Five Friday Favorites -- Things That Make Me Happy

This soup tureen belonged to my mother and will always have a special place in my home.  It is ironstone and quite heavy. 

Do you remember the hard Samsonite luggage from the 1960's?  My sweet Aunt Ann gave me a  beige set when I graduated from high school.  This set belonged to my husband's Aunt Betty(whom he called his "second mom").  I love the red color.

This decorated mailbox was a gift from a co-worker when I moved from one branch of our library system to another.  She and I both love Mary Engelbreit and it has a place of honor in my home office.  It touched my heart that she would spend the time to decorate it just for me and pack it with ME envelopes and notecards.

I bought this pillow in Kansas City at Halls Crown Center.  I fell in love with it when I saw it and it still gives me pleasure and was worth every penny I paid for it.

If my house were to catch fire, this is one of the first things I would carry out.  It is my grandmother's life story and diary, which she started in 1949.  It covers her life from her birth in 1891 and tells about her parents, grandparents,  and siblings; her childhood; her courtship by my grandfather and the births of 13 children and deaths of three.  She writes of her children serving during World War II and her grandchildren during the Vietnam War.  She notes the birth of each grandchild and the deaths of many of her friends and family members.  There are many stories here, that reflect life in another time for those of us who have only a brief recollection or no memory at all.