Date dos, 8/25/06

(FYI, after talking about it we have decided to write about each other’s dates but if we want to write about something that did not go all that well then we will write about our own.)

The weather on Monday was less than great so Mary planned indoor things this time around. After spending the afternoon together running around town, Mary finally let me know what the plan for the evening was. One of the things we both enjoy is good food and trying new places to eat and Madison is a great place to live for a wide variety of restaurants. Also Mary knows that I love dessert.

Growing up, dinner was never really done until after dessert - and it has been hard getting rid of that habit or even wanting to. There is just something about closing the eating experience with even a small sweet that feels so right. So we headed to Hubbard Avenue Diner for dinner and pie. We both had the chicken chili which was good, especially if you like rich, cheesy soups. The soup along with the cornbread was a ton of food but we fought against better judgment and finished off our time there with a slice of turtle pie and ice-cream.

After dinner we walked around Middleton for a while and chatted about whatever came to mind. Then it was off to the Ale Asylum on the east side of town. Being a west-sider, I don’t really know the east side anymore or what it has to offer but I would definitely recommend this place if you like good beer, free pool and a relatively quiet bar. The rest of the night was spent enjoying a couple of Belgian style brews and playing cards and pool (Mary's note: I had the Madtown Nutbrown which I thoroughly enjoyed, but Jon's delight in the Tripel Nova - Ale Asylum's Belgian Tripel Summer Seasonal - fully won me over).

So far the idea of a date night has been a great thing for our relationship and a fun way to try and come up with creative ways to spend time together. It also has been interesting how many people I have talked to who do or have done the same sort of thing.

Date #1, 8/21/06

I'm not sure yet if Jon should blog about the dates he plans or about the dates I plan, but since he's in a meeting right now, I suppose I'll start it off ...

So part of making our date night a casual time for the two of us to be together requires that we not stress ourselves out about the planning. That said, we've invited a bit of the element of surprise to this ... so far. I mean, we're only two dates in, and we may find that we're just too tired to keep "surprising" each other each week. But for now, we haven't elected to give anything away until the day of the date.

All I knew last Monday was that we'd be outside eating and that Jon would pick me up at 6:00. Of course, last Monday also happened to be the day that I met Bethany, the girl who recently became my roommate. Because I wanted Jon to meet her before she left and before we took off for our first date, I delayed Jon's plans for the evening.

Which reminds me, I really like how easy-going and patient he is. But that's just a side note here. Anyway ...

After Bethany left, Jon grabbed the bottle of wine I'd been chilling for him for the past few days, and we left, sweatshirts and jackets in tow.

Out at his car in front of my apartment, Jon emptied the pinot grigio into a Nalgene, and packed it in the cooler of other items he had with him. We drove out to Hoyt Park on the near West side, pulled grocery bags of goodies and other picnic-y items out of the trunk, walked down the trail and parked ourselves at an appropriate fire pit (Jon will have to fill you in on what exactly makes a good fire pit, because a lot of this is still beyond me).

We moved a picnic table closer to our "oven" and while I poured wine, Jon built a fire to toast our pita appetizers to dip in hummus. Yum. I love hummus.

For dinner, Jon brought pepperoni, cheese, pizza sauce, green peppers, onions, spices, and individual pizza pie crusts. I have to admit that I kind of didn't expect too much from pizzas cooked over a campfire, but wow. Delicious. Two thumbs up. I'd come back for more (see a similar recipe here).

And then dessert too! Tortillas warmed with cinnamon and sugar. Seriously good meal.

Jon will have to give you the final price tag on the evening, but I assure you it was worth every penny.

Of course, our being late meant that we couldn't drive up to an overlook to watch the sun set like Jon had originally planned, but like I said, Jon is just the kind of guy who can roll with changes. Maybe the best part about the night was that his choice for our first Monday night was something that he loves doing and does well. The skies were clear and the temp cool for a summer evening, and getting to be outside all night with someone I love is easily a great date.

An Introduction

so here's the low down. madison has all these great websites featuring nightlife guides, restaurant picks, summer festivals and the like, but what they all lack (as far as i can tell) is a date guide.

here's what i mean: jon and i started dating last august, kicking off nearly a year of long distance dating. i'd been living in chicago while jon was up in madison and so weekends together tended towards the dramatic. you know, i'd choose a restaurant in chicago i loved, then head to a pub, maybe plan a day's excursion in the indiana dunes. it was great because we'd been able to plan for each other's visit a week in advance. and still, we wished to be in the same city so we could just hang out with each other casually.

fast forward to summer 2006. i moved up to madison. that's a longer story. you can read the whole dramatic tale on my blog later. as it relates to this blog, however, jon and i found ourselves juggling his bizarre work schedule (gone for a week, here for a week, studying insanely for classes) and being together with friends at a cabin, visiting family, and generally just bumming around.

so does just bumming around with someone constitute a date? i would say no. you can ask jon for his opinion, but if at least one person in a relationship of two thinks you're not going on dates, well, you're not going on dates.

with fall approaching and jon's calendar revealing how our time together will change (i don't say that to point the finger at jon for having a busy load; really, i'd like to have a schedule, too, i just don't have a job yet. but that's another story again), we decided to pick a ...






(wow, thanks to bret who saw my need for a glittered word and found a website that does it. this post is SO much better now. thank you!!!)

anyway, so the premise is that we'll set aside one night a week that's just for us. and each week we'll take turns taking the other out. it doesn't have to be dramatic (i.e. we can't take hot air balloon rides every monday), but it shouldn't be lazy (dinner and a movie at home is great, but not every monday. we're more creative than that).

we've only had two so far, but it was the second one that inspired this blog. and yes, that's because it was my turn.

i'd expected that i'd be better at this. i don't know why, i guess just because i really like planning things. but even with a week to think about what we could do, i found myself desperately grasping at straws on monday afternoon. i even put a few calls in to friends who'd creatively dated in madison once upon a time. i stopped by my sister and brother-in-law's house to glean some information. i needed something good. and why in the world could i find nothing online?

voila madisondatenight.blogspot.com.

we'll share what we do monday nights, and hopefully you'll comment with some suggestions, too. and of course, we'll provide links to the things we did and give you a general price range for the evening.

fun fun :)

so with out further ado, we hope you enjoy these madison date night diaries ...