I finally changed up my layout! I kept hearing that the left sidebar is distracting for the reader so I figured I'd delete it. What do you think? I can always change it back if its not working out this way! There are a few other changes too - can you spot 'em?
My boyfriend has a birthday coming up. Its not a 'special' birthday but it is the first birthday I've shared with him since we got together. He's a big kid at heart. He loves to be the centre of attention and feels neglected if I don't make a fuss. I'm pretty sure he wants a cake, candles, banners, balloons and lots of presents (hey, who doesn't?). One of my 30 Before 30 was to come up with a cute and meaningful idea but this week I realised I'm not Superwoman and accepted that there are only so many hours in the day.
My boyfriend has a birthday coming up. Its not a 'special' birthday but it is the first birthday I've shared with him since we got together. He's a big kid at heart. He loves to be the centre of attention and feels neglected if I don't make a fuss. I'm pretty sure he wants a cake, candles, banners, balloons and lots of presents (hey, who doesn't?). One of my 30 Before 30 was to come up with a cute and meaningful idea but this week I realised I'm not Superwoman and accepted that there are only so many hours in the day.
Previously, I'd envisaged creating my own personalised banners like Julia:
He would have absolutely loved that.
I'm still thinking I could knock up a blue version of this delightful ensemble for him to wake up to (minus the banners!)...It seems a little bit more realistic and still effective.
I'd also bookmarked a few awesome cakes; one of which I thought I might whip up to mark the occasion. You know, because I'm a culinary genius an' all. Meh, who was I kidding. Dreamland...
I still have time to be awarded Girlfriend of The Year. Leave me a comment with your tips, suggestions and ideas. I'll probably steal one and tell my boyfriend I thought it up all by myself.
- photographic sources for this post are unknown except where credited.
I booked tickets for a Jamie Oliver cooking class for my boyfriend's birthday and then hand-wrote on a plain apron for him to let him know...he was impressed! See in my blog post...http://haveyouheardthelatest.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/cooking-up-a-storm/
ReplyDeleteI'm in exactly the same position, I put so much pressure on myself to be girlfriend of the century and end up just having a mini panic! Def do a homemade cake or biscuits you can ice, the homemade touch is a charmer. How about making a photo album and try to get photos of him when he was younger? xxxx
ReplyDelete@Haveyouheard the latest - Ah, that is brilliant! I've bought him plenty of presents but it's more the presentation I'm struggling with & I'd love to do something unique like you did - Your idea is super super cute!
ReplyDeleteI like your new layout! It's very sweet & clean. For my guys birthday a a couple months ago, I threw him a surprise party at a sexy italian restaurant . I kept it low-key during the day - gave him gifts and did something special just the two of us. I told him I made dinner reservations for us at nice place and when we walked in, all of his favorite friends were there. He didn't have a clue! Everyone had a great time eating delicious food and grabbing drinks from the bar :)
ReplyDeletelove that cake!! so fun! xx
ReplyDeletetheattiredarchive.blogspot.com
Love the ideas here!
ReplyDeleteMy guy has a thing for Korean culture, so I wanted to plan a surprise evening at home with homemade Korean food (bulgogi, yum!), decorate the room with some bold colors, photos, maps of South Korea and play some traditional folk music during our meal. Then after dinner try out a Korean game/watch a Korean flick. You could do the same with any country/destination and its a bit more economical than a plane ticket ;)
Good luck on your search.
Diana
http://americanadeutsch.blogspot.com/
I think it's the best your blog has ever looked. Love it xx
ReplyDeleteI am now craving cupcakes at 8am, they look amazing! Love the other images as well, so cute!
ReplyDeleteI made my boyfriend a book of our relationship. It was filled with all our little jokes, stories of all the adventures we went on, and random little letters telling him how much he means to me. He loved it, and we still use it and fill it in now with all our newer adventures. I also made one for my best friend. They took soooooo long though, reading through emails/texts to remember stuff, drawing a million pictures....maybe a christmas present? hah
ReplyDeleteI saw a link to this on another blog this week, seems like an easier way of making personalised bunting - http://ruffledblog.com/printable-alphabet-bunting/
ReplyDeleteI like the new layout- although the previous sidebar didn't distract me!
ReplyDeleteAgh, I have a hard time picking gifts for my boyfriend!! He always enjoys it when I cook him dinner&dessert though, so it's a given every year ;)
xx
Love the new layout! I normally find that food is definitely the way to my boys heart and that he likes it quite low key, just spending time together :)
ReplyDeletewishfulsinfulyou.blogspot.com
The new layout is lovely! It's seems so much less cluttered. Three colums can be so hard to pull off.
ReplyDeleteI seen a flickr photo once where someone took 100 heart shaped sticky notes and wrote a reason why they loved them on every one. But that me more anniversary or valentine's day.
I'm terrible at buying gifts for boyfriends. In the past I've ended up buying practical stuff like suitcases or phones. I sometimes put this down to my ex's lack of practicalness. :P
I hope you sort something out soon. x
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ReplyDeletewings.
ReplyDeletebeer.
boobies.
works wonders.
Great new layout! It looks much crisper :) I love those birthday banners too... they probably take so much time but look fantastic!
ReplyDeletehttp://myeverydayrunway.wordpress.com/
I think a birthday present hunt filled with clues that mean something to you both is a great idea for any big kid.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively if your culinary skills aren't the best I'd say make the 3-minute microwave mug cake and stick a candle in it lol I'm certain it would go down a treat!
P.s. Love the new layout :) x
My boyfriend's birthday is today! He's mostly depressed about getting older (oh, come on, like 34 is old), but I convinced (ok, forced) him to celebrate! He's a musician who likes to draw, so I gave him a miniature guitar (he collects those) and I'm giving him a digital drawing pen (that uploads drawings to the computer) when it comes out in October!
ReplyDeleteMy tip is any kind of surprise! Surprises are great. Something personalized is great as well.
That rainbow cake may be the best thing I have ever seen!! I love planning for my boyfriends birthday! I don't think I'd ever have the time to sit down and make all the banners unfortunately. Love the new layout too! xx
ReplyDeleteThe rainbow cake looks amazing!! The banners are super cute too. Like the new layout too! :)
ReplyDeleteAW why can't you still do the 3rd pic? That would be so cute! Maybe not on the bed but banners are always the best! Also making the rainbow cake is not that hard, you just need some time! Make it the day before and refrigerate it :)
ReplyDeleteThe rainbow cake? Its easy, instead of making 8 diffrent cakes, one colour each, make two seperate cakes as you would with any sandwhich cake like a victoria sponge,
ReplyDeletewhen youve got the two mixes prepared; seperate each one into three bowls, colour each bowl so you have six diff. coloured bowls of mix, then swirl three into one tine like a marble cake, three in another, cook your two cakes, sandwhich together, voila!!
Its super effective, good luck :) xx
On my boyfriend's birthday I woke up early and snuck off to buy croissants and organic apple juice for breakfast in bed. I made his card with pop up bits inside (so so easy) and bought him a few beers to drink in the evening. He seemed pretty happy!!! Cake-wise, a good lemon cake never goes amiss, and it's so simple too :)
ReplyDeleteWow, these banners really are amazing - as are the cakes!
ReplyDeleteYour new layout is really fresh, I like x