October has been one of those months where we’ve just been so busy with school and work that even when we would make plans to go out on the weekend, we just couldn’t get ourselves to do it.
The couch was just that enticing.
So last week, Eric and I forced ourselves to have a weekday date night.
The thing I love about weekday dates is that it reminds me that we still don’t have children so we can enjoy these spontaneous moments of getting out of the house just because we feel like it.
Once you get over the hump of doing something out of your normal routine, a weekday date night is actually a ton of fun since you don’t have to deal with the weekend crowds.
We started off our night at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot–it’s a place that Eric’s been wanting to try for a while, and since I chose the movie, I figured he could choose the restaurant.
The idea of Hot Pot is sort of like fondue or shabu shabu. They supply you with the broth, and then they bring you all the food to cook at your table.
So let me get this straight… I’m paying $40 to cook my own soup?
Yup. We are American suckers.
The food was okay…but I don’t get the appeal. Plus I couldn’t help but wonder if I was ingesting a big ole bowl of MSG…And also? I’m not usually one to claim “soup” as a meal.
Moving on…
I had a free movie ticket that I got through my Regal Rewards card and I had to use before it expired in two weeks. I also had a Fandango ticket that I purchased through Groupon and that expired in early November as well. I had been wanting to see Gravity but Eric wasn’t that into it, so I took advantage of our date night compromise to pick the movie (since Eric picked the restaurant).
We saw the 3D version, so we had to pay to upgrade our free tickets. I haven’t seen a 3D movie since Michael Jackson’s Captain EO at Disneyland.
No matter how old I get, that dance still brings me back to my childhood. I love Captain EO.
Gravity was pretty cool. I thought the visuals were really good, but it did get a bit slow at times. Still, decent movie and I’m glad we saw it in 3D.
The movie ended around 9:30, and like clockwork we both started yawning as we were walking toward the car.
I’m telling you, we suck at staying out past 10.
We ended the night at home, snuggling between our bundle of joy and hearing him snore. No joke, here is our ten-year-old Wheaten Terrier taking up our bed:
In the end, our date night of dinner and a movie consisted of:
- Dinner: $41
- Coffee drinks: $8
- Movie tickets: $10 (for upgrading to 3D)
TOTAL: $59
Not the cheapest date we’ve ever been on, but I think pretty typical as far as dinner and a movie goes? What do you guys think?
17 comments
Your dog is too cute! Glad yall had a nice date night!
I love hot pot!!!
My family has a hot pot at home and we make a nice spicy broth to cook our meats and veggies in. Then, the leftover cooking broth is used to make noodle soup with the leftover ingredients. YUM.
Have you heard of Howaboutwe.com for couples? It’s a dating site with where they plan the dates for you and you can buy them at a discount. I think it’s only in NYC and SF right now, but they are rolling out to LA soon. I’ve looked at the site and it seems really interesting… at the very least, it’s a great resource for date ideas.
I love Little Sheep!! I guess I had a different experience, because I freaking obsess over this place and convinced my fiance to try it, and he was impressed too! I always get the lamb/beef plate, plus wood ear and enoki mushrooms, some Chinese greens (hong to or something like that) and fresh noodles. But it’s the sauce that makes it!! That stuff is a flavor I don’t have often, but love the peanut/chili taste. Dang it. Now I really want hot pot.
You’re so right when you say it’s difficult going out for a date when you’re so tired from all your usual chores, and isn’t it ironic how teenagers love staying out beyond 10pm but as soon as you get a job, you can’t be bothered to do the same. I’m glad you two had fun. It’s important to be spontaneous in life, even if it means eating nothing but a bowl of soup with some veggies in them
Aw! I have missed reading your blog. You guys are adorable and your dog!! Haha! Love it.
My husband has a funny work schedule, so we love going on dates at random times, during the day and in the middle of the week! We have a 2nd run theater near us where tickets are $3.99–if we’re patient, that’s a great option for getting the theater experience just a little later than we would if we went to the normal theater!
I LOVE mid-week date nights! M and I do it weekly as much as possible. We make a special meal (usually fish or something that feels ‘fancier’ if that makes sense!) a glass or two of wine, and time spent together. I find it really helps for the weeks we are ships passing in the night, particularly! I love this date you guys had tho, and I LOVE shabu! first time I tried it WAS out in your neck of the woods. It does creep me a little that you cook your own food in broth and it’s raw to start, but I guess it is so hot and cooks it, just don’t cross contaminate haha. miss you guys!
That’s super cheap for a dinner out. The thought of a weekday date makes me tired!! I think it’s cool that you pushed past that feeling and went for it. You are always glad that you did.
We have a restaurant like that nearby as well and I don’t get it either! I don’t want to cook my own food! =) (They do have really good chocolate fondue though)
When I went to China, we got hot pots but they served it with rice. It was delicious. I have heard of a place in the ghetto part of the suburbs of Denver that is supposed to have good hot pot, but I haven’t been there yet. It’s not exactly on my high list of places to visit.
Speaking of weeknight fun, last night instead of going to bed at my usual time (9:30), I went to a free screening of the new movie, About Time, with Rachel McAdams. It was so good (and free!) – well worth staying out past my bedtime!
I like watching movies in the theater, so I try to go at least every other month or so. I also love shabu shabu and hot pot. It has broth, meat, veggies and tasty sauces to dip your veggie and meat in.
Lol, I remember loving captain EO as a kid! I still have the stuffed animal, the clumsy elephant, Hooter, somewhere in a box. I just didn’t have the heart to get rid of him… Maybe he’s worth some $$$’s now? 🙂
We are couch potatoes too during the week. Though once a year or so if there is a movie we really want to see we’ll sneak out to the movies on a week night. We like the smaller crowds too.
I know what you mean about sticking to a routine. When my BF and I lived together it was sooo hard to not end up on the couch/bed on our laptops while watching TV shows. While I thoroughly enjoy those nights, it’s always nice to get out and do something like dinner and a movie 🙂
I think that’s fairly typical for a date night especially if you go out to eat at a restaurant. Hot Pot is super overpriced but I think if you went to Outback or something the price would be similar anyway!
OMG YOUR DOG!
I’m making a date with my couch all weekend. Cant. Wait.. Glad you had a nice date night and one that was pretty frugal too.