A no cost anniversary gift, a non crafty wife

Yesterday I celebrated 14 years of being married to my fantastic husband. Woohoo!

(Oh it is amazing how fast time goes!) 

Since we had enjoyed a vacation in Puerto Rico to celebrate my dear friend's wedding less than a month ago- we decided not to spend money on gifts. So, I struggled to embrace my non-crafty, non-creative self and tried to think of a great gift, that cost no money.

I knew that the "jar full of reasons I love you" or the "letter to open every time you feel a certain way" type of romantic mushy gift, wouldn't do. My sweet husband is wonderful, but mushy romance stuff is not really his thing. I, on the other hand would love a jar full of reasons he loves me. :)

 I decided to help him reach our future dreams with a binder. A binder full of information on how we can move to New Zealand, two years from now.

In January this year my husband said, "In two years I think we should move to New Zealand for a few months and do something different in our lives." We have owned a small car dealership for about 11 years, and being a small business owner means that life is often consumed with the business. Also, this career choice does not lend itself well to moving across world.

So, I thought a binder with all the information we need to actually take a step in that direction would be a fun way to get closer to making our dreams a reality. I filled it with quotes like,

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 
I'm with you kid. Let's go." -Maya Angelou

I researched all of our passport and visa information and picked up applications.  I Looked up blogs from others that have lived in New Zealand and printed off their stories.  I researched ways to delegate in small business and put in information about running your business from afar.  I also made a spreadsheet comparing costs of what it would take to live there 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year.  (so romantic, I know!)

I was really excited after I put it together.  It feels like this dream could become a reality with the first steps taken.  I think Sonny really liked it too.  As a bonus, we got to talk about our dreams and future all through dinner as we went through the binder.  It was really fun for me, and cheap!!