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In my New Year’s Intentions post I revealed that Kyle and I have be intensely and intentionally working on our marriage in couple’s therapy for the past few months. It’s been at times a very painful process– but overall it’s been incredible how much better we have learned to communicate in such a short period of time with somebody teaching us the tools to accomplish it. One of the things we have realized and learned is that we need to start creating more low-risk opportunities to really connect and have a FUN time together. Low-risk meaning that we don’t have to book a sitter, spend a ton of money, or even leave the house to connect. Sometimes the added pressure to make the night “count” when it’s a whole production can actually stress both of us out– especially while we continue to work on our relationship and any given night can feel far from “perfect”. We have been focusing our attention on finding ways to have fun Date Nights right here at home! I think this is such a great idea for the cold Winter months (who really wants to get bundled anyway), and especially for parents with tiny kids who might have trouble committing to a full night on the town. Today I thought I’d share some fun ideas to create that special time with your partner without leaving the house!
I thought I’d kick off my recommendations with a special Secret Weapon that always starts our Date Night at home with a smile– my home mixed Whiskey Sours! I don’t know how or when this became the signature drink of our special hang time at home, but it did and now it is! I love mixing up a couple of these for us after the kids go to bed, and know that it signifies grown up time just for the two of us. There is something more fun to me about having a yummy cocktail for these fun nights together, instead of my normal glass of wine with dinner. Anything to separate out the experience so it feels a bit more special than the norm!
In keeping with that idea– maybe it goes without saying– but NO SWEATS ALLOWED FOR DATE NIGHT AT HOME! You must wear actual clothes, that make you feel beautiful and fun, and that signify that you’re both ready for a flirty night together. He can’t wear sweats either. LOL. I like to wear jeans and a cute top that shows a bit of skin. My jeans in these photos are by Madewell, and my top is by CAMI! Rose gold choker by Argento Vivo.
Our Favorite Whiskey Sour…
- 6 oz high quality whiskey
- 1 oz simple syrup
- Juice of 1 lemon
- a splash of fresh Egg White (optional but recommended– it makes the drink frothy!)
- Ice
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice, and add all of the other cocktail ingredients. Shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Strain mixture over a glass with ice. Enjoy responsibly!
Fun ideas for Date Night at home…
Here are some of our favorite ideas we’ve tried at home! I think the most important thing is to make the evening feel special, turn your phones off, limit distractions, and just enjoy each other’s company. If the home you live in every day can feel special and spark romance if you let it!
Learn To Cook Together
There are lots of companies that take the guesswork out of cooking– and send you a new recipe plus the ingredients! Kyle and I loved it when we tried it, it almost felt like our own little cooking class. It was nice to push ourselves to try out something we hadn’t cooked before. Because they’re often subscription services, you can even make your date night a consistent thing!
Movie Night
Watching a movie is always a nice way to spend an evening, but make sure it’s super thematic by recreating the movie atmosphere! Pop some popcorn, pick up some candy, and settle in together, snuggled up with cozy blankets. It’s like High School all over again! Don’t forget to discuss the movie afterwards over a cocktail– Kyle and I always love talking about movies after we watch them, it’s a nice way to connect without having to talk about our own relationship (we do enough of that in therapy. LOL. )
Board Games
This is one of our favorite ways to spend a Date Night at home– we even celebrated New Year’s Eve by playing Scrabble on our rug with a yummy cheese plate and champagne! It was such a blast. Another one of my faves is actually this super retro vintage Barbie Board Game. It’s so old school that it is hilarious, and the mood is really light and easy so it doesn’t get too competitive. I’ve had this since middle school and I’ve carted it around to any home I’ve ever lived in. It’s one of my oldest possessions! We also love LIFE, Hive, and Jaipur.
Picnic By The Fire
We also love lighting a fire, and setting up a nice spot to have a picnic dinner right at home. I wrote a post for Valentine’s Day a couple years ago where I outlined one of our favorite cozy ways to do this– and we recreate it all the time. The lamb chops in the post are one of my favorite meals to cook for a Date Night in! Plus, firelight and the change of having dinner in a new way creates a nice burst of spontaneity that is always appreciated!
Spa Night In
A really fun and romantic Date Night idea is to recreate the spa experience in your own home! Begin with a bubble bath with a special bath oil and lots of bubbles. Enjoy it together, then climb in to cozy robes. Apply a sheet mask, diffuse some essential oils, and then finish with a massage for each of you by each other with a beautiful massage oil! By the time you’re done you’ll feel pampered, relaxed, and so connected.
Do you ever have a Date Night at home with your partner? Please share any tried and true great ideas to inspire other couples!
Photographs by Courtney Ann Photography
Such cute ideas! I’m always a fan of movie nights.
Please rethink your overuse of exclamation marks. It’s not my intention to come across as a bitchy troll, and I feel bad even saying anything because I actually enjoy reading your blog.
How rude!!!!!!!!!!!
Correct punctuation isn’t rude. It’s important.
Exclamation marks emphasize exclamatory sentences and date nights are supposed to be fun and exciting! Get a life and go on a date!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That comment is just ridiculous. Why do you care how many exclamation points she uses? Also she does use correct punctuation.
Irrelevant to the post. Lol. Ahem Your ocd is showing
I enjoyed this posting a lot. Thanks for sharing. That said, I think the suggestion regarding exclamation point usage is warranted – and helpful.
hi nicole!!!!!!!!!
Just here to tell you that in my country, (chile) we use exclamation marks in the beginning and the end of the phrase. Like this:
¡¡¡¡¡ like this!!!!!!!!!!!
You’d be really annoyied if you lived here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TOO FUNNY!!!!
Jajajaja ¡¡¡EXACTO!!! ??❤️
“I feel bad even saying anything”.. well obvoously not that bad. *eyeroll*
Nicole,
Your comma is misused in your complaint. Ease up on Eva’s use of exclamation points. Not only are they warranted, she also knows where they go in a sentence!!!!!!!!!!
It actually is used correctly- before the coordinating conjunction “and,” which is used to connect two independent clauses in a sentence. Carry on!
Yay!!! For exclamation points!!!! Thank you for all of them Eva!!!!!!! Adds joy and just ah!!!! to your blog!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Béné an !!!!! Enthusiast and fan ?
Why say anything at all then??
This cracks me up because I LOVE to use multiple exclamation points in all my communications, social media, texting, etc. Who knew I was being offensive. I once had a client (I do hair) spend her entire 2 hour appt talking about the “proper use of comma’s” and I swear to you at the end of her service she said, “and don’t get me started on semi colon’s” (no lie) some people are fanatical about punctuation. LOL. Go figure!
But you did…come off as a BT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!IT’S A BLOG NOT A THESIS!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
unreal.
Nicole why do you care how many exclamation points she uses?
Secondly, if you have such an issue you don’t need to continue to read her posts, but you will.
Third, she uses punctuation correctly.
And last but not least, the comment about the Ivy league university…you must be one snobby lady to have this much time on your hands!!!!
Thank you for this!!! Can’t wait to use these suggestions for a date night in!!! I love keeping up with you and your family as I have a 3YO girl and 1YO boy, too! Also, love your honestly and so love your enthusiasm!!! Please keep those exclamation marks coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anna,
You rock!!!
just here to say love your exclamation points, Eva!!!!!!!
It’s your blog!!!!!!! Do what you will!!! I support you Eva.
Dying over the exclamation comment! (and I use the exclamation to exert my intent for how that should be read – should anyone be confused *insert cry-laugh emoji*)
Love your Instagram stories and blog!!!!!!!!!! Haha!!! I didn’t even know people had time to criticize exclamation points?!!!!! Lol!!!!! It’s called being happy and excited about life! Look into it ???
It’s called being grammatically lazy. According to the Internet, Eva attended an Ivy League university. Clearly, my expectations are too high for blogs. Sigh. I’ll go have a glass of wine and try to be “happy and excited” for incorrect punctuation.
Ok buh bye!!!!!!!!!!
It’s a blog post not a book!!!!
If the exclamation use is the only thing that you get from her blog, then you’re obviously missing the bigger picture.
Eva- please keep being you! I have a soon to be threenager and loves watching your kids.
I counted 20 ! in this blog post. F, there goes the pulitzer! The maximum exclamation point usage per one blog post is 19. You’d better review your course material from English at an Ivy 101.
HAHAHAHA. Oh my gosh this comment is killing me. You’re funny, girl! :)))
You need to wash down a Xanax with that whine…. sorry, wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yea Nicole, OKAY! It’s your perfect little world and we’re just living in it. Ivy League School doesn’t mean anything. If I want to put 100 exclamation points after something, that’s a choice. Doesn’t mean I didn’t know better, nor does it discredit my education. Just means I wanted to put 100 exclamation points. Why? Idk cause it’s exciting and fun… who cares.
exactly!!!!! I love !!! too…. it’s the excitement…. and it’s a blog post not like Eva is writing a book…. lol 🙂
My hubby and I like to do what we call a “French picnic” night. We grab a bunch of yummy items to make a big cheese plate, a few bottles of wine, and a baguette. We set up a blanket in the living room and make our own wine flights to enjoy with the cheese!
The whisky sour looks DELICIOUS!!
Love this idea! As always, thanks for bringing the realness about marriage. It’s hard! Squeezing in cute dates at home is so smart. Also, use all the exclamation points you like, girlfriend. You. Do. You!
Great post! I always want more time to spend talking to my husband but our nights are a haze of kid tasks that need to be done. Sometimes I like to get a nice dessert from one of the places we like and then try and enjoy it with coffee after the kids go to sleep. I’d say about 60 percent of the time when I do this we end up falling asleep and eating it for breakfast :).
Love this post and so relevant to right now when no one wants to leave their home period when it’s cold out, let alone at night to go on a date! Sharing these ideas (and stealing them) with my husband now! Thank you for being so relatable and sharing yourself with all of your readers!
Fun post, Eva! I just bought those exact jeans on Friday – I love them and all things Madewell for that matter! I wore them yesterday, they are so fun with the exposed buttons and fancy hem that I felt stylish for a Sunday with my little ones and hubby. Love the blog! XX
I’m not sure what I love more — the blog post or all the comments about your use of exclamation points! ?? Good Monday night reading!!
(I might’ve used too many exclamation points for just 2 sentences — but I’m not up-to-date on the current punctuation rules for blog comments. Here’s a few more for good measure. !!!!!!!!!)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??& VERY OFTEN OVERUSE EXCLAMATION POINTS TO EMPHASIZE & SHOW EXCITEMENT…JUST LIKE CAPS!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!KEEP ON EXCLAMATING EVA!!!!!!!! p.s. I really don’t care if☝?that’s a real/root word!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So funny, I still have my Barbie game from when I was younger as well and play it occasionally. It’s the funniest little retro game.
I had to laugh at the comment about the sweats!! That is a hard one to change…lol
But on NYE, it was freezing in Chicago so we put on new flannel pajamas, lit a fire and watched a movie!
haha i love using lots of exclamation marks!!
Makes what you’re reading seem more fun and exciting!!
Love your blog posts Eva! i really want to try your Whiskey Sour recipe xx
OMG, where did you get the Barbie game? That is awesome I would love to have that, especially as a collectors item.
As I mentioned, I’ve had it since I was a kid! I searched it and you can still find it online but it’s really expensive since it’s officially “vintage”
Great idea if you have Little’s, but know This becomes impossible once you have teenagers who don’t go to bed until very, very late:-) connecting becomes very challenging so enjoy this time.
Ha! Noted. At that point, date night out of the house is a must!