The Gate River Run is a Jacksonville 15k that I've been hoping to do for years! I was so excited to check this race off my bucket list this past weekend. It had a HUGE turnout and truly a unique course. Challenging to say the least. The last mile includes a very steep bridge over the St Johns River. It just about killed me!
Considering I sprained my ankle in October, to feel ready for this race was a miracle! Of course, what made it the most special was that we had several friends and family sign up to run too.
I'm dabbling in Tik Tok, so this was a short video I made on race day!
If you've been reading for any length of time, you probably know I make a big deal out of anniversaries! Years pass no matter what, but anniversaries aren't guaranteed, and I think that's worth celebrating. Blake and I are celebrating 12 years this year!! I can hardly believe it. 12 years is a long time, but it's really flown by. Just a drop in the bucket of forever though!
We went big for 10 years and did an epic trip, but the pandemic sort of made last year less exciting. For our 12th, I wanted to do something different and go a bit bigger. Usually we do smaller gifts, or a trip - but I decided I wanted to do 12 days of gifts for 12 years. Not every gift had to be huge, but I thought all together it would make a big impact.
Day 1 - Tickets to a Local Concert
FSU puts on an incredible symphony each year called the Prism concert. I went a lot in school, because we got cheap tickets. But, haven't been since. I knew Blake would love this experience, so I got tickets for his first present.
Day 2 - Leather Can Cooler and Beer
This can cooler was so cool, and I felt like Blake would love it. It's got his initials engraved and it comes with a bottle opener. Had to pair it with some yummy local beer too!
Day 3 - Golf Glove
Blake and I love to golf, although we haven't been able to play as much as we'd like to. Last time we went, I noticed his glove had gotten pretty beat up, so I wanted to get him a fresh one. This gift came with golf lessons! A friend recommended a great instructor at a local course, so I'm setting Blake up with some lessons as well.
Day 4 - Bombas Socks
Normally, he wears Feetures socks, but I had heard so many great things about Bombas I thought I'd get him a set. Super impressed with the softness and construction! These are pricey for sure, but I was able to use a 25% off coupon. He ended up really liking these, but not for running. But, I think he's worn a pair every day to work since he got them.
Day 5 - Sheath Underwear
All I know is that this underwear has a cult following. Blake is obsessed with it, and I knew he'd appreciate a few more pairs.
Day 6 - Workout Clothes
My husband is extremely picky about workout clothes. He specifically mentioned wanting some new shorts that had a zipper pocket for his phone, but the pocket couldn't be in a weird place....haha! We both looked high and low for decent shorts, and I ended up finding a really great pair at Fabletics. (I didn't even know they had men's stuff!) I had discontinued my membership with Fabletics, so they were throwing a 70% discount (!!) to re join. Gladly. I ordered some stuff for myself and 4 pairs of shorts for him. He got 2 already, but I snuck the other two pairs into my pile of gifts to surprise him with later.
(I don't think I need new workout clothes every single month, but I will tell you I have loved every single piece I've gotten from Fabletics! They always always have a good deal going.)
Day 7 - L L Bean Vest
Blake lost quite bit of weight in the last year or so, and unfortunately that meant several of his favorite clothing items don't fit anymore. One of those things was a vest. I picked up a new one for him in hunter green and I know he will get a lot of use out of it!
Day 8 - Tie Set
Again, after losing weight, he's had to have all of his suits tailored recently. I was eyeing the ties while I waited for him in the dressing room at Jos A Bank. We wear dress clothes a lot normally, but with the pandemic, I noticed he has been wearing the same few things all the time (I'm guilty here too!). I thought he might appreciate something new to choose from. Specifically, I fell in love with this tie! He loved it too! They were buy one, get one free at the time, so he also got a striped orange and blue tie.
Day 9 - L L Bean Slippers
This was a gimme, because he literally said out loud he wanted these. He's had a pair from Amazon maybe for the last few years and they've done their duty. It was time for an upgrade! The LL Bean Wicked Good slippers are famous for a reason! It was actually really difficult to keep this gift a secret, because in between ordering them and gifting them, Blake's original slipper got so worn that a hole appeared in the sole.
Day 10 - Bourbon Gift Set
Blake loves bourbon, and we even watched a good documentary about it recently. In the documentary Buffalo Trace distillery was mentioned, and he said how much he liked their bourbon. So, I went on their website and ordered a bunch of goodies! I got an ice cube tray, some bitters, and an old fashioned mixer. I figured I could just grab a bottle of the bourbon here locally so I didn't have to risk shipping it.
Day 11 - Bourbon
And that's what I did. I found a really special bottle of Woodford Reserve Bourbon at Costco and knew he'd love it. The day before I gave this to him, he picked up a bottle of bourbon on his own from a local distillery, so now we have enough bourbon for a while!
Day 12 - A Cameo!
I have been bursting to give this to him for weeks! Cameo.com has a huge selection of celebrities and personalities that you can have make special messages for your recipient. Choosing a celebrity was the hardest part! Blake is a huge Star Trek fan. In fact, during our first year of marriage we watched the entire boxed set of The Next Generation. It's actually a really sweet memory, because, we had no money and just watching an episode together each night really bonded us in those early days. There were several TNG actors to choose from, and I really wanted to splurge for his very favorite - but I had already spent so much money on the previous gifts LOL. I went with Gates McFadden who played Dr. Crusher on TNG and I knew he'd flip. (They are all a lot older now than they were in the 80s/90s, obviously, so I especially liked that she is still very recognizable.)
In Cameo, you have the opportunity to give some details to the celebrity about what you want them to say, and I was just thrilled with how she used everything I wrote for an extremely personalized and sweet message!
So, did I go a little crazy this year? Maybe! But, it was so fun to spoil him, and he loved everything! Having all the gifts set up for almost 2 weeks made our anniversary feel like we were celebrating all month!
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-Kristen
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