I am giddy with excitement about planning Valentine's Day for my husband. Now I normally despise the over commercialized holiday. The cards, the hearts, the chemical tasting chocolate crammed into red shimmery boxes. I can't stand any of it. I don't want a man to buy a five dollar Hallmark card to tell me he loves me or roses that have been raised over double their normal price.
Yet, this year, I am over the moon excited with planning. Trae and I haven't had time for the two of us in awhile, so we have decided to take time off from the world and celebrate the holiday of love. We use to have a monthly date night. McGee's Irish Pub in Anderson, SC had theme nights for 30 bucks a person. The dinners included three to four courses, drinks and entertainment. The food was always wonderful. Most of the time an improv group put on some very funny murder mysteries, but we have also seen a Celtic band and had Titanic themed music with trivia. A lot of the dinners encouraged diners to dress the part, which appealed to me very much!! After each night was over, we would put down our deposit for the next month's dinner. Then we moved, and our mandatory dates stopped.
The dates acted as monthly services to the marriage, sort of like how a car has tune ups. We would go out and let go for one night. Now, we don't have marriage problems, but without maintenance things don't last. Sadly, since we have moved, we have really gotten out of the habit of going on dates. We have had pressures of job interviews, GRE test taking, family illness, unpacking, etc.
Also, we got lazy. McGee's was the perfect answer. Pay, eat, enjoy, leave. Each date was planned for us, and we didn't have to go in search of fun. Now we have moved, and nowhere around here does themed dinners like McGee's. We enjoy looking and finding new places, but motivating ourselves on the weekend can be hard. We became passholders at the Biltmore Estate to encourage us to get out more, and we do have a lot of great fun things to do around the area. We just haven't. I think this date I am planning with restart our desire to do our once a month dates.
I truly think what I have planned for him is just what we need! Note, I am not excited about what Trae is doing for me, but instead, what I can do for him. I know this might seem odd to point out, but having time to plan a date and decorate for it is a present for myself. I don't like how during this holiday the stereotype is that all women want shiny things in jewelry boxes and men just have to listen to the ch-ching of the register. I receive a lot of happiness planning and doing things for others, especially when it is a surprise!!
But Carrie, you are blogging about it?!?!?! How will it be a surprise? Hakuna Matata. He knows I am planning a surprise at home date. If I didn't tell him, the night might be taken away with "life-stuff" getting in the way. Therefore, he has been told "Saturday night is our night. No questions allowed."
A lot of my inspiration has come from the creative ladies at Dating Divas. This website has a lot of fun and cheesy ideas for dates, and I took the foundation of some of their ideas and have come up with a great stay at home date for the two of us. One of my favorite idea of theirs is the activity jar for two. I've been collecting flyers for places near us, so I think I will use those to create my activity jar. The bulk of my inspiration has come from their movie-themed dates. (I am longing to order wishing lanterns like the ones from Tangled. Thanks to Dating Divas, I now know they exist and aren't expensive!!) My exact date assure cannot be found on this website, but inspiration sure can be on Dating Divas for anyone who is looking for fun and unique at a non-expensive price!
So, to give you hints on a post I cannot wait to write, I will give you a few things that we make an appearance on Saturday for this date:
-a sand bucket
-two large plastic cups
-straws
-a unique picture frame
-homemade pizza
-cheesy theme
-food to go along with cheesy theme
If Trae reads this, then I can say no more. I can just leave Trae and you with the anticipation of what is to come!
 |
| From: Operation t-shirt |
Yet, this year, I am over the moon excited with planning. Trae and I haven't had time for the two of us in awhile, so we have decided to take time off from the world and celebrate the holiday of love. We use to have a monthly date night. McGee's Irish Pub in Anderson, SC had theme nights for 30 bucks a person. The dinners included three to four courses, drinks and entertainment. The food was always wonderful. Most of the time an improv group put on some very funny murder mysteries, but we have also seen a Celtic band and had Titanic themed music with trivia. A lot of the dinners encouraged diners to dress the part, which appealed to me very much!! After each night was over, we would put down our deposit for the next month's dinner. Then we moved, and our mandatory dates stopped.
 | |
| Our last Irish McGee's dinner...a Roaring 20s Murder! Side note: We went on this date the night before we moved! |
Also, we got lazy. McGee's was the perfect answer. Pay, eat, enjoy, leave. Each date was planned for us, and we didn't have to go in search of fun. Now we have moved, and nowhere around here does themed dinners like McGee's. We enjoy looking and finding new places, but motivating ourselves on the weekend can be hard. We became passholders at the Biltmore Estate to encourage us to get out more, and we do have a lot of great fun things to do around the area. We just haven't. I think this date I am planning with restart our desire to do our once a month dates.
I truly think what I have planned for him is just what we need! Note, I am not excited about what Trae is doing for me, but instead, what I can do for him. I know this might seem odd to point out, but having time to plan a date and decorate for it is a present for myself. I don't like how during this holiday the stereotype is that all women want shiny things in jewelry boxes and men just have to listen to the ch-ching of the register. I receive a lot of happiness planning and doing things for others, especially when it is a surprise!!
But Carrie, you are blogging about it?!?!?! How will it be a surprise? Hakuna Matata. He knows I am planning a surprise at home date. If I didn't tell him, the night might be taken away with "life-stuff" getting in the way. Therefore, he has been told "Saturday night is our night. No questions allowed."
A lot of my inspiration has come from the creative ladies at Dating Divas. This website has a lot of fun and cheesy ideas for dates, and I took the foundation of some of their ideas and have come up with a great stay at home date for the two of us. One of my favorite idea of theirs is the activity jar for two. I've been collecting flyers for places near us, so I think I will use those to create my activity jar. The bulk of my inspiration has come from their movie-themed dates. (I am longing to order wishing lanterns like the ones from Tangled. Thanks to Dating Divas, I now know they exist and aren't expensive!!) My exact date assure cannot be found on this website, but inspiration sure can be on Dating Divas for anyone who is looking for fun and unique at a non-expensive price!
So, to give you hints on a post I cannot wait to write, I will give you a few things that we make an appearance on Saturday for this date:
-a sand bucket
-two large plastic cups
-straws
-a unique picture frame
-homemade pizza
-cheesy theme
-food to go along with cheesy theme
If Trae reads this, then I can say no more. I can just leave Trae and you with the anticipation of what is to come!
 |
| Could this photo be a hint?? Hmmm...who knows! |
No comments:
Post a Comment