I’ve always been a procrastinator. As in I usually wait until the day before I need something to start making it. It has always worked for me before, I did my best work under pressure. But then I threw a baby in the mix and now it just does not work out as well. I think I’ll have enough time and we’ll have a blowout and she’ll need a wardrobe change. She’s such a diva.

So this year, I didn’t go crazy for our five year anniversary. It just wasn’t happening. Unless Sawyer turned herself into a piece of wood, he wasn’t getting the cherished 5th wooden anniversary gift. We weren’t doing gifts. Nope, just dinner.

Until the day before our anniversary. Who was I kidding? It’s me. I had to make him something. It didn’t have to be anything special, just something. I’ve made the wooden coasters before, but I wanted to do something a little different for him. Just a keepsake, something special. You know, to let him know I was thinking of him. Because cleaning, cooking, and raising a tiny human is not enough (in my mind, not his. In his mind I deserve an award every day for keeping her alive).

I went to Michael’s and walked around the wood aisle. Yes, there’s a whole aisle dedicated to wood. I know, mind blown.

I decided on a wooden box that I would stain. I picked up some wooden slices (because I live in California, and I can’t just go cut down some branches from my backyard without the city fining me), and I printed photos for each one. I did one for each year, our anniversary photo on one side and the ‘best’ photo from each year on the other.

Not surprisingly, he loved it. I had to admit it only took a few hours, but he couldn’t have cared less. After all, it’s from the heart. My heart. 😉