Gift Ideas

DC Ballroom Dancing

DC ballroom dance Last May, my husband gave me my most favorite present ever. Three private ballroom dance lessons.

You see, I used to dance. A lot. I started taking classes in third grade and basically never stopped. I started with jazz, moved on to modern, tackled tap in high school (after seeing Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk), and hip hop in college. But I never did ballroom. My husband on the other hand, took ballroom classes as a kid (which, by the way, is why my mother-in-law is awesome and raised two great men).

Anyway, fast forward a million years and he gave me a gift certificate on my birthday and I cried from happiness (seriously). Then life intervened and we never got off our butts to schedule the classes. Fast forward another ten months, and we finally did. I dug my old character shoes out of the closet and we had our first class three weeks ago, and the second a week after. I really didn't know what to expect - but it was fantastic!

My husband got the classes from a small studio called All2Dance - located right on MacArthur Blvd (really convenient location, by the way). This studio offers private lessons as well as group lessons and a ton of other options.

It's a husband and wife team (we've been working with the husband only, so I can't speak directly about Ann but she seems great), and Victor is fantastic. As someone who has worked with a variety of teachers, he's really awesome. He teaches very important technique in an easy, light atmosphere. He's fun but also is actually teaching you (something I really appreciated - I'm all for having fun, but at the end of the day, I want to walk away having actually picked up some real skills). I'd highly recommend him to any couples looking to put together a special first dance for their wedding, or just get some basics so they feel comfortable on the dance floor. We started with a fairly easy style, the Sway. And we love it.

Now we just need to know where to go practice in the DC area! Any recommendations?

Anniversary Gifts

  My wedding anniversary is coming up tomorrow (yay!) and this past weekend we threw a surprise party for my in-laws' 40th anniversary (wrap up on that to come later this week). All these anniversaries have got me thinking about anniversary gift ideas. Last year I had the poem my sister wrote and read during her maid-of-honor speech custom designed into a poster for our home (by the amazing Alfie Cooper - checka check them out). I love walking past it and being reminded of that day - and what our relationship is all about.

This is not a new idea, by any means.  But I think it's a great (fairly inexpensive) gift idea that has emotional significance while also looking pretty dang awesome and adding some style to your home. I had fun finding other options around the internets. Enjoy!