Date 39 - I still do!

Date: May 12th - 14th
Type: Romantic & Fun
Cost: $$$$
Planned By: Dani & Adam

We did it! We made it a whole year through marriage! Because this is such a big accomplishment we celebrated all weekend together.

First, we started at Huntington Reservation in Bay Village, Ohio. Here we took Anniversary photos. We used a tripod and took them ourselves to save some cash. They turned out really good. We plan to do this every year, and each year change the number in the frame! That way in 100 years we'll be able to see how much we've changed.
                  
Next, we drove to Sandusky, Ohio for a get-a-way at Kalahari Indoor Water Park and Resort! We reserved the King Whirlpool Room for one night, but it comes with two days admission to the water park. We weren't supposed to check in until 4PM, but they had our room ready at noon! Perfect!
                                               
Our room was huge. Way too big for two people, but we didn't mind. It had a full kitchen, a whirpool bath tub, a king size bed (in its own room), a fireplace, living room, dining room, and balcony! It was quite ridiculous, but we loved it.

 

 We put on our swim suits and headed down to the water park. First, we laid outside to get a tan because we were so lucky to have a beautiful day. Then we took advantage of all the fun stuff inside. There were tons of water slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, three hot tubs, a saloon, and snack areas. There were a few long lines for slides, but they weren't too bad. 

 We went back to the room, tried out our whirlpool, sat by the fireplace and drank some wine all before dinner. The resort has a few different restaurants to eat at. We chose to go to The Reserve which is a nice restaurant by day, but a nightclub after hours. I got the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich and it was delicious. I loved it and I would definitely get it again! Adam got the BBQ grilled chicken sandwich. He played it safe, but he really enjoyed it. We also shared a 42 oz Rum Runner that came with a huge souvenir glass. The glass could also be refilled anywhere in the resort for about $6 cheaper!

 We returned to the waterpark, but it closes at 10PM. So we spent the rest of the night enjoying each other's company and drinking our other bottle of wine.

The next morning we went back to the water park to get on the slides early before the crowd got there. Our plan worked. We spent most of our time in the 21 and over hot tub/swim up bar. We refilled our souvenir glass with a huge Adult Chocolate milkshake.. which was amazing! We started to get tired and decided to head home. Kalahari made for a great anniversary get-a-way. It was like tropical resort, but only an hour away in Ohio. It was perfect!

On Monday -- our actual anniversary -- we celebrated by watching the DVD of our wedding, eating the top tier of our cake, and drinking a blue drink from our wedding glasses. The 1st anniversary is known as the "paper" anniversary. So I got Adam toilet paper. He got us candy to share. The candy was way better than the cake. Let me tell you, year old frozen (we thawed it first) wedding cake isn't actually very tasty. It was funny to eat it thought so I don't regret it. It was fun watching the DVD because we decided to wait until our anniversary to watch it.

 

 Overall, our first anniversary was amazing. I can't think of anything that would have made it better. I'm excited to see what we plan for next year, and all the years to come!

Date 38 - Fiesta!

Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012
Type: Fun, Group Date, Party
Cost: $$
Planned By: Dani & Adam

For anyone who doesn't know what Cinco De Mayo is (May 5th) it is... Who am I kidding? Everyone knows what it is. It is the date in 1862 when the Mexican army surprisingly defeated France. It is widely celebrated in the United States because of Mexican-American heritage and because their win in that battle helped the United States against France, too.

I mostly celebrate it because I like margaritas, but those are good reasons, too. Every couple months our college friends like to have a little get together if possible. We offered our apartment for May. We couldn't invite too many people since we down sized to a one bedroom, but there was enough room for the people who came.

We started out by making margaritas and playing a card game. The twist to the game was each player had to say the card in Spanish. Adam was the only one who didn't take Spanish (he took French, boo!!)... so it was a fairly easy twist for the rest of us.
               
When the last person arrived - closer to dinner time - we got the taco bar all set up. We had flour tortillas, taco seasoned ground beef, tortilla chips, queso, salsa, and all the toppings. The tacos were delicious!!
                                    
What is a party without a Pinata? Not a very good one.. don't worry we got one! We had to hang it from a door with hanger. We also didn't have a stick to hit it with so we used a kitchen utensil. Still got the job done! Everyone had a great time crawling around on the floor trying to get the candy and little bottles of liquor we put in the pinata.
               
             
Adam and I also bought everyone a little shot of Patron Tequila. Adam didn't feel like waking up from his nap to take his. Sean didn't take his because he doesn't like tequila. The rest of us girls attempted to choke it down with salt and a a lime.
                                             
Next, we went out to the Warehouse District. We got free mustaches and a sombrero at The Barley House, checked out the cool view of the city at Velvet Dog, and rode the mechanical bull at Tequila Ranch. Our night out on the town was a success.
            
                  
In the morning we realized we didn't have our ice cream tacos. So we had those for breakfast. Waffle turned in to a shell with ice cream instead. Delicious!
                                            
Overall, this Cinco De Mayo was amazing. We all had a great time, and I can't wait till we see our friends again! :)
                

Date 37 - Poker Face.

Date: Saturday, April 28th, 2012
Type: At Home, Simple
Cost: $
Planned By: Dani

Not your averaged poker game. The stakes were high. We'd both played Texas Holdem before. We're both super competitive. We got our poker set, popcorn, and appletinis all set up at the dining room table. Then it was on.

Adam and I played Texas Holdem. We each had enough chips to equal 60. It wasn't worth 60 dollars though. 60 chips equaled 60 minutes. At the end of the game we'd get to choose what to do with our time. Or choose what the other person had to do. (For example; 10 minute massage, 10 minutes of cuddling, 15 minutes of cleaning.. whatever you want)
               
We played for about 45 minutes. Adam won a few rounds and I won a few. We both ended up getting some pretty good hands; straights, flushes, full houses. Going in to the last game I was winning by 6 chips. It was very exciting.. who is going to be the champion? I started out with a great hand so I bet a lot. I even bet a 10 minute chip and Adam called. When we showed our hands all hell broke loose.
                                                 
I had two three-of-a-kinds, which means I had a full house. Adam also had a full house. My three of a kind was larger than his, but his pair was higher than mine. Because we aren't professionals and hardly ever play we didn't know who won right away. I fought for my winnings, but Adam insisted we look it up online. The person with the larger three of a kind wins. By the time I finished looking it up Adam already stole his chips back. Jerk. We argued until he gave me his 10 minute chip.
            
Therefore, I kicked his butt. 73 to 47. We decided you could spend the time whenever you want and it didn't have to be that night. So I have spent 1 minute making Adam act like a dog, 1 minute making Adam do the robot dance, 5 minutes of cuddling, 20 minutes of getting to read, and a 10 minute massage. Adam has only spent one minute making me tell him how awesome he is. I'm not sure what he is planning to do with his other 46 minutes, but I hope it had nothing to do with cleaning the apartment!
                                               
This was a really fun and extremely easy date. It is also practically free! If you need a super cheap fun date, try this out! :)

Date 36 - Break A Leg!

Date: Sunday, April 22, 2012 
Type: Mature, Culture, Classy!
Cost: $$$
Planned By: Adam

One thing Adam and I have completely in common is our love for theater. We met while in a drama class, and have performed in my plays and musicals together. Although we haven't performed since high school we still enjoy watching a great play or musical. Now that we live in Cleveland's Theater District we are going to take advantage of the great productions that come to Cleveland starting with this date.
                                                              
For Valentine's Day Adam gave me tickets to a play or musical for after we moved downtown. I got to pick what we'd go see. I looked up April shows and decided on the Addam's Family Musical. When I was a child The Addam's Family scared me, but that's not surprising because I'm easily scared. I was pretty sure that musical wouldn't be too scary.
                                                         
The musical was being performed in the Palace Theater. It was a beautiful theater with great architecture. We sat in the upper balcony near the middle, it was a little far from the stage, but the view was still good. Maybe if we become regulars at the theater I will buy those cute little binoculars.
                                                         
The musical was quite funny. All the actors were very talented. My favorite character was Wednesday, but Uncle Fester was hilarious. The songs were really creative and were stuck in my head for hours after the show.
                                                  
After the musical we wanted to get an post-show dessert. It was way too cold to walk around downtown to find a place. So we bought a couple cupcakes and ate them at home.
                                                     
Adam and I had a wonderful time at the theater. I can't wait to go back... Beauty and The Beast is coming in November!

Date 35 - Easy As Pie!

Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012
Type: Simple, Fun
Cost: $
Planned By: Dani

So I'm sure that everyone reading this has seen the American Pie movies. Can you believe the first one came out 13 years ago? I was 10. That is a little young to be watching that sort of movie, but oh well. Anyway, American Reunion just came out and they brought back the original cast from the first American Pie movie!

Adam and I went and saw American Reunion at the Tower City Cinemas. You'd think it would be way more expensive to see a movie downtown, but the matinee was only $6.50! The movie was pretty funny, and ridiculous just like the other ones. We enjoyed it, but I probably would have preferred to rent it rather than spend money going to a movie theater. It was still good though, and I was great having all the original characters.

So what do you crave after seeing American Pie? Apple Pie! I'm sure that's what you were going to guess. Adam and I baked our very first Apple Pie! We aren't that talented of bakers, but it was great trying something new together. We got the recipe from my sister, Michelle (who actually is a talented baker). We used store bought crust but the filling was from scratch. The recipe called for eight granny smith apples, which we discovered was too many. Adam peeled all the apples and I cut and sliced them. I also cut my finger, but don't worry I didn't bleed to death. We mixed all the ingredients and combined it with the apples and shoved it all in to the store bought crust. It didn't fit very well. We baked it for awhile, and when it became golden brown we removed it. It's not the prettiest apple pie we'd ever seen, but it tasted pretty good. It actually ended up tasting better the next day while cold, but either way it was a success!

 

 

  

This was a super fun and easy date... well, minus actually making the pie.. that wasn't too easy. Anyway... go on out there and make a pie with your sweetie pie! :)

Date 34 - Some Bunny Loves You!

Date: Saturday, April 7, 2012
Type: At-Home, Simple, theme
Cost: $
Planned By: Dani

Adam and I had a great time celebrating Easter on Saturday night in our new apartment in downtown Cleveland.

We started the night by coloring eggs. Neither of us have ever boiled eggs before so thank God for the internet.. they turned out fine. We only had seven eggs so we just prepared seven bowls of all different colors. It was fun because neither of us had colored eggs in years!


Next, we had an Easter egg hunt. We filled the eggs with some of our favorite Easter candy: Andes mints, peanut butter filled eggs, caramel filled eggs, jelly beans, and crispy chocolate eggs. We each got 6 eggs to hide for the other person. Adam chose to hide them in the bedroom and bathroom, so I was left with the living room and kitchen. Who ever found their eggs the fastest wins breakfast in bed. I did horrible. I only found two before I gave up. Adam found four so he won. He also cheated by hiding three of them up high where I couldn't see. He also hid one in the back of the toilet, then used the toilet and accidentally flushed the egg. We didn't realize this until after the hunt. It was hilarious. Fingers crossed that it won't block the pipes at all.
Finally, we ate all of our Easter candy while watching TV together. The next day we ate the hard boiled eggs for breakfast. Adam claimed this was the first time he has eaten one. He did not enjoy it at all. I guess I will have to finish the rest. This date was super easy and we were laughing a lot. We'll have to do it again next year!

Date 33 - Let's Go To The Mall Everybody!

Date: Sunday, April 1, 2012
Type: Simple
Cost: $$$
Planned By: Adam

So everyone remembers going clothes shopping for back-to-school and summer with their parents, right? Well, guess what... when you go in to the real world you don't get those opportunities anymore. Adam and I haven't really gone shopping since we graduated and decided it was time for some new clothes. The worst part about going clothes shopping in the real world is that you have to pay for it yourself. Gasp. I know right, crazy. That's probably why we haven't gone shopping in awhile, we are frugal.

So guess where we went shopping. No, not the goodwill like in Date 29, but another thrifty place.. T.J.Maxx! We also went to The Great Lakes Mall in Mentor and Shoe Carnival.

T.J. Maxx is a great store. If you've never been there I recommend it. They sell name brand stuff for super cheap. I got a few new shirts and a pair of shorts. I really wanted a new purse because those are also marked down quite a bit, but decided against it. Adam decided to get a bunch of really nice polos.

We had lunch in the food court. We had a hard time deciding what to eat because they don't have very many choices. We hadn't had mall pretzels in a while so we went to Auntie Anne's Pretzel shop. We each got a pretzel dog and shared a Cherry Lemonade Mixer. It was all good, but not very filling. While we were eating we people watched. The mall is a great place to people watch. Adam was surprised that he saw at least 5 pregnant ladies. That is kind of a lot, but he liked to mention it every time he saw one. There are a lot of fun things to do in malls like ride the money operated things and get candy!


We went to the Shoe Carnival and Adam got a new pair of Polo shoes and Nike running shoes. I didn't get any, but I got a pack of socks! Who doesn't like new socks? We got to spin the savings wheel and walked away with a $4 off coupon!

Going to the mall and spending our own money on things that aren't necessary isn't one of my favorite things to do, but we had a lot of fun together!

Oh and we also went and saw The Hunger Games, but I'm sure you'll see a Hunger Games themed date night sometime in the future since I'm currently obsessed with the series... you'll have to wait and see what I come up with.