The Gift of College Pride

I hit a wall last year when it was time to give my main squeeze a present for the holidays. A watch? No, he has a nice watch. Some golf gear? No, I don't want to turn him into the Imelda Marcos of golf. A dog? Uh, no. After a lot of thought and heavy meditation, I came up with the perfect gift...

There is nothing more predictable than hanging your college diploma on the wall in your office, right? And lets face it...unless you are a Doctor and went to Harvard, no one really cares. Well, here's a thought...most universities have pretty extensive photo libraries online. With a quick swift of googling, I was deep into the image archives of Texas Tech University (the beau's alma mater). In just under an hour, I found 3 amazing photos that encapsulated the university's history including an action football pic from the 1920s! The order process was easy and cheap...all I had to do was print and fill out a form, fax it back and within a few weeks (and $10 a photo), I had black and white 8x10s of the beautiful Lubbock campus from years past.

The final process...photos in hand, I made my way to Aaron Brothers where I picked up a matte and frame for each picture. The whole project costing under $150.

Tip: Be patient and plan ahead...many of the archives are run by students or volunteers and they actually have to create a duplicate of the photo, so it may take a few extra weeks.

(The picture above, which was taken in the 1940s, is from TTU's Winston Reeves Photograph Collection and now proudly hangs in my man's office...go Red Raiders!)