Date Jars

Green Dates (90 minutes or less)
Puzzle - Let's put on some music and put a puzzle together.
YouTube - Let's get our laughs on with a marathon of funny YouTube videos.
Thrifting - Let's go thrifting! We each get $5 to spend on the other person.Breakfast for Dinner - In PJs -  Let's get our PJs on and have breakfast for dinner - complete with cartoons.Picnic in Market Square Park -  Let's pack a picnic basket and head to Market sq Park (if the weather doesn't permit, we'll picnic on our living room floor)Dance Party - like its 1999. Video Game Marathon - Let's hook up the Playstation and you can teach me some moves. Game Night - Lets play some board games and pig out on pizza.Cookbook Dinner - Let's grab a cookbook and randomly select courses for a 4 course meal - then we gotta get busy cooking.Photo-shoot- Let's grab the camera and get some fun shots of each other.YouTube Dance Lessons -Let's prove we don't have four left feet between us. Swing? Tango? The Macarena?
Formal Night - Let's dress up in our finest attire and eat by candlelight - at home
Indoor Camping - Let's build a tent, make s'mores, and tell ghost stories
Table Tennis Match - Let's go to Kung Fu and play table tennis 
Wine Tasting - Let's pair wine with cheese and chocolate - yum
Personality Tests - Let's take some online personality tests and see how compatible we are on paper
Coffee Date - Let's head to a local coffee shop for some caffeine and conversation
Dream Home Blueprint - Let's map out our dream house
Paint Portraits - Let's each try to paint a portrait of the other
Ice Cream Sundae Night - Let's forget dieting and make decadent ice cream sundaes
Beer Pong - Let's practice our pong skills - you are a college student again
Minute to Win It - Let's look up some Minute to Win It games and try our luck at them
Restaurant Replicate - Let's replicate a meal from a restaurant we like - but try to do it better
Record a Music Video - Let's bust out the camera and record a music video
Record an Infomercial - Let's pretend we're on HSN and record an infomercial for a product we own
Record a Cooking Show - Let's pretend we are on The Next Food Network Star and record a cooking segment
Would You Rather? - Let's get to know each other a bit better...
Paint Coffee Mugs - Let's draw/paint on a coffee mug for the other person
Paint By Numbers - Let's try to stay in the lines...
Dominique's Choice - Let's see what Nic wants to do in 90 minutes or less
Cookie Cook-Off - Let's see who can make the tastiest cookie
Play at the Playground - Let's channel our inner child and swing, slide, and monkey around
Make T-Shirts - Let's decorate T-Shirts for each other
Dollar Store Hunt - Let's go to the dollar store with $4 each, 15 minutes, and a mission: (1) Find the worst gift (2) Find the best gift (3) Find the ugliest item (4) Find the best value
Flip a Coin - Let's let fate determine where we eat tonight. We'll get in the car and
flip a coin every 30 seconds. Heads we turn right, tails we turn left.
After 15 minutes we eat at the closest restaurant
Kim's Choice - Let's see what Kate wants to do for 90 minutes or less
Card Night - Let's play some card games

Yellow Dates (2-4 hours)

Chopped Challenge - Let's see who can find the most oddball mystery ingredients
Iron Chef - Let's see which of us will be the next Iron Chef of Spruce St.
Mob Night - Let's dress up like mobsters and enjoy some pizza, gelato, and chianti as we watch The Godfather
Mini-Golf - Let's hit the links... well, the little links
Bowling - Let's strike!
Dave & Busters or Chuck-E-Cheese - Let's try to win enough tickets for something better than a temporary tattoo..
Ice Skating - Let's FINALLY go ice skating
Go to the Zoo - Let's visit the animals at the Zoo
Blast From the Past - Kid - Let's pretend we are kids again - we'll eat kid foods and watch kid movies / TV shows
Blast From the Past - Teen - Let's pretend we are teenagers again - we'll eat pizza and watch our favorite movies / TV shows from when we were in junior high and high school
Sports Movie & Food - Let's watch a sports movie and eat foods you'd find at a concession stand
Restaurant Hop - Let's go to three restaurants tonight: one for an appetizer, one for an entree, and one for dessert
Theme Night - Italian - Let's go to Italy! We'll eat Italian food and watch a movie that reminds us of Italy
Theme Night - Western - Let's go partner! We'll eat like cowboys and watch a Western
Theme Night - French - Let's go to Paris! We'll eat French food and watch a movie that reminds us of France
Theme Night - Mexican - Let's go to Mexico! We'll eat Mexican food and watch a movie that reminds us of Mexico and our honey moon
Theme Night - 1950's - Let's pretend it's the 50's! Get in costume while we watch a 50's movie, eat 50's diner food, and maybe even have living room sock hop
Theme Night - 1980's - Let's pretend it's the 80's! Get in costume while we watch a Brat Pack movie
Theme Night - Halloween - Let's get our spooky on! Regardless of the time of year, let's put on a costume, watch a Halloween movie, and carve a pumpkin (or watermelon if pumpkin is out of season)
Theme Night - Christmas - Let's do Christmas in July...or March...or whenever you pull this. Christmas movies, ugly sweaters from the thrift store, and Christmas cookies
Theme Night - Disney - Let's watch a Disney movie and eat Monte Cristos
Theme Night - Hawaiian -  We'll eat some Hawaiian cuisine (without pineapple), watch a movie / TV show that takes place in Hawaii, and wear our swimsuits
Mystery Science Theater - Let's find a dumb movie and Mystery Science Theater the crap out of it like Sharknado
Check out NASA - Let's visit the NASA and learn something
Driving Range -  TOP GOLF Let's see how far we can hit a golf ball
Cake Decorating - Let's make a couple of cakes and decorate them Ace of Cakes style
Food Network Copycat - Let's watch a random episode of a Food Network show and make a dish that was featured
Italian Market - Buy Dinner Fixings
Comedy Night - Let's belly laugh tonight watching some stand-up
Invent a Board Game - Let's get creative and invent a board game that can be played by two people
Dominique's Choice - Let's see what Joe wants to do for 2-4 hours
Shakespeare Night - Let's watch two Shakespeare movies: a classic version and a modern re-telling (eg: Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You, Othello and O, Romeo and Juliet and Romeo + Juliet, etc.)
Dive Bar - Let's go to a dive bar and play billiards and/or darts. Oh, and drink cheap beer.
Rocky Horror Picture Show Night - Let's do audience participation at home - bring on the toast, newspapers, and water guns. And Time-Warping is mandatory
Double Feature - Let's see two movies in a row at the theater
Pat's vs. Geno's -Let's decide who makes the better cheese-steak
KIM's Choice - Let's see what Kim wants to do for 2-4 hours
Nickelodeon Night - Let's watch shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark, Rugrats, and Doug. Might we find some Legend of the Hidden Temple?

Red Dates (4+ hours)

TV Marathon - Let's get in our PJs, order delivery, and watch at least 5 episodes of a TV show we've been wanting to try
Movie Marathon - Let's get in our PJs, order delivery, and watch a trilogy. Star Wars? Back to the Future? Hangover? Toy Story? There's a lot of options...
Shooting Range - Let's see whose the better shot
Paintball - Let's get out some aggression
Theater Night - Let's test the theory that "All the World's a Stage." If it's true, we shouldn't have trouble finding a play to attend...
Historic Walking Tour - Let's learn more about our new city!
Mini-Road Trip Let's figure out a place within 2 hours of Houston that we want to visit for the day
Go Rock-climbing - Let's go climb a mountain - at stone moves
Dominique's  Choice - Let's see what activity Nic wants to do that will last over 4 hours
Comedy Club - Let's get our laugh on and go to a comedy club
Brewery Tour - Let's learn how beer is made... and then drink some
Kim's Choice - Let's see what Kate wants to do for 4+ hours
Paddle board -  Let's paddle board at downtown's bayou. 

Bath bombs goes Kaboom!

Buy a few bath-bombs and write - "BANG, These are so perfect you need to go spoil your self".
Feel good music and a nice bottle of Riesling.

Music : Like Peter Qui's awesome mix tape Vol 1.  "Hooked on a feeling"-Blue Swede.
                                                             

you can also add a few glow sticks. 

All men are boys.

My Birthday lime.

Birthday gift

My husband loves beer so I decided to buy him a beer kit but I found this funny gift bag that says, "You really deserve a nice gift." and at the bottom it reads, "This isn't it."

I bought a 6 pk to but in the bag and left it on the counter.
And hid his real gift in the office.  

DATE ENVELOPES

I've always loved being surprise and I think other do enjoy them as well.

The months and Ideas thus far 

Lush Bar  $10.00 (Wine & cheese $20.00 HOME)

Dinner & IMAX movie 

St Arnold's Brewery with Lunch (Map of St Arnolds and $80.00)

Breakfast & Foot spa. (Gift certificates) The heights

Paint ball &  Burgers 

A sleep over for two. (Popcorn, movie, junk food. http://www.amazon.com/Do-You-Know-Your-Husband/dp/1402201990 $27.00) 

Concert & Bar (Boheme Cafe)

Salada & (Gift certificate to Spa and cash for salada $30.00)

Fitness class & Sushi (The heights)

Picnic, Hike and Lunch Crepes 

Art Exhibition & Tacos go go (3704 Main St, Houston, TX 77002)
Subway & Rock Climbing  (gift certificate to local climbing gym, Subway gift card, carabiner)

Lucky Strikes & Reserve. 

Gyros + Ginger man &  

Carrabba's & 13 Celsius (Wine and Cheese)  

Would you, Could you? With a Goat?

Nick has never read the Infamous Dr Seuss.  I'm SERIOUS.
When I was little I thought that the Cat in Hat was real and I couldn't get enough of 1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish or Oh the places you'd go. Each book held a special place in my heart and with all things that I love... Green eggs and ham reigned  supreme.

I was in utter disbelief that he's never heard of Dr Seuss so I decided that we needed to correct that immediately.
I went to Old Navy and bought some new Pajamas. One cannot simple watch cartoons in normal civilian clothing. While Thunders cats, Scooby and Captain Planet was saved on the DVR, I downloaded a copy of Green Eggs and Ham.

Eagerly, like all kids on Saturday morning I raced into the living room and turned on the TV to cartoons, He read the book while I was almost finished with breakfast.  He's skiddish  with certain types of  food :) and I asked him the famous questions "Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?"

Scavenger Hunt (Planning and Executing).

I wanted to create a very fun, interactive and spontaneous scavenger hunt for Nick's Birthday. After tired-less searching and not wanting to spent an exorbitant amount for a package online. I decided to do it all from scratch.

There are 4 main types of scavenger hunts Classic Scavenger hunt(Collection of items), Destination Unknown (Follow the Clues), Photo scavenger hunt (pictures), Information scavenger hunt.
I chose to incorporate all.
Mid-town Houston has a lot of  bars, I spent about a week calling each establishment to reserve a table.
Confirming to pre-pay alcohol for every individual in my party.

Special thanks to the following bars. Celtic Garden, Christians Tail Gate Sports Bar and Grille,  Front Porch Pub, The Dog House Tavern and Munich Bar.

What you'll need.

• Parchment paper
• Get a scavenger Logo (Spy vs Spy)
• Sharpies
• Pull String Bags
• Folders (Army theme)
• Pencils
• Note pads
• Party bands
• Mascot (Blow up monkey)
• Puzzles (Crossword, blank Jigsaw, Bamboo, Riddle)
• Water

1. Plan out your Route. 
2. Send out a Guest list. (R.S.V.P) Request that your quest walk with a smart phone.
   It is in my experience that teams of two work well.
3. Figure out which puzzle will lead to the next spot.  e.g
   Celtic Garden -crossword ---> Christian Tail Gate Sports Bar and Grille.
   Christian Tail Gate Sports Bar and Grille - jigsaw puzzle ---> Front Porch Pub
   Front Porch Pub - A sign read "The beer is the Clue. (Dogfish IPA) --> The Dog House Tavern
   The Dog House Tavern - A bamboo puzzle with an anagram  --> Bar Munich
   Bar Munich - Riddle --> Celtic Garden 
4. Create a map using Google maps and print out for each team.
5. Create and Print out Instructions, Rules and Regulations and the Scavenger Hunt List for each team.
6. Create a list of your guest names and staple one party band to each list. Do this for each bar. (Accountability for the bars) 
7. Create a Scavenger Logo for each bar. Place this at every bar so your guest will not get lost. 
8. Purchase Prizes for top three teams (optional)
9. Create the secret package. I included water bottles, a folder with instructions, rules, map of the area, wrist bands for prepaid alcohol, note pad, a pencil and the mascot (Mr Monkey).
   
   Two hours before the event. Head to the bars to set up and pre-pay alcohol for your guest.
   It was worth every minute I took to plan it. There is nothing better than living in the moment.
   
   
   

Timeless new Traditions.

Every year on my Birthday I visit our favourite store "Fossil" and I purchase a watch as a present for Nick.
I know it sounds unusual, perhaps! People are suppose to say "Happy birthday", "wishing you all the best" and  "I hope you get what you want" etc.  I already have all that I could want and he shares in my happiness.
I was told once by a married couple that you can't say "I DO" and then "DON'T AFTER".
The old man said to me "Every morning you wake up, ask yourself what you can do to make that person happy".  "If you do this everyday... you'll never find the the TIME to fall out of love or be up to mischief, thats my thinking", he softly implied.

Every year on my birthday I buy him a watch.

Leaving things behind

Anxious and exciting doesn't begin to describe the mixed and heighten emotions you feel when you're about to reconnect with the one you love.
Leaving spawns an equally opposite feeling however you can make it a little bearable by leaving something behind.
I once hid a Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme Libre gift set in his dishwasher for his birthday over Summer vacation.  Nick doesn't cook much so the dishwasher seemed like a great idea which worked out perfectly for three weeks. Thank God he didn't have to run a cycle. :)

I love giving cologne because scent is the closest thing tied to memory.

Adults are just big kids (Angry Birds cupcakes)

Nick like most people are addicted to Angry Birds. On a random day I decided that I would send Angry Bird cupcakes to his office. Ordering it would be extremely costly so I decided to make them.

INGREDIENTS

• Sugar and Sprinkles (Blue, Yellow and Red)
• Mini Marsh-mellows  (Pig's teeth)
• Mini Chocolate chips (Eyeball pupils and pig nose)
• Jelly Beans (Pigs Ears)
• Large Marsh-mellows (Cut in slices for birds bellies and pig snouts)
• Black Licorice rope (Eyebrow 3/4 inch long)
• Cupcake mix (I used Betty Crocker's FUN De Middles)
• Gel food colouring (Makes the icing darker)
• Icing
• Yellow covered Jordan Almonds: Nest Eggs

Instructions
1) Mix all the necessary colouring. You want all five colours mixed. (Red, Blue, Yellow, light Green and dark Green)
2) Frost the cupcakes with the base colour.
3) Place the sprinkles in three bowls. Dunk the cupcakes in the bowl until the entire cupcake is covered with sprinkles
4) Add the belly by cutting a large marsh mellow into thirds. Use one for the stomach.
5)Cut an Orange slice into three parts. Using  one per cupcake for the beak. Pointy side downwards.
6)Place the sharp edge of the mini chocolate into the mini marsh mellow for the eyes and place them close together for the eyes (Angry eyes)
7) Add the Licorice ropes for the angry eyebrows.

How to make the Pig.
1) Cover the cupcake with light green icing.
2) For the Pig's snout, cut a large marsh mellow in half and frost it with green frosting until it's covered.
3) Use 2 mini chocolate in the snout for nostrils.
4) Use green jelly beans for ears.
5) Use a Licorice rope for the mouth and red frosting for the tongue.

The Nest.
1) Using a piping bag filled with dark green frosting. You want to start in the middle squeezing and pulling in an upward motion to form grass. Keep on going around until completed. Add three yellow almonds in the center as eggs.

Why do I like you?

What you'll need to create the thoughtful "Why do I like you box?"

1) Small note pad.
I would recommend the Smash Pad   
It has 30 pages and cost $2.19
2) A decorative box with a clear view top. You can purchase this from any craft store or use a gift set box.
3) A pen

Write all the reasons why you like the person on each page and fold it. It's that simple.

Be thoughtful.

Thoughtfulness is based on a whole range of beautiful emotions like joy, happiness, loyalty, friendship etc. The truth is, you don't have to spend a great deal of time, money and effort over it.

• Make happiness a priority
• Truly do things out of love
• Really think about the happy times spent together and the reason why you're with them.  

5 minutes or less (minimal effort) Remember it's the small things.

• Send a nice Text. 

• If someone hugs you, pull them back so it last a little longer.
• Hello/Good bye, Please, yes/no thank you and Pardon. Manners is sexy and courteous at the same time. 
• Asking about their day, really shows them that you care. 
• Use social networking positively. Leave nice messages and write steam emails.   

30 minutes or less. (average effort) 

• Keep a monthly schedule so you can track special dates. Honour them on Birthday, Anniversaries, special days, non-special days etc. I usually try to do something nice once a month.
  Also note interesting things you learn from and about the person. Be mindful. 
• Call the person and be engaging. Don't multi-task, that's just rude!!! Listening is a skill, practice it.
• Gift certificates can be purchased online. Massage is always appreciated by both sexes. 
• Make breakfast in bed or order coffee online with Star buck for pickup.
  
  

  

  Blue Haven Hotel. (Surprise Birthday weekend)

  1 hr +     
  Including those we love in our day to day lives is so important. Be extraordinary and go the distance. You can spend as much or as little money as necessary. 
• Spend time with them. Have a date online. Order a pizza with the same ingredients
  SKYPE, Viber, facebook etc. 
• Send them a recipe and have them cook online. (Major fun). 
• Coordinate an awesome surprise party for them.
• Go on a picnic
• Secret vacations are awesome and greatly appreciated. Take care of all the details.
  

Utilizing the Time apart.

Nick has a passion for languages so I decided to write letters from different countries.  I immersed myself into their culture by researching everything that I could find online using Wikipedia, Lonely Planet, Local blogs and National tourism website.

I downloaded stamps from Google images and re-sized in Microsoft word. Writing as a native was fun for me as much as it was fun for him to read.
Luckily, I have a lot of international friends that re-wrote the letter and send them back via email. You can also use an online translation application like translate.google.com.

No long distance love letter could be complete without a picture of yourself to your love. The photo shoot was done with a blank background, Photoshop was use to manipulate the images to make them look as though I was actually in the country.

                                          India

                                          France

                                          Italy

                                         Spain

                                         Russia
Each letter was accompanied by a bottle of alcohol made from the home country.
e.g I used wines from France, Spain and Italy, Old monk rum from India. and Russian Vodka.

It's been 3yrs later and I have almost 9 more letters to give him. :P
Always remember that a great love letter ask for nothing in return.

The best inspiration derives from your own experiences.

When I met my husband in 2000 we were just friends of friends, heading to a party on a ferry. He said
he knew I was something special because I was helping heave the guys bags over the luggage cage. Honestly, I was just helping to speed up the process. :P

We remained friends for another 8yrs then like all cliches "it happened". Compatibility, friendship and common principles made it easy to fall in love.  He was living in Houston and I resided in Trinidad and Tobago (Our home town).

The historical "they" claimed that long distance relationship don't work. History is history until it is no more. I was determine to not let time and space dictate how I felt.
I strongly believe that it's the little things in life that counts. I'm going to share with you the two years we shared apart and what I did to keep that spark alive.