Sex On The Beach

Its vacation time for Emma and me; we’ve survived the New Year festivities and are relaxing our way through a sunny beach-side Queensland holiday… The ocean is warm, the sand is gloriously soft and I’m feeling as frisky as a squid on Tuesday. Needless to say sex on the beach was a high priority on this beach-side vacation.

Sunshine and Good, Cheap Food

It was a beautiful day in Melbourne last Thursday. I always say there is nothing quite like a gorgeous Melbourne day. It is partly because we never know when the good weather might come back. It may be 30 degrees and sunny now, but by Christmas day we could have 17 degrees and pouring rain…

Y is for Laughter Yoga (Video)

This is one date I’ve always wanted to do. Laughter Yoga clubs exist all over the world.They are free to attend, usually held in public parks or city squares, and the benefits of practicing are enticing – more endorphins, less cortisol. An antidote for anxiety, stress and inflammation in the body. It may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and more. You burn calories when you laugh. Best of all, you feel good!

The X Date!

Den takes Emma out on a date searching for hidden treasure… you’ll be disappointed with what they find! But, don’t let this stop you – the potential this date has to rock your sweetie’s world is HUGE – find out how… read more.

W is for Whisk(e)y Tasting

Not many of our $30 Date Nights involve alcohol due to the prohibitive cost. At best, there’s picnics with BYO wine from the cellar (doesn’t count if it was paid for eons ago… or even last week!) so you know you’re onto a good thing when you can get your hands on some hard liquor and a beer for your budget

V is for Vegetarian Feast

Our Alphabet Dating Challenge is drawing to a close and it’s getting to the pointy end of the alphabet where the letters are harder and harder to match to an appropriate date idea (X, Y, Z are all giving me cold sweats).

V, luckily, had quite a few options. Most of them food-related. I decided I was going to take Den once and for all to one of my favourite little restaurant gems…

In ‘U’SA we eat!

The concept of the “Great American Diner” is a novelty to Australia. I never knew it existed until Emma mentioned it, an all American diner in our very own backyard of Melbourne. Excited, I was dying to find out if the American Diner would cut the mustard amongst Melbournian pallets.

T is for Titanic

This was a fabulous date that we managed to squeeze in on our Vegas trip among conferencing and partying and getting married and whatnot.

And I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

For the next almost-decade, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will be docked at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.

S is for Shopping

I’m not one of those women who drags their husband shopping for new clothes. I always feel sorry for them, the guys who sit forlornly outside the changerooms in boutiques as their woman parades garment after garment in front of them for their “opinion”.
I saw a lot of it when I worked a brief [...]

Row Your Boat Date Idea

Includes Video! The row boat date idea on Central Park Lake – New York. Inside you’ll get tips on how to make your row boat date idea fun. The vid makes some reference to Emma’s karaoke performance in Vegas – I’ve sworn never to show it, but I’ve still got it. Make sure you comment and let her know how much you want to see it!

Q is for Quesadillas

I have to admit, Q had me stumped for awhile!

I turned to Twitter for inspiration and my fantastic Tweeps had a plethora of ideas for me… A day trip to Queenscliff, a game of quoits and a quickie among them… we settled on a late afternoon date that involved Quesadillas from Trunk Diner.

P is for Photography Night Walk

This P date was a great one. My darling husband bought me a much longed-for DSLR camera a year or so ago and I rarely get to use it for arty shots. Mostly because it’s hard to find the time

O is for Orienteering / Geocaching

Use your smart phone to locate hidden containers around you city. Daters Emma and Denis spent a few hours trekking through Melbourne CBD to see what hidden caches they could find. It’s cheap, easy to do and a fun date idea playing secret squirrel. Read more about Geocaching Melbourne CBD with $30 Date Night.

Date Night for 2011 begins! The Night Market.

The first date night for 2011 found us at the Suzuki Night Market at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne… and it was AWESOME!
You don’t want to be shy of crowds in any market – let alone the Melbourne’s Night Market – it was packed! Although I have seen it busier.
The night was warm, [...]

M is for Money

Money, money, money. Got a huge jar of spare change at your place? Cash it in at the bank and use the spoils as your date night budget this week! You won’t believe how much cash you have sitting in one little jar!

L is for Laksa

Would you believe that Emma has never had Laksa before? So this week, L is for Laksa… something new. Rce Queen. LEVEL 2 / 231 SMITH STREET, FITZROY – Melbourne (Australia). Check it out.

Fly my Kite!

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.”

J is for Jigsaw Puzzle

I loved our J date idea. It was a horrible, cold, rainy Melbourne afternoon – no one would want to be outside in that. Luckily, we were prepared and snuggled in our warm apartment with a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle that I picked up from the supermarket for $3.99…

I is for Italian Waiters Club

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.

G is (also) for Games Night!

Relationships are all about games. The Hard-to-get Game. The If-You-Don’t-Know-Why-I’m-Angry-I’m-Not-Going-To-Tell-You Game. The Hide-the… oh, nevermind. The point is…

G is for Game Show

It was quite awhile ago that a user submitted an idea to the date night generator suggesting to go participate in a studio audience.

It ticks all the boxes as far a great date night goes for us – something new we’ve never done before, cheap and above all, fun, giving you something to talk about while on your date.

Deal or No Deal, Baby!

Em’s and I have been keeping this one secret from you. G is for Game Show! DATE NIGHT on DEAL OR NO DEAL! The episode airs tonight (Thursday 15th July) – in Australia – 5.30pm EST on Channel 7.

F is for Football

With the high fever of the world cup that has been going on the past weeks, it was only logical that F be for Football in the grand scheme of Alphabet Dating.
After all, it’s only us Australians and the US that call it soccer. To the rest of the world, it is Football.

You [...]

E is for Ebay

Razzie from Melbourne, Australia submitted one of the more unusual date ideas on $30 Date Night – the ebay date idea. “one 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!”

Life Drawing in Sydney!

We had our first Sydney Date Night ever! YAY! It was sensational!!! The most fun I’ve had in Sydney for a long time! We’ve recorded video of this date idea, check it out!

LoveStars Astrology Date Night Review

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I really, truly believe in astrology.
I’ve been scoffed at before for it, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m still a believer. I could not be more of a Pisces if I tried. I’m your typical dreamy (read: flaky), emotional (erratic) romantic (unrealistic) type with an [...]

D is for Dumplings

There ain’t much romance in cheap dumplings – but who says you need romance to have a great time and a good feed?

D is for Dumplings and Delicious – you should DO it this week!

D is for Den You’re Freakin’ Disappointing

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 [...]

C is for Comedy Festival

And so our alphabet dating streak continues. C, for us, is for Comedy Festival which was a wonderfully spontaneous date we decided to go on last night.
What I love about the Melbourne Comedy Festival is that they run a box office from the Town Hall that you can walk into at any point during the [...]

Alphabet Dating: 9 Date Ideas Beginning with C

C is for Casino
Ever played roulette? No? Perfect. Set a budget for your date night (it’s no secret we like ye olde faithful $30 limit) and head to a low-betting table at a casino to learn the ways of roulette and (hopefully!) win some money. If you pick a table where there are no [...]

B is for Breakfast and Radio and Breakfast Radio

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 [...]

Alphabet Dating: A is for African Cuisine

You may have caught yesterday’s post on ABC Dating – we’re going to spend the next six months working our way through a dating alphabet. This has a few benefits – we make sure we’re doing something different every time we go on a date and we also introduce a little more structure into the [...]

Alphabet Dating

Well, we felt we needed even more structure than usual this year – and to be honest, a new dating challenge. When we have SO MANY date ideas to choose from on our little date night generator, it can get a bit hard to decide what to do next.
The ABC Dating trend has been [...]

Getting Back on the Date Night Horse

I have to confess, ever since Christmas hit Den and I have been kind of… slack when it comes to date night. It’s been a blur of road trips, holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, partying… summer nights at rooftop bars… bad, bad date night couple.
We’ve waned from our usual Wednesday night date night, which means some [...]

We Went Plane Spotting

AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR EMMA: darling, please do not read this post – I fear for my life! I know you read all my posts, but you can skip this one – it’s boring.

As much as Emma is going to hate me saying this, I’m going to say it anyways… Emma has some expectations [...]

The Complete List of $30 Date Night Reviews!

Den and I try and do a date night every week together. The catch is, we try and do something new together every time… keeps us interesting! I’ve rounded up a list of all the date night reviews we’ve done since starting this blog – and had great fun reminiscing back in the process! Click [...]

Worst Date #4: The Nudist Beach

So, we finally stopped procrastinating and we did it!
Worst Date #4…. The Nudist Beach.
This was so-called the “Worst Date” because over on our date ideas website, it has one of the worst ratings in our user voting system. Fair enough too, the thought of it is pretty intimidating! After putting it off for [...]

Worst Date #2: Swimming at the Local Pool

Well, we did Worst Date #2 yesterday… and I’m very happy to report that it wasn’t so bad at all! Swimming at the Local Y rates badly for some reason, but I don’t know what y’all are complaining about?

We picked a gorgeous sunny day (Hello to summer down here in Australia!) and headed to [...]

Date Night Review: Joint Manicures

So. Worst Date #1 was… well, it was ok.

We started with the most benign of the four worst dates: getting joint manicures. Not a bad one, especially from a female perspective. I don’t mind a good manicure. Feedback from girlfriends was along the same lines: what a great date idea! Which makes me suspect [...]

Worst Date Challenge: Date #1 Coming Tomorrow

So, tomorrow is Date #1 of our Four Week Worst Dates Challenge. We’re starting with the least offensive date – Joint Manicures. And not just any manicures. In the interest of sticking to the rules and keeping it a $30 date, we’ve had to book them at the local beauty training college. Greaaat.
Now, I’m [...]

The Stupidest Idea We’ve Had Yet

Well, this is exciting. Denis and I have been challenging our users to a 4-week Date Night Challenge for awhile now. The idea is that you create an account over on $30 Date Night and save your four favorite date ideas from our list of amazing ideas and print them off. Then you and your [...]

Date Night on Deck 88…

This date night blew the budget… blasphemy!!! The total cost came to $46, but it was all for a greater cause – in hope of wooing the wife into getting jiggy with it in the cold of night – hidden away in public. I enjoy being cheeky, God knows I can stir the pot with [...]

Pho Fo’ Date Night

One of our anonymous users suggests taking your date to eat Pho – Vietnamese noodles for date night! Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been out for authentic Pho and neither had Den. I Googled around to find some recommended places in Melbourne and was stunned to find one of the best was within a [...]

Video Game Arcade Date Night Review

So. Den is one of those guys that is constantly on his PSP (that’s PlayStation Portable for any non-gamers and non gaming-widows out there). In classic addict style, he is also in denial that he might have a problem. If you ask him, he’ll tell you that he spends maybe, 30 minutes a day on [...]

BINGO, it’s a religion!

I was going through the $30 Date Night site looking for a date idea that would blow me away… nothing popped out at me a grabbed me. Madly pressing the red button I cruised past the Bingo suggestion. It’s such a stupid date suggestion I didn’t even notice it… but, like the subliminal promos played [...]

A Date Night in Pictures: Dominique Portet Winery

…all for under $30! Great date night in Melbourne’s Yarra Valley… go find your own local winery reigon and seek out some cellar door specials! Enjoy!
Rate the Date
Romance Factor: 5/5 – Gorgeous wine region drive, beautiful views, great food and great wine
Cheese Factor: 1/5
Fun Factor: 3/5
Overall: Wonderful date for a lazy Sunday. Opportunity for great [...]

Death By Cheese, aka Fondue Date Night

Wow. Who knew those Swiss were so hardcore about their cheese? I looked up our local Swiss Club for date night this week, in the hopes of trying some authentic fondue… I’ve never had it before, and neither has Den.
Let me start by getting one thing very clear: I love my cheese. I [...]

Date Night at the Elwood RSL

Move over Rockpool, Vue De Monde and Nobu… there’s a hidden secret out there deserve a chef’s hat (Michelin star) from each of you. Sure I’m no food critic, but I do love my food! And yes, my opinion may not mean much, but this is it… and here it is!

Date Night with Cirque Du Soleil

We had a special date night this week; Den was given tickets to Cirque Du Soleil for his birthday. Some of you might think that a night at the Circus doesn’t really fall into our $30 budget…. But we figure if they were a present, then we still have our budget to spend on popcorn [...]

SUCCESS!!! Mineral Hot Springs Date… sorted!

This date night was brilliant!!! And spot on the money too! $15 each entry… BUT
 
THE GOOD!
It’s hot, damn hot. And sooooo so so good on a freezing cold night. You get to splash around in the outdoors, under the stars with plenty of greenery around you. It’s perfect for winter… when it gets [...]