There is something beautiful about being poor and in love. Something so nostalgic and old fashioned. But unfortunately sometimes it takes awhile to accept the blessings of it.
In planning for our first wedding anniversary, looking over finances, dreaming of a lovely vacation, we realized we were not as secure in our finances as we thought. Even by being frugal we found ourselves falling behind this month. Though it was good that we figured this out now instead of later, it was disappointing to find we could not have the dream anniversary trip we were hoping for. 
So as we jump started this season of serious no spending, I was determined to find ways to still enjoy the weekend without the luxury of money. It started with a scratch cake and a homemade card…
My secret to wonderful layered cakes? Chocolate chip surprise in the center!
I used up all of my leftover frosting in the layer of the cake and needed some scratch frosting for the top of our “wedding cupcake.” I found a recipe for buttercream, but used up the last of the butter in something else, so had to revert to margarine. I have never made buttercream before. Butter and sugar? Really? I was going to be sick. Anyways, it ended up tasting fine, but as you can see, does not hold the same texture… 
And well…it only got worse…
I wanted to cry that I could not just go out and buy a can of frosting for a dollar. And I am sure it would have been fine if I did. But it was the moment…accepting to use what we had and having to be okay with it. My dear husband still ate it with joy…and I was thankful for a husband who works hard, pays the bills, and is willing to live a frugal life with me…even margarine-cream and all.
Besides the cake, the weekend did not turn out to be a total disaster. We went just up the street to Sailor Bar, which is a local access to the river, for a picnic lunch…
Nothing special, just playing in the water…
And a small hike in and out of the water…
The next day we went to the pumpkin patch also near our home. We packed another picnic lunch…taquitos and pears…
And we made the most of a beautiful sunny fall day…
To make up for the cake, I had some leftover sugar cookie dough from the baby shower, that I baked for our picnic…
We frolicked with the pumpkins…and even refrained from bringing one home…
We ended the weekend with a dinner out using a gift card for a restaurant we still had from Christmas…
Anniversary Weekend Total:
$5 Subway english muffin sandwich breakfast (he insisted on buying me breakfast, and I am not a big breakfast fan as you can see)
$1 soft pretzel from Sam’s Club
$15 to cover the rest of our bill not covered by the gift card at Olive Garden
Grand Total: $21
In reality, this was not a normal weekend. We wanted the world but couldn’t afford it. We had expectations. People told us, “this is your first anniversary, you have to do something big.” And we couldn’t. But, it was the celebration of the year together. The joy we have by being married. The day to day life we live together and how fun it is. And so no matter how we celebrated, it was about the time together…not what we did, what we ate, or what we could afford. It was about us. And you can’t put money on that. A humbling time we are in. But I am beginning to see how much of a blessing it is as well.
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We were able to scrounge some extra $$ and take a last minute weekend getaway…I will share about that tomorrow.
Tell me about your tight financial seasons…
