Gorgeous George: Souvenirs for a Lucky American...Me!

I am so thankful that I live in a time when I can make friends around the world via the internet.  Through my blog, email and my Moments of Delight Facebook page I can communicate with people in "real time" and I think it is fantastic.

 

One of the friends I have made online is Renate.  She lives in England and when I was writing about collecting Princess Diana articles as a girl, it occurred to her that I might like a souvenir from the Royal Wedding.  Isn't that thoughtful?  I wrote about when she found for me here.

 

Anyhoo, Renate is now my unofficial link to the Royal Family and she knew that she was "on call" when Prince William and Kate were expecting their first child in July.  She explored the shops and possibilities and found me the perfect souvenir for my Royal china collection.  She found me a beautiful mug with the baby's name (Prince George Alexander Louis) and his date of birth (22nd July 2013) in a distinguished style with markings in blue and gold.  I love it. 

 

Then just a few weeks ago, a padded envelope from England arrived!  Prince George had been christened and Renate had saved me the special sections from newpaper.  What a friend!  I had only seen a handful of photos here in America, but this circular was full of full page, full color images of the happy parents and everyone who attended the service.  Formal portraits; casual photos.  Priceless.  Thank you, Renate, for looking out for me and my Royal collection. You are the best!  

Fairy Godsister

Imagine my surprise (and delight!) when I opened a box that came in the mail and found all of these goodies from Paris, each chosen just for me.  

I am being spoiled by my customer-turned-friend, Sue.  She bought my book, "Paris: Delight in the City of Light" and as we emailed back and forth, we realized that we had more and more in common.  We both went to Michigan State University.  We both spend a lot of time in the small town resort areas of  Michigan.  We both love a lot of the same things (Paris, Caspari papers, travel).  She "got to know" me by reading my book, which is a very personal account of what and how I make the most of my trips to Paris.  

In one of our emails, she posed the question, "Were you in a sorority?"  When I responded, that I was a Theta, she responded triumphantly, "I knew it!"  We found that we were sorority sisters too.  What a small world.  We are kindred spirits, for sure, and have a "Theta is for a lifetime" connection as well. 

Sue has since been to Paris twice and brought back little goodies that she know I would like.  She knows because I wrote about so much of it!  Above you can see packets of vanilla sugar, buttons and cord to make a necklace, artistic postcards to frame, a pop-up card with a scene from Paris and a package of pastry post its from my beloved Laduree.  How can I be so lucky?   

I decided that Sue is my Fairy Godsister.  Isn't that a wonderful way to describe her?  We have yet to meet, but are sure that our paths will cross some day...perhaps in Paris?  Friendship is a delight. 

Queen Elizabeth 60th Anniversary of Coronation

Long live the Queen! My collection of china pieces that commemorate life events of the royal family just got bigger.  You probably remember from earlier blog posts that I started this Princess Diana collection when Diana and Charles were engaged.  I was eleven years old.  

Then my cousin in Germany bought me this mug when William and Kate got married - yea!  My friend, Renate, in England has promised to get me a plate or mug when William and Kate have their baby next month.  I can't believe that I have a plate commemorating William's birth and now he's having a child of his own.  And I haven't aged a bit!

This year, the Queen has had a huge milestone of her own.  The Diamond Jubilee mug (shown above) honors Queen Elizabeth's sixty year reign.  My niece was studying abroad in London 2012 during the Diamond Jubilee Celebration (I was so jealous!) and she was able to bring this mug back safely to me.  The perfect gift for me, don't you think?

Now this is where the story gets interesting.  This week is the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.  A special service to honor this milestone was held at Westminster Abbey - click this link to watch a clip of the service.  

When I was at my church's rummage sale last month, I found this cup and saucer (above) for sale...an original souvenir from Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953!  A sixty year old treasure that happened to be donated to the church sale a month before the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.   

The inscription on the saucer reads: 

"Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II  June 2, 1953." 

Can you believe that I found it?  I can't. I love that both pieces have a portrait of the Queen - one showing the beginning of her reign and one now, after 60 years of dedicated service.  Fascinating.  If you want to get a souvenir for your china cabinet, you can order  a little something from the Royal Collection shop.  

Hawaiian Sea Salt

There's nothing like a little Hawaiian sea salt to kick up the flavor of a dish.  I keep a teardrop-shaped dish of Kamaaina fine grain sea salt at the ready on my stove top.  I think it looks pretty and I love using the little scoop.

You'll remember that I spent the month of January as a guest at my friend's house in Honolulu last year.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be with friends and share the day-to-day of life in Hawaii.  I loved it.  We grilled fish on the patio.  Went to farmer's markets.  And my camera was always at my side. You can look back at my trip by clicking "Honolulu" and "Hawaii" in the City Series in the sidebar of my blog.

One of the great souvenirs from my trip was buying interesting salts from Hawaii.  Some were spiced blends including Kona coffee grounds (great on pork!) and others I am still experimenting with.  Remember when you travel that sometimes a culinary souvenir can bring back the flavors of your trip. Aloha! 

Souvenirs from London

My brain and it's wish list is a little eccentric.  My husband and I have been watching the Olympics and cheering each event, but I pointed out to him that very little of the national coverage is about shopping or delightful things in London.  This makes me feel encouraged about the book I am working on, A Delightful Tour of England; it is loaded with shops, sweets and treats in London!
Yes, the tv coverage encourages the audience to eat at an English pub (I recommend The Grenadier) and ride the London Eye, but what about shopping?  What about souvenirs?  You might have guessed that for me, a delightful souvenir from England is made of tin.

I loved these tin replicas of famous china patterns used by the Royal Family, that I bought one of each!  And the beautiful tins of tea, of course, that you can find at Harrod's or Fortnum and Mason.  What a wonderful treasure to bring home from London.  But my still-longed-for souvenir is a Fortnum and Mason tin bicuit box full of cookies...that is also a music box!  Can you stand it?  I loved the tin, the selection of cookies, the fact that it was a music box - the whole this was perfect, but felt too rushed at the moment to actually buy it.  I guess I have to go back!

What would you want as a souvenir from London?  Is it tin?

Royal Wedding Mug

My cousin Jennifer in Germany saved the day!  She remembers all too well my love of Princess Diana and when she realized that her husband was taking a trip to London just weeks before the Royal Wedding, she offered that he could pick up a souvenir for me. 

The one thing I was desperate to have from William's wedding was something porcelain with the couple's photo and the wedding date.  I have mugs and plates from Diana's engagement, wedding and the birth of William, so I needed another piece of china to continue to my collection.

I absolutely love it!  Her husband picked out the perfect mug and Jennifer carefully carried it back to the US on her latest trip!  I am so grateful for their thoughtfulness and care.  And included with the mug was a collection of newspaper clipping (in German) for me to keep, as well.  So nice!

Jennifer and Michael - thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Souvenirs From Paris

These are some of my favorite souvenirs from Paris.  Postcards featuring templates that you can cut out, fold and tab together to create 3-dimensional buildings.  The company that makes them is called Instant Durable.

Honestly, since they are sold on postcard stands as "mailable projects," the buildings, tabs and slots are very small.  In my mind, they are better suited to being framed and hung as art, than actually constructed into tiny buildings. 

They are perfect examples of what I love to show you...things that are beautiful and interesting.  Magnifique!

Merry Go Round

I am doing my best to make you fall in love with everything that I love.  I am trying to show you things that will peak your interest and maybe even prompt you to act (see link).

Today's moment of delight centers around simple paper structures.  Do you like my little carousel?  I bought it at a newspaper stand in Paris (more than ten years ago!) and just had the courage to "punch out all the bits" and make it stand on its own today. 

You see, these delights come with an envelope and are sold as mailable art.  Since it starts out flat and requires a little bending and a lot of slots and tabs to make it 3-dimensional, I was afraid that one wrong move would prevent it from standing up.  I was dumb dumb dumb to wait so long.  This charming merry-go-round went together without a hitch and I love it! 

I think I will keep it on our piano and let the actual music imply that it is coming out of this paper treasure.  Now do you want to ride the pony or the camel?

Visiting England: Fortnum & Mason

One of my first experiences in London was shopping at Fortnum & Mason.

I was bleary from travel, but the moment I saw these window displays I was snapped back to reality! The entire ground floor is dedicated to tea, jams, honey and sweets. Somebody pinch me!

I wandered the entire store (established in 1707) nibbling a homemade raspberry marshmallow and making mental notes of all the things I wanted to buy.


If I had it to do again, I would scrap the "mental notes" part and head directly to the checkout counter. I thought that I was being smart and considering my choices, but I couldn't decide and missed out on some beautiful souvenirs.

The good news is that the Fortnum & Mason website does ship internationally if I decide that I just have to have the tin biscuit box that plays "Happy Birthday" when you crank it. Seriously! It was so cute.

What I did end up with is this darling tote and lots of motivation to return to London!

Souvenir Teaspoons

Did you gasp too? I saw this hanging in the visitor center at Mount Vernon and my delight was audible.

A display of antique souvenir spoons from George Washington's day. My favorite ones (shown up close) have Washington's entire torso depicted on the handle. Neat, huh?

St.Therese of Lisieux

This week I was able to make a dear friend very happy.

When I was in Paris, I shopped the Vanves flea market looking for something honoring "Saint Therese of Lisieux."

My friend, Nancy, has written a darling book about a fifth-grade girl who finds companionship and comfort by following St. Therese and her Little Way. Nancy loves writing Catholic fiction for kids and I really wanted to bring her something from France that she would cherish.

I found the perfect thing! A religious metal depicting Saint Therese that Nancy could wear on a necklace. I had the good sense to photograph the exact place I found it. So when we met for coffee, I was able to give her the metal, along with the photograph above inscribed "Vanves flea market, Paris, May 9, 2009."

She was thrilled and writes all about it in her blog nancybelanger.blogspot.com

Now it's my turn to say, "Mission accomplished."