Here’s another one for the date night mini-series.  Have you ever wanted to go to Italy?  Yeah, me too.  However, the statement “We’re going to take a vacation to Italy” is about as accurate as “I love to scrub tile floors with a toothbrush.”  Maybe one day I’ll get there, but it won’t be anytime soon.  Unless it’s for Date Night.

Here’s the How:
1)  Decide what you want to do on your date.  Think Italian themed.  Movies, food, activities, ect.  What jumps to mind when I say “Italy”?  Make a list and then start planning.
2)  Set up.  Make sure you have all the ingredients for dinner.  Especially if the main ingredient is “reservations”.  Hehehe.  It’s up to you whether you want to have it prepared beforehand or if you want to cook it up together.  Look for simple, easy and frugal decor to help set the mood for your evening.  Foam board columns might add just the right touch.  You get out of romance what you give.  The Dollar Store is a great place to start.
3)  Tell your sweetie about it.  Even if you don’t spill the beans about taking an Italian Holiday, make sure your honey knows that you have made plans for the two of you and that they need to be on time.

4)  Get everything all set up.  Whether it’s getting the prep for dinner done, donning a costume, setting up your home theater for a movie.  Have everything ready.  New sheets on the bed is always a good start to date night prep.

I have a digital version of the Italian Holiday Date Kit available.  If you’re interested in it, let me know and I’ll make you a custom listing in my Etsy Shoppe.  Everything is all planned out for you already.  Plane tickets, Invite/Reminder Card, Detailed Instructions and a fun activity are all included.  If you are interested in a physical Date Kit with the Italian Holiday theme, let me know.  I’ll get you all hooked up.  I’m also willing to do destination date request kits, if you’re looking for something special for Valentine’s Day.  Let me know where you’d like to go.
 

I got this book after My Mr Right and I moved in with my parents.  It’s a great resource and a super easy read.  If you’re struggling, and even if you’re not, I suggest you check it out.  There are great ideas that only take a few minutes and minimal planning.  There are also more extravagant suggestions.  Such as the section on the best way to spend the most money on food, lingerie, travel, the smallest gift, hotel rooms and more.  I will probably NEVER be able to do any of the ideas listed, but it was fun to read about it.  $300 for a bra… oh my!

If you think it’s hard to keep the romance alive, you should try it while you live with your parents.  It’s less than ideal, but living in the car isn’t exactly ideal either.  And that’s our other option.  No matter how much you love your car, it’s not somewhere you can raise a toddler.  If you’ve ever taken a road trip, you already know this.

My grandma actually saw me reading it and made the comment “Honey, don’t you know how to do that by now?”  I was quick to point out that I wasn’t necessarily lacking in the subject, but I definitely didn’t know it all.  She agreed that you can always learn more.  So, I’m going to share some of what I learned with you.

One of the first “Ways to be Romantic” is to put a twist on the generic.

Give your lover a dozen roses-and do it with a creative twist.  Give eleven red roses and one white rose.  Attach a note that reads:  “In every bunch there’s one who stands out – and you are that one.”

Great idea, right?  If you’re gonna buy the dozen roses already, it’s not that much more to get a single white rose as well.  But what really makes the gift special?  The Note.  It would take you 30 seconds to scrawl that out on a piece of paper.  But, the impact will last far more than 30 seconds.  By the way, it’s totally acceptable for a woman to send flowers to a man…….. totally acceptable. 

Now, if you’re like me, you like to give as much as receive.  Which is a good thing, because I give far more than I receive.  That’s just one of my love languages.  If you don’t know what your love languages are, find out!  More importantly, find out your sweetheart’s.  It will be A LOT easier to make your sweetie feel loved.  If he cherishes a clean house and you get him a new watch… It’s nice, but he’d rather you kept up on the laundry.  I sometimes get caught up in my love languages and don’t focus enough on My Mr Right’s.

Godek is quite profound when he points out that there is a difference between a present and a gift.  Not according to Webster’s, but for sure on matters of the heart.  A present is something you would like someone to have.  A gift is something you know they want.  For example, that sweater you think he’d look really great in is a present.  That awful, ugly hat/coat/shoes he keeps eyeing at the store is a gift.  That’s a little dramatic, but see the difference?  Smart man, that Mr. Godek, huh?  Gifts are not better than presents, nor are they worse.  Just make sure you have a healthy mix of both.

So here are a few “Generic with a Twist” Ideas:

• Make his favorite lunch.  And put a nice note in it.  (When My Mr Right was working nights, I’d make his ‘lunch’ and put notes in it.  The one time I didn’t, you’d have thought I had forgotten our anniversary or something.  Every once in a while, he’d even write one back… which is a big deal.  I can probably count the number of spontaneous love notes I’ve gotten from him on one hand.  It’s just not his thing.)
• Plan date night.  And make the reservations at his favorite restaurant.  Just because.
• Go to a movie.  And see one he wants to see.  Especially if you don’t want to see it.
• Make his favorite dinner.  And include a small gift in his meal.  A new watch instead of a napkin ring, a new tie tack in his drink (make sure he can see it… you don’t want him to choke!), a new baseball cap on his seat.
• Watch the game with him.  And try to cheer his team on.
• Instead of just giving him a card, mail it.  Better yet, mail it to him at work!  
• When giving ‘generic,’ give it all at once.

What great “Generic with a Twist” ideas do you have?
 

Ok, if you’re looking for a cute, fun, easy, yet romantic gift… I’ve got something to show you.  I have recently been introduced to freezer paper stenciling.  Yes, it’s been on my to-do list for quite a while and I’m finally getting around to it.  There’s a little more technique to it that I thought there would be… or maybe I’m just dumb.  In any case, I plan to do a little more practicing with it.  It’s pretty cool.

On to the gift idea:  Make personalized pillowcases!  And it’s way easier than it sounds.  I used the freezer paper and fabric paint option.  If your sewing machine can do monogramming, that would be way cool.  Unfortunately, mine does not do it automatically and I don’t have a lot of practice with monogramming, so it usually turns out crooked and messy.  Hopefully, I can upgrade someday or just get better at it.

Here’s the how to:
1)  Get your pillowcases and paint.  I used cheap pillowcases from Wal-Mart and “Velveteen white” fabric paint (from Michael’s).  Wash your fabric first.  You’ll get better end results.
2)  Choose a design for your pillowcase.  I chose “Mr.” and “Mrs.”
3)  Cut your design out on the freezer paper.  I used my Cricut to cut it.  An exact-o is also a more pain-staking, but completely plausible, option.  The SHINY side of the freezer paper goes DOWN when you cut.  If you are doing words, make sure your paper is facing the right direction.  If you don’t, your words will be backwards.
4)  Iron the shiny side down onto your pillowcase.  SHINY SIDE DOWN!!  Or you will have a huge mess to clean up off your iron.  Not fun. 
5)  Paint your design on the pillowcases.  Let dry COMPLETELY!  I got too antsy and my paint shmeared a little.  I guess patience really is a virtue…

6)  After it’s totally dry, you can heat set the paint by ironing over it again.  Put a paper towel between the iron and the paint for no-mess.
7)  Fill pillowcase with a pillow and enjoy sweet dreams on your personalized little fluffy cloud.

Welcome to the party!  It’s a busy weekend here at the Napping house.  I’ll check in when I can, but there are family and friends around every corner.  I can’t wait to see all the good stuff.  We had our biggest party last week, and it was phenomenal!  So, lemme see what you got!  If you’ve got Valentine’s or love themed projects, link them up here.

The Rules:
1. All links MUST  be family friendly.  Or I will  delete it.

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1. KooKooCraft nymph 2. Sweet Penguins! 3. RECIPE 5 Can Chili 4. TUTORIAL Heart Wreath 5. eating local in Charlotte 6. thrifty vday decor 7. Central Park Fabric Therapy 8. Teeny Tiny Snowflake Garland 9. valentines ponytail holder 10. fun shaped soaps for kids 11. My domestic reversible skirts! 12. {Love} Potion Dinner 13. Sheltering Children 14. {Love} Potion Dinner 15. February Tile Art Printables 16. Ultimate Banana Bread 17. Toddler Peasant Dress 18. Snowball Dress 19. Knife Block Facelift 20. New Springtime Magazine Online 21. Assembled Boxes 22. free resolution prints! 23. free resolution prints! 24. free resolution prints! 25. Sweetheart Block 26. X O X O X 27. Because I Heart You Giveaway 28. Take Advantage of your Snow! 29. zipper flower 30. fabric flowers 31. Create With Joy – Follows Back 32. Double Flower Hairband 33. Flannel Jumper Tutorial 34. Shabby Paper Wreath 35. Be Mine Sign 36. Felt Mustaches 37. Edible Snowflake Activity 38. Plates Turned Jewelry Holder 39. Mosaic Monogram 40. {Ruffles and Canvas} 41. Teaching with Valentines 42. Crocheted Snowflake Garland 43. Valentine Board Tutorial 44. Crystallized Hearts 45. Yarn Rosette Wreath Tutorial 46. Valentine Frames

This linky list is now closed.