Inspired Relationships
Want to be Happier? Try This Today
Looking for a happiness boost? I just had to share this video. First, watch. Then let’s talk about how we can apply this to our own relationships. Isn’t that beautiful? Being grateful for things we already have is free. But it’s something we often forget to do in our everyday lives. If you could do [...]
The Secret to Desire in a Long-Term Relationship
I just stumbled on this TED Talk last night and had to share it. I have nothing to add really, just the below text from the TED website and the talk itself. Grab a coffee and sit to watch. It’s well worth it. “In long-term relationships, we often expect our beloved to be both best [...]
A Beautiful Love Story
I love a great love story. And this is definitely a beautiful one. I’m not going to say much about it – just watch. Perhaps be prepared for tears.
Intimate Moments in the… Kitchen?
New research shows Australians’ passion for food is reigniting relationships across the country with 44% admitting to ‘intimate moments’ in the kitchen and almost one in 10 confessing it happens at least once a week. Kind of makes you want to rethink your next invitation to a dinner party, doesn’t it? In all seriousness, I’ve [...]
An Open Letter to Ms. Julia Gillard
Dear Ms Gillard, I need you to do something for me, please. Well, it’s really not just for me, it’s for all of Australia, and indeed the world. We need you to legalise gay marriage in Australia. I’m not a gay woman. But that doesn’t matter. You’re still cheating me out of something that’s very [...]
The Movie Trailer Marriage Proposal
You guys know I’m a sucker for a great marriage proposal… this one is awesome! It’s all explained in the video…
Love Language: A Jubilee Film
This little video is just gorgeous. And it holds a special place in my heart, in particular. I don’t want to ruin the video for you, so you’ll have to watch it first. And maybe I’ll explain a little more in a future post.
Video: Best Public Proposal Ever
While I’m still completely glad that Den proposed to me in private (before springing all our in-on-it family and friends on me!), if he absolutely had to do it in public, I would’ve wanted one just like this. I’ve watched it about 5 times already and I tear up every time! Let us know if [...]
Experts Confirm: Couples Need Date Night
Well, we’ve known it for awhile and every month or so we find more research and more expert opinions confirming the same: Couples need to find time in their schedules for date night, or risk ending up a divorce statistic. This article from the Evening Tribune is a good one: “It is not only important, [...]
mX Column: There Is No “Mostly Equal”
NB: This column has been altered slightly from it’s original publication as I have an infinite word count on this blog. There are many things straight couples take for granted that gay couples have had to fight for. And on Monday, Eliza Bern’s article in mX sparked even more conversation on the topic. Bern suggested [...]
Delight Your Partner with Inexpensive Nothings
Ahh… whispering sweet nothings is lovely, but handing over a sweet littIe gift to your partner for no reason whatsoever will melt them to a puddle of goo in a second. As you know, we’re all about relationships with intent here at $30 Date Night. Break your usual routine and make your partner’s day by [...]
An Interview With HitchedMag.com
Hey readers, as you know we love anything to do with couples, love and marriage that is available as a resource on the interwebs. We sent a few questions off to the founder of HitchedMag.com to see what inspires him and his marriage. The site is online, magazine-style and written by a team of experts [...]
Newsflash: Couple Dates Each Other, Finds It’s Good For Relationship
I just found this article in The Sun about a couple who took on a one-month date night challenge (sounds suspiciously familiar) only to find that dating each other once a week was – GASP – good for their relationship! Okay, I’ll stop being snarky now. Because it’s great. It really is great that we [...]
Sexy Christina Hendricks Has Advice for Men
A wonderful open letter to men, from the Best Looking Woman in America (So Esquire says. I might just second that after reading the following advice from Christina Hendricks to Men of the World.) “We love your body. If we’re in love with you, we love your body. Your potbelly, everything. Even if you’re insecure [...]
How to Save a Marriage
Laura Munson’s new book This Is Not The Story You Think It Is: A Season of Unlikely Happiness has just been published, containing the account of the time her husband walked in the door one night, after 20 happy years of marriage and two children, and told her it was over. “I don’t love you. [...]
Unleash Your Inner Bunny!
Happy Easter, Lovers! It’s going to be a fun weekend… if you’re feeling like doing something sweet for your sweetheart then send them on a personalised Easter Egg hunt! Imagine the look on their face when they wake up in the morning to find the house strewn with chocolate eggs! Or send them into the [...]
From the Velveteen Rabbit
So, I’m in the midst of trying to organise my very messy office, desk and paperwork for the new year (even I am sick of the mess I make!) and I came across all my notes from planning our wedding… this excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit makes me smile every time, and it unfortunately never [...]
New Year, New Goals
Welcome back! I feel like I’m waking up from a really long hibernation today…. so much to do to! So many things to think about! A new year is a great time for couples to set new goals together… something you can both look forward to, work on together or learn as a couple. It [...]
Mystery Date Box Idea!
This great, inspirational dating idea was submitted by Kirsty, one of our users over at $30 Date Night – I thought we should share it with you here! “Combine all your favourite date ideas and put them in a box! My partner and I have created the ‘Mystery Date Box’ – Each fortnight we pull [...]
Is Music Unhealthy for Your Relationship?
The Boston Public Health Commission has proposed a new initiative to categorize music into “healthy for your relationship” and “unhealthy for your relationship”. The campaign will arrive in the form of a badge – kind of like the health department’s tick of approval on healthy foods – and is aimed at teenagers, encouraging them to [...]
Are You and Your Sweetie Speaking the Same Love Language?
It turns out, Denis and I are not speaking the same Love Language… in fact, our Love Languages are so different that Denis might as well talk to me in Klingon for all the good it does to get through, and likewise right back at him. The Love Language theory was developed by a lovely [...]
Elizabeth Gilbert Talks Soulmates
I was sitting down to lunch the other day and I flipped on the TV to find Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the beautiful book Eat, Pray, Love, was on Oprah. I’d been looking for some source of inspiration all week after feeling a little stuck and Elizabeth was a breath of lovely, fresh air for [...]
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 [...]
Rove Interviews Tasma – Adorable!
Okay, so I’m a little behind the eight-ball on this one. I didn’t see the actual show (it was a couple of weeks ago) and my sister-in-law just told me how seriously cute Rove and Tasma were together on Rove’s show! (Ah, for our American audience, Rove is our favourite talk show host over here [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
6 Other Ways You Can Hang Out With Your Sweetie
Date night isn’t the only way to spend time with your sweetheart! We give you 6 more great ways to make sure you get some quality time together instead of getting caught up in the humdrum of daily life. These six ideas are great if you find yourselves pressed for finding time. 1. Do the [...]
Excerpts from 365 Ways To Say ‘I Love You’
I found this vintage book in my mother’s collection just recently… 365 Ways To Say I Love You was written in 1968 by a young, fanciful woman named Jani Gardner who had oodles of helpful wifely advice for any woman out there looking to show her husband how much she cares… assuming she has nothing [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Cutest Little Old Couple Ever
Video after the jump of the most adorable little old couple, playing a piano duet they’ve clearly been rehearsing together for 62 years…
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 [...]
Our Wedding
Our wedding photos have arrived… we were married on 5 March this year… these breathtaking images are courtesy of Xsight Photography… they made us look GOOD!
Michelle Obama Talks Date Night
NB: Video after the jump! The Obamas are undoubtedly the busiest couple in the entire world, with the weight of global responsibility squarely on their shoulders… we’re sure that their weekly schedules would be enough to put us mere mortals to shame. And yet… And yet they still find time for regular date nights (and [...]
Whats Love Got to do With it?
I’m no expert in love… it’s difficult to feel like I have anything to contribute when I look into my past and all I see is massive relationship meltdowns with previous partners. Maybe after all these years Tina Turner has found the answer for us? “Does love actually have anything to do with it?” If [...]
How to Do Date Night Right
How Date Night works … “Rules of Date Night” For us… (as in Denis and Emma) date night is simple, keep it cheap and have some fun. We do stick to some fundamental rules: here we go… Do it weekly, and take it in turns! If Emma took me out on a date last week, [...]
What’s your HOTTEST date night?
Share your most exciting date night you can remember… let us know what worked for you and the reasons why it turned you on. Click the title “What’s your HOTTEST Date Night?” and give us your secrets!
Why $30 Date Night?
Den and I had our first date together … oh, let’s see… around 8 months into our actual relationship! Because what we had was something that evolved naturally from a friendship to a friendship with benefits to a proper, grown-up relationship, it never once occurred to either of us to go on a proper [...]
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