Tanya and Munchie arrived at Sweet Berry Valley

Dear Readers,

If you follow my blog regularly, you´ll probably remember one of my posts announcing a giveaway launched by Nina who runs the blog "At the Periwinkles"
I happened to be the lucky winner of her giveaway and I also wrote a post  about the lovely parcel she sent to me.

Today´s story is about Tanya and Munchie and their arrival at Sweet Berry Valley.
But first, I´m going to tell you something about them.
Tanya comes from Riverside,one of the lovely villages of Sylvania.She enjoys travelling around. Last year, she went to Finland where she worked  as a trainee at Santa Claus´Magical Christmas Bakery. There, she learned how to make the most delicious Christmas cakes and cookies.When she decided to go back to Sylvania, Santa Claus asked her to take Munchie, a little gluttonous elf, with her. Tanya and Munchie had become good friends when they were working at the bakery so she didn´t mind having him as a travel partner.Back at Riverside, Tanya´s adventurous spirit made her packing her luggage again and travel to a different place. She spent Christmas time in Spain where  she met the Chocolates who told her about their life in Sweet Berry Valley. Tanya was happy in Riverside but the idea of moving to a different village appealed to her and  Sweet Berry Valley sounded like a good place to start a new life.Let´s see if she made the right decision.
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After a long bus journey Tanya and Munchie arrived at Sweet Berry Valley.Tanya was  excited and Munchie, as usual, was hungry.

They were about to take their first steps towards the village when Olive, the bus conductor asked them to wait. 
"You left this little bag in the bus"she said holding Munchie´s bag.
"Oh! Thank you!.My cookies are there! Munchie exclaimed.

"You must be hungry.My husband Stan and I are going to have a break to grab something to eat. Why don´t you join us?" Olive  suggested.
"Yes, please, yes, please!" Munchie shouted jumping with joy.
"That´s very kind of you! Tanya said ." It´s our first time here so we don´t  know a good place to eat"

The four of them headed into the village.Stan insisted on carrying Tanya´s suitcase and she appreciated this kind gesture.

Stan and Olive Butler´s favourite place for their lunch breaks is The Blackurrant Café.They usually have a take-away and the Periwinkles fill their flask with freshly brewed tea.
"Good to see you, Stan.Your sandwiches are ready" Alex said.
"Today we have two special guests with us so would you prepare a table to have something to eat inside? Stan introduced Tanya and Munchie to Alex who welcomed them warmly into his café.
 

In the café Kate gave Tanya a friendly welcome. Meanwhile, Munchie was drooling over the sandwich counter.

Kate was also very friendly to Munchie.
"Nice to meet you, Munchie. I think you´d like to taste one of our sandwiches, am I right? Kate said leaning down to talk to him.
"Of course you´re right and I´m sure they must be really tasty!" Munchie added while his stomach rumbled. 

Munchie´s jaw dropped when Alex placed a plate of sandwiches and cakes in front of him."Enjoy your meal" Alex said.

Mayor Moss and Eustace Truffle entered the Café and Alex introduced them to the new residents.Tanya was delighted.Everybody was so kind and friendly.They all tried their best to make them feel at home.

"Nice to meet you.Welcome to our village" Mayor Moss reached out his hand to shake Munchie´s tiny hand.Munchie had many reindeer friends when he was in Finland so he liked Mayor Moss straight away. 

After enjoying their meal,it was time to say good-bye.
"Thank you very much for treating us to lunch" Tanya said.
"Our pleasure.We just hope you two settle down fine in our village. It´s a nice place to live, you´ll see" Olive remarked.
I´m pretty sure we will.I hope we meet soon again" Tanya added.

"Let´s go Munchie.Now,we have to look for a B&B to spend the night and as soon as I get a job we´ll rent a little cottage".Tanya was really excited. A new place, a new life, new challenges...

On their way to the B&B they walked through one of the beautiful parks in the village. There, Nancy Waters was eating a cupcake that caught Munchie´s eye.

"That cupcake looks yummy!Where you did you get it?" He said.

"Munchie, please!Tanya reprehended him.

"It´s ok!He´s totally right. This cupcake is delicious and if you want one the Chocolates´ cake shop is just over there". Nancy pointed out the cake shop.  

Tanya and Munchie couldn´t believe their eyes when they turned their heads and saw The Chocolates. They met in Spain at Christmas time and they spent New Year´s Eve together. They had so much fun...

"Teri!" Tanya shouted.
"Tanya!Munchie! You´re here!Teri exclaimed  with surprise.

They all hugged and kissed. Creme was so pleased to meet Munchie again!

"We didn´t expect your arrival until next week!If we had known you arrived today we would have gone to welcome you at the bus stop!Fraiser said glad to see Tanya and Munchie in Sweet Berry Valley.
"Don´t you worry! We´ve already met lovely people as soon as we arrived here so I feel already at home" Tanya remarked.
"Talking about home, I think the best we can do is going home so you can rest for a while" Teri suggested. 

Fraiser went back to the shop and Teri and Creme walked their friends home.

"Welcome to our house" Teri said as she opened the door.

Teri showed Tanya and Munchie around the house. When they were in the bedroom Tanya told Teri she wanted to look for a B&B.

"No way! You can sleep here! Freya and Coco are not at home. They went to spend the weekend at a friend´s house so you two can sleep in their beds.

"Oh, thank you Teri. You´re so kind!" Tanya said gratefully.

All of a sudden, a little duckling jumped out of Tanya´s bag. 
"Duckie!" Tanya exclaimed.Have you travelled with us all the way from Riverside!
"Quack!" Duckie replied.He meant Tanya was right.
 

Aww, he´s so cute! Teri said and Creme agreed. "Do you want to be my friend, Duckie?" From that day on Creme made a new friend.

Teri ran Tanya and Duckie a warm bath."This is great, don´t you think so Duckie?" 
"Quack, quack!"

The bath made Tanya feel even better.She was so relaxed and happy to be at her friends´ house.

After the bath, Tanya went to the kitchen where Teri was cooking dinner.
"It smells delicious, Teri" Tanya complimented. 

 

When they finished having dinner and Creme and Munchie went to sleep,Teri, Frasier and Tanya had a cup of coffee in the living room.Tanya told The Chocolates about her plans.Her first goal was to get a job.

"And what would you like to do?"Frasier asked
"Waitress,shop assistant,cook,babysitter...I´m open to offers".Tanya just hoped to find a job the sooner the better.

Once in bed, Tanya found it very hard to sleep.The coffee, the excitment of the journey to a new place and her uncertain plans for the future kept her awake. 
"What will I do if I don´t find a job?"She asked herself. "My savings won´t last more than a couple of months and then...?"
She spent the night tossing and turning.She was an optimist by nature but that night for some strange reason she was worried about her future. 
 

Tired of being in bed wide awake, Tanya got up and went to the kitchen.She served herself a cup of warm milk with the hope of helping her to get to sleep but then she had a better idea to keep her mind away from her worries.
She looked around the kitchen and found everything she needed to make some biscuits.

When she put all the ingredients on the kitchen table she already felt better.Memories from the time she spent at Santa Claus´ Magical Bakery came to her mind
and put her in a much better mood.

It was still very early in the morning when Teri went into the kitchen.
"Morning Tanya! I can´t believe you´re already up.Did you sleep well? Teri asked her.
"Not really,I couldn´t sleep so I ended up making some biscuits.Hope you don´t mind, Teri" 
"Not at all!They smell so good. I can´t wait to taste them!"

When the biscuits were ready, Tanya took the tray from the oven.
"I´m sure they taste as good as they look" Teri complimented.

"Tanya! These biscuits are delicious!" Teri exclaimed.

"Thank you, Teri! I´ll take it as a big compliment coming from you. I learned how to make them at Santas´ Magical Bakery". 

As soon as Frasier got into the kitchen Teri approached him with the tray of biscuits. "You have to taste these biscuits!They are lovely!"

"Mmm...They are the best cinnamon biscuits I´ve ever had" Frasier said giving another bite to his biscuit.

Tanya blushed at so many compliments.

When Tanya went upstairs to see if Munchie was already awake, Teri and Frasier had a chat and some more biscuits.
"Frasier, I was thinking we could offer Tanya a job. She could help us with all the baking.She is good at it and she can also give us a hand in the shop.What do you think?" Teri asked her husband.
"I think it´s a good idea. She needs a job and we need some help and she seems to fit  into this type of job perfectly" Frasier totally agreed with Teri´s suggestion.

Tanya couldn´t believe her ears when The Chocolates told her about their job offer.

"Working with you? Are you serious?" Tanya was elated. "I´d love to.I would be more than happy" She couldn´t think of a better job for her.She loves baking, she has experience and working with one of the best confectioners and chocolatiers of Sylvania was such a great honour.

"Ready to start today?".Teri asked her. "Saturday is a busy day at the shop and we need a hand" 

"Of course I am!Thank you so much!" Tanya was full of joy at her good luck.

Tanya changed into a lighter dress and put on an apron.She wanted to feel comfortable and look good at the same time on her first day at work.
"You look great, Tanya! Munchie said.
"Thanks Munchie, wish me luck and promise you will behave while I´m at the shop. This job is very important to me."
Munchie wished Tanya all the best and he promised to be a good elf.

Teri was right. Saturday was a busy day at the cake shop.

Tanya was pleased to have the opportunity to meet so many villagers.
There were so many new faces that she was glad to recognize a familiar face.
"Morning Mr.Moss" Tanya greeted the mayor.
"Morning Tanya,I see you are settling down perfectly in our village".
"I am indeed,Mr.Moss.Teri and Frasier offered me a job and I´m over the moon".

Mr. Moss introduced his wife to Tanya. It was actually Rovina´s birthday and they had ordered a cake for the ocassion.

"Here you are. Hope you have a wonderful birthday,Mrs. Moss!" Tanya wished.

She also noticed the children eyeing the lollipops with a greedy eye and she gave one each.

Tanya was enjoying his first day at work. 
All the villagers she met at the shop were really friendly to her and she already felt part of the village.

When all the cakes and sweet treats were nearly gone Teri suggested to close the shop and go back home.

Chester Thistlethorn and his daughter Prissy were the last customers of the day.
"I´m afraid there is just one cake left" Tanya said when she placed the last cake on the counter.
"Strawberry cake is just perfect!It´s my wife´s favourite cake so we´ve been lucky".
Everything ran  so smoothly at Tanya´s first day at work.

 "Well, Tanya,I think we can call it a day.There´s no much left we can offer so we´d better go home and relax for the rest of the day" Teri said looking at the empty trays and plates.

"I really enjoyed working at the shop, Teri. Thank you so much for offering me a job" Tanya expressed her gratitude once more.

" You´re more than welcome. You´ve done a great job." Teri really appreciated to have some help on busy days.

"I promised I was going to behave, Tanya" Munchie said with a full mouth".

Munchie was also very pleased with Tanya´s job.Being surrounded by sweets was like paradise for him.

 On their way back to the Chocolate´s home, they passed by a little cottage that caught Tanya´s attention. 

"Teri, who lives here?" Tanya asked with curiosity.
"I think this cottage belonged to the Macavities but they moved to a bigger house when their family grew up" Teri explained.
"Do you think they would be interested in renting it?" Tanya asked hopefully. 

"I can ask them if you want.I remember they were interested in selling it some time ago but renting could be a good option" Teri commented.
"That would be great, Teri. I´d love to live in a little cottage like this" Tanya sounded really excited about the idea of moving to her own place.
"When would you like to move in? Teri asked.
"Well, as soon as I get my first salary so that I can pay the rent" Tanya answered.
"You know you can stay with us as long as you want but we can pay you your first salary in advance if you really like to move in as soon as possible" Those words sounded like music to Tanya and she hugged Teri tightly showing her gratitude again.

Tanya looked through one of the cottage windows. "What do you think, Munchie. Would you like to live here" 
Munchie smiled widely and nodded.

Tanya felt extremelly lucky and happy in Sweet Berry Valley. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that her life was going to be so easy at her arrival at a new place.Maybe the company of Munchie had something to do with it.She had the feeling that a little elf who was one of Santa´s helpers was meant to bring her good luck.Tanya was quite sure that she was going to be very happy in Sweet Berry Valley.

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Hope you enjoyed meeting Tanya and Munchie, my two new residents in Sweet Berry Valley.

Stan and Olive Butler, the bus driver and conductor) are also a new addition to my collection.( I hope to add the bus at some stage)
 
I don´t usually mix sylvanians with other figures but I had to make an exception with Munchie. It was Santa Claus´order. Tanya had to take Munchie with her. Santa must had a good reason for it. 
The little duckling and the tray of biscuits were also part of the giveaway. As you can see,Nina is very creative and very good at crafts. She makes lovely things with fimo.

Thanks for reading!
See you soon!  Lots of love💗