7:30 AM

10 at home Valentine's Day date ideas

Valentine's day is just around the corner and it's hard to believe that after this holiday we've officially celebrated every holiday in quarantine. Nowadays date nights have turned into nights in with our favorite take-out and binge-watching the latest Netflix show. Even though Valentine's day plans may look a little different this year, there are still some fun (and safe!) ways to celebrate the day of love with your Valentine. 

1. Romantic candlelight dinner at home

Bring the five-star dining experience home and put together a romantic candlelight dinner in the comfort of your own home. Even though indoor dining is an option for us here in North Carolina, we still haven't felt safe enough to eat inside of a restaurant just yet. All you really need is a nice tablecloth, some placemats, and candles to bring the restaurant experience home. Want to add in a romantic touch? Throw in some rose petals!

Christian actually put together a candlelight dinner for us for our anniversary and it was such a sweet surprise. You could chef up your favorite meal to serve or order to takeout from your favorite restaurant and plate it at home! 

2. At home sip and paint

Bring out your inner artist with an at-home sip and paint event! There are a couple different ways you could go about this. You could pick up some blank canvases, acrylic paint, and paintbrushes and find a video tutorial on YouTube. Another option would be to order a paint by number from Amazon or even custom paint by number with a portrait of you and your Valentine!

I have actually always wanted to do a sip and paint class, but think we are planning to do an at-home version this year for Valentine's day! We plan to have our favorite bottle of red and put together a grazing board while we paint away!

3. Elevated movie night

I know, I know, by now you probably have had enough at home movie nights to hold you over for the next decade, but there are still ways to make them special. Instead of cuddling on the couch like usual, why not set up a mini fort in your living room? You could deck it out with fairy lights and cozy pillows to make it extra special. Just finish it off with your favorite snacks and drink of choice and voila, an upgrade to your everyday movie night. 

4. Cook a meal together

Why not chef it up in the kitchen and try out a new recipe? There are tons on Pinterest or you could even order a meal delivery service such as HelloFresh. Another option would be Want to take an actual class? Sur La Table offers online cooking classes that may be a fun option to check out! Want to take it another step further? Make it a themed dinner! From a night out in Italy or on a sandy beach in Mexico, decorate your space and chef up a meal from that country to switch things up!

5. Have a cook-off

Want to add a bit of competition? Instead of cooking together have a cook-off! You each pick out a recipe and see who is the better chef in the relationship. The cook-off could be a free-for-all or a theme of your choice! Some ideas could be grill off, specific cuisine, breakfast cook-off, or gourmet cook-off!

6. Bar hop at home

Turn your home into a night out on the town and turn each room into a different themed bar. Your porch could be the hottest rooftop bar in the city. The living room? A fun video game bar. The kitchen? The best bar for midnight snacks. With a little creativity, your home could be the hottest spot in the city.

I had actually surprised Christian for his birthday with this idea and it was so fun! I made signs for each "bar" and made up special drinks for each location. 

7. Have an at-home spa night

Pamper yourselves with an at-home spa night! Breakout all of your body scrubs, facial masks, and beauty products to have a relaxing night in. Slip into some cozy robes and have a relaxing night in together.

8. Have a game night

Feeling competitive? Break out your favorite board games and pour some drinks for a fun night in. A little friendly competition is always fun and I'm sure you have a board game or two laying around.

9. Have a tasting party

From wine to ice cream to fast food chicken nuggets, gather up a variety of choices to taste test. Wanna take it a step further? Do a blind taste test! I've always wanted to do a fast-food chicken nugget taste test where we get chicken nuggets from popular fast-food restaurants and blindly rank them to see which restaurant has the best chicken nuggets!

10. Have a Karaoke Night

Sing your hearts out with an at-home karaoke night! Purchase your own karaoke kit or just simply find videos on YouTube and use your trusty hairbrush as a makeshift microphone. Either way, you're in for an entertaining night in. 

Have any other at-home date night ideas? Share them with us down below! I hope you all found this post helpful and as always, thank you for reading!

xoxo,

Amy

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7:00 AM

Meaningful Valentine's Day gifts for any budget

 

*Disclaimer: This post is in partnership with Responsival and as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you so much for supporting brands that support The Daily Amy!

Love is in the air and if you're like my boyfriend then gift-giving is your way of professing your love to someone. Christian and I have been together for two years now and I will say he is probably the best at giving gifts. From birthdays to anniversaries he always manages to gift me the most meaningful gifts and I thought it'd be fun to share some of those ideas with you all in case you're looking for something meaningful to gift your Valentine this year!

 Whether you're looking to drop some serious $$$$ or looking for something small and meaningful to gift to your significant other this Valentine's Day I have rounded up the best picks for you all. 

DAINTY GOLD RINGS

Can one really go wrong with gifting jewelry? I've been a big fan of dainty gold rings lately and think this gold initial ring would be such a cute gift. You could gift it with her initial, your initial, or the initial of her future last name. The possibilities are endless.

HEART SHAPED PHOTO NECKLACE

Have a favorite photo of the two of you? Why not turn it into a necklace? Christian gifted me this heart-shaped photo necklace right before our anniversary and I absolutely love it. It looks like a heart necklace, but if you look closely at it, it has one of our favorite photos together in the center. Such a cute and special gift to wear around. 

WOODEN MUSIC BOX

Do you have a song? This little music box is not only adorable but can play the tune of your favorite song with one simple turn of the handle. Christian had given me was this adorable wooden music box. We had met at a Christmas party singing a song from Moana and one year he had gifted me this music box that plays "How far I'll go." It's such a sweet gift and every time I spin the box to hear the song it reminds me of the night we met! 

SPOTIFY ACRYLIC PRINT

These Spotify album prints were big on TikTok last year and I think they are adorable! You can totally make these yourself or if you're not the crafty time there are a ton of Etsy sellers who makes these as well. You can completely customize this with a favorite photo of you two, your favorite song, anniversary date, etc.

HANDWRITING BRACELET

How sweet would it be to wear a bracelet with "I love you" written on it from your significant other? You can send any short phrase or message to this Etsy seller and they can turn your everyday handwritten note into a beautiful piece of jewelry.  

THE ADVENTURE CHALLENGE BOOK

I've been seeing ads on this book float around Instagram for some time now and think it's just adorable! Essentially it's a book with 50 scratch-off adventures you can do together. Perfect for the couple who wants to get out of the slump of pizza and Netflix for date nights. 

DATE NIGHT BUCKET LIST

For those nights where you don't know what to do for date night, draw from this collection of date night ideas! This kit includes sticks with fun date night idea prompts and a space on the back of each stick to write down the date of when you completed the activity. 

COOKBOOK

Cooking together is something Christian and I have started doing this past year and it's been one of our favorite ways to spend time together. Plus, you get a delicious meal out of it, a win in my book. This cookbook shares 120 recipes to nourish the people you love and think would be the perfect Valentine's Day gift! 

Been gifted something you absolutely loved? Let us know down below! I hope you all have found this post helpful and as always, thank you for reading!

xoxo,

Amy

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7:30 AM

Valentine's Day clothing picks for under $50

 

Happy February! 

We're officially in the month of love and if you know me then you know that I love any excuse to wear the color pink... but it hasn't always been like this. Growing up I actually hated Valentine's Day. It wasn't due to not having a significant other to celebrate with or anything like that, it was mainly because it was just so incredibly cheesy. I remember strolling through Target and rolling my eyes at the overpriced heart shaped boxes of candy.

It wasn't until a couple years ago I actually started to like Valentine's Day. I'm not sure what exactly triggered the sudden change of mind, but I figured what's life if you don't find a reason to celebrate it? Plus, I love a good theme to dress up for. 

So, with that being said, I thought it be fun to  round up some fun Valentine's Day clothing picks for you all! Most of these items are priced under $50 and can be styled beyond Valentine's Day as well. Whether you're celebrating Valentine's day with a significant other or with your gal pals I round-up of some Valentine's day themed clothing pieces that would be perfect to wear all month long. 

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