About Project NEW-lyweds
To view a listing of of past projects sorted by category, click here.
What is the concept behind ” Project NEW-lyweds”?
We came up with Project NEW-lyweds in an effort to make our first year as a married couple as legendary as possible. We will be following this simple concept: try something new every day, and do it together. We’ll be photographing, videotaping, and/or writing about our new experiences, and blogging about it all.
What qualifies as something “new”?
It can be something as little as trying a new restaurant or card game, to as big as rock climbing, getting a tattoo, or traveling to a new city/country. As long as we haven’t done it together. Anything is possible, the sky is the limit!
How do you come up with new ideas?
About a month before the wedding Joe and I started our own lists of ideas, and we plan to be as 50/50 as possible with the planning and executing those ideas. A lot of the ideas are inspired by food, Pittsburgh, and fitness.
You know the whole “try something new every day for a year” concept has been done already, right?
Yes, we know. But as far as we can tell it’s never been done with the “newlywed” twist. We’re adding the element of being freshly married and having to coordinate 2 peoples schedules and ideas. There will be lots of surprising each other, lots of difference of opinion, and the added intrigue of how this is affecting our relationship.
Why are you doing this?
Since we’ve already been together for over 7 years, entering into our first year of marriage could easily be just like every other year for us. We want to start our first year as married couple with a bang to set the tone for the rest of our lives. Instead of simply trying to “survive” as newlyweds, we want to thrive, grow, make memories, and LIVE as purposefully as possible.
Just like most couples that have been together a long time, we know each other quite well. But how often do couples continue to evolve in their knowledge of each other and grow and learn? That’s what we’re trying to do – put ourselves into unfamiliar, uncharted territory every day and see what we can learn about ourselves and each other. It’s easy to stay in the same, comfortable place with a regular routine.
I have an idea for something you two can try, can I suggest it?
Absolutely! We’re going to need all the help we can get to fill 365 days, so any suggestions would be much appreciated. Shoot us an email at : joeandbetsy.com@gmail.com
What about all the old stuff you used to blog about? Food, the cats, photography?
We’re not dropping the “Joe & Betsy” brand entirely, not at all. There will still be plenty of room to share the other things that are going on in our lives, our kitchen, and our city.
Project NEW-lyweds started on Sunday December 20th, 2009.
Day One: Wake up in a Bed & Breakfast
Day Two: Try two new restaurants in the Adirondacks (on our honeymoon)
Day Three: Go sledding
Day Four: Go cross country skiing
Day Five: Eat the feast of seven fishes on Christmas Eve
Day Six: Change up our Christmas traditions and do a day of progressive visits
Day Seven: Celebrate our own Christmas a day late back in Pittsburgh
Day Eight: Take a compatibility test
Day Nine: Move our bedroom to a different room in our apartment
Day Ten: Visit the zoo in the bleak mid-winter
Day Eleven: Indian Dinner
Day Twelve: Retro New Year’s Eve Fondue Night
Day Thirteen: Southern New Year’s Day Meal
Day Fourteen: Winter beach walk, driving Don Corleone’s beemer
Day Fifteen: Candlelight silhouettes
Day Sixteen: Creative writing exercise: Finish the phrases
Day Seventeen: Speed puzzling – 500 piece puzzle in one day
Day Eighteen: Tea class & tasting
Day Nineteen: Color chromatography experiement
Day Twenty: Partner yoga class
Day Twenty One: Make our own chicken wings
Day Twenty Two: Organ recital at Heinz Chapel
Day Twenty Three: Trio of childhood desserts
Day Twenty Four: Custom crossword puzzles – by each other, for each other
Day Twenty Five: Swim in an indoor pool (in January)
Day Twenty Six: Exploring the mysterious bag of goodies inside a chicken
Day Twenty Seven: Make a 10 deck card snake and destroy it
Day Twenty Eight: Monster mini golf
Day Twenty Nine: Dessert at Gullifty’s
Day Thirty: Creative writing, poetry sampler
Day Thirty One: Watch the sunrise from our roof
Day Thirty Two: Make origami animals
Day Thirty Three: Make tiramisu from scratch
Day Thirty Four: Rollerskating at Romp ‘N Roll
Day Thirty Five: Walk the Three Rivers Heritage Trail
Day Thirty Six: See A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Day Thirty Seven: Illustrate everything we ate
Day Thirty Eight: Go out to breakfast on a weekday before work & class
Day Thirty Nine: Make balloon animals
Day Forty: Dinner at Round Corner Cantina
Day Forty One: Learn a new card game, Scottish Whist
Day Forty Two: Attend PirateFest 2010
Day Forty Three: Cooking class at the new Market District in Robinson
Day Forty Four: Polish our silver with 3 methods
Day Forty Five: Make paper snowflakes
Day Forty Six: See a foreign film at the Regent Square Theater
Day Forty Seven: Make cheesecake from scratch
Day Forty Eight: Make homemade play dough
Day Forty Nine: Build a snowman
Day Fifty: Tag cloud word search
Day Fifty One: Egg carton crafts
Day Fifty Two: Amateur palm reading
Day Fifty Three: Make doughnuts from scratch
Day Fifty Four: Eat ice cream cones in the snow
Day Fifty Five: New restaurant, Pusadee’s Garden
Day Fifty Six: Sew a wall hanging mail organizer
Day Fifty Seven: Papier-mâché Heart Shaped Memory Bank
Day Fifty Eight: Make King Cakes
Day Fifty Nine: Make pancakes for Pancake Day
Day Sixty: Attend a University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Concert
Day Sixty One: Creative writing exercise, character development
Day Sixty Two: Go to Bar 11
Day Sixty Three: New board game, Blokus
Day Sixty Four: Paper bag booklet
Day Sixty Five: Watercolor fireworks
Day Sixty Six: Make homemade taffy
Day Sixty Seven: Do our taxes together
Day Sixty Eight: Get ice cream at Mineo’s
Day Sixty Nine: Attend the Barrister’s Ball
Day Seventy: New theater/new movie, Pittsburgh Pretzel Shop
Day Seventy One: Play Stratego
Day Seventy Two: Pen & paper games
Day Seventy Three: Build a fort in our living room
Day Seventy Four: Play Would You Rather
Day Seventy Five: Go to the hookah bar
Day Seventy Six: Go to Hot Franks in the Strip
Day Seventy Seven: Road Trip Day 1
Day Seventy Eight: Road Trip Day 2
Day Seventy Nine: Road Trip Day 3
Day Eighty: Road Trip Day 4
Day Eighty One: Road Trip Day 5
Day Eighty Two: Road Trip Day 6
Day Eight Three: Road Trip Day 7
Day Eighty Four: Road Trip Day 8
Day Eighty Five: Eat crickets
Day Eighty Six: Coloring our way across the U.S.A.
Day Eighty Seven: Juggle lemons
Day Eighty Eight: Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Corned Beef, Cabbage & Potatoes
Day Eighty Nine: Visit Allegro Hearth Bakery
Day Ninety: Visit Silky’s Pub
Day Ninety One: Walk the trails at Riverview Park
Day Ninety Two: Attend the Orchid Society of Western PA’s Orchid Show
Day Ninety Three: Make miniature totem poles
Day Ninety Four: Free Cone Day!
Day Ninety Five: Attend talk & screening of “Fresh, the movie”
Day Ninety Six: Make savory waffles
Day Ninety Seven: Fried fish dinner during Lent
Day Ninety Eight: Lunch at Dozen downtown
Day Ninety Nine: Make hot cross buns
Day One Hundred: Make a stop action animation
Day One Hundred and One: New card game: Crazy Eights
Day One Hundred and Two: Solar prints
Day One Hundred and Three: Make Sangria
Day One Hundred and Four: Ride on a motorcycle
Day One Hundred and Five: Pizza at Rico’s (Horseheads, NY)
Day One Hundred and Six: Dye Easter eggs
Day One Hundred and Seven: Attend Pirate’s Opening Day
Day One Hundred and Eight: Make calzones
Day One Hundred and Nine: Try Yo Rita in the Southside
Day One Hundred and Ten: Make our own beeswax candles
Day One Hundred and Eleven: Try RazzyFresh in Squirrel Hill
Day One Hundred and Twelve: Visit the Lawrenceville Little Flea
Day One Hundred and Thirteen: Press flowers
Day One Hundred and Fourteen: Fingerprint doodles
Day One Hundred and Fifteen: Try Tazzo D’Oro in Highland Park
Day One Hundred and Sixteen: New board game, Sorry
Day One Hundred and Seventeen: Go to the CMU Carnival
Day One Hundred and Eighteen: Attend “Day After Tax Day Happy Hour” at Right by Nature
Day One Hundred and Nineteen: Lawrenceville Blossoms Tour
Day One Hundred and Twenty: Opening of Pittsburgh Flea
Day One Hundred and Twenty One: Make & fly paper airplanes
Day One Hundred and Twenty Two: Wine Tasting at Sirani Gallery
Day One Hundred and Twenty Three: Play basketball
Day One Hundred and Twenty Four: New card game, Set
Day One Hundred and Twenty Five: “Creme Brulee” at The Sharp Edge
Day One Hundred and Twenty Six: Moving into our new apartment
Day One Hundred and Twenty Seven: Make paper flowers
Day One Hundred and Twenty Eight: Desserts from Paddy Cake Bakery
Day One Hundred and Twenty Nine: Fly a kite
Day One Hundred and Thirty: Make steamed artichokes
Day One Hundred and Thirty One & Thirty Two: Step 1 & 2 of raising Sea-Monkeys
Day One Hundred and Thirty Three: Drinks at Té Café
Day One Hundred and Thirty Four: Pressed flower crafts
Day One Hundred and Thirty Five: Bike around the city
Day One Hundred and Thirty Six: New board game, Hollywood Dominoes
Day One Hundred and Thirty Seven: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a Mexican inspired meal
Day One Hundred and Thirty Eight: Shaved ice at Highland Park
Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine: Young Frankenstein at the Benedum
Day One Hundred and Forty: Baked goods from Food Glorious Food in Highland Park
*This is when I stopped recapping each activity day by day. We are still doing new activities every day, but sharing them more randomly and keeping some private.
Reflections:
Hmmm, I LOVE this! I’ve been with The Hubs for almost 12 years now (married for 8…or something) and I want to do this to give us a little kick in the pants. And finding your blog just reminded me that it was our wedding anniversary 8 days ago. Oopsie.
i just found your blog as a recommendation from Jessica at How Sweet Eats…and I LOVE it! you guys seem really honest and down to earth, PLUS you’ve got it right with doing something TOGETHER every day that you can. i’ve only been married for 3 years, but the times that things are at their best is when we’ve done something together
can’t wait to read more about more of your adventures!
such an amazing idea! cherishing each day together in a new, special way!
love this. you guys are great. and seem like your first year is amazing! love the photos too.