Best Affordable Dates

I've been a boring married woman for a few years now, but looking back in time to my girlfriend years I can't help but smile at the good memories I have with J.

Dates are a very important part of a romantic relation ship and we went on our fair share. J prided himself on doing fun and unique things and he liked to keep the destination a secret and have me try and guess what we were doing. I really loved and appreciated his thoughtfulness in planning our dates. We didn't have a ton if money to blow (and still don't) but I couldn't cherish that time more if we had. I really wanted to share some of my favorites for dating years as well as married years.

Zoo Safari

This one was always a really easy and affordable way to have a great time together in the sunny summer months.

The camera is always a must at the zoo and I have some of my favorite J pics taken on zoo excursions. I would really recommend the Tyler Zoo which has renovated and added a lot of exhibits and the Ft. Worth Zoo which I much

prefer over the Dallas Zoo just because the animals always seem more active and interested in their surroundings.

Cave Exploration 

We went to the Natural Bridge Caverns near San Antonio to celebrate our latest wedding anniversary and it was a lot of fun. If you find yourself wanting to check it out I would recommend a Hidden Passages tour. We did a standard tour of the main cavern first, which was interesting but very crowded and reminiscent of an elementary school field trip. But our tour guide was great and the overall tour was very interesting and no we did not see any bats. I was very surprised at the amount of people who took small children on the Hidden Passages tour because they let you experience a moment of total darkness at the end of the tour. Thankfully they somehow managed to compose themselves until the guide turned the lights back on and had us make our way back up. 

Fun at the Park

I mentioned before that money wasn't growing on trees but that should never stop you from having  good quality time together. We spent a lot of time at our local parks and walked many miles together talking about our future. One of my favorites was a park next to a very calm and well cared for cemetery. I know that sounds creepy and J agrees with you as I was only able to coax him into walking the paths a couple of times. But the swing sets were huge and we spent a lot of time swinging and talking. 

Star Gazing

The more I look back the more I see how nerdy we are. In the fall and winter months when the sky is darker and the stars are more vivid we would sit outside and freeze out butts off and find the constellations. J was nice enough to get me some of those cool hand warmer packets to keep in my pockets and hot apple cider came along a few times too. Again nothing elaborate or extravagant but I would not trade our time watching the stars for anything.

Home Chef Prepared Dinner

This has become a bit of a tradition for us. J plans, shops for and prepares a delicious dinner for the two of us on special occasions. On Valentine's Day we started with romantic music, candlelight and homemade peach Bellinis. Dinner was a yummy Beef Roulade,  Au gratin potatoes and Braised Squash. For dessert we had heart shaped Chocolate Ganache with strawberries and whipped cream and we ended the evening with Shakespear in Love. Trust me, nothing is more romantic than your guy making an amazing intimate evening  just for you.

Movie Night 

I'm not a giant tv watcher and neither is J but we do like the occasional movie marathon. We usually go for nerd movies as you might have guessed. Our latest marathon was all the Star Wars movies in order. For our first wedding anniversary we did something similar. We found a good recipe for Sangria and got some good quality crackers, cheese and fruit and watched Gnomeo and Juliet. It was really simple but fun and fuss free for both of us. Don't feel like you aren't doing a good enough job if some of your dates are plain, the plain ones can be the most enjoyable.

Garden Getaways

Too many people miss botanical gardens 

when they are planning couple time. Out of all of our dates, our visits to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens are up at the top of the list. They are usually free which is great if you are watching your pocket book and what girl doesn't like flowers?

The Ft. Worth Gardens does have a couple of portions which cost a small fee to enter. The Conservatory is full of tropical plants and flowers and the Japanese Tea Garden is equipped with a Zen rock garden and Koi pond. No Texas garden is complete without roses and roses they certainly have. You do need to check the blooming season on their website if you want to catch the roses at their  best. They have a busy schedule of festivals and events so check out the website before you go to see what will be going on. I will say that I am biased about the gardens because that where J proposed! I will never forget that day and I could not ask for more beautiful surroundings. 

Hope you enjoyed and will try some of these dates out. Bye!