A little taste of England...

I went out to get the mail this morning and found a package from ENGLAND waiting for me...


I recognized (aka recognised) the handwriting on the box immediately to be that of my dear childhood friend Claire. Is it strange that I can still identify her handwriting instantly even though I haven't lived in the same country as her for almost 14 years and haven't seen her in at least 5?

* Note, I realized (aka realised) later that I could have just looked on the side of the box to see who sent it to me and what was in it. Ha!

Anyhoo, I opened it up and found THIS!


Okay, so it was wrapped a lot better than that - but I tore into it fast because I was so excited!

Essentially, it was a box filled with English candy (aka sweets.) AMAZING!

To top it all off Claire had found the perfect birthday card... covered in sweets...


I sat on my porch and cried. Yup, I'm a little emotional these days! I was just so overwhelmed by her thinking of me, especially with everything that's been going on in my life lately.

It got me thinking about how many people I've been able to reconnect with, or connect more with through this blog. I can share a little insight into my life - good and bad - with friends all over the world. That's really pretty amazing! Claire and I have always done a generally decent job of keeping in touch, considering it's been 14 years since we lived and went to school together, and that we were just 12 or 13 when I left and moved to the States, but we've done such a better job through Facebook and this blog. It's so great!

So thank you Claire, and all of those of you that touch my life daily through this blog. Happy Friday!


(I searched for a half hour to find a photo of Claire and I. I was looking for something really old school when we had really old school bangs (aka fringes) and wore sassy vests (aka waistcoats) and leggings (WAIT! Isn't that back in style?!) but all of my old, old pictures are at my parents house. This photo was taken when my brother and I went to England for a visit after I graduated college in 2004 - I think??)

PS) Claire - seriously, when did Opal Fruits become Starburst?! They have always been Starburst here, but the flavors weren't the same. Thank goodness the English Starburst still have the English flavors. YUM!