An a-MAZE-ing Valentine's Day

You may have noticed that I don't share a lot of the personal day-to-day details with you of my life. This isn't a personal blog (although it can get a little "personal" at times!). I think my biggest reason for choosing to write this way is to eliminate one other person that you need to keep track of or have to read about. I try to leave me and hubs out of the imagery of my posts as much as possible so that YOU, my lovely readers, can imagine you and yours in the date and romantic ideas I have created.

By not filling you in on my day-to-day marriage experiences, however, it has occurred to me that many of you think that my marriage is lovey-dovey 24/7.

Despite anyone's perception, our life is not the stage play of this blog. We have our struggles like any other couple. We have great moments and other moments we can't stand to be in the same room with one another. Our marriage is no where near perfect.

I really wanted you to know that. In times when you struggle and wish for something different, or as you read this blog and think I might have the perfect marriage or even when you wonder how your neighbors across the street really have it together.... just know this. The grass isn't always greener in someone else's marriage. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors... (and thank goodness for that!) They might actually have a great marriage...but I'll bet you anything that it isn't perfect. And even if it is great, there was something which brought it to greatness.

What's important is that you focus on making YOUR marriage the best it can be and

remember that it takes work. Really. Hard. Work. I think it's probably the hardest work in the world.

On that note, I thought I'd allow you a glimpse into my marriage...just for today. Hubs and I have been at odds for the past little while (nothing serious...but little stresses from school and work have seem to put us at odds!). I didn't want Valentine's Day to pass by without showing him how much I still loved him and still wanted to be with him!

So this is what I did.

I related our "being at odds" to being in a maze of sorts (so I put a lovey-dovey spin on a "maze" theme to introduce our Valentine's Day plans.)

(PS: The cute paper design for the back of my card is from the "Dance with Me" kit, FREE at Summertime Designs.)

I'm embarrassed to admit how corny I am, but I had "Amazed" by Lonestar playing as he read his card. (That was our wedding song...so it worked for us.)

Then, after that lovey-dovey mush, I'm sure hubs was delighted to solve this maze.

(of course, the bottom portion was covered up....)

And then, our Valentine's Day plans were revealed at last... A weekend getaway to Cape Cod!

I promise I'm not turning into the TripAdvisor Review website, but if you live in the New England area or plan to travel to Cape Cod, this is a must-stay!! I'll tell you why:

We stayed at the lovely and romantic bed and breakfast, Ashley Manor in Barnstable. What a perfect choice! We had an amazing suite complete with a 2-person jacuzzi tub and fireplace. We felt at home instantly as our innkeepers greeted us at the door. They served a 3 course breakfast each morning (my favorite menu item was a baked pear with a dab of vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled with the best caramel sauce ever. {de.li.cious.} Luckily, Vince filled me in on his caramel "recipe".

The whole stay was just perfect. They had taken care of even the smallest details for us, right down to the bottle opener which I had forgotten. A small detail...but without it, there would have been no sparkling cider as we cuddled up next to the fireplace!

Because of that, I was inspired to never again forget such a detail, and to help you {not} do the same. How?

Many thanks to Karen's Scraps and Graphics for allowing me to use elements from her Valentine Room freebie kit!

You can download the checklist HERE!

Here's an example of how to put your romance package portion of the checklist to work. Just look at these romantic little additions that made our suite complete at Ashley Manor...

Lovely. Now, back to us. :)

We did have an aMAZEing Valentine's which just allowed us to leave the little stresses that were bringing us down behind us! Everyone needs that every once in a while. We hope that you all got to spend a little quality time with your spouse and that those loving feelings will continue all throughout the year. And when they get interrupted, keep working and keep loving! You'll be aMAZEd at the results!

Valentine for Hubby - Can't go wrong with food!

It's almost time...
Do you have your Vday plans in order yet? If not, here's a fun little {saucy} idea to your rescue from Nap Time Journal.

PLUS, she'll send you the card if you'd like it for FREE. Just leave her a comment with your email HERE

Vday Winner Times 3

I'm here with the winner results of the giveaway of these super cute "Love Quote Notes" from My Computer Is My Canvas

Winner #1

Winner #2

Winner #3

You should see your cute little prize in your email box SOON (be sure to check your junk mail). They will be coming from Collette with My Computer is My Canvas.

Inspiring Creations: Valentine Crafts

I am so excited to be blog swapping with Cher today!!

My name is Lindsey and I blog over at Inspiring Creations. I am a wife, mother, and student. I love creating and inspiring others to create too!

When Cher asked me to do a blog swap I was so excited to share some of my love crafts and ideas with you. I love celebrating Valentine's Day! Which is funny because I'm not a very romantic person---but my husband is VERY romantic! I think that's why I like it so much, because I know he always has something fun and romantic planned for me each year!

Right now we are "poor college students" :) and we can't always afford to go all out like we used to for Valentine's Day. So I came up with a solution this year. I am making my hubby these love coupons!

Aren't they fun? I can't wait to use them! You can be as romantic as you want or you can just have fun with them! I thought I would make them into a PDF so that anyone that wants to use these can for free. You can print them here.

If you are looking to make your sweet someone something personal to put your love coupons in my next idea would be perfect. I made this album for my hubby's birthday last year and he LOVED it!

For the second page, I made a pocket that holds "love coupons"

On every page I tried to put a love quote on it and I tried to keep it simple.

If you want a fun craft to make for Valentine's Day I have a ton of great and inexpensive crafts that will make your home look so fun and festive for Valentine's Day! You can check out all of them here.

I love conversation hearts, they are a must for Valentine's day. I made my own version of the popular candy, but mine are not edible! :) You can find the tutorial here.

Every Valentine's Day we make sugar cookies in our house. These are not just any sugar cookie, these are the BEST sugar cookies EVER! :) You will be surprised to find out that these are Wheat Sugar Cookies...but they are extremely soft and super yummy.

This is a great way to spend time with your kids and a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day. You can find the recipe here.

I hope you found some fun ideas you can use for this Valentine's Day! If you ever need some crafting or cooking inspiration, head on over to my blog! Inspiring Creations

Thanks Cher for letting me take over your blog today! :)

Romantic Marriages: {Sponsor}

Who's up for another great website feature? The ladies at Romantic Marriages are once again sponsoring Love Actually and I'm delighted to have them on board!

The ladies at Romantic Marriages don't mind working overtime to dish you up the hottest date nights and relationship advice to bring that sassy little spark back into your marriage. They've created the Loving Wives Club - a national organization that can take your marriage from blah to oh la la! Going three years strong, the Loving Wives club believes you strengthen families, one marriage at a time AND you strengthen marriages with each and every date.

…how the Loving Wives Club works: Each month they provide you with the basic set-up for a super fun date, then YOU get to choose any of the add-ons to “design your date” just the way you want!

There are 13 add-on categories, that match each month¹s theme for you to choose from. Each digital date kit is loaded with ideas so you can carry that date¹s theme throughout the month for several other dates or just for some little romancing rendezvous, all when its convenient for you. So whether you are sneaking in a date at home after the little ones are asleep or you are squeezing in a little romance between car pools, our date ideas will work for you! It¹s your date, your way, on your schedule!

If your relationship is feeling a bit disconnected, {like maybe sometimes it feels as if you¹re dorm mates instead of lovers} Romantic Marriages offers a little needed shot of date therapy with their smart date ideas. Each date night kit has them and these ideas will add that extra closeness you've been looking for. Based on the science of keeping a man emotionally connected, these ideas really do make a difference in how close you and your husband feel. If you are close now just wait, with smart dates it gets even better!

April, Roslyn, Marilyn and Tara are the “marriage mavens” behind Romantic Marriages.

“With a combined total of 15 kids, holding down four jobs, volunteering in
our communities and at our kid¹s schools, and serving at church, we are busy
women, just like so many of you. We get how hard it is to step out of mommy
mode, disengage from work, and put aside our domestic goddess roles to be
“wonder wife” on the weekend! We founded the Loving Wives Club as an easy
way for busy women to refocus on their men and their marriage. In the
process of creating fun date nights we stumbled across studies that showed
how smart it is to give your man specific things if you are wanting more of
your own needs met. When you invest a little energy each date night to keep
your man emotionally connected it means ­ a more committed husband who meets
more of his wife¹s needs. And if that means more housework and homework
help, what woman doesn¹t want that? Now you know why we call them smart
dates!”

…and now for some V buzz for Valentines! This year Romantic Marriages offers four Holi-DATE kits to make your Valentine’s date funtastic. The Opposites Attract Date, the Tech Date, Prince of Persian Passion {three nights of HOT Arabian dates} and the very popular “This Year I¹m Giving You The Chocolates” all-inclusive kit.

With this kit your marriage mavens have done the shopping and printing for you so you can just focus on the playing!

Be sure to stop by RomanticMarriages for all the details!

LOVELY Giveaway!! {My Computer is My Canvas}

Okay, when I find a blogger I love... well, I don't know... I just love it!

Colette from My Computer is My Canvas is just about as creative as they come!

She has a fun little giveaway for THREE of you today, but before we get to that, I wanted to show you some of her fun Valentine ideas AND free printables!!

Recipe & Free Printable Bag Topper

{Cutest Ever} Printable Valentine Banner


She tells you where to find these Cute Lovey-Dovey Fonts!

Kiss Advent. She's selling this printable in her Etsy Shop

She also has these super cute "Love Quote Notes" on sale in her Etsy Shop...
(this is a great little lead up to Valentine's day...)

....and she's giving THREE sets of them away here on Love Actually.

How to Enter:

1. Be a follower of Love Actually ------->
2. Visit her blog HERE and leave a comment with your favorite project she posted about!

Giveaway ends: Monday, February 7th
(...just in time for you to start using the cards, a week before Valentine's Day)

PS....You can get 20% off any order from Colette's Etsy Shop during the giveaway dates with this code: "LOVEACTUALLY"

GIVEAWAY WINNER...and New Sponsor {Dating Divas}

The winner of Say It On The Wall's Vinyl Lettering Giveaway is........

Ryan & Brooke Ross

Brooke...I hope you don't mind me using your picture! It's just a great picture of a great looking couple! Congrats on winning the vinyl lettering! Hope you can find a great use for it in your home! (Please email me at loveactuallyblog @ hotmail.com so I can forward you on to Laura with SIOTW)

Many thanks again to Say It On The Wall for sponsoring Love Actually!

She has showcased all sorts of FUN Vaentine ideas the past little while. Take this, for example. "Valentines In A Can"

Head on over to check out the rest of her fun ideas!

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NEXT item of business.....this is a fun one, I promise you'll LOVE it! This is right up my alley and since you read THIS blog, it'll be right up your alley, too!

If you haven't heard of the Dating Divas yet...you're missing out. I can remember first starting Love Actually and having Tara as one my first followers! I'm so excited to reveal her latest project...

Last month, The Dating Divas launched their website at http://thedatingdivas.com. The site offers a comprehensive, yet spunky and fun, resource for all things marriage, particularly, “how to keep the spark alive.”

Who are the Divas? Eleven gorgeous, funny, independent and intelligent women, from five different states, take turns sharing the secrets to their marital bliss. With remarkable creativity, plenty of spunk, and just a little sass, the Divas make romance a daily event.

The Divas advocate for making marriage a number one priority, over careers, over money, and over doing the laundry. Marriage, according to the Divas, is not a noun, but an action verb. Marriage is something people promise to do, not to experience, and the Divas have a knack for doing it well. Here is what they have posted on their "Meet The Divas" Page:

"We began this lil’ venture of dating our spouses, just like anyone else…..waaay back before we said, “I Do”! Back when dates were the most important element of our life and held a high status over all else. {WINK} Being at the top of our lists, the focus on dating helped us fall MADLY in love with the men we now call our DEAR husbands. Since those dating years some of us have had children, finished school, started careers, and quite simply have embarked on what we know now as, “The Married Life”. We all know that marriage can become TOO comfortable {a.k.a. routine} and dating your amazing spouse – the way you did when first falling in love… is the sure-fire way to keep that SPARK in marriage! We are sharing with you the SECRETS to our success! We hope that you will find ideas that keep your marriage healthy, happy, and full of love!"

In a nutshell, each Monday the Divas will offer an awesome date already completely planned for your upcoming weekend! {Aw geez… you’re totally welcome!} These dates sport titles like, “CSI Date,” “Santa, Baby,” “The Wild Jungle Safari Date,” "Totally Awesome 80's Prom," and “Choose Your Own Adventure Date.” Throughout the rest of the week they'll also post quick & easy ideas to serve your spouse, unforgettable family outings and activities with the kids, intimate moment ideas to spice things up in that room, and fun “romance” crafts to boot! There is definitely something for every couple!

Much like the ideas on Love Actually, the majority of the dates are incredibly budget-friendly and a lot of them don’t cost a dime.

(See...I told you you'd LOVE this!) Hop on over to The Dating Divas and see what FUN ideas you can try out tonight!