Landon gave Lucas the game Rummikub, but Lucas had just received it from a white elephant exchange at school...what the?? That is NOT a white elephant type gift. We ended up taking it home with us and will have to choose something else for Lucas instead. Lucas gave Landon an iTunes gift card which is great because Landon is always wanting to make mix Cd's but doesn't ever have the money to buy the songs he wants. (Notice Michelle's gorgeous new curtains.)
This was the beautiful scene on the table, a bounty of gifts and our lunch. The gifts were so pretty that it seemed a shame to open them.
I brought an Alfredo, Tomato, Ham pizza from The Pizza Factory for our lunch, it was so good! It kind of surprises me that I like this pizza because I'm usually so picky/boring with food, but I love it.
Michelle's mom gave me this darling set of 3 bowls with a matching whisk (could they be cuter?) and this sparkly Merry Christmas sign. She is the best gift giver ever, and I am always giddy to receive something from her. Thanks Susan!!!
Michelle's Aunt Denise (who is a blogger and friend) included a gift for me in the box of presents she sent for Michelle. As if her thoughtfulness wasn't enough already, she also had this very sweet tag on the gift.
Inside was a large monogrammed notepad! This is right up my alley, thanks Denise!!!
Michelle's mom had also left a gift for Michelle and I together...intriguing.
We were delighted to find huge spools of gorgeous May Arts ribbon inside. There is a ton of it for us to divide up. I love having a large supply of ribbon. Thanks again Susan!!!
Michelle gave me a trash can because she remembered that during one of our summer sleepovers with the cousins the foot pedal of our trash can got broken. This one is much more stylish than the one we've had for 5 years so it was an unexpected delight to receive this.
Michelle also gave me this cool, typewriter ornament. I like it so much I think I will hang it year round in my scrapbook room.
Michelle also gave me these darling, little cards and envelopes. Apparently her mom put a bunch of them in her stocking then told her she gave her enough that she could give me some. How nice is that?
As if those items weren't enough, Michelle gave me these awesome advent stockings like she'd made for herself and for Jessie! I was with her when she'd made them for herself so I know how time and effort intensive this project is (which confirmed that I would never make it for myself) and was touched that she'd do it all again for me. Wow!
My gift presentation for her was not fancy at all, though luckily she really liked the beautiful ribbon I used (which was a gift from Kristi).
I just had to give Michelle her very own headlight because she often wakes up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep. I wish I could have given her the gift of guaranteed good nights of sleep, at least the ability to stay in her cozy bed and read is something. Her headlight is about 4 years newer than mine so I found myself admiring the more streamlined design of hers, ha.
I also gave her a gift certificate for a pedicure since she so rarely gets them (except that she did last week while her mom was in town) and because I know that the care of her feet is an indicator of her sanity level. So hopefully this will come in handy sometime in the next few months when she needs some pampering and a boost.
The other thing I gave her was a card describing a new thing I'll be doing this year. (Though when she first saw the card she thought I was changing Creative Fridays to Wednesdays.) On the third Wednesday of every month I'm going to be picking up Eva by 9:30am and spending the day with her until about 5:00pm so that Michelle can have a day at home alone.
We hurriedly took this self-portrait as I was leaving and got this one on our first try. Either we're getting better or the planets aligned for a moment.
**Did you exchange gifts with friends?
Do you love ribbon?**
Do you love ribbon?**
23 comments:
Wow, such generosity! The gift of your time (and patience, I'm sure) that you gave Michelle is AWESOME!
An awesome "Creative Friday"! I love love love our gift exchanges. Your gift to me was one of the best I've ever received...
Wow Jill, I am so impressed with your generosity to Michelle! What a fabulous gift of time and love! I wish I had a friend like you! :)
I love all the cute gift ideas in this post. The new garbage can is so sleek!
What a stash of goodness. What a great idea Susan had to give you both plenty of ribbon. what a great assortment.
I'm loving that typewriting ornament. Could it be any cuter?
You certainly pulled out all the stops with her gift. There is no better give than of giving of yourself. Did she cry?
I'm glad you liked the notepad (and the note!). Your photography always makes things look even better than they are. I felt sort of lame for taking the easy way out and sending it with Michelle's gifts, but it was either that or save it for Valentine's Day.
What a beautiful gift to give Michelle. Gifts of love/time are always the best. One of my sweet friends in my ward gave me the cutest box of stylish coupons for things like dinner, housecleaning, and driving Sarah to dance class. I exclaimed, "You shouldn't have spent so much!" because I know how much time and effort those gift coupons represent.
Your SP is particularly good!
P.S.: I want a piece of that pizza--STAT!
wow. my heart jumped when i read about wonderful wednesdays. i can only imagine how excited michelle is!
What a glorious post to read!!
I love all the wonderful generosity & friendship~ it's beautiful. I now know that I HAVE to write a post on all the wonderful gifts I have gotten from friends this Christmas, so i don't ever forget what a great Christmas it was for me.
thanks again for sharing :)
What a bevy of delightful gifts! I loved seeing the wrapping. That Susan and her ribbons! I can only think of one thing better than receiving a box full of ribbons from Mays...and that is the wonderful gift of service that you gave to Michelle. As a mother of a 4 year old, (and a chatty one at that) I can't imagine someone doing that for me...Jill, you are one cool cat.
P.S.--I just looked back over your pictures and noticed the "wonderful wednesdays" card you made for her with the calender in the background...HOW CUTE ARE YOU?!!
Will you move near me and be my friend? Maybe some of your cleverness will rub off on me...
You guys gave each other such happy gifts!
Thanks so much for the cute cards you sent to me for my birthday. I like them so much that I don't know if I can actually send them out. Thanks for thinking of me!
That is such a great Christmas gift to Michelle. I too LOVE ribbon, but for some reason have a hard time using my cute stuff. Which makes it pointless to buy it. Glad you were able to go out and hit the movies. I so want to see that movie!
That is such a thoughtful gift for Michelle--gifts of time are often the best kind. I love exchanging gifts with friends, especially when there is such a bounty like with this Christmas exchange! There is nothing like having a good friend. I love reading about yours and Michelle's friendship--it truly is inspiring.
Wonderful Wednesdays is the best gift I've ever heard of, seriously. To have time to yourself is divine, but to do so while you know your child is with someone who loves them us a great comfort.
Your friendship is an inspiration, even if it makes me feel a little lonely.
I did exchange gifts with a couple of friends, and was so tickeled when a friend gave me a box overflowing with her favorite things, just things that make her life easier or more beautiful. She also included new cookie sheets with parchment paper because she had noticed that mine were trashed and I wasn't replacing them. The parchment paper is to use so I don't ruin my new ones. How clever!
What fun--extending the Christmas goodness a week! You two are such a great example of what friendship among women should be.
I have to agree with Amy up there, you two really are a great example of friendship between women. I love how you both are constantly looking for ways to lift each other up.
Your gifts (from and to) were all wonderful! Keith said he almost got me a garbage can for Christmas (he left my nice one in Oregon), but thought that couldn't be a Christmas gift. I told him, oh yes it could! So, I was tickled to see your garbage can all wrapped up with ribbon!
wow...the goodness that fills this post!
Hilarious and practical and thoughtful that Michelle got you a bin! Haha! But your Wonderful Wednesdays gift is equally practical and thoughtful, and so simple! Present-wise, well I've been keeping a VERY, VERY low profile lately with people and only got one gift from a church friend, who got me a copy of 'Simple Abundance'. Funny thing is that Claudia sent me a copy last year! But I feel like I can pass on my new copy to another friend, and I've okayed this with my church friend. There's no way I could let Claudia's go - she'd put a lovely calligraphy sentiment in it and I was sooooo touched that she sent it to me last year.
Yep, I ALWAYS cast an eye over the ribbon aspect of your photographs! Haha! I'm scouring ribbon sites online for January reductions on Easter colours. *sigh*
what a happy post! it's been so fun to read about all your christmas and new year's happenings. your friendship is an inspiration to the rest of us.
This was such a delight to read. I just read Michelle's post on the day and then to come here is like a double feature! You two give the best, most thoughtful gifts to each other! So in tune. Wonderful Wednesdays is possibly the most selfless gift ever, especially to someone whose love language is acts of service. Go Jill!
just made this comment over at michelle's but it needs to be said:
Wonderful Wednesdays? Really, the best gift ever.
You are so wonderful, Jill. I am thrilled to call you friend
The gifts are fantastic and the typewriter? Oh yes, keep it out all year
Wow! What a great way to get a good report! Thanks for such a fun post and accounting of the gift exchange, not to mention the expressions of gratitude. It is always so fun to give a gift to someone who enjoys the vision of the gift giver. And, it is doubley fun to imagine the creative miracles that will result from them!
Sorry we didn't see each other in person, but so happy to know that you enjoyed the offerings. Merry Christmas!!
what a fabulous post. Missy, I am always honored to be part of them when i am in town, i know this is an extremely high level of vip status, so thank you. I must say that everything in this post looks wonderful. I think that your self portrait also looks very cute and the cold in the air, reflects on your faces but makes them very warm at the same time. Great photo!
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