Teacup and Mug exchange galore!

At the beginning of September, my dearest friend Stephanie from The Enchanting Rose blog hosted one of her lovely teacup and mug exchanges.

If you've never heard of such swaps, then you are in for a treat!

The rules are quite simple: once you sign up for the exchange (choosing to swap only the teacup, only the mug or both), Stephanie will send you an email with the name, address and details of the person you are going to bless with your little parcel. In turn, you will receive a teacup, a mug or both items from two other people, therefore potentially making a total of 4 friends along the way.

You are encouraged to swap other little goodies alongside the teacup and mug, to make the exchange extra special!

This was my third exchange so far, and as usual I was greatly blessed by it.

I had the honor to send a little something to two lovely ladies in the United Kingdom and Canada. In turn, I received two amazing parcels from two other delightful ladies.

Here are some pictures for you all to enjoy.

 First, the beautiful teacup ensemble I received from Lorrie in Canada:

In detail, the oh so very pretty Royal Albert teacup and saucer, from the Lavender Rose collection, which perfectly fits my favorite color palette with its delicate décor and vintage feel.

Lorrie also included a bountiful of other goodies! Starting with a delightful little vintage cookbook devoted to Biscuits and Scones (which has already been put to good use!), alongside a beautiful tag.

Then, some pretty foodpicks with a vintage feel paired with the Twinings Lemon and Ginger infusion that I like so much.

Moving on to a set of two splendid vintage napkins with such an exquisite fabric, which reminds me of brocade.

Lastly, she completed the package with a beautiful handmade card and two handmade lavender sachets adorned with sequins and lace.

I had decided to take part in the mug swap as well, and this time I received my delectable parcel from Barbara, a fellow UK resident.

Here are the stunning surprises that awaited me as I carefully unfolded layer after layer of bubble wrap and tissue paper:

The very pretty mug from the National Trust collection, depicting the trees and greenery which can be found all around the United Kingdom, sitting on a set of two lovely embroidered vintage napkins. The mug has already been put to good use, helping me get through the long days at the office.

Then, some "foodie goodies" for the ginger lover in me: the peppery Twinings ginger infusion, as well as a sachet of pure ceylon tea and some decadent, melt-in-your-mouth ginger fudge.

Finally, Barbara included a very pretty handmade card, a delightful booklet, a bookmark with a lovely verse and a small lavender sachet. Sorry I cannot seem to be able to rotate this image... IT skills aren't my forte. At all!

Such precious blessings from sweet people whom I hope to keep in touch with for years to come! If you have never tried an exchange like this before, I strongly encourage you to do so: it is so fun going around thrift and vintage shops to find the perfect little cup to bless another person. It is good for the soul, a small and selfless act which helps us to think outside the box and do something really nice for a person we've never met before.

On a personal note, life in London goes on full steam, and I have recently celebrated my first year in the city.
Looking back I am amazed... wow... life really does go on! I have come such a long way since last year, when I was still not sure if I would have ever been able to find a job or settle into a place of my own, for that matter.

Fast forward to today, and I feel so very blessed by an amazing job which allows me to bless others, by the many new friends I have met, whom I now consider my "London family", by the timeless beauty chaotic London offers day in and day out, by the quiet rainy days spent cross-stitching and reading at home with a nice cup of tea, by the renewed appreciation I came to have for my family at home in Italy. I can truly see God's hand, His ever so loving hand in all of those seemingly unimportant choices and occurrencies which led me to where I am today.

Many blessings to all of you!

Alice

How the storygirl got her name...

Cookie Crumbs? And... in Kensington?

Yes, indeed! Grab a hot cup of tea and join me, Alice, in my daily musings out and about London.

I am a (relatively) young Italian girl who, after much thought, countless hours without much sleep and lots of prayer, decided to make the biggest step in her life so far and move to London.
I have come to this wonderfully big city following a nice job offer and I am planning on recording bits and pieces of my daily life: from how things are going at the office to the many museums, places, parks, exhibitions I'm planning to visit (I am quite the history/literature/art geek!), my baking/cooking adventures and all of the other things which make me happy.

I come from a teeny-tiny village in North-East Italy where life is quietly surrounded by fields and trees as far as the eye can see. This is just a small glimpse of it:

This lovely photo was taken by a dear friend of mine, who also happens to be an amazing photographer. If you want to have a look at other beautiful shots of my beloved home country, head over to his website.

Sadly, as beautiful as Italy is, the lack of suitable job opportunities and the difficulties in finding anything to support myself have led me to the overwhelmingly big city of London. 

I have moved here in late October 2014, graciously hosted for the first two months by another dear friend and former roommate of mine at university. After I got here, I had several job interviews and in a matter of weeks I managed to find an exciting job opportunity as a customer care advisor for the Italian market at a major English language course provider. Funnily enough, my dream is still to be a language teacher, so I am kind of slowly getting there (eheh!).

Right before the new year 2015 was about to start, I decided that a small blogging project was just what the doctor ordered! As I sat in my friend's house thinking about captivating blog names, I decided that Kensington would simply have to be included, as it is such a fancy "Londonian" name with very much of a royal flair to it. The cookie crumb part, well... it was the perfect figure of speech for a baking enthusiast who is leaving small bits and pieces of her story on the world wide web. 

Little did I know that it was exactly where the Lord would lead me! A few days into 2015, I was scouting the web for a small and cozy room to rent in a comfortable apartment not too far from where my office is located. I came across several advertisements and went to have a look at a few places.
Needless to say, the first few were all well below my "minimum requirements", and the search seemed to be getting more and more difficult by the second! However, on a fateful Monday evening in freezing January, I did manage to find the perfect little spot for me, just a stone's throw away from the office and from The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea!

I have been settling quite nicely in this new routine and in this new life, even if at times it has been quite difficult. Being away from my family, my friends and all that was so familiar and secure sometimes made me feel extremely sad and overwhelmed.

But the comfort of prayer, of knowing that the Lord is with me at all times, no matter what, and that He is actually laying His protective hand over my every move, decision, thought, is such a heartwarming feeling which helps chase the less positive feelings away.

Aside from rambling on about my life, I have also many interests: cooking and baking are at the top of the list, closely followed by reading. Jane Austen is a favorite author of mine, along with Lucy Maud Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Agatha Christie and many more!
I also enjoy knitting, cross-stitching and a little bit of sewing. I like ballet, classical music (anything Strauss would be my favorite choice), listening to history podcasts, hunting for vintage cookbooks at charity shops, just to name a few. 
Being a history buff, I find myself fascinated with anything related to British history: the Victorian and Edwardian eras are my favorite.

Most of all, I value friends and family, trying to make them and the people around me happy, being true to what I consider to be my higher calling of having a servant's heart, no matter what. 
Mind you, I am not a people pleaser, who will simply tell people what they want to hear in order to be appreciated. I am striving to be a loyal daughter, friend, cousin, sister-in-Christ, a kindred spirit with a lot to give and a heart to serve.

Finally, after having probably bored you to tears, here I am:

I hope you will enjoy reading my updates and please, feel free to drop me a line anytime!