The Date Night Guide: Valentine’s Edit
Date nights at home are actually an escape. To be free in your own home together, and relax.
Here are our inspirations for a dream date night at home.
INTRO TO OUR BOYS
Britt: Nick and I had our first date two months before Covid shut down all hopes of leaving the house. Which meant we fast tracked it and moved in together after 3 months of dating. When you know you know. Our relationship fully fledged when going out wasn’t an option — so we had to plan dates together at home. To us, that meant cooking dinner together. We’re not in a rush to get dinner on the table as we’re spending time together in our home — a place where we can just be.
Sarah: Chase & I have been together for nearly 10 years, living together for most of it. I’ve learned that date night at home with the person you live with is an art form. Transforming your shared space into a date space is so meaningful— and that’s coming from someone whose favorite hobby is going out. (Putting on a little outfit, getting done up, trotting around in impractical shoes? These are a few of my favorite things!) But date night at home is personal— authentic. Celebrating what you’ve built together in the space you share is 100x more fulfilling.
the mood
Britt: The theme is Disco Glam. Nick is a music snob. And by that I mean, he only likes what he likes — which is often disco. We make a night of it with simple cocktails (tequila sodas or martinis) and put on our shared playlist a little too loud. We cook together well, and yes, we’re the annoying couple who dances in the kitchen while the chicken is in the oven. We can’t deny Chic. We get caught up in the music and dinner is always late.
Sarah: My theme? Espresso Martini! Chase & I are basic bitch girlie girls who are obsessed with espresso martinis. Like the cocktail, our classic date night at home is equal parts teamwork and chaos. We cook together, but two people with very different methods and a refusal to be wrong make for an interesting kitchen dynamic. I set the table, Chase makes cocktails (thank god, I need one), I open the wine(s), and Luna, our 10-year-old Pomeranian, supervises.
what to drink
B: If I’m cooking with wine, then I’m also drinking wine — you can’t abandon the rest of the bottle! Otherwise, we have two cocktails we make: tequila sodas or martinis. Nothing says a party like tequila. If we’re making martinis, Nick prefers vodka and I’m a gin girlie — but we both like them dirty.
S: Espresso martinis! Duh! Chase’s “recipe” is below. But also wine. At the wine shop, I let my heart decide. Without fail, my heart decides we need 2 whites, 2 reds, a rose, a bubbles, and maybe an orange. I love options and I'd rather have too much than too little. (Isn't there some military quote like “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it”? I apply that sentiment at the wine shop, and it’s never let me down.)
on the menu
B: Roast chicken is the ultimate date-night-at-home dinner. It’s one of the first dinners I cooked for Nick when we started dating. I’ll be making a version of the Coq au Champagne with a spatchcocked chicken — and take it one step further by removing the breast bone, leg, and thigh bones. The whole chicken can lie flat in the cast iron pan so the skin gets crispy, and then I’ll use the fond for the sauce. It’s likely we’ll have a snack while the chicken is roasting — for us that’s definitely a few potato chips with crème fraîche. We’re not sweet people so we’ll skip dessert.
S: Since I live in Portland and can’t order our February Box, I’ll be following Britt’s recipes instead because Britt is an expert explainer. Coq au Champagne? Hell yeah, I’ll take any opportunity to roast a whole bird. And I’ll jump at any chance to make deviled eggs. And since Chase loves chocolate, the mousse is an obvious choice.
THE TABLESCAPE
Setting the table is a must for date night — no eating in front of the TV. A well-set table transforms your space and makes the night special. It’s the perfect excuse to bring out those plates and platters you rarely use, just for the two of you. This is how we set our tables:
Candles & Centerpieces—
B: Candles on both sides of the table - but not as the centerpiece. I don’t like looking through a centerpiece to see my partner. Plus, the chicken is the real star here.
S: Espresso martinis 🤝 candles. Set 100 candles on the table. If you think you have too many candles, add more.
Serviceware—
B: I’m the type of person who could (and would) eat caviar every day, but I use date night as an excuse to make it extra special. I love to serve caviar on ice on pedestals or in crystal bowls. I also serve our dinners on platters — even if it’s just the two of us — because it feels more intimate than serving yourself in the kitchen and carrying the plate to the table.
S: I’m slowly building my vintage silver collection, piece by piece. So, naturally, that’s what’s on my table. It’s timeless and brings a special, not-your-everyday feel to date night.
Details—
B: We don’t have many photos together, but we’re trying to be more mindful about taking them. I’ll set some polaroid photos of us around the table where we can reminisce of our travels together.
S: Handwritten menus. One of the first times we made the intention of having a date night at home was April 2020— my birthday, in the middle of lockdown. Chase recreated a few dishes and cocktails from Martina, complete with a handwritten menu for the table. He called it Hometina.
THE ATMOSPHERE
Our Tips–
B: Especially if you live together, have the intent that you’re hosting each other. If I notice Nick’s drink is almost empty, I’ll make the next round of cocktails. He also hates chopping onions (and I’m faster), so I’ll make that my prep project. P.S. If you don’t flow well in the kitchen together, the other person has to keep you company (without getting in the way) and feed you snacks:)
S: My home is everything— it’s where I work, create, unwind, host, & have date nights. So, I’ve learned to transform it with lighting and scent. A few intentionally placed lamps with specific jobs allow my home to become the 100 different spaces I need it to be. And I’m an incense girly through and through. Maybe it’s something about smell being connected to our deepest memories— but a few well-chosen scents let me set the exact mood I need.
The Flow of Evening—
B: We usually start a date night with a cocktail and either a co-op video game or a few rounds of backgammon. Then we’ll ease into the kitchen and start dinner. One of us inevitably needs a tiny snack while we cook (okay, it’s me), but we never rush making a date night dinner. Cooking together is the date. When we’re done, we’ll head to the living room with after dinner drinks on trays and a late night snack and put on a movie.
S: Our date nights are classic: dinner and a movie. Well two movies, usually because we can never agree on one. So we watch a Chase pick & and a Sarah pick (I try to play the Sarah pick first so that when I inevitably fall asleep it isn’t during the movie I want to watch. But hopefully those espresso martinis are keeping me awake!)
Playlist—
B: We’ll play our playlist, a collection of songs we agree on and is likely the dance track to our upcoming wedding. It starts off with Disco: a mix of Chic and early Justice. But there’s also Etta James, Nina Simone, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Rufus Wainwright, Biggie, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, and the list goes on.
S: We take turns spinning records (we have very different tastes. He’s doom metal art punk, I’m 70s folk rock disco funk baby girl). To remedy this we will end up playing our spotify blend (bless spotify for bridging our tastes).
What to Wear—
B: If I’m cooking, I’m wearing black — a sweater dress and tights, but with sparkle accents. I’ve ruined too many clothes with grease splatters. After dinner but before cleaning up, it’s comfy pants time:)
S: I’m leaning into basic bitch and wearing leopard print. Just call me Shania Twain.
We encourage you to transform your space into a your ideal date night setting.
Your space, your rules, your night.
xo,
Britt & Sarah
