hostess gifts.

 

Hostess gifts rock.  Both to give and to receive.   It is just a sweet idea to bring a small gift to your hostess if you are invited for a meal - or for the weekend.  It says in a soft sweet way "I appreciate all the preparations you have made for us."

This past weekend we were blessed to have Abby bring some of her Minneapolis friends home to spend the weekend.   I was reminded of the sweetness of a hostess gift when I was gifted by our darling house guests.  Emily gifted me with her newest note cards, which she designed for Back In The Day Bakery - and a tea towel she designed for the same.  My favorite part is the label which reads "Emily Isabella Designs".  Lisa gifted me with her favorite gardening tool, which I am ecstatic about! A garden knife / scoop with a serrated edge that I can tell is sturdy as the day is long.

Giving a "favorite thing" or something you made is a great place to start.   For favorite thing - think "Oprah's Favorites".  Gift something that you would heartily recommend or do not feel you could live without.  The handmade or genuinely-love-this-myself gifts will give them a personal and loving flavor... and isn't that what gifts are about?

the switch witch.

 

These young boys are carefully going through their Halloween candy.  They are picking out 5 pieces to keep.  The rest are being set out tonight (the night after Halloween) for the Switch Witch. She comes to trade little boys (and girls) a present for their candy!

Word has it that these two darling boys, Reed and Weston Vanderhill of Dallas, Texas are excited to have their candy packed up - and ready and eager to see what the Switch Witch will bring in the morning!

I am wishing that I still had little ones at home to start with grand tradition.  Hoping all my grand kiddies get to do it.

A big thank you to Winsor Vanderhill for sharing her idea with Mother Rabbit!