It’s been a wonderful, tough, exciting, exhausting few months since moving to Utah. I haven’t publicly shared that Emmett has been commuting to and from the Midwest for work since moving here. It’s so weird not having him around for weeks at a time, but we know it’s not a permanent situation. Aside from missing him and the house renovation coming to an abrupt halt each time he leaves, everything has been peachy and I’ve been holding down the fort just fine. All of this to say, time away from him has prompted me to do something special this holiday… something really meaningful. I wanted to find a gift that signifies our new chapter here in Salt Lake, especially since it hasn’t quite felt permanent for him just yet. Click through to see the gift I landed on- I’m pretty sure I like it just as much as he does.
As soon as Artifact Uprising introduced their floating frames with brass standouts, I was sold. It was a bit of a challenge finding an accessible lucite frame for the show house (remember this art?), so I was happy to discover an easy online resource. I landed on a photo of Emmett and Finn at the base of the mountains really close to our new home. We walk to this park almost daily and it brings us such joy. We’ve already created lots of happy memories here, but I wanted to remember this specific moment. During our walk we brainstormed ideas for our home, watched the sunset behind the mountains, and let Finn run wild and free. It was just an average fall night, but I remember thinking it doesn’t get much better than this.
When the frame arrived in the mail, I got so excited. It turned out perfectly, and took me back to that fall day. Every time Emmett looks at this image in our home, I hope he is filled with the same sense of adventure, possibility, and excitement for this place in life that I am.
I also hope this will be his favorite Christmas gift this year, and selfishly- I hope my gift to him is better than his to me. Ha! In all seriousness, we decided to only get each other one meaningful thing. With a tight renovation budget and adapting to a higher cost of living, we’re fully embracing the notion of less gifts equaling more this season. We’ve also decided to take the money that we would’ve spent on each other and pay it forward to an individual or family in need. Some of our family members do this annually and I think now is the perfect time for us to start a new tradition of giving.
Now… to decide where we should hang this special piece- it probably won’t be as easy as picking out the gift itself.
Spoiler alert- I gave the gift to him early so I could blog about this and share an Artifact Uprising coupon with you guys. He loved it!! If you’d like to surprise your own special someone this holiday season with a floating frame- use the code ROOMXAU16 for 10% off your entire Artifact Uprising purchase. This is only valid until 12/6, so get to shopping!
*This post is brought to you in collaboration with Artifact Uprising. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that allow us to create unique content while featuring products we truly use and enjoy!
You Might Also Like
Since it’s Cyber Monday, I thought it would be appropriate to share the final Room for Tuesday gift guide. You guys know I love posting my ‘Best of Etsy‘ finds, so I...
This is my last and final gift guide of 2019, friends! As we get closer to Christmas, I always like to share DIY and homemade gift ideas. Sometimes it’s easier to...
I know, I know. It’s not even Thanksgiving, but some of my friends have already started planning for Christmas. If you’re one of those people, I created a special holiday page...
You either love it or loathe it… wrapping holiday gifts, that is. I happen to be one of those people who thoroughly enjoys wrapping and packaging, so I thought it would...
Leah Prevost
November 18, 2016 at 3:27 pmI love that picture and your spoiler alert that you already gave it to him, that made me smile! We also decided this year we will be doing just one meaningful gift. There isn’t anything we really neeeed. I also told my parents, who are in the same city, instead of gifts this year they can donate to one of the Pit bull Rescues I support. We want to start teaching/showing our 7yr old that Christmas isn’t about “stuff” it’s about giving! I wonder what Emmett has up his sleeve for you?!?!
Sarah
November 18, 2016 at 3:31 pmI totally 100% agree!! I can tell you’re a wonderful mom and your daughter is learning from the best. I also love that you support dog rescues- that holds a special place in my heart, too. Have a great weekend, Leah! xo
Amy Lynn
November 18, 2016 at 5:19 pmThat’s a great gift! And it gives me an idea of a gift for my husband :) And I completely relate to your situation! We just did a similar thing, except instead of the remodel being our new home, it was our old one that we were finishing to put on the market. My husband got a job and had to move out of state before we were finished, so it was back and forth for both of us for several months! But in June we listed our house and I moved to be with him, and phew! What a relief it was to be done haha!
Sarah
November 18, 2016 at 6:44 pmOh man! That sound stressful. I’m so glad everything worked out and you’re feeling relief! It’s definitely been a whirlwind, but yeah… it’ll all work eventually. Have a great weekend, Amy! xo
Stephanie
November 22, 2016 at 1:56 amWhere did you get that gorgeous tray!?!?!
Sarah
November 22, 2016 at 3:58 amIt came from Nate Berkus’ very first collection a few years ago… so, Target. I still love it! xo