$30 date night | Date Ideas, Marriage & Romance Blog » Denis

Fly my Kite!

Denis — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:44:31 +0000

In my head – I thought Kite Flying would be a breeze (no pun intended). The packaging had a label saying “not suitable for children under 36 months,” what it really should have said was “not suitable for under 32 year of age.”

– Kite… $15 from ebay
– Wind… $FREE
– Scenery… $FREE
– 1 idiot flying a kite $PRICELESS!

So this was Emma’s chance to pop my kite flying cherry. She had some flying experience – a few hours under her belt from when she was a child – but never with a stunt kite.

The Kite was bought from ebay (my favourite marketplace, delivered to right to my door) – it was cheap, simple to set up and totally breakable… it took me only a few goes before I had busted part of the kite. Em’s had fun, and some frustration; although, she managed to find more air than I did! It seemed like each time I took control of the reins the kite flew up with incredible speed, turn 180 degrees, locked on Emma as a target and then zoomed back down at breakneck speeds, only to crash into the ground a few feet from her. If anyone was watching they would swear I was doing it on purpose.

In My Opinion: I was expecting a little more out of flying a kite. I honestly didn’t think it would require much skill to keep it up in the air! Who knows, it probably doesn’t… maybe I just suck at it!

Things to consider: You may want to save this kind of date idea for summer – a warm day could have made this a much more pleasurable experience. We did it in the middle of winter (curse you southern hemisphere!) And, buy 2 kites – they’re cheap… if you break one at least you’ve got a spare.

USA – it’s still warm out, grab a kite and play with your sweetie before the cold of Fall hits you! Emma and I are hanging for summer to kick in (only a few months away…) I dare say Emma will want another crack at the kite then!

I is for Italian Waiters Club

Denis — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:40:21 +0000

For a long time this iconic Melbourne establishment has been the choice restaurant for really good Italian food. It’s well hidden down an alley and up a flight of dodgy stairs. When you enter the restaurant you enter a place that you could regard as Nona’s kitchen. And I don’t mean the nice kitchen that she never cooks in and that you’re never allowed in with shoes on, I’m talking about Nona’s real kitchen, the one where she slaves at 14 hours a day.

The tables and chairs are retro, beaten up and old. The walls are made of the typical 80 ethnic fake wood grain which I am so well familiar with (it was the staple decor of the Croatian’s when I was growing up, and you can still find a small wall or two that looks like this my parents house today.)

The place was bustling and loud and full of vibrancy… but unfortunately for this date I wasn’t feeling the vibe of the place. Maybe cause it was my sixteenth-thousand time I’ve been there and I was accustomed to a certain type of expectation. This time around the food portions were small, and usually that PACK out your plate, and the prices… we broken the budget (argh, cardinal sin!) by $15! Luckily, I had placed a few extra dollars in my pocket! I literally walked out of that place with $1.70 left.

I kinda left going yeah, it was ok… but – I’ve had better date nights.

I guess there’s a moral to the story – have new experiences!

Expectations lead to disappointment… new experiences carry little to no expectations which makes it much easier to have a great time! Get out there and do new things!

Three Stages of Male Life

Denis — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:48:21 +0000

I received an email from my little sister this morning, it made me laugh… so I thought I’d share a laugh with you…

The Three Stages of Male Life…

SINGLE LIFE

MARRIED LIFE

DIVORCED

E is for Ebay

Denis — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 23:46:01 +0000

Razzie from Melbourne, Australia submitted one of the more unusual date ideas on $30 Date Night – the ebay date idea. “1 wife for sale, slightly used but still has plenty of years left in her. Needs regular attention otherwise may perform poorly. Does NOT come with a guarantee. No refunds!” Just kidding!

As Razzie suggested, we cranked the tunes, poured ourselves a glass of wine and sorted a platter of cheese, dips, crackers and chips. Of course Emma had nothing in her wardrobe that she WANTED to put on ebay – so went through mine instead.

2 shirts and a hat! The shirts I’d still wear if they fit me – alas they don’t fit anymore. It’s a shame cause I only wore them a couple of times.

The ebay date idea is cruisy and easy to do. It was a lot of! Now that we’ve done it, I would recommend making sure you both get involved in the searching for the items that you’ll choose to put on ebay. Sit back on your bed and hit the wardrobe together. We kinda didn’t do that… and I reckon it would have been way cooler to make this process a team sport.

To view the above listing on ebay click here Politix Men’s Shirt

To view the above listing on ebay, go to Gangster Hat

To view the above listing on ebay, go to Christopher Chronis shirt

Life Drawing in Sydney!

Denis — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:58:43 +0000

We had our first Sydney Date Night ever! YAY! It was sensational!!! The most fun I’ve had in Sydney for a long time!

The Sydney date idea was impromptu… we flew to Sydney for business and a photo shoot with chick magazine Marie Claire. Photo shoot was a lot of fun, profiling Australian couples – so we are stoked to be part of that! Out in September.

The Life Drawing Session at the ArtHouse Hotel in Sydney’s CBD – now that was a very cool experience. An awesome venue full of old world charm with high ceilings, it’s so different to the pubs / bars you’ll find in Melbourne.

Ems and I hadn’t planned to make it a date night, we didn’t know how much time we would have to ourselves after the photo shoot. As it worked out – we had 3 and a bit hours to play with. Ems jumped on her iPhone and started going through $30DN’s Sydney city Guide – a very cool feeling using your own site to find some entertainment.

First Choice: Crab Racing in Glebe – unfortunately that was time wasting taxi ride, not to mention Crab Racing was only on Wednesday nights – it was Monday!

Second Choice: Monday Nights $9 Steak at the Slip Inn – WINNER – we were starving so I was like LET’s GO!

Em’s manically fingered her iPhone just to see what other options could be found. And then she hit the Jack Pot!

Third Choice: The Life Drawing Session at the ArtHouse Hotel.

This was less than a minute walk from where we were; it had food and entertainment. 2 things we desperately needed.

Ok, so we were a little nervous, not knowing what to expect – honestly I thought easels and berets but for $4 per person this didn’t seem fitting. I guess we were nervous cause we can’t draw and maybe others would laugh at our drawings. Standing out the front we um’d and ah’d on whether we should go in… no drawing skills, no materials (and the poster on the entrance definitely said bring your own materials) and no berets… still, Em’s responded with “we should at least chat to find out more about it” … so inside we went.

The best date ideas are the ones that push comfort circles – having fun through new experiences releases dopamine hormones.

We had a chat with the chap on the door who made everything so much easier! He said “Woolworths is just around the corner – all you need is A4 sketch Pad and some pencils – 2B is perfect. Also – we get all calibre of artists, it doesn’t matter whether you draw stick figures or master pieces no one critiques your work.”

Done and done – Woolworths was literally a few seconds away and for less than $8 we picked up 2b pencils, eraser, sharpener and 2 A4 sketch books. For the night, you don’t even need the eraser or sharpener (unless you’re Emma). We grabbed some food on the way – not including that in our $30 budget – to do an experience you’d expect that you’d eat at home then head out for your date night. Alas, we had to eat – STARVING!!!

The Arthouse Hotel is laid back with couches and chairs lined up. The room is amazing and huge… in the vid you only see a small angle, around to the left is a bar and a whole lot of space, as well as another live model and loads of seating. You can get there early to find prime position in front of the nude models, but if you’re beginners like us you’ll probably be more comfortable sitting on the couches near the back.

Your models are nude – totally nude and they will hold a position for about 2 ½ minutes, which surprised me, but it makes sense and you get used to drawing fast. I manages to sneak a peak of some dude’s sketches and they were amazing! So much better than what I was doing but it didn’t put me off.

Life drawing sessions are $4 each. Materials cheap too – you’ll probably be able to find this in your house already so it doesn’t count… the remainder of cash can go on chips and beer. WINNER!

What I loved about it:

The date just seemed to fall into place. We had no idea that this amazing experience was just around the corner from us. Life drawing was something we’ve never done before – a totally new experience. It was laid back enough that Ems and I could chat and quietly laugh. I’d give this date a 10 / 10.

If you live in Sydney or even travelling through like we did – DO THIS DATE! I cannot recommend it enough!

MALE WARNING: Sex and the City is out!

Denis — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:43:48 +0000

The long awaited sequel to the Sex and the City movie is out – and cinemas across the globe will be jam packed with D&G, Manolo and Prada – with the exception of a few poor souls that have been dragged by their women to watch the movie.

This message goes out to those women who think it would be a great idea to watch the Sex and the City movie as a couple. IT’s NOT!

DONT DO IT! Men don’t want it, they don’t need it and the only reason they’re going is because they’re in the shit or they’re scared of you!

Don’t get me wrong – I’m privy to the Sex and the City series – and actually didn’t mind watching the girls do their heads in over their men, episode, after episode, after episode – except for Charlotte (smug, uptight, princy little headcase – nothings ever good enough for her!) she rubs me the wrong way. At least with the series each episode was only 40 minutes – at times even this was a little much.

I watched the first movie with Em’s and it made me feel, well, a little stabby.

This time around Emma has created the ideal outcome – its what ALL girls should do – organise a night out with just the girls and do the sex and city thing in style. She’s organised some girlfriends to gather for Champagne, dinner, movie and no doubt hit a bar afterwards, and best of all… she’s left me out of it – WINNER!

D is for Dumplings

Denis — Sun, 02 May 2010 05:29:11 +0000

View Larger Map

You don’t accidentally find the Shanghai Village – usually it’s recommended to you. Even with it’s in your face signage there is still the fear of not knowing what you’re in for when you walk through the doors.

INSIDE: it’s loud, its very busy, it’s not 5 star service but the food is good, the food is quick and its super cheap!

You don’t make a reservation, and on some occasions you’ll see a line out the door waiting for a table. Good thing is that you’re never waiting longer than a few minutes to get a table.

Romance Factor 0 / 10
Fun Factor 5 / 10
Cheese Factor 0 / 10

Overall Factor 5 / 10

WHO THIS IS FOR: If you live in Melbourne you need to visit this place as a cheap eats guide. You’ll enjoy good tasting food without hurting your wallet. It’s even better for large groups!

In regards to a romantic night out it doesn’t cut the ~~mustard~~ dumpling but not every date needs to be romantic – just sharing an experience is great for you! This is our local, there is no romance in something you do on a regular basis. Who knows, next time you’re at the Shanghai Village you may even bump into us.

AS A SIDE NOTE: This date idea is a bit of a copout – I did it cause I hadn’t taken Emma out for at least 2 weeks and the date I wanted to take her on fell on Thursday which she couldn’t do. So I decided to review a restaurant that I think Melbournites would like…

NEXT WEEK: I’m doing another “D” date! this is going to be awesome… again its on a Thur and its more aligned with our mantra of getting out there and doing something different… next weeks date is out of my comfort circle – I’ve never done it before and I’m looking forward to it! Stay tuned – you’ll love it – even better if they let me get in with video or a camera but I’m not sure if we’ll get away with it.

Hey Babe, Does My Car Impress You?

Denis — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:11:05 +0000

FULLI-6, seriously… how fully sick is your car? And does all this sickness fully impress the girls?

Over the weekend we were given a lift to a party in a Subaru WRX STI, (to better explain it to the girls – it’s a blue car – it goes fast). I giggled like a school girl each time the driver stabbed their foot on the accelerator – Emma was less than impressed.

So what kind of car turns a girl on? The STI didn’t do it for Emma. Interior was cheap, the exhaust was loud, the car was tiny and the ride was rough – she would prefer to exchange the power for the luxury of an Audi or BMW. The STI did it for me… I don’t give two hoots about the interior just give me a turbo, loads of torque and handling to make sure I don’t die.

Mr. Fulli-6 and STI’s tend to be a stereo-type – but they do draw in girls. So girls – what kind of car attracts you? Would you go for power or luxury? Or could you ignore the embarrassment of the car because you’re so into the guy?

D is for Den You’re Freakin’ Disappointing

Denis — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:16:51 +0000

I won’t put roses around it – I’m letting the team down…

Sometimes I don’t have the motivation to take Emma out on date night. I don’t know about you, but lately I’m feeling like everything else is getting in the way… meetings, finding more staff, paperwork, fixing bugs in our websites, paperwork, more paperwork…grrr…… I know it’s a copout but please………………….. TELL ME YOU GET IT?!?!?!

What kills me is that I know we have fun on date night once we’re doing it – the problem is getting excited when you feel like everything else is snowing you under. And what makes even less sense is that we’ve got enough date ideas on the site to make it easy for me… and I even made a system that allows me to save date ideas I like to my account for times exactly like this…

You know what! No excuses – no procrastinating – just going to do it and make it rock!

Tomorrow night (Wed 28th of April – AUSSIE time) I will be taking Emma on a date – I’m going to make it freakin’ awesome! You’ll be reading about it in 48 hours! Wish me luck!

B is for Breakfast and Radio and Breakfast Radio

Denis — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 02:16:29 +0000

Today’s date of the week starts with the letter B.

We kicked off the day with Breakfast radio – with the Hump Day Crew on Melbourne’s Joy 94.9fm! We love these guys and always have a rockin’ time when on radio with them. If you’re in Melbourne make sure you tune your radio it 94.9fm each Wed morning between 6 – 9am.

Included is a vid of $30 Date Night on the radio chatting about some summer date ideas you can do before the great weather is gone. Autumn has hit Melbourne – the weather is still fine but there are only a couple weeks left before its all cold and windy! Afterwards we hit Melbourne-town for breakfast date idea!

B is for Breakfast – week’s alphabet date duties.

The European cafe was the place of choice for today’s bonanza. Em’s is a MASSIVE advocate of the European and thus it was the place to be cause it’s what the people (Emma) wants.

The European is located on Spring Street between Bourke and Little Bourke. Breakfast time rocks there as the sun rises and beams straight on you when sitting. It’s got a clear city feel with cars zooming by with urgency to get to work on time – definitely not a place to go sit and relax during a weekday, instead use as a kick start to the day. The weekends provide a much looser and relax feel with much less cars in the city.

I always love taking footage of date night – people think we’re out-of-towners. The waitress which was fabulous at what she does was stunned to hear that we live in the city yet still take footage of each other. She was even more stunned when I told her that we were out for a $30 Date Night. Once she took grasp of the concept and the fact that the bill came to $37.10 there were apologies made for breaking the budget on us – it was all very cute!