True Confessions: I Had Dessert with Another Man!

Actually, two.

Men, not desserts.

But we'll get to that in a moment. ;-)


First let me say that I'm joining my friend Beverly for Pink Saturday, and I want to share with you some lovely blog gifts that I was blessed to win from three of my favorite friends and also a "just because" gift from another favorite blog friend in England. These pink roses are my thank you to them for their generosity. Please go visit their blogs on the links I provided with their names because I'm sure you will enjoy getting to know these blog friends as much as I have...



Now, if you look closely, you will spy some pink lettering on this envelope...



And inside the envelop, a pretty card with pink flowers...



And a sweet note written in pink ink!



This note is from my friend Dawn of Cottage State of Mind who very generously sent ALL of the bloggers who signed up in her giveaway a box of shiny objects from her collection. Can you believe it??? And she carefully picked things she thought we would enjoy. It's a good thing she sent me this pretty, feminine handkerchief with pink roses because I caught myself wiping some tears due to Dawn's show of kindness...



But tears of gratitude were quickly joined by smiles. Just look at everything that sweet girl sent me! Like this colorful necklace in all of my favorite colors! A very shiny object, indeed...



And I loved playing with it, both on and off. Do you play with your jewelry, too? Trying to invent things for it to do that are out of the ordinary? Well, here's my necklace wrapped around a linen napkin as a napkin ring...



Which leads me to the next thing Dawn sent me: two antique silver spoons! One for me and one for Mr. Magpie. Can you believe it??? And I immediately put mine to very good use. ;-)



The shanks on these spoons Dawn gave us are so lovely, and my little pink dish of ice cream agrees...



And those are not the only shiny objects Dawn sent me! She also sent me this lovely silver letter holder which I put to good use holding my cards...



And see that little blue fellow there? The bluebirded-magpie of happiness? Dawn sent me that, too, and he really was the harbinger of happiness along with all of these sweet gifts...



Including this precious little bunny (Dawn knows I love bunnies!) which leads me to another Bunny. That would be dear Bunny of The Paris House Designs and her adorable little boy Oliver of Sippy Cups for One and All!



See that beautiful cake stand in green toile? The one with more of my special "cookies" on top of it???



Yes, that one. You see, Oliver drew my name, and I won that beautiful piece in Bunny's blog drawing! This cake stand was even picked from Bunny's online store to be featured in "Country Living" magazine! They gave her a great big, much deserved shout-out! :-) Bunny is a party planner extraordinaire, and Oliver is her cute little son who loves to cook! We think he's going to be a great chef some day...



Isn't this cake stand lovely?



I was trying to wait until I (me, myself, and MOI) actually cooked something marvelous to put on top of it for its debut. I didn't want to show you yet another store-bought confection. I just felt like it's inaugural usage should contain something homemade. But I decided Oliver might be in college by that point! ;-)



And these little friends had a pow-wow and agreed. Joining the bunny and bird from Dawn are two gifts I received at Claudie's Pink Birthday this spring... a magpie from Pinkie Claudie (who seems to be doing most of the talking!) and a lamb from Pinkie Jeanne (who's smiling!), and they all agree that this cake stand will make another guest appearance WITH said homemade treats...



Now, back to the ranch... do you spy a bridge on that card in my letter rack?



Well, that would be a very special bridge in one of my favorite cities in the world, London!



And this card would be from a dear blogger friend in London and a fellow Pinkie named Ruth of the blog, Everyday Life of a Suburban SAHM...



Ruth and I got into a conversation about how much I love and adore England and the Royal Family. I was a huge, huge fan of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, and I'm a devoted fan of HM Queen Elizabeth II (who has never stepped a foot out of line in my estimation)...



But the Queen Mother is the one royal (with the exception of Jesus) I would pick to meet out of all of them, ever! I think the Queen Mother had great style, great poise, great spunk, and was a devoted member of her family and her country, bringing honor to both. I also think she had great courage and helped to save England during WWII by the tremendous support she was to her husband and the country. She was truly the Proverbs wife, mother, and grandmother, and an English heroine. And let's not forget her Scottish roots!



So imagine my delight when I received this is in the mail...



It's from Clarence House! Ruth worked as part of the Queen Mother's staff!!!



And you better believe I have played with this tag,which will be appropriately framed. I realize the top hat isn't pink, but I'm hoping English red will do...



And here it is next to Stella, of course, who wanted to be photographed with it before her trip home to England next week...



And finally, next to a crown...



You might not know this since the American history books were woefully lacking in my day on information about Florida in our early history, but St. Augustine, in addition to being the nation's oldest continuously occupied European settlement, was occupied by the British during a twenty year period from 1763 to 1783, and of course that included the American Revolution. So in honor of Florida's association with the English Crown, I wanted to photograph the tag on a blue and white transferware "Florida" plate...



Now, I know I started this post discussing the two men with whom I had dessert that were NOT Mr. Magpie. And one of those delightful fellows would be Prince William...



Thanks to Ruth, I received this copy of "Majesty" magazine...



And as I enjoyed my ice cream, I visited with various members of "The Firm," savoring tidbits about what is going on in their world, including morsels about this darling girl whom I hope Prince William marries...



William, you listen to Mrs. Magpie, and don't let her get away! ;-) And I think THIS ought to be your china pattern (notice it does have some pink in it)...



Now, back to that other handsome man I visited with over dessert who happens to be of Italian heritage...



That would be famous chef Rocco Dispirito whose cookbook I blissfully won in my good friend Pat of Mille Fiori Favoriti's blog drawing! Wouldn't you eat anything he told you to eat, particularly that stack of chocolate chip cookies to which he's pointing???



It was actually PAT (a fellow Pinkie) who visited with Rocco in real life HERE and got these autographed cookbooks for a giveaway on her wonderful blog (a blog that's all about NYC, cooking, and her dear family), and I am a very grateful recipient...



Now you might be wondering what on earth Mrs. Magpie is going to do with a cookbook since she doesn't cook, but I actually collect them (and enjoy entertaining)! I love to read cookbooks from cover to cover, and this one is chocked full of wonderful and easy recipes, many of them for traditional favorites. Also recipes like for this one of my favorite of favorites, sweet potato fries. I consider myself a gourmand, and let me assure you that sweet potato fries can be pure bliss. Mr. Magpie loves them, too...



And I loved his recipe for black bean soup, a favorite in St. Augustine with our Spanish roots and proximity to Cuba...



I got so inspired that I decided to start cooking again, and Pat, I got as far as buying the black beans for my soup but needed a new blender! So the black bean soup, along with Bunny's cake stand, will make yet another appearance on my blog on a future Foodie Friday post! ;-)



Now, let me tell each of you ladies... Dawn, Bunny and her son Oliver, Ruth, and Pat... again how much I appreciate and love my gifts, but most of all I love and appreciate you and your friendship! And I love that fact that you adore your families, which is something I greatly admire. You inspire me daily with your stories and your sweet friendship, and I treasure each of you more than I can ever begin to say here. THANK YOU!!! XOXOXO

And on that note, I am going to go step into my pink stripe gardening boots...



Pop on a sunhat with a pink and blue band...



And water my poor pink flowers who have been all but scorched in the last two days of heat...



Then, I'm going to join my sweet friend Beverly by clicking HERE where I plan to visit the other Pinkies and see what they're doing today. I hope you will join me there.



Thanks so much for visiting me here, and I look forward, as always, to visiting you, too. Monday is my last day with Stella, and she has something fun planned for you so be sure and drop by to wish her Bon Voyage! ;-)

Warmly,


Mrs. Magie (Sheila)


Photo Credits: Please note that the photographs of the Royal Family were all taken from "Majesty," a high quality magazine about the royals. The photographs of Rocco Dispirito and the food related to his cookbook were taken from his fabulous cookbook, Now Eat This!