A Year of Dates...Better Late Than Never!!

So, I'm always on the search for creative gift ideas and what better source than Pinterest to find some.  I had seen others posting "A Year of Dates" on Pinterest and was intrigued to learn more about what they were pinning.  It sounded like a great idea for a Valetine's Day gift for Dennis.

 

Basically, what people were doing was planning 12 months of dates.  The gift giver then wrote instructions and purchased items to go with the date (i.e. gift card, etc.) and placed the items in an envelope or bag.

 

There were so many great date ideas on Pinterest.  Not just for "A Year of Dates" but in general, so I basically did a lot of research and found ones that suited what Dennis and I liked.  It was a lot of fun looking at all of the different ideas.  I finally decided on the following:

 

March: Find a new recipe.  Cook dinner.  Make individual bucket lists and then one together.

(I put a $10 GE gift card in for dinner and a notebook and pens from the Dollar Store for the bucket list.)

** Since I suck at posting lately.  We actually did this date last night.  It was a lot of fun!  We made stuffed crust pizza and did our bucket list and watched part of Skyfall. **
 

April: Play a game of funky bowling according to the instructions included.

(I put a bag of M & Ms in a large envelope with an "I Owe You" for a game of bowling.  The instructions for this date are found http://angbrimwil.blogspot.com/2013/01/hubbys-gift-details.html.)

 

May: Eat breakfast at Pamela's and then spend the morning in the Strip District.

(I put a reuable bag in the envelope, along with an "I Owe You" for breakfast.)

 

June: Walk to the tennis courts for a game.  Then enjoy some ice cream on the deck and plan a vacation.
(I put an "I Owe You" for ice cream and a travel magazine in the envelope.)

July: Spend a summer evening at a Pirate game.
(I put an "I Owe You" in the envelope for a Pirate tickets and a Pirate sticker.)

August: Take a hike and then enjoy a sunset picnic in Schenley Park.
(I put two water bottles in the envelope for hiking.)

September: Wine tasting at Narcissi Winery.
(I put a wine thermometer in the envelope with an "I Owe You" note for a bottle of wine.

October: Watch a movie (Dennis' choice) and make cookies.
(I put a cookie mix in the envelope...too bad it won't work tho because the expiration day is prior to October.  Oh well, I only wanted to make a point.)

November: Grab a Starbucks and walk through your favorite neighborhoods looking for houses.
(I put a Starbucks card in the envelope and I wanted to put neighborhood maps if I had more time.)

December: Eat at Noodles.  Walk around to see the lights and go Christmas shopping for friends and family.
(I put an "I Owe You" note in the envelope for dinner at Noodles.

January: Watch a movie (Carrie's choice) and make brownies.
(I put a brownie mix in the envelope...again made a mistake by not checking the expiration dates.)

February: Print pictures from the honeymoon.  Enjoy a bottle of wine and make a scrapbook.
(I put a few scrapbook items in the bag.)

And there my friends, "A Year of Date."  It was a relatively affordable Valentine's Day present, especially since I put "I Owe You" notes in instead of buying lots of gift cards or tickets.

Those are just my thoughts.  Check out Pinterest for more ideas.  It makes a great Christmas, birthday or anniversary gift too.  I also heard someone that gave "A Year of Dates" for a wedding gift.  That's a little out of my price range but it sounds like a cool idea.

My Valentine's Surprises

My valentine did so well in surprising me this year, especially after I said we didn't have to celebrate so we could save money!

First, I came home after work on Wednesday to an early Valentine's Day surprise of roses, candy, Pink Catawba (my favorite wine) and a cute stuffed dog with a promise that I'd get a puppy one year (I've been pushing for a dog the last few weeks).

We both worked on Valentine's Day, so we celebrated on Saturday night with dinner at Tambellini's downtown.  Then we gave each other gifts later at the apartment.  Dennis gave me a brand new DVD set of the Anne of Green Gables trilogy!!  And she has red hair on the cover!  He said he would watch it with me too sometime!

Thanks, valentine!   I love it all!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful day with your loved ones!

Board Game Organization

A few posts ago I talked about how I made artwork for our entry way out of box lids (read post here).  Well, I had to find a way to organize the games that now were missing box lids.  Yes, thanks to Pinterest, I create a ridiculous amount of projects.

We don't have that many but they still take up a lot space.  The boxes are bulky and when you think about it there really isn't that much in them.  So, I emptied out the boxes and placed all of the pieces for each game in a labeled Ziploc bag.  Then I put them in alphabetical order with the game boards at the back.

I had an extra storage bin that I used to hold all of the bags and boards.  It seems like a good start.  If we get more games, we'll need more bins but for now this works.  It will be nice for game night, if we ever have one, because we can just grab the entire bin instead of multiple boxes.

15 Weeks

Tomorrow marks 15 weeks until Memorial Day!  

On Friday, I spent the day at Lakeside for board meetings.  It was the first time I had been there since Labor Day, which is a long stretch for me.

Winter at Lakeside isn't my favorite.  It was way too cold and windy on Friday.  So cold that I hardly got any pictures with my new camera and I didn't even walk around, expect to the dock.

When I was younger I hated going to Lakeside any time but summer. We went after Easter services one year and I think it was the first time my sisters and I said we were bored there.

As I've grown older though, I've learned to appreciate the beauty of Lakeside all year.  When I lived there, I loved spring before everyone arrived and now I love the fall there as well with the colorful leaves.

Winter is always hard waiting for April when the campground opens or Memorial Day to be reunited with my Lakeside family but there comes a point when you know it just around the corner.

I know it will be here before I know it and I will be canonballing into the frigid Lake Erie waters, golf cart joy riding, playing games with the summer families and introducing Dennis to more Lakeside traditions.

Looking forward to summer!

The Treasures I Treasure

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a big fan of jewelry.  I don't have a need to run out to Forever 21 and get the trendiest new bling.  For me, the jewelry I wear and treasure has a special place in my heart. 

Yes, I have been known to say that I love Tiffany and Colonial Williamsburg jewelry but I love it because of who gave it to me.  Dennis gave me a Tiffany necklace last year for Valentine's Day, my parents got me a Tiffany bracelet for my 21st birthday and I used birthday money from my Grandpa to buy the matching ring.  My parents and grandparents bought my Colonial Williamsburg bracelets. 

The only jewelry I wear regularly are my engagement ring and my spoon ring that was my mom's.  I also like jewelry that has a story, which is why I really like looking at vintage stores for unique pins or necklaces, like the ones I bought in Harvard Square on the last Boston trip.

This week, Meg and I went over to my aunt's house to look through my Grandma's jewelry boxes.  It was so awesome.  I didn't remember her wearing half of the necklaces, pins or earrings.  I took some necklaces, pins and an awesome watch pendant on a chain.  It's really old and you can see the clock workings in the back!

My two favorite finds though are my great, great aunt's engagement ring from the 1920s and a ring that matches it.  I have such wonderful memories of this woman who was basically another grandparent too me.  I love that I have a special piece of her life to remember her by.

I also took some pins and earrings of both my Grandma and my great, great aunt to make a hair piece out of for my wedding.  I always wanted my grandparents present at my wedding and now this will be a special way to remember two of them by.  I'm still working on the design but I love the idea.

So, these are my treasures. They may not be the trendiest or worth anything but to me they are are invaluable.  Beautiful treasures by those who loved me and shaped the woman that I am today.  I will treasure them and keep them close to my heart forever.

Hair as red as carrots?

"Red hair is my lifelong sorrow." - Anne

(Amazon.com)

As a librarian and an avid reader of the popular and beloved Anne of Green Gables series, I am absolutely stunned by the new cover of a recently released set of the books.  The girl on the cover has BLOND hair.  Not RED but BLOND!!!  

How is that even possible?  What publisher that actually read the books would do that?  Anne's red hair is a major part of the story line.  It is what makes Gilbert talk to Anne in the first place!  It is what prompts her outburst in front of Rachel Lynn.  It caused Anne to dye her hair and it ends up green!

Again, I'm stunned.  I'm literally in the depths of despair over this...ha ha...not really, I just had to say it.  Yes, I'm a blond but because of Anne I wanted to be a red head my whole life.  Now the new cover is misleading and does not represent the character or story line.

L.M. Montgomery is rolling over in her grave right now.

ABC News article about the cover:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/02/book-lovers-outraged-over-sexy-anne-of-green-gables-cover/

A Boost of Motivation

For some reason, I have a severe lack of motivation right now for the half-marathon.  I was very excited in the fall when I registered!  So excited that I registered the day before registration even opened for a special Steel City Runners promotion.  Then what happened?!!  That is the question that I've been asking.

I spent a good two months not running due to all of my illnesses and allergy problems.  Then I ran a few times and it wasn't too bad but I got shin splints and my old tennis shoes just weren't cutting it anymore.  Training officially starts for me on Sunday, so I need to get moving and kick this lack of motivation!

Got my tax refund today, so Dennis and I went to look at new tennis shoes.  I tried on some Reebok and Nike.  The selections were quite slim.  Not really a Nike fan, but I found a pair I liked and I bought it.  I may try some others on but I think this one might work.  New shoes are a step in the right direction!

Then tonight I made a motivation board on the refrigerator door.  I put my training plan on there, tips from a running calendar that Dennis got me for Christmas and lots of quotes.  My favorite..."Keep calm and Carrie on."  Hopefully this will give me the needed boost to start running and keep going!