Dan Turns 30

Over the summer, the hubby told me time and time again that all he wanted for his 30th birthday was a housewarming/barbeque with his friends and family.  So that's exactly what he got.  Now if you know me at all, you know I couldn't just do a simple barbeque, so a few months before the party, I set my sights on Pinterest for some party ideas.  

The first thought was the food.  We certainly weren't going to be cooking for 40 people, so we settled on making some drinks and apps ourselves and then ordered Blue Ribbon barbecue.  
 

And what's a party without a theme?  Since the party was for my hubby, I thought the "Dan" theme to be fitting.  We collected some baby pics and had "Dan Fan's" made for fun props.  They were such a fun surprise for both him and our guests and made for an interesting afternoon.

I also wanted to stick with his favorite color blue and a backyard barbecue feel.  I picked up some tins at Target's Dollar Section for the silverware and a larger tin at Salvation Army for $1.99 that I used for the plates and napkins.  I used one of our wedding table frames for his adorable baby picture.

I used the baskets and serving pieces we already had for a "Dan's favorite" section.  I put out his favorite candies (Sour Patch Kids and Rolos), his favorite snacks (Cape Cod chips), and his favorite beer (Sam Adam's).  It was definitely an ode to Dan.  I used dollar store frames for the signs explaining why each item was out.

We lucked out this year in that his actual birthday was on a Saturday.  Since it rained on our wedding day, we knew the weather gods probably wouldn't cooperate, so we went ahead and ordered a tent.  When we woke up that morning (after a near perfect week of weather) it was raining.  Of course it was.  Thankfully it cleared up later, and the day turned out perfect.  The tent wasn't needed, but I'm still glad we got it.  

For centerpieces, we got lanterns at the Christmas Tree Shop and then used the dollar store frames for some fun facts about Dan.  They were a huge hit.

I had to embarrass him just a little bit, so we used one of his baby pics for the cake.  So sweet.

All in all, the hubby had a great day filled with friends, family, food, and fun.  And I was so happy to give him exactly what he wanted.  Happy Birthday ace!

Be well,

A Roadtrip and the List

We wanted to visit an island.  We wanted to do nothing but sit on the beach and sip fruity drinks.  That didn't happen.  Though we talk about truly relaxing all the time, we came to realize our ideal vacation is one where we are busy.  We want to see everything, experience it all.  So, back in October, Dan and I took a break from all the house updates and yard work for a little road-trip.  

In our almost 8 years together, this was the first time we really hit the road.  I was hesitant at first - me, the hubby, alone in a car for 7 straight hours with nothing but an arsenal of cd's, snacks, and each other - how would we ever make it through?  But we decided that the timing was right and if we could survive this, we could pretty much conquer the world! 

So, on a quiet Sunday morning, we loaded up the car and headed north to Niagra Falls.  The drive was one of our favorite parts of the adventure.  We chatted for hours, played games, and listed to old school mix cd's.  

 
And then, as we approached the falls, we were able to cross something off the good old Life List.  Yes, we crossed the Canadian border - something I've always thought would be interesting.  Technically, we did cross the border into British Columbia on our trip to Alaska, but that wasn't as exciting.  I loved the idea of being in one country one minute and another the next.  This was pretty cool and something I'm glad we got to cross off.

Just after crossing the border into Canada

Before we left, everyone told us how beautiful Niagra was and how we would spend our days just staring in awe.  It's just water, I thought, how great can it be?  Well, it turns out, they were right.  Wow, was it spectacular!  We had a fallsview room at our hotel and the view was breathtaking. 

Our view!

Amazing!  While there, we did manage to save a few bucks too.  After all, what's a Cohen vacation without some money saving tips?  We purchased the Adventure Pass from AAA which included four attractions - Maid of the Mist, Journey Behind the Falls, Niagra's Fury, and White Water Walk.  We knew we wanted to do everything we could when we were there, so we saved $54.72 by purchasing the package ahead of time.

Fury

Journey Behind the Falls

Maid of the Mist

White Water Walk

Each attraction was its own unique experience.  My favorite was Niagra's Fury - a 4D platform show depicting the creation of the falls with temperature changes, rain, snow, and wind.  The hubs loved the Maid of the Mist.  A little too Perfect Storm for me, but absolutely worth it.  We also used coupons at the gift shop and for the Skywheel.  We definitely made the most of the money we spent!

On day #3, we took a little road trip further north into Toronto to visit...drum-roll please...the Hockey Hall of Fame!  Dan and I are huuuuuge hockey fans (let's not discuss the current lockout) and this was someplace we've always wanted to go.  Toronto is less than 2 hours from Niagra and after the 7 hour drive, that felt like just a skip down the road, so we journeyed on. 

 

Maneuvering the city was a bit difficult due to the construction in the area around the Hall of Fame, but the visit was a must for any true hockey fans like ourselves.

 

We've seen the Stanley Cup up close before, but being in its presence, in its home under the lights was perfect in the eyes of these hockey fans.  

Our last stop of our road-trip was in Cooperstown, New York.  The hubs really wanted to see the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Though this wasn't on my list, it was pretty cool to see two of the four major sports Hall of Fames in one trip.  While we were in New York, we visited the Farmer's Museum, one of the oldest rural life villages in the United States.  With a barnyard area with chickens, turkeys, and sheep, we crossed New York off the "zoo" list.

I always feel my best when I'm being productive, even on vacation, so this was the perfect blend of relaxation and sight-seeing.  Overall, it was a great trip.  

Be well,

 

The Mudroom Reveal

One of the things that was top priority in our house hunt was some sort of entry way - an area to come in, take off your shoes, hang up your coat, and stash incoming and outgoing mail.  I was really just hoping to find a separation between the entrance and the living room, I never thought we'd find a house with an entire mud room!  It's been one of the most fun, and at times challenging rooms to decorate.  Like the rest of the house, the room had no blinds on the windows when we moved in and has an ugly radiator, albeit this one is hidden behind an even uglier cover.  That area is still up for debate as to what we'll do with it, but the rest of the room is donzo!

Here are some before shots.  The hubs was removing the old curtain hardware.

Obviously, this room was covered in dark wood paneling like most of the downstairs.  My cure for that (and most other things) was to paint it white.  The hubs got to work and after a coat of primer and a few coats of paint, we said goodbye to the knotty pine and hello to bright white.   

Primed and ready for some paint

 

The room was instantly transformed just with the primer.  The two coats of white we added after didn't hurt either.  We had also painted the top section just after we moved in with the same blue we used in the living room.  I love blue and white together.

We bought some cheap hooks at the Container Store (with a gift card!) and the hubs installed those right away.  They're great for stashing your coat or purse if you're lazy heading out again soon.  We hung up our wedding sign and I grabbed some sticks in a vase for the corner.   

 

Then I set out to complete the wall heading into the living room.  The table is from Target.  We had that in our entry in our apartment, so it just made the move.  I shopped the rest of the house for the accessories and found a fab mirror at Home Goods (still had those gift cards!).  I wanted the room to be cottagey but not too beachy, so I think the shape and design of the mirror is beachy but the black finish moderinizes it a little bit.  
 

Next up was the area under the windows.  I really had wanted some built in's here with additional storage, but when I saw this bench at Pier 1, I knew it was perfect, not to mention on sale.  We didn't get the cushion right away because it was crazy ridiculously priced at $70.  I scoured every store I could think of looking for one and even looked at fabric to make one ourselves.  But then, low and behold, on a return trip to Pier 1, the cushion was marked down to under $50.  It came home with me that afternoon.

My original plan for the windows was some floral curtains I had seen on Pinterest, but I couldn't find anything similar that wouldn't break the bank.  So off to Target I went with my buy one get one half off curtains coupon and bought some burlap colored curtains.  Thanks for the idea, Krissy!  Once I had those, the rest of the room basically put itself together.  I would have never thought of pairing tan with blue and black, but I love how it pops in the room.  The pillows we had in our apartment and are from Pottery Barn.   

Finally, I knew we needed an in/out bin.  We always have something going somewhere or coming in and it was ending up on top of the radiator cover.  I went to Home Goods about 22 times before I found exactly what I was looking for.  We put it up that night, I dropped in our first piece of outgoing mail...and it disappeared.  The bin was too deep to see what was actually in there.  So...I got creative.  I bought some of those green plant things (I have no idea what they're really called) at the dollar store and popped them in the bottom.  The next piece of mail I dropped in was visible over the edge.  Crisis averted! We had the sign in our apartment as well.  Another Target find.

So here's the finished project all put together.

 

 

I wish I could say that this room is as clean as it looks in the pictures, but it still remains a dumping ground for all our comings and goings.  Baby steps.

Be well,

Cheap Summer Outings

Where has the summer gone?  It seems like just yesterday we were bringing out the tank tops and shorts and reveling in the extra hours of daylight.  I can't believe it's already September, and while I love fall, I will miss the relaxation and warm days of summer. 

In between all the home projects and renovations, the hubs and I have found a little time to do some fun (and pretty cheap) summer adventures.  Back in May, Dan took me up to Newburyport for a little pre-birthday celebration.  This is a great place to walk around and check out all the little shops.  We lucked out and had a beautiful day.

We had a great time walking through all the shops, but my favorite part was Oldies Marketplace, a giant barn filled with all sorts of antiques.  I was in my glory for sure.  For lunch, we stopped into the Black Cow for a little birthday lunch.  Of course, for us, no meal is complete without nachos. 

After we ate, we took a stroll along the water.  The scenery was so beautiful and peaceful.

Other than lunch and a few finds I found in one of the stores (those will be featured in the guest bedroom reveal), it was a pretty cheap outing and some qt spent with my hubby.

June was our first wedding anniversary.  We had originally wanted to plan a trip to celebrate, but in all honestly, the first year flew by so fast that we never had a minute to actually plan it.  Plus, I started a new job in May, and it just wasn't the right time for a vacation.  So, instead, we planned a mini weekened getaway just up the road in Gloucester.  We bought a Groupon for a whale watching tour (something I should have added to the list).  We paid $29 each for a $49 value for the Cape Ann Whale Watching cruise.  We had a blast and saw tons of whales. 

After the whale watch, we took a walk down by the water.  Like Newburyport, it was so serene.

We had a perfect dinner at a local restaurant and stayed at a bed and breakfast right on the water.  It was the perfect weekend getaway.

Also this summer, we were fortunate to go on two free Odyssey cruises.  The first was a sunset dinner cruise which was an anniversary gift from my brother and sister-in-law.  The second was an appreciation brunch sponsored by their financial planners.  We had a great time on both.  Nothing beats free!

 
And finally, we took some time to go see the Lowell Spinners with our fabulous friends and neighbors, Kristen and Bill.  Tickets were just $6 each and we got lots of freebies at the game itself.  It was a great (and cheap!) night out.

All in all, it has been a great summer full of outings, adventures, family, friends, and fun.  And in between all this, we completed both the mudroom and the guest bedroom, painted a bunch of doors, and did more work on the yard.  Posts soon, I promise!

Be well,