"Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady...

...in the whole wide world." The Best Day by Taylor Swift.

That is one of my very favorite songs, because it just makes me think of my mom SO much...another awesome line is "I grew up in a pretty house, and I had space to run, and I had the best days with you."  Mmmh, I miss my little momma!

You all know that I consider myself to descend from a legacy of talented and creative individuals--why, merely within the last few generations I can list a myriad of skilled and creative individuals:

• My saintly Aunt, who, besides her remarkable rectitude, was a seamstress beyond modern comprehension (all my best Barbie doll clothes were by her...I'll have to find those...). 
• My Granma, whose cooking, decor, and housekeeping is legendary (her taste is, frankly, impeccable)
• My great-granmas who homesteaded, kept house, taught, sewed, and made a home out of the wilderness...dressed super-cute through the whole ordeal, and left so many gorgeous dishes, doilies, recipes, and memories for us bright young things to remember them by. 
• My mother, of course, with her many and varied talents, from scrap-booking to sewing to cooking to adventuring to event planning and decorating (Yeah, she basically does it all. And she's good at it all.) 
• My sister, who is brilliant (she basically knows everything) and she is fearless and skilled with her re-purposing, homemade gifts, house decorating, and making the most incredible miscellaneous things, from beads to painting (see her blog!). 

And that doesn't even count the menfolk, who have a creative legacy of their own.

The reason I bring this up, is that when I got to visit the homeland last, I saw this incredible valentine/book my mother made for my daddy. She is, for those who don't know, possibly the best scrap-booker in the entire universe, no lie. She is also one of the best stocked. (Oh, how I miss all those lovely supplies, and the letter press, and the stamps, and...) So now you know where I got it from, except as in the old adage, the student certainly did not surpass the master.

So, my lovelies and fellow enthusiasts, here is the book.

"For My Beloved"

"Absence makes the <3 grow" 

"...maybe not FONDER....{because I'm already VERY fond}"

"...but INFINITELY more appreciative" 

"Once in a lifetime you meet someone who changes Everything."

"Time for You and Me"

"To rejoice in the precious gift of YOU." "XOXOX cherish"

"To be grateful for the Wonderful Generous Loving Patient Man you are."

"I just love you. Cherish"

"Thank You Thank You Thank You" and "There's No Place Like Home"

"Happily Every After" All photos my own. Book used with permission.

Oh my friends, these pictures simply do not do it justice. Every page dripped with the sweetness and preciousness of their love. The handiwork astounded me--every edge is inked and chalked, 3-D, and I'm not going to lie...I teared up as I looked at it. My favorite part? All the little tags added in! I love them!

So yes, basically, she's amazing. :) But we already knew that. <3

Love!