Date Night Ideas for Stronger Relationships

This post was sponsored by Cambria Winery as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.It's safe to say that I know my husband pretty well. My husband and I just celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary and we've known each other since junior high school (although we didn't date until after college). I didn't realize until I was in my mid-30's that I was constantly changing as a person. And so was he. Our basic beliefs and values are the same, but people change. By middle age (yes, I just called myself middle-aged!), you become super confidant in who you are, what you like and what you're willing to stand up for. And your spouse has done the same. I realized that we needed to use our date nights to get a little deeper and explore who we are becoming as a couple. In the overwhelming world of parenthood it can be hard to make time for date nights. But I think they are so important for exploring the world together, learning more about your spouse and creating opportunities for conversation that are away for the kids and household duties. Read on for fun date night ideas to inspire deepening your relationship.It was the Notes of Cambria project that inspired me to look at how my husband and I were spending out date nights together. Cambria Winery set out to explore the relationship between wine and music I HAD to know more! As a lover of both of those things, I was intrigued to see the creative way the winery was approaching the wine making process and how a musician was using flavor to influence his music.

They tasked professional musician, Kalei Yamanoha, with interpreting their Benchbreak Chardonnay and Benchbreak Pinot Noir into songs! How cool is that! These videos are so inspiring! And I love the way Cambria Winery shared the entire process through video. Watch them above.
Cambria's head winemaker, Denise Shurtleff, helped Kalei learn more about the wines and flavor profiles so that he could use the inspiration in his own music making process. This project offers a new way to experience, learn and talk about wine and helps create an even deeper appreciation, exploration and conversation.

Cambria’s Benchbreak Chardonnay and Cambria’s Benchbreak Pinot Noir are estate grown, flavorful wines from California's Santa Maria Valley.
I love his song, Chardonnay Shanty. It's fun and happy but uniquely rich. But it was the Pinot Noir Waltz that really made me rethink how we approach our date nights. Our go-to date night is nice, usually dinner at a favorite restaurant, but easy. The song showed me that there can be so much more, even in something that we already enjoy. It made me want to go out and explore with my husband. It made me want to create opportunities to have conversations and really learn about each other. And hearing how Kalei was able to take the wine as inspiration and create a new piece of music, it made me want to come up with date night ideas that would help deepen the relationship between my husband and I.

Date Night Ideas to Help Deepen Your Relationship

Visit an art museum
Pick out your favorite pieces and discuss what you like about them. Find art, that you both like, that you could see hanging in your own home.

Try an interactive restaurant
Switch things up and pick a spot where you have to be part of the meal like shabu shabu, fondue or Korean BBQ.Do an activity together
It doesn't have to be strenuous, but try something new like riding a tandem bike, or kayaking. If that doesn't promote teamwork I don't know what will!

Take a class together
Whether it is a class to learn more about something your spouse loves (like tennis) or share something you enjoy (like cooking) with them, a class can be a fun way to explore something together. Be a tourist in your own town
I usually try to steer clear of tourist attractions in favor of seeing a town more like a local, but it can be fun to see what all the fuss is about! Be sure to take a photo!

Spend the day together
Make date night in to a full day and plan something together that you haven't done in a while (or ever). In So Cal there are all kinds of options like whale watching or a day in Catalina.Do a beer or wine tasting
Even if you don't live near a wine region, look for a local restaurant who hosts tastings. Sometimes day drinking is a great way to relax and really enjoy some quite time together chatting and making new friends. Do this responsibly, of course.

See live music
While seeing live music doesn't actually offer a lot of opportunity for conversation, the drive to and from is prime time to reminisce about other shows you've seen together or separately. Plus if you get a concert t-shirt, it's a visual reminder to each other of that night, every time you wear it. 

This infographic is a great way to see just how the wine and music really harmonize. And just as you can discover a new element in both each time you try the wine or hear the song, you can discover something new about your spouse each and every date night.

If you haven't yet, be sure to watch the 4 video series through the player above. Each video is only a few minutes and you get to hear Kalei's full songs. If you want to make this in to a date night activity pick up your own bottles of Cambria’s Benchbreak Chardonnay and Pinot Noir by checking out the store locator and watch the videos to see if you're picking up the same flavor notes!