I am a big fan of the website, Oopsey Daisy Blog. My good friend Alison is always creating something splendid! I knew when I came across her fabulous idea of I LOVE U… I just had to share!

I thought my spouse would love this quick and easy love note! I am thinking of hiding it in his suitcase when he travels next week.

I also love that this is a free printable that can be ready within minutes! Check out Alison’s post here!

So grab some white paper and print your love letter today!

When I was pregnant last year it seemed as if my husband was the last to be taken care of and thought about. I wanted to do something quick, easy and simple just to let my husband know that I was thinking about him. I wanted him to know I DID love  him regardless of the much needed attention he had not been given during the past 9 months.

When packing for the hospital in preparation of the big day, I made sure to include a “Dad’s” root beer and and straw with this cute tag attached.

After our baby was here and we had a minute to relax I gave him my simple surprise and congratulated him on being a new dad.  I have heard of couples giving each other extravagant gifts after having their babies, (I may or may not secretly want a big diamond necklace for enduring labor. ) But our budget doesn’t quite foot that bill and doing something like this was all my husband needed to feel loved and thought about.

I created a template of straw flags for you to use for any occasion you wish, enjoy!

Linking Up to: Lil Luna

Here… in ONE place… you can find a fabulous movie night with awesome ideas to make it a unforgettable date night! Now all you have to do is the hard part! Picking one of these awesome 18 movies!! Good luck! More coming soon! Just click on the title to get ALL of the ideas that goes along with that movie.

1. Napoleon Dynamite – Tater tots anyone? This date is sure to have you laughing all night! Choose from your favorite 80′s activities and food!

2. The Tourist – Suspense and action both packed into your date night is surely going to make it a memorable one!

3. Grown Ups – Cruise down memory lane with all your old friends. Make it a HUGE party too!

4. The Bucket List – I have always needed to create my own bucket list! This date night will definitely give you that opportunity and more!

5. GhostBusters – I can think of lots of creative and fun things to do with marshmallows OR slime! Can you? {wink wink}

6. The Holiday – Homemade eggnog is fabulous! Sippin’ it with your hot date is even more fun!

7. Castaway - Wondering what it’s like to have a friend like Wilson? Make your own and go to a deserted island tonight!

8. Never Been Kissed – Get out your little smokies and crescents! Then be sure to hit up those batting cages! Will you be kissed tonight?

9. Eat Pray Love – Plan a night visiting Bali, India, and Italy!! It is an inexpensive way to travel these days!

10. The Blind Side – NOTHING is better than a chic-flick and football! Plan your date with great game food and lots of after-game party ideas!

Several years ago, I was watching an episode of Oprah (BTW…I really miss her). The entire episode was on having gratitude in our daily lives. Oprah talked about keeping a regular journal solely about “being grateful.”  I immediately tried this idea and soon found that I LOVED it. Each week (about 2- 3 times), I would take 5 minutes and quickly jot down ten things I was thankful for. At first, I had to stop and really think. However, after doing this for a few weeks my lists got bigger and more detailed. I soon found myself counting my blessings and having an overall better attitude.

So, in my gratitude journal,  I make sure I list at least two things or more about my husband that I am thankful for each week. I find when I focus more on the things I LOVE and appreciate about him, I am less likely to focus on the little things that may arise.

I bought a journal in the $1 section at Michaels. This is a quick and easy thing I do a few times each week, but I have found has a great impact on my attitude and outlook about my marriage and life.

What are you most thankful for about your spouse?

I think one of the first movie’s I remember seeing about L O V E was the movie, The Princess Bride. I could watch this movie over and over again. It has every element I love in a good movie…. romance, action and an interesting story. So for a date night at home, we are here with a few ideas to help make this movie experience extraordinary!  This movie is an oldie, but it is still a goody!

A quick summary about the movie from IMDB…

A kindly grandfather sits down with his ill grandson and reads him a story. The story is one that has been passed down from father to son for generations. As the grandfather reads the story, the action comes alive. The story is a classic tale of love and adventure as the beautiful Buttercup, engaged to the odious Prince Humperdinck, is kidnapped and held against her will in order to start a war. It is up to Westley (her childhood beau, now returned as the Dread Pirate Roberts) to save her. On the way he meets a thief and his hired helpers, an accomplished swordsman and a huge, super strong giant, both of whom become Westley’s companions in his quest.

The Invite

Start your date night by leaving an invitation with leather gloves stating,

“Tonight we will be in search for the six fingered man!”

The Royal Food

1. You can buy KING-sized candy bars!  The Princess is named Buttercup, so be sure to have some Reese’s Peanut Buttercups!

2. Serve drinks in glass goblets…you can find fancy ones at any dollar store.

3. You can serve little sandwiches and drink in tea cups.

4. Enjoy medieval chicken legs.  Just like kings and queens would have eaten! Grab some to grill or hit your local KFC if you’re short on time.

5. Have a royal feast featuring your favorite foods!

The Royal Celebration

1. Throughout the movie, the main hero tells the princess, “As you wish…”  Grant a wish for both you and your spouse for the night.

2. Enjoy chocolate covered macadamia nuts or chocolate covered raisins for a treat to mimic the ‘magic pill’ that brings him back to life.

3. Take some drinks and douse them with a special ingredient to see if your spouse can figure out if one, or both of the drinks have something added to it. (This is from when Wesley tricks the short guy into drinking the poisoned cup but both have poison in them.)

4. Print off a list of famous lines from the movie here.   Read through the list before the movie and see if you or your spouse can listen for each quote throughout the movie.

There you have it! A simple date night at home with a little more than just a movie.

I am so excited to welcome one of my favorite bloggers out there… Kristyn from Lil Luna!  Kristyn’s amazing site features everything from user friendly crafts to the best recipes!  Her idea today is super easy and can be ready in matter of minutes!

XO, Corie

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I saw this idea at Target and couldn’t resist making my own “Hooked on You” Labels.

They are so fun and easy – and who doesn’t like Gummy Worms?

Here’s what you’ll need….

SUPPLIES:

- Gummy Worms

- Labels

-Pail (found at all craft stores)

- Glue

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill your pail with gummy worms. Set aside. VDayHookedonYouLabels

2. Print and cut out labels. Download them using the link to the document above. They are available in 4 colors – Red, Pink, Blue & Green.

3. The labels will not fit all the way around the pail. I did this on purpose so people wouldn’t have to get it printed at an office store to print onto legal and all that jazz. You can either glue it to the sides or you can do a corset lace up like I did on these Scrapbook Pails.

To learn how to do that, please go HERE.

That’s it! So cute and easy and anyone will love giving and getting these!!

ENJOY!

Diva Disclaimer: We have ANOTHER great idea to “spice things up” in the bedroom.  If reading about stuff like this makes you blush ~ although we try to keep it tasteful and tame ~ you may want to skip this post.  For those of you always lookin’ for “intimacy” ideas….feel free to read on…

We’ve had several requests from our readers to have printables for healthy treats… and I couldn’t agree more! My husband is not a fan of candy or sweet treats, he loves to workout and eats very healthy. I really wanted to incorporate some healthier options with some sexy invitations for the bedroom. Wowza! I LOVE anticipation. I love to get my husband anticipating what’s going to happen later on that day so he has something to look forward to all day.

Print off these SEXY PRINTABLES and attach them to a healthy treat… then pack it in your spouse’s gym bag, in his/her lunch before work, or leave it on the seat of his/her car. Add to the excitement in your marriage by creating anticipation for your bedroom activities!

Muscle Milk

Beef Steak

Snickers Marathon Bar

Stride Spark Gum

Mojo Bar

For more fabulous Anticipation ideas, check out Kiirsten’s Anticipation: Half the Fun! Post.

Thanks for playing!

I surprised the hubs today with a trip to NEW YORK!  Yep!  It sure was easy to generate our OWN custom-made tickets!!  You can make your own here. Things have been a little stress-full ’round these parts lately so I knew it was time for a vacation… well, at least for a a few hours…

I gave him our tickets to New York and off we went!

First to the New York Pizzeria.  Wanna see the large we shared? Doya doya doya?

What would a day in NY be without a little shopping? So we picked up some strawberry oil and lemon vinegar. Don’t judge. It was De-lish! As you can see there are about a bazillion flavors… well close to a bazillion anyhow.

Then off to the indoor Central Park! If you didn’t know, when it gets windy and below 70* in these parts, that means we stay inside. Don’t you dare judge! We can handle the heat here, yes sir-ree. And I know that most of you can not. So you leave me to my indoor park at 70* alone. Thank you. (Can you tell I am touchy?) Ok, or you can brave the cold and go to a real outdoor park.

And let’s face it, what kind of New Yorker-wanna be’s would we be without a stop across the bridge at the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory! Ok, it was Orange Leaf but lets not get picky here, folks. Like the NY shirt the hubbs made sure he wore?

We had a great time and after we were so tired. I have no idea how you New Yorkers do it!

**Alternate Ideas: theater or ballet show, volunteer at a homeless shelter,  see a baseball game but wear NY Yankees attire…

Until Next Time,

Makana {@Texas Is For Lovers}

Are you wondering what all the fuss is about surrounding the NEW Dating Divas Community? This post is all about sharing the inside track on what our community has to offer you and your marriage. We know that many of you have purchased our A to Z Guide and are loving it!

We’ve read your feedback and in response…

We are now Introducing… The A to Z Guide Handbook!

This is the ULTIMATE companion to our A To Z Guide eBook and will help guide you through each day to get your life and your marriage back on track. We will be working one-on-one with you through our community to help keep you motivated, focused, and to answer any questions you may have along the way. We’ve called in relationship expert and marriage mentor, Mary Lou Green, who will help in answering all your questions. (Mary Lou and her husband, Dennis, were one of our tele-retreat speakers.) They have so much experience and knowledge to share!

Starting on Monday. May 6th, 2012, we are kicking off our Community AND The A to Z Guide Program! The best part is we are offering fabulous prizes to 2 of our members who rock this program! Woot-woot! We will take the weekends off and go through 3 sections of the guide a week to ensure you have time to date your spouse and take a break! We are excited for you to go on this journey with us and the best part is we will all be working on all of this together in our community forum!! Get the advice and help from others going through the same situation as your own, here, LIVE! If you are one of our community members, you will have full access to Mary Lou and The Dating Divas as you work through each new day. You will have access our A to Z Guide Handbook in our Dating Divas Community starting Monday!

If you haven’t already purchased our eBooks (The A to Z Guide and The ULTIMATE Date Night Book), go ahead and grab your copies now… don’t worry, we’ll wait here while you do that.

Get Instant Access to ALL of our Printables

Our community members will have instant access to all of our gorgeous printables in an easy-to-find list. We’ve added every printable we’ve ever aired on our website or in our newsletter specials to our ‘Printables’ section on The Dating Divas Community. It’s just another way to make your life easier! Less time spent trying to find that perfect way to invite your spouse on a date or to find a sassy way to say ‘I Love you’! We’ve put them all in one spot so all you have to do is choose, click, and print!

Exclusive Giveaways

Just as a way of showing our appreciation.. we will have the most exclusive giveaways for our Dating Divas Community members! If you love free stuff (and really, who doesn’t?), you will love what we have in store for you! Only our community members can enter these giveaways, so hurry and sign up now!

For My Marriage

We all know that marriage includes a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs. We’re here to help make it a little easier! Not only will you find the A to Z Guide Handbook here, but you’ll find a list of other fabulous tools created especially for you and your marriage. We will be creating and releasing new material regularly to this fantastic section to help better yourself and better your marriage. We’ve already added the ’100 Day Challenge’, ‘Super Mom/Super Wife’, ‘Summer Lovin – Fun Ideas For Summer!’, and ‘Getting Your Spouse On Board’… and this is just the beginning!

Diva Dialogues

We love our readers and we love to help give your marriage a boost any way that we can! The Diva Dialogues is dedicated to our community members that want a little more one-on-one with us… but also a forum to get the collective advice from other community members, too. This is a place where we can all help one another to better ourselves, our families, and our marriages. Post a question you have or talk about your struggles and/or your triumphs. We are all friends here and this is a fantastic sounding board for anything and everything you need or want to talk about. You are among friends and the best part is — you’re not alone! We are here to cheer you on in your daily endeavors no matter what your struggles may be.

Tele-Retreat Recordings

Our first ever Successful Marriages Tele-Retreat was a HUGE success! If you weren’t able to dial in on all of the recordings, you will have unlimited access as a member of our community to all of the recordings from our tele-retreat and all of the recording to come! That’s right, this may have been our first tele-retreat, but certainly not our last! Listen at your leisure or make this a fun date night with your spouse. AND – we have future speakers in the works!!

Get Signed Up NOW!

Don’t wait, start the change you want to see today! We are so excited to get to know you better! We have been putting together all of the tools that you will need to succeed in your marriage and we’ve got it all on our community. We are SO excited for this new adventure and can’t wait to share it with each one of you!

Already a member? Log-In now to see what’s new!

We have SUCH a cool post {with some fun, fun news} that we couldn’t air until tomorrow, so we are BUMPING up our “Flashback Friday” for the month of May!  Check out these SEVEN fabulous ideas that you may have missed from last May!

May is a great time of year. Flowers are blooming everywhere, and we are starting to enjoy being outside after a long winter. It also brings on the later sunlight hours, which is my favorite. I love how active life seems to get in the Spring and Summer. Now is the time to get together with friends, enjoy more date nights, or do something fun for the one that you love. Try one of these fabulous ideas from last May in the upcoming months – just click on the title to be sent to that post!

I Spy Date

Get outside, use your imaginations, and spy some of your favorite things together. I love how creative this date is, and how you don’t need to spend much money or time getting it ready. It is simple and sweet enough all by itself!

Quick, Easy, and Free

Write a fun message to your sweetie while they are in the shower. What a steamy way to make their day! This will bring a smile to your spouse’s face. I totally need to use this idea soon on my hubby.

Wii Party Date Night

Ready to have a party with some of your close friends? This would be a great way to enjoy time with others, and to see all of the fun personalities come out. Parties & group dates seem to be easier to do during the spring time. The Wii is a great way to enjoy old and new friends because you can all get involved and create a theme for the night.

After Hours Ice Cream Party

As the weather is getting warmer, enjoy a nice ice cream break. You can do this at home, or by going out. What a great quick and easy idea to enjoy some extra time together. Sometimes, it is these little things that make our marriage fun and exciting. This post points you in the direction of a darling little invite you can leave out for your sweetie… after the wee ones are in bed!

YouTube Date Night

This is such a creative, and fun date night idea. Get together with your spouse and look up some of the hilarious youtube videos that you never have time to watch together. This would even be fun to do with a group of people, by having everyone gathering videos that they wanted to share. Laughter is the best medicine, and I know lots of videos out there are pretty funny!

I’ll Bring the Buns…

Barbecues are right around the corner! Enjoy the grill by giving your spouse some new tools to make the best steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs ever. That way you get to spend more time outside and enjoy this time of the year together. Plus, who doesn’t love receiving an unexpected gift?

Competition at the Park

Playing outdoor games sounds so good to me. I am ready to try this date! I love playing games, and making it a competition sounds great. It is a cheap, simple, and exciting date night. You could even pack a picnic dinner to add to your day at the park.

These are 7 of the fabulous ideas that we have, just from last May. Make sure that you click on the links AKA titles to see the rest of the ideas. There are plenty more, so make sure that you go back and look through them. Enjoy the outdoor weather and have fun dating your spouse!