feeling pious

Apparently little girls like to dress up as brides - I didn't, I always wanted put a blanket over my head to be a nun!

I had very romantic, fanciful notions of piety (I blame some of the stories in my vintage bunty annuals!)

I still have a little bit of a 'thing' about being a nun to this day

I got this little carved angel from a jumble sale when I was about 6 or 7, so I could play at being a pious nun

I don't think i would make a good nun in real life through - no. 10 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours goods' - I am forever coveting vintage treasures

so, I think I am stuck with the occasional pious daydream and trinket

But that won't stop me enjoying the jam I got at a church fair last saturday, 'Blessed and approved by the Cannon', apparently!

And I still adore my 'Monastique' (I kid you not!) rose hand cream made by australian nuns, that I won at tombola at a nunnery :)

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

This week my christmas stocking swap parcel arrived! Yay! I was a very lucky girl and got paired with Lyn from everyday life. Wanna see?

Here is my stocking. Ooooooooooh, ahhhhhhhh

Here is what jumped out of my stocking, double ooooh ahhhhh

Clever Lyn must have phoned santa and found out that chocolate coins are always a stocking essential for me!

Now, I wasn't entirely sure if i was supposed to open the parcels right away or wait until christmas?

This little felt pouch wasn't wrapped, so it was clearly fair game to open it!

And i could half see through the tissue paper of this parcel. It looked like christmas cards so I thought I had better open it as well...

Yay christmas ladybird illustrations! I am sooooooo not giving these away, they are destined for my wire heart card holder!

And then i remembered spying this post and, hmmmm

Yipee, I was right! it was a bunting shaped package! And, as you can imagine, by that time I was on a bit of a roll, so I decided to go ahead and open the rest of the parcels!

fabric star decoration, cute polka dot notebook, and chocolates (that are sadly no longer with us...)

Pretty pretty pretty ribbon brooch

And twit-twoo, a little knitted owl! What a cutie!

Group shot!

Thank you so much Lyn, I love my first christmas present of 2009! I literally cannot wait to hang that bunting! not long now, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaay yipeeeee yayayayayayayay (overexcited overgrown child noises)

I am off to do some wrapping now so I can post a special parcel tomorrow.... am I allowed to put on christmas music yet?

label love

I heart sticky labels at the moment. How much greater is this little blanket, just cos of the little sticky label that was on it - "crocheted by a 90 year old lady"

And I nearly missed buying this ugly little box until I noticed the label - "full of buttons"

Full.

Of.

Buttons.

One of my greatest thrills in life is riffling through an old button box (I'm sure you blog ladies understand!)

What i like even more than the pretty buttons are the random little 'treasures' that inevitably seem to find their way into button boxes. I am quite sure I must have been a magpie in a former life...

Oops, I did it again...

Did what again? Not post for wayyy to long? Yes, that is true but it wasn't what I was thinking of.

Or maybe I mean this?

Nope, not that either...

Oops, i did THIS again... well, who could resist

just needs a lick of paint and a bit of new fabric! The lid is on hinges so I can hide secret things inside it...shhhh dont tell anyone ;)