Remember when we stopped at this little spot in Maryland on our way to our Labor Day beach weekend?
While we were there we spotted some great vintage sign letters. They were even more intriguing once we learned they were originally meant for a Dollar Tree store and were selling for $20 apiece. I was obsessed and nearly took home an E, R, or A just because. (Sadly there wasn’t a P, J, S, C or B available.)
Well, I finally have one. Please give a warm, if slightly lukewarm, welcome to the letter L.
Why the L? Turn it 180 degrees and you get something that looks like our favorite number — which makes John especially happy. That number is meaningful to us: our first kiss was 7/7/05, our wedding date is 7/7/07, and Clara was born on the 14th (which we jokingly call 7+7).
It probably makes me a little too happy. Sorry, Sherry — avert your eyes.
Nothing strange here, just a man snuggling a giant number seven. Totally platonic, I promise.
The story behind how it arrived is sweet. After I kept saying how much I regretted not buying the L, Sherry started plotting a surprise. We didn’t realize the L looked like a 7 until we were back home going through road-trip photos. The surprise came together when Lesley, who happened to read our original post where Sherry mentioned regretting the missed opportunity, offered to help. It turned out Lesley lives near the Ole Sale Barn in Denton, Maryland and often travels between there and her mom in Richmond — perfect timing.
Sherry planned to surprise me on my birthday, but Lesley made an earlier trip. After a quick parking-lot meet-up and a cash-for-giant-letter handoff, the seven became ours. I was genuinely surprised and more than a little in love — with both the thoughtful surprise and the giant number seven itself. It’s already keeping us company in the office. We’re still deciding what to place beside it and planning to get a proper side table and lamp for that corner.
We considered hanging it on the wall behind the chair, but we both prefer walking into the room and seeing it “smile” at us face-first. That orientation gives a more immediate, welcoming view compared with seeing the side of it most of the time.
As for installation, it was straightforward. The letter still had its wiring for lights, but we’re not planning to light it right now — wiring the wall would add cost we’d rather avoid for the moment. I carefully removed the two protruding metal mounts on the back so the letter could sit flush. I tucked the wires inside the hollow of the L for possible future use (they can be pulled out later if we decide to wire it).
With those mounts removed there were a couple of holes plus some at the top that made perfect hang points. I installed a few anchors and screws where I wanted them and then hung the letter in place. Easy and secure.
Huge thanks to Lesley for taking the time to deliver it and fronting the $25 to buy it for us. The seller had raised the price by $5 since Labor Day, but it was still worth every penny.
Psst — We’re over on BabyCenter sharing one of the most creative kids’ birthday parties we’ve ever seen. It’s incredibly imaginative and fun.
Pssst — We’ll be back with a kitchen update this afternoon. No dust flying yet, but very, very soon…