you’ve got mail

lovenotebox

In July I stumbled upon a mixed media piece at the Westport Fine Arts Festival. The artist (who’s card I have fretfully lost, and therefore name I cannot remember, please comment if you know!) discovered some college dorm mailboxes, complete with alpha-combination locks. He transformed them into wooden boxes, perfectly sized for letters and tiny treasures. I couldn’t resist the Alice In Wonderland appeal. And a mailbox–I just had to have it!

The art went up on the wall and has since doubled as a mailbox for love letters. Adam and I take turns leaving each other notes and the occasional treat. He was skeptic at first–of both the art and the commitment to letter-writing. But he came around (in full disclosure–now it’s his first stop on the apartment tour). If the mailbox is closed + locked, you’ve got mail! When its open, lovely origami cranes beam back at you.

Nothing warms the heart like a love letter. Do you send your lover letters?

a love letter for Adam

Well friends, a lot happened while I was away. Bits and pieces will make their way back here I’m certain, but there is bit of news that just can’t wait–I am getting married! And its in big part, because of a letter.

You remember Adam, right? Well we’ve been friends for years, eleven to be exact. We met in college, fought over fridge space in two apartments, and stayed friends long after graduation. When he moved to New York City a few years ago we picked up right where we left off. Our families knew each other, I was the unofficial date to all plus-one affairs, and best of all, we genuinely enjoyed spending time with each other. After a few false starts, I decided it was time. This time, for real. So I sent him a letter.

adam3

I picked this card, mostly because of its school-charm. Do you remember passing notes like these in grade school? Inside I asked if it would be okay if I called him my boyfriend. I popped it in the mail and waited three (!) days for a reply. And just like that, we were going steady. And then, madly in love. Eight months later we were fighting over fridge space again. And a few months after that, Adam asked me to marry him on a boat at sunset.

I am a sucker for love and I feel so blessed to have found the truest kind with Adam.

Whats the best letter you ever sent? I think this one is mine.

Presidential Love

barack-obama-wedding-pictures-e1349284330512

I love couples in love. Regardless of your political affiliation, its hard to deny the sweetness between Michelle and Barack. They seem so in love, twenty years later. And on Inauguration night they dazzled.

Geri Bauer

Geri Bauer

But my favorite political romance of all time is the Reagans. Perhaps because President Reagan was such an avid letter writer. He wrote dozens of love notes to his wife, which she later compiled into a book entitled I Love You, Ronnie.  One of my favorite lines from the book… “Every time Mr. Reagan sees the evening star or blows out the birthday candles or gets the big end of the wishbone he thinks the same wish– a prayer really–that so much happiness will go on and somehow be deserved by him.” Mr. Reagan often expressed himself in the third person-bah! A wish for happiness, how sweet.