{date nights} how we make them happen!

Happy Tuesday, friends! Today, I'm sharing a post that I wrote for my sweet friend Emily's blog series "Love is in the air" back in January. I've yet to share it over here and felt it was time! So forgive me if you've already seen this, but if not, enjoy! Hopefully it'll get you thinking about date nights with your main squeeze! It's not always easy to make them happen, but they are oh so important!

  

Obviously, date nights happened on a much more regular basis before we became parents! However, we have tried our very best to keep up with them! I believe some of the best advice I received after {and I even think before} becoming a mommy was to make sure that my hubby and I continue to spend quality time together. Before a baby is ever in the picture, your time if pretty much focused on each other. Not so much after a little babe! It definitely takes much more of an effort, but let me tell you, date nights are SO important!

Some of our most favorite date nights are going out to eat - and I'm not talking about running in, eating real fast, then on our way out the door! We almost always get to a restaurant early, usually about 30-45 minutes. This allows us to have a little time to unwind from a busy day, visit, enjoy a cocktail, and focus on each other before we become consumed in our food {you know what I'm talking about!!!!} :) About 2.5 to 3 hours later, we feel like we've been able to truly unwind as well as enjoy each others company {without feeling rushed to get out the door}! We are very blessed in that we have of our parents living close by, so we do get to go out and make these nights happen, I would say at least, once a month! But, sometimes, going out isn't always an option....

SO, how to we make date-nights happen in our home?!!? That's just it....in our home! Instead of going out for a fancy shmancy meal every Friday or Saturday night, we do the whole get up at home as soon as we put Ella to bed! She is an early riser, so she is normally down by 7:30. Then its time for us....just the two of us! If it's a nice night out, we'll venture to our back porch for our own cocktail hour, listen to music, talk, dance....whatever our little hearts desire! :)

After hanging out for awhile, hubby {who is the cook in our fam} will grill us out a steak, fish, whatever we're in the mood for that night. I like to get everything set up inside {it doesn't have to be fancy, but it sure makes it more fun} and maybe put together a side or a salad!

Honestly, we've been enjoying nights like these even before our sweet girl was born! We love to experiment with different foods, wines....we even had live lobsters shipped from the Northeast for a date night {sorry, just a little side note}!

 

We then get to enjoy our meal together {sitting at the dinner/dining room table}! Afterwards, we normally watch a movie or sometimes, just sit on the couch together and listen to music! Nothing fancy, I know, but that's not the point! The point is quality time with just the two of us!

I hope this will be a fun little inspiration for you and your hubby! Don't get me wrong, we love getting to go out, go to concerts, travel....just the two of us, but sometimes, that's just not a reality with little ones {and I wouldn't trade that for anything}, but that doesn't mean that date nights have to stop {or even be boring}! I came across this little quote the other day and thought it was pretty fitting for this series!

So here's to your next date night, whether in or out, just make them happen!