Mr. Bean and I received a gift from my great aunts this week (actually delivered to Mama Bean’s Office, I’m not sure why) that wasn’t on our registry. That might raise some ire from some people, but this gift was really cool: A handcrafted 16th century memory bench.

This is what the tag on the bench said:

“This Memory Bench was requested and carved especially for you. It is a reproduction of a 16th century English joint stool whose pieces are joined together using a method known as mortis and tenon, with the bottom rails allowing the user to keep their feet off the cold stone floor.

Some of the original stools built 400 years ago are still in use today. In their day, these stools were the common form of seating at a time when the chair was reserved for the lord and lady of the house.

Often they were decorated with carvings of repeated patterns and shapes, or years or initials. This custom has evolved into what you have received today.

May it serve you well for many years.”

Our carvings, as you probably guessed it, are our names and our wedding date. How cool is that?

Pretty, no? I’m sure it’ll make lots of memories

Both Mr. Bean and I really appreciate this gift and it will be a good “heirloom” type item, but given that we’re both fairly practical people, we’re not entirely sure what to do with it. We don’t want to ruin it, which puts it out of daily living use and we think it deserves a bit more love than being just an end table. Any ideas?