Taking Stock

This awful December weather.... It's so hard to take any decent photos, the light is so dim! But I decided to brave the bad lighting today regardless.

Since I actually decided to make a hope chest some time ago, but never got around to it, I have managed to accumulate two things that I would like to put in it. Recipes and cooking are two of the things/skills that are supposed to go into a hope chest. Since I adore cooking, this was never difficult for me to accumulate, and when I moved into my apartment, I made sure to copy down my favorite recipes straight from my sister's own recipe box-- barring whatever I missed, and I'm sure I missed a few of the things that I love.

I ordered my gorgeous walnut recipe box from TonisGifts on Etsy. I knew that I wanted a wooden recipe box that would last through moving around and not get dented, and I also wanted a handmade one rather than a manufactured one so that it already had some care put into it.

The second thing that I already have is a wooden jewelry box with a painted glass top. I got this from the Salvation Army and it's a bit dinged up, but it's still quite pretty. This is obviously already in use, but I think that it's an important part of a hope chest nonetheless, especially for me. All of the jewelry I have was either given to me by a family member new or belonged to a family member and was given to me. The few pieces that I've bought myself, I purchased on very special occasions. I didn't exactly plan it this way, but that's how it ended up, and I rather like the memories that go into each piece of jewelry. I have a ring from my father that used to belong to his mother, if I remember correctly, and little dangling glass earrings that were given to my mother by her brother, and then to me. I also have from two Christmases ago, jingle bell wreath earrings made for me by my sister Elizabeth. I can tell a story behind each piece of jewelry that I have, right down to the minutiae, and I think that all those memories deserve a special place to put them.

As I go through my things to see what it is that I already have that I want to go in my hope chest, I've decided to keep a log of either when I got these things or when I decided to put them in the hope chest, as well as project details, etc., to keep track of what I'm doing. This should make an interesting thing to put in it itself after I'm all finished-- and should be especially fun when I can start making things to put inside it!