With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, love is ever-so-obviously in the air, which is exactly why I challenged myself (and, whoops, my husband) to infuse some creativity into the best way to spend quality time together, sans sitter: Date night in.
To be clear, I took this assignment rather seriously. I combed the internet—and mined my friends—for the best ideas for date night in. The suggestions ranged from the outlandish (like building a pillow fort and stringing up lights, then sitting inside to sip wine and chat) to the outstanding (like a friend’s idea to mine the Criterion Collection for a classic film neither of us had watched). Next, I dreamed up a list that felt equal parts interesting and attainable for my husband and I to infuse into our routine. I got my husband’s sign-off. We were both on board.
But here’s the thing—and something I need to get out of the way up front. We failed. Pretty spectacularly, to be honest. Still, there’s a reason…and a lot of romantic lessons learned along the way.