I was almost on a roll with posting about our monthly date night, but alas, #life! This is a belated post from the beginning of the August that just never got published. You get to use your imagination for this one. Pretend it is the beginning of August at the end of VBS season for churches.
*Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Three things:
- This guy works all day and then is at church or doing church things a few evenings a week. (Most weekends lately too…i.e. elders retreat and then an all-day meeting today.)
- Even after a tiring week of aforementioned things for him and VBS (a few weeks ago) for me, a date night (even though the monthly one afforded us by our church was canceled), was a must!
- Dates don’t always have to be a night on the town every time (or ever, if that’s how you roll). Sometimes a throw-together meal^ at home is exactly what we need…plus some willing family members to hang out with kiddos (thanks, Len and Bonnie!).
Bonus thing:
Always have something fancy and sparkling available! Our fancy drink is always sparkling cider but I know the choices are plenty!
And there you have it! Sometimes we have dates LIKE THIS and sometimes we are more chill.
^This was for real a throw-together meal. Never come visit us toward the end of the week because we seriously clean out the fridge every week (as per item #7 in THIS POST from Clean Mama). I mentioned in THIS POST that I don’t do well with food and cooking, so you can imagine how much food can possibly go to waste if we buy in bulk or prep too far ahead. Also, this works for our family because we are a few minutes from the store if we ever need anything, but I digress…that may be another post for another day.
The Goodies
- Tomato Feta Salad – We didn’t have all the ingredients in the linked recipe since we used what we had – spinach but no onion.
- Crab Cakes and Lobster Cakes – We had crab/lobster cakes from the store but you can certainly use the recipes in the links if you, unlike us, are fancy.
- *Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider – You better believe we grab up a few bottles of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider in all the different flavors (I know, we’re party animals!) when it is on sale!
The Location – Home
Sometimes there really is no place like home, but especially on busy and tiring weeks.
Are you a home-date kinda person? What is a fun date you’ve been on?
Supplies + Other links (affiliate links included) and such:
- *6.75-Oz. Champagne Flute Glasses – I’m not sure if these are the exact glasses, but it is this brand that we got from Bed Bath and Beyond for our wedding cake table. They have certainly been well-used these 12+ years.
- Money-saving tip: We use a set of *white Corelle dishes but it can definitely add up when you buy many pieces, even from Walmart! A friend was selling a whole lot at a low price on the local buy/sell Facebook group I started so I snagged them. It was such a great deal. If you are looking for ways to save money (for a nice date 😉 ), those groups are a great place to start. (I don’t have experience with FB Marketplace just the FB groups.)
- Marriage tip: With the busy rhythm of work and family life, it can be hard to squeeze in some couple time, but we have been lucky to have our church offer dinner and childcare for the kiddos once a month so we can have a date night. It’s so important to have this time together. I’ve heard so many times that the home sometimes becomes like a workplace because we are scheduling activities and working through those checklists and bills. We’ve had seasons when we couldn’t get out of the house often, but there are definitely ways to connect like those dating years…okay, maybe not exactly, but our family will definitely benefit from us putting our marriage as a priority.
Sidenote: The 52 Dates for Two pack from The Dating Divas was part of one of the Ultimate Homemaking Bundles I bought, so we are using some of the ideas to plan our dates. I’ll try to share as much as I can about the resources that come with the bundles, because I think, even if you don’t use all of the ebooks and/or courses in the bundles, they are such a great resource. If you are interested in the topic of healthy living, make sure to sign up to be notified when it is available to purchase. Sign up to be notified of the *Healthy Living bundle HERE. OR if you are a blogger or know lots of people interested in the topic, you can even sign up to be an affiliate and you can make a percentage when others purchase from them. *Sign up to be an affiliate HERE.
*Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a tiny percentage if you make a purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here.