When architects, Jose Tavel and Cara Cummins, celebrated their wedding in their recently built home in Atlanta, the couple inscribed the temporary stair treads with lines from a valentine’s letter that Cummins’s grandfather penned to her grandmother during the World War II era. And now that the house is almost complete, Tavel and Cummins just cannot replace those temporary stairs. Does that melt your heart too?
I still have e-mails that my husband sent to me when we first starting dating in my freshmen year of college nine years ago. On our first date, Jon took me out to lovely dinner then we stopped at a little pottery place around the corner. I was on cloud nine with Frank Sinatra, a glass of wine, paintbrush in my hand, and a young man who I had a major crush on sitting right next to me and painting away. To this day I still have the newsletter that Mad Potter sent to us shortly after our date because it was addressed to both of us — our names on one line. I kept it hoping that one day our names will always be together.
Have you held onto love letters, napkins, chip bags, or other memories that you have shared with your significant other? I’m in a warm and fuzzy mood today 
Image credits: Metropolitan Home
26 responses so far ↓
1 cindy k : Nov 19, 2008 at 11:32 am
yes, every single one!
2 Kim : Nov 19, 2008 at 11:34 am
Yep. Among other things, I have a list my husband made of reasons why I should marry him.
3 bandelle : Nov 19, 2008 at 11:39 am
Awww, Kim. That’s too sweet.
4 Krissy : Nov 19, 2008 at 3:35 pm
oh my. That is the sweetest thing ever!
5 cassandra : Nov 19, 2008 at 4:02 pm
what a sweet story! oh, love. it makes you do the most wonderful things
6 Kristy : Nov 19, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I love this idea. I’m delurking after months of following along because of this post. My husband of 3 years (significant other of 6 years) called a few months ago and asked me to log into his email to retrieve someone’s phone number while he was on the road for work. I logged in and couldnt’ help but notice he had only 37 emails saved in his inbox. 33 of them were from me from our early years and then some. awwww…..he only saves MY email. I said nothing. I retrieved his phone number. I send him more emails now tho’.
7 bandelle : Nov 19, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Oh my goodness, Kristy, what a cute husband you have! That must have made your day when you saw his inbox. Did you read any of them? It must have brought back so many memories. Thanks for sharing that story with us.
My husband read this post earlier today then sent an email saying, “I guess Valentine’s is coming early.”
8 mrs. french : Nov 19, 2008 at 5:42 pm
the sweetest thing I have seen all day…xo t
9 ~Tina : Nov 19, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Aww I would just sit on the stairs and sigh every time I had a bad day. So sweet.
10 megan : Nov 19, 2008 at 10:28 pm
what a sweet story…loved reading this!!
11 Erin : Nov 20, 2008 at 9:17 am
I just sent this to Derek (my husband). His response? Those stairs make me barf
Ah, lovely…
12 bandelle : Nov 20, 2008 at 9:33 am
Erin — Jon said this about Derek, “Haha, that’s my brother.” These Sarley men…
13 Chelsea : Nov 20, 2008 at 11:26 am
While Ryan is deployed, we both insist on writing handwritten letters rather than just emails. I have kept every single letter, envelope, card, postcard, and momento from our two deployments. I imagine keeping them hidden away in a box in our attic, where someday, our grown children will rediscover them and be enchanted by how in love we were.
Sappy, right?
14 dolce chic : Nov 20, 2008 at 11:29 am
That is so sweet that you have so many wonderful memories. When I find the right guy I’m sure I’ll be the same way!
15 The Rauths : Nov 20, 2008 at 11:57 am
so sweet and what a creative way to display family history, too. i have every single letter, card, note, etc that my husband has given me in a box. i treasure them. i treasure him.
16 Megan : Nov 20, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Oh I am the same way and you know, my husband collects things too. When he moved in with me, I helped him unpack and I found a shoebox full of letters and little trinkets from things we had done together. We dated long distance so we have lovely letters from that time.
17 Jessie Cacciola : Nov 20, 2008 at 7:05 pm
oh my gosh, what a great idea! xox, Jessie–
18 Melissa Lewis - Off The Wall : Nov 20, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I just love this! How touching. I think I would smile every day when walking up or down these steps:)
19 bandelle : Nov 20, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Thank you so much for sharing all of your beautiful stories. I am such a sucker for love. And Chelsea, sappiness is just fine with me…
20 Melissa : Nov 22, 2008 at 5:23 pm
It is so fun to ready all of these stories. I had a box of love letters from my boyfriend (now husband) that he wrote during the first few months of us dating. We had only been together for three weeks but then had summer break for three months. I was in Australia…he was in Sweden. We got to know each other better through letters – phone calls were too expensive. Unfortunately my Mum’s garage was broken into a few years ago and the thieves took that box of letters while I lived in America. It would have had no value to them but had so much value to me. So he still has my letters but unfortunately I don’t have his. So keep your letters in a safe spot because they’re irreplaceable.
Love the post and comments!
21 Maria : Dec 6, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Aww I love that u shared this! I love stories like this! I love people who have stories to share like this!! Yes that did totally melt my heart.
22 Newlywed? Hopelessly Romantic Home Decor Idea… « IT’S A JAIME THING… : Dec 11, 2008 at 11:00 am
[...] “The couple inscribed the temporary stair treads with lines from a valentine’s letter that Cummins’s grandfather penned to her grandmother during the World War II era.” – Bandelle Blog [...]
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