Written by Candace on May 15, 2014 | Chime in

Date Night Celebrations

I recently came across a few blog posts in my “drafts” that I never ended up sharing. As I reread this one, I wondered why it never made it to the blog. I resonated with it even now so I thought I’d go ahead and share it…

Last Saturday, Vitaliy and I decided to devote the evening to celebrating the end of the 2013 wedding season.

I find it so important to take time to reflect. To share areas that need improvement. And toast to the areas you are most thankful for. Vitaliy and I spend date nights going out to eat all the time. I know a lot of you do too. It’s easy. But this dinner was so different. Vitaliy kept saying on the way home what a great time he had. I felt the same.

But what made this dinner so much more memorable and enjoyable? It was intentional.

We had a goal in mind for the dinner. We wanted to reflect on the wedding season, on our business, to reminisce. In order to do this, we were very intentional about the questions we asked each other to spur our memories. We talked and toasted, we laughed and almost cried, we love and listened. We didn’t just let the conversation wonder wherever. And lastly, we spent a good chunk of the time celebrating. Keeping the conversation on a positive note makes the world of a difference at the end of the night. You return home filled up and hopeful.

For your next dinner date night, be a little more intentional about your conversation and I promise it will go a long way. Life is hard; spend time celebrating even the smallest accomplishments together.

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Written by Candace on April 10, 2014 | 3 Comments

The Ultimate
‘Date’ Night Smoothie

A couple weeks ago, I shared about missing New York City and how we fixed the problem by bringing New York to us.

You can read the full details here, but basically we watched the movie Manhattan and tried to recreate a smoothie we discovered in Brooklyn at a cute little cafe called Siggy’s. I’m not sure if we were ever able to match their recipe exactly, but we are definitely enjoying our version. I thought I’d share the ingredients with you today in case you’re in need of a new smoothie recipe. I have a serious sweet tooth, but have been trying to find natural sources of sweetness to fulfill my cravings. This smoothie always satisfies! Hope you enjoy! We even gave it a new name. And it’s enough to serve two people, of course!

The Ultimate “Date” Night Smoothie

– 6 dates (pit removed)
– 2 bananas
– 1.5 cups of almond milk
– 1/4 cup of almond butter

Tips: Feel free to play around with the proportions. We do it a little different each time depending on our mood and which flavors we want to stand out most that night. Also, I’d say the key is to not blend it up entirely smooth. You want to run into little tiny pieces of date with each drink. They’re like finding little pieces of candy in your smoothie.

If you try it out, let me know what you think! And if you’ve got a simple, healthy smoothie recipe to share, please leave it in the comments. We’re always looking for new ones to try! I’ve got a mango here I’m wanting to do something with, but not sure what to pair it with. Any suggestions?

Styling by the wonderful StyleSmaller.

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Written by Candace on March 28, 2014 | 3 Comments

Date Idea: Relive Your Favorite Trip

I kept daydreaming about our trip to New York City. I just wanted to snap my fingers and be back on the busy and bustling streets of the big city.

I could sense that maze of buildings surrounding me and I could taste all the foods I fell in love with. The energy in New York is inspiring. At least for a few days. I’m not sure how I would feel if I lived there. But I wanted to go back. I should correct that, I want to go back. Even now. Today seems like an absolutely perfect day to fly to New York. Unfortunately, reason works against that idea. Perhaps we’ll book a wedding there, that would be an awesome reason to go back.

Until that happens, Vitaliy and I decided to get creative and bring New York to us. For a recent date night at home, we decided to watch the movie Manhattan while enjoying one of our favorite smoothies we discovered at Siggy’s Good Food in Brooklyn. We actually arrived at Siggy’s after missing our stop and ending up in Dumbo. It was the best mistake we made on our trip.

With only knowledge of the ingredients, we played around with measurements until we felt we had a good match with the flavor and consistency of our favorite smoothie from Siggy’s. It was so much fun trying to recreate it! We got a taste and enjoyed the sights of New York if only for a night. But it was a perfect way to commemorate and relive one of our favorite trips. All within the comforts of our own home.

I’ve got some ideas for recreating another trip at home. Do you? I would love to hear them!

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