Tag: dinner dates

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Fabulous living

Inexpensive Date Ideas


Hello all! Happy Wednesday! I hope you are all staying warm and cozy as we make our way through January. Many people may make New Yearā€™s Resolutions and goals and for some it may be to save money. I know after the holiday and shopping season, Iā€™m looking to stay in and save more.Ā 


Today, Iā€™m sharing some fun and inexpensive date ideas. I still enjoy having fun and doing things with my boyfriend or best friends without breaking the bank. It can also be hard to find things to do in the dead of winter, so I hope these give you some inspiration for fun. So, without further ado, hereā€™s some fun and inexpensive date ideas.

Walks: Head out to your favorite park or try a new destination for a walk. This FREE activity gets you outside and moving, it also shows you the beauty in your own backyard, and it lets you focus on conversations when you are getting to know someone or when you are catching up with friends. I love finding new parks and trails to try out with friends. It may seem daunting to do a winter walk if you arenā€™t a fan of the cold, but as long as you dress appropriately, you will be set.

No matter the season, walks are always a good idea

Movie and Board Game Day: This can be done at any point of the day, a Sunday morning, Saturday afternoon, or even a Wednesday night. Pick out some of your favorite board games or buy a new one to test out with your friends. If games arenā€™t up your alley, pick out a new movie thatā€™s been on your list of things to watch, pop some popcorn and buy some candy and enjoy a movie night at home. This is a fun way to unwind and relax at home without breaking the bank.

Snacks and a movie are always a good idea.

Use the Gift Cards: Did you get gift cards for Christmas that are still sitting in your wallet? Use them! Whether itā€™s for a dinner out, a coffee, or even an activity, like a movie. Plan an event using that gift from someone else. Although, itā€™s fun to go to a favorite spot, if you got a gift card to someplace new, give it a try, who knows it may become a new favorite spot.

One of the times when we used a gift card to a favorite restaurant.

Take a Drive: This is a great idea for mild, winter days. Cue up a playlist, grab some fun snacks and hit the road, you can have a place in mind or just choose a direction and drive. In times like these, itā€™s more about the journey as opposed to the destination. Sometimes, thereā€™s nothing better than the open road and having some good conversations.Ā 

A beautiful day for a drive.

Spend Some Time in the Kitchen: Whether you love to cook or bake or it intimidates you, try out a new recipe, you may discover that you have found a new hobby. I have been testing out some new recipes and I have been loving the results. Hereā€™s a pro-tip, besides looking up recipes online or on Pinterest, head to your local library and check out some cookbooks and try out some recipes from there. It can be scary to test out some recipes in the kitchen, but you may find that the results are better than you thought.

I spent a morning looking through some cookbooks to pick out new recipes and I can’t wait to try them.

Thatā€™s just a look into some inexpensive date ideas that can keep you busy and entertained without worrying about blowing your budget. Tell me: what are some of your favorite inexpensive date ideas.

Categories
Fabulous living

Friendships First

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday and Happy February!


 I love the second month of the year, purely to celebrate Valentineā€™s Day! When the winter months seems to drag on with no need in sight, itā€™s always fun to celebrate love and get into the holiday spirit in the midst of a long and cold winter. Whether you are celebrating February 14 with your sweetheart of Galentineā€™s day on February 13 with your girlfriends, thereā€™s always a reason to get into the holiday spirit and celebrate the big and little things in life. 


Speaking of girlfriends, today we are talking about prioritizing friendships!


One of my goals for 2021 was to prioritize my friendships, the pandemic made it hard to see friends and catch up in person, but no matter how far the distance, itā€™s still important to  make those friendships a priority and I think I did my best to make thta happen for the past year and I plan to keep it going in the year ahead. 


Hereā€™s three ways to make sure you are getting the must-have friend time in:

-Set up FaceTime dates
This is a great idea for long distance friendships. It can be hard to make a trip for a day or a weekend getaway to visit friends especially if your days off donā€™t line up. However, setting up a monthly or biweekly FaceTime date or call is an easy solution. During the pandemic, I was really good with doing regular FaceTime calls with friends but as things got back to normal peoples schedules got busier too and it was harder to have regular FaceTime dates. However by finding a time that works good for you and friend whether itā€™s monthly or weekly and sticking to it, ensures you are staying in touch with friends and getting that quallity time in with them. My one friend Sydney and I started doing monthly FaceTime dates in January of 2021. Weā€™ve been great at following through on this and only missed one month! We decided on the last Friday of every month we would FaceTime to catch up with our jobs, actviites, and adventures. In the summer, we did a few meet ups in person which was so fun, but monthly FaceTimes have worked great for us. I put it in my calendar on my phone and the event repeats every month, so I know on Friday nights, once a month, itā€™s FaceTime date time with Sydney!

-Scheduled coffee or dinner dates
For friends a bit closer to home, maybe a coffee, dinner or walk date is more convenient. Whenever Iā€™m planning out my months and weeks, I always write a list of monthly goals, from work, to personal. One of my goals is often friend dates. For some of my local friends, I always like to make it a point to see them in person once a month,  whether it be a coffee break in the morning, a after work dinner date, or even a walk when the weather is nice. Schedules can get busy so itā€™s important to make a point to get it on the calendar for friend dates. Iā€™ll even set a reminder for send a text to remember make plans with friends. My friends and I love to support local, so we try to make it a point to shop local when it comes to our food choices. Even with friends who live just a few blocks away, work schedules can become hectic which is why getting a plan set-up early on is key. Even if you have a big group of friends and canā€™t get everyone to meet up at the same time, a one on one date, or a smaller group is better than none, plus it also allows you more quality time with friends.

Grabbing a meal with a friend is a perfect way to catch up.
If you don’t have enough time for a meal, maybe a coffee break is better!


-Find common activities

This is such a fun way to stay in touch with friends and try new things out. FInd common activities or hobbies for you and your friends. Last year, a few of my high school pals and I did a book club, we would each choose a book, read it and discuss over Facetime. This was a great way for us to catch up and get our reading in (a goal we all had last year-read more!). This activity opened my eyes to new genres and authors. If reading isn’t for you, maybe try a fitness class if that’s one of your resolutions. You can try out new workouts, get a good sweat in and enjoy time with friends. The best of both worlds. If you are looking to get a big more creative, maybe try tackling sewing or scrapbooking, for find a hobby that you and your friends can enjoy and get a finished product at the end.

Finding a common interest, like reading among friends is what worked for me.
Or if you are looking for a way to get exercise, try going for a walk.

How do you put your friendships first?