mother’s day, keepsake gift.

my mom has lived with us for ten years. in our last home, we had a mother-in-law-apartment in the basement and she moved in with us there in 2001. then when we built our current home, we built grandma her own little cottage that you can see in the post below. {she really enjoys sitting in front of her cottage on warm afternoons.}

with our big move to boston coming up, my mom is going to return to salt lake city and live closer to family there.

so, this feels like the end of an era, we are going our separate ways after spending a decade together… our kids are accustomed to grandma just being a one minute walk away… which is why i love even more, the pictures we currently had taken {here and here} with justin hackworth. these photos will be treasured forever. three generations of women.

{here are a couple images of the darling details justin thinks of – the water bottles said clever things like, “for refreshing photography…choose justin hackworth!” love it. and the treats box included mint truffles from utah for each of us + a sucker for sela. so thoughtful!}


for mother’s day, i gave my mom a hardbound book with a collection of twenty-two photos from the photo shoot + an 8×10 photo of just her and i. then, i also chose 4 – 11×19 prints to hang as a collage in our new home.

the prints are currently wrapped in a plastic protector, i don’t want to take it off until after the move, to help keep them safe. notice the edges? that ripped look is called a ‘deckled edge.’ it is supposed to mimic the look of hand-made paper. and, it’s such a great detail. justin even helped me pick out frames for the prints, and i’ll be sure to share a picture once these beauties are hanging.

the book – i gave one of these to my mom, plus had one made for us. i want my girls to always be able to flip through these pages and remember all these years that grandma was so close to us.

the pages are a type of watercolor paper. i love the organic-rawness they create. the prints above are made of a similar paper, too. it gives a stunning texture to each photo + creates a beautiful matte finish. love.

it has always been important to me, to choose gifts for others that are personal. i prefer that the gift be something they are distinctly interested in, or something that captures a memory of me with that person. so, this book was ideal for this time in our life and for my mother.

for my mother’s day, my kiddos all brought me goodies they made at school, and notes of love kept popping up around our home all day. i get teary-eyed each time i spot one, or little arms wrapped around me to wish me, “a happy mother’s day.” i especially loved notes from them on facebook – it’s like social-networking-family-style! ::winks::