How did everyone's New Years go?

I got all fancy with my love, went out for a nice dinner at a place called Zelo, then rang in the New Year celebrating the nuptials of some friends!

During dinner, Chase talked and I talked about all that we've done this last year, and talked about all of our hopes for the next year!


In the meantime.. I can't wait to put away all of our Christmas decor, clean, declutter, and get in a full-blown health kick!

I was going to post this after Halloween, but didn't get around to it.  In light of election season, Chase and I decided to go for an American theme for our costumes.. so we were the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam!  It was pretty fun!



Chase and I do not agree on every aspect of politics, by any means.  He comes from a very republican family, and I come from a very democratic family.  I think we have both brought each other a little closer to the middle on certain issues though.  He has definitely shed some light on certain issues, and I know I've molded the way that he thinks on certain things as well.  Most importantly, we respect each other's opinions. Needless to say, election night was interesting.  Since it was on our Tuesday night date night, we chose to make the best of it!  We made some pizza, played cards, and just camped out in our living room for the evening.  It was fun.. for the most part.  But once they declared Obama for re-election, it brought us into some debating.  Like I said before though, at the end of the night, we respect each other's opinions and won't let that interfere with our relationship.

One more note about politics...  Facebook is SO ANNOYING!   I've really realized what IDIOTS some people that i'm simply acquainted with are... and not because they think differently politically than I do, but because some comments are so ignorant and disrespectful!   Whether you voted for our President or not, he is our PRESIDENT. Come on-Show some respect!

Moving on..

Our date nights haven't been going as planned..  We haven't been drawing an option out of our jar.  The truth is, we're trying to catch up financially and buy a house, and because it's getting cold out and it's in between seasons, a lot of the options are out of the question.  That leaves spendy dinners, bowling, museums, the zoo..  everything turns out to be so expensive!  We will still draw some sometimes.. and soon, hopefully.  We will still spend every Tuesday night together (unless we have to rearrange it for another night for some reason), but our evenings might just consist more of cooking dinner together and going on walks..  which is completely fine with me!

We cheated a little on our date night again..  For some reason with this season it's just so hard!  The option we drew was $20 Casino night.. and that just didn't sound appealing to either of us at all.  I should probably just take it out of the jar, since neither of us are much of gamblers and can't seem to fathom just wasting money away at the casino..  Especially, since we're trying to save money.


Anyways.. Instead, we decided to head down to the small town of Carver, which is where I grew up, and do a little 3 mile hike around the river!  It was tons of fun.  It was chilly, and brought back TONS of memories from me growing up.  Rocko was having such a blast chasing squirrels and we just had a good time talking and enjoying the evening.  The river is so low right now!  Afterwards, we stopped and saw my mom and little brother for a little bit.  She was so excited and surprised to see us! Then we fell asleep on the couch watching 300.

I think walks are one of my favorite things to do with Chase.  It's the best time for talking.. just about anything that comes to mind.. and getting some fresh air and some exercise together too.  Win-win!

Moving right along..  My dear friend over at Mama's Got A Big Belly is making monthly goals and asking what ours are..  so I decided i'm going to start my own too.  This isn't a healthy living or exercise blog, and not all of my goals will be, but those are things that I try to practice anyways, so here we go:

NoVeMbEr GOALS
*No Meat Wednesdays.  I will never be a vegetarian, I just know that about myself..  and I Love meat.  But I can do one day a week, right?
*Yoga at least twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays ideally)
*Hit the gym twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays)
*Try three new recipes.  Not sure what they are yet..  but it's a good goal for me so I get more comfortable in the kitchen!
*DO NOT PICK UP A SINGLE CIGARETTE  This is my first time admitting this here, but I am a smoker :(  GROSS-I know.  I have been trying to quit since I became engaged, and have done well on and off.. but the summer got a little bit difficult.  I'm now about a week strong and doing well.. and I just can't pick one up!  Not even a little, not ever!
*Be approved for a mortgage.. and maybe even put an offer in on a house we've had our eyes on :)  We keep talking about it, but our stuff is a little unorganized..  but we could get it done by next week!  So exciting!
*Make PJ pants for my cousins for the holidays.
*Read two books: Gone Girl and The Other Side of Midnight

There you have it!  I think it's good practice to set goals for yourself..  I'm excited to start achieving them!

So, after a few weeks of slacking, we drew a date night for this week..  We actually drew live music, which is so much fun!  But I have to be honest, we totally cheated it.  I was planning on going to Uptown to some dive bar and check out a fun jam band or something..  But, we had a meeting with someone after work, and by the time we were done with that, we just weren't up for it..  So instead, we went to a nice little wine and coffee bar near our house, where they had a couple of guys in a blues band!  It was SO much fun.  Good food, good wine, fun atmosphere, and great music!  These guys were jammin' out!

 And it's a cozy little place..  it was nice for us to just sit and talk about random things that came to our minds.  Sometimes, it seems like we don't do that as much anymore.  We're talking about money a lot, or future plans..  things that we need to do, obligations, and struggles.  It was nice to just sit one on one in the corner of a cozy bar with some wine and just be with each other.  It's so important to find times to recognize that..  I'm sure most couples do, but it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and let those times pass..

 Chase and I LOVE the Ren Fest!  So last week, we decided to have that be our date night.  I found some cheap tickets from a coworker, so we went last Sunday afternoon.  It's a little spendy to get in to the Ren Fest, but honestly, once your in you COULD get by without spending a penny!  There is tons of free entertainment and it is by far the best people watching ever..  so, we just hung out, ate some food, people watched, and and walked around.  We watched a game where you throw tomatoes at this guy, and he just sits there and insults you the whole time!  It was hilarious.  Chase also played a game where he threw different axes.  He said that was really fun! 

Now, it's Sunday again, and I'm super excited to see what we pull for this weeks date! 

Also, last week I did another project which was making a cute and inexpensive chalkboard. 

First, I found this at a thrift store:

I took the glass out and sprayed about three layers of chalkboard paint..  (You can find chalkboard paint anywhere these days!  I found mine at Ace Hardware.)

Then I did the same painting technique I've done before..  I painted it this mustard color first.  Then painted it red all over.  I sanded down the edges pretty well and covered it in stain. 


Now look!  I LOVE it!  And it was so inexpensive and FUN!

The Original

Honestly, I've been waiting for us to get this date night!  I've had this unique pallet I found rummaging through my mom's old barn..  (I ALWAYS find the strangest old things in my mom's garage and barn.. it's so fun!)  But, I have needed Chase's help for a few aspsects of it.  So when he pulled this out of the date night jar, I knew exactly what the project was!










First, we pulled out any nails that we were able to.  Chase had to saw off an edge that stuck out quite a bit.  Then we took out the grinder and grinded any nails that we weren't able to get out, and any other odd pieces.  Chase then examined the piece to find any pieces of wood that were loose and needed a few nails.. 

So he let me use the nail gun!  That was pretty fun. 
Once we got her all cleaned up, it was time to paint.  I did the first layer of it this poppy blue.  Everyone said "Wow.. that's blue.."  like it'd be too much.  But I had to reassure that it would only show a little after I was finished..  I couldn't finish the project that night, because we had to let the blue paint dry all the way.  So this weekend I finally found the time to finish it.  I painted it white all over, and then sanded it.  I chose not to sand the flat surfaces much..  just the edges really well.  Then I stained it.. left the stained on for a bit and wiped it all off.  It was hard wiping the stain off of this project!  I'm afraid some sections turned out darker than I had hoped.  But overall, I think it turned out great!  It'll look fantastic as a shelf above the guest bed!  And it was tons of fun having Chase help me do this for one of our date nights :)

Yikes!  It's almost been a week since our date night already!  So, it's time to catch up!

Our date night last week was a blast!  We were able to bring Rocko along too which always is nice.  We went to Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis!  Minnehaha Creek is a creek that runs from Lake Minnetonka in the western suburbs through more suburbs in Minneapolis, and then through South Minneapolis. That is where the creek joins with the Mississippi, and near there is the 53 foot Minnehaha Falls.  It was very beautiful to check out!  Sadly though, we haven't been getting any rain, and the falls were practially bone dry.

This is what they typically look like

This is what it is today.

 We walked around and checked them out from different angles.  There was some live blues music in the park, so that the atmosphere just perfect!  We continued to hike down the creek, all the way until it meets with the River.  It was just so nice and relaxing.  We let Rocko run aorund for a while, chasing squirrels.  I tried ot get a few pictures, but of course times like that they just never seem to capture what you want.  We walked back up and to the car. 

Then Chase took me out for sushi!  We looooove sushi.  We went to a place called Midori's Floating World Cafe!  I love the name.  The sushi was pretty good..  a little bit overpriced though. 

Tonight is actually our date night..  and given my last post that I jotted down while emotional at work today, I wasn't feeling like doing much.  But, the card we drew was craft night..  I am at the shop right now during an intermission, and I CAN'T WAIT to show it off when it's complete, because it will be awesome!

Our date last night was FUN and FREE!  Those are the best!  We drove out to the Sculpture Garden and Conservatory.  Parking and admission are free.  The Sculpture Garden is probably most known for it's Spoonbridge and Cherry (built in 1985).  But there are many really neat spots and sights here!  First, we walked through Cowles Conservatory.   That was just so pretty and smelt amazing with all of the fresh and beautiful flowers.  Then we walked around the Spoonbridge & Cherry and scoped out some other spots.  There was one section that had a bunch of different wind chimes hung all around the trees and a woman was meditating in between a few sculptures.  I think what I loved the most about this date was how peaceful it was, even though it's in the heart of the city!   People come by after work or between classes and find a corner they can claim as theirs and sleep, study, practice yoga, meditate, or just hang out.  Anyways, we walked around a bit more and scoped out some other abstract pieces.  It was fun and different. 
Then we had to get home, because we had some steaks just waiting to be grilled!  So, while Chase was grilling, I was buying us tickets to Zihuatanejo, Mexico!  Zihua is a city on the Pacific side, pretty southern, near Ixtapa.  His family owns a condo there, so we try to go whenever we are able!  That is where we became engaged!  We aren't going for about 5 months.. but I can't wait. 
Overall, this weeks date night was fun, relaxing, and cheap!  Can't get better than that!

This is one of those things that we've always talked about doing, but have never really had the time, energy, or effort to do it. Well it's a good thing we drew that one out of our date night jar! We try to have our date nights on Tuesdays; because typically it's the night we are both free to dedicate to each other. So, I searched on the city pages, and found Hit or Miss Tuesdays at the Comedy Club at the Mall of America. It was so much fun! We had dinner, and watched about 10 amateur comics tell their jokes. Some of them were hilarious, and some terrible. The crowd was pretty female dominated, so lots of "guy jokes" didn't go over very well. But regardless, it was such a blast! And at only $7.00/person (not including drinks and food) it's a very cheap date! Afterwards we stopped at a place closer to our house for a glass of wine and just chatted. Chase was tired though, so I did most of the chatting! Typical! Have you ever been to a comedy club? Have one in your city? Have any new ideas for us to try for our date nights? I'd love to hear!

That's my hubs!  I'll try to share each of our future dates!