Wife Wednesday: Date Night in a Jar Edition

I believe in date nights. I think they are essential for a healthy and happy marriage. Our goal has always been once a week, but as funds have tightened up, we aim for every other week. They are worth budgeting for. Date nights give you the chance to laugh and connect. Movies do not make for a good date night on a regular basis because you can't talk. Dates do not have to be expensive either, so stop making excuses!

As you may or may not have already picked up on, I am addicted to Pinterest. I haven't attempted a fraction of things I have pinned, but I have LOVED the ones I've tried! One pin I found from a friend was called "Date Night in a Jar".

Rob and I each got 10 popsicle sticks. On 5 sticks we each wrote super cheap or free date ideas. On the other 5 sticks, we wrote moderately priced dates that won't break the bank. For example, a free date is to drive the Colonial Parkway and walk around Colonial Williamsburg! Free, except for gas, and it's beautiful with built in time to talk. Above is our super sweet mason jar filled with date night ideas!

Courtney came over to babysit for us last Wednesday night, so we drew a stick a couple of days beforehand. (This allows us to plan for how long we'll be gone and our calorie intake!) We drew one of my sticks- "Hot Dog King and dessert at Applebees". Nothing but class, folks. Apparently Hot Dog King is a classic joint on the peninsula, but I've never been there. We've talked about going over the last 11 years, but never made it there. When writing the sticks, I thought it would be make for a fun night!

Sorry it's so blurry!

In our first year or two of marriage, we loved the Maple Butter Blondie dessert at Applebees. We hadn't eaten at Applebees in years, and I'm not sure what made me remember that dessert, but we were trying to get creative for some of them to get us out of the same old rut. You know, like Plaza or Sweet Frog!

It was such a fun night! It's not like we had high expectations for dinner, so our expectations were exceeded. Ha. I went with a hot dog with cheese and french fries. Rob got a foot long chili dog and onion rings. This seems to contradict my "Thinner Thursday" posts and goals, but we planned for it. The day before, the day of, and the day after had to be strategic and wise in our eating choices so we wouldn't bomb. I was even down .4 pounds the next morning.

Could that cheese look any cheaper? It was so good though!

This section of the night had three highlights. First, I hadn't had french fries in at least three weeks which is HUGE for me. They were tasty. Next, they had a jukebox, so I was thrilled when "Genie in a Bottle" came on by Christina Aguilera. Oldie but a goodie people. I can't help but sing along. Finally, Rob and I laughed a lot and really needed to unwind. It was awesome.

From here we headed to Costco for a side stop. I needed a few more rubbermaid tubs to fill up as well as some packing tape. We were a little bit sad there were no free samples out, but it's better that way for our calorie count.

Up next- Applebees. I don't think we have ever chosen to eat there. We don't really like it, and if we're going out there are about 30 other eateries we would choose. I'm pretty sure the last four times we've eaten there over the last ten years is because our friend Lindsey loves it. Our dessert of choice is a blondie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with maple butter on a hot skillet. Yum!

Dates are the best. This one cost us about $20.00 and was worth every penny. It's not just up to the men to plan the dates either. Make it a priority and get creative!

What's the best date you've been on? Any date suggestions for us?