enough :)

The point of this post is about my letters and what I would like to achieve...

My letters usually range from 4-6 A5 pages, I would classify this as a medium letter. My writing is smaller than most, but larger than some and I like to keep my lines tight. This means that when I think of trying to fill 4-6 A4 pages, my confidence crumbles a little. How many of my words would it take to fill such a vast amount of pages?? (I also struggle with the idea of writing on plain old lined paper... where do I find pretty A4 paper with narrow ruled lines?)

I believe it is the quality, not the quantity that makes a great letter. I hope that the recipients of my mail feel the same way too.

However, this doesn't stop me from wanting to become a long letter writer.

I don't believe I would write 'long' letters to every pen pal. Especially not in these early days of penfriendship. But I'd like to give it a go... here is where I need your help.

After spending some time working in Lyon, I'm struggling to write letters. I'm finding myself uninspired, a little bored and totally unmotivated. I blame my lack of motivation on the heat and humidity. It's unbearable. Seriously, the only respite I get is one or two hours in the early morning before the sun has risen above the rooftops. And it's only going to get worse :(

So, I'm struggling to find subject matter to write about.

I also struggle with my belief that I'm not a very exciting or funny person and have a fear that if I managed to write a long letter it would be a terrible experience for the recipient. Like having to read a boring book for school and finding your eyelids getting heavier with each line until you realise you've been napping for the past 20 minutes. I don't want to be that kind of penpal!

So, help help help! Even if you aren't a penpal of mine, I would love your input!! What would you like to read in a letter? Do you have any ideas for subject matter that I could really elaborate on, or examine in depth? Are you a long, medium or short letter writer? How do you find inspiration for interesting/funny/moving material?

I really would love to hear from you all, so I'm going to leave this as the latest post over the weekend.

Incoming//Outgoing

2010-06-30T09:11:00.001+01:00

I've been terrible about posting my mail regularly, I'm sorry! I also realised that I posted my outgoing last week without posting about the incoming I was replying to... double sorry :(

Anyhoo, I went for an early bike ride because the morning was cloudy and cool yesterday (but it got sunny and humid toward the end of my journey) and when I got back to Via Cavour I found two letters poking out of the mailbox, just waiting for my return! I was so excited I yanked them out before I'd even gotten off my bike, but managed the self control needed to wait until I got back to the flat to investigate :D

Incoming

They were both surprise letters, what a treat!! The first was from my sister in London and the second a first letter from the sweet Sarah.

Outgoing

The large envie is for a swap 'Just Draw 2' where you had to sit and draw for an hour. The smaller envie is a reply to my sister. Just a short note really.

For the drawing swap I pencilled the view from my balcony of the church clock tower and rooftops and I sent another pen drawing inspired by the beautiful landscape of Novara. Silly me forgot to take pictures of the drawings before I sealed the envie, so you'll just have to imagine I'm afraid.

I've yet to check the mailbox today, so if I'm a very lucky girl then there may be an edit to this post. Fingers crossed!!

1 Package
1 Letter

1 NA
1 EU

Empty mailbox

2010-06-28T09:33:00.003+01:00

I'm not sure when or how often the mail is delivered in Cameri. I think I'd have a hard time finding out because the post office staff here aren't the nicest.

I'm sad for other reasons, but my empty mailbox doesn't help :(

Maybe it's a good thing that I don't have mail to reply to...? There's so much to do in the flat it's unreal and if I start writing letters I'll never get anything done!

I'd better get on with that 'stuff' eh?

I hope you're all having much better mail days than me ;)

Outgoing

2010-06-25T21:14:00.004+01:00

I've had a super busy and tiring week, but I've been workng on these letters the whole time. Or rather, I worked on them when I was free and wasn't too tired. I was most pleased to get them posted today, my last day in Lyon, because the post office experience is much less traumatic here ;)

So we have a much needed 1st resposne to Zoe, a terribly delayed reponse to the lovely and patient Ashley, only slightly more prompt replies to Julie and Nicola and a surprise 1st letter to a fellow blogger. I'm hoping they all reach their destinations safely :D

I'm going back to Italy tomorrow, I am aware that some of you have posted things to me in Italy. I'm hoping that they arrive soon because I'm back in the UK for a couple of weeks as of the 6th of July. (Italian post isn't the most reliable, especially in the middle of nowhere like Cameri) I'm hoping to find a mailbox full of things come Monday, but I know that shan't be the case :(

I hope you all have wonderful weekends!! I'm not looking forward to the weather in Italy, it's been pretty hot here in France, but I have it on good authority that it's boiling down there :( I'll leave you with the view from my bedroom window this afternoon... xx

EDIT: if you wanna see my efforts for the superhero day at the ISL, jump to here :)

5 Letters

3 NA
2 EU

Outgoing

2010-06-21T17:13:00.002+01:00

Today I posted an Italian care package to Micaela. I had intended to post it before I came to France, but never got the chance to shop for it, then I decided to post it on Saturday from Torino, but after 5 hours of walking, a boozy night and terrible blisters on my feet, I didn't make it to the post office before closing time.

I kinda wished I'd posted it from Torino after all. Postage in France is super expensive. Seriously. But it was worth it! I hope she likes everything :) I didn't get any pics because I had to buy packaging in the post office (which is also why it was expensive), sorry!

1 Package

1 NA

Inspire Me Swap - Pic Heavy

2010-06-19T10:28:00.000+01:00

So, as I said a very long time ago, I'd go into more depth on the inspire me swap I put together for the start of June.

As a recap, the swap required filling an envelope with 7 smaller envies, each containing an inspiration item, quote, poem, drawing etc. And they had to be decorated. I didn't go overboard with the decoration of the envelopes, but I included more than one inspiration item in each envie, so I hope it balanced out ok.

Here goes...

I took most of my inspiration from two books: When I loved myself enough by Kim McMillen and 101 Poems that could save your life, I also used a quote from William Blake in each envelope, he is one of my favourite artists... such great poetry and illustrations! I also used a few quotes that I found on the net.

I really hope my partner likes it and can draw comfort and inspiration from each page. I know that is what it brought me as I was making it!

Outgoing

2010-06-17T17:34:00.001+01:00

Ok, this won't be a very exciting post, but remember those postcards down there *points to the post below* well I posted them and one of the coke ad posties today. It cost me a whopping 12 Euros in postage, so add the 8 Euros for the actual cards and I spent 20 euros on postal love!

I hope all the recipients like the cards I picked for them :D

I'm in Torino for the weekend, so I'll wish you a buon weekend now!

Ciao my lovelies xx

15 Postcards

5 EU
7 NA
1 AS
2 AU

Giveaway?

2010-06-16T15:49:00.005+01:00

I'm feeling the urge to host a giveaway. I know I don't have many followers, but who cares, you're all important, no matter how small your number and I want to give something back :D

It's also an excuse to spend a little money, and we all know I love doing that.

So, as I said, I'm contemplating it. I'll probably wait until I'm back in London because I have a shitload of goodies sitting there waiting to be doled out and I'm feeling generous!

I'm really missing my stationery stash. I only brought a handful of lettersets (i.e. 2 sheets and 1 envie) with me because I didn't think I'd be writing too much and seriously didn't even take into account the replies I had to write. I almost bought a Hello Kitty letter set in Ste Foy today, but I resisted. At 7 Euros, I didn't think it was worth the money.

However, on Monday I picked up these

A bunch of Lyon postcards.

Awesome Coke ad postcards.

The Lyon postcards are intended for my penpals, I would have bought more to spread the love a little further, but posties are expensive here! I managed to get a decdent deal which worked out to 50c a card, but in London I can get 15 for £1, less than 7p a card!! I guess there just isn't so much demand for touristy postcards here.

The coke ad cards are for my personal stash. Me and the bf have a large collection of vintage ad and movie poster cards, just plain bizarre cards, cards of our favourite modern movie posters and various cards from places we've visited that we will *eventually* combine into a huge collage and put into an appropriate frame. Who knows when we will finally get around to completing our project, maybe only when we have bought a house?? But we will do it... one day ;)

As I'm in Lyon, I don't know if I've had any replies in Italy, but I will ask the lovely bf to bring any mail to Torino this weekend, so I'll be able to get any replies out from Lyon next week.

Thank you for being patient with my constant moving around and the delays it's caused to my correspondence ♥

Outgoing

2010-06-14T19:58:00.000+01:00

I was comforted by the knowledge, given to me by my bf, that the post office here in Ste Foy has a machine that you can use to print stamps, so I didn't have to use my awful knowledge of French to try and get postage over the counter.

I was even more pleased when I went there today and saw you could change the language on the machine, so I got to press buttons in English! However, I wasn't really counting on things being called different names (I'm sheltered, I know), so as usual, I'm a little worried about the letter I posted today... although the price of the postage seems about right for the weight and destination, so fingers crossed it will get there.

Also, the printed stamp was pretty cool, with pics of paper airplanes and whatnot. I'll have to take a pic for the next letter I post from here.

A first letter reply to Megan

I hope it reaches you ok!!

1 Letter

1 Australasia

Outgoing

2010-06-13T14:40:00.005+01:00

I got in trouble when I went to the post office on Friday. Apparently I hadn't left enough space for the stamp (wuh?!) and the moody lady at the post office spent a lot of time complaining in Italian. I almost muttered 'che palle' under my breath, but thankfully held my tongue.

If I was worried that your letters weren't going to reach you last time, I'm even more worried this time round!

Anyhoo, here is documentation that I did actually write the letters, but after Caiti's tease with the mystery letters, I decided to do the same ;) I have one more letter to reply to and one that is written already and will be sent tomorrow. I'm currently in Lyon, so some of you will get Italian stamps and some of you will get French ones :)

A handful of mystery letters :)

4 Letters

3 NA
1 Asia

It's official!

2010-06-07T20:53:00.004+01:00

My beloved picked up a key for the mailbox today :D

I spent a considerable amount of time cleaning out the tonnes of dust and dirt that had accumulated from goodness knows how many months of being empty, so my incoming letters don't get dirty. And although it's not perfect (have you ever tried cleaning one of those guys? It's tough!) I'm confident any mail coming my way won't suffer too much from grit and grime.

Anyhoo, I'm delighted to give you all my Italian address and I'm happy to publish it here for all, so if you're a reader and want to send me something amazing, please, feel free... it will make my day :D

The only thing about this address is that it's temporary. I'm going back to the UK on July 5th for an undecided amount of time, and we'll hopefully be moving to a new place in August, but I'll deal with that when the time comes. So, without further delay here you go :D

Maria Nagy
Via Camillo Cavour, 3
Cameri 28062 (NO)
Italia

The other thing about this mailbox is that you'll have to write my full name to make sure it gets into the correct box, so for anyone who currently writes to me as Ria, the envie will have to display my full name... and surname (Booooo!!)

But YAY for new address and all the lovely post I'm anticipating. You guys brighten my life :)

Incoming/outgoing/London Post trip!

2010-06-06T20:17:00.009+01:00

So, I was in london for 48 hours... or maybe 50 hours. I had a beautiful pile of post waiting for me and I got a lovely first letter from Megan on the Friday! As if that wasn't good enough, I got back to Cameri on Saturday morning to find another first letter waiting for me on top of the call buttons outside our building. We haven't got our names on a mailbox, because we haven't got a key for the mailbox yet (grrr) but the post person was kind enough to leave it out for me anyway, YAY!

I was so happy to receive my first letter here :D

Anyhoo, I'll give you some much needed pictures to brighten things up a bit in here... (sorry that some are out of focus, all the postcards are still in London so I can't do retakes ): )

Incoming

All my envie post... *drool*

My postcards

The ultra cool first letter from Megan. Look, it's Milan (and if you look even harder you can see Novara!) ooh and a Trudi (also known as a ladybird)!!

The coolest material ever that came in the big padded envie pictured.

Outgoing

My outgoing for the "Inspire me please #2" swap. I'll post in greater detail about this tomorrow.

It's ridiculuously humid here and we slept with the windows open last night because we were so boiling and despite using some repellent, I got bitten 4 times :( The mosquitos have landed... and they're after my blood :''(

I have a horrid feeling I may have left a letter in the UK, which would suck... suck so much. But I can get my mum to forward anything, so I'll be giving out my Italian add, but if you've sent something to London, or send it there by accident, have no fear, I'll get it eventually :)

Ciao for now my lovelies!

1 Package

1 NA

Happy Happy Happy!!

2010-06-01T10:17:00.002+01:00

My mum regularly informs me that I have a huge pile of post mounting up at home. This makes me both happy and sad at the same time... happy that it's there, but sad that I'm not.

The happy happy is that I'm going home tomorrow (albeit for 2 days) to pick up all the stuff we need and getting back here for saturday morning so we can keep our plans to explore Milano together and maybe meet up with some friends from the bf's work.

I'm so excited to see my kitty and my mum and my POST :D :D :D :D

I'm also going to pick up books and my jewellery making supplies and loads of stationery (as well as all the practical things we need here) so I have plenty of things to do here while the school take their time on deciding when they are going to start training... (bah, more on that another time maybe?)

But yes, for now I'm happy about the mail situation. And hopefully we'll get a key to the mailbox this evening so I can finally give everyone my Italian Address :D

Ah, simple pleasures, hehe

Outgoing!! :D

2010-05-29T09:48:00.002+01:00

So I finally plucked up the courage to go the post office. The lady put the stamps on herself, so I didn't get a chance to study them :( But they looked pretty cool. After a comment from the bf I'm now worried that she didn't actually post them (although, I'm sure that isn't true) so let me know when you get them people!!

Letters to Muriah, Nicola, Brianne and Candi.

I'm off to Turin in a bit, I hope you all have a lovely weekend! :D

4 Letters

2 NA
1 EU
1 AU

Update

2010-05-28T14:21:00.000+01:00

Ok, Ok, I've actually finished my reply letters to everyone. They've been sitting, ready to go for two days now, but I haven't yet plucked up the courage to venture to the Post Office and test my Italian skills. I know I'm being totally silly about this, I managed to get my Codice Fiscale and open a Bank account all by myself, but for some reason this is worrying me more. Maybe because I live in a tiny town here and it's all more personal and so I'd be known not only as the foreigner who wears dresses (apparently unheard of in Cameri) but also as someone who speaks bad Italian and made a fool of herself in the post office on friday?? Maybe I'm being too big headed to think these people will remember me, or maybe just too insecure. Anyway, I've resolved to go there in a bit, money and letters and translation in hand.

Also, I have my full Italian address now (although, still no key for the mailbox), so as soon as I get my key I'll post my address here if anyone wishes to write me in the next month or so, as I will probably be going back to the UK in July for a bit.

We're going to Torino this weekend and I have much cleaning and cooking to do before then... the life of a housewife is not as leisurely as I imagined!

Ciao for now xx

p.s.

2010-05-25T13:55:00.001+01:00

I GOT THE JOB IN MILAN!

I'm way too excited!!! I keep trying to call my mum but she must be out and is not picking up her mobile! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! I'm so happy!!!!!!

Finally!

2010-05-25T13:00:00.002+01:00

I finally got down to writing letters yesterday. I biked to Lago Vittoria and sat in the sun for a couple of hours writing a reply to Candi. I then dutifully sat on my doorstep this morning and wrote a reply to Muriah and I'm just taking a break from writing a reply to Brianne! It's all go here and my lovely rollerball has almost run out :(

The problem is that I am all too aware that when I finally stop writing letters I have to go to the post office and actually buy stamps to post them with. My lack of Italian makes this scary, intimidating and a little embarassing. But I have to do it, otherwise my lovelies don't get their letters.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that Italian post offices don't open on a Saturday, so I'm never going to have the help of my trusty interpreter/translator/moral supporter/boyfriend seeing as he's all grown up now and has a 9-5 job!

Be expecting some picture posts soon :D xx

Promises, promises!

2010-05-24T09:56:00.005+01:00

I had promised to get replying to letters last week, but with the impending interview doing things that brought me pleasure, also brought with them guilt. Now I am free and intend to spend this week catching up on all things mail related. This means there will likely be few updates on here, but I've scheduled a few posts on my personal blog if you want to see what I've been up to.

In the mean time I shall leave you with some beautiful stationery I've been lusting after...

(All images from here)

I have wanted this London notebook ever since laying my eyes on it at the National Gallery some time ago. Next time I go to London, I'm snapping it up!

Seeing as I live in Italy now, it's a perfect excuse to but this gorgeous notebook :)

This little beauty says 'Mail addicted' quite nicely. Perfect for the poor soul, who like me, is both mail and notebook addicted ;)

I saw this a while ago on papernation and would have bought it straight away if it weren't for my sickly bank balance. It's so cute and a steal at only £1.99

I love the simple, understated, yet beautiful style of this retro notebook. I. Must. Have. It!

I love simple patterns and designs and I just love these apples. It's so fresh looking and perfect for Spring. I'd smile while pulling it out of my bag. Everytime :)

I have a whole separate wishlist of notebooks and journals from this company (Design Doma). Their products are playful, beautiful and whimsical. Each page is adorned with a different pattern and picture. Notebooks like these are perfect for me, because each page is inspiration in itself. I want so many of these books, but my wishlist is on my laptop which is in the UK and is broken :( Just do a search and see how lovely they are. Design Doma also make letter sets and letter writing pads. Really pretty ♥

I hope everyone is still enjoying lovely mail and I will get your letters written asap. Again, anyone who has sent me a letter recently, I should be either going back to the UK next week, or my mum is going to bring some stuff (including mail) over to Italy soon :)

Oh and as soon as I have a reliable Italian address I'll be updating with everyone, I promise ♥

Incoming (from last week)

2010-05-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

Here are my two incomings from last Wednesday...

A cute package from Costa Rica for the cookie matchbox swap. I love the way she packaged the matchbox and I got pretty ribbon And a cute little postie with a Tortilla recipe on the back :D

Here is the cute little matchbox. I love the little cookie-like stars.

And here is the recipe. I can't wait to make these, I love love love lemon flavoured things :D

I got a letter from the lovely Nicola. She said she replied quickly to me to make sure I got her good luck wishes before I flew to Italy. Bless her :)

She also sent me more tea :) And I love the stickers on the back, a cute little plane and a good luck mascott in the form of a hedgehog (or roly-poly as I like to call them.) I ♥ roly-polys

And that was that. I have 4 letters to reply to now, but I won't start writing until after my interview which is on Thursday 20th May. So apologies for the delay, but I've got lots of studying and such to do :(

I hope you're all enjoying beautiful mail days ♥

Matchbox Heaven! pt II

2010-05-18T08:50:00.001+01:00

This little guy went out last Thursday. I didn't make the matchbox this time but used an empty one. The theme was black/white/silver/grey. I wanted to use some of my silver star stickers, but had already packed them by this point :(

Here is the outside. The white paper is actually the lining from the shoe box my bf's airforce ones came in. I thought it was pretty cool, so I snapped it up. The little heart is from polymer nail cane.

Here is what my partner will see as she opens up the little box of treasures.

And here are the goodies. Giant heart buttons, various beads made fo
rom glass, plastic and wood, some silver paper stars, some star beads and charms, two tiny bells, about half a metre of ribbon and a tea bag charm necklace made by me :)

I hope my partner likes it!

1 Package

1 NA

Outgoing (from last week)

2010-05-18T08:23:00.005+01:00

These lovelies went out last week on Wednesday and Thursday, I'm glad I remembered to take pics ;)

This went to Austria for the 'Love my cat' swap. We had to send a pic of our cat, a letter about the cat or why we love cat and a cat themed goodie for our partner.

I sent two of these sets out, one to Norway and one to the States for 'Just a card and some Tea' swap. I know I seem to send these tea bags out a lot, but they are two of my absolutel favourites and I think everyone should try them because they are FAB!

Here is one of two sets of handmade envies sent to the US for the 'Handmade Envelopes' swap. I tried to go for a variety, so here we have a tube map, some printed craft paper, a map of the Tate Modern art gallery, two dolphins from a kids book on sea animals, an ad page from Motor Sport magazine (Nov 1964), a page from an old souvenir guide to the British museum and a picture page from an old National Geographic. I really liked them and had a hard time parting with them, hehe.

Here is the second set, again sent to the US. We have the printed craft paper, some killer whales, another ad page from Motor Sport mag, the Tate Modern Map, a page from the British Museum guide and a page form National Geographic. I wanted to send a Tube Map with this one too, but I didn't have any left :( I may just grab a massive handful next time I'm at a tube station so I always have a constant supply ;)

This went out for "Stickers Stationery and Notecards" Swap, to the US. I actually sent more than in the pic... I sent a sheet of Kawaii penguin stickers, two gliter pencils, one gold and one silver gel pen and a pack of mini erasers. The extra goodies were intended for my partners children. I hope it goes down well :)

And last, but by no means least, a letter to Darcy. I wonder if she's received it yet??

2 Letters
2 Cards
3 Packages

3 EU
5 NA

I miss you!

2010-05-17T07:39:00.003+01:00

One of the things I miss most about being in England (after family, my cat and reliable transport) is post.

I really miss getting post.

I didn't think I would miss it this much, but I've been up for two hours now and I have that feeling of anticipation brewing inside me, but I know there is no post for me here :( We aren't even sure if we have a mailbox key, or a mailbox for that matter. If we do, it sure isn't labelled!

I promised pictures of mail received last week and I shall post them soon, but today I have lots planned. I have to try and get the pharmacist to give me prescription meds without a prescription by badgering them in English until they give in (father in law's suggestion), I have to go to Milano and work out where the prospective job locations are and I also have to call said prospective employers to arrange and interview date. That isn't taking into account all the ticket buying in between that will stretch my Italian to the max and involve a lot of red cheeks.

I've never been to Milan, so I'm both excited and nervous, but I've got my journey all worked out so it should be fine. I'm going to hunt down a Grom so I can enjoy some gelato :D

Eep!

2010-05-12T22:22:00.003+01:00

I got post yesterday and today and was going to update tonight but just realised I already packed my camera... oops!

I will do proper updates within a few days, I'm flying to Italy tomorrow so there won't be any incoming posts for a while, but there should be a few outgoings.

I've got 4 letters to reply to, so if you haven't seen your letter here it will likely come from Italy. Also, if you've sent a letter recently you may not get a reply for about a month because I'm away for 3 weeks, so I apologise for the delay, but the letters you get when I come back will be great, I promise :)

I hope everyone is well and is having lots of yummy post!

Incoming

2010-05-10T20:49:00.002+01:00

So today I didn't get round to posting anything because I spent most of the day out shopping and a big shopping centre near where I live. I got some clothes for my impending interview and some other lovely things :)

I got a parcel which I have to collect from the sorting office, but I'm pretty sure it's my artbox order and I got this postie from the swap entitled "Not from your home" which was um, to send posties not from your home :)

This one is from Lancaster County in the States.

Saturday's Incoming and Outgoing

2010-05-09T22:23:00.006+01:00

I really should have posted this last night, but I was trying to be good by getting an early night after studying, but it was not to be and arguing neighbours, some random knocking on our door at 4:30 am and our cat waking me up twice with horrendously loud meows meant i did not get a good nights sleep. Never mind, I had a great mail day yesterday and I made a load of envelopes for a swap today, as well as more interview prep, so I'm happy :)

Incoming

A postcrossing card from The Netherlands

A Postcrossing card from Finland. It says "Life can be happy, if you have strength to jump!"

A swap bot quitecard postcard from Canada. The quote reads:
"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?" - John Lennon

A letter from Brianne in the states, with this FAB envelope! You should click to enlarge :)

Outgoings

A letter to Nicola up in Scotland.

A letter to Julie in the States.

Fingers crossed for a non-bulky mail day tomorrow because I'm going shopping with my mum. then again, a trip to the sorting office is always fun and exciting ;)

2 Letters

1 NA
1 EU

Incoming

2010-05-07T14:11:00.004+01:00

I got lovely post again today. I've been really impressed with Royal Mail recently, I received two postcards from the UK, one from Northern Ireland, that were only sent yesterday! Super fast ;)

This cool card from Belfast. The lovely swapper has a snake too and is soon to be getting a cat *jealous!*

Hello Kitty!! This came from the UK, my second super fast postie :)

A letter from the lovely Candi. There are absolutely no post marks on this, it's as if someone hand delivered from Australia. Also she put pretty things on the sheets she wrote on ♥

This was too cute not to share. I love cute little lady birds and the one and only stuffed toy I have from my other half is a ladybird :)

The contents of said package. I love that this swapper read my profile and sent me some foreign coinage. I love the interesting designs on foreign currency and have satrted a tiny collection. Also a notebook! (strangers are feeding my addiction, heee)

I'm not posting anything today. I'm concentrating solely on replying to my incoming letters (but some of them will have to come from Italy because I have to prepare for my interview) and watching Yojimbo which I started too late the other night and had to stop half way through.

I hope you're having a lovely friday and that the sun is shining on your part of the world xx

Incomings & Outgoings

2010-05-06T17:41:00.005+01:00

I was a very lucky girl today. I got TWO more letters in the post, both with handmade envies *squee* Amongst other things which I will take great joy in showing you...

Incomings

A lovely letter from Darcy. I love how she used tracing paper for the add labels. She also wrote on tracing paper which looked amazing :) Thank you ♥

My second letter of the day from the lovely Nicola. she included a bag of calming tea, which is just what I need right now, stressing about this job ♥

I got this pretty postie from Germany via postcrossing

And I got this awesome postie for a non-touristy swap. This is going on my wall :)

I also got all these goodies from a random envie swap. The ribbons are adorable and I love those push up pencils :)

I also got two packages, but they were things I'd ordered, so don't count. Although they were mega cute and also helped to make my day :D

Outgoings

These two were both going to the US for a 'Not from your Home' Postie swap. These are both from my lovely Caiti stash (As I call it) I hope they are well received.

This is a reply to the lovely Caiti herself. She's a cat lover, like me :)

This is my 'Getting Gummy' gummy package going to the states. There was also a pack of juicy fruit that didn't make it into the pic. This guy was so heavy it cost me over £5 to ship. Ouchie!

These three were all going to the UK as part of a UK postie swap. I adore those vintage style London postcards. It's so hard to part with them!

This is a postcrossing card to Finland

A postcrossing card to the US

A postcrossing card to China

A postcrossing card to the Netherlands

The back of the postie. I had to actually sit on the grass to try and draw those bluebells. The grass had just been cut and now I have a green bum! This postcrosser set a challenge to draw on the back of the card and the bluebells have been taunting me with their beauty for a while now, so I picked those to depict.

I say taunting because I've waited ages for them to blossom and they've been in bloom for a while but it's been so cloudy I can't take any pictures with my 35mm camera, but I got some today, so I hope they come out nicely!

I have three letters to reply to now and some envies to make for a swap. If I've been promising to write to you and you haven't received anything, I'm really sorry, but I'm so disorganised I keep leaving everything to the last minute and have no time to start anything new. SO... when I go to Italy (and after my interview) I'll have plenty of spare time to write to you ♥

1 letter

9 postcards
1 package

5 NA
5 EU
1 AS

Incoming Outgoing

2010-05-04T23:50:00.014+01:00

I'm sorry I didn't post this yesterday, I've been in the process of stressing out and applying for the most perfect job for me, ever AND it's in Italy. Anyway, due to lots happening yesterday (including managint to not read my letters until my work was done) I didn't get round to taking pics or posting about my mail, so this is a catch up post and I promise to be more regular :)

Today's Outgoings

An intro letter for a swap going to Hawaii

Two posties for a swap - Top 10 films - so I used flick mites to go with the subject :)

A Stuffen Envelope Package to the US inclusing a note book, ribbon, enbellishments, die cuts, note cards, textured paper and printed paper.

A Package for the 'Winner takes all' contest in a group I'm in on swap bot... ribbon, embellishments, tea, a little bag of goodies and that lovely textured paper.

Package 1 for random envies in Europe swap, this one was going to Norway. Again, stickers, embllishments, ribbon, notecards, posties, paper :)

Package 2 for the European Envie swap, this went to Switzerland, this one had kawaii memo papers instead of extra posties.

Package 3 for the European Envie swap - this one went to the Czech Republic. This lady got some printed paper instead of embellishments and tea and a hand made envie along with the posties, notecards, textured paper, ribbon, tiny bag full of goodies and stickers :)

Old Imcomings (I previously missed out of my posts somehow)

For the nude postie swap, from the US. I like how everyone was nervous about sending explicit things in the mail and my partner wrote on this that she liked the fact the oil paints covered the naughty bits.

This is for the swab bot name swap. I LOVE firefly and was really happy when I got this in the mail. My partner actually chose her name based on her love for Kaylee (from Firefly and pictured) and I think she's a great character :)

Yesterday's Imcoming

A letter from Caiti (yellow) and a card and letter from Julie, both coming from the states :) You should totally click on the pic to enlarge and check out Caiti's wonderful illustrations on the yellow envie, too sweet <3>

Todays Incomings

A Quotecard postie. I love that she made and wrote on the card before laminating it, so it withstood the postal service :) The quote is as follows:
"How wonderful it is that no one need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" - Anne Frank

From the Huh? Postie swap. It shows shells collected from Florida nad they all have strange and wonderful names. My favourite is "Old Maid Curl"

This was a random envie swap I received today with some hello kitty memo papers, two winnie notecards, a really cute cat notecard, a couple of posties (only one in the pic) and a really cool pic my partner took of a beautiful iggy I ♥ reptiles :)

I entered a gum swap and got this AMAZING amount of bubble gum from Denmark this morning. Seriously, LOADS! I love trying gum and sweets from other countries, so this is fab for me.

This is by far my favourite packet. Camel Balls... really? As if you weren't sure enough, there is a pic of a camel with very large and prominent testicles just to make sure you got it. AWESOME! I'm totally keeping this hilarious package. I kinda dread the flavour too, so maybe the gum will be a keeper too!

Also, mega bum bums? The danes obviously don't know or care that a bum bum is an endearing term for your arse in the UK. I'm secretly hoping this means if I chew it everyday it will stop my bum from shrinking as I lose weight ;)

I got a little sad as I had to 'unwatch' some swaps on swap bot because I'm going to be in Italy for a while from next week. I guess it's for the best though... this is proving rather expensive. I guess when I move to Italy I'll probably just keep penpals and postcrossing going? I guess we'll see!

1 Letter
2 Postcards
5 Packages

5 NA
3 EU

On my wishlist

2010-05-04T23:39:00.002+01:00

I've been considering compiling a stationery wishlist for the purposes of a blog. This is terribly bad because I am a compulsive/impulsive spender. I don't save money very well. But I'm going to be good :) I promise!

While looking at dreamy things, I stumbled across this and now I really want it... like seriously. It would slip into my bag, allowing my to catch up on a letter at any given moment. In a coffee shop, on a lunch break, on a train, waiting for a plane the possibilities are endless. The beauty of it being that you don't have to ruin your pretty letter before it even goes into the post box because it's all protected by this leather loveliness!

(here)

They do other colours, but I like this pink one. It will look nice when pulled out of my light grey bag and I have a soft spot for pink things anyway. I'm sure I could find it cheaper, or even one that isn't leather, but oh how I long for a writing case now!

Matchbox Heaven

2010-05-03T17:17:00.005+01:00

I promised to give you my matchboxes in more detail, and like the last post, I had hoped to get this done a day earlier, buuuuuut it's bank holiday today so no ingoing or outgoing post, so I'll keep you all interested with my little creations. (Click to enlarge (: )

Sushi Matchbox
The task was to creat or decorate a matchbox in a shushi theme and absolutely jam pack it with as many sushi themed things as you could. I also put some in a little bag, so the one I sent was more of a sushi goodie bag :)

The matchbox and other goodies. There are 2 sushi puzzle erasers and a little fish shaped soy container that I painstakingly filled with glitter.

This is the sight my partner will get when she opens it. I made the embelishments on the front of the box out of card and stuck them on. The roe ontop of the sushi are little plastic beads I sewed onto the card.

Here is the inside of the box. The lining is just paper, I drew all the little sushi themed pics and coloured them in with pencil. the outside of the box got a nice coating with PVA so it's shiny. (I kida didn't want to send it, I really liked how it came out!)

Here are the contents of the matchbox. There are lots of little scented sushi stickers, some smaller puffy sushi stickers, a sushi hair band, mini polymer sushi pieces, two little sushi badges and a hello kitty charm, which although is not sushi, sh'es half fish. that counts right?

What cute package would be complete without kawaii deco tape?

Cookie Matchbox

The idea behind this one was to decorate a matchbox, in the theme of your choice, to write out your favourite cookie recipe and fold it up and put inside. I decided I didn't want to just fold it and pop it inside, so I made my very first matchbox book.

As before, I made the little embellishments out of card and stuck them on, even the little individual cookies. I painted the background to the box.

This is the view when you open the matchbox :)

Here is the matchbox book all folded out. I wrote a peanut butter cookie recipe on it. Also, cute lucky donut sticker :)

The ribbon runs all the way along the back of the book, as you can see. I though it looked really pretty :)

I joined another matchbox swap recently. I may have become addicted... they are easy, cute, allow you to be creative, and for a lot of them, you don't have to spend money, unless you want to of course :) Matchboxes for the win!

End of April

2010-05-02T23:35:00.001+01:00

I had intended on posting this yesterday, but I never got round to taking the pics... sorry :(

To mark the end of April, I am going to share with you my favourite stamps from my incoming post this month. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. (click to enlarge)

April statistics:

Outgoing Mail

Type
Letters 13
Cards 2
Postcards 38
Packages 10
- Total = 63

Destinations

Asia
- China 1
- Indonesia 1
- Japan 1
- Malaysia 1
- Taiwan 1

Australasia
- Australia 2

Europe
- UK 1
- Germany 2
- Poland 1
- Netherlands 2
- Belarus 1
- Russia 1
- Finland 2

North America
- USA 38
- Canada 8

Incoming Mail

Type
Letters 7
Cards 3
Postcards 28
Packages 5
- Total = 43

Origin

Asia
- China 1
- Indonesia 1
- Japan 2
- Malaysia 1
- Taiwan 2

Australasia
- Australia 2

Europe
- UK 2
- Germany 1
- Poland 1
- Finland 1

North America
- USA 26
- Canada 3

Incoming

2010-04-30T22:25:00.013+01:00

So, now that you have had the pleasure of viewing what the post box saw today, take a peek at the my letter box saw today (apart from me squealing like a child for several minutes)

Seriously, this lady is amazing, this snail is freaking AWESOME!

As if that wasn't enough I found all these treats inside!! This was my treat and a sweet swap, I got a note card set, a note pad, several pieces of lovely paper, an adorable mini clip board (perfect for writing my A5 letters on) a pencil AND sweets. I was well and truly spoiled and I hope her partner was as kind!

I also received my letter set and sticker sheet swap today. I got all these lovely papers you see here, that CUTE sticker sheet and at the very far end of the pic you can see something navy blue with a hippo sticker on, which is a little folder to keep letters in. I'm going to use it to store my bits to be sent and letters to reply to (before they get stored away in a special pretty box (: )

I received this lovely postie from the US for the quotecard postie swap the quote is as follows:
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity" - Martin Luther King Jr.
Food for thought indeed :)

I got this card from the States as part of the 'Huh?' postie swap.
Seriously... I don't get it.

This awesome postcrossing card came from Japan, the lady told me a little about her cat called Sora which means sky in English. It's a pretty name don't you think?. That cat is freaking awesome, I love it :D

This was by far my favourite postie of the day though. I laughed aloud for a good couple of minutes when I saw it. In fact I'm acutally chuckling now while typing. heh. I need to find a great place to stick this up in my room so I see it when I wake up and therefore wake up with laughter. I love it!!

And last but not least I have this amazing card from my beloved. It was filled with typically 'him' prose and he drew a magazine cover inspired by a 'Nuclear war skills and survival guide' he was reading. It's freaking* hilarious and I love it.
And him.

Even typing out this post has gotten me all excited again about my amazing mail day. To have received just any one of these great things would have been fantastic, but to get all of them in one day? I'm a very lucky girl and I no longer mind that it's a bank holiday weekend, because I have this amazingness to see me through :D

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to
my amazing mail day, week, month and thank you
in advance to all those who will contrubute further.
I ♥ you all

* Yes, I do realise I've said 'freaking' several times in this post, in real life I would use the eff word when I get over excited (I swear like a sailor) but I don't want to offend, plus I'm tired so my vocabulary seems to have waned. Forgive me dear readers xx

Mostly Outgoings.

2010-04-30T15:49:00.012+01:00

Oops! It seems I inadvertently digged my pen pal readers in the ribs with my comment about letters yesterday. I didn't mean for that to happen, I was just voicing my longing (although, if I say I'm longing for a million pounds, does that mean they will magically find their way through my letterbox??)

Something I didn't post about yesterday was my tea book, I received my very own tea book yesterday from the lovely Stacy, who was very sellotape happy and it meant I was like an impatient child on christmas morning desperately trying to get inside the most interesting looking and well wrapped present in the pile. I wasn't disappointed, it was full of beautiful smelling teas, which I have yet to try because I'm still ill and don't want to miss any of their flavour. She also put a little note into each pocket, including a hand crafted brain teaser! I was also gifted a tiny little handprinted kawaii note book and a pack of chewing gum - I love trying chewing gum from different countries, you get all these strange flavours and different textures, YUM! Basically I was spoiled. Yup, well and truly spoiled.

Here are a couple of pics:

The outside of the tea book (it had loads of sanrio :D )
and the tiny little notebook Stacy made for me.

Here is an overview of all the tea and little notes inside the tea book!

And as if that wasn't enough... I had the most AMAZING mail day to date today. Seriously... but more on that later.

Here are my outgoings for the day:

I'd been waiting an age for the bits to arrive for this and now
it's sent! A sushi themed matchbox swap. I'll post more on this
in detail on the weekend.

A Cookie themed matchbox filled with my favourite cookie recipe.
Again, I'll post in detail about that in a couple of days.

For the Huh? Postie swap going to the US.
We had to send a postcard that we just didn't get, no matter how
long we stared at it... it just makes you go 'Huh?'

My second 'Huh?' postie. I realised when I wrote on this that I've
actually had it for 10 YEARS!!! I'm so glad I got to post it :)

This is a post crossing card going to Poland. I wrote a little bit of
Tower of London lore on the back :)

A postcrossing card going to Germany.

A postcrossing card going to Alaska!

A reply to my postie from Indonesia

And finally a small gift to a lady in the states I've never met before.
There was a request for nice post to be sent by a friend of hers via
swap bot. The lady in question was recently diagnosed with cancer
and is currently undergoing chemotherapy, so I was happy to send
her these bits, even though those pics are some of my favourites.

So... *phew* that was my outgoings for the day. My incomings get their very own post because they were so fab. Plus, I don't want to dull your senses with too many pictures at once!

1 Letter
6 Postcards
2 Packages

5 NA
2 EU
1 AS

Incoming

2010-04-29T20:36:00.004+01:00

I had some more lovely incoming mail today, all postcards. (I'm kind of longing for a lovely long letter to read)

A Postcrossing card from Taiwan

A Private swap from, yep, you guessed it, Indonesia

And another private swap from Japan

I really enjoy looking at the stamps on mail from other nations. I've had some particularly nice ones from Asia and North America recently. I normally feel that our stamps here in the UK tend to be a bit boring, at least on my mail, because I always get given the Queen's head and the price.

I have a thoery as to why... I went to the post office at my usual time, but there had been a) less customers or b) a recent delivery of pretty stamps. As the lady was serving me I noticed that in her book she had a sheet of pretty stamps on top of the sheets of 'normal' stamps. I guess they have a certain number of pretty stamps in their books at the start of each day and just work through them or something? I'm going to test my theory by going to the post office super early next time I need to buy stamps :D

Basically, I'm happy that my post got pretty stamps finaly. Even the 1st class stamps had pictures of dogs on them and the 81p stamps had Queen Mary on them, although I didn't look close enough to see which Mary she was. Mary Tudor I guess. And I think I may have to do a post featuring my favourite stamps from around the world, maybe tomorrow? :D

Outgoing

2010-04-29T10:33:00.002+01:00

I spent quite some time over the past two days putting together 'Random Envies' for a swap. The idea being that you fill a #10 business sized envie with lots of random flat things. Now, I don't have access to that sized envie without some complicated google work (HA!) so I just picked a padded envie I had here. I worried a lot about not putting enough in, but judging by the 'random envie' I received yesterday this is just fine.

I had to put together 3, but I only photographed one. All packs were pretty similar but papers, stickers, photos, sticky pad and posties all differed.

The Main contents of the packages, note cards, letter sets,
memo papers, postcards,envelopes, mini coloured pencils,
mini erasers, photographs, stickers, sticky notepad, tea
sachet, little bag full of goodies, tiny envie full of stickers.

A close up of the erasers, tea and stickers from inside the tiny envie.

A close up of the little bag full of goodies including die cuts,
paper flowers, tiny star charms, tiny star beads and tiny jingle bells.

I used felt pens to address the envelopes in big writing and had fun drawing on them:

This one was going to the UK, so I drew the swap bot envie instead.

I also spent a lot of time last night catching up on my letter writing.

Reply to Sam, Muriah and Ashley.

I actually wrote Muriah's reply on friday before leaving for Wiltshire, but I wanted to re-read the letter before posting and hadn't gotten to the post box until now :( And yes, that giant hello kitty head is actually an envie :D

Phew, I'm still exhausted from all that letter writing last night!! I'm eager to hear from people, so if you're a recipient of one of my letters, please feel free to let me know it reached you ok :)

3 Letters
3 Packages

5 NA
1 EU

Incoming

2010-04-28T16:48:00.011+01:00

The combination of not posting anything while the planes weren't running and being away from home last weekend has really thrown me out of synch. I haven't posted about any incoming mail for a while and I'm totally behind with letter writing. First things first... incoming :)

Friday's Post - I was lucky enough to get two letters in one day! :D

A lovely letter fron Ashley in Maine, I love the little flowers she stuck on the envie :)

A letter from Sam for an intro letter swap, the stamps are really pretty.

Saturday's Post (I had loads of it!)

A really fun Postcrossing card from the States

A beautiful and informative Postcrossing card from Poland

A Quartered postie for a swap (I got this one because of the reptile/dragon - YAY!)

Swapbot name Postie

10 things to be happy about swap with a really cool envie and writing

A really cool postie for the Nude postie swap

Tuesday's Post (FIVE postcards :D )

A postcrossing card from China with awesome stamp usage... see below too

A non-touristy postie for a swap. This character kinda creeps me out... but I like that weird factor :)

A Quartered postcard for a swap

Another quartered postie

And the only quartered postie that didn't make it here complete. The other 3 recipients got theirs ok and I'm really sad because she cut the cards diagonally which would have been really cool. The base postie is pretty strange and interesting though. It's such a shame it didn't reach me here in one piece... I think the royal mail employees picked it to pieces :''(

Today's Post

An awesome postie from Taiwan (Private Swap)

Complete with really cool stamp :D

A Random Envie for a swap complete with several 1p stamps, heh

The stationery inside the envie

Part 2 of stationery inside random envie

And that is the huge amount of incoming I received in the past week!! To be honest, I think I've missed some... I'll have to double check. I need to come up with a filing system for incoming post. I may just have to buy some more storage boxes, heheh

Outgoing pt 4

2010-04-27T16:33:00.004+01:00

Now that Caiti has received her package (super fast post going on at the moment!) I'm free to post pics. As a thank you for the awesome photos she sent, I put together a pack of various types of stationery.

There were lots of letter sets, coloured and themed.

A bunch of notecards and a handful of postcards.

And finally some handmade envelopes.

I actually bought the book these came from before I found out that
Caiti loves sharks, so I knew these were meant for her :)

Outgoing pt 3

2010-04-26T14:01:00.008+01:00

I made this for a swap, the idea was to repurpose envelopes to make a tea wallet/book. Because I didn't have any envelopes with decorated flaps, I decorated them myself. I also didn't like the look of having the fronts of the envelopes blank, so I used decorative paper to fill in the gaps. I also copied a few recipes and put some tea facts and miscellanea onto cute note paper and slotted them in amongst the tea bags.I hope my partner enjoys the wallet as much as I enjoyed making it! I took a lot of pictures to document every part of the book as I know I'd forget otherwise!

The cover.

Pages 1 & 2

Page 1 with goodies removed.

Page 1 goodies.

Pages 3 & 4.

Page 3 with tea removed.

Pages 5 & 6.

Pages 5 & 6 with goodies removed.

Page 5 goodies.

Pages 7 & 8.

Page 7 and goodies.

Pages 9 & 10.

Pages 9 & 10 with goodies removed.

Page 9 & 10 goodies.

Pages 11 & 12.

Pages 11 & 12 with goodies removed.

Page 12 goodies.

Pages 13 & 14.

Page 14 with goodies.

Pages 15 & 16.

Pages 15 & 16 with goodies removed.

Page 16 goodies.

Pages 17 & 18

Page 18 with goodies.

Back Cover.

Outgoing pt 2

2010-04-24T10:00:00.002+01:00

Outgoing Packages

Sweet and a Treat swap. I sent a really nice letter set, some loose
notecards and some little packs of sweeties.

Letter Set and stickers swap.

These are some of my favourite stickers, sent with the above swap.

Bubble machine prize swap. I sent a little helo kitty and little winnie
the pooh and 3 little owls as extras as my partner collects them.Oh and
a cute hello kitty letter :)

The 3 tiny vintage owls. I hope she likes them.

Outgoing pt 1

2010-04-23T11:42:00.009+01:00

Yesterday was a huge post day, now that flights are running again, I had a million (ok, well,17) things to mail including 5 packages. It cost a small fortune but is well worth it. I hope the recipients love their mail :)

I had a lot of fun picking out bits for these packages. It also made me realise how much stationery I actually have. It's a little insane.

Outgoing Postcards

Postcrossing to the US

Postcrossing to Belarus

Private swap to Taiwan

Postcrossing to the Netherlands

Private swap to Japan

A card to a mail lover in the US

Quotecard postie to the US

Another quotecard postie for swap bot

The final quotecard postie

Non touristy postcard swap

Non touristy swap

and the final non touristy swap postcard I realise now that I don't have a picture of it and it may actually still be in my bedroom... OOPS!!! I'm going to have to run upstairs and triple check it's been sent. EDIT: it's definitely been sent as there is no sign of it anywhere at home, it's a shame I didn't get a picture though :(

Stay tuned for the rest of the mail :)

Distance record.

2010-04-19T22:00:00.000+01:00

I hunted down (well, googled it) a distance calculator and decided to work out the km of other received mail. With penpals, I don't know that my mail has arrived until I receive a reply, but I know which items have been received on swap bot so I'm going to do some adding :)

Letter to Muriah in Markham - 5687 km
Swap Bot postie to Alabama - 6867 km
Swap Bot postie to Pennsylvania - 5688 km
Swap Bot ransom note to Utah - 7849 km
Swap Bot card to South Carolina - 6512 km
Swap Bot postie to Australia - 16896 km
Post crossing postcard to The Netherlands - 474 km
Post crossing postcard to Germany - 818 km
Post crossing postcard to Michigan - 6016 km

Along with the other two already documented that means my post has travelled a total of 67,149 km :)