Spring Date Ideas

April showers bring May flowers. Or in this case, I am really hoping that these March showers will bring April flowers! Regardless of when the flowers come, the coming of spring means a whole new world of opportunity to get out and date your mate!

Oh yes, indeed it does. The world will soon be in blossom, and after being cooped up during cold winter months, you are definitely going to want to try some of these date ideas with your spouse or significant other!

These dates don't have to cost a lot, and that is the beauty of it. Finding intentional time to get creative and have fun with your spouse is what is important! Celebrate life with them this spring!

Here are our top ten spring date ideas to get out and have some fun!

1. Grown up Easter egg hunt! Have your own Easter egg hunt...grown up style! Who says kids get to have all the fun? Get a bag of empty Easter eggs, and divide them between the two of you. You can fill them however you want! Big or small, you get creative! You can do their favorite candy, a personal coupon they can redeem, a gift card (if you have a bigger budget), LOVR notes....anything! Hide them outside or around the house and have fun!

2. Scavenger hunt! Use those eggs again for good purpose! Have a fun scavenger hunt. Again, could be around the house, or outside! Fill your Easter eggs with the clues, and lead it to a fun surprise!

3. Go have a picnic! This is the perfect time of year to have a picnic before the bugs and heat come out in full force. Go to your favorite park and have a bite to eat together!

4. Play a game outside! This could be a board game or an actual outdoor game. But there is something so fun about getting out in the fresh air and playing! Zach and I have gone to a local state park and brought a board game and just played on a picnic table. So fun!

5. Take a day hike together. Look online to find what state or national parks may be near you! They are usually very reasonably and cheaply priced to get into for the day. Fill up your water bottles, bring some snacks and hit the trails! Discover s new Area together!

6. Have a "wine and cheese" picnic. Now this you have to be careful with if you use actual wine and if you are outside your own home. Most parks prohibit open containers of any alcohol. But you could do this in your own backyard with wine, or get sparkling wine and go to a park. But go to yourblocsl grocery store, pick out a few fun cheeses to try, some crusty bread, fruit, nuts and maybe a jam, and have a very fun and sophisticated picnic together!

7. Go camping! If you don't have the time or location to fully camp for one or two nights, consider breaking out your tent in your own backyard! Make some s'mores and camp food fare and have fun. This is the perfect time of year to break out the tents.

8. Have dinner by candlelight on your patio. One of my favorite memories as a kid were the nights that we got to eat dinner out on our porch. It's a blast to change up the scenery and enjoy each others company over dinner in the delightful spring air! Don't forget the candles, and remember that Pandora and Spotify have some great playlists to accompany as well! Our most recent favorite: New Orleans Jazz!

9. Paint Easter eggs. Well, you've already hidden the plastic ones, time to hard boil some eggs, buy a dye kit, and paint Easter eggs! It may seems silly, but these fun activities get us out of the normal routine and let us have fun together. Talk about your Easter traditions as a child!

10. Take a day trip to somewhere you haven't been before, and walk around and explore. Don't plan anything except where you are going. Grab your map to get there, and just explore a new place together! Walk around, enjoy the sunshine and find unique places to come back to.

There you have, ten super fun, cheap date night ideas that you can use this spring! Take advantage of this glorious weather, get outside and have fun with each other. It is not all about what you do, but being with your spouse and spending that intentional time with them. Showing them you care by being present and enjoying life with them!

What is your favorite date idea for spring?

Ways to Surprise Your Husband

Last week, God laid it on my heart to do some extra special things for my husband, just to simply show how much I care and how I much love him. They weren't necessarily huge, extravagant gestures, but they were simple little ways to remind him exactly why I loved him and was blessed to be his wife.

Zach and I during our first dance. 

Now, I must say that I am a HUGE fan of surprises. I love planning them and seeing them come to fruition. Some of my favorite memories involve surprising the ones I love. Whether it was my best friend and her bachelorette party to Disneyland, or coming home from 11 months overseas and surprising my parents, or just a candle lit dinner for my husband when he comes home, I love planning the unexpected things.

My best friend Sarah and I at my wedding.

It just adds so much excitement and zest to life! I may get even more joy out of planning these things than the other people may have in getting them, but I love it.

So as newly weds, our budget isn't the hugest in the world, as I'm sure many other newly weds around our age can attest to. That meant working with what we had for the most part and turning it into something special for Zach.

Originally these were all supposed to be in one week, but it ended up being stretched over two weeks because Zach had an issue with his back and was home from work (thankfully he is all healed up now thought!).

Here are a few of the ideas that I used to surprise one of the most important person in my life to let him know that I loved him and I was on his side, and adore him.

1. I made him breakfast in bed. Now this may not seem like a huge thing, but we love to just snuggle into bed and talk and share life together that way some mornings. So I decided to kick it up a notch, make breakfast in bed, and then bring in our computer to watch a funny movie together in bed! It was a hit and just a wonderful way to start our day.

2. I covered the bathroom mirror with notes. Post it notes are some of my favorites! So I decided to grab a pad, and write down a ton of different encouraging thoughts, notes, reasons why I love him, and just affirmations. I then snuck into the bathroom and plastered them all over the mirror for him to find and be encouraged by. They stayed up there for a good week until I had to take them down to clean the mirror!

3. Have a picnic at home on the living room floor. Sometimes you just can't make it to the park for a picnic. But I brought the picnic home! I cooked us dinner, put a blanket on the floor, grabbed some candles and set the stage for a fancy, romantic picnic dinner on the floor! You throw on a favorite Pandora or Spotify station and you have a hit!

Candle light picnic, anyone?

4. Baked a sweet treat. There's always the saying that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I don't know if that's the only way, but I know that Zach has a sweet tooth, so I decided to bake him a special treat to fill his stomach and warm his heart!

Yummy banana oat muffins! 

5. Created a scavenger hunt. I love doing scavenger hunts! Before Zach came home from work, I told him he would not see me at the door, but he would have clues to find me and he had to follow them in order. We have been on a Harry Potter kick lately, so I created a Harry Potter themed scavenger hunt, had the soundtrack playing in the background (thanks to Spotify), and then we watched one of the Harry Potter movies and I attempted to make "butterbeer." It was a special and fun night!

Our attempt at butterbeer...not healthy, but pretty tasty! I would not advice drinking it on a regular basis, hah!