One Kitchen, Many Hearts - New Year, New Theme

These last few weeks have been difficult, professionally.  I'm at somewhat of an impasse, and it's not easy to put on a happy face at work when one is at the proverbial crossroads.  It's times like this when even the small acts of friends make the most impact.

In the last few weeks, both Kat and Megan have sent me cards (Kat also sent one to HRH, who was over the moon at getting mail).  To find hand-addressed envelopes among the coupons of things I'd never buy and offers for a better mortgage rate can fill even the darkest of days with some sunshine.

And then I got Mads's package.

It's once again time for a new rotation in the OKMH version of Birchbox, and it could not have come at a better time.

The point of this every-other-monthly package exchange isn't simply to find an excuse to get a present in the mail six times a year.  While that's a nice perk, the seven of us (yes, seven, for Beka is finally finished with her master's degree and can participate in our reindeer games as originally planned) have taken this opportunity to craft boxes that are designed for someone else.  It's about knowing and identifying with someone else and creating a lasting friendship.

Mads packed a box that was Exactly What I Needed.

Safety Inspector Zooey ensures package security
and checks for hot dog contraband

The theme we selected for our February exchange was "winter necessities."  This might be easy for our friends up North, but Mads, Jeanne, and I all live in more mild winter climes, so a package of parkas and mittens wasn't going to cut it.  And Mads nailed it.

I give you Winter Pamper Yourself Because You Deserve It.

The goods:

• Vanilla almond caramel tea
• Fuzzy knee socks
• HOMEMADE bubble bath
• All-natural soap
• Candle (scented with yumminess)
• Adult Capri Sun Wine that I can drink while in the bathtub
• Chocolate (not pictured...they disappeared mysteriously)

It was like The Universe told Mads that I needed a little something to take care of myself, and she heeded that message.  Everything in this box is perfect for me.  I can sip the entire cube a little wine while I sit in a bath full of bubbles, inhaling the scent of a delicious candle, and then, once dried and properly pajamaed, slip on those toasty socks (and I DO get ice cube toes!) and have a little tea as I indulge in Ghost Hunters or Ghost Adventures or Haunted Collector or Ghost Mine or maybe even (I'm almost ashamed to admit it) Finding Bigfoot.  The perfect mental health break if I ever planned one.

Many thanks, Mads, for sending me a little box with a lot of love!

And, for some other ideas of what you can ship to help ease those winter blues, check out:

• what I sent to Jeanne (Inside NanaBread's Head), or
• what Jeanne sent to Beka (Kvetchin' Kitchen), or
• what Beka sent to Kat (Tenaciousl Yours,) or
• what Kat sent to Megan (Wanna Be a Country Cleaver), or
• what Megan sent to Kirsten (Comfortably Domestic), or
• what Kirsten sent to Mads (La Petite Pancake).

Then, get yourself a USPS "if it fits, it ships" box and send away - you never know when you'll make someone's week.