Memories and Cookie Tins

A couple of weeks ago, I was at home and going through all of my "prized" possessions I'd accumulated since I was young. Mom had boxed up everything that belonged in my bedroom and was ready to get it out of her house and into mine! There was everything...from stuffed animals to old papers to clothes to 4H projects to anything you could think of. I even found an old diary that I only wrote in approximately 7 times before getting bored with the diary writing--it is comical; apparently I was in love at the age of 10! Oh the silly things we think when we are young!

Anyways, it was so much fun to go through everything. I really only had time that day to go through clothes and they included some precious things that Melbo and GG made for me (they used to make SO many of my clothes all the way up to High School), Fashion Show outfits (that I made and competed with in 4H), Goat Showing outfits, school t-shirts, award jackets (FFA jacket, Houston stock show jacket, State Fair of Texas jacket, 4H jackets) and more. It was so much fun to re-live those memories with mom and daddy. Then, right after I boxed everything I wanted to keep up to take back to College Station and store, mom mentioned she had some pictures for me to go through.

So, I started to look through them - I came across one of my first birthday party at my great-grandma's house in Quanah, Texas. As I looked at the picture, I noticed in the background a turquoise tin. I have thought of that tin many other times when I think of Grandma and seem to remember it always held cookies. If they were not homemade, they were Little Debbie Oatmeal Cookies. It is just a random memory as I have so many memories from Grandma's house. I don't know if it is just because it held cookies and I LOVE cookies or what but it has stuck out in my mind.

My grandma passed away when I was a sophomore in college and back then, all of her things were divided up or gotten rid of. As I saw that picture, I told my mom that I wish I knew what happened to that tin and that I would have loved to have had it as a keepsake. She told me to wait right there and a few minutes later came back with the exact tin. I almost cried - I asked her what made her find and keep that from Grandma's house. She said that when they got to Grandma's house to pack things up and clean it out, some family members had already gone through and gotten rid of things. Just as someone started to toss that tin, she said she just took it and told them she would keep it. I don't think it meant anything necessarily to her, but probably like me, it was just something of Grandma's that reminded us of her. To this day, she has kept it with no plans for it. So, you can imagine my happiness when she told me to just take it with me.

It is just funny to me how memories work. Whether they are events or places or clothes you wore or just an old tin that sat on a counter for so many years, memories that tie to family and friends are just so precious. When Grandma thought about the things she would want to pass down to her family, I'm sure she never thought twice about that tin. I means, she left me a beautiful crystal bowl that I just love! But, regardless, I always associated that tin with Grandma's house and one of my memories of her.

So, it now sits in my kitchen as decoration at the top of our cabinets. One day I might even use it for cookies like Grandma did, but for now, it will just serve as a reminder of my Grandma and Pop.

This is the picture I found that day and the little tin is on the counter behind Grandma. You can't really see it, but there are Texas historical scenes on the side of it and it has a turquoise lid with a bluebonnet on top. I just love seeing Grandma with her party hat! And below is the same tin, 25 and a half years later, sitting atop our cabinets.

"The House that Built Me"

Have you heard that song titled "The House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert? Mom just emailed it to me as I was typing this up and I thought it was a perfect fit. While our house that we live in now would not be the current "house that built me" since we've only lived here a year, it very well could be one that builds me as time goes on. I expect a lot of firsts to occur while living in this house.

So, a little over one year ago, Vic and I moved into our new home. It is so hard to believe a year has passed! While it was so exciting to move in, we knew we would have some work to do to make it our own. Originally, there was old carpet, walls that had been re-painted a very drab color and of course, only our little amount of furniture from the condo. Today, however, it is so much more like home. We still have a few items on our agenda, but for now, this is where we live....see before and after shots below.

The left side of the house (before is on top, after is on bottom). Yard looks much better!The right side of the house.Blue Paint and some décor.Fresh paint, fabric, furniture, floors!

Okay, so this room only has new paint...but it also got a new chandelier this weekend - out with the gold, in with the new...lol. Oh one day we really will buy dining room furniture.Decor, paint, furniture.New knobs, new paint, décor...soon to have new countertops! Oh and the yellow in this picture looks very mustard yellow, but in person, it is just the right color!
More kitchen/breakfast nook (or for us, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks...)
And the 3 pictures above are just parts of the house that I made myself!