About 365 days of marriage

I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.

Day 3061 – How Much It Costs To Go To Ocean City, Maryland For Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

I ran across a great deal for a hotel in Ocean City over Thanksgiving, and we decided to take the trip! I so glad we did, it was such a relaxing time, and there were so few people there. I didn’t realize it when booking the hotel, but we were within walking distance of a pretty highly rated Thanksgiving day buffet. It was surprisingly affordable to go to the beach for a few days, even during a holiday. Here is what we spent.

Hotel – Grand Hotel & Spa – 2 nights – $187.28 ($93.64 a night with taxes and fees), normally anywhere from $179-$249. Bonus tip for today and tomorrow, they’re having a 50% off sale for Cyber Monday. Make sure you click on View By Rate Offer in your search.
Gas – $18.25
Coffee – drive down – $1.79
Drinks for Bret – $17.43
Five Guys – drive down – $30.79
Bread and apple butter – $17.56
Aldi groceries – $19.27
Thanksgiving buffet at Ember’s – $63.10
Hardee’s – drive back – $5.30
Coffee and treats at hotel – $13.24

Total spent – $374.01

A few notes – we could have saved some money not going to Five Guys on the way down, but after sitting in traffic for 2 hours, we needed a treat. Oy, traffic was bad. Four hours to get to the beach, 2.5 hours to get back. Crazy. The bread and apple butter was a splurge a few days before we left. I had a sample of it and it was just so amazingly good, I HAD to get it! We probably could have walked to a Dunkin a few blocks away for coffee, and we didn’t need to get more specialty drinks, but our attitude was more – we’re here to relax and not run around. We had enough food to eat while we were down there. I do wish I had known how great of a deal Hardee’s had – I got two sandwiches, a cookie, fries, and a drink for 5 bucks. There’s a Hardee’s close to where we got Five Guys, so that would have saved us about $20. We could have done a different buffet, but I mean, how can you go wrong with one within walking distance? Next time, I will bring my own coffee and filters, in the off chance we have a full coffee pot like we did in our room. That would have saved a bit, and I would have had better coffee! Ha.

All in all, it was an amazing time. Neither of us worked, we just relaxed, watched TV (boy howdy, we do NOT miss TV), I read a whole book, and read some others. We watched the sunrise from the comfort of our room (which is such a better experience than waking up at 2 am to drive down). The buffet was delicious, and I totally over indulged on desserts.

Do you ever travel for Thanksgiving?

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Day 3060 – My Life Has Changed A Lot In The Last 13 Years – or – 13 Years Ago, I Photographed My First Wedding

Posted on November 26, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

I was scrolling through my On This Day on Facebook, and it reminded me that today was my wedding photography anniversary. It’s funny, just yesterday, Bret and I were talking about how much our lives have changed since we got married. We were chatting about his real estate investing business, and my virtual office management business, as well as what I’d just read in Tools Of The Titans. Basically, Tim Ferris was talking about real world MBAs, and how if you look at taking a pay cut to learn something, it’s like getting a real world MBA. In a lot of respects, you could look at the last few years for me, and say I did a 3 year alcohol rehab, I did a 5 year writing degree, etc. One thing I’m thankful for is that it’s ok to change your mind. It’s ok to have new dreams on a new day. And getting to know yourself is a life long process.

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Day 3059 – Sneak Peek Of Our Beach Trip

Posted on November 25, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

What a great trip to the beach! I tell ya, going to a “typically summer destination” in the off season is so nice. There are far less people, and it’s much cheaper. We got this amazing room with a view for under $100 a night.

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Day 3058 – Shopping Ideas For The Minimalist, Traveler, Or Road Tripper On Your List

Posted on November 24, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

Wooo Black Friday! I love shopping on Black Friday…..and Thanksgiving (heh heh, hides face)….to help you shop, I wanted to give you some suggestions for gifts for those you love that are a minimalist, a traveler, a road tripper, or all of the above.

As a note, this list includes affiliate links, which just means that we get a small percentage of your purchase. We’d really appreciate it if you used our link to do your shopping on Amazon today! Even if you don’t buy what I suggest, if you purchase anything after clicking the link, we’ll get a percentage of that. (It’s such a small percentage, it just helps feed our Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme addictions. To every one of you that has used our link, thank you, thank you, thank you!)

First is my book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget. This will help your road tripping friend plan their trip, and keep within budget.

Next is a scratch off map for your traveler. Luckies of London The United States of America Scratch Map (USLUKUS) is such a fun way for us to keep track of where we’ve traveled in the country together! One of the first things I do after we get home from a road trip is update our map!

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less totally changed my life. Even though we were already pretty simplified and minimalists, this book helped me to dig even deeper into simplicity. It helps me to say no to things that need to be said no to.

Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths about Aging by Dick Van Dyke was a really fun book. It is read by the author, and in my opinion, the only way to experience this book. I laughed, I cried, and I appreciated my life so much more. He shares great stories about life, marriage, family, and his show business career. He sets a great example of how to live – no matter how old you are. This is a great listen for a road trip!

We absolutely love these XL Outdoor Club Chairs and use them every day. They’re easy to pack up and take to the beach or camping. They’ve held up extremely well over the almost 2 years we’ve used them. The only wear is because of some embers from the campfire.

And let’s get real here, cash and gift cards are the minimalists best friend. It isn’t an impersonal gift at all. It says “we know you don’t need/want more stuff, but there are things you want/need, and we’re going to trust you to choose them!”

What are you getting your traveler, roadtripper, or minimalist?

Here’s us using our chairs on the beach earlier this year!

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Day 3057 – Happy Thanksgiving! (And A Sneak Peek At My Black Friday Deal – Starts Tonight At 8 EST!)

Posted on November 23, 2017 by 365 days of marriage

We hope you are having a wonderful day, however you choose to spend it!

The Sneak Peek is that my road trip book, Planning an Epic Road Trip on any Budget, is on sale for 99 cents! The sale starts at 6 p.m. EST tonight and ends tomorrow at midnight EST! As a note, this is an affiliate link, which just means that we get a small percentage of your purchase.

For fun, here’s a few photos of us really excited about our food!