12 Christmas Couple Activities

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Activity, Christmas, Cookies, Couple, Date Ideas, Free Date Ideas, Games, Holidays, Inexpensive Date Ideas, Love, Movies, Quick, Relationships, Simple, Snack, Snow, White Christmas

I thought I should do a Christmas themed post with the holiday fast approaching, and since I–and all of us, I’m sure–will be very busy during Christmas, I thought sooner would be best.  So, since everyone seems to love the date ideas, I decided to share 12 simple special activities to do as a couple during those busy days.  I love being around the family during Christmas.  The house is always full.  But it’s also such a romantic time to me.  The soft glowing lights, all the music, and sometimes even a white blanket of glittering snow everywhere you look (though, I’m not sure we can count on that this year).  So, if you feel like I do, here’s a dozen simple ideas to make the most of those little moments together.

1. Kiss underneath mistletoe.  (If there isn’t mistletoe, kiss anyway.  Catch that special someone standing in the doorway and surprise them.)
2. Kiss and cuddle in the dim glowing light of the Christmas tree.
3. Bundle up and go for a walk to steal a moment alone together after Christmas dinner.  Walking mitten in mitten makes it that much better.
4. Play a board game, they’re so much fun and there are plenty of short ones.  Checkers, Jenga, and Trouble are all quick games, we like to play for kisses.  Sensing a theme here?  But it makes everyone a winner.
5. Make cocoa together, or just pick some up at a gas station, a lot of them have cocoa and/or cappuccino, and you can generally find one that is open, even on Christmas.
6. Be a little naughty and have a midnight snack of cookies and milk together.
7. Watch a Christmas movie together.  Some of my recommendations are Since You Went Away, It’s A Wonderful Life, The Bishop’s Wife, and White Christmas.  You can find White Christmas on Netflix if you have that, assuming you do not have the DVD.  Also, it’s usually on television a few times this time of year, TCM especially.
8. Before bed, share a blanket on the couch and stay up and talk about the day and day dream about the new year together.
9. If we should be so lucky as to be blessed with a white Christmas, build a snowman together.
10.  OR have a snowball fight!  Winner gets to choose the next activity, whether that is later in the day, or your next date.  :)
11. Christmas mini dance party.  Put on some Christmas music and dance together. Pandora is great for this.  I recommend the Nat King Cole holiday station.
12. If you’re traveling, as we will be, have a sing-a-long in the car.  Nothing like 4 hours of Christmas karaoke.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you and yours have a Merry Christmas and a very happy holiday season.

Tips: Meeting the Family

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Holidays, Long Distance Relationship, Love, Meeting Family, Meeting Parents, Relationships, Special Someone, Tips, What To Wear To Meet The Family

I mentioned in my Autumn Update post that I had a list of ideas for posts to write here on Love Built To Last, but I’ve been taking a bit of a break, tending to other things.  I broke out my list and one thing in particular sort of stood out.  I’ve been meaning to share my advice about meeting the family of your significant other, and with the holidays fast approaching, many people will be attending family functions with their special someone, so now seems the perfect time.

In my long distance relationship with David, meeting people is something we seem to be doing continually.  We aren’t together on a day to day basis, so it seems there are less opportunities to see each other’s family and friends, which has really extended the process.  The upside to this, of course, is that I’ve almost become used to it.  It’s a much more relaxed experience than it was in the beginning.  Hopefully some of the advice I share today can help make sure it is that way for you as well.

One of the things that really drove me crazy and made me most nervous about meeting David’s family in the beginning was something so simple and silly.  What should I wear?  I asked myself that, if I knew I was meeting someone in advance I’d ask other people while I was trying to decide.  I knew that the way I looked would make a first impression for me.  I was right about that.  What I didn’t know was that it really just wasn’t that big a deal.  I figured that out later when I was staying at his dad’s house and one of his relatives I hadn’t really met came in while I was washing dishes at their kitchen sink in my pajamas, no makeup on, and my hair piled up on top of my head, looking a mess.

Having said that, context is everything.  My best advice about what to wear is to wear something appropriately modest for the situation (don’t meet grandma in a sequin halter top), don’t be under dressed for an event (no jeans at weddings, people), try to be well groomed as best you can (surprises do happen, refer to my earlier story), wear something that flatters you and that you feel comfortable in, and try to give a little (natural, hold the cheese) smile when you’re being introduced.  When you are comfortable and confident, that will show and it will put other people at ease with you.  Along those same lines…

I also wondered how to act.  I mean, it isn’t as though I wanted to pretend to be someone I’m not, but I wanted to try to present the best side of me and because I’d never been through this before (remember, David is my first and only romantic relationship) I felt like I wasn’t sure how to do that.  The long and the short of it though, is that I spent a little bit of time grossly over-thinking it, and forgot everything when it was actually time to meet them.  I don’t know what kind of 8 tenticled cyclopes alien I thought they would be, but they were just people, and I’m pretty good with people.  I settled into my own self, maybe a bit nervous, because I did want it to go well, my mannerisms were a bit more formal, but I was just me.  That’s exactly what you need to be.

When it comes to how you should act when meeting that special person’s parents, my advice is to be friendly.  Smile when you’re introduced.  Not a fake one.  Be sincere, being introduced to the important people in your love’s life is special and it’s something to be happy about.  Take your cues from them when it comes to shaking hands, hugging, or staying put.  Just pause a moment and wait.  Generally they’ll do what they’re most comfortable with and you can just mirror it.  Be interested.  Be an active listener, meaning listen and respond.  Be polite and just let things flow naturally.  That’s all.  They want to get to know you, so be you.  It’s really that simple.  Just show your own personality and try to get to know theirs as well.

My absolute best advice, if you don’t read anything else on this page, is that if they are going to like you, they will like you no matter how clumsy or awkward you are the first time they meet you.  If they are not going to like you, they’ve probably already made up their mind not to like you.  Nothing you do will change that no matter how crazy you drive yourself.  It’s probably not about you personally.  Just be the best version of yourself and be good to the one you’re with.  That’s really all anyone can ask for.  Ultimately, if you’re making that person happy, that’s what most people care about who care about them, and if you have advanced notice, bake cookies.  Everyone loves cookies, right?

LDR: Holiday Planning

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Advice, Holiday Planning, Holiday Travel, Holidays, How do you do the holidays?, Life, Long Distance Relationships, Love, Question, Relationships, Tips, Travel

A question I get a lot, especially this time of year from those who know David and I are in a long distance relationship is “How do you do the holidays?”  Well, that’s sort of both simple and complex.  In the three years we’ve been together, we’ve sort of figured out a starting place, but it’s still something we have to decide every year.  I know a lot of people, both in long distance relationships, and others, have the same decision to make, so I thought I’d write this post telling you some of the factors we have taken into consideration when planning where we will spend our holidays, mainly referring to the holidays season:  Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year.

I’ll start with the main considerations we take into account.

• Do any of our relatives have a special tradition for this holiday, or is it especially important to them?  Would it hurt their feelings if we miss it?
• Do we have a special attachment to being somewhere or with someone on a certain day or for a certain tradition during the holidays?
• Which of our relatives will be home during this holiday?  Will any of them be traveling?
• Will our relatives have other family around, or will our absence leave empty places at the family table?
• Will these people have the opportunity to see us during the holidays if we don’t travel to see them?  Are they making a trip anyway?
• Are we going to be there anyway without making a special trip?
• What is best for our schedule?  In other words, how much time can we allot each activity and leave time for safe travel?

Then, there are the obstacles…

• How do the finances look?  The holidays are a bit tighter for most people anyway, but if you’re travelling during the holidays, how many hours you’ve gotten this paycheck as compared to the price of gasoline and the number of miles to drive may very well make your decision for you.
• How much time do we have to travel?  A lot of people do get at least one day off during the holidays, but not everyone does.  As well, if you only get one day and will be travelling a number of hours, well, there just may not be enough hours in the day to do everything you’d like to do, go everywhere you’d like to go, or see everyone you’d like to see.

Now then, what do we do?

When David and I started out, we wanted to do everything, make everyone happy, and not leave anyone out.  Our first Christmas was fantastic, but it was on a very rigid timetable, things moved quickly, and although it was wonderful, it was quite stressful for both of us.  He drove four hours to come get me earlier in the week, then four hours to take me to where he lives.  Then,  the night of the 23rd he drove more than two hours so that we could see his mom early the morning of Christmas Eve.  We had breakfast with her and then immediately left on what was probably a five to six hour drive to have dinner with my mother and spend Christmas with her.  We spent half the day in holiday traffic.  When we got to my mother’s house dinner had been done for a few minutes.  We weren’t late exactly, we got there just in time to be polite.  Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it?  It was, but it was still a good time.  We had a visit in Indiana like we like to do and got to do all those couple things like looking at Christmas lights, then we got to spend a bit of time with his mom, and we got to spend Christmas with my family, which meant I got to introduce him to some of them for the first time.  That was all wonderful.  In the grand scheme of things, though, I don’t think it’s something we’ll elect to do again.  It wasn’t the most practical choice, and with all that stress, having done things differently now, I know, Christmas was not as holly jolly as it can be.

After that, we came up with an idea to sort of put the holidays into a rotation.  That was a good idea in theory, and I would recommend others try it, but all in all, it isn’t the best way exactly for us.

So, what are we doing this year?  Well, the plan is that he’ll come down to Kentucky to spend Thanksgiving with my family and then we’ll come back up to Indiana for a bit and spend time together before Christmas.  This might be different next year, but for this year, it’s the best solution, and as it works out, it would have been my mom’s year for Thanksgiving anyway.  Last year we didn’t get to spend Thanksgiving together for various reasons, and his father and stepmother typically spend Thanksgiving with other family.

Christmas is an interesting dilemma as well.  This year we’re hoping that he can make it to Kentucky to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family and then we will leave that night so that he can be on time for work.  His father and step mother do more celebrating the weekend following Christmas so that they can see their grandchildren, which works out well for us.  We’ll spend some time with them then and we’ll get to start the new year together.  His mother typically comes to Indiana around Christmas to see the grandchildren as well, so hopefully we’ll get to see her then if she has time when David isn’t at work.  I think things will work out either way.  This is definitely the best, most practical, least stressful solution we could come to this year.

Basically, what this means is that we will both be back and forth a bit.  I’ll be spending some time away during the holidays.  While I’m in town I’ll be trying to catch up with everyone and spend as much quality time with my momma as possible.  He’ll be quite the busy beaver making it all happen.

Hopefully we do a good job making this difficult decision every year.  I know we do the best we can, especially David.  God love him, he works as hard as he can and does the best he can to do right by everyone, especially me.  My best advice for deciding what to do about the holidays is to do what you can, and do what will make you happy.

My best advice to those who are long distance around the holidays is:

• Concentrate on love and joy as best you can and put the rest in the background.  Now is the time to have your priorities straight.  Be thankful for what you’ve been blessed with and have a little faith that things will work out.  Don’t try so hard to make it all happen.
• Be reasonable.  Don’t be a hero, you can only do what is humanly possible.  Save the rest for another time.
• Be flexible.  The unexpected can and will happen.  That’s okay.  It will be okay.  Make that your mantra.
• Don’t be long distance any longer than you have to!  I jest of course,  A little…  Things are wonderful now, but we’re very much looking forward to being together in a home that is ours for the holidays someday.

I hope you and yours have a happy holiday season, wherever your home and heart may be.

Love Built To Last Autumn Update

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Apple, Autumn, Baking, Blogging, Category, Cold Weather, Cranberry, Date Ideas, Date Night Outfits, Dates, Desserts, Fall, Food, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Holidays, Hot Drink, Life, Love, Modesty, Oatmeal, Packing, Plans, Relationships, Respect, Schedule, Style, Subscribe, Travel, Update, Writing

After my post yesterday about packing and the long distance relationship, I decided I wanted to do a little bit of an update post.  I actually have a lot of ideas for posts, and plan to be writing maybe a little more than usual this month.  I have also created a new category here on Love Built To Last.  So, I’m going to just explain a bit about what’s going to be happening this fall here on my relationship blog.

First, I’ll get to the new category.  You may or may not have noticed this, but I created a Long Distance Relationship category.  You’ll find that in the side bar under the heading “Organized Chaos” as well as on my Find It Fast page.  For anyone who doesn’t know, David and I are in a long distance relationship.  The category here on the blog came about because previously, I only had one humorous post about what I do when we’re apart, but since then I have recently added a couple posts about packing & the long distance relationship.  I thought the 3 posts were probably a good enough start to warrant a category that would make them easier to find.  I did say “start” just now, didn’t I?  That’s because these three posts are a foreshadowing of more posts to come.  I have a few ideas for posts about this, and you’ll likely see at least one more of those before winter.  I hope that people will enjoy this part of the blog.

I’d also like to fill you in on some posts that you can expect to see this month should you be interested.  I will be writing a modest style post to go along with my Autumn Date Ideas post.  I thought this would be nice.  I’ve seen a lot of date night outfit ideas on magazine sites, but to be honest, I don’t really take much away when I read those.  There aren’t a great deal of modest ideas, and really I just think they’re a little more fashion magazine (sort of conceptual) and a little less man-friendly.  Let’s be honest, a lot of guys like outfits that are just simple and cute and easy for them to understand.  Why are you wearing shorts with pantyhose in the fall?  They just don’t get that.  Why are you wearing a leather jacket and boots with that frilly dress?  I’m joking, of course, not too serious, but it is true.  So I’ll be sharing my simple, practical ideas for cute cozy outfits for different types of dates.

Something very much in line with what I normally do on Love Built To Last, but just a bit different, is a topic I have mentioned quite a few times, but have been planning to eventually post about more often.  I will be writing at least one post about this before winter as well.  Respect.  It is a very big part of our relationship, and something I have written about before.  I will, however, be focusing on it specifically and what it means in my relationship with David, and how I demonstrate respect.  Honestly, it may grow into a category.  I definitely hope those posts will be helpful and interesting for others and maybe give those we know a little bit more insight into how we relate to each other.

Another post was inspired by a question people have been asking quite a bit.  That is “How do you do the holidays?”  How do David and I decide how to schedule our holidays, what is it like, how does it work, does it change, what are the deciding factors, what about the time, how do we feel about the situation?  Those sorts of things.  Honestly, the holidays are a very busy time for us and making this decision is a big deal every year.  If you’re interested in this, or if you’re trying to figure this out yourselves this year, I will be posting this before Halloween.

You might also see a post here or two about what we’re up to this fall.  I’m pretty sure there will be at least one new picture.  So for those close to us, don’t worry you’ll get updated too.  David and I are planning to see each other in a week’s time.  So we’ll be busy little people.

Finally, I thought I’d just post a link here to some autumn and Halloween related posts.

From Love Built To Last:

• My most recent post:  Autumn Date Ideas
• Last year’s Halloween Costume:  A Very Rockabilly Halloween
• A list of ideas for modest Halloween costumes:  Modest Costume Inspiration

From Princess In The Kitchen, a list of recipes I enjoy for fall:

• Apple Sauce Cake
• Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Scone Drops
• Cranberry Sweet Tea
• Hot Caramel Apple Drink
• Oatmeal Apple Scone Drops
• Oatmeal Cake
• Oatmeal Chippers
• Oatmeal Cookies
• Smores Bars
• Stuffed Banana Bread Toast

I hope you enjoy the addition of these recipe links.  Some of them have things I typically associate with cooler weather, like apples and cranberries.  Others are just cozy recipes that are great served warm.  :)

If you’re interested in what’s coming up, be sure to check those posts out this month.  You can also subscribe in the side bar if you want to find those more easily.

Making a Valentine Card: Leave the Macaroni in the Pantry

Tags

DIY, Handmade, Holidays, Valentine, Valentine Card, Vanentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is coming up very soon and I think we all know I’m very excited.  But, knowing it won’t be long, there is a lot to be done.  Deciding on a gift, maybe baking for some of us, plans to be made, and in my case, making a valentine card for my man!  Some of us remember making valentines as children, but for me there’s no reason this needs to be a lost art.  Many of us buy a card for that special someone, but sometimes I like to make cards rather than buy them.  He loves the ones I make because they’re so personal and he knows I took the time and thought to make something uniquely his.  I like that the card says precisely what I’m feeling in my own words, and I think they’re fun.  It’s also an inexpensive way to show you care if you have the supplies around.  So, in case you’re thinking of making a card for your special someone, I want to share some ideas, and some printables I have found.  Here are a few of my ideas and tips.

Make it personal:  Do something that means something to the two of you.  Something sentimental.  Maybe use a quote that means something special to both of you.  Print a picture to use of somewhere you’ve been or a picture of the two of you on a special day…  Use your imagination, but do what is good for the two of you.

Love letter:  Write your valentine a love letter inside your card, or write your special someone a love letter on a decorated piece of card stock, maybe with a scrapbook paper border, or cut your border with decorative scissors.

Go vintage:  I once did a card with a gold colored tissue paper glued over card stock, it kind of gave the card stock an aged feel.  I even used a black and white photo of me in a retro outfit printed from my computer for the front of the card.  This had special meaning for the two of us.  One way or another, I think black and white photos are a great choice for a romantic holiday.

Think outside the box:  I made a birthday card once where I covered the card stock with wrapping paper and glued printer paper inside to write on.  If you do this, fold the wrapping paper over the edges of the card stock before gluing the white paper inside.  You might also use double stick tape instead of glue.  It will prevent those lines and curling that are possible with glue that is wet.  Of course this can also be minimized by just making sure your line of glue is spread smooth and the paper too.

Technology is your friend:  Your computer can be very helpful, and especially your printer.  There are a lot of printables out there.  You might even want to just find pictures of things that are significant to you and use them for the cover of your card.

Printables:  The Toy Maker and Vintage Image Craft have plenty of things.  Just look around.  Even some cards that are already ready to print.  You might also check your own clip art.  There’s always Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.  Then, of course, there are image hosting sights like Flickr and Photobucket.  If you feel adventurous you might also try some kids coloring sites.  If you’re creative that can actually be good.  I did one once with Superman and Lois Lane.  Also, a lot of crafting and DIY blogs have some free valentine printables right now.

The classics:  Make use of the classics.  Heart doilies and lace are still cute.  We all like a heart shaped card.  Just know the person you’re making your card for and put your heart into it.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do for this card yet, but I’m excited to start and I know it will be fun.  I’m going to use this opportunity to put my feelings down on paper, and I know no matter how I do this card, he’ll love it just like he always loves any of my cards or letters.

Inexpensive Gift Ideas: Valentine’s Day

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Aftershave, Baking, Blogging, Chocolates, Cologne, Daisies, Flowers, For Her, For Him, Fragrance, Gift Ideas, Greeting Cards, Holidays, Homemade Gifts, Jewelry, Love, Men's Grooming, Movies, Music, Panda, Perfume, Relationships, Sleepwear, Unisex, Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and I am so excited because David and I plan to be together for the holiday.  (This is our third Valentine’s Day.)  I’m already thinking and planning what I’m going to wear, what special things we might do, what I’m going to bake, and, like many others I’m sure, what gift I want to give him.  This is something I love to do.  I love to give gifts.  They may not be big, but I just love to give someone something that, I hope, they will like.

This is a little tricky for me, though.  Me being a very girly girl, it’s hard for me to get my mind on track for buying David a gift.  He’s all man.  It’s tricky.  In the end of course, I always come up with something I’m excited about, and so far, he’s been very happy.

So, while I was thinking about Valentine’s Day, I started thinking that I needed to post here again, and wanted to do a few valentine posts between now and then.  David suggested that I should do one about valentines gifts, and with the day fast approaching and many of us on a budget, I thought this would be a good idea.

The post will be divided into categories as I share budget friendly gift ideas, and tips on buying the classic valentine gifts without breaking the bank.  Let’s get started.

Unisex

Chocolates:  This might mean assorted chocolates, or it may mean your special someone’s favorite kind of chocolate they eat all year round.  Even the better quality chocolates like Godiva and Lindt are not particularly pricey as valentine gifts go.

Sleepwear:  This can range from inexpensive to very expensive.  Depending on your tastes and where you shop.  Right now, I happen to know they have nighties for women for like 8 dollars at Walmart.  They’re not designer or anything, but some of them have sweet designs, and they are usually comfortable.  The pjs for the women are around 15 for sets, haven’t priced mens.  But, in my opinion, it’s a good idea for either of the sexes.  Bathrobes are also nice.

DVD:  These, again, can vary in price.  But worthwhile DVDs can be purchased for as low as $5.  Just keep in mind what your partner likes.  Maybe find one that has a special meaning for the two of you.  This can be combined nicely with popcorn, or with popcorn and chocolate for the promise of a special date night at home.

Music:  This is similar to the DVD idea.  You can find inexpensive CDs most anywhere that sells them.  You can also download music at good prices, and from what I hear iTunes sometimes has some free downloads.  Like many others, this idea is best when the CD  has some sort of relevance to you both.

Something Personal:  Maybe print off a picture of the two of you and put it in a frame.  If you’re good at art, maybe create something and frame that.  Post cards of places you’ve been or want to go…  My man has talked some about the ocean and Hawaii so I bought him a beachy poster with a quote that spoke to me and put that in a frame.

Love Letters:  Write them a love letter to show them how much you care.  Really taking the time to sit down and do this is very valuable.  Maybe, if you give a lot of forethought, you could even fill a small notebook or journal with love notes or thoughts about your special someone, or compliments, things you love about them, memories you have.

Bake Something: If you need ideas, checking out my food blog, Princess In The Kitchen, might be helpful.  I’ll be posting what I’m baking for my man closer to Valentine’s Day.

For Her:

Flowers:  This can be very budget friendly or a total budget buster!  You just have to know what you’re looking for and where.  I love daisies.  The first flowers I got from David were crazy daisies.  You can actually find them in supermarkets.  They’re brightly colored, I guess almost neon, dyed daisies.  Mine had glitter on them, but yours don’t have to, and there are other inexpensive ones besides just daisies.

Crazy dasies, the first flowers David gave me. Our first Valentine's Day, 2010.

Jewelry:  YES!  I said it!  Jewelry!  There is an inexpensive way to buy jewelry.  It’s true that it can be prohibitively expensive, but it is totally possible to buy a pretty piece of jewelry within almost anyone’s price range.  I have some tips.

• Try fashion jewelry.  It’s made to be worn as an accessory more so than an expensive piece of jewelry.  They have neat, often showy designs, and can be very trendy or very classic.  They’re very wearable.
• Women’s clothing stores often sell very inexpensive fashion jewelry, and sometimes even sell things with sterling, gemstones, the like.
• Shop around at stores like Walmart and Kmart and those places.  It sounds worse than it is, people.  They have some very nice things, and some not as nice things…  If you have a good eye, and know what you’re looking for, you can find something worth buying that you can be proud to give.  Get over stereotyping.
• Skip the gold, go for sterling.  It’s far less expensive.  With proper care, it can be very durable.  I recently saw a very cute sterling silver necklace with diamond accents for $12.  Which brings me to my next tip.
• Diamond accents!  Jewelry with filigree and other designs in the silver mounting make small diamonds look showier.  Also, a cluster of diamond chips can actually be very sparkly, and form unique designs.

Fragrance:  Widely varying price ranges.  There are also different kinds of fragrance options.  Perfume, cologne, perfume solids, body sprays.  I actually suggest buying a body spray.  They can be a very inexpensive option.  They’re available many places.  I know I keep mentioning it but there’s Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Target…  There’s Victoria’s Secret…  Bath & Body Works…  So many options.  So many fragrances.  An advantage to body spray is that it can be as strong or as subtle as a woman wants it to be.  Most body sprays have a lighter scent, very subtle when applied sparingly.  I happen to like this.  They can also be layered (more of it sprayed on) to give a stronger scent.

For Him

Pocket knife:  They make all different sorts of pocket knives and multi-tools in a wide range of designs and price ranges.  It is possible to find interesting ones for budget friendly prices.

Flask:  Another thing with a widely varying price range.  These can be picked up for reasonable prices, though.  You can even get them engraved sometimes.

Aftershave or cologne:  This one is obvious, but what you might not know is that these don’t have to be expensive to smell good.  If your man does like a pricier brand, consider buying a smaller bottle, shopping online, buying it at a place like Walmart, Kmart, Sears.  They sell some brands that started out much more expensive and still have expensive counter parts.  You might also check out this guide to drugstore colognes from AOM.

Other Men’s Grooming:  There are also other options.  Grooming kits, shave soap, men’s face wash, men’s moisturizer, and other cool things.  I think these things are nice because good shaving products and moisturizers can do the same thing for men they do for women.  Shaving can irritate the skin, and let’s face it, for many of us it’s still cold around valentine’s day.  That can mean dry skin.  Helping make your man more comfortable can be a cool idea, and just might help the two of you get closer.    Kissing and cuddling are much more fun when your skin is happy.

Love Them Or Hate Them

There are some inexpensive gift ideas that aren’t hits across the board.  Some people love them; I always have.  But apparently, according to some articles I have read, some people don’t care for them at all.  Let me just say, I really love them.  Here they are.

Greeting Cards:  Whether homemade or store bought, I love a card.  I have kept the cards David has given me, and still look at them sometimes.  He really knows how to buy a good card.  Some people say they aren’t personal enough, but I disagree for two reasons.

1. You can make cards for your special someone or buy cards that are blank inside and write your own message.  In this way, I can’t imagine much that could be more personal.
2. I know for a fact that when David gives me a card, he read through probably 50 others and carefully selected the exact card he felt was fitting.  If it didn’t mean something to him, he wouldn’t give it to me.

Overall, I just think they’re a great option, and the person receiving them will know you put some thought into it when you chose one that speaks to you.  They help keep you on budget, but they make a wonderful keepsake.  Also, perhaps after a few years of being together, you can buy or decorate a special box to keep all those cards in.

Stuffed Animals:  I LOVE the stuffed animals I have gotten, and I know a few other people who love stuffed animals as well.  They’re fun, cute, lovable, and affordable.  To me, this says that you are affectionate and want to spend your time cuddled up with your valentine.

Also from our first Valentine's Day together, 2010. I still love this little guy, and the big guy who gave him to me.

I hope this post can be helpful and enjoyable as we approach this time to love.

Music for Mistletoe: My Favorite Christmas Love Songs

Tags

Christmas, Christmas Music, Christmas Songs, Holidays, Long Distance Relationships, Love, Love Songs, Music, Relationships

A short list of love songs for the season of hot cocoa, blankets, glistening snow and mistletoe.  Because Christmas makes all of us want to believe in magic and miracles, it is a wonderful time for romance.

I think if you know me, you know why I like this.

This pretty much sums up my Christmas list.  I get to see my love today and I cannot wait!  We missed having Thanksgiving together but Christmas is sort of my thing and I’ll get to spend it with him!  New years too if all goes as planned!

You don’t have to be in a long distance relationship to love this one, but I think it takes on quite a bit of meaning if you are.  For those of you who are apart for Christmas, or have been apart during the holiday season, I sympathize, and I wish you all the best.

Happy Thanksgiving

Tags

Happy Thanksgiving, Holidays, Love, Thanksgiving

Just passing through to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have much to be thankful for! May your Thanksgiving be filled with love and happiness for you and the one you love.

Holiday Date Ideas and The Art of Manliness

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Christmas, Date Ideas, Holiday Dates, Holiday Traditions, Holidays, Inexpensive Dates, Love, Relationships, Winter

There’s this site I think is just incredibly cool.  I really wish there was a good female counterpart for it, if there is, someone please let me know.  The site is called The Art Of Manliness.  I know, I know, I’m not a man.  However, this site has a very retro feel.  It has a lot of information for modern day gentlemen, which is refreshing to see, but it also has some information about etiquette, articles about traditions, about relationships, and the occasional recipe.

Today I wanted to share a link to an article of theirs that is seasonally appropriate.  A short read with good ideas, illustrated with vintage photos.  I’m such a sucker for vintage images and it certainly helps that one of them happens to be from one of my favorite classic Christmas movies, White Christmas.

The article is 10 Holiday Date Ideas on The Art of Manliness website.  It has lots of great ideas, mostly inexpensive.  Best of all, they include plenty of traditions we probably all love.  Some of these are a bit geared toward Christmas, but, I don’t know about the rest of you, I’ve already begun my own personal countdown to Christmas movie marathon.  The movies are even better when you can snuggle with your beloved.  David and I always look at Christmas lights at least once, usually a few times.  I love Christmas, it’s a favorite holiday.  Many people have their decorations up right around Thanksgiving so I thought now would be the time to share.  Some other ideas I’ll add: building a snowman together or having a snow ball fight can be a lot of fun, weather permitting.  I hope you and your love enjoy these ideas, and that they will be of some use to you.  I know we’ll be hoping to get to do a few of the things on this list.

Princess In The Kitchen

Tags

Baking, Blogging, Crafts, DIY, Food, Holidays, Printables, Sweets, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Table

For those of you who didn’t come here from my other blog or don’t know me personally, I thought I’d add this post here to let you know that I have another blog, a food blog, called Princess In The Kitchen here on WordPress.  If you are interested in baking or in eating sweets, you may want to venture over there and check things out.  Read about my adventures with baking, chocolates, and hopefully candy making and some of how I bring love into the kitchen.  I also recently made a new kind of post over there, sharing some links for sites I found with free Thanksgiving printables to help add a little pizazz to the Thanksgiving table on a budget.  I hope you’ll enjoy my other blog, and that you have enjoyed this one as well.