Memory Lane

Tomorrow we celebrate 8 years of being married! I mean this in a good way but it feels a lot longer than 8 years. Life has changed so much in such a good way and it feels like a lifetime ago we were saying our tearful vows to each other.

I remember how nervous I was for the wedding. Not because the commitment scared me but because the social anxiety of it all made me almost sick to my stomach. I was so relaxed when everything went smoothly though and we became husband and wife. 

Now here we are 8 years later and I 'm a nervous wreck over a different life event, yay! I can't imagine what my life would be like if I never met Matt. (I would say I can't imagine what life would be like if we never met and fell in love, but the falling in love was inevitable. Me first and then he had no choice but to love me back ;)) He is my rock. Our relationship has definitely changed in ways and it has not always been easy. There are frustrating and upsetting times but we genuinely love and care about each other. Truly and deeply. 

Our anniversary is one of my favorite days of the year because now that the big celebration of the wedding day is long gone, we get to celebrate alone together. Every year we spend the day together and go out to eat, catch a movie, or figure out something special to do to commemorate the day. 

One of my favorite parts though is the gifts. Not because I'm greedy, but because we use traditional materials as gifts for each year. I.E. the first year was paper, then cotton, then leather and so on. It is really fun basing a gift on a material and trying to get creative with what we give. So let's take a trip down memory lane and talk about all the gifts we did over the years!

First year: Paper. For the first year we both gave each other the same gift: love notes in bottles. I hand wrote mine and Matt ordered (and I hope customized) his online. I remember his plan was to give mine to me at the beach and half bury it in the sand for me to find, but we never made it to the beach for whatever reason. 

Second year: cotton. I gave him a nice Polo shirt like I do for most special occasions and he bought us a new mattress. Not as romantic as the first year but we needed a bigger bed SO bad since we were sharing a queen size with a little munchkin who liked to roll and kick a lot. 

Third year: leather. This one felt pretty tricky. I got Matt some Rayban sunglasses in a leather case and asked him for a tablet in a leather case too. We ended up losing the tablet a few years later (honestly it became Natalie's anyway) and the case he got was too small/shaped weird but I still have it!

Fourth year: fruit and flowers. It seemed stupid and challenging at first (here's a daisy and a bowl of oranges..?) but I think we both did a good job getting creative. I put together a basket full of some of Matt's favorite snacks along with some masculine flowers that wilted and died because I hid them in the humid basement and I also made him a really pretty fruit tart. He gave me several bouquets of flowers and took me on a date to the arboretum in D.C. 

Fifth year: wood. I saved the cork to the (cheap) champagne we drank on our first anniversary, so I was excited about using that to create a sentimental gift. Again, I am not crafty, so I spent a lot of time thinking about and putting my heart into how to give him a piece of wooden cork as a present. I decided to so a shadow box. I found a picture of us from our first anniversary with Matt holding a glass of the champagne and then added some cutesy little details along with the cork in it. Matt got me a much needed dining room table. 

Sixth year: candy or iron. This is by far my favorite! Neither one of us care for sweets (I do have a sweet tooth now that I'm pregnant) so it seemed hard to figure out. My mom actually suggested we take a trip up to Hershey, PA and I thought that was genius. This was the first (and only) trip we'd taken without Natalie and we had so much fun. We stayed at the shadiest motel which added to the excitement. Will we get robbed or murdered?! Who knows?! It was comical how bad the place we stayed at was and the woman Greta who worked there always seemed to be lurking around. We went to Hershey Park and even though we didn't get on any rides we visited the zoo in the park and had a really good time. I picked out a cute little Hershey kiss stuffy and named it Greta to take home to Natalie. Matt also gave me real roses preserved in iron, how sweet! 

Seventh year: wool or copper. We once again gave each other the same gift this year: Moscow mule cups. My plan was to make Matt a nice dinner at home and then relax together and have some cocktails in our new cups. It sounded romantic to me but that is not how the day worked out. I ended up being violently hungover from a party the night before. Classy, I know. We didn't do too much but decided to drive out to the Shenandoah area for dinner (about an hour away). There was no way I was pouring another drink that day or anytime soon after and the cups still have yet to be used. 

I am excited about and look forward to tomorrow's material: pottery or bronze.