Chalkboard Tags, An Advent Wreath and Overdue Thanks

According to my BFF and the guide to my daily behavior, Emily Post, 
 (insert the sound of laughter and my family and everyone else who knows me rolling on the floor laughing)  
"One has a year to write a thank you notes for wedding gifts".  So I kind of figured that I was okay....even though this note (and one other that I'll share soon) are a couple of weeks late.

But when I went to Emily's site to double check, I found this:

Source

Thank-You Notes

Write thank-you notes as soon as possible, preferably within two or three days.  Try to acknowledge holiday gifts before New Year’s Day.







Within two or three days. SERIOUSLY!?!  Come-on Emily, give a girl a break! I was busy over the holidays....

Baking and entertaining...and making a HUGE GLITTER SANTA for my sister for Christmas.  I was spending time with my family.

Before New Year's?!?  Honestly, Emily, admit it...you have nothing else to do between Christmas and new years....right?!

'Fess up, girl. You have staff that's cleaning up the tissue paper and empty boxes.  There's someone in your employ who washes and presses table cloths and napkins, cleans out your closets and cabinets and goes to the GoodWill so that you can make room for gifts... isn't there?! Yeah...I figured.

So go ahead, Emily...
                                                            judge me.

Clearly, my dear formerly BFF, I'm not you.  This thank you note is being written an entire MONTH  after I received this gift from my blog-gy Secret Santa:

I had so much fun with Secret Santa this year. I earned not one, but TWO new friends.

The first was Beth from Unskinny Boppy; she's the one for whom I acted as "Santa".  She and I became friends the night before I was the Surprise House on Jennifer Rizzo's Holiday Home Tour. We chatted for hours....literally. You can read all about our conversation and see what I sent  to her  Here.

My second new friend (presuming that she's not BFF's with Emily Post and can forgive me) is Trina from A Few Miner Adjustments.  Trina was my Secret Santa and, although we'd never "met" before, It's as if she read my mind because I'd been trying to decide how to finish our Advent Wreath for this year.

She sent me the most perfect chalk board tags...and mini Reeses! If you'd like to know how she made the tags, there's a wonderful tutorial on her blog Here!

She also wrote me a beautiful note and I found out that in addition to blogging, we're both mothers of two sons, we both love to wrap gifts and she even has a brother who lives in my area!

Maybe when she comes to visit him (hint hint), we can even meet in person!

By now, you've probably figured out that I used some of  the tags that Trina made for me as the numbers for our Advent wreath this year. They were a part of a daily reminder of the importance of the season...and of my new friend!

Thank you, Trina. For the lovely gifts, and the gift of your friendship.

If you'd like to know what I did with the mini Reeses, come back tomorrow...and don't worry, it won't be several photos of my thighs!.

xo,