Happy Birthday Freya!

The first thing that Freya heard when she woke up was her brother Coco singing Happy Birthday to her. Even though Coco didn´t have a very good voice,Freya appreciated her brother´s kind gesture.
"Thank you ,Coco,that was very nice of you"
"Where is everybody?Freya asked when she saw there was nobody in bed.
"Dad and Créme went to the supermarket and Mum is in the kitchen" Coco answered.
The nice smell coming up from the kitchen made Freya jumped out of bed.

No wonder there was a lovely smell . Teri was preparing Freyas´ favourite breakfast. Hot chocolate, eggs , creamy youghurt,bunny shaped toast and even tasty hash browns, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

"Good morning, love! Happy birthday!" Teri wished her daughter, giving her a big hug.

Coco and Freya enjoyed a hearty breakfast.

"Thank you ,Mum! Everything is delicious." Freya said gratefuly. She couldn´t have started her birthday any better.

When they were clearing the breakfast table there was a knock on the door.Freya got all excited when she recognized postman Pete´s face through the window.

"It´s Pete Petite! He might have a package for me!" She shouted with joy

And she was right! That big pink box was for her. 

"Here you are, Freya. A parcel from the Big City" Pete said carrying the pink package.
"From Grinpa?" Freya asked eagerly.
"Yes, all the way from Grinpa" Pete said handing her the box. It was a big package but it wasn´t heavy at all. 

Freya run upstairs looking forward to opening her package.She knew it was a birthday present from someone very special.
Inside the box there was a letter and a nicely wrapped parcel.

Freya opened the letter first and read it out loud . Teri shared her daughter´s excitment.

Dear Freya,

Hope you have a wonderful birthday! I wish I could be at home to celebrate it with you and all the family but work is keeping me very busy at the moment. The new department store in Grinpa is going to hold a fashion show and I am in charge of organizing the event. The manager of the department store was very pleased with my designs and wants to employ me as a fashion designer!! I´m over the moon! In the evenings I go to a language school. I´m learning French. The manager told me my new job would might require to travel to Paris at some stage.

As soon as I have a few days off I´ll go home. I miss you all so much!
Send my love to Mum, Dad, Coco and Créme.

Lots of love from your older sister



P.S: Hope you like my present. I made it specially for you!

When Freya finished reading her sister´s letter she saw her mother was wiping away her tears discreetly. 
"Are you OK, Mum? Freya asked softly.
"I´m fine. They´re just tears of joy."
Come on! Let´s see what´s in this package" Teri encouraged Freya.

"Oh! What a BEAUTIFUL dress!" Freya exclaimed widening her eyes.

"It is LOVELY!" Teri added. She felt so proud of her oldest daughter that she was about to cry again but she tried to hold back her tears. She didn´t want to spoil Freya´s happiness.

"I´m going to try it on! Don´t look until I say so, will you , Mum?"

Teri promised not to look and turned her back. 

Ta-da! How do I look, Mum? Freya asked feeling like a million sylvas.
My oh, my! You look gorgeous, love! Teri exclaimed.

Teri was enjoying her daughter´s contagious excitement but she went down the kitchen when she heard Créme and Fraiser who were just back from doing some grocery shopping .

Teri couldn´t wait to tell Fraiser about their daughter´s letter and how well she was doing in the city.

Then,Fraiser went to see Freya who was dancing and twirling like a ballerina in front of the mirror.

"Happy birthday! You look like a princess!" Fraiser said in admiration.

Freya giggled and twirled once more.
Créme loved how smooth and shiny her sister´s dress was.

Early in the afernoon the Chocolates started to arrage everything for Freya´s birthday party.It was a tradition at the Chocolates to have two birthday parties, one just with the family members and another one with friends.

Today, they were just expecting Patricia and Rhys, the grandparents on the father´s side.

Teri and Frasier were busy in the kitchen.Teri was preparing sandwiches and snacks and Fraiser was making the birthday cake.Créme was delighted to be the food taster.

Mmm! Strawberries and cream cake!

Freya saw her grandparents, Patricia and Rhys, through the window and rushed to meet them at the door.

"Happy birthday,dear! We have a little present for you."

Freya was delighted with her new bag.It was the perfect accessory to complete her party look.

"Thank you so much! It´s lovely!" Freya thanked her grandparents for the present and suggested to serve some food and drinks "Come on! Let´s start the party"

First, they had to set up the table.

It was a warm and sunny spring day so they opened up the umbrella.

Here come the drinks! Fruit juices to suit different tastes.

Freya put the glasses carefully on the glass stand.

Mmm! Those sandwiches and snacks look yummy!

What does it say , daddy? Créme asked looking at the small eassel.

Teri and Freya placed the glasses around the fruit punch bowl.

"What´s under the dish cover, dad?" Coco was curious to know.

"Something really nice.Just wait until you taste it." Frasier answered.

Smile, Freya!Let´s take just one picture before you all start tucking in. 

Just after letting me take that picture, the Chocolates gathered around the party table to enjoy the delectable food and drink.

Patricia wants to have some orange juice. The bottle cooler will keep it nice and cool.

Rhys is serving drinks to everyone. "Some apple juice, Coco?" "Yes, please, grandpa"

Créme needs a bit of help to reach for the food.

She seems to be very hungry.

"Some more punch, mother?" Fraiser asked Patricia.It was her third glass.Fortunately,it was alcohol free! 

As you can see, they were all enjoying the party when they heard a car coming.

"Look, Mum!" Freya exclaimed in surprise.

They were Robert and Teresa,Teri´s parents who were supposed to be on a holiday cruise around the Greek Islands.

When Teresa and Robert got off the car they were welcomed with open arms. Their unexpected visit was a lovely surprise!

After such a warm welcome, all the Chocolates went back to the garden to continue the party.
"You are just in time for the cake!"

Happy birthday to you!Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Freya! Happy birthday to you! They all sang.

After blowing the candles and eating a piece of cake it was time to open the presents.
Teresa and Robert had theirs in the boot of the car.

What could it be in this red box?

There was a lot of oohing and aahing when Freya opened the box."The Sylvanian kitchen!" she exclaimed."I wanted this restaurant for so long" she added thrilled.

But the best was yet to come!

She was already feeling very spoiled but when she removed the pink wrapping paper to reveal a piano she just couldn´t believe her eyes. She was speechless!

It was Mr. Fenton, the music teacher who told Teri and Fraiser that Freya would love to have her own piano to practise at home. According to Mr. Fenton she was getting very good at playing the piano.

"One day I´ll be as good at the piano as Mr.Lion" Freya told her parents who were delighted to see how self confident their daughter was.She really admires Mr.Lion, the most famous pianist in Sylvania and she would love to go to one of her piano concerts.

"What´s a birthday party without music? Would you play something for us?" Grandpa Rhys asked her grandaughter.
No sooner said than done Freya gently pressed two keys, then three more, then both of her hands were gliding across the lenght of the keyboard. 

A traditional Sylvanian song filled the air.
It was a cheerful song about sharing time with your loved ones, taking one day at a time and always looking on the bright side of things. As they all knew the lyrics they sang and danced away.

Happy Birthday, Freya! Hope the party with your friends is as special as the one you had with your family.

The main reason I wrote this story was because I meant to write a review of the "Seaside Birthday Party" set since I got it at Christmas time. As it happened to me in other occasions I ended up writing a story instead.

I love sets with lots of accessories and this one is great.
I also wanted to unbox the new Chocolate grandparents I bought a long time ago and the red car I recently got of an Ebay bundle.
The idea of the dress sent by Freya´s older sister was inspired by the New Town Series where Freya´s sister is a fashion designer. The present of the Sylvanian Kitchen is what I would love to get myself and the present of the piano was inspired by Mr. Lion, of course! 
Freya would love to go into  town to meet her sister and go to one of Mr.Lion´s recitals. Who knows? Maybe next year. It would  be a lovely birthday present for her.

Hope you enjoyed today´s story and I also hope nobody had serious side effects of an overdose of "Chocolates"! LOL :D

See you soon!
Lots of love

The Chantillies´Fishmonger opening day.

Dear Readers,
Today, The Chantillies´s Fishmonger opens its doors to the public. Let´s see how Myriam and Maurice do on their first day at their new shop.

The Chantillies had an early start this morning. The opening day had finally arrived and they arranged to meet Caspian Neptune at the Fishmonger.

"That was my catch for today" Caspian said showing Myriam the fresh fish"
"Thank you,Caspian.We wanted to offer our customers day boat fish and you made it possible" Myriam said delighted to appreciate the freshness of the fish and seafood.

Maurice filled the counter display with plenty of ice to keep the fish cool for the rest of the day and he also stocked the  shelf with some canned fish.  

Then, he placed the fish on top of the ice

and admired the selection of shelfish. Mussels, oysters, clams and cockles...even lobsters.

While Myriam and Maurice were waiting for their first customers to arrive they were acting pretending to be buyer and seller.
"Good morning, Mrs.Chantilly? How can I help you?..." Maurice asked his wife.

Customers didn´t take long to arrive. The first one was Horatio Seadog.
"Maurice, thank you so much for bringing  a taste of the sea to our village. It was high time that we had a Fishmonger in Sweet Berry Valley" he seemed very pleased with the opening of the new shop.

Mae Mulberry and Nancy Waters were delighted with the variety of seafood. "Today,I´m going to prepare a delicious fish chowder for the school lunch" Mae, the school cook, said.

Little by little more customers visited the new shop.

Alonzo Macavity congratulated the Chantillies and bought all the ingredients he needed to add a seafood pizza to his pizza shop menu.

Daisy Buttercup wasn´t very fond of fish but she was just curious to see what the Chantillies had to offer in their shop.
"What are these?" Daisy asked looking at one of the shelfish trays
"They are oysters, Daisy" Myriam said.
"Oysters? Is it true what is said about them?" Daisy asked eagerly.
"You should have some and then you tell me what you think" Myriam winked an eye at Daisy. 
"I´ll get them all" Daisy stated.

"Bye Daisy! I hope Hornbull likes them too. Don´t forget to tell me about it ! Myriam  asked smiling.
"I will Myriam, I will" Daisy let out a giggle and looked at her friend in complicity.

Basil Hazelwood is the chef of the Harvester Restaurant. He likes to do the shopping himself to make sure he buys only the best.
He knows a good dish depends directly on the freshness and quality of its ingredients.
"I was looking forward to the opening of your Fishmonger, Maurice" Basil said. "Rice and lobster will be the special dish tonight at the restaurant".

Myriam and Maurice were very happy. Their fist day at their shop was going much better than they expected.
"Maurice, I have the feeling our little shop is going to become very popular."
"I think so too, Myriam. We´ve nearly sold out half of the stock we had for today".

Myriam and Maurice were talking about their successful beginning when their daughter turned up at the shop.
"What are you doing here, sweetheart? Myriam asked Esme.
"I came with Mrs. Buckley and some of my classmates. We have to write an article for the school newspaper and I thought we could write about our new shop. We have to take some picture to add to the article that´s why we are here."

Mrs. Buckley told The Chantillies that Esme was very excited and found it very hard to concentrate at school.
"I think your daughter wanted to be with you on this special day so I suggested a visit to your Fishmonger to take some photos for the school newspaper" Agatha Buckley explained.

The Chantillies posed  gladly for the family photo.

Then, Agatha Buckley had a look at the fish choice.
"I´d love to buy some fish and clams but I´m afraid there won´t be any left by the time I finish work at school".

"No problem at all, Mrs. Buckley. I can put the fish and clams into a bucket filled with ice and you can keep the seafood in the school freezer until you go home. I´ll walk with you to school if you don´t mind".

"Thank you so much, Mr. Chantilly" Agatha appreciated Maurice kind gesture.

Meanwhile, Myriam was quite busy assisting all the villagers who gathered around the shop.
"Do you want me to fillet the fish for you, Mrs. Persis?"

When Maurice came back from Berry Grove School, Myriam was already cleaning up.

"Did we sell all the fish?" Maurice asked in surprise.
"We did and I´ve just realized we don´t have any fish for our dinner. It would have been nice to have some grilled fish" Myriam regreted.

"Well, we can have a can of sardines and tomorrow we´ll reserve some fish for ourselves" Maurice´s suggestion didn´t appeal to Myriam . She would much prefer some fresh seafood instead.
" Come on,Maurice! We deserve something a bit more special to celebrate this day".

The Chantillies didn´t expect any more customers, as it was nearly closing time, when Narrisa Neptune arrived.

"Good afternoon, Narrisa" Maurice greeted. "I´m afraid we don´t have any fish left to offer you"

Narrisa laughed. "Maurice,don´t you know I have a fisherman at home? There´s always fresh fish in the fridge". 

"You´re  dead right,Narrisa!" Maurice exclaimed. 

"I just came to  invite you for dinner this evening.You´ll probably have a better plan but if you want to try my seafood paella you´ll be more than welcome to have dinner with us."  Narrisa´s invitation sounded like music to Myriam."Bye-Bye canned sardines" she said to herself.

"Of course we´ll be there. Thanks so much!" Myriam accepted without thinking twice."That´s very kind of you" Maurice added.

Who could turn down a lovely meal and the company of good friends?

Having dinner with the Neptunes was the perfect end to a perfect day for the Chantillies.

Thanks for joining The Chantillies on the opening of their Fishmonger.

See you soon!

Lots of love 💙

A Fishmonger in Sweet Berry Valley

Dear Readers,

Are  you wondering what Monty and Rufus are doing with that blue wooden fish?

For the past few days they have been working on this project and I´m pretty sure the title of the story gave you a clear idea of what that fish is for.

"Is it ok there?" Monty asked trying to place the fish on the right place.

"That´s perfect. Just leave it there". Myriam and Maurice said.

" I see you have finally decided to open the Fishmonger" Cassandra Macavity told The Chantillies.

"Yes, Cassandra.It took us some time to make up our minds but the Robinsons encouraged us to open our own business.They sell fish at their supermarket but they told us they can only stock a small amount and they´ve Heard some villagers complaining about the lack of more seafood and fish variety." Myriam explained.

"Wait until I tell Alonso! He is dreaming of incluiding a seafood pizza to our pizza shop menu." Cassandra exclaimed. "You can be sure he´ll be a loyal customer" She added.

Mae Mulberry and his son Ike, who just happened to pass by the new shop, also stopped to congratulate The Chantillies.

The counter was also made to order by The Kennelworth brothers.

"It´s SO heavy!" Maurice said when he tried to lift it up on his own.

"No wonder you can´t lift it. It´s made out of solid wood,Maurice." Monty explained.
"Let us help you" Rufus offered.

Myriam and her daughter Esme decorated the  counter with some of the wallpaper they used for the shop and Maurice congratulated Rufus and Monty on their good job.

There were only a few days left for the opening day and they wanted to have their little shop perfect for such a special occasion.

 They were busy cleaning up when they heard a friendly voice.
"Good afternoon, family!"Caspian Neptune greeted." Is everything ready for the opening day? He asked.

"Nearly everything but we still need the most important" Myriam said smiling.

"Don´t you worry Myriam" Caspian knew what Myriam was referring to.

"You can be sure your Fishmonger will sell the best fresh fish and seafood. The opening day you´ll have fish so fresh,it´s almost wriggling. Trust me!" Caspian said proud of his skills as an experienced fisherman.

"Are you going to open this week?" Caspian asked.

"More than likely.I just have to sign a couple of documents and Sweet Berry Valley will have a Fishmonger." Maurice said feeling happy but a bit nervous at the same time. 

When it was time to go back home Maurice turned his back and had one more glance at his future business. "Yes! Everything is going to be fine" He reassured himself.He had the feeling that from now on Sweet Berry Valley´s villagers were going to enjoy eating fish more than ever. 

*********************************************

As you have seen I have a new family and a new little shop. I got Myriam and Esme as part of an eBay bundle. They weren´t in a very good condition but they looked a bit better after a gentle wash.I didn´t buy the bundle for the figures but as I had two members of the Chantilly family I ended up buying "The garden barbacue set" that comes with Maurice. That is how I got the Chantilly family reunited. I´m sure you have noticed there is big difference in the look of their fur. Maurice is brand new and Myriam and Esme must have been played for a good while.

I also bought the Sainsbury shop but John Sainsbury  wasn´t included. I wanted to use it as a doughnut shop but I thought the big counter was removable and it is actually attached to the shop so I decided to use it for a different purpose. When I took Marice out of the box his apron reminded me straight away to the apron some fishmongers wear and as he is a cat he must like fish so I turned the Sainsbury shop into The Chantillies´ Fishmonger.

Soon, they´ll be happy running their new business.

Don´t miss the opening day!

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love!