The Things We Keep {A. Liz Adventures Guest Post}

Hi ladies, and thank you to sweet Kristen for inviting me to guest post with you today.  I am April of A. Liz Adventures.  My blog chronicles daily lifestyle pretties -- tasty recipes, DIY projects, adventures with girlfriends, married life, you get the gist. 

Like Kristen, I am a newlywed.  My husband Ian and I were married at the end of May in 2011. 

We have fairly different personalities, which I consider a total life-enricher.  Someone to contribute to this crazy life we are all so fortunate to be a part of.

We also have different (ahem) viewpoints on the things we keep.

I am highly sentimental.  I love memories.  Tangible objects to me are fun ways of relating to a special memory and bringing back a flood of happy emotion.

My husband?  The "toss it" mentality.

We've learned to compromise.  His biggest fear is our home ending up on an episode of Hoarders.  I assure you, I assure you ... we are FAR from this.  Anyone who has been over to our home would laugh uncontrollably about his irrational fear.

But gah, I do love to keep sentimental chotchkies. 

Last weekend I took a trip with girlfriends to New York.  I've been posting on my blog about our fun adventures this week.  After mentioning that we lunched one day at the Boathouse in Central Park, a blogging friend asked if Tavern On The Green was still open.

Nope, sadly, they closed in 2009.  But there they are, still in my phone from when my girlfriends and I brunched there in 2005.  Yes, seven years (and at least five phones) later, I still refuse to delete that contact.  Spotting it as I scroll through my phone searching for a friend's number just gives me such a thrill.

And in my desk drawer?  Tucked in between a calculator, business cards, and meeting notes, you'll find a simple unframed photo of Ian and I.  It didn't make the cut to be a framed photo on top of my desk, but this one has a special meaning.  It's the first time that Ian met my parents at our family lakehouse.  We took the boat out and I remember feeling filled with joy at the fact that my new boyfriend was getting along swimmingly well with my parents.  And making them laugh.

I like to keep a pretty clean wallet, but I just couldn't bring myself to trash two receipts.  They are both faded and obviously well-loved.  The top receipt is from a fantastic birthday dinner at Harvest that my friend Kerry and I enjoyed in the Hamptons several years back.  And the receipt from Pink Sorbet is for a gorgeous floor-length Lilly Pulitzer gown that I purchased for our first engagement party in the mountains.

When I clean out my wallet, it brings me joy to see these two receipts.  I fold them again and put them right back where they belong.

I see countless warnings about not letting yourself confuse a memory with a tangible item, but you know what I have to say about that?  Fooey!  I'm a highly visual person, and these items act as memory cues for me.

Please tell me I'm not alone here -- what is something tangible you've kept that has a special significance?

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