some of my favorite wedding gifts

We haven't opened all of our gifts yet (there's still some up north) but I wanted to showcase the Top 10 wedding gifts. They made the rankings either because they are the most thoughtful, the most beautiful, or the most necessary. Here's why.


Lindsay & David's vintage sea urchin print
This was hands down, one of my favorite wedding gifts. I absolutely love this rose gold colored mirror frame. I'm so into rose gold anything right now! Apparently she found both the print and the frame in Lynden, WA, which totally and completely blows my mind. I didn't think anything good came out of Lynden!






Cameron's 'Ready Position' framed "painting"
My friend Cameron Jennings, one of Bellingham's weirdest and awesomest persons, is an artist who creates interesting, stylie, stuff. I forget what he made this out of but it looks like colored pencil mostly. And that blue box is paint. (Note to self: I should never be an art critic.) Anyway, I like this piece. He made it because now I'm a wife. I like the dishes part the best.





He gave it to us alongside a book called "Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique," which has been very helpful for us so far. It contains creepy chapters like this:

I also think the Ovarian function chart (above) will come in handy when we start trying to conceive. Thanks for looking out for us, Cam!


Rachael's framed wedding invitation
I have to put a disclaimer here. We were very confused when we opened this gift, because it had a card attached from our friends Amy and Aaron. We were like, "Oh, Amy and Aaron, that's so sweet of them!" but then we looked on the back and it has a Michael's sticker that says "Framed by Rachael". My cousin Rachael works at Michael's in Bellingham as an art framer - and Amy and Aaron live in Seattle. So, I really think this is from Rachael, and we need to get in touch with Amy and Aaron to figure out their mystery gift. Anyway, this is an extremely thoughtful gift. We wanted to frame our wedding invitation but it would definitely be one of those things we'd never ever get around to doing... it's so fun to have it on our wall already.




Craig & Lindsey's mega cutting board
Is it art, or a cutting board? That's what's so cool about this cutting board. It's totally wall-worthy. We love it, and I doubt that my knives will ever touch it.




Nicky's magnetic knife holder
Speaking of knives, I have to give a big up to my friend Nicky who bit the bullet and bought us one of those "boring" registry items that nobody else would purchase. My tiny kitchen needed this sooooo badly! Whoever invented the magnetic knife holder should win the Albert Einstein World Award of Science for bringing true benefit and wellbeing to mankind. (I think Nicky did win the Albert Einstein Award, in high school!)



Dyan's panini grill inside-barbecue pan thing!
This is by far the nicest gift that we didn't register for. I made grilled teriyaki chicken on this two nights ago. It was really good.




Brian and Mechelle's "Tribute to America" ash tray
Words cannot express how we felt when we unveiled all the glamour of this gift. Brian and Mechelle carefully chose this ashtray (artfully crafted in China), which I believe signifies freedom, Imperialism, the frailty of life, and pot. Truly magificant, and something we'll cherish forever.




Kenny & Joey's canine self portraits
Continuing the long tradition of giving pictures of ourselves to each other for birthdays, showers, and housewarmings, Kenny and Joey topped off their wedding gift with intimate photos of themselves and (some stranger's?) dogs. Very nautical, very Northwest, these snapshots are here to stay. I love the acrylic frames, too!




Christa and Amber's pop art painting by Andrea Heimer
My friends Christa and Amber really pulled out all stops when they commissioned a painting of me and Brian. I never thought I'd be one to hang an original piece of art - of myself - in my home, but I have to admit, this painting is pretty fun, and it really captures Brian at his best: behind the bottle.





Mystery ponies
And last but not least, somebody gave us PONIES IN A FIELD OF GRASS! Who knew that I've always wanted a farm, and Brian has always wanted a pony!?!? Speak up, person who gave this to us. Because your gift was sorely lacking a card.