The Lucky One #CBias @BlockbusterExp #CouchCritics Date Night on a Budget

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Ever since the first few weeks of 2012, my husband and I have buckled down and stuck to a budget. We plan our finances in advance and have made a large dent in our debt because of our newfound frugal ways.

One thing we don't skimp out on is date night.

For the past year we have gone on at least one date night each month. We reconnect, enjoy our time together, and spend a few kid-free hours alone. It has done wonders for our relationship and is something we enjoy very much.

Sometimes our date nights end up costing a bit more than we planned. With dinner, activities, and childcare, date nights can be expensive. And the cost of seeing a movie in the theaters has dramatically risen in upwards of $12 for each ticket!

But with a little creativity I was able to create a date night on a budget. For only $25 my husband and I enjoyed dinner, dessert, and a movie and didn't skimp on anything! Here's how:

Blockbuster Express

Since having kids, my husband and I have found it sometimes difficult to get out to see movies in the theaters. We've started to rent movies instead of going out and Blockbuster Express is not only affordable at $2 each movie for hte first night, it's also convenient.

Not only are there Blockbuster Express kiosks all around town, we don't have to return our movie to the same kiosk we rented it from. So if we're out running errands in a different part of town we can simply return our DVD to the closest kiosk.

Since I went online to find out what kiosk in my area had the movie, I decided to sign up for a Blockbuster Express account and opted to have New Release emails sent to my inbox. Shortly after signing up I received a free movie rental code in my email. I as able to use the code to rent our movie and our movie went from $2 to free!

And each additional night is only $1. No more service charges, late fees, and endless choices! Plus when you reserve your selection online in advance, you are guaranteed the movie you've chosen. No more getting to the video store to find out your selection is already rented out.

Once I got to the kiosk it took less than a minute to swipe my credit card and retrieve my DVD. I was in and out and on my way to the grocery store! 

Find out more and follow the latest on Blockbuster movies by following Blockbuster Express on Facebook and on Twitter at @blockbusterexp.

Dinner for less than $20

Since we already planned on watching our movie at home, I decided to plan dinner at home as well. For $20 I was able to get the ingredients to make a delicious, restaurant-style meal. Here what I purchased:

•  Barefoot Chardonnay - $5.40
• Athenos Feta Cheese - $3.99
• Barilla Whole Grain Linguine - $0.99
• Aidells artichoke & garlic sausage - $4.99
• Red leaf lettuce - $0.99
• Alexia garlic bread - $2
• Cascadian Farms green beans - $2
• Ghiradelli dark chocolate - $3.69

Without including the chocolate, I spent $20 on dinner. And since I was only cooking for 2, I only used 1/2 of the pasta, sausage, and garlic bread! So our meal actually cost less than $20.

I served salad, garlic bread, and a delicious sausage and feta linguine. Because every dish is better with a little wine, I paired the meal with a delicious Barefoot chardonnay.For the first time in a long time we set the table and ate together without having to stop every few minutes to take care of our children.

The dinner was absolutely amazing and I made more than enough for the both of us. For $20 I could easily have served a party of 6!

To see how I kept my costs low and under budget, check out my shopping trip in my The Lucky One #CouchCritics Google + album here. 

Dessert for Under $5

After dinner I baked up some chocolate souffles. I picked up a bar of dark chocolate from the grocery store while shopping for the ingredients for our dinner and had all of the other ingredients in our pantry and fridge at home. Since it was my first time baking souffles I was a bit worried but everything turned out perfectly!

We paired this chocolaty treat with some salty stove-top popcorn. The delicious dessert and popcorn were a perfect snack to enjoy while we enjoyed our DVD rental. With a romantic movie like The Lucky One, it was nice to be able to curl up on the couch together and enjoy our dessert.

The Lucky One

Most movies my husband and I see are action-packed thrillers that leave you on the edge of your seat. These types of movies don't leave much for hand-holding and snuggling while the movie plays.

The Lucky One is a romantic love story that follows the life of a marine after he returns home from the war and peruses an unidentified woman. As we followed the story and became more enwrapped in the lives of these two people we found ourselves growing closer to one another.

It was so refreshing to see a romantic movie. And the love scenes weren't bad either! But the main focus of the movie and the story that unfolded definitely made date night a special one for my husband and I.

To read more about how I created a date night on a budget check out my G+ story here. And to hear more about my review of The Lucky One, keep an eye out on Couch Critics!

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All stories and opinions are my own.

Zoot Suit Date Night at the San Diego Rep

Zoot Suit is here!

Luis Valdez, along with the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, have come up with "the most significant work of Latino drama in American theatre history." Zoot Suit is a wonderful mix of fact and fiction. Dancing, jazz, and amazing acting!

My husband and I will heading out for our monthly date night tomorrow to check out the show! I'll be sure to write all about it on Date Night 411 once the evening has passed.

Update: To read about our experience head on over to my write up on Date Night 411 now!

Photo Credit: Daren Scott

San Diego REPertory Theatre 

Swings into 37th Season with a Brand New Production of 

“Zoot Suit” 

By Luis Valdez 

in partnership with 

The San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts

July 14 – August 12 

Showing at The Lyceum Stage

San Diego REPertory Theatre

79 Horton Plaza

San Diego, Calif. 92101-6144

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. (except preview Sunday). Performances also are scheduled on selected Saturdays at 2 p.m. and selected Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Please visit www.sdrep.org for specific days and times.

Prices: Tickets: $31 to $57 / Students $18

Discounts for groups, seniors and military also available.

San Diego REP Box Office (619) 544-1000

Tickets available for purchase online at www.sdrep.org

Four hours free parking in the Horton Plaza Garage with validation at the theatre.

Photo Credit: Daren Scott

Not only can you come and watch an entertaining show, join us in the lobby of the Lyceum Theatre for a mixture of entertainment and enlightenment before (and sometimes after) the show.

These Surround Events are free and open to the public. Grab a beverage or a snack from the bar, soak in the festivities, and then enjoy “Zoot Suit.”

For more information check out the line up for each Zoot Suit Surround Event here.

Disclaimer: I received tickets to this show. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 

Cleaning up the Clutter with Gift Card Exchange

Our family collects gift cards like they're going out of style. They're the easy 'it' thing to give for holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions and we love receiving them because we're given the option to choosing what our family needs. For the most part we use up our gift cards as quickly as we get them but any unused cards are kept piled up in our gift card container for future use.

Our selection of gift cards range anywhere from food to clothing to entertainment. I absolutely love saving up the ones we receive and bundling them into pre-packaged date nights. And since we try and schedule date night in each month, it's much easier to use gift cards and place them in an envelope labeled for the month we use them for.

But sometimes there's a restaurant or store thrown in there that we just won't ever get around to using. And I've found the perfect solution for those extra cards!

Cardpool.com is a gift card exchange site that  buys and sells your unused gift cards. So if you have a movie theater card and want to pair it with a great restaurant gift card you can just go onto their site and look up the place you want to go.

The best part is you can purchase these cards at 35% off the retail value!

That means you're already getting a savings on the dinner you have planned. And who doesn't love to save money?

Cardpool.com is a great way to plan out our date night in advance. We're able to purchase the cards we will use at a discounted rate from their site and then sell the unused cards we have lying around to pay for the ones we purchase! By purchasing these cards in advance we are assuring that we have one date night a month that's already paid for in advance! How great is that for budgeting?

The gift card exchange rates that Cardpool.com offers is great as well. Each card will get up to 92% cash back on the face value of the card. And since you weren't going to use it anyway, that's money in your pocket to purchase what you want or need.

This is also a great solution to saving for the holidays. You can either purchase a gift card for a loved one (perfect for stocking stuffers or gift packages) or purchase gift cards to use for paying for the holiday gifts and decor. The holidays sneak up on us each year, why not try and plan for them this time!

If you are looking for a place to unload your gift cards and make great money on them you have to check out Cardpool.com! And if you see a few gift cards to stores you like why not pick up a few for yourself as well?

What gift card would you purchase if given the chance?

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Cardpool.com. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.
 

Grandparents Rock

I could never say anything bad about my in-laws.

My kids absolutely love spending time with my husband's parents and they love my kids right back. On a moments notice they're ready to take over for us and have allowed us to enjoy time alone quite often.

This weekend wasn't any different. After reading the awesome reviews of The Avengers and hearing the great interviews a few of my blogger friends did with the cast, I asked my husband if he'd like to go see the movie.

He quickly agreed and we made sure we weren't busy Sunday morning (the PERFECT time to go see any movie... $6 tickets at AMC for morning shows and no crowds). I called up my mother-in-law on Thursday or Friday to see if she was available and luckily she was.

She also mentioned watching the kids cousin that afternoon as well so we knew our son would be very excited for some playtime with his cousin. And he reminded me quite often on Saturday that he would be going to Grandma Ann's house and cousin would be there to play with him later.

Sunday quickly came and when we all woke up, my son quickly dressed and tried to hurry us out the door so he could get to Grandma's. We dropped off the kids at around 9am and headed on our way to see the movie.

While we were away the kids ate, played, napped, played, and enjoyed time with their grandparents. They even received a surprise visit from their favorite aunts who live a few blocks away. I knew the whole time we were gone that we wouldn't have to worry about them at all. They always have a great time with Grandma and Grandpa.

It was so nice to have the time after the movie to eat lunch together. I even enjoyed a glass of sangria with my Korean beef tacos and salad.  And I ate my meal while it was still hot!

When we got back to the grandparents house, Cousin had just been dropped off and the three grandkids were playing outside together while Grandma and the aunts watched them. Once we arrived Grandpa announced that it was time to take the boys on an adventure. They were going to head out to go on a Seal Tour! Little miss wouldn't enjoy this quite as much as the boys so she headed home with us.

Not only did my son get to hang out and play with his sister at Grandma and Grandpas, he got to go on an adventure with his cousin and Grandpa too!

Now I have wanted to take the kids on this boat/land tour for quite some time however we just never seem to get around to it. So when I heard that Grandpa wanted to take the lead and bring the cousins with him I was more than thrilled. It's adventures like today the kids will remember when they're older.

After their boat tour Grandpa took them back to enjoy some fun at Ocean Beach. They got to play in the sand and get soaking wet while Grandma and Grandpa watched them. I received this picture below while we were at Mass...

I guess when you go on a spur of the moment beach adventure pants are optional.

See... how could I complain with in-laws like this?

Oh, and the movie was awesome! Definitely a must see. I'm glad we saw it in the theaters instead of via redbox (we're watching the movies that lead up to this one by renting them on redbox).

Do you have family to watch the kids when you need a bit of time away?

Date Nights with @DateNight411

I absolutely love date nights. I never thought of their importance before having kids. It was just a normal occurrence that happened every few nights. We didn't even call it date night. It was simply "going out" for us. Now, after two kids, when I think of a few moments alone with my husband I get excited and giddy like I did when we were first dating.

Life with kids has changed our relationship. A lot.

And in an effort to make sure that my husband and I connect at least on a regular basis we've started a monthly (if not bi-monthly) date night. In order to enforce this date night I've started to contribute as a Date Night in the Afternoon specialist for Date Night 411.

Since it's hard to get away for a night on the town when worrying about the kids, bedtime, and the havoc they're wreaking on unsuspecting babysitters (aka family members) paired with the fact that my daughter still nurses for comfort in the evenings we've started to plan date nights for the afternoon instead of, well, night.

Not only has this opened windows for new and unique dates, it's also given us no excuse to get out together and enjoy each others company. We also, on occasion, bring the kids along with us if we're doing an activity that the whole family can enjoy. Or we bring another family member to watch the kids while we get a little alone time at the event or attraction we go to.

So far we've gone to the movies on more than one occasion, had a nice dinner out downtown, enjoyed local theater and dined on some tasty hamburgers in our quest to find the best burger joint in the city. Our most recent attempt at date night was foiled by the weather but we've rescheduled our picnic in the park for this weekend.

And what do we have in store for next month? I'm already planning our next date night! I recently won a kayak trip for two in La Jolla that includes a kayak adventure and a beach photo shoot. What a perfect way to reconnect and get proof that we actually went! We'll follow our adventure by trying out a local restaurant we've heard rave reviews about and, of course, I'll dish all about the experience on Date Night 411.

So if you're in need of some inspiration to get out and enjoy some alone time with your spouse head over and check out the great ideas Date Night 411 provides! You might even catch a glimpse of great deals, contests, and more.

When was your last date night? Where'd you go?