MUG SWAP 2014 | LINK-UP

It's today! It's today! The Mug Swap 2014 link-up is finally here.  This was my second year participating in this swap that A Cuppa Kim hosts, and it was so much fun. I felt like I had a better idea of how the swap worked and was able to enjoy it more instead of stressing over how to safely ship a fragile mug. Seriously, I was really stressed about it last year. Haha! Kim wanted this year to be all about blessing someone else, and to be more about the giving than the receiving. This meant really taking the time to get to know your new friend and sending something that would be meaningful and encouraging to them!

I was assigned Mallory of A Beautiful Surrender, and I had such a great time getting know her via her blog and instagram. Her family is so precious and they are in the process of adopting two sweet little ones from Haiti!

Mallory mentioned that she loved Disney and I thought "Yes! Instant BFFs!" I wanted to create something for her that incorporated our mutual love for Disney and the adoption journey her family is taking. So I grabbed my favorite quote from UP and threw in a map of Haiti. Voila!

The travel mug is from She Does Justice, and if you have never checked out this site, you should take care of that! I picked up this coffee from Target (decaf...because Mallory is allergic caffeine...how tragic!) I was standing in the coffee isle at Target taking in all the different smells, picked this one up and couldn't stop smelling it. I wanted a cup of it right then and there. I mean, vanilla AND caramel. Can you say "dream team"?? Hope you love it, Mallory! :)

Now onto what I received! My gift came from Kelly of K+K Entzel. She was so very thoughtful in putting everything together. I seriously squealed as I pulled each perfectly wrapped gift out of the box.

First of all, I love caramel. LOVE it. Second of all, I have never bought Starbucks Via coffee, so this has been the greatest treat for me! I love coming home in the evenings and whipping up a delicious iced coffee to sip on while I work on projects. And that mug!! It is such a pretty blue (my favorite color)! It also has a super fun texture to it. Great choice, Kelly! :)

But that's not all! Kelly really did her research and made me these Harry Potter coasters. I mean, please. How creative is that?? I'm reading through the books right now for the first time ever (I'm on the last one!) and am totally attached to all of those characters. Thank you for putting this fun gift together for me, Kelly! :)

This year's mug swap was so fun, and I'm already looking forward to next year!!  It's always so exciting making new friends in blog land, and swaps like this one help make that possible. Plus, gifts are one of my top love languages, so this swap is a major win-win for me. ;)

DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN MUG SWAP 2014?