OK…now on to other things….
Craig and I are polar opposites in many ways. He’s SUPER opinionated and argumentative. I’m pretty neutral about most things and a total peace maker. I hate bargaining with people. Craig gets the biggest thrill out of it. Craig is competitive…at everything…even board games. I could care less and rarely ever win at any game.
While we are very different, we are very similar in a lot of areas as well….including the way we like to spend our free time. We’re both total homebodies. I love getting fancied up and going out from time to time, but for the most part I’d rather be at home on a Friday night curled up on the couch with Craig eating takeout and watching a movie. This is great most of the time, but sometimes we can fall into a little bit TOO much of a routine.
-Pitch your tent inside. Hang twinkle lights. Make fondue smores. Or whatever else gets you in the camping spirit. I did this when we were first married and Craig loved it.
-Pretty self explanatory. Our fort was kinda weak. Craig said next time we “need more supplies.” Such a boy thing to say. We kept it up all weekend and watched movies and ate our meals in there. Fun times.
-I haven’t done this before, but it sounds like fun. Set a price limit (i.e. $5 or $10) and see who can get a cooler gift for the other person while staying within the cost guidelines.
i LOVE the fondue/camping idea! i think M would really like that. we tend to get into a routine too, and we don’t even live together (yet). we’re very much a couple of homebodies, and though i’ve sharpened my jenga and scrabble skills immensely, i think we both need a fun date night that doesn’t include going to eat at a regular ol’ restaurant. the people at friday’s know us by name and it’s embarrassing.
as for suggestions — do you guys like doing athletic things together? M has recently taught me how to box and i am loving it. but i think it would be super fun to do some kind of class at the gym together that neither of us have tried before.
what about something that involves writing? i can’t really think of anything specific but i just think that would be really cool.
anyways, good luck with date night and i can’t wait to read more suggestions!
love these ideas!!! and I love your fort! that is a whole lotta chocolate in that fondue pot! YUM!!! I love fondue!!!
I LOVE date nights! One time we had a “get lost” date… although we did have a GPS with us. We just decided to spend a day driving…. to nowhere in particular. But it was quite the adventure. We ended up in small towns and ate at little hole-in-the-wall diners, and ended up touring a cave and enjoyed the “touristy” stuff of small towns. It was SO fun. We ended up driving all day and all night… were from Minnesota, and we ended up in Illinois!
Um…affianced is the best word I’ve heard today.
I love your date night ideas! I was thinking of doing fondue for Valentine’s Day so I might have to wrangle up a tent too.
I can’t think of anything good right now, I’ll think about it and come back.
Happy Thursday!
xo
Dustin and I are totally building a fort on Valentine’s Day, hehe.
How about explore museums in your area? D and I like to do this because generally it’s very little cost (or no cost) and it’s a lot of fun.
oh my what fun ideas!! I love them all!! and since I have never been thrifting or had fondue it would be perfect!!!
xoxo,
Lindsay
Great ideas Lauren! We’re not so creative I guess. I’d love to do the thrift store hunt one day just for fun!
http://diamondsandtulle.blogspot.com/
love these pics, and i loveeeeee thrift stores.
awww these are such great ideas Lauren! sean and i are homebodies too..we love getting out and going to the movies every once in a while though..but i love curling up on the couch and watching movies…
we definitely need to try some of these ideas out though.. we have done a picnic by a rive before..that was fun! we went fishing one time. sean was so happy about that..i brought my cosmo and read the whole time.. haha.
hope you have a great day lovely girl! loved all these pictures by the way 🙂 off to check out that blog you were featured on!
I hadn’t any ideas but I love yours!!! The fort building idea is so cute! And all the other ideas too. They are just so….great! Maybe I could use your ideas when I have one next time. Awesome post 🙂
LOVE the canvas idea! MARVELOUS!!! 🙂 Spencer and I hit up the Habitat for Humanity re-stores and see what goods we come out with. Be it metal studs for framing our basement, cute little bookshelves, mason jars or a modern green office chair you just never know what you may find!
I love you ideas! I’m going to suggest some of them.
Geocaching can be really fun together. Even if you don’t get totally into it it’s fun just to try out.
We do our best talking in the car so a road trip (even if it’s just an hour or so) to somewhere you haven’t been before can be fun. Take the scenic way.
Photo shoot. Model for each other, dance for each other and get it all on film, then spend time laughing and editing the pictures together.
Couples bath time, fill it up with bubbles, read magazines to each other, splash and play and, you know.
awwwww,
i love the date night ideas….
if only i could get my date to do them!!!!
Love these ideas…you guys are too cute! Thanks for sharing!
-Dasha
xo
I like that thrift store idea! My husband and I really like to thrift together. We also paint, so I’m glad you added that!
My suggestion: sing and play with each other! Jake plays the guitar so we love to write music together. If either one of you plays an instrument, share that with each other. Or learn to play something together!
And baking is fun together, too. Even if the guy isn’t too into it, he’ll probably have fun picking out ingredients, you can get really creative… and then of course there is the spatula-licking part.
GREAT ideas 🙂
Oh, also, I love Sarah’s suggestion to do something athletic together. I’m NOT athletically inclined, but it’s still fun to ride bikes, jog and just get outside together.
My last suggestion: switch things up and instead of watching the sunset, watch it rise! We love to do this!
LOVED reading your answers on Cole’s blog. So great to get to see a little more about your personal life with your man. So sweet.
Ahh, there are some awesome ideas there! I’m going to suggest the ‘build a fort night’ for me and Mr D!
Another idea is to do a Come Dine with Me style dinner which would actually take two nights. One night you would cook a starter, main and dessert and then Craig would cook the next week. The idea is to cook and host too, so entertainment is a must. You then give a score on the meal and ambiance! The winner in the TV show gets £1000, but I’m sure you can work out a decent prize for the winner.
Ohh such lovely date night ideas! I love the masquerading part the best!!
Sarah 😀
P.S Check out my giveaway
http://sandoproductions.blogspot.com/
Love the ideas Lauren! I think setting up a tent in the living room for the kids would be a super fun idea. They would go crazy with excitement!
I love the post at Cole’s blog. The more I read about you the more and more I like ya lady… You are real, funny and very similar to me. Love it. Especially the Vallium wedding day bliss, I was such a bridezilla till my wedding day, then it was like I turned into a happy go luck hippy, whatever man, I am love and light…. True dat about God, verrrrry essential 🙂 I love this part “I’m not always a peach myself (shocking…I know)…..Love it friend!
xoxo Lexy
This is so fun! I actually see a lot of resemblance in my relationship with Ian.. He’s like you; sweet, just wants to make me happy, not opinionated AT ALL when it comes to making decisions… very neutral. And I am very opposite. I wouldn’t say I’m argumentative, but I’m definitely not passive and it’s hard to get me to do something just because. I hate when people take advantage of Ian’s kindness, so I think this side of my personality has been heightened since we have been together…That being said, if you’re like my husband and I’m like your husband, then you and I would get a long great!!
I love the fort idea. Ian would be totally into that : ) He is such a boy and would say something like Craig’s “We need more supplies.” So cute!
If you’re feeling selfless, a think a game night tournament could be fun.. Since Craig loves games and gets competitive. Either play the same game (Like a short card game) multiple times to see who wins the most rounds. Or compile all your favorite games and play one of each and see who wins the most rounds.
Oh, and one night Ian and I made our own pizzas! With dough and all! He loved it and it was more fun than me just cooking a dinner while he watches T.V.
these are aewsome ideas!!
hmm idk what it’s like in your area but what alex and i have done is go to a state park ( or anywhere near you) and go kayaking or canoeing together! and take pb &j’s. drive in theatre 🙂
idk..i think your ideas are pretty awesome! I may just have to try them all out!! 🙂
Thanks Lauren!!
oh how i love your date night ideas! indoor camping and painting ( i love what you two came up with for this)…brilliant!
as for new ideas, i know i’ve been dying to go camping in shenandoah, but you live in portland so i’m sure there’s all sorts of wilderness to explore!
Ice Skating is one of my very favorite dates! It’s fun to look like a complete fool in front of your love and it gives you excuses to hold hands, fall into each other, be like you were when you first got together!
Also, Ravi and I go to the zoo in the winter every year–this will make trip number 8! It’s mostly deserted and the animals are super cute in the snow. We run around acting like small children and darting from animal to animal. Soooo fun!
I definitely want to try camping out in the house! We used to do that when we were little, but I never thought of it as a fun little date! Soooo cute!
i love all these ideas!!
1. i’m with you.. staying in, getting take out, with the one you love is a perfect night for me!!
and
2. i love that part in breakfast at tiffinay’s!
3. your fort with craig is adorable!
4. tent inside with fondue = ADORABLE!!
and my favorite is going on the roof. not a lot of people have a flat roof but my fave valentines day was when my date took me to his rooftop laid a blanket down and we watched the stars! cheesecake followed!
your love story is soo sweet- cant wait to hear about the proposal!
awesome date night ideas! i hafta admit a lot of time my boyfriend and i run outta good ones and its back to basics (making food and watchiing tv), so thanks for some fun suggestions!!! 🙂 ill hafta try them *soon*
-kel
i love the tent idea. it might be cool to take it outside, too, during the summer time. thank goodness the significant other has a house and a yard.
+cultural night (this can be eating out a chinese, japanese, ethiopian (we have good ones in town), lebanese, etc. place and watching a movie from that country, with subtitles of course)
+sur la table has cooking classes available year-round, and you get to eat what you made for that night, so those are fun, too.
+i guess date night doesn’t have to be at “night” you can just have a brunch date, too, or have brunch in bed, if you are into that kind of thing.
+i know this sounds juvenile, but have an arcade date night/day, i love arcades!
+if you guys like clay and stuff, there’s a place in scholl’s ferry called “come clay with me”
not sure if this is what you really want to hear or you wanted more stuff to try out at home. anyway, i’m at work (obviously, typing out goals for staff – not my favorite part of the job) so i better get going. i just needed a breath of fresh air so i’m commenting, which always seems to look like a super long conversation.
happy thursday!
Love these ideas–especially the thrift store one! My bf and I recently moved to a new state, but I think this could work anywhere. We drive to a town that we haven’t been to and spend the day there. The trick is to eat at a place we’ve never been. It’s so much fun, because you really have to search sometimes.
Ahhh love this!! Marc and I have picnics in our living room… I love the camp out idea especially with FONDUE mmmmm!! And picnics are always the best… as long as you have plenty of goodies and don’t forget a frisbie!! LOVE LOVE this post!! xo
Just read your post on Adventures in love & happiness…LOVED the post. So glad to hear there are other young couples who love God, are brutally honest & like staying home together more than anything else (everyone tells me & Tito that we’re boring lol)
-Dasha =)
Your ideas are too good!
Here’s my idea, get a magic eight ball (we all have one right), and ask it questions and let it decide your destination.
I think your date ideas sound really fun! Chris and I haven’t built a fort yet, but one weekend we did make a big pallet in the den and had a giant sleepover and ate nothing but junk food and watched Lifetime movies. It’s was lots of fun, and free except for the snacks!
I love the fondu/camping one the best 😉 It seems so comfy, whimsical, and easy. No pressure and a lot of fun 😉
these are such great ideas! I am definitely going to give the camping one a try!
What about going through a cookbook together and writing down all of the good recipes you like and putting them in a jar? Then you can pull one out and spend an evening cooking and enjoying a new meal together!
Forts are the best! I think we just may have to do that this weekend 🙂
We enjoying tiny treats at new places in Portland. gelatto, bagels, a coffee, some dessert, fresh bread…
It’s nice because we they’re new little memories and even if we’ve only been once we remember that “one time we got fresh lemonade and grapefruit juice”.
oh the fondue is a great idea!! we’re gonna go on a hike and have a picnic 🙂
i LOVE the fort idea! hahaha so great! definitely a way to shake it up.. because casey and i like to curl up on friday nights too.. when we feel like going out we usually go on photo journeys..
im doing the tent dinner on vday bc the weather here sucks right now. jacob and i are making din din for our friends.
we were gonna have an outside camp/picnic/photoshoot….now it must be indoors!
xo
B
craig has an old man back? hahah poor thing!
the thrift date is fun but i always go over!
fun anyway!
never did 1 painting together just seprates.
might be scary!!! yall are fun!
DIY project up! http://muchomuchobuenobueno.blogspot.com/2010/02/diy-heart-garland-2-kinds.html
I am so bad at this…because we are homebodies too. So we do things like baking together, home projects together, playing backgammon together. So I’m stealing some of your ideas.
And I’m not from Portland…but I have a secret love for Powell’s. I have never shopped their online store, or even visited Portland, but I love it just the same. It might be that Amazon is a little evil, and it might be all the awesome author interviews Powell’s has.
Also on my to-do list for this year: visit Portland. No joke.
I just found your blog and LOVE this post! It is amazing! I participated in your fill in the blank friday & am your newest follower! Keep doin what you do!
Abby
ok, first of all… the fort?
BRILLIANT IDEA. and fondue? even BETTER!
my husband is building a fort as i type this…
but i’m gonna go hint the idea of fondue. mmmm that sounds too good.
and painting a master piece?
and thrifting?
ah! lauren, these are all so amazing ideas!
love. love. love!