My hubby (aka Airy, not the real spelling of his name so he gets to keep some privacy) was born during the first two weeks of February, he's a little cupid baby ;). And whether you are a V-day lover or an anti-V-Day activist, Valentines' day rolls around ever February the 14th regardless. It just so happens that my hubby and I also had our first date during the first two weeks of February back in '09 And just a week later he took me on our 2nd date on Valentine's Day, complete with flowers and chocolates! I didn't stand a chance, he was just too good and I fell hard. Lucky it all worked out in the end :)
Ever since we have been had a sticky situation on our hands ever February: how to do we celebrate all these wonderful things in the span of two weeks without going completely broke in the process. We usually do combined gifts/dinners, but I have always felt like I'm cheating him out of a real birthday celebration. I did throw him a surprise party one year, but now that we are out of the West Coast away from most of our friends and family it just wasn't an option this year. 2014 would also be the first time we would celebrate these occasions as newlyweds, so I felt extra pressure.
Then I was trolling Pinterest (which I spend WAY too much time doing, hubby gets plenty annoyed with me and my iPhone addiction)I saw more than a few pins about 14 Days of Love (see here, here and here for reference). This idea basically encourages giving a small gift each day for the first two weeks of February all leading up the big love fest on the 14th. When I saw this I LOVED it. I could finally give my hubby the attention he deserved and do it in a way I could afford (money is tight when you live in a place with Manhattan-level rents).
So without further ado I present to you FEBRU-AIRY (see what did there with his name)
So for each day I would give him a small gift, surprise, or coupon for later use and a card/tag with a cute saying (most of the time I designed them myself in Word and just printed them on regular paper).
NOTE: I'm not posting ALL the cards I made since
some have his real name. I also missed getting picture of a few
gifts/treats. also some of these gifts are a little racy, but hey we are newlyweds ;). The pictures aren't the best quality, they were taken with my cell phone and often taken in a hurry, but I think the idea still get across.
Day 1
Card: “Have a Very Merry Febru-Airy!!” and a description of the concept.
Treat: Pancakes, made just the way he likes, nice and fluffy. (no pics this day, sorry)
Day 2
Surprise: umm yeah…
Day 3
Treat: Pistachios (we do live in CA after all)
Day 4
Treat: Gum
Day 5
Gift: Coupon for one night of "phone-free" couple time
Day 6
Treat: Chapstick (I’m always stealing his and vice versa)
Day 7
Gift: We LOVE Breaking Bad (who doesn't really) and so just getting a card with Walt on it made his day but I also included a coupon for one "cook, meaning I will make anything he wants.
Day 8
Card: I didn’t get to make one :(
Surprise: Dinner at our favorite tapas place and a trip to an “adult”
store (again no pics, which I think is probably a good thing)
Day 9
Treat: Orange
Day 10
Treat: Chocolate!
Day 11
Treat: Naked juice. We
usually don’t buy smoothies (we have a BlendTech and use it daily) but this was
too cute not to do!
Day 12
Treat: Birthday cake from a great place in San Jose called Dick’s Bakery
Day 13
Gift: Teavana Blackberry Mojito Green Tea (it’s SO good, hubby calls it
“the good tea” and he loves it hot with honey, while I like it iced and
unsweetened)
Day 14
Gift: a book of “Love Coupons” this like good for one foot-rub, good for
one homemade meal of your choice (though I cook almost ever night, and hubby
helps)
So there it is. I think it's important to remember to do little things for each other, and I hope this maybe inspires others to do little things for the person you love. It won't all be as perfect as it looks on Pinterest, but it's not about that, it's about making someone smile and feel loved.
*BTW I used PicMonkey to make the collages so I could show the inside/outside or front/back of each card. It's a nice free website you can use to edit photos (it reminds me of Picnick from a few years back), and who doesn't love free :)
So there it is. I think it's important to remember to do little things for each other, and I hope this maybe inspires others to do little things for the person you love. It won't all be as perfect as it looks on Pinterest, but it's not about that, it's about making someone smile and feel loved.
Live joyously!
<3 PolyJoyous
*BTW I used PicMonkey to make the collages so I could show the inside/outside or front/back of each card. It's a nice free website you can use to edit photos (it reminds me of Picnick from a few years back), and who doesn't love free :)