My husband thinks I have an unhealthy obsession with trying to get just the right shot. Can you blame me? I'm trying to capture a moment in time! He'll thank me someday. A home filled with photos tells several stories, reminders of people and places and pets and special events - memories. But over the years I've found that photographs aren't the only items suitable for frames. Special letters, love notes jotted down in hurried moments, cards, and oodles more can all be framed, and they all have that same effect of evoking memories and personalizing our spaces.
One of my favorite framed items is my mom's recipe for chili. Before my wedding, I asked her to handwrite several of her recipes for me. Her recipe for chili is a favorite of my husband's and mine, and I placed it in a double frame alongside a picture of her and myself on a day that we were doing some shopping for my wedding.
I keep the frame on a counter in the kitchen. It's both functional and personal; it's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life.
We have a space downstairs that outfits a bar and a second family room/game room/media area, and we've devoted the wall space and decor to photos and momentos from vacations. One of my favorites includes a frame with some memories from a trip to San Juan. My husband and I were there for an evening, a stop on a cruise, and we had dinner at a restaurant called Barrachina. Barrachina's claim to fame is that it's the birthplace of the Pina Colada. Obviously we had to indulge in that! I picked up a business card from Barrachina along with one from a cigar shop we stopped at that same evening and put them, along with a photograph, into a frame to remember the trip.
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| Cigars and Pina Coladas Old San Juan Jan. 2008 |
We bought a map of the Virgin Islands and framed it among pictures from that trip, as well.
One of the most special things I've framed isn't a picture or a map or a card. It's a small pin of a Lily of the Valley.
The Lily of the Valley is the birth flower for the month of May. My father's birthday was in May, and the Lily of the Valley happened to be his favorite flower. He passed away several years ago, and whenever I spot the special flower, I think of him. This one sits on my dresser where I see it everyday.
Letters or quick notes from loved ones also make the list of frame worthy items. They're personal glimpses into special relationships; framing them is a great way to fill your home with memories.
Just make sure whatever note you're framing is something you're comfortable with your grandmother reading when she comes to visit! {It's probably best to keep anything hot and heavy tucked away in a box labeled "Bills and Boring Documents"!}
Of course, you can always get crafty and frame something you made, like the "W" in our master bedroom.
What an easy way to add personality to a space!
I'm kind of on a roll with framing anything other than photographs; I'm even thinking of framing my daughter's school lunch menu. Why not? I look at it Monday through Friday! I think it deserves a frame. What have you framed today?
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