Romantic Valentine Getaways

If you've been saving up for the perfect Valentine's Day gift for your significant other, maybe you can take advantage of a last-minute getaway that will shock your love by how much thought you put into things. Even if you have to take your trip later, that envelope with plane tickets are sure to thrill.

If you want to truly wow, here are some great ideas that will do that and give you the best romantic getaway on a budget.

Head to Paris

Yes, the City of Lights is also known as the most romantic city in the world. Being there, I can see why, but remember, anywhere you go with your SO can be romantic. Don't put pressure on the destination. Paris can be pretty affordable, especially if you book a cheap flight through budget airline Wow Air for late winter or Spring. Deals start as low as $149.99, depending on departure city. Once you're there, here's how to spend your time there without going broke. Don't forget a place to stay! While you could book a hotel, save a bundle by using Airbnb and get more room, free WiFi, a kitchen and possibly a washer/dryer, so you can pack light.

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Take a Cruise

A cruise can take you to some lovely destinations (usually more than one) and with all your food and entertainment included onboard, it can be an easy trip to plan. Anytime you can find a week-long cruise for under $500 a person, that's a pretty great deal. Sherman's Cruise has 6 great ones to choose from, including a 10-night South American cruise for only $499, if you can get away in early February. You can also cruise the Mediterranean, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

Washington, DC

There are so many free things to do in our Nation's Capitol. Not only that, but you can use the money you save to take a romantic dinner cruise along the river. Take your loved one to Copycat Co, a craft cocktail joint that has delicious drinks and cheap eats with a Northern Chinese taste. All bites are under $5. Want to know more things about how to save, here's a link to my blog post.

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Milwaukee

You may not think that Wisconsin has much going for it besides cheese, but it totally does. Plus, who doesn't like cheese. Even the lactose intolerant can't claim that. With Lake Michigan right there, there are plenty of lakefront dining options, which are always romantic, as well as walks along the river. If you like beer, take a brewery tour at Lakefront or Sprecher. With the city based on hard-working people who appreciate value, you will find plenty of affordable options for dining, entertainment and lodging. 

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Pittsburgh

With no more dominating steel mills to mar the city’s skyline, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a beautifully transformed town with bridges as far as the eye can see, traversing the three rivers that surround downtown. Sports lovers can enjoy a game of professional football (Steelers), baseball (Pirates) or hockey (Penguins), while art lovers have many museums to discover, including the Andy Warhol Museum. Rent a kayak for less than $20 to explore the Monongahela, Allegheny, or Ohio. The Strip District on a Saturday has a multitude of food options under $10.

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Providence, RI

New England is beautiful. There's no doubt about that, but while everyone else is headed to Boston, you could be hanging out seaside, taking in the picturesque landscape and eating lobster rolls. Providence is quite a great cultural destination with museum and galleries, with affordable boutique hotels. Head to Federal Hill to feel like you've gone to Italy. Did I mention food? Because there's tons of good food here, as well as shopping, to keep you full and laden with souvenirs from your trip. With it being such an amazing college town, you'll be able to take advantage of college prices, too!

Reno

I love Vegas, but you can't beat mountains, water and gambling. Unlike Vegas, Reno is lovely and you can bet against the house while you're still able to go hiking, skiing, and tons of other fun stuff. In Reno, head up the mountain to Virginia City, and old west town with actual saloons and wooden sidewalks. Because it's not nearly as tourist-heavy as Vegas, you can stay somewhere nice for around $100 per night. Rent a car and head 40 miles to Lake Tahoe for even more to do. Put on your walking shoes and head down to the castle, take a cruise around the lake or, in the snow, take a romantic horse-drawn sleigh ride. Reno is home to the prime rib all-you-can-eat buffet for under $9. If you are a lover of food, then that's a pretty romantic deal for you.

There you have it. Vacations that fit into everyone's budget and for every type of couple, no matter what you like to do together. If you want more, check out romantic getaways in every state and the most romantic destination in each state. And if you can't afford a full-on vacation, maybe opt for a staycation instead. You can totally make it amazing.

Do you have getaway plans for Valentine's Day or after?

Planning a Romantic Valentine's Staycation

Some of us either don’t have the money to take a romantic getaway or want to spend that extra cash that you could use for a larger vacation later. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to enjoy a Valentine’s Day that will impress and create lifetime memories. Believe it or not, some of the best things in life really are free or at least cheap. Show your significant other that you care by doing something a little out of the box and unexpected that won’t empty out your pockets.

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Have a Picnic

If you happen to live in an area of the country where winter has decided to give up, it’s pretty easy to find a nice little spot to take a meal to, or even throw a blanket down in your backyard. If, like us in the Northwest, you have cold and usually rainy weather, you have to be a little more creative. Push the living room furniture out of the way, light a fire or put on a yule log video (this is streaming year-round on Netflix) and toss a blanket and some throw pillows on the floor.

Some fun ideas for picnic foods:

• Salad in a glass, so you have individual portions and can personalize each salad easily.
• Caprese salad on a stick. These are delicious, simple and fun to eat.
• Lasagna is delicious, but messy. Make lasagna cupcakes. Bonus that you can feed them to each other!
• A great baguette or loaf of garlic bread. If you both eat it, it won’t be so unromantic to breathe on each other.
• Cheese, cracker, fruit and meat platter. It can be sexy to eat with your hands.
• Fruit! Grapes, apple slices and even chocolate covered strawberries.
• Pressed sandwiches that you can cut into bite-size slices.
• A nice (inexpensive) bottle of wine, sparkling juice or fruit water you can make yourself by infusing your favorite fruit in a pretty bottle or carafe of water. Here's a fun and fruity drink to whip up for the two of you as well.
• Hand pies or empanadas. Put whatever you want in them, from curry chicken to cheese and veggies. You can make them easier by using biscuits or croissants in a tube.
• Have a tea party with a selection of tiny bites: sandwiches, scones, sweets and all your other favorite things.

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Make Your Own Drive-In

We love movies. For one of my husband’s birthdays, I purchased a Roku projector and outdoor screen so we could watch movies in our yard. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on such a thing. In fact, you can turn your smartphone into a projector with a few items you probably have around your house. Use it inside with a sheet or do the same outside if it’s warm or you can snuggle up in the car and pretend you’re at a drive-in.

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Get It to Go

I am a big advocate for going out to dinner, but Valentine’s Day meals can be expensive and a lot of pressure. Get the experience you want by ordering a fancy dinner and bringing it home. You don’t have to dress up, you don’t have to see all those other couples and, if you get drunk, you don’t need to call a cab or an Uber. This is also nice, because you can skip paying for drinks and a big tip. (You'll want to dish everything out on real plates.) And if you want to make it extra special, here are 10 ways to set your table.

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Take a Drive

Sometimes it’s just nice to get out of the house. Pack a lunch and your camera, then jump in the car and drive around your city or to a nearby city or attraction (like a waterfall or historic district) and just take it all in. A nice little stroll along a romantic street or a riverbank can be relaxing and fun. Take photos of the two of you and your surroundings.

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Make S’mores

Got a firepit in your backyard (or not too afraid of flaming marshmallows in your fireplace)? Why not grab some sticks or fondue forks and spend a little time making an old favorite. Everyone likes a s’more, but you can also mix it up by using peanut butter, bananas or cookies. Feed each other your creations!

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Be a Kid Again

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about romance, as long as you enjoy yourself. Head to your local video arcade or laser tag arena and team up to beat the bad guys or rule a group of strangers at virtual war.

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Host Your Own Wine or Beer Tasting

You can do this as a couple or as a group. It’s quite a bit cheaper to purchase a selection of wine or beers and then try them out at home. You can break out your nice glasses and talk about the flavors and smells you detect. Not sure what to look for, there’s still time to order a book to help you through. Here’s one for beer and one for wine. Make sure you have some food to pair with it, because alcohol on an empty stomach is not a great idea. If you’d rather have an expert on-hand, lots of tasting rooms are open on Saturdays.

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Plan a Vacation

Not for Valentine’s Day, but for another time during the year. If you are planning to take a trip and you haven’t worked out the details yet, like we haven’t, this is a great time to sit down and find all the fun things you want to do, places you want to eat and visit and imagine all the fun you’ll have. If you don’t have a vacation planned, how about making a travel bucket list for the two of you (or your family). Post it somewhere you can see it every day so you have goals for your travel future. 

And if you need something to strive for, here are 6 ridiculously cheap cruises and tips on how to save when you think you don't have any money. Travel + Leisure even has 17 reasons to travel more and America's most romantic winter destinations.

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Critique Free Art

There are lots of places that have art and other kinds of museums that offer free admission. Maybe you have a park full of sculptures that you’ve never gone to before. Take your SO to view an art exhibit and talk about the art and your interpretations.

Do it for Less

I’m always going to tell you to use daily deal sites. Groupon, Living Social and others can save you at least 50% off dining out, experiences and spa services. Many times these won’t be valid on a holiday, but that just means you can use it before or after Valentine’s Day and use one of these other ideas. Look into spending the night elsewhere in your city, just for a change of scenery. Airbnb is a good resource and FlipKey has specials for as little as $48/night.

Want a little gift that means a lot? Check out these personalized bracelets from Soko. They're under $50 and 20% of each sale goes toward women's programming for artisans in Kenya.

You don’t have to spend a lot to have a great day with your loved one. Here are the 10 most budget cities in the U.S. Need more ideas? Check out my staycation Pinterest board.

What are some of your favorite free/cheap romantic activities?

Review: Flint Retractable Lint Roller

I don't know about you, but as a dog owner, I often have hair on just about everything I own, even if I can't see it on lighter clothing. This means even if I pack straight out of the dryer, I somehow still find dog hair on things in my travel bag. 

Last year, I started taking a lint roller with me, but the problem is they are sticky and you either have to pull off that first layer of tape before you can use it or pack it with lint and hair all over it and put it in a bag. Think Product Lab feels your pain and has created the perfect lint roller for travelers (and pretty much everyone else who keeps theirs in their junk drawer until they need it again). 

Flint is the fancy little lint roller that is self-contained until you need it, then you twist the bottom to open it, use it whatever you need, peel off the used sticky sheet, then retract it for when you need to use it again. I've used it a few times and I love it. I've already packed it for my next trip, where I'm not bringing too much, but made room for Flint.

It seems like the sticky sheets that come with Flint do a better job than other lint rollers I've used, but they don't peel off onto your clothing or furniture while you're trying to use it. Each roll comes with 30 sheets and, even though they're smaller than a traditional lint roll sheet, they pick up more and are easier to use. Usually, I have to roll back and forth 3 or 4 times to notice a difference, but Flint cut that in half, and only needed two swipes because I missed some hair on my first go. 

I have a rug in my guest bathroom that picks up hair like crazy. I can shake it out, but it still holds on to a lot. It's too thin to vacuum, so I use a lint roller to tidy it up. I've used 3-4 sheets to do an adequate job on it with a traditional roller, but Flint did half of it with just one. 

Bonus tip: Use your shoes as packing space. Flint fits right in there!

Keep it in your briefcase, your desk, your purse, your travel bag, you car. Anywhere you find you're in need of de-linting or de-hairing. The small size makes it perfect for everywhere you need it, plus it comes refills (and you can order more), so when you've used it up, you can just pop the empty cartridge off and pop a new one on. I don't even know if that's possible with your traditional roller. I usually just toss it in the recycling and buy a new one. Flint is going to save me a lot of money and I'll have a lot less waste. 

Check out one of my favorite cardigans. With a white dog, literally everything I own that's black is covered in hair in about two seconds, which is fine at home, but not great when I leave the house. I like people to know I have a dog, but not because they can see for themselves just by looking at me. So, this cardigan has enough hair to make a whole other dog on it. A few swipes and you can tell where I rolled and where I didn't. 

A photo posted by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Jan 1, 2017 at 3:07pm PST

I tolerate the hair, because look at this face!

Once you try Flint, you're going to want several and extra refills for back-up. Not only that, but it's cute, so you won't even feel weird carrying it around. Choose from a variety of colors. I love this bright orange, because there's no way I can lose it in my bag, but there are more classic colors, other brights, and even a whole metallic collection. Your Flint can be a stylish addition to wherever you choose to keep it, making it a little more fun to do some extra clothing maintenance. 

More details:

Where can I buy it? At MeetFlint online

How much is it? $7.99 (classic) | $9.99 (metallic) | $3.00 per 2-pack refills

What colors does it come in? Pink | Light Blue | Green | Navy | Yellow (shown) | Black | Silver | Slate Gray | Copper | Cool Mint | Gold | Rose Gold

Other specs: Paper is sourced from Japan, each refill comes with 30 sheets, refill cores are totally recyclable, to extend, just twist like lip balm!

Think Flint is awesome? Follow along with Think Product Lab on social media: 

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Are you ready to stop carrying your pets along with you on your clothing?

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Flint roller and refill for the purposes of this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.