Have you read this magazine yet?

Not too long ago, Lisa from The Pennington Point, was having a magazine giveaway for her readers and I won.  Yippee!! 

Want to guess which magazine it was?

Here's a hint.

It's a brand new magazine and if you're a regular blog reader in the home decor circle, you've probably seen it around, A LOT.

I've been wanting to get my little mitts on it for quite a while now to see what all the hubbub was about, but I couldn't find it in any of the stores I go to (Wal-Mart.)

I'm sure you've probably guessed it by now,

 so take a look at it one more time.

The day Lisa mailed it to me, she sent me an email and mentioned she was sending along something extra in the package and that she had been praying for me.  (I'm truly thankful for all the prayers I can get!)

I had no idea what else she would be sending, so anything would have surprised me, but my jaw hit the floor when I opened it up and found out what it was.

  

She sent me a hand towel with "Cottage Dreamers" embroidered on it in the prettiest shade of teal!!!

It's perfect and it's beautiful and it was such a sweet surprise!  Seeing my blog name on that towel really makes it feel official.  It's established now.  Permanently etched for all of eternity onto a hand towel.

I put it in the bathroom for all of about two seconds before the thought of grubby little kid paws possibly touching it entered my mind, so I snatched it back up and ran to my bedroom thinking, "No.Way."  Sorry kids and sorry guests, this towel is mine.

So, until I can get it framed to hang over the fireplace or on the front door or some other fantastic place, I'm keeping it in a safer place than the bathroom...my bedroom.  It matches perfectly too.

Right there it sits so that I can admire it's pristine beauty, unmarred by sweet but filthy little children, unlike every other towel in my entire house.  Would it be weird if, after we turn the lights off at night, I were to grab the towel, give it a little peck on the embroidery then snuggle it up to my face to sleep every night?  I was just curious.

Okay, Celeste.  Snap out of it!

Besides the lovely towel and magazine, Lisa did one more thing.  It was something that was so creative, fun and thoughtful that I've got to tell you about it too.

She put little post it notes here and there, throughout the magazine with her own sweet and funny thoughts about different things in the magazine as if we were reading it together without annoyingly reading over each others shoulders, and breathing each others air.

 

Some were big notes.

Some were little notes.

I like to read my magazines word for word from cover to cover without flipping through the pages first, that way I can savour every bit of them.  I also do it that way because I like the suspense of not knowing what's coming next, but knowing that it's gonna be good, whatever it is.  Well, with all those little notes, it was even better! It really was like flipping through a magazine with a friend and I have never enjoyed reading a magazine so much.  Seriously.  (The magazine itself was really, really, really good too, by the way!) Wouldn't that be a good way to cheer someone up who's in the hospital or homebound?  I think so, because it cheered me up and I wasn't even down or sick.  I'm going to keep the little notes in there too, so that I get that feeling every time I read it.  Jeff, please forgive me for knocking a few seeds loose in your gourd when I caught you trying to peel one off.  It was a knee-jerk reaction.

☺

A little about Lisa.  She's a wife and homeschooling mom to one husband and nine children, respectively, all living under one roof in Texas.  That's right, I said 9...NINE...nueve.  I guess everything really is bigger in Texas!  And they are all theirs without any mixing or blending.  Wow, right?  I know.  That makes my seven member family seem microscopic.

Anyway, her blog is wonderful!  There are several categories to read from including everything from decorating to offering wise counsel on personal and family matters.  Remember, she has nine (happy) kids and a happy marriage so she's pretty much an expert.  If you're from, in or have a family, or know someone who is or has, I highly and sincerely recommend visiting her blog. 

Thank you Lisa!