letters 28, 29, 30 and 31

Letter twenty eight was for my love bug Meredith!  I have known this girl since I was three years old and our friendship has never faltered.  It's mind blowing, really, how well we get along and how much we have in common.  We go to schools in different states (which kind of stinks) but it's incredible--no matter how much time goes by between seeing each other, we always fall right back into our BFF rhythm.  I LYLAS Meredith!

Letter twenty nine was a reply to Lucas!  I was so excited when I got his letter, written on a typewriter and sealed in a painted envelope!  I could take a page or six out of Lucas's book because it seems like he's really mastered the art of the first letter.  He asks good questions, answers questions thoroughly (and, when appropriate, humorously) and uses insane amount of detail.  I LOVE detail.  You could spend three paragraphs telling me what you're wearing, where you're sitting and what is going on around you as you write a letter to me and I'd be enthralled.  I don't know; maybe I'm weird in this regard.  (Do you like extreme detail in letters you receive?)  I forced myself to wait a day to respond to Lucas, both for the sake of practicing self discipline and for making it the letter of the day... I'm so looking forward to hearing back from him!

Letter thirty was a reply to Anna!  Anna's letters are vivid and funny and everything a good letter should be-- and her mail art is out of this world!  I am always very conflicted when I get one of her letters.  On one hand, I am dying to open it and read every word and respond.  On the other hand, the envelopes are always so gorgeous that I feel a bit sad to rip them open and mess up the art!  I've found a compromise by taking pictures of the envelope before I open it.  :)  Anna, I'm putting your letter in the mail on Monday!  It'll be my last letter to you sent from Georgia!

Letter thirty one was a playlist/note/cd for my friend Chase (last seen in letter three).  I'm really hoping that the cd doesn't crack or break in transit to his house!  Have you ever sent a cd before in the mail?  I didn't use a padded envelope or anything but I'm hopeful that it will be okay.  I personally love getting mix cd's from people of their favorite music so I hope that Chase will like mine!

Note: In moving away from Georgia, I've gotten a little behind on the blog!  The letter project is still going strong but I haven't had much time to post here.  I'll be updating quite a bit in the next few days!  Also, if you have my Georgia address and need my temporary Florida address (I'll be changing again in about ten days though...) then shoot me an email at mallorylovesbears@yahoo.com!

letters 24, 25, 26 and 27

Letter twenty four was a birthday note!  I wrote it to Amy, who might very well be one of the sweetest people I know.  She is someone who puts a smile on your face every single time you see her, so I'm hoping that for once, I'll be the one putting a smile on her face as she reads her birthday card.  I made yet another attempt at going the handmade route, so hopefully Amy didn't laugh too much at my amateur effort.  :)

Letter twenty five was a reply letter!  Hooray!  My stunning friend Lindsey was the recipient of letter eleven (seen here) and I was lucky enough to get a wonderful response from her today.  It's so nice when my "real life" friends (as opposed to my pen pals/blog friends-- though you all are fabulous too) take the time to send snail mail.  As long as I get letters, I will always respond.  You hear me, Linds?  Although with going back to school in a few weeks, we'll get to communicate in person.  What a great day that will be!

Letter twenty six went to my amazingly intelligent, self-aware, hilarious law student of a friend, Ben.  Ben and I have had several phone chats throughout the summer and they have really been some of the highlights of my time.  That sounds a little pathetic, I realize, but I'm just being honest.  This guy can lift up a mood, make you laugh, talk seriously, give advice... you name it, Ben's the guy for it.  Clearly, he warrants receiving a letter of appreciation, so I sent him just that.  I probably owe him ten more letters if I were trying to adequately depict for him the gratitude I have for him in my life, but I'll stick with the one for now.  :)

Letter twenty seven... yet another birthday note!  I'm going to post her full name-- JOCELYN LONQUIST.  Why am I taking special care to share that?  Because this girl will be famous in approximately five years.  She's a musical theatre student currently who just finished getting paid for a summer of performances at a theatre in Virginia.  I've already made Joce promise me that when she makes it big on Broadway, she has to take me backstage and let me stay with her in the city... that is, if I'm not living there at that point (living in NYC at some point is on my bucket list).  Anyway, Jocelyn ended her teenage years and I sent her a card to celebrate!  It's not as good as being there in person, but it'll work!

letters 17, 18, 19 and 20

Letter seventeen is going somewhere I've never been: Ann Arbor, MI!  My friend Orlando is the lucky recipient of this card.  Orlando is currently interning at GOOGLE!  Yes, GOOGLE!  He is one of those people who is outrageously successful and brilliant yet still totally cool and down-to-earth.  Hence, I like having him as a friend.  I've found that in life I am drawn to having a bunch of girlfriends and a few key guy friends.  (Are you like this?  I'm always awed by the "guy's girls" of the world.)  Orlando is definitely shaping up to be one of these key guy friends!  Aside from the fact that we'll be working together constantly this year for our campus's ambassador program, we're also going be friends who hang out and eat good food and enjoy each other's company.  I can feel it.

Letter eighteen turned out cute!  I returned some spray paint to JoAnn's (Pinterest project aborted) and instead bought some paper crafting supplies.  Great move, Mallory.  I stayed up the better part of the night yesterday working on some cards and envelopes and I think Morgan's came out pretty cute!

Morgan's envelope... yay new supplies!

Morgan is working in her post-grad "big girl job" back at my school.  She regularly acts as my mother, therapist, friend, confidante, motivator, and everything in between during the school year.  A letter does not satisfy how much I owe her, but it's a start right?  I think everyone deserves to know how much you miss and love them, so I told Morgan in writing.  Side note-- Morgan has a highly-entertaining, non-mail blog called Gradually Ginger.  You should check it out.

The back of the envelope with a precious zebra

Letter nineteen is in the hands of my dear friend Hayley.  She started out as my R.A. in my dorm for my freshman year of college.  At first, I thought she would be the intimidating rule-enforcer at the end of the hallway to beavoided at all costs.  I learned quickly though that Hayley was a friend first and foremost, and I grew to love this girl!  I wish that I could be with her to celebrate her 21st birthday but a letter had to work in my place this time.  However, Hayley, if you're reading this, we are having a celebratory lunch/dinner/outing/something in your honor when we return to school next month!  Happiest of birthdays, pretty girl.  I miss you!

Letter twenty, written on the same day as letter nineteen (I'm getting way out of hand), went to a stranger named Lucas.  I found his blog, Lucas Writes, and decided I should most definitely correspond with him.  So, I sat down and made a sea-themed card (I guess I'm missing living so close to the beach) and then set about writing to him.

I love this saying!  It's so true.

Writing to a stranger is bizarre yet invigorating.  There's a sort of anonymity that is quite liberating; you can say anything at all and not have to see the look on the reader's face as he or she processes it.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't say anything all that weird, but the option was nice.  I am hopeful that Lucas will become another pen pal.  After all, my "real life" friends are wonderful but very few of you love snail mail enough to correspond repeatedly over time!

A P.O. box means no concealed address!  Yay unedited image!

That's all for now.  To my very few loyal readers, thanks for caring and keeping up.  :)  Happy snail mailing!

letters 14, 15 and 16

Letter fourteen was a first for me-- I made the stationery!  I went to a local store called Rubber Stamp Fantasy last week and bought shimmery black envelopes, gold and silver stickers, metallic pens and cream-colored card stock.  Lauren's was kind of a guinea pig test but I was so happy with how it turned out.  Lauren is someone who I really admire and respect but with whom I have never really spent very much time... Why on earth is that the case?!  Our school is lucky enough to have her around another year as she gets her Master's degree, so I'm going to jump on the opportunity and spend more time with this amazing individual.  I hope that she's okay with this, because I'm pretty persistent.  :)

An attempt at nice lettering on LV's envelope

Letter fifteen was written on the same day as letter fourteen!  That's right-- two letters in one day!  I have lost my mind!  It was an exciting one for me because it was my first letter to a "stranger."  Anna at  The Lettering sent me the letter from the post below and I was thrilled to respond!  She is what I hope I'll be in a few months: a mail art master, letter writing extraordinaire.  Anna, your letter got put in the mail today so it should arrive soon!  Yay for finding others who love snail mail like I do!

Letter sixteen just got picked up by my postie!  It is in transit to bright, beautiful New York City to be with my lovely friend Sara.  Sara lives in this fabulous area of Brooklyn called Park Slope and she was sweet enough to host me at her apartment this past February!  I envy and admire this girl so much.  She moved up to NYC to follow her dreams-- she got a great apartment, two jobs, settled into a fabulous social life and now she's working for NBC!  Yes, NB-freaking-C!  Less than a year after arriving in New York!  I get a little excited when I think about it because I just know that I'm going to see Sara on the Oscars someday.  :)  Anyways, a girl this wonderful (and a great friend and listener on top of all that!) is fully deserving of a letter, so she got just that today.

Incoming #1

Incoming letter one came in the mail on Saturday!  I was so excited when I saw a lovely envelope addressed to me in the stack of mail for the day.  It took every ounce of self control not to rip open the envelope before taking pictures!

Adorable letter from Anna!

This letter came from my fellow snail mail lover Anna who blogs at The Lettering.  She is a letter writing fiend.  

Even the back was precious!

I enjoyed reading her long letter which included a hilarious story about a misadventure in a German airport... love it!  

Thumbs up for long letters

You should know that I'm one of those people who doesn't use the expression "lol" often because I'm usually not actually laughing out loud.  In this instance though, I totally was!  Anna was sweet enough to even include a little gift bag of stickers and mail decorations!  

Gift bag with stickers and goodies inside-- love the chevron!

All in all, I was ecstatic to have my first piece of incoming mail.  I wrote Anna back today (check tomorrow's blog post for that) and will be sending it out bright and early in the morning!  I'm so excited for my new mail friend in Portland, OR.

letters 11, 12 and 13

Letter eleven was so pretty.  I'm bummed I didn't take a picture of it!  I sent it to my lovely friend Lindsey Creahan.  The thing about Linds and I is that we go to the same school but are so bad about seeing each other regularly.  She's an engineering major and I'm extremely involved on campus, so our schedules clash a lot.  However, we both agree that we're going to do better this year and I took it a step further by putting it in writing!  :)  Lindsey, if you're reading this, just know that... I CANNOT WAIT TO REUNITE!

Letter twelve was a birthday card for my great friend Joe.  He took me under his wing last year and has been such a good addition to my life!  He is always honest and straightforward with me, and I really appreciate that in a society where so many try to say what you want to hear!  Also, he knows more about medical topics than I could ever dream of, so it's good to have him around for that ;)

A cute envelope for my cute friend Kendall

Letter thirteen went to one of my oldest girlfriends, Kendall.  We've been buds for as long as I can remember.  Her mom was my preschool teacher and we've been in the same church together our whole lives.  Kendall is someone who has always understood me (especially my outlook on my love life) and has been there for me through a lot.  She's one of the special kinds of friends who I can be apart from for any amount of time and then reunite and everything is right back to normal.  I love this about her, I cherish her, and I will definitely be sending her more letters throughout this project!

letters 8, 9 and 10

Letter eight got sent to what might possibly be my youngest pen pal in this whole project.  At just 11 years old, my friend Lexi is not exactly one of my peers.  The story of how I met her is kind of interesting, though.

We were on the same cruise (Carnival Freedom) in July 2009 and I met she and her mom on the first night at the show.  We struck up a quick friendship and the next night, my family was saving seats for them at the next show.  (Little did I know, Lexi had an older brother traveling with her who I later hung out with!  And he was super cute...)  We only got to know each other over the course of a few days before parting ways; Lexi was headed home to Pennsylvania and I went back to Florida to get ready for senior year of high school.

Flash forward to now, three years later, and Lexi and I still keep in touch!  We text periodically and catch up on Facebook.  I don't know if or when I'll get to see her again, but I certainly hope that I do.  It is so special that we still keep in touch, so of course I had to send her a letter!

Letter nine is in a city I've never had the pleasure of visiting, beautiful, sunny Miami!  It is, hopefully, safe and sound in the hands of my good bud JC.  I met JC. at the University of Florida last spring and was so bummed when he graduated and left me behind that same semester!  He's now off conquering law school at UM while I continue in undergrad at Florida.  We haven't kept in the best of touch (law school will do that) but when we do catch up it is so wonderful!  I sent JC a letter basically just to remind him that although we don't necessarily talk that often, I still miss and care for him tons!  Like I've said before, I think a letter does a better job of illustrating that you care than a phone call, email or text message ever could.

The letter written by candlelight to Andrea

Letter ten got mailed to my beloved college town of Gainesville, FL!  I sent it to the one and only, fabulous, amazing human being that is Andrea Clavijo.  If you're reading this and you don't know her, I apologize because you're missing out in a big way.  As much as Andrea knows that I am a huge fan of her, I wanted to send her a letter to remind her of that.  She is one of the busiest people that I know so I'm hoping that my letter gave her two minutes to relax, smile and know that she is sooo wonderful!  The letter was kind of interesting because I had to write it only by candlelight-- literally!  There was a massive thunderstorm at my house that knocked out our power for a whole night.  I lit candles and used the time to write a letter before hitting the hay early.  I felt so primitive, but it was actually kind of nice!

letters 5, 6 and 7

Letter five was one that made me nervous.  I'll explain.  I've been reading blogs for the last five years or so.  In the last two years, checking my Google Reader has become a part of my daily routine.  I have accordingly grown attached to certain blogs/bloggers.  The one who inspires me the most and whose posts I always anxiously await is Indiana Adams from http://www.adoredaustin.com/.  I feel like I know her (not in a creepy way, I swear) and I love her style and outlook on life.  No, I don't live in Texas, and her blog is titled for its capital city, but that doesn't stop me from devouring her blog posts as fast as she can write them!  So you see, my letter to her was a fan letter of sorts.  I felt like such a dork, gushing onto this card, my writing spilling over into the margins.  I sent it, though, and am just hoping that it brought a smile to my favorite blogger's face, however goofy it may have been!

Letter six needed to have nice handwriting, definitely.  I sent it to my mentor, Jordan Andreu, after all and she is one of the craftiest/most perfect people I know!  I used nautical stationery (two of my favorite things come together!) and squeezed as much writing into the tiny card as possible.  I know Jordan will appreciate my project and blog because she herself blogged when she was abroad in London and I was one of her most loyal followers!  :)  Ments, if you're reading this, I cannot WAIT to see you in a month-ish!

Letter seven traveled all the way up the East Coast from Florida (I was home for a weekend visit) to New York City, where my fashionable friend Michaela Trimble is interning this summer!  Michaela loves mail too; she got super excited when I asked for her address!  I used my new favorite nautical stationery again (I'm going to have to force myself to use something different for letter eight).  I wrote a sentiment in my letter that is so completely true-- that I was jealous of it!  Not only was this piece of mail in the wonderful, magical place that is NYC, but it was in the company of my fabulous friend!  If letters had feelings, this one had better be feeling appreciative for the amazing opportunity it has!

Stamp update-- My mom donated five Forever stamps to me yesterday.  Hooray for saving money on postage!