spring in a box
When we lived in New York, this time of year was hard for me. The end of March and the beginning of April, when spring should be out in full force, were usually still cold and dreary. Winter seemed never ending. There's only so much you can do with two children under 3 when it's freezing cold outside, and for a girl born and raised in sunny Southern California, I had had enough.
I have a few friends who have had tougher winters than usual this year for various reasons. Friends who have been cooped indoors with colicky babies, or feeling down about just about everything or wondering how much longer they can stay sane in their tiny New York apartments. Oh, I remember.
So I decided to mail them a little something.. I call it "Spring in a Box". I gathered an assortment of all things yellow and orange and wrapped them up in the brightest paper I could find, including a note about how spring would definitely come.. that they had almost made it through the long cold winter. And I included these two lovely quotes:
The packages have all been received. Sunshine delivered by way of the USPS. Friends are cheered. Spring has come. Mission accomplished.
NOTE: Yes, it is because of the long, hard winter that we moved away from NYC and all its charms. Now we enjoy winter in southern California, usually wearing flip flops and making lemonade from the lemon tree in our backyard. So California has its charms too.
04.16.2009
Reader Comments (86)
This is such a sweet idea - i have a friend who could really use some cheering up - i will start tomorrow to make a happy spring box for her!
thank you for the inspiration!
x nadine
little lovelies
what a pretty and thoughtful idea. i should have done that for my friends since here in UT it likes to snow half a foot on April 15!!
Love it! I live in snowy Saskatchewan, Canada... and I'm totally going to do this next year! Thanks for the lovely idea.
I think there is nothing better than a surprise gift in the mail...I love sending them and I love receiving them. You have done such a lovely package - what a splendid idea! Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful idea!! I just love it. I hope to remember for the next time I want to surprise someone.
What a box of joy! And what a lovely idea; I may well have to steal it to send some springtime cheer to some friends. I'm hoping some of them might do the same for me!
Brooke, this is such a wonderful idea. Did you pick those lemons off a tree?
what a good heart you have; what a good friend you are!
you make me wish i still knew folks in new york so i could do this too.
This is sucha lovely idea. I wish I could have some Spring in a box right now! : )
Such a lovely thought! What a great friend x
How lovely!
such a good idea! i adore this.
I love to see how people can be so creative. It put a smile on my face.
It's original, delightfull. It's a great gift.
absolutely love this idea. so sweet.
and i'm a Boston-to-LA girl myself, so i know how extra enjoyable these SoCal winters can be (:
I stumbled across your blog and I wanted to let you know that I love it. I am an avid blogger and it is by far my favorite blog I've ever seen. I think you are brilliant, talented, and creative. I don't mean to seem creepy by saying all of this... I just wanted to let you know you really inspire me and I was sad when I reached the end of your posts, I wanted more! :)
How great is it that you have a lemon tree in you back yard! And did you include a note telling them to move to California already? :)
I lived in So. Cal. for 9 years and nothing could beat it's winters! However, the summers were another story but I gladly accepted them...a summer with no rain or thunder was different!
Lucky friends!
So sweet and thoughtful! It feels so good to do something for someone that you know will bring a smile to their face. Thanks for sharing!
just looking at the pictures made me feel warm and sunny! nice for rainy london in the spring!