The weather is quite cool in Ocala today! It was unseasonably warm all week, so the chillier temperatures today were a bit of a surprise. It made our afternoon hike all the more fun since Sadie is extra frisky in cold weather and watching her prance around always makes us laugh.
Tomorrow it is supposed to be even colder, with temperatures dropping into the 30s! Is this Florida? I think we need a fireplace… if not for the warmth than for the potential to make indoor s’mores. Oh yes!
Lunch
After our chilly hike, we came home to a hot lunch.
I made myself a warm roast beef and melted muenster cheese sandwich on a toasted whole wheat bagel with arugula.
Sides were red! An apple and about half of a pint of cherry tomatoes rounded out my meal.
Then Ryan and I split up to tackle our Valentine’s Day Mission!
Every year we split up on Valentine’s Day (or the weekend before if Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday), and set out to buy each other a goodie basket of gifts, all of which must amount to $20 or less.
It’s Valentine’s Day on a budget and it’s always a lot of fun to try to find little trinkets and fun gifts to surprise the other person. Last year we ended up getting each other the same thing for one of our gifts, which we seem to have a propensity to do… especially when it comes to food-related gifts.
I had a grand plans to hit up a local chocolatier downtown to pick up some chocolate-covered Oreos for my Oreo-lovin’ husband as one of his gifts.
Except there is no chocolatier in downtown Ocala.
Apparently I dreamed that one existed? I ended up running into Stella’s Modern Pantry, hoping that their signs stating that they were a “confectioner” and had lots of homemade baked goods would yield something Oreo or red velvet-based (Ryan’s two favorites).
Nothin’!
So, I naturally headed into Starbucks and bought myself a cappuccino and a marshmallow square to ease my frustration. Okay, so my sweet tooth was ragin’.
Eventually I managed to assemble a decent goodie basket for Ryan.
I almost bought him $20 worth of Reese’s. 
In the end my gifts included:
- Mini Oreos + 1 pint cookie dough ice cream (with the promise to recreate his favorite Dairy Queen Blizzard flavor at home)
- Navy blue workout shirt
- His favorite mints
- Mio (a drink mix he loves)
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall DVD
That movie is hilarious! Whenever it comes on TV we always talk about how we should own it… and now we do!
Ryan is making us dinner tonight and then we’ll be exchanging gifts.
Off to celebrate our Valentine’s Day!
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How fun! Can’t wait to see what you’ve got, and hope that you guys have a good time celebrating!
PS I own Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I haven’t seen it yet!
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is ah-mazing!! Hilarious…Oh Jason Segel I love you! Love the $20 gift idea and may have to suggest to the hubs! 🙂
I love this “Valentine’s Mission.” It’s such a fun idea while also ensuring you don’t go completely overboard and break the bank. And I need to see that movie….
I always see the marshmallow bars at Starbucks but have still never gotten one – and I keep craving homemade rice crispie treats too! Need to fix this, soon!
You’ll be so happy you have the dvd now. The unrated version is soooo much more funny than the one they show on tv! Why do the tv censors have to be so lame and cut out all the funny and inappropriate parts? That’s what parents are for!
Looks like you did really well with just $20! I love this idea for valentines day because then you have to get creative while saving lots of money!!
Oh my goodness that sandwich looks delicious! Do you use mini bagels or regular for sandwiches? It’s so hard to tell in the pictures! …I kind of want to go purchase cookie dough ice cream now… ( :
my sweet tooth always seems to so “conveniently” start raging when i am feelin a little overwhelmed or stressed! i don’t know about ryan, but i would’ve been perfectly happy with $20 of reese’s! 😉 sounds like you ended up with some great stuff for him though!
that is such a cute idea! I love getting random little things like that!
Two of my husband’s favorite things are Oreos and all things red velvet, too! I made him a heart-shaped red velvet cake for Valentine’s Day haha … cheesy but delicious! 😉
I live in Orlando near UCF and it was freaking beauuuuuuutiful outside! I didn’t know it was going to be in the 30s tomorrow?! Ahh how exciting!
Not looking forward to that. 🙁 I went to the Winter Park farmer’s market today and was freeeezing.
Oh my goodness I LOVE that $20 Valentine’s idea! I hope you don’t mind if my big squeeze and I borrow it. I told him about it right after I read your blog and his face lit up. Thank you for sharing!
Why didn’t you just make him chocolate covered Oreos? It would have been totally cute if you made them Valentine’s Day themed.
My husband & I set a $15 limit! I got him a bunch of yummy candy & I’d be happy receiving the same thing in return!
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a staple in my house. We watch it at least 4 times a year…hilarious!
What a FUN date!! You guys are so cool. Have fun <3
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of our favorite DVDs that we own. I watch it every month or so–no exaggeration! Enjoy your Valentine’s celebration!
I love the $20 limit idea…I’m excited to hear what you got!
We do $30 on stocking stuffers at Christmastime and it’s such a fun and great idea. I can’t believe you got all of that for $20! My husband buys me a heart-shaped red velvet cake every year on v-day…I bake a lot so it’s an extra special treat for me!
I love this Valentine’s Day tradition. You made your $20 go far! My husband and I keep saying we need to buy Forgetting Sarah Marshall too. Thanks for the reminder/idea! Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂
job way well done!
That blizzard combo is intense- best of all worlds!
Oh my gosh, Julie. I know these aren’t exactly in line with our healthy philosophies, but if Ryan likes Oreos you should try out these “slutty” brownies my mom found on Pinterest. My dad is a HUGE Oreo fan and he helped make them to take with me to my bachelorette weekend. They are super quick and easy – especially if you take a couple of shortcuts with right pre-made mixes. Everyone (including dad) loved them! 🙂
http://justalittleorganic.com/2012/02/03/parkers-version-of-slutty-brownies/
I love the $20 idea. It is sweet and from the heart. These cute little things I call simple pleasure’s in life.
I know you like to bake have you thought of making the oreo’s dipped in chocolate? There very simple and you can do different coatings or decorations.
I like this idea of 20$ basket, it can become really fun!
cute idea!! 🙂
this is random, but i saw a picture of you and ryan on pinterest! it was of the two of you on opposite sides of the door holding hands…i don’t know if you or your photog posted it, but thought it was funny when i saw it!
I love the idea of putting a $ max on the “holiday” and getting a bunch of fun things for each other. We don’t usually do anything special so that would be a fun way to change up the day 🙂
I am always a day ahead of you in weather because the fronts usually come in from the west, and I’m in Louisiana. Get ready because last night was windy and cold!!!! And this morning is pretty chilly too!
I LOVE Forgetting Sarah Marshall! Great movie selection, and great tradition!
SUCH a cute Valentine’s Day idea 🙂 I hope you guys have a good one!
I love your valentine’s day presents! I was looking forward to this post all day!
Too bad about the chocolatier, that stinks! But I think you wound up doing pretty well anyway!