So many of my favorite nights start with my husband at a dimly lit restaurant ordering an app and an iced tea (no lemon, duh). I adore holding hands as the theater dims from low lighting to pitch black and the first trailer starts. I dream about waking up early on Sunday to try out the new brunch spot in town. Going on dates with Blair is by far my favorite pastime.
And as we all know, traditional date nights have come to a screeching halt.
The adjustment to staying home together has been just that...an adjustment. We are working out our new routine and settling in to being both partners and coworkers. But I kept finding myself missing our date nights on the town. So I began to brainstorm ways to keep date night alive and well during the quarantine. Here are a couple of the ideas that have been a huge hit for us over the past couple of weeks:
Movie Night
Blair is a huge movie buff and he has been really missing catching the latest premieres. I decided that there was no reason we couldn't bring the movie experience home and even elevate it. We searched Amazon movies and wound up purchasing a film just out of theaters, Richard Jewell. Blair started assembling a bed out of the couch cushions and we created our own lounge area. It brought us back to building forts in the living room as kids!
Meanwhile, I put together a charcuterie board and some cocktails to make the evening a little classier. We cuddled and snacked and really enjoyed the movie. It will definitely be added to our regular date night rotation.
Sushi Making
We love sushi and since we can't go out to our favorite sushi joint, we decided to improvise. We went to the store and purchased all the specialty ingredients to create the rolls at home. We had so much fun coming up with ways to reinvent each of our favorite orders. Blair prefers nigiri and I love anything tempura'd, so we made both. The meal was delicious and we learned a new skill together. I would say that's a win!
Ordering In
Even though we can't go out to our favorite restaurants, we luckily can still order to go. We ordered from our favorite local restaurant, lit some candles and told Alexa to play some John Legend radio. It was almost like we were back in our favorite booth. We have plans to do the same thing as a picnic this week in the front yard and I can't wait!
Recreating our Favorite Vacation Meal
Blair and I took the trip of a lifetime to the Mediterranean two years ago. We traveled through Italy and Greece and fell madly in love with the culture, and of course, THE FOOD! While in Naples we had the most delectable arancini at this tiny cafe. We both are itching for our next vacation, so I figured I would bring a little bit of that trip back through our favorite meal. I stirred up some parmesan risotto and fried the arancini to golden perfection. Although we weren't in the piazza, it was a sweet way to create a mini-getaway in a meal and remind us of better days.
Spa Night
To set the stage, I lit all the candles in our house and found a spa music station on Pandora. We started by each lathering on an Aztec Clay Face mask. We sipped on gin and tonics as the masks hardened and took turns giving each other foot and hand massages. It was so relaxing, I nearly fell asleep. After the craziness of the past several weeks, it was the perfect way to unwind. If only I could convince Blair to give me a full mani/pedi, I would be all set!
We already have a mile long list of activities to do once this quarantine is over, but we are determined to make the best of this opportunity to slow down.
What are you doing with your partner to stay connected right now? No matter the state of the world, stealing some moments to spend with each other should always be on the agenda.