Paper

It's a well-known tradition to give anniversary gifts based on an annual theme. Not many people adhere to it, but I think that it's a fun inspiration. One's mind immediately jumps to all of the opportunities that this year's theme allows: plane tickets, cash, etc. Mind you, if I could think of a really great gift that didn't fit in the theme, I'd go with it. But this year, and because of financial restrictions when it comes to gift-buying, I've made a homemade anniversary gift in keeping with the one-year theme: paper.

For those of you who don't know Steve and my story, here is a [slightly] abridged version:
I was studying abroad in London when I was 20, and Steve and I met through a mutual friend.
He fell in love with me at first sight, so he says, but I blame the leather leggings I was wearing and the fact that I'm pretty sure I danced on a table at some point during the evening we met.
Classy girl, aren't I? Well, he kept coming around to see me, so he must be telling the truth.

After I left London, we kept in touch via Skype for a few months, almost a year maybe. But as things do, our contact fizzled out.

{Time Lapse}

April, 2013 - I was going on a 9-day vacation in Ireland, beginning and ending in Dublin. Steve happened to be on Facebook the day I arrived, and saw a photo of me drinking a pint of Guiness. He commented on the photo, saying that the only appropriate place to drink Guiness is in Ireland. Well, I said, I was.

I went about the next week traveling around the pretty Irish countryside, and returned in Dublin on day 8 of our trip. Walked into the hotel, and while my mom checked in, headed to the bar (as one does). And do you know who was sitting there? Yep. Steve.

I ditched my family, and tour group companions, and the two of us spent the rest of the day pub crawling through the Temple Bar area. I don't think I stopped smiling, or laughing, for a second. Somewhere between pubs, while walking down the street, I blurted out, "doyouwannagetmarried" in some sort of silly, slurred speech. Well, to this day, that counts as my proposal. Yep. I proposed. But he did bolt into a church at the end of the street, mid-sermon, and demand that we get married on the spot. After that, I think he asked our taxi cab driver to perform the ceremony. It all got a little blurry, but the proposal stuck.

There was a really romatic horseback ride through the mountains the next day, but that's part of the longer version. You'll have to buy the book, for that.

I returned to NYC two days later, back to my "normal" life, but it wasn't going to be normal for long. Steve started the visa process to come to the states, and I had to kick my then-roommate out (sorry, Greg) and start preparing for Steve's arrival. My friends and family all thought we were nuts. Well, we are. But it suits us.

He arrived in late August. I remember standing at "arrivals" in JFK, thinking he wasn't going to walk down that ramp. I thought it couldn't be real.
But it was. And on October 18th, 2013, we tied the knot at City Hall in New York. You can read more about our fun day here.

So since our story crosses space AND time, I made a little gift in keeping with that, as well as the first-year theme of paper. It's all of the important places in our relationship: where we first met, where I proposed, and where we tied the knot. There are little hearts stitched over the exact geographical location on the map where all three of these events took place. So, I think I did a pretty good job with paper. What do you think?