chandlerguera

I'm a gal who lives with my husband in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, where the climate is desert (dry and hot). We were married in Maui. We enjoy traveling and golfing.

My hobbies/interests: Postcrossing, mailart, antiques, golf, cupcakes, ephemera, fishing, family activities, travel, museums, napping, cooking, the U.K., practicing Spanish, my niece Emmi, pro-choice, flea markets, Hispanic & Japanese culture, vintage, pin-up girls, thrift shops, tag sales, reading, fleur-de-lis, indie and foreign films, lavender, Frida Kahlo, Dia de los Muertos, Texas Hold 'Em poker, crafting, Italy, Renaissance art, turquoise (the color and the jewelry), wrapping presents, morning tea with a splash of milk, sushi, collections, royalty, letter writing, BBC America, theme parties, crafting, Guinness...

I've been writing letters since I was a child and have had a number of foreign penpals. Still in touch with a childhood penpal in Sweden, but via email now. My longest term penpal is in Japan and we've been writing for over 27 years. We only email a few times a year -- the rest is snail mail! I love sending postcards and letters to friends and family, even if they don't reciprocate. I know they enjoy receiving them.

I love recycling/upcycling. Chunk 'O Cardboard is my favorite monthly swap. I'm always on the lookout for cardboard chunks to send as postcards (food packaging, book covers, board game boxes, etc).

Swapping note: 1) I strive to get a heart each and every time I do a swap by going above and beyond with extras or personalization. 2) I won't be bullied or bribed into changing ratings. I can overlook some lateness if it's communicated, but if you are a month late on your swap and you think I won't notice...then you deserve a "3." 3) I am very liberal with giving HEARTS because it makes people happy and we're all busy and we do our best with these swaps. Not everyone is an artist. When you get older, you realize life's too short to be petty.

I'm fairly easy with these four themes: Vintage, foreign, postal-related, ephemera!

Postcard wish list: *Wedding theme *Retro *Pin-up *Vintage black & white *Golf *Deer or Stag *Cupcakes *Something with the color purple or the color lavender *Mexican artist Frida Kahlo

vintage wedding ephemera (photos, invites, paper)

anything postal related

postcards

glitter

paper

vintage

maps

rubber stamps

French ribbon

foreign language newspaper

postage stamps (unused or used; foreign and domestic)

recipes

stickers

handmade envelopes

foreign language dictionary pages

vintage children's books

Air Mail stickers

vintage cookbooks/pamphlets

Everything about Italy: Art, museums, wine, language, food, churches

Day of the Dead

old tickets of any kind (i.e., travel, train, movie, concert)

vintage books that are tattered and can be used for crafting

glue sticks

My favorite color is purple

cupcakes

Japan

The ocean

Hawaii

Country music

B&W postcards featuring vintage scenes or people (i.e., photography by Robert Doisneau)

Fleur-de-lis

pin-ups

deer

plant-based eating

felt

yarn

fabric

playing cards

romance novels

lotion

lip gloss

tote bags

jewelry

doilies

anime

pencils

bookmarks

licorice

Only allergy is tree nuts (i.e., walnuts)

Too many to list them all!

I like to watch all Academy award nominated movies.

Indie films

Foreign films

Oldies

Amelie, Priceless (Audrey Tatou)

Four Weddings and a Funeral (I love British humor)

Braveheart

The Queen

The Dutchess

Shakespeare in Love

The King's Speech

Frost/Nixon

Snatch

Mrs. Brown

Serendipity

Love Actually

Frida

Bridget Jones' Diary

The Italian Job

The DaVinci Code

Julie & Julia

The Devil Wears Prada

Reruns: Ugly Betty, Seinfeld, Will & Grace

How to Get Away With Murder

Secrets and Lies

Cupcake Wars, DC Cupcakes

Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares

Master Chef, Chopped

Martha Stewart

Roseanne's Nuts

Pawn Stars, American Pickers

Hoarders

BBC America: Graham Norton, The F Word, Come Fly with Me, Keeping up Appearances, The Vicar

I enjoy:

Biographies

Autobiographies

Art books

Chick Lit

Celebrity-related

My three favorites I've read that I listed on goodreads.com: Pink Slip Party, Good Mail Day, and The Kite Runner

and I read a lot of magazines!

English/Irish/Scottish breakfast tea. Any other black tea. I also drink chai or vanilla. I will try fruit teas.