Paper Anniversary

So we just celebrated our one year anniversar! One year? Seriously???? I am so blessed! More on the mushy gushy later... I was thinking about how we should celebrate this milestone because this is one of the few BIG anniversaries. It's like your birthday- the following ages are the ones worth celebrating in a BIG way: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 16, 18, 21, ... , 50, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, etc. See that big gap between 21 and 50? That's how I feel wedding anniversaries will be like. The 1st anniversary is special, and after that, the next big celebration will be on the 50th anniversary! haha Probably only the older couples can really attest to that.

So what special things typically happen on a first anniversary? Well, we didn't have a wedding cake, so we don't have a one-year-old piece of cake in our freezer. It's too soon to renew wedding vows. We don't really have enough expendable money to take a special trip. The traditional first anniversary gift is paper, so I wanted to think of something creative to do with this...

Did you know that I keep a meticulous google calendar? It's partially because I'm sentimental and partially because I'm forgetful. I love looking back and seeing what happened on a certain day or being able to look back and see when my last dentist appointment was. If we go on a date, sometimes I even put which restaurant we went to and who we went with. I keep it for my own pleasure, but now I'm using it for an awesome (if I do say so myself) first wedding anniversary gift for Zach (and, ok, it's for me, too!)

Have I mentioned that I'm super sentimental- almost to the point of it being a hoarding issue. I've kept ticket stubs from movies, football games, concerts and bib numbers from races and cards and other little mementos from things Zach and I have done together over the past 6 years we have been together (I even have the very first birthday card he ever gave me in 2005- this was before we were even dating. but let's be honest, it was heading that way!). Now I'm finally going to remove them from the box they've been sitting in and use them in this gift!

I took this idea from one of my favorite blogs and modified it a bit. It's a calendar journal... I already had all of the tools and materials at home, so that was a big bonus! For my version you'll need:
*about 400 index cards (one for each day of the week, 12 for each month, and extras just in case)
*long, narrow basket to file cards in
*rubber cement
*date stamp (i used a martha stewart kit and had to place each letter and number individually... it took a LONG time, but i am so pleased with the "messy" way it looks)
*ink pad
*collection of ticket stubs, pictures, old menus, cards etc

Glue collection of sentimental items to index cards for width (enough to make 12 separators for each month). I put items on the front and the back, and I attached items so that the card could still be opened and the message inside could be read.

Stamp the date Jan 1-Dec 31 on index cards. Start with your wedding day (ours is June 19, 2010) and write what happened on that day. Continue for 365 days (it's ok to skip days in between) and finish on your first anniversary (June 19, 2011).

Optional: I started the calendar with June 19th instead of Jan 1st, so I needed one extra month separator since June is technically in here twice. The very first item in my basket is the card I'm giving to Zach on our first anniversary.

This would also be a great grooms gift. You won't have to think back for that first year you were married- you can just keep track of it as you go! I'm looking forward to this year when we will add to each day and remember what we did on that day one year ago. As I was going through my calendar from the past year, I can really see how the Lord has shaped us and brought us closer together and to Him. We have been blessed with some amazing experiences, and these are the highlights from our first year of marriage:

*Honeymoon in Chattanooga
*Trips (for business and pleasure) to Lake Keowee in SC, Pensacola, Jackson, Delray Beach, Starkville, Skiing in Maryland, Philly, Savannah, Charleston, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Texas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio
*A job for Stacey
*A church home
*Visits from family and friends in Gainesville
*Date nights with new couple friends
*Reunions with old friends
*A Bulldog victory over the gators at the swamp
*A bowl game (MSU)!! And a national championship title (Auburn)!!
*A 5K, 15K, and a half marathon
*Weddings and funerals
*Mission trip to Nicaragua
*Zach starting and finishing his 2nd year of medical school

So excited to see what the next year of marriage holds!

And I have to brag on my wonderful husband... he MADE me a bouquet of origami roses.

They are stunning and precious, and I love them so much! They are very "me". I love the different patterns on the paper, the no.2 pencil stems, and that they are positioned on top of a candle. So creative!Back off anthropologie, these are MY flowers! (Don't they look anthropologie-ish?) He said each one took about 15 minutes. The process is very meticulous. I had him show me how to make one but decided I didn't want to learn. I love the mystery (and that my husband can be crafty like me!)