Family

Pin It/Do It: Ticket Stub Memory Box

Months ago, I pinned a great idea to my Craft and DIY Projects board – a shadow box for storing and displaying ticket stubs. I’m happy to report that I finally got my act together and made one!

This is my take on the ticket stub memory box:

Here was my (p)inspiration:

I decided to go with two tickets instead of just one, because my intention with this project was to create a place for B and I to store mementos from things that we’ve done together or have special meaning for us as a couple, including:

    • lift tickets from a recent ski trip
    • my first commuter rail pass from when we moved in together
    • movie ticket stubs from dates

I’m hoping that we’ll continue to add to it, and be more mindful of saving these little mementos now that we have somewhere to keep them that doesn’t create clutter.

I’m having an issue with everything just falling to the bottom behind one another, instead of standing up and being seen, so I may end up tweaking this down the line somehow. Any suggestions?

Do you save ticket stubs or receipts from special moments? If so, how do you store them? Tucked away in a memory box? In a scrapbook? Something like this?

Gallery

Holidays recap

Now that the holidays are over, and the new year is underway, I’m able to relax a bit (without feeling guilty about doing so).I’m relieved that the holidays are over – it was a really exhausting stretch this year.  B’s busiest time of year is always between Thanksgiving and the New Year (hello, retail!), so to make it through the month with our sanity in tact, we usually just stick to the system that works for us. And by system I really just mean that I pick up some of the slack for a while. In turn, she has to go along with whatever crazy plans and projects I come up with. I muster up enough holiday spirit for the both of us and eventually infect her with my enthusiasm. It’s worked out pretty well for us the last few years. This year, though, not so much.

Problem this year was that I too was crazy busy at work during the same time, rolling out a project I’ve been working on for two years (!).  Needless to say, we were both exhausted, and the normal holiday things just didn’t happen.  I was tired and stressed out, and just couldn’t get into the spirit. I felt bad that the apartment was a mess, wasn’t decorated, and didn’t feel festive at all. I put in a valiant last-ditch effort and had a few successes. I think the wrapping turned out really nice, and I fully decorated the mantle and hung our stockings.

By the 23rd, I’d made progress, but it still didn’t feel like Christmas without a tree, so I went out and got one while B was at work. I’d planned to just get a little table-top one and call it good, but the smallest tree I could find was about 5′. So what did I do? I bought it anyway. A la Dr. Seuss, I somehow found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two – I shoved it in the back of the Jeep, drove it home, managed to get it up the back stairs, into the house, into the tree stand, and strung up with lights before she got out of work. How that happened, I still don’t quite understand. It was pretty and twinkle-y, albeit bare. We never got around to decorating it, except for the 2012 ornament I bought this year.

I didn’t get to everything I wanted to, and it wasn’t perfect, but you know what? It didn’t matter. We spent Christmas morning together, at home, in our pajamas, and just enjoyed the moment and each other’s company. Oh, and napped. We all did a lot of napping.

Leroy helping wrap presents.
Fred, obsessed with the raffia!
The Mantle (a.k.a. the only decorating I actually finished)
Stockings for Bit, Fred and Lee
Cat in a Hat
Lots of cuddle time with mommy.
Vacation is for napping, right?
Bit rocking her super cute Santa suit (Thanks Grampy! Love, your grand-dog-her)
Oh crap, they saw us!

 

Diving In

If you’re reading this, you probably know me. And if you know me, you know that I have strong opinions, don’t hold my tongue, and am passionate about a number of things. You also probably know that family is everything, and mine is big, all sorts of crazy, and I love them dearly. I love corny jokes (thanks, Dad!), and crafty things (here’s to you, Mom!). I live with the love of my life  and our two cats. I’m sure I sometimes drive her crazy with all of my little projects and crafts, but she supports me no matter what.

So, what’s the point of staring this blog, anyway? And what’s it going to be about?

Well, I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a while now, but couldn’t decide on what it should be about. I figured the best way to find out would be to dive in and see where it takes me. So…

It won’t be a blog about decorating, or crafting, or fashion, or cooking, or organization. But I’ll talk about all those things, because I love them.

It’s not going to be all about politics – but on occasion I’ll talk politics. Because, after all, the political is the personal and the personal is political.

I’ll most likely write about social issues, things that bother me or that I wish I could change. I’ll probably highlight things that inspire me, or showcase the good in the world.

This won’t be a blog about gay rights issues, but I’ll touch on them to be sure – I’m gay and these issues affect my life daily.

I’m not going to post about our cats everyday, but expect to see them make an appearance when they do something insanely adorable or infuriating.

I might talk about a book I’ve read, or a movie I’ve seen, or a recipe I’ve tried.

We’ll see where it takes me, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

V