culturelux

Secret Date!

Hello, friends! Meredith here to drop an idea bomb ALL UP IN YOUR FACES: secret dates!

Disclaimer: secret dates are not my invention.  A couple of years ago, Erin read a blog about a couple that planned secret dates, and Matt and I stole the idea and have been doing it ever since. And now you can steal the idea from us!

So here’s how it works: every month, we alternate who plans the secret date. I typically keep a list of secret date ideas on my phone, and I’m on several fun Houston e-mail lists to find out when cool stuff is happening in town. We give the other person a little notice, clothes/shoes recommendations if relevant, and then SURPRISE THE PANTS OFF EACH OTHER!

Okay, that one’s not from a secret date. It’s from our honeymoon, which was not a secret as we were both pretty much in on it. But don’t I look surprised?!

Secret dates don’t have to be outrageously expensive or complicated. Previous secret dates have included bowling and a monster movie, an Aeros hockey game, museums, picnics at the park, a wine tasting, a crawfish boil, pub crawls, live music shows, visits to the farmer’s market or lunch at a favorite restaurant. The awesomeness of secret dates is three-fold:

1) Once every two months, I get to be surprised, and once every two months, I get to be sneaky!

2) We always have at least one night (or day) a month that’s all about us and having fun and being cute.

3) Food and booze are invariably included.

January was my month to plan secret date, and I’d read on one of my e-mail lists that Discovery Green, the big, wonderful park downtown, had a giant balloon that you could ride 300 feet into the air for beautiful views of the city. For only $15! Secret date plan: accomplished.

That morning before I work, I packed our oft-used picnic backpack with wine and snacks we had at home (including scones and a heart-shaped raspberry chocolate torte made by the aforementioned Erin, because she loves me and I don’t cook), and on my lunch break I went to HEB and got typical tasty outdoor fare: gourmet cheese, sausage, olives, etc. After work, I met up with Matt and we headed to the park for a delicious picnic!

After which we went up into this giant balloon!

Which was really fun because it was just the two of us up there for about 20 minutes, enjoying the peace and beautiful Houston skyline. (I’d forgotten my camera, so all of these pics were with my phone, thus the suckiness.)

et voila! Secret date festivity: accomplished. It was cheap, cozy, fun, and included food and booze!

Last Sunday was Matt’s turn to plan secret date. (It was also the last day in February, because Matt likes to cut it close.) He kept a close eye on the weather, and when it cooperated, fun commenced! We went to the Houston Zoo, a place I had never been before and had always wanted to visit. The day was lovely and we had a wonderful time, walking around and looking at (and squeeing at, in my case) adorable animals for three whole hours. You guys, look! At the animals!

I don’t know what’s up with this dude, but I like it.

Sleepy kitty!

Hop into my pocket, cutie pie!

Yay, I love you, animals! But my favorite was Toby, the red panda. He was so sleepy in the tree! So sleepy that we couldn’t get a good picture of him, so here’s one I stole from the internet:

I like him because he reminds me of Zelda, my ginger puppy:

Doggy bag!

At the zoo, we ate burgers and fries (food!), and afterwards, we headed to my favorite pretty-weather bar, Volcano, for tasty cocktails (booze!).

And that, my friends, is how you plan a successful secret date. I urge you to try it! Or not, whatever.

© 2010 Poshdeluxe.