Remembering

Meh. I'm going to apologize for not blogging much - I've been busy and uninspired to take out the camera. It's been a good friend to me, but we're hitting that part of winter where I just don't think I can take any more cold days and I was beginning to feel like a zombie. Thankfully, it's 57 degrees today and I've been reading outside and enjoying the sunshine. Which made me remember warmer days...vacation days and I decided to photograph the mementos I have bought or received as gifts and displayed in my home from various trips, large and small.

Below is a photo in my hallway of a huge family trip to Costa Rica. We are posing beneath to the entrance of a church in the town my grandmother grew up in.

Above is a series of postcards I collected on my first (as in completely self-funded) mini-vacation with my best friend, Shalyn. We visited New Orleans and stayed the French Quarter for a few days over spring break. Goodness, I miss beignets and coffee.

Above is a series of watercolors my sister bought for me while she lived in Germany for 6 months. These were from a visit to Venice and were painted by an artist she met on the street.

These tiny tea cups are from China. My dad spent six months there for his job and he brought back some truly lovely things for his myself and my sisters.

This is probably one of my favorite mementos. It's a small replica of one of Rodin's sculptures that I bought at the Rodin Museum in Paris. Don't let its diminuitive size fool you, it weighs a ton, at least 10-13 pounds which will feel like 75 when you carry it around for about 15 hours while walking around Paris. I also had to hand carry it home, since adding it to my luggage made it too heavy and would have added a $150 fine. So, yeah, it's my favorite - since it's covered in my blood, sweat and tears. ha!

What kind of mementos do you have?