Before we got to the Lunch part of the day...there seemed to be a lot of activity I was unfamiliar with from previous Ladies Who Lunch days....There is Betty writing something on a piece of paper.....Hmmmmmm.
And then...there is Betty again with a piece of paper in her hand---the same piece of paper as in the picture before when she was writing something down....And Dianne has some kind of a piece of paper in her lap! Hmmmmmm.
And there we are....once again. In truth, I didn't notice any of this till I was "playing" with my pictures---after the fact....And below...Here is Bridget with some kind of paper in her hands, too! Hmmmmmm.
All would be revealed much later on, after our lunch.....Now, it was time to go to 'the table' and sit and open our Gift Bags....I didn't take a lot of pictures of everyone actually opening their bags...But here below, is what was in front of Betty as she was getting all of the goodies out of her bag....
And below....the pile of Goodies in front of Seemah's place at the table.....
Okay...so what were some of things in this bag--"close-up" and personal? Well here are a few of them......
I am a sucker for soft little animals in pretty colors---this time round, we had two in our bags. These were from my bag. One is a sweet little Lamb and the other is a darling little Kitty Cat! And they are sitting on some "Happy Birthday" Pencils!
Here above we have some "Island" Playing Cards....They are as cute as they can be. I liked the shape of them and the color of the background....I'm not sure who that creature is in the middle with the Sun Glasses, but he does look quite cute!
Here are some "Toy" Binoculars.....'toy' is the operative word. They are really cute looking but they don't really work...lol....well, they work a little tiny bit.....But they look great, don't they?
This is one of my very-all-time-favorite things. It is a Bubble maker in the shape of a Guitar....Isn't that clever? Everyone always loves the Bubble Makers and I thought this one was so unusual, I had to get it for our gift bags......And you can wear it around your neck! You unscrew that top thingy and take out the wand, and blow little bubbles to your hearts content!
Isn't this the cutest Key Ring you've ever seen? These came in assorted colors, of course, as did many of the items I chose this time....I took all the Lavender/Purple shades for myself because it is my favorite color....I just loved this Key Chain a whole lot!
Above is a fold out fan in the July 4th motif (Remember we had those big July 4th Pin Wheels, too).....These fans are very handy now that the hot weather has come....and you can fold them up and carry them in your purse.
And my last July 4th Homage were these Tootsie Rolls.....Plus those little Fish Bags have Jelly Beans in them.....There were a few more things in the bag....like a "Lei" which some of the ladies put on and which you will see a bit later, and this sweet little bracelet, below.
I loved this darling little Heart Bracelet and so did everyone else.....It is one of the things that make these bags so much fun...Everyone loves the things they find and if they are wearable.....you can be sure they will put them on!
Above, a closer look at Dianne wearing the little Heart Bracelet and another Bracelet that was in the Goodie Bag made of little Sea Shells....plus, she had on the wonderful Flip Flop Ring....
These were adorable and sparkly and were in a variety of pretty colors......Here above, a closer look at the Rings......Mine was purple, of course......lol.......
Here above is a close-up of Seemah's arm with that Shell Bracelet and she also wanted me to see the other Bracelet she wore that day which had come from my dear departed friend Hannah's Jewelry collection.....
And here are the rest of the Goodies from the Gift Bag.....a collection of "smiley" face-stickers; a pen that had this poofy thing on top of it, which was great fun; the Back Scratcher of course; some Heart Stickers; a little Heart pad with this strange paper inside, which none of us could figure out what it was supposed to be used for.....And this eraser stick which is right there to the right of the Back Scratcher.....It was a full bag and a fun bag, too! And lunch was in the process of being served.......... More To Come........
Note: There truly is a lot more to come.....Part 3 will be next....and there may even be a part four! Time will tell......
- had this to say:
When I see your photos I always think that you capture everything that's good about America.
The friendship, the love, the good times, the fantastic gifts etc.
I think Americans have an ability to "party" like no one else, and I love that I could be part of it through your blog. :)- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 12:14:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I think LL Cool Joe is absolutely bang on correct! You do capture goodness and friendship with your posts and photos Naomi.
Your birthday gift bags are always thoughtfully FULL of kinship and colour. :)
Look forward to Part 3!- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 2:16:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
you know how I love the ladies that lunch and all the pictures! there could be a part 5 & 6 and i'd still love them all
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 3:05:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Absolutely wonderful little treasures tucked inside your gift bags.... such sweet ideas!
You said in a recent post that you rarely leave your home... you must have some very imaginative and creative people doing your shopping for you!- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 6:22:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
The lamb stole my heart. I am so amazed at all the gifts you find for the bags. I have never seen anything like them.
Your parties are just wonderful creations. Looking forward to the next "part."- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 7:33:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I started making a list of the gifts I liked "best" but had to give up because they are all fun. The fold out fan, bubble buitar...do you buy all that stuff online and assemble at home? how do you do it all?
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 8:31:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Naomi, you choose such fun stuff to put in your gift bags!! I suspect you order them from catalogs - don't you? It must be fun to pick through and decide what to order. I am looking forward to the other photos, and finding out what the papers were for.
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 8:37:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
What fun!!! Love those cute little stuffed animals and the key chains!! Adorable!! What fun it would be diving into those bags of goodies!! Looking forward to the next part!!!
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 8:49:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
You and your ladies REALLY know how to lunch!!
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 9:26:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
Marvelous stuff, as always.
I think it's great that you and your friends have this tradition. It seems we tend to cast aside our traditions more easily these days and we're the worse for it, methinks.
Cheers.- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 10:35:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
You ladies always have so much fun!
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 11:45:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
What fun! Those goodie bags are wonderful! I have a soft spot for little stuffed animals as well and yours are so sweet!
I can't wait to hear what happened next :)- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 12:59:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
I sometimes look in a jeweller's shop window and play a game where I can have any two things I want. The two things I would choose from the goodie bags are the soft toys and the adorable flip-flop ring.
OOOh and the back scratcher and maybe the jelly beans. Oh is that more than two?- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 3:36:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
The flip flops rings are my favorite!! I would've chosen purple as well or fought you for yours! lol
You all have such a wonderful time at these lunches and I love what you find for the gift bags.
Now, what were these ladies writing on those papers? A cliffhanger, Naomi? Is that what this is?? I suppose we'll just have to wait.
The bubble maker looks like wearable fun and I adore the 4th of July fans and tootsie rolls! Everything is so festive and fun, I can't wait to see more!- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 7:57:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Such a delight to see all the 'surprises' in the goodie bags Naomi, I am having a great time here already :D
- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 8:53:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
Oh wow those are adorable! It looks like everyone is enjoying opening their gift bags and see what's inside of it!
It's also a cool way to make a party a lot interesting and of course fun!- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 9:52:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
I love how you make so much simple fun with these things. I want to play with all of them! I can't wait to find out what the papers are about. Charades? An inpromptu play reading?
More! More!- Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 11:16:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Truth be told - Monet would LOVE one of those gift bags for herself!! Such fun stuff - where do you get it all from??
Looking forward to Part 3...- Monday, July 6, 2009 at 3:35:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
You are such a tease!!
What was more fun: choosing the gift bags or seeing them being opened?- Monday, July 6, 2009 at 9:16:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I love the goodies, they are so fun and whimsical; but what about the papers?
- Monday, July 6, 2009 at 6:57:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Oh, I want a gift bag. You certainly know how to throw a luncheon party. I am looking forward to the next part of the story.
- Monday, July 6, 2009 at 8:00:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
What great gift bags - it's so much fun seeing what you have in them. Now it's very intriguing -what were these ladies doing with those pieces of paper. I bet we will not find out until Part 5. Cannot wait! I also love how you put so much though into these lunches. And everyone thoroughly enjoys them and gets into the spirit of it all. Wonderful!
- Monday, July 6, 2009 at 10:58:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Dear Naomi, what a lovely party! LOVE all photos! That sounds like so much fun. What a gorgeous abundance of pretty party bags! I can only imagine how awesome it must have been in person! Really
I'd love to have been there! Thanks for sharing your lovely day!- Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 7:13:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I can't wait to find out what everyone was doing with their pieces of paper! :)
- Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 4:42:00 PM PDT
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