A Life In Review

One of my very favorite parts of marriage is the fact that I get to date my husband for the rest of my life. It means coming up with fun things to do each month and spending intentional time together.

Something that I haven’t share much on my blog itself is that I’ve been sick for a quite some time now. It makes dates really hard for me. We’ve had to get creative because there isn’t much I can eat and mealtimes are not fun for me. Because of that, you will find dates that are centered around food, but you will also find dates that have nothing to do with food (you can add it in if you want). I also understand that everyone has a different budget so there are dates for every budget listed.

Use these as a guide for opportunities to fall in love with your partner over and over again.

The Adventure Couple Book Date: This is something that we are trying this year. It’s a book that you buy and within some parameters you scratch off the “date” and it tells you what you’re going to do.

The Coin Date: Save up coins for a certain amount of time and then spend them on a date (however much you have saved).

The $40 Date: This was a blast when we did it. You take $40 and go to the store (we picked Target). You have to get a game, food and drinks all for $40 or less. I’ve seen people do it for less, but I wasn’t trying to make it stressful, so we did $40 and then went home to eat.

The Picnic Date: rain or shine, get a basket and make some food. Lay out a blanket somewhere and just spend intentional time together. Whether it’s on your living room floor or Central Park, just be content to live simply for a few hours.

The Game Night Date: Pick 2 – 3 games, set aside 3 hours to play them. You can do this around food, or it can be done after kids go to bed with a drink (of any kind). Just laugh and play. We usually throw music on in the background when we do this.

The Ice Cream Date: One of my favorite dates is when we go get ice cream. Sometimes we get it and come home, sometimes we drive around. Sometimes we take a walk. You set the rules, but pick your favorite ice cream.

The Dress the Other Date: Before going to dinner your job is to pick your partners outfit. You can make this as obnoxious and silly as you want or as beautiful and sexy as you want. Just take some pictures and laugh.

The Deli Date: Go to the deli and get a 1/4 lb of 10 different things, make sure that there are some things you haven’t tried before. Grab your favorite drinks and explore food together in a different way.

The $20 Book Date: Not going to lie, this is a dream for me. This can be a date around food or it can be in an in-between food date. Find a used book store (locally owned or something like a second and Charles). You each get $20 to spend. See how many books you can get with that. Find books you love, books you want or books you think you may want to read. Then come back together and show each other what you found. Talk about why you picked them. Actually listen to each other and the other persons interests.

The Breakfast in Bed Date: Twice in our marriage we’ve gotten room service and it was SO fun. It felt so luxurious. That is the feel that I want to re-create with this date. You will prepare all the fixins. Make the Belgian waffles and get the whipped cream. Get all the fruit and yogurt and orange juice and bacon and lay it all out on a platter. Eat the meal on nice plates in bed (you can get real plates from the dollar store did you know that?!). Wear pajamas, robes or just something comfy. We love breakfast for dinner so we would do this morning or night.

I have so many more date ideas, but I’ll save them for another post. I am so passionate about dating your partner. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been together, there’s still more you can learn. There’s still more fun to be had. You don’t have to be stuck in your routines all the time. Pick one day a month or a quarter (if you can’t swing a month) and celebrate your love.