Anniversary Stories

For our first anniversary, I wanted to get something great for Josh - and I had an idea that I wanted to follow the traditional gift guide.  Now, I'm not really sure when that whole gig started, but whoever began it decided that the first anniversary gift should be something paper.  I needed something awesome...and made of paper.  I felt pretty lucky when it came to me that I should blow up a photograph he took and have it framed for our new home.  It was no ordinary picture, you see, this was a Tulsa State Fair third place winning picture of Mount Hood from the yard in front of Pittock Mansion.  There was a couple in the way of the shot, and I remember being disappointed that we couldn't get a better view.  But they brought a nice warmth and balance to the whole thing, so I guess I owe that mystery couple a "thank you."

Anyhow, I had it matted and framed and I wrapped it up and presented it to my husband.  He opened it and got the strangest look on his face.  "Dangit," I thought, "he hates it.  I should have gone with a different frame or something."  After a minute of me feeling like a failure, he got up and told me to follow him into the garage.  In the back of his pickup truck was a fantastically done painting of the same picture he asked his brother to do.  At that moment, I think we might have yelled "MFEO!" (Made For Each Other?  Sleepless in Seattle?  Anyone?) because we got each other pretty much the same present.  We hung them next to each other in the living room as a testament to our synchronicity. 

Here is the painted version, plucked from the background of another picture

We've done well at following the gift guide since then:
Year 2 (Cotton):  I commissioned a Tulsa-inspired painting on canvas done by his favorite Saturday Market artist, and Josh got me tickets to see James Taylor because he mixed up the first two years and thought it went cotton then paper, instead of the other way around.
Year 3 (Leather): We picked out cowboy boots together
Year 4 (Fruit/Flowers): We got a membership to a local vineyard

Today is our fifth anniversary, and the gift this year is supposed to be wood.  We thought about a nice piece of furniture, or maybe a tree, but we don't have a house anymore.  So that's out.  Instead, we've been looking at little boats on Craigslist.  I'm getting pretty excited about it!  I like our tradition.  It makes us get a little creative, and our anniversary gifts have always been memorable!

Old Timey

A few months ago, I went to karaoke with my Aunt Laura.  *Fun Fact: I was named after her.  Fun Fact 2: She was named after the song Laura that was composed in 1945 and performed best (in my humble opinion) by Nat King Cole, whom I love.*
Anyhow, before we joined my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jim at the Elks Club to sing the night away, she gave me some treasures to complete:

They are quilt squares made of what I always want to call "scrunchies," but are actually "yo-yos."  If I remember right, it was her husband's grandmother that made these 24 squares, and Aunt Laura asked if my mom and I could figure out how to connect them into a full quilt.

Well, I had seen these before at my favorite tea/antique shop in Beaverton.  So the next time I went out to Tea Thyme and Lavender, I brought these squares along and asked Claire, the owner, for some advice.  Aside from making delicious tea and French treats, Claire makes quilts out of yo-yos and she was kind enough to walk me through how to put them together.  So, I've been working on connecting them (by hand) intermittently these past couple weeks.  I'm not very far yet, but it's been fun!  And I'm enjoying having a portable project.  I can sew outside in this gorgeous weather we've been having because I'm not tied to a machine.  I'll get a picture up once they're all together, but be warned, it may be a while!