I desperately had to have a charm bracelet after I saw The Princess Diaries. So for my 15th birthday, I got a sterling silver, empty charm bracelet that I filled up for the next couple years with pretty little pendants that represented things I liked, places I’ve been, and other high school moments.

Two of my favorite charms are from my great Aunt Mable, who gave me some old, vintage charms that she used to have on her charm bracelet. The first was this piano charm:

This cute little charm is an upright piano, and she gave it to me because I play. I took lessons for around 10 years, and my little elderly relatives were some of my biggest fans.

Kind of hard to read in this photo, but the round charm is from the 1964-’65 New York World’s Fair. My Aunt Mable went to this festival, and bought herself this charm as a souvenir. She passed it on to me, and I think it’s a lovely addition to my bracelet.

I don’t wear my charm bracelet often because it jingles loudly and it’s kind of heavy, but I still really like it. I wore it this past weekend, and I remember where I got each and every charm — it’s the perfect way to collect memories and remember important times in life!