The Handwritten Letter

Did any of you ever have a pen pal? For a short period of time,  I had a pen pal named Taylor. We met while I was on vacation with my family in Cancun one summer. I was around seven at the time, so I don't remember much about her except that I was always very impressed with the noodle art she would send me, and that every time I got a letter in the mail I was beyond excited.

As an adult, I would greatly appreciate going to my mailbox and seeing a handwritten letter among the pile of bills and junk mail. Unfortunately, this never happens. When I first went to college, I did send letters back and forth with a few of my friends, but it died along with my reasonable bedtime, balanced meals, and sobriety.

For whatever reason, a handwritten letter is such a nostalgic thing to me. Nostalgia is all the rage now anyway, right? We're bringing back record players, bright colored kitchen appliances, and 90's grunge. While I appreciate and respect the return of all these trends, the handwritten letter is at the top of my list.

I may or may not keep a box filled with stationary, (pictured above),  along with a matching box filled with cards, letters, and notes people have given me over the years. This might seem ridiculous but I LOVE it!  If you ask me, picking out stationary is one of life's greatest thrills. (Fun fact: when my parents moved, I designed their new stationary and had way too much fun doing it.) You can be as fancy or cheesy as you want when you are writing a note or sending a letter. You can go from lined paper torn out of your journal,  to premium thick paper with embossing and gold leaf flecks. I literally got a chill down my spine at the phrase "gold leaf flecks".

My go-to paper goods are usually patterned or gold. So I went ahead and tagged some stationary, cards, and notepads I have been eyeing.  Hopefully this inspires you to write a real letter with a real stamp and put it in the mail. Or maybe just a lipstick note on the mirror to remind your significant other to take out the trash. Either way, it's perfect.

Thank you for reading,