Monday, May 28, 2012

50 Free Dates: Indoor campout

Last night we did a little campout date in the living room. It turned out super fun! We knew we would need both boys to be in bed asleep before we could even think of preparing for this date, luckily both were down by about 7:15.

We moved all of our furniture out of the way and set up our tent and aerobed.
A little ambiance courtesy of my I Phone.
I had made an indoor camping version of s'mores. Marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate and covered with Graham cracker crumbs. Truth be told I don't love s'mores but I will make these again with pretzel crumbs instead of the crackers.
We snuggled in to watch Ernest Goes to Camp. Don't judge....
Note: if you sleep in a tent in the living room expect to find this in the morning.
He thought it was a blast!
And so did he! (photo taken by Carter)

The Mann made us all pancakes to end a perfect date as a family. (photo also taken by Carter from inside the tent)
We had a blast and it was so nice to do something else so out of the ordinary but free! This coming weekend is our 7th anniversary and we have the ultimate weekend of free dates planned. Hopefully we will have good things to report! If you have any free date ideas for us please share! We'd love to hear from you!!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

50 Free Dates: Kissing Twister

Brook and I had yet another date and this time we did a "twist" on a popular game to make it a little more interesting. 
Before the games began, we made a couple batches of pound cake for some upcoming events and it almost got really messy.  A food fight could have broken out, but we only ended up with a little flour on our noses.

The idea behind "Kissing Twister" is basically the same as normal Twister, but you have to kiss after every move.  The more tangled up you get, the more difficult it becomes.  In order to spin without one of us getting up every time, we used an online twister caller to spin for us.
Unfortunately for us, we weren't the only ones who were excited for this date.  This is the second time that Carter has refused to go to bed so he can see what we are up to.  So we had to let him in on the twister action, minus the kissing.
Once he was finally in bed, Brook and I could resume with the twisting and the kissing.  We had a good time playing a few rounds, then we relaxed by watching "Just Like Heaven" and eating a little popcorn.  This was another example of something simple (and free of course) that you can do and still have a great evening.  Here are some shots of us playing:



Thursday, May 17, 2012

Need a Father's Day Present?

I made these silhouettes for Brook's Mother's Day present and think they turned out really cool.  If anyone is interested in a custom made silhouette for Father's Day, a birthday, or just because, I would love to create one for you.  All I would need is a profile picture of the subject and any colors you would like used.  These silhouettes measure 11x14, but I can do larger or smaller.  Just email me at davemannutefan@gmail.com if you are interested and I can figure out a price (roughly around $30).  Here are the pictures I took of the boys:


Monday, May 14, 2012

50 Free Dates: Photoshoot

I love this date!!! We got lucky and found a friend that was working on her portfolio for her photography business. We were so excited to have a photo shoot with Britta and it made us feel like we were engaged again. If you don't know any photographers make this a double date and take pictures of each other. Or look up Britta Photography and spend the money to book her for a session. Here is her website. And here are the awesome pictures she took of us!







Tuesday, May 8, 2012

50 Free Dates: Once Upon A Time (Part One)

I invited Dave to an impromptu at home date tonight and he accepted! We always argue about how we started and I don't know if we really came to a conclusion but I let him win.



I decided to do a little pampering with this date so we put on mud masks and have super smooth skin!
AHHHHH!!!!

The start of our story

We didn't actually finish our story but we did make progress. We are hoping to have it illustrated and turned into a children's book to share with our children and grandchildren. Here is the FIRST DRAFT of the beginning of our story:
Once upon a time, in the land of sunny California, lived two people destined to fall in love.  She, a young Maiden of only seventeen, and he, a handsome Prince about to depart on a quest.
       One Sunday afternoon, the young maiden gazed upon the handsome prince and thought to herself, “He is very handsome, but many years older than I.  I wonder if he would ever notice me.”
       They exchanged words in passing but were not brought together, until fate intervened.  The Prince’s younger brother requested the Maiden’s company to attend a film and she accepted.  When they returned, the handsome Prince joined them for a show.
       After that chance meeting, they continued to converse about things they had in common.  That November, a party was held for the Prince’s younger brother, where both the young Maiden and the handsome Prince were in attendance.  They sang, talked, and enjoyed each other’s company, leading to the beginning of their friendship.
We are hoping to finish soon. It was so fun to talk about our once upon a time!!!

Friday, May 4, 2012

50 Free Dates: Hike to the Block U


 
Who says you can't have a date the morning after a date the previous night.  It was my turn to plan and invite, so I chose a walk up to the "Block U" to have a picnic.  We were expecting a hike, but after driving through some ritzy neighborhoods, we were only about a 5 minute stroll away.  Here is a visual log of our enjoyable morning date.
 
Brook wanted to take a picture with the fragrant lilac


Go Utes!! As you can see, not much of a hike, although Brook might disagree due to the steepness of the hill
You can't go to a landmark without taking a picture by the plaque.
Even at the Block U, we are representing Sonoma County
Why don't you put that camera down Brook, and join me on this blanket?
Mmm...buffalo chicken wrap...
Not a bad view for a picnic.
Brook was concerned that she would fall down the hill and die.  She even gave the newspaper headline,"Woman falls to her death on a free date, gets what she paid for".
This led to her trying to climb back down from the U crab-style.
We had a great time.
A really great time!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

50 free dates: You tube dance lesson


 Our 3rd of the free dates was a You Tube dance lesson. I made the invitation (with some help from my coworker) and planned a very cheesy, very fun date. I made Dave a boutonniere and myself a corsage out of old magazines and LOTS of hot glue!! I also made a disco ball with a ball and some tin foil and hung Christmas lights for little ambiance.

  

 Carter wanted so badly to be a part of our date that he went to his bedroom and put his tie on. We let him dance a few songs before we sent him to bed and I promised him a boutonniere of his own.
We got all dolled up and formal and found a waltz tutorial on You Tube. The basic step was easier than we thought but when we tried to add a turn it got a little complicated.

Here is our attempt at the basic waltz!

I had some strawberries and some chocolate chips so I decided to make some chocolate dipped strawberries. Yum! After that we changed into our jammies and popped some popcorn to watch Singing in the Rain. Total cost of the date $0. Love these free dates!!!