FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON THE FIRST...

my FIRST IMPRESSION of MONOGRAMMING

i have always liked the name my parent's chose for me.

and i've always been a fan of seeing items displaying my name.

a small khaki purse might have been one of my first such items.
my own daughter now proudly uses this vintage annalee item to carry trinkets from room to room.

i think we would all agree there is just something fun about seeing your name in print.

maybe that's why i used a ballpoint pen to write a-n-n-a-l-e-e on our station wagon's seat.

i quickly learned that was not an acceptable place for my name,

and stuck to doodling my seven letters on paper after that.

while i wouldn't trade my name for any other, there is one downside.

to this day i have never seen it on those mass-produced souvenirs with names printed on them.

and you know i check every time. (doesn't everyone?)

this might be one reason i love monogramming extra much.

i remember opening a specific "annalee" item at christmas of 1987.

we had lived in the fine state of oregon the previous few christmases.

 but now found ourselves back in texas, the state of of big hair and milder winters

(and much fewer sightings of socks worn with birkenstocks).

that fine christmas i pulled a pale pink sweatshirt out of a box.

across the front of that fine sweatshirt was my name monogrammed in maroon thread.

it was the first time i remember seeing my name printed in all lowercase letters.

feeling like a rebel without a capital "a" i wore that sweatshirt proudly for years to come.

time went by with the occasional, fun, personalized item thrown in here and there.

then high school graduation arrived.

with it came a plethora of monogrammed gifts in honor of my accomplishment.

the following summer i went off to work at camp shiloh.

i thought it was a perfect idea to take these things to camp as they were already labeled.

so in my suitcase i packed a laundry bag, tote bag, towels, and pillowcase that all wore my name.

the result was a fellow counselor asking me if my parents owned a monogram shop.

maybe i had overdone it just a tad.

a few more years passed, then one wintry night evan proposed to me.

it didn't take long for me to acknowledge my initials were going to change.

i was excited to gain an M in my monogram, i've always thought that letter looks so strong and nice.

however, i was sad some of my favorite personalized items would soon be out-of-date.

i might have even joked that evan should take my last name.

after all, i had much more monogrammed items than him.

he didn't go for that suggestion, but did surprise me with a silver bracelet, my first item with ALM on it.

this decade i enjoy adding a personalized touch to my kids' stuff.
i've had a lot of help in this area since they both received many wonderful, monogrammed baby presents.

i'm slightly obsessed with the three initial monogram too.

this presents a problem though because this is most definitely "the selfish monogram."

there is a chance to share things monogrammed with only a first initial.

there is even a possibility you can share things with a child's first name.
we already know some younger adelaides and grahams with whom we can share the love loot.

but what are the chances of finding someone who has all three initials the same? quite slim.

when choosing our kids' names, i put thought into the way their initials would look in a monogram.

and so i must admit there are quite a few things that bear this selfish monogram around our house.
.

i've had a few jobs i loved in my life thus far.
now i'm thinking i might enjoy a future in monogram consultation as well.