Love Letters
Well this Sunday is Valentine’s Day, and while we don’t usually spend a lot of money or do anything too major we do like to take a moment to be sweet to each other- especially when doing something like exchanging heartfelt cards or enjoying a low key dinner doesn’t cost very much at all. And this year John actually had a super cute (and free) idea that not only gave us something to do this year but also something to look forward to next year. His big concept: let’s write V-day letters to each other that we can’t open until February 14th of 2011.
I immediately loved the idea because so much will change in the next year (we’ll be bringing home our first baby in May so we’re sure we have tons of memorable milestones and life-changing adventures ahead of us). We think it’s sweet that this do-not-open-til-next-year V-day letter will be a time capsule of sorts, full of all the excitement and anticipation of things to come. So that’s what we’ll be doing (along with dinner and a movie at a fun eat-in theatre).
And while we’re on the subject of love letters, we adored this amazing DIY idea that we saw over on This Home Sweet Home:
It’s actually a print you can buy from Pearl and Earl but we think it serves as great made-it-myself inspiration since anyone can take a meaningful poem, song lyric, love letter from the past, or any other grouping of meaningful words and type them out in a simple typewriter font (hint: try Courier). The combination of the white paper with the white mat and the white frame is lovely to us, but of course you can alter those elements to work with your home’s aesthetic (wouldn’t a navy mat and a dark brown frame look handsome in a deep and moody bedroom?). Heck, you can even change the color of the font and the paper (soft cream letters on tan stationery would look pretty cool). So we just thought we’d pass that along since we obviously have love letters of all kinds on the brain for V-day this year.
But what’s on your mind when it comes to the impending pink-heart-riddled holiday? Do you celebrate V-day? Do you hate it? Do you use it only as an excuse to eat too many fancy chocolate truffles? Do you remember when you used to hand out those paper Valentine’s cards at school? I do, my mom made me give them to everyone so I didn’t exclude anyone, which would have been nice except that I was mortified because boys were gross and had cooties. Oh those were the days.
Psst- Looking for more Valentine’s day projects and ideas? Check out this post full of fun little romantic suggestions and this post all about what I got John last year for V-day. Oh and here’s what John got me in return (gotta love a scavenger hunt).
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I love the idea of writing one another a love letter to be read in a year. Please bundle them up in a ribbon and save them all for your girl for when she grows up. She will love peeking into mommy and daddy’s past, and especially will love hearing about what it was like back when she was yet unborn, but expected. Speaking of love!
hearts to you both this Valentine’s Day.
We usually spend V-day at home relaxing. We have a no computer, no video games (unless we are playing together), no telephones kind of day where we just soak up our time together. We work on a project together, watch a favorite movie, or take the dogs to the dogpark. Oh, and there MUST be excessive amounts of food involved.
This year we are going to geek out and people watch at the renaissance festival that is in town. We go every year with friends but we are always a little bummed that we don’t get to do everything WE want to do (read: eat as much medieval awesomeness that we can) so this year we are going alone!
We also have a tradition where I make a dinner that is pink and red themed: shrimp cocktails, strawberry jello and pudding parfaits, red koolaide, and usually some kind of awesome sandwich. It is a tradition inherited from my family, and my mom always made us individual scavenger hunts that led us to our box of chocolates. My husband and I have done this a few times and the best part is laughing at the clues my husband writes for me; he is a terrible writer and they always end up like garbled Dr. Suessisms! Hilarious!
My husband and I celebrate the anniversary of our first date (2/18) instead of Valentine’s day. We miss the crowds and we get to commemorate a day that’s truly special for us.
This year, I’m getting the hubs a bonsai tree and I’ve made a beautiful little 3D elephant out of card stock (he collects elephants) and we’ll go out for dinner and then to the local teahouse/spa for a hot tub soak and sauna session.
Being single, it’s not my most favorite holiday of the year…but it beat’s New Year. *sob*
___
Barbara
http://ifididnthaveasenseofhumor.blogspot.com
John is a genius!
I love it! I am a hopeless romantic. So is my hubby – he is cooking me dinner. :)
Ever since my hubby and I started dating, he has always made a fancy Valentine’s Day supper. He is such a great cook and this way we get to avoid the busy restaurants. We usually get each other a small gift and watch a movie cuddled up on the couch together. Can’t wait for Sunday! Hope you have a great Valentine’s Day!
Love your love letter idea! We’re pretty low-key V-day celebrators, too. This year we’re giving each other homemade presents made from things we already have – we’re not buying anything. I think it will be a fun and creative way to show our appreciation for each other!
I just happened across your blog from Centsational Girl and I absolutely love it. I’ve spent over an hour just perusing and learning more about you and your home. Your home is gorgeous, as well as your wedding. My boyfriend and I just bought our first home and we’re slowly making improvements to it. We just tiled our kitchen, hallway and bathroom and we’re about to tackle the living room next. I definitely plan to add you to my google reader!
Hey Ash,
So glad you found us!
xo,
s (& j)
Valentine’s Day is special – that’s the day we got engaged (2004)! Josh even managed to surprise (ok, shock) me even though I had bragged he wouldn’t be able to! I’ll spare you the details, but trust me, it’s a great story! Anyway, on the subject of letters, you just gave me a brilliant idea: we have 150-200 letters that we wrote during our engagement because he was in Basic Training and Officer Canidate School the whole time and couldn’t email. So they’ve been in a shoebox for five+ years and I didn’t know what to do with them. But I know you keep postcards in a glass dish and display them. I could do the same and keep them in our bedroom! Hooray! No more out-of-site closet storage! Thanks for the great idea!
We don’t really celebrate V-day. Instead, we are doing something we did when we frist started dating: hiking. We are going for a drive and then hiking the afternoon away. It is something we did all the time and exchanging homemade cards. (I had my students help me with the card!)
I love Valentine’s Day! I’m pretty much a sucker for anything pink or chocolate, and romantic comedies make me sigh happily. This weekend is right up my alley. Did you put out any Valentine decorations or flowers?
Megean- Other than our one-bouquet-a-month routine we don’t do any special decorating for V-day. Wel, that’s not entirely true. We do plop a bowl of candy hearts on the counter and sometimes pick up some cute pink iced cupcakes to enjoy over the weekend. Food = love to us. Haha.
Jillbinmd- Stay tuned for that info! We hope to write a post about it asap.
xo,
s
hey guys! that sounds like an awesome way to document the goings ons throughout the year!
you said you were going to an eat in theatre for dinner AND a movie? Ive been wondering where there was one in the area, do you have any info about the theatre you guys are going to?!
I did these: http://www.designspongeshop.com/abccard.pdf
this is sure to be fun when 2011 comes around! i really fell in love with the framed love letter/poem! i like it so much i’m in the process right now of printing out our first dance song lyrics (Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd, DMB) and will have it framed (well, use a frame we have) to give to my hubby for V-Day – i think he’ll love it!
ohh mmm geee…GREAT idea y’all! and i TOTALLY saw the pearl and earl print above and gave them golf claps for style, creativity and originality!
so cute of you both…to open a year later! LOVIN’ this idea!!!
sidenote: just think, by that time…you’ll be writing an extra love note to the sweet lil’ bean too ;)
we at casacullen are planning to write a love note list to each other…just a list of thing’s that we’ve ADORED about the other one over the last year…funny memories, new adventures in the last year…whatever we’ve thoroughly enjoyed and learned about each other…
i’m going to frame them in nice white frames and they’ll reside on our nightstands until next year…
so that’s our plan stan, in addition to a relaxing weekend with one another…cheers
http://www.casacullen.com/
I think Valentine’s Day is fun! I wish that it were socially acceptable to decorate a shoebox and station it outside my house. For now, I’ll stick to doing sweet little things for my guy (like creating giant pink post-it hearts on our living room wall).
This year will be a little more exciting than most as we have a marathon planned for that morning :).
Fantastic idea! I may just steal it from you. ;)
My hubby and I aren’t big into Valentine’s day and have never believed in spending a lot of money or buying gifts or whatever for it. But, like you guys, we generally like to do something silly or sweet for one another. Such as, for our first Valentine’s together a few years ago I bought him baccon (for real) and he got me an M&M candy jar. Last year we ended up going out for dinner and completely forgot it was Valentine’s day until we were waiting in line at the restaurant! This year it’s been a really busy week leading up to it so we’re just looking forward to some good hang out time this weekend. We’re making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast on Saturday and will have mimosas. Then Sat evening we’ll probably watch a movie or some TV on DVD and just be together. It’s not on actual Valentine’s day – but it’s still special. :) Happy Valentine’s to you both! Have a great weekend!
i know this is a house blog, not a baby blog, but since the little bean is a’coming, i thought i’d mention – have you ever heard of baby wearing? you can get all sorts of neat carriers, like ring slings and mei-tais, that help you keep baby close while keeping your arms free. (and they’re stylish, lol!)
there are also a lot of great benefits for baby… if you look up information about baby wearing or attachment parenting i’m sure you’ll discover plenty more.
Hey Kirsten,
We’re definitely interested in wearing the bean from time to time. In fact a very good friend of mine has handed over her sling and a few books and sites on the subject. Can’t wait to work it into our repertoire as new parents.
xo,
s
Between making Valentine’s for my son’s classmates, making cards for family, and making my husband a gift, I’d say I’ve been a little V-Day crazy. I just love an excuse to show the special people in our life how much we care! I posted pictures of all our projects on our blog: http://cultivatinghome.wordpress.com.
Love the postponed love letter idea. Very sweet!
Although I love flowers I would always rather my husband give me something that I can look at forever and remember him by. This year he installed a new front door that I had been wanting! The best thing ever! Now everytime I slam that door I think of him ;-) He’s so great.
Thanks for this post!
Jill
I make a card to my husband every year with “I love…” on the front and all of the wonderful things that I love about him on the inside. “that you’re my personal space heater…when you bake me peanut butter cookies…how you play Lego with our sons…all of the crafty things you build for our home…YOU!” Some sentiments stay the same from year to year, but there are always new ones.
I love this idea. Might have to create one of my own to add some interest to our bedroom. Sentimental, but not girly — always important around our house!
http://mullismemories.blogspot.com/2009/12/possibly-free-christmas-gift.html
Check out this for a nearly free gift. Would make a fantastic Valentine!
I think that’s a sweet idea!
My husband and I always celebrate Valentine’s Day, but more in the sense that it’s a great excuse to go out for a nice dinner together. We usually don’t bother to go until a few weeks after Valentine’s Day, though, since everything is too crowded right around the 14th. :P
We stopped celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14, 2000 – not because we don’t like the holiday (It’s always been one of our favorites) but because our annual romantic at home lobster dinner was interrupted by labor pains and the eventual birth of our first daughter late that Valentine’s night. February 14′th is now Olivia’s birthday and we try to celebrate Valentine’s Day either the day before or after so that her birthday is special. :)
I love this idea. You guys and your ideas for decorating
with meaningful things inspired my Valentine’s gift to my husband, I made art out of our old love letters. You can check it out here http://sitrelaxandread.blogspot.com/2010/02/he-said-she-said-mantle.html
Thanks for always inspiring me.
Cha Cha
Love the frame! This year we are having an entire “just us” weekend. Saturday we are taking on a new painting project followed by homemade cheesecake (my gift to him) and dinner, then Sunday he is planning a surprise. Love it when Valentine’s falls on a weekend night!
Oh, your v-day letter idea got me a little misty-eyed. Because it’s awesome, and I happen to be overly emotional today. Haha. Anyway, today (th 12th) happens to be our 5-year anniversary of being together. We plan to visit our old stomping grounds and reenact our first date . . . should be a fun time! I’m also treating my sweetie to a professional massage. We’re both runners — so, that’s definitely a treat he’ll love.
Happy v-day to you two. Hope it’s a good one! <3
We rarely have had any spare cash to celebrate V-Day, and since our anniversary is March 11th, we usually save up for that holiday instead. This year for the first time we’re doing something super extravagant (and totally unoriginal) we’re going to a fancy 5 course set-menu “do” that requires that I dress like a lady and he wear a tie. Squeeeeee! There may even be crystal stemware! :)
Cute idea!! Maybe the hubby and I should try this!!! We usually just go out for a nice dinner and exchange fun gifts. He loves beer and brews his own, so I try to buy him unusual beers instead of candy!!
We got engaged 13 years ago on Valentine’s. A huge surprise to me, though when we told my parents my mom looked at my dad and said, “I win.” Every Valentine’s Day since being married (11 years now) we make a homemade pizza with olives…an OLIVE pizza…sounds like…”I love you pizza.” Cheesy, huh? For real, it’s cheesy. Love the love letter idea, we’ve got a box full of them.
This proves my procrastination tendencies… but I just found my Valentine’s Day present for my husband :) Great find!
I like the “holiday”. My husband and I just went out to lunch today to celebrate and on Sunday we will make a nice meal. I think we’ll get our kids (6 and 3) to help prepare the meal, make it a family event. Last year we had a special family dinner with the good dishes, silverware, and the kids even had their milk in wine glasses. We’ll continue that and maybe start a tradition.
You should so check out my blog! I just wrote about how my grandpa met my grandma by writing love letters during WWII. They got married a couple months after he returned on Feb 16, 1946. I posted one of the letters.
Too cute! Letters are just so sweet.
Love the love-letter idea! It will be fun to hear about it next year on V-day! My husband and I got engaged on February 11, 2007 – so we consider Valentine’s Day as a celebration of when we got engaged. We keep it pretty low key – maybe a sushi dinner and small gifts with meaningful cards. This year, we are cooking a meal together at home (one of our favorite things to do) – lambchops, roasted fingerling potatoes, asparagus, and berries and cream parfaits. We are even using our china, crystal, cloth napkins, etc – which will be the first time we’ve used them! It’s more about spending quality time together than presents for us. Happy V-day!
I love both ideas – the love letter to read a year later, and framing a letter or something else meaningful. I have been planning (for years now) to frame the poem that was read at our wedding and have it hung in our bedroom. When we finally “do” our bedroom in this house it WILL happen. Now I’m thinking I should frame a collage of some of our early love notes that we left on each others cars. Or a section of our vows.
This Vday we plan to spend the day at home together. If the weather cooperates, we’re going to build a piece of furniture together. :)
my husband and i dont do v-day! we never have in 5 years. instead we pick any random day in feb. and call it “red dress day”. i buy a new red dress and we have a full day of lovely stuff. living in ny it works for us. nothing is ever crowded or cheesy on red dress day. :)
Very cute idea! Your blog is so inspiring.
My husband and I write a love letter to each other at Christmas (we put them in our stockings), but I never thought of waiting a year to read them!
As for V-day, my hubby makes heart shaped pancakes every year. He also always makes me an ‘H’ shaped one (my initial). It’s simple, but I look forward to it every year.
Love it! What a romantic.
What you’re doing is kind of similar to what my husband and I did on our wedding: instead of having a traditional guestbook, we purchased a variety of anniversary cards and had guests write notes to us on the cards. my mom sealed them up and on our one-year anniversary we’ll open them and read them. we’re 4 months away from reading them and i can’t wait.
i’m also so glad you posted that pearl and earl photo. my husband and i have been wanting to type up and frame our personalized wedding vows to each other and i’ve been trying to think of a nice looking way to do it. the pearl and earl print is very simple, but might be just how i want to do it!
A lovely idea, so sweet! Love the framed letters as well, I just did something along these lines to celebrate Valentine’s Day, framing the date my husband and I met and hanging it alongside other artwork on a gallery wall in his office.
Janell
I love your blog and I love your house! Your wedding was so nice in your backyard!!! You two are the cutest couple!
I did this on my blog several months ago. I used a love letter my husband wrote me when we were still dating:)
http://www.whitewaxflower.com/2009/12/warning-extreme-mushiness-ahead.html
I love your idea of writing a letter to each other to be opened next Valentine’s Day. So romantic.
Framing a favorite poem or letter reminded me of my wedding. My husband and I sat down about a week before our wedding and wrote out all our favorite love-related poems and quotes from movies and books. Some were touching, some romantic, and many were funny. Then my sister typed them up on beautiful card stock–one quote or poem per card–and we used them as favors at the reception. We put one card on each guest’s place setting. They were a huge hit at the reception and served as an ice-breaker among guests who didn’t know one another. Later, we had my sister reproduce our favorite poem (the one that was read during the wedding ceremony) and we framed it with two photos from our wedding.
We don’t go all out for Valentine’s Day and keep it low-key like you do- usually pizza and a movie :) We always exchange cards, though! I have dozens saved from every occasion over the four years we’ve been together.
I love the Pearl and Earl print! In our foyer, we have a framed collage of each of the love poems that served as table numbers at our wedding and in our bedroom, a framed heart-shaped sparkly card my husband made when he proposed. I love the idea of framing a love letter, though, and Cha Cha’s art idea is amazing!
It will be so much fun to read your cards next year! John is so thoughtful :)
my husband wrote and recorded a song for me for valentine’s day a few years ago titled “Red”, and after reading your post, i typed it up, printed it on cardstock and framed it for him. who knew i could regift that??
“Life is what you make it;
And I want to make it with you.
Red, red!
My heart is red for you…”
So cute! We love hearing what everyone is up to. All of your stories and traditions are so much fun! Thanks for sharing them.
xo,
s
I love making scrapbooks for my boyfriend…I don’t do it every year, but I think it’s one of my favorite gifts I’ve given him.
They’re so fun to make because I get to be crafty, and dig through all our memories as I do it.
The only downside of the gift is they’re not cheap to make. But if there’s one thing I like to splurge on once in awhile, it’s my guy….
We don’t usually do anything out of the ordinary on V-Day… I love Handy Hubby so much every day! Your letter writing reminds me of our anniversary gifts that we give… an anniversary journal that we exchange annually on our big day.
This year I am planning a little DIY gift for him though. His grandpa used to own a gas station (I know, that’s not romantic, but keep reading) and when he passed away Handy Hubby was given several of the embroided patches with the station’s name on them that Papa wore on his coveralls while working there. For years, Handy Hubby has tossed them into a small bowl he keeps on our bedroom dresser. I plan on gluing them to linen fabric and then framing them for him. It’s about time he cherished them in style!
Love the love letter idea. Something amazing to keep and enjoy through the years.
Wanted to share what I do with my sons. Every year on their birthday, I write them a letter and discuss what their year was like, who their friends are, what activities they like, etc. Then I seal it up, write the year on it and tuck it away in a special box. The boys are now 14 and 16 and while I don’t have a letter for each year of their lives, I have covered 80%! I plan to give each boy their collection of letters when they graduate from college. It will be fun to search for a cool box to put them in.
It’s really a fun and easy way to document their lives. Something to think about for the Beanette!
Happy Valentine’s Day to a fabulous couple!
<3
renee
I have never been a fan of Valentine’s Day, but I really like your letter idea! I worked for a florist for 4 years (all through college) and V-Day brings back cringe-worthy memories.
Thanks, this will be fun to do in lieu of gifts since my husband knows not to bring roses or the like near me in February. (However they are welcome any other time!)
<3 Amanda