I think that there is nothing more thoughtful in this world than a hand written note. I love the pens, the paper, stamps, putting love into every bit of it. I try to send hand written notes and cards for at least every other holiday. We weren’t able to get any out in time for Christmas (procrastination, and my husband having a healthy disliking for the classic Christmas card). Instead, I chose to send out Valentine’s Cards. I found the cutest ones at Target and got little heart stamps from the post office and got them in the mail yesterday, just in case the post office is slow due to the bad weather around here.
My love for letters started as a child with the book Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise. It’s a fun, epistolary book about a child writing letters to help his school with their new drinking fountain. I became obsessed with all epistolary books, though I didn’t learn the term until much later in life. It inspired me to start writing emails as often as I could to my friends who had moved away. I drifted off from this as teenager-dom, and then college took over, not sending anything for a year or two. Then, when we picked up and moved halfway across the country (Texas to Wisconsin), I found myself wanting to send little bundles of joy to my far away friends. A letter seemed the best way to do that. Since I had a job, I could also buy myself all kinds of fun accessories: special stamps that went along with the letter’s content, and a beautiful fountain pen. Then, I listened to an episode of What Should I Read Next where Anne spoke to a pencil store owner and that sent me into a pencil rabbit hole. I can now say I am the proud owner of at least 10 different kinds of pencils and 20 different kinds of pens. If you need a writing tool recommendation, please, please ask.
SJP Books 