The Secret to Hugh Jackman’s Happy Marriage

Well, we were thrilled to see this headline in The Age newspaper today: “The Secret to Hugh Jackman’s Happy Marriage”

The Age reports:
“Hugh Jackman has a happy marriage because he has date nights.
The X-Men Origins: Wolverine star – who has been married to Deborra-Lee Furness since 1996 – has revealed he and his wife always make [...]

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 [...]

Love Plug: Old School Polaroids

What is it that’s so romantic about having an old Polaroid photo? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the sense of nostalgia is overwhelming. We found this site Rollip.com where you can work back your favorite pics of the two of you into vintage-style Polaroid.
Here’s a few I prepared earlier…

Government Gives Second Honeymoon for Troubled Couples

A Malaysian state government is taking it upon themselves to give assistance to troubled couples, encouraging them to work on their relationship rather than divorcing – by sending them on a second honeymoon and providing counseling.

(Source: AP) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A Malaysian state government says it plans to offer free honeymoons to save [...]

“Some People are Just Happier in a Relationship”

I know I’m one of those people. Last time I was single, I gave myself a horrible haircut, dyed my hair a different (hideous) colour and promptly stacked on 10 kilos (that’s 20 pound in American-speak) which was quite the feat considering I was training in dance for hours per week… I was the exact [...]

How to Make a Love Map

In our spring clean-up this week (more on that later), I unearthed a file of papers from when Den and I did our pre-marriage education weekend earlier this year. In Australia, these weekends are generally a prerequisite for marrying in any given church – though after being pleasantly surprised by the genuinely great information we [...]

Guest Post: $30 Cake Night

This deliciously decadent guest post comes to you from the divine Jess Pryles of Sugadeaux Cupcakes. You can find her on Twitter @sugadeaux or visit her mouthwatering website here…
While we’re all still shaking off the winter blues, sometimes a great date can be spent as a night in. With chocolate. And cake. How can [...]

Table for One?

With Den away all week, I’ve had plenty of time to be alone, indulge in all that Secret Single behavior without having to lock doors and such… last night, I even took MYSELF on a date night. Alone.
I was watching the lovely Mia Freedman and a panel of mothers on 9am yesterday morning talking about [...]

The Heart Grows Fonder

Den is away this week; gallivanting off in the snow with a group of friends while I’m here at home holding down the business fort. He’s having a wonderful time, and I’m having a great time too. I quite love having the house to myself, my own space to relax, think, play my cheesy pop [...]

5 Fresh Date Ideas for the Mornings

Sometimes (like last week!) the only time you can find for a date night with each other during a hectic week is a sliver of time of a morning… whether it’s a few hours on a weekend or stealing time before you go to work, here are a few morning date ideas that may appeal [...]

How Much Time Do Couples Spend Together?

Wow – what a week! Spring has kicked off here in Melbourne with a plethora of gourmet food and high end fashion events and Den and I have barely seen each other since last Wednesday! (oh, and I’m obliged to do that thing here that EVERY blog advice site you read tells you NOT to [...]

Living With Messy People

My poor husband. I’m messy, you see. I’m not talking about dirty or unclean. It’s just… I thrive best in organized chaos. You should see my desk. It’s piled with papers, notepads, post-its, books, an ornament of Ganesh (no idea), a calculator, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, unopened mail, stray jewelry that I take off and never [...]

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 [...]

Things I Wish My Husband Would Let Me Throw Out

Bringing two people’s belongings together into one house was never going to work. Lifetimes of memories, sentimentality and just plain bad taste will always haunt us… here is a comprehensive list of things I wish Denis would let me throw out… or at least move to some ‘man room’ – which we don’t have in [...]

In Defense of Marriage

In my recent web-travels, I stumbled across Sandra Tsing Loh’s “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” article, complete with subheading ‘The author is ending her marriage, isn’t it about time that you did too?’ I am deeply disturbed, and I’m trying to put my finger on why. I’m not usually a ‘I’m-going-to-write-a-letter-about-this!’ kind of person. [...]

Men vs. Women on Love, Sex and Romance

I recently stumbled across The Great Male Survey on blokey advice site AskMen.com and was fascinated by the answers from all over the globe to the Dating and Sex questions. In a fantastic move, the same questions were also answered by a bunch of females for Shine on Yahoo and here, I correlate for you [...]

What About a Little Mystery?

I’m an old-fashioned kind of gal… one who still believes in ladylike manners, in never belching at the dinner table and certainly never farting in the company of others. Others, including my own husband.
I also under no circumstances leave the bathroom door open and I flat-out refuse to undertake any kind of hair removal [...]

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 [...]

Is ‘Happily Married’ Unfashionable?

I just stumbled across this wonderful article by Aaron Traister: It’s hot! It’s sexy! It’s… marriage!
Traister writes:
My wife and I have been married anywhere from seven to 150 years (I’m not good with dates). During those years we have moved six times, and each move was like an exotic gift that happened to be covered [...]

Collection of the Best Wedding Dances Ever!

Weddings should be a fun celebration of life, of friends, of family and of course of love. We love these three couples who went out of their way to deliver some fun into their wedding day and shirk off the staid traditions that can threaten to make the day far too serious! Kudos to you [...]

5 Goals You Can Work Towards Together as a Couple

Working towards goals as a couple is a great way to engender a team spirit, gives you something to look forward to and keeps you focused in life. Discussing your own personal goals with your partner is a great way to start, but setting some major goals as a couple is also very important in [...]

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 [...]

Happy Birthday to US! The Best of $30 Date Night.

I have to say, I’m a little fuzzy and happy right this second! I JUST realized that we posted our first blog entry one year ago today… Happy Birthday to us!
So, at one year old, we’re still toddling around finding our feet, but so happy to report that we are looking forward a much [...]

Love Plug: Kama Sutra Play Products

What do Strawberry and Champagne flavoured body dusts, edible massage souffles and a Lover’s Paintbox of Chocolate have in common? Well, they are all verrry classy, very adult bedroom play products from the divine range at Kama Sutra.
Far from seedy, the packaging and concept behind these lickable, kissable products will add a touch of [...]

10 Saucy Date Ideas You Can Do Naked!

Our next door neighbor thinks our date ideas are hysterical – and regularly teases that we tend to take boring ideas and add ‘do naked!’ to make them a bit more exciting. It’s true. We do. And so especially for Gath, I bring you ten great date ideas that you can do naked!
Best of [...]

Love Plug: The Most Romantic Movie of 2009 is Coming

See the first official trailer from The Time Traveler’s Wife after the jump! (Cue girly squealing!)

Follow Their Lead: The Obamas Do Date Night!

The world has been abuzz with the scandal of the Obamas’ fantastic, expensive date nights – from a Broadway show in New York to dinner by the Eiffel Tower in Paris the next, the President and First Lady are setting an amazing example to couples everywhere.
Politicians, the media and dating ‘experts’ are all weighing [...]

Love Plug: Old-fashioned Telegrams

Plugging great products and services for couples….

How cute is this idea?! Send your sweetie a quaint, old-fashioned telegram love note from the guys at Telegramstop.com. Just type in your message and presto! a telegram will arrive on their doorstep like magic.
These telegrams cost less than $5USD, anywhere in the world, they look and feel [...]

Thank You, Nurse Denis

Date night this week was postponed, due to unforeseen illness…

I woke up Saturday convinced I was dying of the swine flu. You might think I’m saying that to be funny, but quite honestly – I had all the right “flu like symptoms”, and was packing a migraine in just for good measure. My throat was [...]

10 Fun Date Ideas for a Lazy Sunday

We moved date night to Sunday this week, as it was the only spare time we could find to indulge in a few hours quietly together. There’s something lovely about a lazy Sunday date. I’ve compiled a list of a few great lazy Sunday date ideas here for you, after the jump.

5 Creative Ways to do the Movies – the $30 Date Night way!

So, we know that a lot of you love the movies… and we don’t want to begrudge you one of your favourite pastimes… but if you are going to do it, do it with flare! Remember, it only takes a small injection of novelty to make it a butterfly-inducing date!
Here are five ideas to [...]

Ten Pin Bowling & 5 Other Cheesy Date Ideas

Oh, I know, I know… groan… Ten Pin Bowling is soooooo lame, right? Yes, you’re absolutely right. But the fact that it is so daggy is what makes it a whole lotta fun!

I must admit, Den did look pretty dubious when he realised where I was leading him. In fact, he seemed so unimpressed [...]