The Date List: 20 Date Ideas That Aren't Dinner & A Movie

dates can be expensive, and valentine's day is definitely no exception.  aj and i are kind of running into that problem this year…we both have a little less money than we'd like and that makes dating tough some times.

actually, to be quite honest, we've never gone out on valentine's day at all.  two years ago, we weren't even dating yet.  i cooked him dinner and we spent our first night as boyfriend and girlfriend sharing youtube clips with one another.  last year, we were both sick, and that made for a night spent on the couch watching tv.  this year, he's away at school and we're both busy and figuring out this long-distance thing, and so valentine's day will probably be non-traditional once again.

whether you're planning on going out or staying in, v-day doesn't mean just doing dinner and a movie (though there's nothing wrong with that plan either!).  but it's fun to shake things up any time of the year, so here are a few date ideas that aren't the traditional dinner and a movie…

1.  have a cook-off, cook together, or create a fancy dinner at home
2.  go stargazing (if it's cold outside where you are, bundle up and take some hot chocolate with you!)
3.  go out for breakfast (at any point in the day)
4.  go to an arcade and challenge each other at skee-ball (talk about a cheap date!)
5.  do a scavenger hunt (like this one that aj & i did at walmart)
6.  go for a drive or a walk…take random turns and explore together
7.  do a craft together…paint mugs or create something for your home
8.  teach one another something
9.  read a book together (this summer, aj & read jim gaffigan's dad is fat out loud…it was super fun!)
10.  start a fire (inside or outside), and curl up and just chat or roast marshmallows
11.  go to barnes & noble, grab a cup of coffee, and flip through some magazines
12.  visit a museum  (check for free admission days!)
13.  play a board game or cards
14.  go to a concert (there are some pretty cheap options out there)
15.  go out for dessert
16.  pick a new tv show that neither of you have seen before and watch it together
17.  go shopping…pick out crazy outfits for one another to try on and model them for each other
18.  go to an open mic night at a local coffee shop
19.  have a photoshoot done…ask a friend or use that trusty self-timer!
20.  be a tourist in your own city

so what would you add to this date list?

The Date List: Boston Edition

since aj moved to boston to attend berklee, i've been fortunate enough to visit him a few times.  when i go up to visit, i try to make it as long of a trip as possible, and it's always awesome when i can visit for the better part of a week.

we're pretty chill when it comes to what we do, and we honestly usually end up grabbing dinner somewhere, walking around the city (or one of our neighborhoods when he's home in reading), and watching tv or a movie at home.  but like any girl, i like to go out on dates once in a while, especially when i'm getting to see my boyfriend who i haven't spent time with in a few weeks!  so here are a few date ideas that are on our list (or that we've done and loved) for boston.

1.  museum of science // astronomy nights

one of the things aj and i have always loved doing is stargazing, so the museum of science's free astronomy nights (hosted on friday nights from march-mid-november) is an obvious choice.  on clear nights, they offer free stargazing from the observatory on the roof of the museum's parking garage.  when the weather isn't cooperating, the museum offers after-hours tours of the observatory and fun astronomy-themed activities.  // funny anecdote about this date idea:  we actually tried to go to one in november and walked about four miles to the north end to grab dinner before we headed to the museum.  the restaurant we were going to had a line about half a block long and it was cold, so we ended up picking up dessert-to-go at mike's pastry (go here if you're ever in the boston area!!) and then casually walking back to the prudential center and grabbing dinner there.  it was only after we were seated at the restaurant that i looked at aj and exclaimed "astronomy night!".  we had a good laugh when we realized that we had completely forgotten about our original plan!

2.  north shore // take the train to rockport

i spent four years attending college on boston's north shore and know the area well.  aj and i have visited my old stomping grounds when we've attended weddings in the area, and one our favorite places to go is rockport.  it's about an hour-long train or car ride up to this little town, but totally worth it.  nestled on the coast, rockport is everything you could want in a quintessential new england town:  fresh seafood, salty ocean air, rock jetties, and one of the most photographed buildings in the country.  // fun fact: the scenes set in sitka, alaska from the proposal were filmed in rockport while i was in college just a few miles away!

3.  isabella stewart gardener museum // courtyard & galleries

while neither of us are huge art museum people, the isabella stewart gardener museum might be one of my favorites ever.  i've been, but aj hasn't, which makes this museum a must-go.  it's housed in this old mansion and is home to one of the most storied art thefts in recent american history.  but the reason it makes the date list isn't the art; it's the architecture.  this is one of the most beautiful museums i've ever been in.  it has a grand garden courtyard located in the center of the building that makes you wish you could live there and spend every day in this tiny oasis.

4.  prudential center // top of the hub

the prudential center sits in the heart of the back bay area of boston and is one of the tallest buildings in the city.  one of the top floors features an observation deck and restaurant with great views of the entire city below.  we've heard from one of aj's roommates that the restaurant has a fantastic (and affordable) sunday brunch menu and we've been hoping for an opportunity to go try it out. 

5.  fenway park // catch a red sox game

whether you're a fan of baseball or not, it's hard to resist the energy and excitement of a red sox game.  we love just walking around the stadium toward the end of games (aj lives just three blocks away from the stadium), and were even lucky enough to be handed free tickets to catch the last few innings once!  we also have enjoyed grabbing a burger at the bleacher bar, a tiny little spot located in the center field wall.  if you can't afford tickets to a sox game, i recommend snagging a table at the bleacher bar…the food is decent and you get to watch the game just feet from the grass!  but if you can snag tickets, do it, because this park is one of the oldest and coolest i've ever been in.  there's an incredible amount of energy that just pumps out of the park and no matter who you're rooting for, you'll have a blast.

do you live in boston?  what are your favorite date ideas for the city?  what's on your list of things to do?  what are your favorite date ideas that can be done anywhere?

THE DATE LIST: BOSTON EDITION

since aj moved to boston to attend berklee, i've been fortunate enough to visit him a few times.  when i go up to visit, i try to make it as long of a trip as possible, and it's always awesome when i can visit for the better part of a week.

we're pretty chill when it comes to what we do, and we honestly usually end up grabbing dinner somewhere, walking around the city (or one of our neighborhoods when he's home in reading), and watching tv or a movie at home.  but like any girl, i like to go out on dates once in a while, especially when i'm getting to see my boyfriend who i haven't spent time with in a few weeks!  so here are a few date ideas that are on our list (or that we've done and loved) for boston.

1.  museum of science // astronomy nights

one of the things aj and i have always loved doing is stargazing, so the museum of science's free astronomy nights (hosted on friday nights from march-mid-november) is an obvious choice.  on clear nights, they offer free stargazing from the observatory on the roof of the museum's parking garage.  when the weather isn't cooperating, the museum offers after-hours tours of the observatory and fun astronomy-themed activities.  // funny anecdote about this date idea:  we actually tried to go to one in november and walked about four miles to the north end to grab dinner before we headed to the museum.  the restaurant we were going to had a line about half a block long and it was cold, so we ended up picking up dessert-to-go at mike's pastry (go here if you're ever in the boston area!!) and then casually walking back to the prudential center and grabbing dinner there.  it was only after we were seated at the restaurant that i looked at aj and exclaimed "astronomy night!".  we had a good laugh when we realized that we had completely forgotten about our original plan!

2.  north shore // take the train to rockport

i spent four years attending college on boston's north shore and know the area well.  aj and i have visited my old stomping grounds when we've attended weddings in the area, and one our favorite places to go is rockport.  it's about an hour-long train or car ride up to this little town, but totally worth it.  nestled on the coast, rockport is everything you could want in a quintessential new england town:  fresh seafood, salty ocean air, rock jetties, and one of the most photographed buildings in the country.  // fun fact: the scenes set in sitka, alaska from the proposal were filmed in rockport while i was in college just a few miles away!

3.  isabella stewart gardener museum // courtyard & galleries

while neither of us are huge art museum people, the isabella stewart gardener museum might be one of my favorites ever.  i've been, but aj hasn't, which makes this museum a must-go.  it's housed in this old mansion and is home to one of the most storied art thefts in recent american history.  but the reason it makes the date list isn't the art; it's the architecture.  this is one of the most beautiful museums i've ever been in.  it has a grand garden courtyard located in the center of the building that makes you wish you could live there and spend every day in this tiny oasis.

4.  prudential center // top of the hub

the prudential center sits in the heart of the back bay area of boston and is one of the tallest buildings in the city.  one of the top floors features an observation deck and restaurant with great views of the entire city below.  we've heard from one of aj's roommates that the restaurant has a fantastic (and affordable) sunday brunch menu and we've been hoping for an opportunity to go try it out. 

5.  fenway park // catch a red sox game

whether you're a fan of baseball or not, it's hard to resist the energy and excitement of a red sox game.  we love just walking around the stadium toward the end of games (aj lives just three blocks away from the stadium), and were even lucky enough to be handed free tickets to catch the last few innings once!  we also have enjoyed grabbing a burger at the bleacher bar, a tiny little spot located in the center field wall.  if you can't afford tickets to a sox game, i recommend snagging a table at the bleacher bar…the food is decent and you get to watch the game just feet from the grass!  but if you can snag tickets, do it, because this park is one of the oldest and coolest i've ever been in.  there's an incredible amount of energy that just pumps out of the park and no matter who you're rooting for, you'll have a blast.

do you live in boston?  what are your favorite date ideas for the city?  what's on your list of things to do?  what are your favorite date ideas that can be done anywhere?

Dear Boyfriend,

Yesterday, we spent a perfect day together at the beach.  You seemed a little muffed when I suggested leaving at 8am, so I pushed it to 8:30, which ended up being closer to 9:15.  As my mother's daughter, my first instinct was to think "we're behind schedule!", but the longer we're together, the more I'm realizing how much better it is to forget the "schedule" and just live in the moment on these little trips that we take just the two of us.

Yesterday, we lounged, we walked, we ate, and we talked.  My favorite parts of the day were probably the three miles we walked on the beach and the six hours we spent in the car.  That seems like a long distance and a lot of time, but those types of things always seem to fly right by when I'm with you.  I loved asking each other silly questions like "What saying would you like to put into 1,000 fortune cookies?" and singing songs together from our road trip playlist.

I loved everything about yesterday.  I hope I remember it forever.

Love, Betsy

DEAR BOYFRIEND,

Yesterday, we spent a perfect day together at the beach.  You seemed a little muffed when I suggested leaving at 8am, so I pushed it to 8:30, which ended up being closer to 9:15.  As my mother's daughter, my first instinct was to think "we're behind schedule!", but the longer we're together, the more I'm realizing how much better it is to forget the "schedule" and just live in the moment on these little trips that we take just the two of us.

Yesterday, we lounged, we walked, we ate, and we talked.  My favorite parts of the day were probably the three miles we walked on the beach and the six hours we spent in the car.  That seems like a long distance and a lot of time, but those types of things always seem to fly right by when I'm with you.  I loved asking each other silly questions like "What saying would you like to put into 1,000 fortune cookies?" and singing songs together from our road trip playlist.

I loved everything about yesterday.  I hope I remember it forever.

Love, Betsy

A Random, Fun Little Date

I was super hyper last night.  AJ came over around 8:45 and I just wanted to get out of the house and go do something.  Unfortunately, there's not a ton to do in a small town at 9pm on a Sunday night.  When we decided to go to Wal-Mart of all places, I wasn't sure it would be the remedy for my energy.  But it turned into one of the best little random dates we've had in quite a while!

AJ found a Wal-Mart scavenger hunt online, and we proceeded to check off as many things on the list as we could!

This random little date turned out to be so much fun...we burned a little over an hour and had lots of laughs (and photos) to document our little adventure!  We found the link to the scavenger hunt here.  (we tweaked it a little to work for us!)

A RANDOM, FUN, LITTLE DATE

I was super hyper last night.  AJ came over around 8:45 and I just wanted to get out of the house and go do something.  Unfortunately, there's not a ton to do in a small town at 9pm on a Sunday night.  When we decided to go to Wal-Mart of all places, I wasn't sure it would be the remedy for my energy.  But it turned into one of the best little random dates we've had in quite a while!

AJ found a Wal-Mart scavenger hunt online, and we proceeded to check off as many things on the list as we could!

This random little date turned out to be so much fun...we burned a little over an hour and had lots of laughs (and photos) to document our little adventure!  We found the link to the scavenger hunt here.  (we tweaked it a little to work for us!)

date day!

on saturday, aj planned a wonderful date day for us!  because of our crazy busy work-filled summer, we haven't gone on a real date in quite a while, so it was great to spend a day together on a date!

the morning started with me going over to aj's in my pajamas to eat cereal and watch cartoons.
then, we grabbed lunch and went to a local park to eat and go for a long walk.

after getting showered and changed, we went to the mall to have a re-match at skeeball.  while on vacation with my family this summer, we had a little showdown (which i won), and we needed to keep the competition going.  he won this round, but they'll be more opportunities to reclaim my crown in the future.

after skeeball, we went to this little restaurant called the tiki bar where you grill your own food.  we were seated on their back patio right on the river.  it was a fun experience and a great dinner.  

after dinner, we headed back to aj's where we built a bonfire to roast s'mores and set up a projector to watch a movie outback.  

it was the perfect little date day!  i would have been happy no matter what we did, but he just thought of every little detail!  he's just far too good to me and i'm beyond blessed.

And the burger hunt continues...

Last week, AJ & I resumed burger night (we had taken a hiatus because of me being away and having VBS at church).

And we resumed with....

Elevation Burger!

Elevation Burger brags all-organic ingredients, and it was really good!

While it didn't quite get the top rating from us yet (oh yes, we have a scoring system and everything), I would definitely go again! 

We're still on the hunt for the best burger around. 

(and we're open to suggestions)

Burger Hunt.

So maybe a few weeks ago, boyfriend asked me to tell him something he didn't know about me.  

And that was hard.

But then I thought of a secret...

And maybe that secret had to do with the fact that despite having a lot of vegetarian/vegan friends and pretending to not really like meat all that much...

...I really, really like cheeseburgers.

Which brought us to the quest of summer 2012:

The Hunt for the Perfect Burger.

We're four weeks in already, and admittedly, because of recent travels, the past two weeks haven't exactly been our choice of venues, we've held to the tradition and ordered burgers every Monday.

Oh, and we also rate them on a little scale.  Of course.

Week 1:  Joe's Famous American Kitchen in Lancaster

Joe's by far had the best vibe out of any burger night...and also the highest-scoring.

They've got a rather creative little menu and also a "build your own" option.  Oh, and get the Maui Sweet Onion chips.  Ah-mazing.

Week 2 was in Disney at Hollywood Studios.  The only picture we have is from the aftermath, which is just a lot of empty plates, half-eaten fries, discarded ketchup packets, and napkins.  I decided to spare you.  Anyway...not great, but not bad.  What you'd expect from theme-park food, only Disney style.

Week 3:  Ellen's Stardust Diner in NYC

Pretty good, though a lot of bread.  The fries, however, were yummy.  And the atmosphere at Ellen's is fun.  It's a ton of Broadway-bound waiters and waitresses who sing while they serve you.  Definitely a touristy NYC experience, but hey, you can't look like a local all the time, right?

We're resuming Burger Hunt tonight and keeping it local.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Little Dates

AJ and I are busy, to say the least.  We're both full-time students and we both work part-time jobs (which often feel more like full-time).

However, one thing I love about us is that we still make sure to spend time together almost on a daily basis.  And sometimes, we go on little impromptu dates, where we explore or grab ice cream or something.  

About two weeks ago, one of those impromptu dates took us to the Pagoda, a historical landmark here in Reading, with a great view of the city. 

(I stole a few of these from AJ's instagram...gotta give credit where it's due)