A new favorite blog, Happy Mail & a giveaway!

Today I want to share with you a link to my favorite new blog discovery of 2008. Bakerella has only been blogging for a few months but I can't wait to see what else she has up her sleeve. Her final products look fancy even though her ingredients are all store-bought and her great photography skills make every treat look charming and delicious. She's not doing any really fancy-schmancy baking--she's just doing things in innovative ways. For example, I've been making this same recipe for Oreo truffles for years now but it never once occurred to me to shape them like this or like this! And I've made the cake balls before but I never thought to make them like this or like this, which is seriously the darn cutest thing I've seen in a long time. Wouldn't those make the cutest treats for a shower or a birthday party? I can't wait to try them myself.

Between my three Valentine's swaps, a fun surprise package from Shara, a sweet Valentine package from my mom (including the beloved shirt I left at her house when I was there at Christmas) and the fruits of the online shopping I've been doing lately, the last few weeks have been a veritable extravaganza of Happy Mail here at my house! Would you just look at this darling purse my mom sent?


It's pink and covered with beads and sequins and my inner 6-year-old wants to stuff it with lip gloss and gum and carry it with me wherever I go. It's perfect, and now I need to buy some fun, bright clothes to wear with it. And shoes. Definitely shoes.

I've received so much Happy Mail in the last few weeks that I feel the need to put a little Happy- Mail-karma of my own back into the universe. I was playing around yesterday with a stack of shipping tags and some metallic paints I bought back in my calligraphy days and made a whole pile of pretty pastel-colored tags.


I thought I'd offer up a dozen for a quickie giveaway here on ye olde blogge, so if you're interested in receiving some Happy Mail of your own just leave a comment between now and 5 pm MST on Wednesday and I'll draw a name and pop them into the mail!