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Just when your bank account was about to make a full recovery from the winter holidays, Valentine’s Day strolls up and shoots a heart-shaped arrow at your pocketbook, or was that Cupid? For this one day, over 180 million cards will be exchanged, an average 198 million roses will be pruned for bouquets, and almost 50 million pounds of chocolate will be sold. The holiday of romance cost Americans a record-breaking $19.7 billion last year, with $4.5 billion paid out to jewelry vendors alone. This is an expensive time of year for couples; you, yourself, may have a special someone in your life and, feeling compelled by the over-commercialization of the holiday, believe you need to bleed out your account, buy him or her an expensive gift to show just how special they are to you. Stop right there! Anyone can buy roses, candy, or heart-shaped trinkets from a store; save yourself time, energy, and money by recreating one of these ten DIY Valentine’s Day gifts – five for him, five for her. It will mean a lot more to your partner to receive a gift you made than one you bought because not only will your gift be one-of-a-kind, but the care you put into making it will speak more clearly to how you feel for the person.
Via: Polkadotchair.com
Though you could buy alphabet leather stamps at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, a full set may be cheaper on Amazon (click here), and Tandy Leather supplies a variety of image stamps from animals to floral patterns to Celtic symbols and more.
Because a tie does not require a great deal of fabric – approximately ½ yard, you might afford to make three different pattern ties – two for business and one for fun; a “fun” tie may be one that showcases his favorite cartoon character.
Additional Source: Men’s Skinny + Square Tie Pattern
Via: CherylStyle.com
Though the source for this project’s tutorial calls for a “beer tray”, your partner can use the tray – circular or rectangular, either is fine – to serve and enjoy any food or drink he prefers. The subject(s) of your pictorial sources can vary from drink labels to record covers to movie titles.
Via: The Crafted Life
Protect his iPad from getting scratched-up in his bookbag or suitcase with this homemade iPad case. Great for the regular traveler, the iPad case is open to design and size production.
Additional Sources: iPad Cover Tutorial, Simple Tablet Sleeve DIY, How to Make an iPad or Tablet Case DIY Tutorial Video
No one likes tripping over a phone cord or seeing a mess of cables sprawled across their desk. This upcycled plastic-bottle charging station will give your partner some order and a safe stride across the floor at night. Mod podge images onto the plastic surface to give the charging station some personality in accordance with his interests.
This project should need no tutorial, I think. Buy a large sealable jar, one that will hold 365 folded notes, each one written by you from the heart. Have the notes be color-coded to correspond with a theme. For example, green notes communicate memories you and her share; pink notes relay reasons you love her; and blue notes disclose things that will make her smile (hopefully). Be sure to print and paste instructions on the jar that explain the single rule to this gift – she can only open one note a day, and decorate the jar to give it aesthetic appeal.
Do not limit yourself to the “I Love You” and polka-dot designs in the cited tutorial. Go to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or any craft store and buy stencils that reproduce the things your partner adores in life. An example: If she is an equestrian, paint horses, horseshoes, carrots, saddles, bridle bits, and other equine-related icons. You can also use smaller-sized letter stencils to paint her favorite quote or song lyric on the towel(s). If you do not find the “right” stencils at the craft store, you can search for them online and print to cut and use.
Via: The Suburban Mom
If you wish to go the extra mile with this gift, put together a mini spa kit. Buy a small wicker basket or pretty tin box, line with tissue paper or nice fabric, and place the heart-shaped bath bombs inside, along with a loofa sponge, scented candle, and fluffy face and body towels – one of each.
Additional Source: How to Make the Ultimate Spa Basket
Though the teddy bears above are cute, if she likes a specific animal, you may be able to find a pattern online and sew the miniature critter she loves.
Additional Source: Felt Animal Crafts
Once more, do not feel limited to the example in the provided tutorial. You can make magnets in any shape you feel your partner will like. For example: If she is a florist, you can shape flower magnets, complete with flower pots, garden utensils, and a little sign that says, “(Name)(‘s) Garden.” You can even go so far as to make a picture frame with the air-dry clay.
Additional Source: Clay Photo Frame Tutorial
Tree Tops is Lennar’s newest active adult community, offering gorgeous ranch homes and a vast selection of inclusive amenities. You’ll immediately fall in love with Tree Tops just from the drive into the community, with beautiful natural landscaping and plenty of outdoor trails, seating and entertainment.
The Village Cabins are the newest amenity at Tree Tops, located in the heart of the community and offer free and accessible activities for an array of hobbies or interests. From wine and cheese nights to poker games to conference meetings, the Village Cabins stand as the pillar of the Tree Tops active adult lifestyle and community feel between residents.
Arts & Crafts Room: Do you wish you had an art studio, but can’t seem to take away any rooms from your beautiful home? Come on down to the Arts & Crafts Room to let all your creative juices flow! This spacious cabin in the Village Center has enough room for all the art projects you could think of – from painting to scrapbooking, sketching to pottery making, or collaging to water coloring. The HOA has graciously provided samples of crafting materials for you to use, so take these in mind as an example when deciding what you can stock the Arts & Crafts Room with next!
Multi-Purpose Room: The Multi-Purpose room is a great space for any general meetings, club meetings, Bible study, informational sessions, book club, and health fairs or individual projects or activities. There are plenty of tables and seating, as well as a two TVs, two bathrooms, and a screened-in porch with extra outdoor seating.
Postal Center: Find your incoming and outgoing mailboxes in the Postal Center in the Village Center. Each home in Tree Tops has a reserved mailbox where you can receive your mail and packages as well as leave outgoing mail. This cabin will be open at all times for your convenience and mail will be delivered according to the typical post office hours.
Reading Room: Cozy up to a nice book on a rainy Sunday or relax with a magazine after work in the Village Center Reading Room. There is plenty of comfortable seating as well as large wall-to-wall bookshelves that you can help fill! The Reading Room will be open for you to donate any books or magazines while subscriptions will be provided by the HOA including Golf, Forbes, HGTV, USA Today, Time, Sports Illustrated, Men’s Journal, Good Housekeeping, Food Network, HGTV, Travel & Leisure, The Family Handyman, Readers Digest, Southern Living, Food & Wine, and National Geographic.
Business Center: Working from home has never been easier with the new Village Business Center. Wi-Fi, conference room space, computers, some office supplies, and printing, scanning and faxing make for an easy and convenient way for you to get work done. The activity director’s office is located in the Business Center if you have any questions or ideas regarding the cabins, events and activities, or HOA-related concerns.
Sewing Room: Whether knitting, needle pointing, cross-stitching, crocheting, quilting, or sewing is what you prefer, the Sewing Room is the perfect place to work. There are plenty of seating areas and cabinets for your use in this nice, quiet space to meet with friends or work on a personal project. A few sewing machines and material samples have been provided by the HOA, but feel free to bring your own to share and use as you’d like!
Fit You: Staying in shape without a home gym or gym membership can be difficult, but now it is simple with the Fit You cabin right next door! This cabin is dedicated to keeping you happy and healthy with a large space for yoga, Thai Chi, Pilates, individual strength and aerobic exercises, group classes, and much more. Exercise mats and fitness balls are provided, as well as a full wall mirror, cubbies, and water fountain for your convenience. Feel free to bring free weights, bands, and other workout accessories for your own use or to share!
Card Room: Poker, bunko, bridge, Scrabble, chess, checkers, Bingo, and backgammon just scratch the surface of the amount of activities available in the Card Room. Meet up with your buddies for a competitive monthly card game or bring your grandkids in for some rainy day entertainment! There are multiple tables and chairs to fit as many people as you need, and there is no limit on how many games can be going at once.
Celebration Center: Looking for the perfect place to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion? Come to the Celebration Center – the perfect place for your next morning coffee meeting with neighbors, wine and cheese party with friends, cocktail hour with coworkers, or holiday get-together with family. With a kitchen, seating area, fireplace, and large deck overlooking the lake, this cabin is great for any celebration. The kitchen comes with an ice maker, coffee maker, sink and mini refrigerator while the television and gas fireplace will help set the tone for any special occasion.
Billiards Room: Everybody loves a good game of pool, and now you can enjoy one of your own in the Tree Tops Village Center! Bring out your work buddies to settle a bet or meet some new neighbors with some friendly competition. The Billiards cabin has one pool table and set of balls, as well as pool sticks and accessories for you to use. The wrap-around porch is also the perfect spot to cool off between games or to relax and check out the beautiful Lake Tree Tops.
Valentine’s Day – America’s holiday for romance, painted red with high-dollar means of saying, “I love you.” Apart from Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the most expensive holiday for couples. Last year, Americans collectively spent a record-breaking $19.7 billion, and it was assessed that men spent nearly twice as much as women, shelling out almost $200 to every woman’s $100. It appears the modern methods of over-commercialization for this holiday have blotted out a simple but important principle: Money can buy most anything, but not love. The thought and care you put into a special Valentine’s day (or evening) will mean more to your partner than a fancy dinner at a triple-dollar restaurant and a pricey gift to boot; you can show a lady (or gentleman) a good, memorable time for under $50. Here are five budget-friendly date ideas for your upcoming Valentine’s Day that will inspire moments filled with fun, joy, and yes, love.
Game Night
There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, right? If you just started seeing someone, you can take the edge off romance and third, fourth, or fifth impressions by hitting up a bowling alley, mini-golf course, and/or arcade – if you are lucky, a place that has all three. Race each other on Go Karts; take aim at the batting cage; and challenge each other for the top score at skee ball, air hockey, Pac-Man, or Space Invaders. Collectively win tickets and let your date pick a prize to take home – it will mean more to them than if you were to give them a box of candy. Also, most metropolitan areas host arcade bars now, which means drinks, dinner, and no screaming children.
Paint and Sip
You do not have to be a Picasso to enjoy an evening at a paint-and-sip establishment. These franchises, such as Pinot’s Palette, encourage couples to disconnect from daily life to reconnect with each other in a relaxed yet upscale group environment. Under the guidance of talented staff members, you and your date will learn to paint a pre-selected image, though personal flair and creativity are encouraged to make your piece special and one-of-a-kind. To enhance the cozy, stress-free and fun ambiance of this experience, wine and cocktails are available at the paint-and-sip workshops, but most will allow you to bring your own bottle of wine from home. Perhaps the best bonus to the evening is you and your date can take your masterpieces home! How much better does a hand-painted canvas sound to a bouquet of roses? The former will last forever, as will the memory tied to it.
Get Back to Nature
Depending on where you live and the local climate, a nature-inspired Valentine’s Day date is open to options. Coastal residents, you and your companion can enjoy a walk along the beach; collect sea shells and other tokens of the sea; and take a refreshing dip in the water. If there is still snow in your part of the world, grab a pair of snowshoes and walk white-blanketed trails, stopping along the way to build snowmen, sled down a hill, and sip hot chocolate. Then, for those of you who are feeling the early onset of spring, with warm breezes and light precipitation, hiking wooded and/or mountainous terrain is perhaps the best outdoor dating activity because it warrants comfortable attire, endorphin-stimulating exercise, great photo opportunities, beautiful scenery, and the chance to break barriers and form a stronger bond between you and your partner.
In any one of these scenarios, you can make the experience even better by bringing along a picnic – crackers, cheese, salami, grapes, and a bottle of wine – and end the day by watching the sunset. If the situation and previous hours leading up to it are, for lack of a better word, perfect, cozy up to your date and stargaze.
Laugh It Up at a Comedy Club
Watching stand-up comedy at a local club can be a better form of entertainment than watching a movie at the theater or attending a loud, ear-ringing concert – cheaper too, as most comedy clubs charge $5 admission. Stand-up comedians approach the stage with rehearsed lines, but will often ad lib and even chat up their audience; this can make for a one-time, one-of-a-kind experience. Most stand-up comics present new material at clubs, so you have to be forgiving if the jokes are unpolished. Who knows though? You may be hearing the next Jerry Seinfeld.
A Special Evening at Home
Who says you have to go out on Valentine’s Day? Sometimes the most romantic gestures, the most meaningful, memorable moments happen under your own roof. It starts with a home-cooked dinner prepared by you, or you and your date work hand-in-hand, chopping, stirring, and whisking delicious creations of culinary splendor. Next, you take supper in the candlelit dining room or dine comfortably side-by-side at the coffee table. Perhaps you play a little mood music to set the scene, fill the moments of silence – you know, those seconds where eyes lock and pounding hearts speak louder than words. Pandora offers a variety of playlists specially-produced for occasions like February 14th:
After dinner, you and your date are free to develop the evening in any way you both see fit. You can cuddle on the couch to watch a movie, play a game with wagers, read love notes to one another, or get silly by camping out in the living room, complete with a fort made of bedsheets. Whatever you choose, it will be special because you did it with your special someone, and the feeling will be mutual.
Lennar wishes its homeowners to enjoy the best in-home experiences, and this includes moments of tenderness aided by the heart-moving melodies of your Valentine’s Day playlist(s). We offer our homeowners a 15% discount on Polk Audio products, including sound bars, amplifiers, and speakers, which can be installed in both outdoor and indoor entertainment spaces. This Valentine’s Day, hold your loved one close, dance the night away, and share a gentle kiss, as you are both swept away by a better listening experience of the thought-provoking, emotion-stirring musical scores you adore. This complimentary benefit is available through Lennar’s MyRewards program.
Sources:
Pandora Guide to Valentine’s Day
Foster City, Calif. – February 2017 – Lennar has released a new phase of homes for sale at Foster Square, their premier active adult community for individuals aged 55 and better. Set in Foster City, this walkable community provides active adults with homes designed specifically for changing lifestyle needs, fantastic amenities and prime Bay Area location.
“We are thrilled to be releasing this new phase of homes for sale to the public,” said Morgan Sterling, Marketing Manager for Lennar Bay Area. “This phase only offers a very limited number of homesites for sale, so interested buyers are highly encouraged to act quickly!”
New homes at Foster Square are available in a variety of floorplan designs that range in size approximately from 1,144 to 2,172 square feet of living space, two to three bedrooms and up to two-and-a-half bathrooms. These homes feature a whole host of fantastic design details that include, upper decks, patios, open-concept living areas, walk-in closets and luxurious bathrooms in the master suites and more.
As part of Lennar’s Everything’s Included® program, these residences come with a high level of upgrades and designer-selected appointments as standard and at no additional cost. Foster Square homeowners enjoy items such as stainless steel GE® appliances, granite slab kitchen countertops, programmable thermostats, tankless water heaters and more.
Residents will enjoy the prime walkability to nearby amenities at Foster Square. The Foster City Public Library, parks and recreation center, sports courts and beautiful lagoon are all within walking distance of new homes at Foster Square. This community is located about 25 miles south of San Francisco. These new condominiums start from the $900,000s.
With only a limited number of homesites available, these homes are bound to go quickly. Act today to learn more about this new community by visiting http://www.lennar.com/new-homes/california/san-francisco-bay-area/foster-city/foster-square to book an appointment or calling 888-216-2330.
With hundreds of communities nationwide and homes designed for first-time, move-up and luxury homebuyers, Lennar has grown to become one of the nation’s leading and most respected homebuilders. Lennar has a longstanding history of building homes of enduring quality in only the most well planned and desirable locations throughout the country.
If you didn’t already know how great Austin was, we’ve got your rankings right here from U.S. News. Based on desirability, value, job market, quality of life and net migration, Austin scored a 7.8 out of 10 pushing out Denver, Colorado to the #2 spot and reigning as #1 for 2017. Noted for its wide range of residents ranging from students, young professionals to families and retirees, it’s no mystery that there’s something for everyone in Austin. With abundant options for outdoor activities in the many parks throughout Austin and a larger than life tailgate and game day spirit for the UT Austin Longhorns, Austin also hosts many festivals and events such as X Games and Formula One races at the Circuit of The Americas and the Austin City Limits and South by South West festivals. Some of the best things to do include a picnic or kite flying in Zilker Park, swimming in the Barton Springs Pool during the day and enjoying the vibrant night life and live music scene in downtown Austin.
Here are some more favorites things about Austin from our Lennar Austin Associates:
“All. The. Foods. #fattie”
-Annonymous.
“I love the laid-back vibe, anything goes, and THE FOOOOOOD!!!!!”
-April A.
“I LOVE the trail on Town Lake aka Lady Bird Lake. You can choose either a 3 mile, 4 mile ,9 mile or 11 mile loop! Then stop at the dog park and watch all the doggies play. Austin is very dog friendly!”
-Ellen S.
“Breakfast Tacos from Taco Deli, Rainey Street, everything outdoors! This city makes it so easy to be active outdoors.”
-Daniela V.
“Austin is a beautiful city with friendly people, amazing food and exciting entertainment! From serene hike & bike trails to shopping galore, there is always something to do & someone to meet in Austin.”
-Katie H.
So come find your dream home in the #1 city today! Lennar Austin has over 20 communities throughout the Austin and surrounding areas with homes starting in the mid $100s. Learn more about our communities and connect with Ashley, your personal online consultant, for everything you need to know about purchasing a new home in Austin.
Check out our newest communities:
Madsen Ranch Homes in Round Rock, TX from the $200’s.
Carneros Ranch Featuring our The Home Within a Home in Leander, TX.
Aliso Viejo, Calif. – February 2017 – Lennar’s innovative The Home Within A Home® was featured on CBS Los Angeles’ KCAL 9 evening news last week, highlighting the rising trend of extended families living together under one roof.
Paul and Jenna Esquer of Jurupa Valley are a couple with two young kids who work full time. Before they discovered Lennar’s The Home Within A Home®, the couple rented a home across the street from Jenna’s parents, who help with childcare regularly.
“We used to like to go look at new houses. So we would go. And when they would have a bedroom on the bottom with its own kind of suite, we would joke around that that’s where they were going to live,” Paul said. While becoming homeowners was at the top of The Esquer’s priority list, the couple knew they’d have trouble saving enough money for a down payment.
“It’s impossible to save $20,000, $30,000 for a down payment,” Jenna said. Since the couple is close with Jenna’s parents, they entertained the idea of moving into a new home together. “We knew as soon as we walked in there [a Home Within a Home®] that they would absolutely fall in love with it. My dad walked in, sat on one of the chairs and said: ‘I’m home.’”
Jim Miller, Jenna’s father and the children’s grandpa, was completely on board with the plan. “To us, it’s a very perfect scenario because we’re able to stay under one roof. We have a separate residence, and we’re able to be with our grandchildren.”
The Home Within a Home® by Lennar design was created to address multigenerational living situations without having to sacrifice privacy. The Home Within a Home® floorplans feature an attached private suite with its own exterior entrance, living room, bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom, which allows extended families to live together while providing two separate homes and living spaces.
“It gave us the room we need to give them, the space they needed. Everyone could be separate if they want or together when we want to,” Paul explained.
Public Relations Director for Lennar’s West and Northwest Regions Valerie Sheets elaborated. ““I think if you’re looking for that family dynamic, and you want that arrangement, and you want to save money, I think it’s a win, win pretty much for everybody,” she said.
Click here to watch the full story in its entirety.
Lennar offers Home Within a Home® floorplans in dozens of communities across California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
With hundreds of communities nationwide and homes designed for first-time, move-up and luxury homebuyers, Lennar has grown to become one of the nation’s leading and most respected homebuilders. Lennar has a longstanding history of building homes of enduring quality in only the most well planned and desirable locations throughout the country.
