C is for Cadeau

A special parcel arrived last night--special because of what was inside, special because of how it was wrapped, and , most importantly, special because of how it came to arrive at my doorstep.  Sande, the woman behind the amazing blog and online boutique, A Gift Wrapped Life, hosted a North American giveaway in celebration of her one-year blog anniversary.  Dustjacket Attic, the woman whose blog we all visit for fashion, beauty, humor, and a large dose of wit, was one of the winners of Sande's giveaway.  DJ, who lives in Australia, shared her beautiful gift with me.   

First, I need to say that I tried to resist.  Really, I did.  I tried to wait until morning light to open this package in order to photograph it in natural light, but when the delivery man arrived in the evening with this parcel--well, let's just say I'm only human.  Even the brown shipping box was decorated with Sande's gorgeous blog-header photo.  I dove in, pausing just long enough to snap a few shots.  Please excuse the less-than-stellar photos.  My hands were shaking (Who has time for a tripod at a moment like this?), my knees were knocking, and the lighting--ugh.  

Yet the package, even under the circumstances, was glorious.  Let's begin with the photo above.  That was the label on the envelope just inside the box.  I photographed it behind a few of my own peach blossom branches.  

Inside the envelope was this knockout card from Sande.  Underneath the card lay perfectly pleated pink tissue.  Sigh.

I lifted the tissue to discover this ruffled peony tucked into a satin wired ribbon bow in a deeper shade of pink.  This was tied around a box impeccably wrapped in dove-grey patterned paper.

I lifted the lid (the box, by the way, is gorgeous, too) only to discover more pleated pink tissue fastened with this delicious tag.  At this point, imagine me talking aloud to an empty room.  I was so excited that I needed to comment on every stage of the unveiling.  There I was exclaiming, squealing even, with no one but the cats to hear.  I think they were just hoping I'd drop some tissue on the floor for them to play with.  They were out of luck.  It was too perfect to just toss on the floor.  I carefully laid each piece in a stack on the table as I went.  And look what I found next:

Beneath perfectly creased tissue triangles were two paper roses tucked into more ribbon--grey this time.  And these ribbons were wrapped around my giveaway gift:

a trio of exquisitely-scented Left Bank candles from Charlotte Moss.  The candles are stunning, the silvered glass is perfection, and just look at that marbled paper inside the lozenge-shaped box!  Swoon.  Serious swoon.

Thank you Sande and DJ, for generosity and beauty and un cadeau much loved by me.  When I started blogging a year ago, I wrote a post called The Art of the Parcel about how I often love the parcel, the wrapping and card and ribbons, as much as I love the gift itself.  When someone takes the time to make receiving the gift such a delight for the senses, it adds layers of meaning and memory that I treasure.  

I've received a few other magical treasures recently, but I'll save them for another post.