Unexpected.

I recently did a friend at work a small favor. She came to me wanting a little help altering a cardigan. To cut a long story short, it was a black cardigan and on the upper right chest area there was a decorative patch/embellishment that was a rather girly, frilly pink bow. It's not that it was it was hideous, but it wasn't good. And it certainly didn't suit the style of my coworker (Raquel). So I offered to take it and embellish/fix it and turn it into something a little more current that she would enjoy wearing. I added an arrangement of flower yoyos in black, white and a brightly colored blue fabric. It turned out pretty cool. Well I think it did. The cardigan should be making an appearance in a future issue of Altered Couture so unfortunately I can't show any pictures... However I was pleasantly surprised when Raquel came to my office recently with a gratitude gift that simply made my day. It was totally unexpected and that's what made it so special. I never expected anything in return for my favor so I was over the moon happy when she gave me this cool gift, and it made me realize that she was really happy with the cardigan.

Like a lot of women, one of my favorite stores is Anthropologie. I knew the moment Raquel handed me a gift in an Anthropologie bag that I would love it - whats not to love in that store? She added a sweet yet simple tag to the outside of the bag tied with a piece of decorative twill.

I love her handwritten note. I'm glad she doesn't have to wear something "cheesy" now! Cheesy would be bad.

Inside to my delight I found some cool gifts that any gal would love.

A cool flower brooch that you can attach to a shirt to add a little interest. The best thing about this brooch is that it doubles as a hair accessory. On the back it has a clip and a pin so I can choose to wear it either way!

Also included in the bag was a set of the cutest recipe cards ever! From a company that I just discovered recently, Rifle Paper Co. You must check out the website, its full of eye candy!

The best gifts are ones like this - unexpected.