We asked for and received two large wall maps for a wedding gift (thank you Andy and Nancy!) with the intention of creating pinned maps of our travels and now, almost two years later, have finally gotten around to it!  yay!  We also have a sad plant.

The guys at home depot were nice enough to cut us pieces of pine to make the frames.  At home I lined them up with the maps to make sure my measurements were right before staining and assembling.

 I then glued cork rolls onto backing, glued the map to the cork, and screwed the backing to the frame.

^^Double checking the sizing before gluing the map to the cork board^^

 Everything magically lined up!

 Once it's finished, we got to do the most fun part of this project - putting the pins on the map.  Purple for places I've been, brown for Eric, and white for places we've been together :)

She makes me smile with my heart :)

Something bittersweet about getting married is knowing that with that person was the last time you would fall in love.  You won't get those butterflies, that crazy early infatuation, it's one of the best parts of living and you won't get to experience it again. You're trading it for something more rewarding, but there's still something sad about the thought.

Then life gives you a wonderful surprise! A head-over-heels, stare into each other's eyes, totally absorbed, shout it from the mountain tops love affair that you never saw coming. 

So now I will return to my love, my valentine, with her gifts of slobbery kisses, sweet baby breath, and constant happy smiles.

Happy Valentine's Day!