We've been having all kinds of fun, free dates since Christmas.
Gift card dates are some of our favorite dates. They're completely free (or relatively free, depending on what you use them for) and just as much fun as a paid-for date!
We always love gift cards, both for our many trips and some free dates every now and again.
So, here ya go. Free dates!
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| Chili's Ryan has been really enjoying their Monterey chicken dish and I've always been a fan of their loaded baked potato soup. |
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| Barnes & Noble Baby Bell books... we each picked two childhood favorites: Is Your Mama a Llama?, The Rainbow Fish, Just Go to Bed, Curious George Goes Camping Books for me: Kindred Spirits and The Book Thief. Kindred Spirits has been on my list for a while but The Book Thief struck my fancy because of how much I love this month's awesome PhoBookClub read, Sarah's Key. (Both are WWII fiction) Have you read any of these? |
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| McDonalds We each got a McFlurry, but the noisy crowd inside made us take our date out to the truck so we could hear each other. |
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| Baskin Robbins... a gift card I've had for almost two years now! I don't even remember where I got it from, but we finally found ourselves near a Baskin Robbins and put it to use! Did you know Baskin Robbins has their allergens listed on the ice creams? We didn't so I got online and searched, made a huge list, and then got there and discovered I'd done extra work for nothing! Actually, we weren't surprised by anything either. The only things we saw that contained gluten were the obvious ones, cookie dough/brownie/cake/cheesecake things. |
Did you get any good gift cards for Christmas you were able to use for a $20 date?
Sarah's Key made me cry a lot! I love the book thief.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's so touching and heartbreaking! You should join the discussion at the end of the month! =]
DeleteGood, everyone I've talked to who has read BT has loved it so far. =]
I've heard a lot of good things about The Book Theif, but I've never read it...mmm this post makes me want ice cream!
ReplyDeleteYay, I'm so excited to read it then!!
DeleteAnd I would like a little more too now ha ha.
The summer months are a leaner time for us, so this year we've committed to saving all of our restaurant gift cards from Christmas for the summer months (along with basic Visa-type giftcards that can be spent anywhere). This way, we can still go out without extra worry about our budget.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! We like to basically use half of them and save half of them for our travels. =]
DeleteThe Book Thief is so good! I read it years ago and loved it. Glad to see that Chili's is GF friendly. Do you guys have UNO'S pizza out there? They have a badass GF menu with Udi's buns for the burgers!
ReplyDeleteYay, everyone seems to love it!
DeleteWe do not but I'll keep my eye out for one as we go!
The Book Thief is one of my allllll time favorite books, along with 1984! SO GOOD. It's one I have for my bookshelf that will always stay there.
ReplyDeleteWe got a gift card to Outback, so we were excited! We went like the day after we got them haha I really wanted to get the brownie before I went full paleo!
Ooooh and I know how much you love 1984 so that says a lot! I am so excited about it now!! I think I'm going to make it next month's PhoBookClub read since I've been hearing so many good things and am getting so excited for it!
DeleteWhat did you think of the Outback brownie? We really like it! I wish their soups were okay though, I miss that clam chowder!!
That would be great for the club! And I'd have a month 'off' to catch up on my pile of books but can still participate in the conversation.
DeleteI LOVE the Thunder From Down Under! When I get it, I usually get it to go and they package it up very nicely (unlike Picazzos) and I can eat it for 2 or 3 treats! I've never had any soups from them.
Then there ya go! Although you can definitely skip it sometimes ya know! I really appreciate you always being so supportive but I know you have a lot going on!
DeleteWe usually get it to go too, even if we eat at Outback. I'm always too full to eat it right then! I think I do remember Picazzos just putting theirs together all crazy and the ice cream dumped over inside our bag one of the last times we got it, huge mess! They were pretty delicious though, or at least as I remember them!
I have like 5 Jamba Juice gift cards burning a hole in my wallet waiting to be used, I just need to find a handsome man to go with me. :) Cheap (or even better free!) dates are great though, sometimes I think the simplest dates are the ones I have most enjoyed. I like that they include more actual conversation, you know? As opposed to watching a movie or something, though for first dates I'd say movies are the way to go because they are the least awkward. :) haha but of course you and your hubby don't have to worry about that.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to let us know how you like the Book Thief. That's a book that I've been wanting to read for so long! I've heard it's excellent.
Oooh Jamba Juice sounds yummy right now! I actually don't think I've ever had anything there! There was one in the student union at my college so I wanted a smoothie every time I ate lunch in there but the line was always way too crazy! I agree about the movies! It's always nice to try new things but a movie is also a nice relaxing date after a long week!!
DeleteI definitely will! I am thinking I'll make it February's book club read since everyone is saying such great things about it! =]
Oh this is awesome. I'm in to the free dates myself... so much more fun that way!
ReplyDelete-NIke O.
Sometimes it's like a game, to see who can come up with the cheapest date!
DeleteHello Sara, so happy to discover your blog. Thanks for your kind message on my page. This $20 date sounds fun and a great idea. Wish we have Barnes and Noble here..I remember being happily lost in it during a vacation in the U.S. The book you have recommended Sarah's Key, I'll check for the book ..I have not read it but have seen the film with the hubs. I'm sure it's much more emotionally touching and gripping when reading the book. I'll check out Book Thief too.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for stopping by! We don't actually have one in the town we're living in now either, just one nearby. =]
DeleteEnjoy the books! I'm expecting the movie version of Sarah's Key tomorrow and I'm so excited to watch it!
Sounds like a great date! I love the idea of you guys each picking two books from your childhood. I loved The Rainbow Fish and all of the Mercer Mayer books.
ReplyDeleteI picked the Rainbow Fish and Ryan picked the Mercer Mayer book but we both loved all of those books. My mom still has a bunch of them she plans to keep at her house to read when we come to visit with the baby. =]
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