Care package

I got a little present in the mail from my dad the other day.

A care package, so to speak, full of rumpled little odds and ends that he knew I'd like.

Many people would look at my box full of trinkets and think, "huh?"

But this is so my father, and more importantly, it's so me. It's a little treasure chest full of things I need/love/covet/collect. And it includes more thought than all the sparkly jewelry or expensive electronics in the world.

It made my day.

Here's a rundown:

- Packets of tea, including my very favorite: Twinings' Constant Comment. It smells like Christmas.

- Pearl earrings

- Hotel shampoo, conditioner, and soap

- Tire air pressure gauge for my car

- Miniature flashlight

- Dental floss

- Toothbrush

- Burt's Bees lip balm

Yes, it's kind of a mixed bag. But each individual item has some significance.

I love tea. My dad loves tea. We bonded over our shared love of tea when I was very young, when my mom and every other adult I knew was constantly slurping coffee. Dad hated coffee. Still does. In fact, now that I'm no longer anti-coffee (though I'm no less pro-tea), he teases me for drinking it. "I don't know how you can drink that crap. Blech," he says.

So dad travels a lot for work, and likes to pilfer a teabag or two here and there from the continental breakfast buffet. He uses his fair share, I'm sure, but he always saves some for me. I've got a little cookie tin in my kitchen cupboard full of loose tea bags in all different flavors. It's such a treat to dip in and try something new on a freezing cold winter day.

I am also a big fan of miniatures. I don't know what it is, I love them. Don't judge me.

This is what Alex brought me home from his last out of town photo shoot:

Can you see it? The little mini jar of jam in between my recipe box and the big glass jar?

Isn't it the cutest little thing ever?

And these are a couple knick-knacks decorating my desk. Alex found the shells over a couple of different beaches on Martha's Vineyard, and gave them to me knowing my love of minis. The other items are souvenirs from one of his trips to Bolivia. Did I tell you all that's where he was born? And his dad still lives there with his stepmom and three little half-siblings? If not, that's another story for another day.

Hard to tell these are mini, because I took the picture so close, but the little beer cans

are smaller than a quarter in real life, to give you some context.

Don't even get me started on those teeny bottles of Tabasco they serve at some restaurants. Have you seen them? I'm in love.

But anyway, my love of minis extends to hotel booty too. I love the little soaps and shampoos, and forget it if I go to a fancy-shmancy place that offers little sewing kits and bite-size tubes of toothpaste. I end up leaving with more crap than I came with.

Wow. But anyway, since I don't stay in many hotels, dad keeps me stocked in travel-size toiletries. A few I thought were really cute even decorate a little cabinet in my bathroom:

The little silver-capped bottles are the hotel goodies.

So that explains the mini bottles.

The tire air pressure thingy and flashlight are pretty self-explanatory. Dad's trying to make sure I take care of my car and have a flashlight handy in my glove box in case of an emergency (although how the heck a tiny light would help me out of a real jam, I have no idea.)

And you can never have enough Burt's Bees. Never. Same goes for dental floss and toothbrushes.

But then there are the earrings. Plain, simple, and sweet. Just what I like in jewelry.

Every once in a while, I get a bit adventurous with my accessories, wearing a chunky necklace or dangly earrings. But in general, I'm a pearl studs kind of girl. My mom bought me a tiny single pearl on a silver chain that I wear around my neck almost daily, and these puppies go with it perfectly.

Don't they just remind you of her:

Princess Grace

Or her:

Jackie Kennedy

How I adore those ladies. They are my classic girl crushes. And whenever I see a strand of pearls or a tiny pearl stud, I think of them. I think clean, classic, beauty.

The two other things included in my package were reading materials. One was Hemispheres magazine, which is an in-flight publication from United Airlines. Dad flies United everywhere, and these guys are always waiting for him in the back of the seat. He even tried to get me to apply for a job with them. I checked it out online to find the only openings were for internships. In Singapore.

I did not apply.

This magazine does a feature called "Three Perfect Days," which outlines a three-day itinerary for different travel destinations. This time, they featured Chicago, which is why dad sent the issue. I'm proud to say I've already done a number of the things they mention in the article, in my less-than-year here. That's a comforting thought, as I prepare to leave. I'll always feel that I got out and got to know Chicago as best I could.

And finally, my care package included a letter. Not just a letter, but a ten-plus page letter, hand-written in two different sittings over the course of a couple of days.

I don't know about you, but in my opinion, there's nothing quite like a handwritten note. They feel like a throwback to days of old. Nobody much writes letters anymore.

I won't tell you what it said, but I will tell you it inspired to me sit down and write one of my own in reply.