Fourth Anniversary Inspiration- Fruit and Flower Gift Ideas

I love a theme, and the marriage anniversary gift guidelines are both hilariously arbitrary and super fun to take on as a challenge. Every year so far, we have done decorating, food, and our gifts to another level by just following the weirdly wonderful list of suggestions.

For the first year, we made paper decorations like the ones at our wedding (we have enough tissue paper to last a lifetime). For gifts, we exchanged a paper clock and scratch off maps.
For the second year, we rocked it with a cotton sheet tent in our room, where we camped out, watched Top Chef, and did not exchange cotton robes.
For the third year, we ate steak. Well, he ate steak. I covered our house in cows and compromised my cow-loving morals. We exchanged leather photo albums and luggage tags.

It may seem like a silly tradition, but I firmly believe that the key to appreciating life (and having a happy one), is making a big deal about the good things. You can't do anything to stop bad things from happening, but giving the good equal weight, attention, time, and creativity  In my life, The Boy is probably my single favorite life decision, so I am going to make a big deal out of our anniversary week. That doesn't mean forking over lots of dough, just killing it on the theme.

This year's theme? Fruit and Flowers. 

After last year's leather-clad meatfest, this year's theme seems pretty tame. You can also tell that motivation to rock the theme is waning, because both Pinterest and Etsy don't have many suggestions. Pinterest has roses made of bacon and some fruit puns.

 Etsy is mostly selling various roses out of every material you can think of. Also, a t-shirt that says "She still puts up with me after 4 years"- really? This needs to be said after 4 years- how awful are you? Let's not pat her on the back just yet. Four years seems very early to be bragging (maybe that's why no one goes all out for this anniversary- not fresh enough to be fun, not established enough to feel like an accomplishment?).

So, I would never advocate for people to buy something as useless as a metal rose or as embarrassing as that t-shirt. This anniversary feels like a totally wasted creative opportunity out there- sure, sweet and floral sounds feminine, but this really feels like an anniversary about planting things that grow.

Please friend, just don't buy a vase, floral scented candles, or a bouquet from the grocery store. You can get something more useful than that!

So some ideas that would work for either gender...

Something that Grows

 I can see the instinct to go for the bouquet of flowers or edible arrangement when fruit and flowers are the theme, but consider something that will still be growing for future anniversaries as well. Because no one needs another vase, but we could all use more fresh air.

We may not think of flowers and fruit as gifts that persist, but a lilac bush could fill your yard with the best smell ever for years. You have to keep taking care of a raspberry bush or an herb garden (if you don't have much space, you may still have room to grow), but isn't that more like marriage? It always takes a little upkeep, but you get a lot more from it than you would a bouquet long gone by your 5th anniversary.

My best gift idea for this anniversary is to plant or grow something that matters to you and your partner. You could even do it together as the celebration!

A Little Garden Glamour

from West Wind Home Garden

A Planter Box, Decorative Stones, Garden Gnome, or even one of those magic balls would be so cool and funny. Really what says romance more than a garden gnome? PhenomeGnome has quite the selection of classy guys waiting to grace your garden. These balls from Uncommon Goods have really unique designs and I think they light up at night from solar power as well. Made in Canada from recycled glass, so that might be a perfect.

For stepping stones, it doesn't get much cuter than these turtle stones. I can totally imagine the gardens where they would look adorable. When I started looking for garden stones, the vast majority were animal gravestones. Maybe not for an anniversary, but you can find better options. Then it was all for something called "fairy gardens." So maybe you don't do stepping stones on Etsy.

My favorite might be these penny flower stakes for Uncommon Goods- they are made from recycled/ upcycled materials in the US, and they are just so super cute.

from 3D Uni Print

Don't have a big garden to guss up? You could still get a planter! You can't help but love the bulbasaur planters that are all over Etsy, just be sure you are getting one that is a non-ridiculous size (or try a dinosaur planter- cool recycling). Convivial Production sells a hanging basket that somehow looks modern and reminds me of my Grandma's house all at once. For something really original, check out these amazing necklaces at Wearable Planter. Lastly, I love this planter troth from one of my favorite Etsy stores- Andrew's Reclaimed- made of all reclaimed wood. Would be perfect if you want your own little herb garden!

Somewhere to Stop and Smell the Roses

We bought a bench as our big gift for this anniversary- it may sound a little lame, but I am psyched about it. We got a bench from Polywood, so it is made of recycled plastic in the United States. They have gliders too! I love this company even more now- the bench was pretty easy to put together (The Bubba was just so helpful) and it looks even better in person than online.

It is one of those things that looks perfect in its spot in our yard (and it will be so nice for practical moments and sitting together), but with such a long list of to do's, I bet we wouldn't have gone for it for a very long time. I am writing stores on Etsy to try to get a fun plaque for it as well (still debating what to have it say). It's a place to stop in our garden, when in general we just go go go, so I am excited about that little bit of quality time together.

Juicy Fruit

Fruit, when you think about it, is a pretty low maintenance food. You motly eat it raw. You could get a juicer if you think it would get a lot of use (but I can't find one made in the USA- phooey). Microplane sells American-made zesters, which have turned out to be very handy in our house.

from Golem Designs

I can think of two other fruit tools in the kitchen- a fruit bowl or a strainer to wash berries in. I love ones that are a little bit open, like this modern one from Golem Designs and this stunner from Nings Wonder World. This concrete fruit bowl from Rough Fusion looks very sophisticated.

I love this berry buddy from Uncommon Goods- it looks great, is made in Pennsylvania, and it would work perfectly if you are big berry-eating family (like we are). Lots of Etsy ceramicists like Mark's Pottery, Shady Grove Pottery, and Loma Prieta Pottery make berry strainers as well. Want to do something more cost effective? You can also find really cool vintage ones on Etsy or get the strainer from Preserve- made in the USA with recycled materials!

And For Something Truly Not Romantic...

So most of these gift ideas have been at least a little romantic, but the theme does lend itself to getting something practical off your list. Gosh, that is so the 4th year of marriage. Still, if you (or your partner) feel lighter with another to do biting the dust, this might be fun (but go on a romantic date or something- life can't be all practical).

If you still need something bought or something done for your outdoor space, this might be the perfect opportunity to focus on that. Whether you live in a stand alone house or a rented apartment, you may enjoy some outdoor space more with a little boost. Maybe you want a swing for your porch or a hanging tomato garden for your patio. Maybe your porch needs repainted or the stairs need fixed. This can be a perfect opportunity to tackle something together and to put a little attention into spaces that can be forgotten.

Good Ideas from Amazon

One of the least romantic options for this would be a composter. It's kind of like a pretty vase, but you put the flowers in after they are dead. It may seem really boring or lame, but you can keep making great soil for you yard this way and save so much from a landfill. A banana peel in a kitchen garbage bag may never decompose. In your composter, it will in a week. So eco-friendly and it will save you money too! If you have the room, Good Ideas makes great composters, but if you need something a little smaller, check out this Envirocycle one.

Idlyc from Amazon

Not yard people? No worries! You could also get totally unromantic about your grocery shopping. Rather than using those plastic produce bags which are used once and then shipped to the landfill, you could get produce and grocery bags to shop with! Honestly, we just use a reusable grocery bag and throw everything into one bag. Why not? We are just going to wash it all when we get home anyway, so what are the little bags protecting them from? Hot peppers are the only thing that gets their own bag.

Fruit and Flower Art

Both fruit and flowers are the subject of lots of cool prints and paintings, so you could also buy something to help decorate your kitchen.

from Jessica Haas Designs

My favorite of all of these are seasonal food calendars- we bought one of these ones from Jessica Haas Designs for our house, and it can really help you keep track of what is good when at a local level (I just wish we had a cheat sheet for which fish are pictured). I have lusted over this garden chart from Little Low literally for years, but we don't have room in our kitchen, so it just sits in my Etsy cart. For years. No joke. Someone get it- it's so pretty. They have all sorts of beautiful prints, so check out this store. Also try- Lucile's Kitchen, Cactus Club, lh print shop, Season's Gleanings, and Lou Paper.

This map from artist Wendy Gold turns the whole world into bouquets of flowers. This is so pretty, and it reminds me of Napoleon's wife who had a huge collection of gorgeous botanical drawings. May be the perfect piece for a mudroom or office.

If you want to gift something really different, these stained glass panels are both geometric and organic. I love that they are made in Kentucky, and it could look perfect in your window.

Ok, these are my best ideas, what are yours? How do you make a gift thoughtful, fun, and useful all at the same time!? It's a tall order, but I believe it can be done!

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Tips for Keeping a Family or Couple's Yearbook

One of my favorite parts of our anniversary is pulling out our photo books from previous years and reflecting on the year we have just had. I think we will always look at the one I made for our wedding on our wedding anniversary, but that whole week (our wedding anniversary is the 25th and our anniversary is the 29th), we pull out old books to reflect. A few weeks later, our new book will come in that orange shutterfly box  (I know other people use Blurb, but my Shutterfly loyalty currently runs pretty deep).

I started making us year books as an anniversary gift way back around year 4 of our relationship (I don't count it as a gift anymore, because it is as much for me as for the Boy). For me, these books are a huge part of maintaining our own little family culture and preserving our history in a way we can manage, much easier to navigate than the THOUSANDS of pictures I take every year.

 As I look at them lined up like that, it seems narcissistic, and honestly, maybe it is, but I think it will continue to transform as our immediate family grows, and I am glad the early years of our relationship are captured for us to remember. The books serve as a good reminder that the years or days don't always have to be the most exciting or eventful to be important to you. It just goes back to treating your life and your relationship like they are meaningful, and that attitude encourages more meaningful events. It's true!

I know people have the intention to do this kind of thing, but sometimes it can be hard to keep up with. After seven years of doing it, I have a few tips that may help:

-Take pictures! Not just with your phone! Though the convenience of camera phones certainly appeals, the problem is you end up with relatively low quality images that don't print that well. They drive me crazy when I have to use them for family calendars, because no matter how great they are, they have to be teeny tiny.

You don't have to have a massive camera, just keep a point and shoot with you when you go out and (maybe more important) out and available when you are home! It can be hard to make it part of your routine, but the more everyone gets on board with it, the more you will be glad you did.

-Steal other people's pictures of the memories you share with them- I have mostly stopped posting our personal pictures on facebook, but I still try to post our times with family in case family members want that picture as well. Stealing others pictures can give you a more full picture of holidays (and if you are like me, might be the only chance to prove you were actually there!) Repeat after me; Right click- Save Picture As- Put a Date as the title- Save.

- Organize your photographs (by Date and Subject) as you upload them- I don't have a good reputation for being organized (and rightly so) but I keep my photo archive meticulous. When I upload my pictures, I label them like this: "7-4-2014 Fourth of July" or "4-25-2014 Boring Week with Hats." Go through them right away and throw away anything that is blurry/ not great.

- Pick a start date that is meaningful to you. January is actually a tough place to start because you have just established a bunch of new goals plus not much is going on. December is an even more difficult time to finish, because life is crazy around the holidays (not to mention, if you are like me, you have a bunch of other photo gifts to make that time of year).

 I love using our anniversary as a start and end date. I love it even more as our family starts to expand, because I don't want to forget that our relationship was the start and should remain one of the centers of our family. If you have kids, you could also do it around the school year. Or start it at the beginning of every summer? Don't feel tied to the calendar year.

-Pick your photos at least once a month- I make a new folder "Year # Book", and I put my favorite pictures from each event, the ones I would want in our book, into that folder. Even if I don't make the actual pages until weeks or months after the event, it is so much simpler than trying to make those choices and upload at the same time.

-And while you are at it, just make the book as you go- I love Shutterfly because you can save your projects on their website and just keep coming back to it. This can be a big project, but I think it is better to think of it as a long commitment. You put a little bit of time in a couple of times over 12 months rather than trying to organize your whole life once a year. Plus, if you do it as you go, you don't have trouble remembering why you took that picture.

I usually dig in to making pages after big events. I usually do the majority of the fall before Thanksgiving, because I know I will have a lot more pictures to go through after the holidays, and I tackle all of that later in January when things calm down. Doing it all at once would be a daunting task, but if you start putting things together as you go, it becomes a half hour- hour commitment every so often instead. 

-Pick a style that feels good at the time- The choices you make, no matter what they are, will be fine as long as you are telling your story. As you go, you will come up with strategies you like, and your style will change a lot (for us, the pages are more complex, and the book is both bigger and longer than when we started)! The first book is from 2009, and the second is 2013, so you can see how much I have changed. I think my books are getting better, but not really that much better, just different. I can't imagine how many styles we will go though by 20 years or 50!

-If you love the picture, make it big! Even if you don't have tons of pictures, you can still fill up a book with a few key pictures. Christmas can be a 2 page spread, or it can take up 10 pages. It doesn't even have to be chronological! No one makes the rules but you. Shutterfly standard books are 20 pages long, but you can add up to 90 pages. I usually use almost all of them, but you should pace it however makes sense for you.

-Remember to capture everyday life too- I saw this great idea on someone else's blog. Crown one day a "regular day" and capture it from start to finish, so you can give a more clear picture of what life looked like when it wasn't a holiday or special event. It can be easy to forget that low key times matter too, but sometimes the best moments happen when life is a little more laid back!

-Write some text to explain what is going on, what was said, what the joke is- I see lots of these books on pinterest that look really design-y and cool, but I just think that you may be forfeiting more than you realize. You don't think you will forget now, but you will. Write the stories. I use three fonts- a 30-60 size fonts for headings, a 20-30 size font for sub-headings, and usually something around 12 for captions (because I figure our eyes will get worse). Shutterfly and other stores have pre-set styles if you want to just pick one and keep it simple. But trust me, you want text.

-Pick your favorite moments- One of my favorite pages is the very last one I make, where the Boy and I talk about our favorite moments from the year. We just started doing this since we got married. We list 10-12 times that were especially meaningful or fun, and I think it will bring a lot of joy in the future to go just through those pages.

- Enjoy it- This is a task that should be fun, so don't agonize over it. After all, I think it is so fun and exciting to reflect. It's a great exercise in gratitude!

- Wait for sales! If you are going to use Shutterfly, know that they put everything on sale OFTEN, so you don't have to order it the second you finish it. Keep an eye out for a good sale on photobooks AND extra pages (if you are like me and end up using a ton), and order it once you find a price you like.

I hope this helps you feel like this is a totally achievable goal! If you have any advice or questions for me, feel free to ask!

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Today's Inspiration- A Throwback

from scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net

This is much less art historical than most of what I choose, but it was also the highlight of the Walt Disney Museum, which Paige and I visited way back in January (that feels so so long ago now). As I plan for our second anniversary, this is kind of the long term goal- to continue having fun together.

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Second Anniversary Ideas- Building a Fort!

Even though cotton makes for some super lame gift ideas, it has to have one of the most awesome decorating ideas front and center. People, we are building a tent out of sheets. I am thinking maybe we can even eat dinner in the tent if I can think of something that isn't too messy. No matter what, I am just pumped for this idea- have any grown-up readers made a tent or fort inside their house? Any tips for making it awesome?

from

kidcrave.com

 First of all, where is this? Is that church outside the tent? This one seems to have some real engineering behind it, but it does look really chic. I do like the ones using light colored sheets and with lots of lights, but I think we will probably build off of our bed, since we already have a frame there. This is my plan anyway. 

from

belladonna-and-cloves.tumblr.com

 I love this one. It looks like they live in it full time, which I support. I also love the hanging pictures, so I think I am going to get pictures printed from our second year to decorate inside the tents.

from

babble.com

 This one is amazing. I cannot step to this, though I am slightly concerned about the closeness to the fire. I love the combinations of patterns and colors.

from

believeinyourselfremainstrong.tumblr.com

 The lights take everything to another level, so I bought these kind of cotton puff looking lights to hang with the white lights we have used for other things. I do like this one on the floor.

from

alamodeus.net

This one may be the closest to what ours will actually look like (though I wonder if we can build more tunnels into other rooms? I may be overestimating my engineering skills here). I will be sure to post pictures! Send me advice!

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Today's Inspiration- Frida and Diego

Frida Kahlo, Frida and Diego Rivera, 1933- from wikipaintings.org

You can't talk about famous art couples without reflecting on this pair. They had a strange and sometimes tumultuous relationship, but each also helped the other remain incredibly productive. Because Frida made so much highly autobiographical work, you can learn a lot about their relationship just by looking at her work.

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Day 4- Anniversary and Tin Foil

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First Three Days of Marriage in Pictures

Ok, so the goal for the first year of marriage is to take one picture every day. We'll see how it goes. It would be much easier if I was cool enough for Instagram, but alas, I am not. So, here are the first three days of marriage, summed up in three pictures.  Ok, I picked a bonus for the actual wedding day.

Day 0- We're Married!

Day 1- August 26th- Brunching, Undecorating, and Gift Opening

Day 2- August 27th- Cleaning and Anniversary Cake

 

Day 3- August 28th- Zombie Travel Day

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