Restoring Romance in a Rushed and Running World

He grabbed my hand as we jaywalked through the parking lot and climbed up cement steps to the history center. On wooden benches, in folding chairs, and across picnic blankets, the crowd swelled and continued to grow. We spread out our picnic sheet, laughing at the too-stereotypical red gingham material, and laid out an easy picnic supper from the grocery store. Asian chicken pea-pod salad and a roast beef baguette sandwich paired well with a mango coconut water for me, and a juice for him.

 Gold twilight warmed the St. Paul basilica behind us, and cast shadows across our legs and supper, as the first of the music started. Appalachian violins, fiddles, and clogging dancers stamped and scratched out the rhythms, in sing-song line-dancing chorus, during this week's Nine Nights of Music free summer concerts.

Evening fell on the St. Paul skyline, dancers grabbed partners and dosei-doed, and I stretched out barefoot toes from a red sheet to cool green grass, and sighed contentedly.

"Look," Mark pointed to a white haired man in rolled blue jeans and a cuffed white t-shirt clasping hands with a jitter-bugging female partner. They moved in comfortable grace, familiar with each other's thoughts and movements. In dance after dance, they swayed in elegant ballroom moves, or rocked in easy rhythms.

Mark and I intertwined fingers and sat back, followed them with our eyes in the swirling mass of dancers, and leaned heads close in the deepening dusk.

With the busyness of life, and a son in college, we are always on the lookout for easy frugal date ideas. This picnic supper at a local free concert series was fun, romantic, and simple to do. Rekindling the flame in our marriages needn't be expensive or exhausting, and is so worth it.

What are your most recent easy, simple date ideas? 

For more ideas, check out:
-Adding Steam and Romance to Our Marriages this Summer
-Romance in the Moment to Moment (Plus free date ideas...)
-Sneaking Romance into the Work Week
-Rekindling Romance a Moment at a Time

Linking with Emily at Imperfect Prose.

Romance in the Moment to Moment --Plus Free Information & Free Giveaway!

The first aisle or two had hors d'ouevres-- small, savory, bites of all types. Next we ambled through the aisles with main dish samples. Stroganoff, pizzas and sandwiches. With a few more aisles to go, we were thrilled to discover that for this store's anniversary extravangaza, there were even dessert samples!

A college professor passed the word to my then-boyfriend husband in that youth ministry class years ago. "Bring your special girl to this free date on Saturday!"  Scrimping pennies to pay for an expensive private college, this announcement sent most guys racing out the door in excitement to secure a date for that Saturday. Mark and I were no exception, walking the mile or so to the store that sunny day for a free grocery store sample date.

He and I grin at that memory now too. While our budget has grown since that day, we recognize that romance can easily be found on a shoe string. We can rekindle the romance through small choices each day:
        -sitting close to each other at church, or on the couch
        -stealing kisses in the kitchen during meal prep
        -sending small gazes at each other across a public room
        -sincerely stating and remembering things we like about each other
        -spending date times together, even just at a coffee shop for an hour

I came across these two fun websites with ideas for easy cheap dates. Thanks to Rod Froseth's "21 First-Rate Cheap Date Ideas" and Dallen and Katie's "Ideas for a Cheap Date.com" for their info. Check out their sites.

What about you? What cheap dates have you found? 

In fact, as a thank you gift for your  ideas, I'll enter your name in a hat to buy you a small gift card to start off your date night. Here's how to win: 
1.) Post your answer in the comments below to get your name in the hat.
2.) Optional: Answer this question on your blog also with a link to my blog there for another chance to win.
3.) Optional: After commenting with your answer here, click Share to Facebook to post this site with your good idea on your facebook wall too.

Three ways to earn your name in the hat for the gift card. Let me know what you do in the comments section below so I can get your name listed as many times as possible. I'll post the winner on Thursday.