Two Fun Date Nights to Have with Your Honey! :]

A month or two ago I bought a book titled "How to Date your Spouse" from Deseret Book. I haven't had a chance to read it all, but after reading some of the book and after looking at blogs like The Dating Divas and Love Actually I started to realize the importance of PLANNING weekly dates. Andrew and I never had a problem of finding places to "go out" to. It was the planning BEFORE hand and designating a for sure night to do something special that we were lacking in.

Because of this, every Friday night (unless certain circumstances exist) we switch off planning dates. It is the designated date planner's decision where we go, what we do, and whether or not they want to keep it a surprise or not from the other person. As of now we have to go on five dates before we can go to the same place again (as in restaurants) so we get a chance to try new places. In the future we will have more rules such as certain dates can only be $10 and so far, but for now we are just getting in the habit of going on weekly dates.

For Andrew's first date (8.6.10) he took me to Red Robin, then to King Putt Mini Golf, followed by Red Mango for dessert. We had never been to the Mini Golf place but it was SO fun.

Everything was glow in the dark, even the golf balls. I stunk at first, but after a few pointers from the husband I actually enjoyed myself and beat my hubby on a few holes.

We highly recommend going there. Also, we had heard about Red Mango from a few people on facebook, so we decided to go there since we were in the area. It's "healthy" ice cream and it was WAY good. I recommend going there as well. It was a way fun night overall and I'm greatful to have such an amazing husband.

For my date on 8.13.10, I decided to plan a fun/romantic spa night at home. Andrew had mentioned how he just needed a day to relax so I thought this would be perfect as long as I didn't make it "girly."

I made sure that he wouldn't come home all day (and luckily I had the day off). I straightened up the house, went grocery shopping, and came home to prepare for the date. I bought a TON of candles to set the mood and set those up first, then started cooking homemade pizza. I used the recipe from Cooking for Two, a book from Deseret Book and also used a Ceasar salad recipe found on Campbells.com. If your interested in either, let me know.

Anyways, Our house is sectioned off pretty well so I could have "stages" without him seeing everything that was going on all at once. In our front room I list some candles and set out some Sparkling Cider and glasses. I wanted him to get the feel that this was going to be a romantic evening. I also made sure to only light the candles for each room while in use so I wouldn't start a fire.

Next I had him go in the bathroom and shower since he hadn't had a chance to freshen up after working in the hot sun all day. Using advice from one of the blogs I read, I bought shower crayons (so fun!) to write a fun message in our bathroom to let him know what we would be doing. I also set out pajamas (I wanted robes but they were "out of season?" This actually may have been a good thing because we aren't really "robe" people so they wouldn't get used much.) for him to get changed in to after he was cleaned up.

I highly recommend buying the crayons if you are married; they are a fun and interesting way to add spice to a daily routine.

While Andrew was showering, I made sure that dinner was cooking smoothly and that it would be ready when he was done. I lit the candles for the living/dining area and set out the food.

The dinner was REALLY yummy and it was romantic to talk and eat in the candle light. After dinner, Andrew cleaned up for me while I lit the candles in our room. I DID buy stuff for facials but I don't recommend it if you have a "manly" husband. He didn't want to do facials so I didn't force it on him, and we just stuck to the massages. We made sure we both got 20 minute massages so it was fair and it was SO relaxing. We enjoyed the time spent together and recommend this idea to EVERYONE!

After our massages we ended the night with chocolate covered strawberries and brownies. We just wanted to focus on relaxing, picked a movie to watch, and fell asleep.

If you EVER need a night to relax I suggest planning your own "spa night." You can do more activities like facials and pedicures, or keep it simple like we did. I think the fact that I made dinner and dessert made it that much more special as well.

Do you have any dates to suggest?