Celebrating Wedding Anniversaries

I have always loved celebrating milestones. Growing up my mom took birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones very seriously. Our birthday parties were always something to remember - from surprise parties to large gathering of friends. I can't remember when I was first aware of my parents wedding anniversary, but at some point I knew that this special day existed. These moments were filled with tokens of love from flowers and cards to jewelry and other gifts. I knew that these anniversaries were important moments and something to be treasured.

Mr. Ramon and I are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary this year. From the beginning of our marriage I knew I wanted to find a neat way to celebrate our anniversary. I thought of the universal list of wedding anniversary gifts and knew that we could use that as the basis for any gift giving when our anniversaries rolled around. 

The history of giving certain gifts for certain milestones dates far back to medieval times when milestones of 25 and 50 years together were celebrated. The list became even more popular during the Victorian era when additional gifts for certain milestones were added. The gifts start off with modest materials like pottery and paper and over time the value of the gift material increases to the likes of silver and diamond. 

There are two versions of this anniversary gift list - the traditional list with items like paper, tin and fruit on it and a more updated list that replaces some of these items with modern gifts like clocks, appliances and desk sets. We settled on the tradional list for our anniversary gifts. 

For our first anniversry paper was the tradional gift on the list. We both suprised each other with art for this anniversary. I had been eyeing an amazing poster from this great design site - Super Rural for some time and it was perfect for my gift to Mr. Ramon. I framed it in a big white frame and we hung it over our first floor landing. 

When our second anniversary came around we both embraced the theme of cotton. Mr. Ramon chose a cotton canvas bag from Seattle company Filson. I was starting a new job around this time and it was a practical and beautiful gift. Mischa thought this bag was for her!

For Mr. Ramon I tried to find something reallly unique that would celebrate our special day. I found someone on Etsy that makes cotton knit infinity scarves with hand printed wording on them. I chose to have the lyrics of the song I walked down the isle to - Radiohead - All I Need printed on it. I was really excited about this gift and it looks awesome on Mr. Ramon.

This year the list prompted us for leather gifts. There were a lot of "normal" leather gift type items Icould have picked up for Mr. Ramon - wallets, watch, key fob etc. He has some really nice leather items already that do not need upgraded or replaced. So I opted for a ver nice pair of leather boots that he can wear often and get some gret use from. 

Mr. Ramon was a little more practical and I was super excited about my gift. He chose a pair of fancy leather LL Bean slippers. I have been wearing the same worn out, ratty slippers for several years. This gift is going to be great at keeping my toes warm in our cold house!

I look forward to many more anniversaries with Mr. Ramon and using this list to guide our gifts. Would love to have you share how you celebrate anniversaries and milestones.  

Shopping Portland - HAUNT

Mr. Ramon and I spent a weekend recently in Portland, OR with an amazing couple to celebrate a birthday. It was their first time in Portland so there was much to see, do and eat over the 2 dyas we were there. 

We took some time to shop and I came across an amazing little boutique called HAUNT on Burnside St. Holly Stalder is a designer of beautiful custom bridal and artful clothing pieces. She sells her designs along with beautiful jewelry, bags, accessories and others designers clothes in her shop. You can find her one of a kind pieces on Etsy as well. 

I fell in love with a clutch made from a Pendleton blanket with this awesome leather tassle on it. Mr. Ramon saw how much I loved it and made it mine. What a swell guy!!

If you are looking for one of a kind pretty things I really recommend you check this boutique out!

I can see!!

I have been wearing glasses since I was 14. Since then my sight has gotten worse and I cannot go without my glasses or contacts. I have considered corrective surgery occasionally but doubt if I will ever go through with it. I really love glasses. I used to sneak my moms old glasses from the 60's out and wear them to school - her prescription making me dizzy as I walked the halls. But I thought I looked cool and that's all that mattered. Since then I have always had glasses that show off my individual style. 

Recently I was contacted by Firmoo, an online glass company that specializes in inexpensive, fashionable eye wear. They wanted to send me a pair of glasses and see what I thought about their glasses and the customer experience I received. Now we all know glasses are expensive. My last pair were about $500 with lenses. I wear contacts most of the time, so having more than one pair of glasses is an extravagance to me. So this proposal was perfect for me. 

Firmoo, offers over 300 styles of frames. For the price of one pair of glasses at a regular optical store you could get 8 pairs on Firmoo. I thought it was going to be really hard to decide what glasses I liked since I could not try them on in person. But they have this cool virtual try on system that allows you to upload a pictures of yourself and try the glasses you like on your face. I wanted some big glasses so it was great that they offer all of the dimensions of their glasses. 

It took me about a week to decide. I had Mr. Ramon help me and finally settled on these lovely frames in a black matte finish. It was easy to order them - all I needed was my prescription from my eye doctor. The customer service team was super responsive to me when I placed my order and when it shippped to me. 

It took about a week and I had some awesome new glasses. They fit my face well and I am very happy. In fact I am considering another pair. 

Curious? Well you can get your first pair free by going to their website here. You just pay the shipping charges.