SHE SAID:

Being kind is something I try to be on a regular basis. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail miserably. Kindness, I have found, has many different levels. It’s pretty easy to be polite in society, but it takes a whole new level of skill to actually approach random strangers and offer your kindness in some way.

If someone told me to walk up to a complete stranger and show them some kindness, I would probably run in the opposite direction. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to be friendly; I would just panic with the complexities of it all.

So when Brad suggested we go smother people with kindness I wasn’t completely on board. Would I be holding doors for the elderly all day? Setting up a free car wash? Throwing cash at people? I think he sensed my panic and found the perfect method for accomplishing random kindness, which was getting less random by the minute.

Making supper for our friends was the perfect stepping-stone to stranger kindness. Cooking for people can always be a little scary, but when you find a recipe that’s semi-impressive (basically anything wrapped in bacon) and easy to make, the stress is minimized. It also helps if your friends aren’t picky eaters. Seriously, I think we could have slapped raw potatoes with a side of marmite in front of them and they would have screamed for joy. We have great friends.

I really enjoyed being kind. It seems like such a simple thing, yet we don’t seem to act on it nearly enough. I’m glad we challenged ourselves to go beyond friendly smiles and manners and actually do something for someone.

HE SAID:

A few months ago Susan and I were at the mall doing some shopping. As we were minding our own business walking through a store, the lady in front of us had some money fall out of her purse. She had no idea what happened as she kept walking towards the door to go to her car. Susan ran ahead and stopped her while I picked the money up off the floor to give back to her. What happened next left me completely shocked. As I was picking up the money (it was enough money that it was worth stealing if I was the stealing type), the people passing by were literally exclaiming out loud how amazed they were that I was returning the money. I guess they just assumed most people would steal it. I don’t tell you this story to pat ourselves on the back, but because it absolutely amazed me at how shocked the other people were to see someone simply doing the right thing. It was kind of sad.

That’s why I think the random act of kindness idea is so great. Most people spend so much time “looking out for number one” (we’re all guilty from time to time) that they can forget to just be nice. The wonderful part of it all is that it doesn’t take a lot of planning and effort to be nice to someone.

Since Susan was a little nervous of approaching a stranger, we simply made as nice a dinner as we know how for some friends. One of our least favourite things to do is to try and think of supper ideas. So, we thought it would be nice to alleviate that decision-making stress for someone else, even if just for one meal. We decided to do as much of the preparation at home as possible so that we wouldn’t dirty up their kitchen. We then brought everything over to their house, set the table, finished cooking the meal, and cleaned up afterwards. The hardest part of the whole thing was knowing how much food to cook for five people since we’re used to cooking for two. It all worked out well in the end though. The meal tasted great and everyone got enough food.

To be honest, it feels weird to do something nice for someone with the right motives, and then tell the whole world about it on the internet. But if it causes you to take part in a random act of kindness, either for a friend or a stranger, it’s worth it. Don’t feel like you have to do what we did either. There is an endless amount of things you can do to make someone’s day a little nicer. You could buy coffee for the person behind you in line at Starbucks, or bring some nice homemade food to a neighbour who might need it, or simply try to be extra nice to the people you interact with throughout the day, whether they deserve it or not. If you’re looking for another date idea that helps someone in need, check out our Charity Date post.

I think you’ll likely see a “Random Act of Kindness Part 2” post around here at some point. This was a good place for us to start, but I’d really like to go out of our way to do something for someone who isn’t a close friend, especially someone in need.

For anyone who is interested in what we cooked for dinner, check out the recipe for incredibly easy to make bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. It was delicious!

SHE SAID:

What do you do on a Saturday morning to relax and unwind from the hectic week? Some enjoy a cup of coffee, some watch cartoons, some lay in their bathrobe all day with a good book. All of these are acceptable Saturday morning activities, but for me, going to the farmer’s market is not one of them.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the thought of supporting local farmers and artisans, but my mind cannot deal with the maze of produce stands and hoards of people lined up for Bavarian double smoked bacon at 7am (though it is very tasty).

I could get past that, though, if it weren’t for the disorganized maze of a layout that is our local farmer’s market. I can’t stand that all of the produce people aren’t together in one spot and the bakery people in another. It drives me nuts to pay 2 dollars for a tomato at one stand and then happen upon a tomato for 1 dollar further along the maze. Can I afford the extra dollar? Yes. Do I want to pay the extra dollar? Not really. I will gladly spend more money on a bunch of carrots at the market knowing there’s a cheaper version at the grocery store, but if there are three farmers at the market, heaven knows the farmer with the cheaper tomato is getting my business. End rant.

My saving grace was the German Bakery and its honey almond apricot croissant with icing sugar on top. It was by far one of my best uses of a Toonie in a while. I have no idea where it’s located amidst the chaos, but I do remember stairs nearby leading upward. I also found some really delicious honey apricot bread, but again, have no idea who makes it or where it exists. Once I had those two things in my possession I bolted and went home to continue my more familiar, less chaotic version of a pleasant Saturday morning.

HE SAID:

I, like Susan, have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the farmer’s market. It’s a wonderful and romantic idea (not in the Valentine’s Day sense) in theory, but it never fully lives up to my expectations.

You see, I am a morning person. I enjoy getting up early and getting out of the house while most people are still sleeping away the day. However, I am not a crowd person, and it seems like I can never get to the market early enough to beat the crowds.

So lets break down this love/hate relationship:

LOVE:

1.) I love the idea behind the market. The thought of a leisurely walk on an early Saturday morning perusing local goods is very appealing to me.

2.) Most of what is being sold looks very interesting, whether it’s food, clothing, or anything else.

3.) I love where our local market is located. Winding through the various nooks and crannies of the market is a lot of fun. It makes me feel like I’m in a Hobbit house or something, I love it. There are lots of interesting things to look at.

4.) Despite the busyness of the market, we were able to stop and check out one booth in particular that grabbed our attention. It was shared by Geordan Moore of Who Stole My Bike and Anna Stowe of Good Day Studio. They sell some locally made, unique looking t-shirts. There were plenty of interesting designs to choose from, and I was very tempted to buy one

5.) I love hearing random musicians playing their instruments throughout the market. I could sit and listen to some of them all morning. I especially enjoyed the people playing something other than acoustic guitar, like the guy playing his accordion, or the girl playing a ukelele. This is easily my favourite part of the whole experience.

HATE:

1.) I really, truly cannot deal with the crowds of people. I’m sure some people love it, but I don’t. I always felt like I couldn’t stop to check anything out because I might get trampled. I wish I could have found a nice open area to sit down, have a coffee, and people watch. I’d be all for the crowds if I could just watch them instead of being in them.

As you can see my loves outweigh my hates, but unfortunately it’s still just not for me. That said, if you’re a morning person who isn’t bothered by crowds, your local market would likely be right up your alley. I know the fresh food alone is worth it for a lot of people so don’t let our dislikes keep you from checking out the market. Every time I go I see people who are genuinely having a great time, and I like that. It’s also a great date idea if you’re looking for an excuse to hold that special someone’s hand and not let go. You know, so they don’t get lost in the crowd or anything…

If you’re looking to change things up a little bit and you’re tired of the typical “Dinner and a Movie” type of date night, give Breakfast and a Movie a try. We recently went out for a morning date and really enjoyed ourselves.

SHE SAID:

You may remember from our Sunrise post that mornings aren’t exactly the favourite part of my day. However, if you have a full schedule and are trying to find time to spend with the one you love, you make the sacrifice and roll out of bed.

Luckily, we can always get our money’s worth from eating out for breakfast. For some reason we can stuff more into our traps earlier in the day (don’t stomachs shrink overnight?). Because I usually never want to put more energy into breakfast than pouring cereal into a bowl, I love going out and having someone bring delicious, warm food to me. We chose Cora’s for breakfast, where I ordered my favourite 1990’s Harvest (but I substituted yucky raisin brioche with French toast) with scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit sprinkled with icing sugar!

After breakfast we decided to head to the movie theatre. Since we were going to the Matinee it was cheaper and we practically had the theatre to ourselves, so that meant no annoying chair kicking or talking during the movie! As for the movie itself, we went to see Michael Jackson’s This Is It. I enjoyed the movie, but I’d have to say you really have to appreciate his music and enjoy watching how a huge musical production is put together to ensure its two hour runtime.

Breakfast dates are great if you work night shifts or if you have other commitments later in the day or if you need to force yourself to get up early so you get more done later on.

HE SAID:

I think I’m slowly becoming a grumpy old curmudgeon.

Let me explain.

The typical date night includes dinner and a movie. This doesn’t really work for me for several reasons. First, I tend to not enjoy going out to dinner that much because restaurants are more crowded, and I’d rather be home eating a home cooked meal. Second, I’d much rather watch a Blu Ray at home than go to the theatre and listen to other people loudly munching popcorn right behind my head, kicking my seat, and checking their phones every 5 minutes.

See, grumpy old curmudgeon.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m totally a morning person. So taking the dinner and a movie idea and turning it into breakfast and a movie works perfectly for me. The best part about going out to breakfast is that it never feels like a waste of money. We typically can eat everything on our plates, which is something we never manage to do when we go out for dinner. Not only that, we tend to be so full that we don’t eat again until dinner time, so we save money by not eating lunch. It’s fantastic!

One of our favorite places to go for breakfast is Cora’s. We hadn’t been there in several months, so it was a nice treat to go back. I usually go for the Rosemary’s Sunday which is the typical bacon, eggs, toast, and crepe breakfast. This time I went for something a little different. I got the French toast with a mountain of fresh fruit. It was really good. The best part of our breakfast came near the end. If you add an extra dollar to your bill it goes toward the Cora Foundation and they give you a mug. That pretty much made my day.

We then headed over to the theatre. It was kind of strange being some of the first people there. I was surprised how many people buy popcorn and other treats first thing in the morning. We recently tweeted about a deal with Empire Theatres where you text a certain word to a number they provide and you get a buy one ticket get one free coupon. So after using that coupon, plus the fact that it was an early show, the cost of going to the movies was much lower than usual.

I really had a lot of fun with our morning date. I would do breakfast and a movie again in a heartbeat over dinner and a movie. We got to go out and have a fun time while still having the rest of our day ahead of us. If you’re a morning person then I probably don’t have to sell you on this idea. If you’re not a morning person, take some solace in the fact that half of your morning will be spent in a cozy dark theatre that will be nearly empty. It’s kind of close to being home in bed, right?

If you have any favorite breakfast spots we would love to hear about them. Let us know in the comments.

If I had to choose one season to live in for the rest of my life, it would be autumn. I love when the summer humidity finally leaves and is replaced by the crisp, frosty air. I love pulling out my sweaters, scarves and fall coat and dressing in layers. Since these lovely conditions only last so long before winter punches us in the face, we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather forecast and create a day around the symbolic fall vegetable – the pumpkin.

SHE SAID:

After my sister told me about some pumpkin pancakes she saw advertised during her latest vacation to the States, I was determined to start my day with these. Unfortunately, the trend has not caught on yet (that I could find) in the Halifax area. I could have attempted making them using one of the numerous recipes online, but that could have created two possible ugly scenarios: 1) choosing a bad recipe and making crap pancakes and 2) having to make breakfast – bleck!

Even though there are stores 5 minutes away that sell pumpkins, we like to go to Hennigar’s in Wolfville. If you’re into ripping your own pumpkin out of the ground, the Stirling Fruit Farms just before Hennigar’s lets you indulge in such experiences.

Though Brad loves sorting through the gourds and pumpkins, I go to Hennigar’s mainly for the delicious pumpkin fudge! I discovered this decadent treat a couple of years ago and have been back to buy it every fall since then. Personally, I think it is equal in greatness to pumpkin pie, if not better. They had a “Buy 1lb, get a ½ lb free” deal going on, so I was able to get even more…to share with friends and family of course.

Brad and I also usually buy a new Christmas ornament at Hennigar’s while we’re out getting our pumpkins. We must have come too early this year because the trees that normally house these weren’t set up yet. Oh well, an excuse for another outing!

Once we had selected the pumpkins for our carvings this year (more on that in a later post), there was one more thing to check out – the pumpkin people! Every October the town of Kentville has a Harvest Festival, where businesses and residents alike create pumpkin people displays. This year’s theme celebrates the winter Olympics. We suggest going towards the end of October to see the complete display.

Though we were kind of bummed out by the few pumpkin people displays and no ornaments at Hennigar’s, we made the best of it and had a fun pumpkin day nonetheless.

HE SAID:

What do you get when you have pumpkins, pumpkin spice latte’s, pumpkin fudge, and pumpkin people? You guessed it, Pumpkin Day! In the three years we have been married, this annual day trip has become one of my favorite traditions.

The drive down to get our pumpkin was fantastic. The fall colours were amazing so there was no shortage of beautiful scenery. Mixing the perfect fall day with a pumpkin spice latte was a really great choice since there’s not too many things I like more than a cool, early morning with a hot drink.

Our destination was Hennigar’s. Sure we could be more adventurous and get our pumpkin from a pumpkin patch, but I like that everything we want is right there. Hennigar’s is always full of people since there is a market there where you can buy fresh veggies and lots of other things. Once we picked up our pumpkin fudge we headed into the green house to pick out our pumpkins.

You know that scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation where they trudge through the snow until they find the perfect Christmas tree as a chorus of angels sing and a light from heaven guides them to the right one? Well for me, picking out a pumpkin at Hennigar’s is just like that. Minus the snow…and the Christmas trees…and the angelic choir….and the heavenly lights. So maybe it’s not quite the same, but it is in my head. I love walking by the rows of pumpkins over and over until I find the one with the perfect size and shape. I think I found the perfect one this year if I do say so myself.

Once we loaded our pumpkins into the car we headed out to see the pumpkin people (technically it’s the Kentville Harvest Festival). I remember three years ago when I first saw them. I thought it was the creepiest thing I had ever seen. Now I love it. Unfortunately there weren’t as many up as usual since we went a little early, but there’s still lots of time left for anyone who still wants to go visit.

So that was pumpkin day. It was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday in the fall. We also went to the Scarecrow Festival in Mahone Bay on the same day, but we’ll tell you about that later this week. What are some of your favorite fall traditions? If you’ve ever done a pumpkin day we would love to hear about it.

This is the first in a series of themed movie nights we have planned that are perfect for those of you who enjoy spending a night inside with someone special. On our first movie night we decided to go with a retro theme. All it took was a cheap dinner out to a 50’s style restaurant (which could easily be done at home), a few candy treats, and a classic movie.

SHE SAID:

Sometimes I feel like I was born 30 years too late and missed out on what seems like the simpler times of the 50’s, the decade filled with swing music, lollipops and poodle skirts. If someone could transport me back in time, the 50’s are the first decade I would make a stop in. Since we couldn’t figure out a way to take ourselves back to the 50’s, we went out and got the 50’s for ourselves!

If you’re going to have a retro movie night, you must first treat yourselves to a retro meal. Luckily, we live pretty close to The Chickenburger, a classic retro drive-in style restaurant complete with vintage jukebox.

I have loved visiting The Chickenburger ever since I was a little kid and couldn’t believe when I found out while dating Brad that he had never eaten there before! I love that their cheeseburgers are just the right size, made of real meat and come in a cute paper wrapper. Obviously I ordered one of these with shoestring French fries.

For those of you without a unique retro style restaurant nearby, there’s always A&W. For those of you without an A&W, we feel for you. The next time you go into town, buy yourselves some ice cream and bananas and whip up some good ole’ fashioned banana splits.

No retro movie, or any movie, is complete without candy. Before we headed home from The Chickenburger we made a pit stop at the Freak Lunchbox, a candy lover’s dream come true. Some of the treats we picked without really knowing what they were (i.e. pink elephant popcorn). While some candies are better left in the 50’s, none can compare with gummy cola bottles and candy necklaces.

Finally, we were home and ready to watch our movie. We decided on Grease because – hold your horrified gasps – we had never seen it in completion before. I liked it for the most part, but Sandy lost me when she started into her slow songs. If you’re typically not into musicals, but want to give them a try with your retro movie night, I would highly recommend Hairspray, even though it’s not technically retro. I had a great time with Retro movie night and look forward to our next themed movie night.

HE SAID:

Movie nights are always a good idea in my books. Sure I love getting outdoors and finding new and exciting things to do, but there’s just something about settling in to watch a good movie that I really enjoy. Retro movie night seemed like a simple way to put a twist on the typical night in without having to spend an arm and a leg.

As Susan mentioned, I had never been to the Chickenburger in Bedford before I met her. I’m pretty sure, even if just for a moment, she had some serious second thoughts about me when she found that out. I’m glad she showed me the light because I really enjoy it now. Sure it’s kind of greasy and is basically just fast food, but at the Chickenbuger none of that matters. I love the atmosphere, the prices are really cheap, and the food really does taste great.

I did have one problem with the Chickenburger though. I’m pretty sure the men’s washroom door weighs as much as an elephant. Let’s be honest, I’m not the biggest or strongest guy by any stretch of the imagination, but I tried four times to get that door open and I couldn’t do it. It was actually quite embarrassing. Here I was taking running leaps into the door trying to get it open, but it refused every time. Then an old man came by and pushed it open with one hand. I think he muttered something about kids these days as he passed by…I then walked away in shame as we moved on to the Freak Lunchbox to get our candy.

The thing about the Freak Lunchbox is that there are so many choices it can be overwhelming. Our biggest problem was that a lot of the candy they have is packaged to look retro, but we honestly had no idea what was and wasn’t authentic. All that aside, it’s a fun place to go with all the various treats and trinkets they sell.

Finally, we arrived home and popped in the classic John Travolta movie Grease. I had never seen it before so I was actually looking forward to watching the old musical. Although it didn’t end up in my top 10 list, it was enjoyable and suited the rest of our evening quite well.

Remember, the purpose of everything we write about is to spend time with another person and do some out of the ordinary things. Watching a movie at home may not seem very special, but when you give it a theme it gets a whole new life. It ends up being more than simply watching a movie. I had a lot of fun with retro movie night and I hope you give it a try. What are some of your favorite retro movies, candies, or restaurants? Let us know in the comments.

• Cost - under $10, depending on what you eat and your entertainment.

Nothing can really beat the true picnic experience, sitting out on the grass under the warm sunshine, but when it looks like monsoon season outside, an indoor picnic will do just fine. All that’s needed is a room big enough to spread a blanket out on, a blanket and pillows, your favorite picnic food,  a basket (cheaply obtained from the dollar store) and some form of entertainment (board game, movie, music, etc.).

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SHE SAID:

Since I couldn’t have a traditional picnic, I wanted to laugh in the face of all things wet and cloudy and kick this rainy day’s butt. I wanted to have the best indoor picnic EVER! So, I made my own sun and fluffy, non-rain filled clouds and hung them with fish line and tape above the blanket and pillows Brad set up on our living room floor. I bought a cute little basket from Dollarama that served as our picnic basket and filled it with sandwiches, bananas, and chocolate bars for dessert (also from Dollarama). I also picked up some President’s Choice Italian Soda I recently became obsessed with (the Blood Orange flavour is the best!).

I highly recommend doing something at your picnic, otherwise you’ll just be staring at the same four walls you’ve been staring at for the last 40 rain-filled days. We decided to play Scrabble, but it might also be fun to watch such a fitting old movie as Singing in the Rain. I can beat Brad any day at Word Twist, but Scrabble is another story, most likely because it involves strategy to win.

For those of you whose best Scrabble move has been a three-letter noun, I recommend a strategy I like to use from time to time called the “dignity keeper.” You look in the dictionary to “check” for a word, meanwhile scouring the pages for an actual word to save yourself from falling behind by fifty points. Yes, it’s slightly deceitful, but survival isn’t always pretty.

For the first few rounds I was hanging on and actually managed to get a couple of points ahead of Brad, until I accidentally set him up for a triple word score, and the rest is history.

HE SAID:

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do something you’re not convinced will be the most fun thing ever. This was one of those things. I can handle the idea of a regular outdoor picnic, but I wasn’t sure how this indoor picnic idea was going to turn out. I had visions of us sitting in the middle of an empty room, shoving tuna sandwiches into our mouthes in silence as we secretly plotted each others demise. Luckily it didn’t turn out quite that bad.

I enjoyed the fact that it was a simple way to do something new. It didn’t require a lot of preparation in order to have fun. So once the sandwiches were made, we just threw everything into a basket, laid a blanket on the living room floor, pulled out Scrabble from the closet, and we were off to the races.

On a side note, if you plan on making a meal even the teensiest bit more complicated than it has to be, make sure you aren’t so hungry during the preparation that you’re cranky. Lesson learned.

Playing Scrabble was the highlight of the indoor picnic for me. It’s one of my favorite board games, especially when I win…by a lot. We have the official Scrabble dictionary so that we can avoid any arguments over which words are allowed and which ones aren’t.

It may seem like a silly idea, but in the end it turned out to be a memorable experience and I’d say it’s definitely worth trying if you’ve never done it before.

Here are a few simple tips if you’d like to pull off a successful indoor picnic:

1. Don’t wait until you are hungry to start getting things together for you picnic

2. Have a board game, movie, or some other fun thing to do while you eat

3. Don’t worry about everything being perfect, just have fun and enjoy the process

4. If you have a room with a carpeted floor, for the love of all things good and holy, use it!

There’s a new ice-cream joint in town that takes the ice cream experience to a whole new level. The Cold Stone Creamery has made its way to select Tim Hortons locations in Bedford and Dartmouth.

SHE SAID:

We’ve been going through quite the heat wave here in the Maritimes, so when my sister told me about the Cold Stone Creamery the other day, we gunned it to Bedford. It was kind of weird for me walking into Tim Hortons and smelling waffle cones, but I quickly got over it when I saw the endless ice cream possibilities!

I found the options weren’t that obvious to me, so I’ll save you the trouble and explain. You can choose from one of their twenty Cold Stone Signature Creations or create your own custom creation by selecting your base ice cream and adding in the gazillion choices of mix ins, such as Snickers bars, almonds, brownies and chocolate chip cookie dough.

I decided on the Cookie Doughn’t You Want Some in a chocolate dipped waffle bowl. I’m really glad I went with the “Like it Size,” which is technically a small, but really the size of a small baby. Needless to say, I could not finish it.

I noticed on my way out that you can get ice cream cakes and cupcakes or your favorite flavour packed in a cute container to go if you find a flavour you love and just can’t get enough of. It might also be a great gift idea for your ice cream loving friends/wife (wink wink, Brad).

HE SAID:

When Susan told me we were going to this new place called the Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream I thought it sounded like fun. I wish I could say the experience lived up to the expectation.

First of all, I didn’t realize it was going to be in a Tim Hortons. Nothing against Tim Hortons, but I was picturing something more similar to the Cow’s Ice Cream places in PEI.

Secondly, I didn’t know what their ice cream making methods were ahead of time. For instance, I got what was called “All Lovin’ No Oven” which was supposed to be cake batter ice cream with fudge, cookie dough, and whipped topping. All good things, right? Well what I didn’t know is that they take all the ingredients and just mash them all together, kind of like they are kneading bread with ice cream scoops. This is a problem for me. A big problem. You see, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like it when the food on my plate touches. I don’t load my fork up with a bit of everything. I eat things one at a time. So when I saw them mashing up my ice cream I kind of panicked, but I wanted to try to be open to new things so I continued on.

What I ended up with was a huge pile of goo inside a massive waffle cone. It didn’t have the texture of ice cream at all. It was thick and weird, but the texture could have been because of the cake batter ice cream. And although some people would probably love the fact that the small is the size of a puppy, it was way too much for me.

So I can’t really recommend it based on my experience. I was expecting chunks of cookie dough and fudge with whipped topping on top like it has in the picture on the menu, but instead it was like they filled one of those cake icing bags and just squirted cookie dough, fudge, and whipped cream into the ice cream. I know my phobia of mixing food is a big factor in not enjoying the ice cream, so I would recommend you go take a look at what they offer. You may end up liking it and thinking I’m crazy.