Tales of the Traveling Tote #34 and Giveaway

Hello and Happy March, readers! If you're a new reader, I'm happy you've found my blog - Panoply! 

Today marks the 34th installment of the Tales of the Traveling Tote. These are quarterly recaps of places traveled by a group of us who don the MacKenzie-Childs totes proudly. We love sharing our experiences with each other, and you. Sometimes it's just local travel, other times it's places geographically distant from where we live. If you want to visit my personal log of tales, you can begin here, but it all started even earlier, here. 

My trips this past quarter were mostly still local (but I am definitely feeling the itch to travel again with Mr. P!). Let's start with trips made in January. The picture above is a breakout photo of my little granddaughter, J, who spent three nights in the hospital with RSV. She received the Olaf crocheted hat as one of her daily gifts from nursing staff. We were all happy for this discharge.

Poor little girl was really sick, as were her mommy and daddy (with a GI bug, which J also caught). I double masked and spent just enough time over those days to give the parents a break. If ever you have loved ones who have a little one in the hospital, may I suggest a gift card for Door Dash? It's a nice way for them to get decent food delivered.

February was more of a celebratory month. I went with J and her mommy and daddy to see Disney on Ice. Wow, they really bring out the crowds! So many littles dressed in their princess costumes, and so many opportunities to outfit your littles with all kinds of overpriced tsotchkes! Of course, I bought J a bubble making Mickey Mouse light. She learned quickly how to operate it herself.

The show was mesmerizing to J. She loves her Disney movies, especially Frozen. Of course, looking for treats in Mimi's bag during intermission was also mesmerizing.

Also in February, my local Panoply sister and I went to a particularly fabulous estate sale FULL of items for both resale and even home use. For those new readers, my blog and its name [Panoply] originated from the small antiquing business two of my sisters and I have shared since 2008. We've been in our local antique mall for nearly fifteen years. We were literally in HOG HEAVEN with a very large assortment of collectible pigs at this recent estate sale.

Sister J wasn't able to be in town for this one, so sister M and I shopped for her. Pictured below are several of the pigs we picked for her for resale.

I bought two pigs, one of which will be heading to garden this year. It's a Smith & Hawken - new with tag - pig watering can. The other pig is fashioned from a quilted remnant, heading to the booth.

I also scored a couple of very nice, vintage Asian pieces in blue and white. These will be fostered at home, at least for a while. The top vase is Japanese, the Double Happiness ginger jar with lid is Peoples Republic of China. That stool holding the ginger jar, by the way, was also a local vintage find in 2018. You can read about its historical background here. After publishing that post in 2018, I was contacted by a museum within our state, asking if I wanted to sell it. Needless to say, I still have it.

Sister J, who lives in Cincinnati and is part of Panoply, has been mining a single estate of a friend in her area for several months, and has made at least two trips to transport large hauls to town for us to fluff our booths. This past weekend, local Panoply sister M and I drove over to Cincinnati to bring back another load. But we also took in some much needed retail therapy! I had just completed our tax return, and sister M needed a respite from caring for family back home. We accomplished our mission.

It was a great weekend, full of sister fun, great deals, good food and overall good weather for traveling. We drive the AA Highway from WV to OH, and it was a sad sight to see so many trees and shrubs along the way that have been impacted by the flash freeze our region experienced the week of Christmas 2022. My guess is nurseries will not be able to supply the demand for many of the plants needing replaced this year.

NOW, ONTO THE GIVEAWAY!

UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to our winner - Clara W.! Thank you to all who left comments.

The Traveling Totes Tribe is offering another giveaway and I am our giveaway sponsor this time. One lucky reader who leaves a comment on my post here today will have their name thrown into the hat for an opportunity to win this MacKenzie-Childs luggage tag.

PLEASE NOTE: If your comment displays as anonymous, be sure to write  your name so that I may be able to identify you!

Be sure to check out my other traveling sisters' posts to see how they spent their winter months. 

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Patti with Miss Kenzie and Miss Taylor @ Pandora's Box

Jenna with Miss Coquille @ The Painted Apron

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply (you are here!)

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Jackie with Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home

Ricki Jill and Countess de Monet @The Bookish Dilettante

Cherry Kay and Miss Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women

Join us again on June 1, 2023 for another edition of Tales of the Traveling Tote.

Thanks so much for your visit. I love reading your comments, and be sure to leave one on my blog for a chance to win our token gift. Stay safe, and Happy March (and soon-to-be🌷SPRING🌷in the Northern Hemisphere).

Rita C. at Panoply

Parties I Share With: Pieced Pastimes, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common Ground, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, A Stroll Thru Life, My Wee Abode, My Family Thyme, French Ethereal SYS, Happiness is Homemade, Traffic Jam Weekend, Eclectic Red Barn TFT, Southern Sunflowers Home Matters, Grace at Home, My Thrift Store Addiction, Our Hopeful Home, Karin's Kottage, County Road 407 Farmhouse Friday