Change of Address Cards

When we moved in to this house, it was pretty much the culmination of a lot of dreams come true for me. Finally, I felt like I could put down roots. Finally I would be in the same place for more than a matter of months. So of course, I had to send out fancy change of address cards.

This card has been sitting on my desk for about a year, trying to remind me to share it with you. I’m finally sick of looking at it, so I better just do it already.

The finished card is a postcard, with the gray square lifting up to reveal our address. The ribbon and brads at the top form a hinge for it. The medallion in the corner is my own design on shrinky dink. A street sign showing the corner of Home and Heart has been in my head for years – since the days I used to design scrapbooking supplies. It was such a relief to finally get it out of there and into the light of day.

I assembled around 100 of these around this time last year, right when the wildfires were sweeping through and I had to evacuate my pregnant self. I sat glued to the news while I worked at the table cutting and pasting and praying the fire wasn’t making my efforts obsolete. At the time I thought of it as an exercise in hope.

We thought long and hard about the language to use on the card. Going to all the trouble of a handmade card, I didn’t just want to borrow a shopworn phrase to stick on the inside. I also wanted it to reflect our own plans for the house – a place to nest, to nurture anyone in our circle of influence, to welcome visitors and all the people we love from around the country that we’ve had to leave behind in our wanderings. So we came up with the idea of making a brochure for our own little vacation destination.

If you lift the flap on the front of the postcard, you’d see our new address, and then:

See back for promotional details.

Flip the postcard over and you’d read:

Just 5 miles from beautiful beaches and only 45 minutes from Disneyland, the Edmunds’ Family Bed and Breakfast boasts a guest bedroom with a breathtaking view of the street, sprawling feet of backyard, and the rare opportunity to visit the legendary wild cats native to the property. Spa facilities include an actual working sauna located just feet from the trash cans, and a private bathroom with plenty of hot water (cold water not included). Head chef Tresa Edmunds is proud to announce the new acquisition of talented pastry chef, Jared Edmunds, both waiting to delight your palate with gourmet treats.

Call for your reservation today!

Oh my gosh how we laughed and laughed writing that. At the time we were just discovering all the things that weren’t so perfect about the house. For a while there, we really thought we bought ourselves a lemon. The cold water really didn’t work in the guest bathroom, we really do have this eyesore of an old outdoor sauna right next to the trash cans, we really do have only feet of backyard, and that’s only the stuff we could laugh about back then. It helped us so much to develop a sense of humor about all the unpleasant discoveries that are just part of regular old home ownership.

A year later, with most of the unpleasantness behind us, I love this little house. It’s so perfect for our style, for the way we live. Except for the kitchen. But one of these days I’ll fix that too.