Husband & Wife DATE IDEAS

We all, and by we I mean married people, are guilty of it. I mean, I think we all are. Maybe there are some of us who are innately skilled at keeping the romance alive despite years of matrimony, fights about bachelor parties, overworking, dirty diapers, toys all over the bedroom floor (and by toys I mean the Fischer Price variety), lack of time, lack of effort, lack of...makeup.

The rest of us, we struggle to keep our marriages hot.

We find ourselves wondering what happened. We used to have time to plan our outfits and dress sexy and wear perfect lipstick, and go out on amazing dates. Now a stolen block of five minutes feels illicit. We talk about the kids. We wonder what they're doing at the babysitter's. We hurry with our dinner. We complain about work. We drive home in panicked exhaustion that we've stayed up too late.

And on and on...

Well, List Queen that I am, I've been jotting down Date Ideas in hopes that I can use them on my husband. Last week, we left Reese with my mother in law and drove to Ann Arbor for an incredible meal at the brewery and a glass of wine (me) and Manhattan (Ben) at this fancy-pants place called Vinology. For the first time in too long, we connected. We let ourselves have fun, or at least as much fun as we could in my pregnant state. We talked. We held hands. We held hands! Hand-holding has been replaced in my vernacular with baby-holding, so the simple act of holding my husband's felt very sweet. I realized that I miss him. And I think most of us do this: we long for a family, and then we have one; instead of balancing all of our relationships, we throw all of our energy at the kids. Here's my belief: a strong marriage can only, in turn,  be beneficial for your kids. Here's my other belief: making time for JUST the two of you fortifies a strong marriage. You and your husband make time for canoodling and hand-holding and adventuring, and everybody wins.

Without further ado...

100 HUSBAND & WIFE DATE IDEAS

1. Stay at a swanky hotel, even in your area. Enjoy room service, hot tubs, and just being away from home.

2. Visit a winery (or several, but take a taxi!) for a tasting. Purchase a bottle of the one you both love best and save it for an anniversary. 

3. Take a boxing class together. (An excuse to buy some cute pink gloves!)

4. Visit a new city.

5. Try craft beers at a brewery. Most of the time, brew pubs offer excellent artisan food--bonus!

6. Take a restaurant tour: drinks here, dinner there, dessert somewhere else, and a nightcap. Works best in a walkable city.

7. See a baseball, football, basketball, or hockey game. Dress for your teams and take pictures. 

8. Go to a ballet, for an elegant evening out. 

9. Tour an art museum. A lot of them are free and have rotating exhibits.

10. Find a festival or fair and ride the rickety Scrambler together. No funnel cakes beforehand!

11. Amusement park!

12. Drive to the beach or the lake for the day...or even a local pool. 

13. Take a long bike ride.

14. Get in the car and JUST GO.

15. Go to the races. Bet against each other. 

16. Take a trip to the casino. (But spend wisely.)

17. Bust out the Mad Libs.

18. Visit the Humane Society and offer to walk the dogs. If you're looking for a pet, consider adopting one you find and fall in love with at the shelter. 

19. Attend a poetry reading. Bonus for erotic poetry!

20. Go out for late-night coffee. 

21. Meet on your lunch break for a walk in the park or a tryst in the car. Just don't get caught ;)

22. Take a home tour, or walk around your favorite neighborhood. Talk about what your "dream home" should have.

23. Start a home improvement project together. Celebrate when it's done.

24. Take photos in an unexpected environment. See what beauty you both can find when you really notice. 

25. Drive around and listen to a playlist of "your" songs.

26. Redecorate the bedroom--less clutter, more sexy!

27. Go dancing.

28. Rollerblade.

29. Hike the local terrain.

30. Pick out fresh produce at a farmers market or roadside stand, and enjoy it together.

31. Plant a garden. 

32. Rock climb.

33. Throw a dinner party. 

34. Get your favorite photo or work of art custom-framed together and create a showpiece for your home. 

35. Show each other the highlights of your hometowns, however small, if you're from different places. 

36. Pack a picnic, for the beach, park, or backyard. 

37. Lowkey night at home: grill out and hang out around a campfire. 

38. Sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Find your inner kid. 

39. Attend an opening at an art gallery. Support local art together.

40. Go on a mission to find out the history of your house.

41. Sleep in! Eat breakfast in bed and snuggle the morning away.

42. Find a great Groupon for something you wouldn't normally do.

43. The circus.

44. Take turns planning dates. Week one, he picks. Week two, you pick. Get to know each others' interests.

45. Couples photo shoot.

46. Visit a wildlife preserve.

47. Go for a walk around your neighborhood. Hold hands.

48. Catch lightning bugs.

49. Enter a 5k, a 10k, or a marathon. Train together!

50. Visit a haunted house, real or at Halloween.

51. Tailgate at home. Watch the game, make game food, and wear your team colors. 

52. Create a scavenger hunt.

53. People-watch and make up stories. Good places: diners, sidewalk cafes, parks, and laundromats at night.

54. Test drive the car of your dreams.

55. Pool hall. Place bets.

56. Go to a dive bar and play your old favorites on a real juke box.

57. Visit the zoo.

58. Have childlike fun at the science center.

59. Throw a theme party together.

60. Go back to where you first met.

61. Try a new workout at a fitness center. 

62. Get the season DVD of a show neither has seen and spend a rainy day watching it. With popcorn and warm blankets. 

63. Cook together.

64. Build a bonfire and roast marshmallows.

65. Meet somewhere and pretend it's the first time.

66. Splurge on fancy drinks at a cocktail bar. Dress up.

67. Scour the newspaper for local events and try something you wouldn't normally be interested in. 

68. Attend a charity function for something you both believe in, or host your own. 

69. Volunteer together.

70. Try a new church, if you're exploring your religion.

71. Get a couples' massage.

72. See a local band.

73. Go to a concert.

74. Drive-in movie. "Neck" in the car ;)

75. Have an at-home movie marathon.

76. Walk at the park. Play on the playground and be silly together.

77. Get ice cream.

78. Create new cocktails. Become mini-mixologists and build up an impressive bar.

79. Play old-school board games.

80. Carve pumpkins. Hello, competition!

81. Pick apples at an orchard in the fall. 

82. Scour antique shops for amazing vintage finds.

83. Shop someplace you could never afford anything, just for fun.

84. Road trip!

85. Camping.

86. Save up change in a change jar for a special occasion. Post the occasion on the outside of the jar for motivation.

87. Do something that scares you: roller coasters, bungee jumping, scuba diving. 

88. Go fishing.

89. Take a canoe or kayak trip.

90. Create a piece of art together, even if it's just with fingerpaint.

91. Build a sundae bar. Invite some friends over on a hot day for ice cream.

92. Do something so high school, like laser tag or paintball. 

93. Make a dinner date and pick out each others' outfits. Good insight into what the other person loves on you!

94. Go horseback riding, or take a lesson if you've never been.

95. Tour a historical building or town.

96. Watch a thunderstorm from your front porch.

97. Go ice skating, and out for cocoa afterwards. 

98. Build a snowman.

99. Write short letters to each other, or collaborate on a journal entry about your life together, and seal them. Open in 20 or 30 years.

100. Get up early and watch the sunrise together, then watch later as it goes down. Toast to another lucky day together. 

Hope these ideas are interesting for those of you looking to spice things up a little! I'm lucky to have married an incredibly fun, handsome and hardworking man, and I plan to implement these dates into our life together. It's especially important now that we're parents. After all, the kids wouldn't be here if it weren't for our love for each other. I think we should pay homage to that! 

In closing, because I'm feeling cheesy (I am NOT a "romantic") and in love, here are some lovey-dovey photos of my husband and me, in moments when we were feeling crazy about each other. Here's to many more of those!