We were at a wonderful garden party at our friend’s house recently. It was fantastic. The kind of elegant party you would see in a Southern Living or Sunset magazine spread. Great food set on lovely tables (with splendid linens) overlooking a lush backyard in summer’s full bloom.

In the backyard, I noticed the host’s collection of colorful bird houses that are photographed above. They were spaced out among the greenery & flowers. When I asked about them, I learned that he had made them himself as a way to celebrate their travels.

Each one was styled to represent somewhere that they had visited.

Now, making bird houses is a classic retirement activity, but I loved that he had put such a wonderful theme to them. Trips to Amsterdam, Italy, Switzerland, Barcelona, France, and England are all represented by the ones I snapped above.

He said he takes pictures of buildings as they travel and he starts work on the bird houses after they get home. It’s a wonderful way to mark each trip and he spends usually more than 20 hours designing and building each one. What a fun ‘extension’ to their travels!

Other than pictures, do you do anything special to mark memorable trips that you’ve taken?

Image Credit: (c) MrFireStation.com