Date Ideas

Archive for "Date Ideas"

Cheap Date Idea — Mural Scavenger Hunt

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.

I wanted to share something fun that Brian and I did recently. It’s absolutely perfect if you’re looking for a cheap date idea. If you’re unfamiliar with Wichita, we have this three-mile stretch on Douglas Avenue called Douglas Design District. It starts at the heart of downtown and ends just beyond Oliver. The stretch is peppered with local businesses — over 300 of them.

Something else that the District is peppered with are these amazing works of art. Everywhere you look you’ll find beautiful murals all over the place. Some of them are massive and breathtaking.

So Brian and I decided to go on a mural scavenger hunt last weekend. Our adventure also coincided with the District’s annual Avenue Art Days event, a tradition that started three years ago and has grown bigger and better each passing year. This year’s dates were September 21-23, culminating in a mural crawl from 12 to 5 pm on September 23 — the same day and time as Open Streets ICT. I’m not sure if they planned it that way but it was absolutely perfect.

Since I teach a Zumba class every Sunday at 2 pm, we figured we wouldn’t have much time to participate in Open Streets ICT festivities but I really wanted to check out these beautiful works of art. Brian and I decided to venture out on Saturday afternoon, the day before Open Streets ICT. It worked out fabulously because, not only did we get to see some amazing murals, we also caught some artists in the act. They were busy finishing thirteen new murals for Avenue Art Days 2018.

Here are a few more pictures of artists at work.

This mural is one that we see all the time because it’s outside our favorite breakfast/brunch spot, Dempsey’s Biscuit Co.

This one called “Wichita The Air Capital” isn’t massive but is one of my favorites from last year. You can find it at Clifton Square, where several other Avenue Art Days installations are located.

This is the one at Dempsey’s Burger Pub at Clifton Square, also from Fall 2017.

Anyway, now that we are several days removed from Avenue Art Days 2018, I can’t wait to head back out to check the finished product of the ones that were in progress last weekend.

Thank you to all of the artists and volunteers who have been working hard to beautify our city since the inception of Avenue Art Days in 2015.

No Comments

Our Anniversary Weekend

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Ching under Date Ideas, Relationship.

Brian and I started our anniversary celebration this year with manis and pedis at our favorite local salon, Nails and Beyond.

I picked this one for my toenails because I liked the color. I took a picture because I thought the name was clever.

It’s sparkly but still kind of neutral, which is my style. I don’t really get into crazy nail polish colors or designs. I keep it pretty basic most of the time.

This is Brian getting an arm massage from Vanessa.

Here’s the finished product. I rarely (if at all) get my fingernails painted. We both usually as for the “buff shiny” treatment. It’s $5 more but the natural shine actually lasts a few weeks and you don’t have to worry about yucky, chipped nail polish.

We ended up going to Carrabba’s for dinner after. We were going to just eat at Taco Bell because I had this whole post planned about how you really don’t have to spend a lot of money or do anything fancy for anniversaries. I was trying to make the point that it doesn’t really matter where we are as long as we’re together. Anyway, I got derailed by a “happy hour all day” email from Carrabba’s. Of course, I would rather eat the delicious food at Carrabba’s any day. But the point is, if all we had money for was Taco Bell, that would be just fine with me too.

Love is all we need.

The next night Brian took me to a surprise anniversary dinner at Siena Tuscan Steakhouse. I figured it out as we were driving there. He said he wanted to go somewhere we’d never been before. I’d had lunch at Siena a few times before but never dinner. I guess he forgot that I’d been there. I told him dinner is different. This was my first dinner experience there. I was really proud of Brian for going out of his comfort zone.

We started with the bruschetta. It was delicious. I would totally go back just for this. The salmon had the perfect smokiness. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

Anyway, here’s a better picture.

We also both got Caesar salads.

Guess which one of us had the anchovy and which one didn’t.

Brian got the fettuccine bolognese. It doesn’t look like much but it was amazing! Next time I’m here, I’m totally getting it.

I had the grilled salmon, which you can’t really see too well in this photo. It was also very good but I really liked what Brian had.

We finished with a tiramisu, which they serve in a cute little mason jar and top with an even cuter mini macaron.

It looks even cuter next to Brian.

The one thing I found out that night that I didn’t know before is, much like the Ambassador Hotel in Kansas City, this Ambassador Hotel also offers complimentary parking and shuttle service to the shows when you dine with them. I told Brian I would make a mental note for next year. Also, posting it here on the blog in case I forget.

Traditionally, we always take anniversary selfies.

The next day, we continued the celebration by watching the Music Theatre Wichita production of the Little Mermaid.

MTW had several great shows this year but this was the first one that we’d been able to attend all season. Brian really wanted to see Pippin but we were in Orlando that weekend. Next year Chicago falls during ZINCON, which I’m a tad distraught about. I really want to see Chicago but I don’t want to miss ZINCON either. It’s quite a tough decision. I guess it will all depend if we end up with season passes.

Anyway, that’s pretty much our anniversary celebration in a nutshell. It’s quite low-key just like us. Happy 16th wedding anniversary to the two of us. Until next time!

No Comments

Wichita Wicked Brew Tour

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Ching under Community, Date Ideas, Things to Do.

Have you gotten your Wicked Brew Tour shirt yet?

Brian and I have been diligently getting stamps on our passport in hopes of earning our shirts before the deadline or they run out of shirts. I actually completed my passport already and got my shirt. Brian would have completed his already too, except he left his passport in one of his shorts and it ended up getting obliterated in the laundry a few weeks ago.

Being the persistent people we are, he’s decided to start over and I decided to start over with him. So, I may have talked him into starting over. I mean, how are we going to be matchy-matchy if he doesn’t get his Wicked Brew Tour shirt?

I got my first shirt in a Medium size and I now want one in size Small. That’s pretty much my motivation for starting over with him. Anyway, we need a few more stamps but we’re getting there slowly but surely.

I’m not generally a coffee drinker but this whole Wicked Brew Tour has got me drinking way more coffee than I’ve ever drank before. Brian is a coffee addict but he don’t really like the kind I drink. He likes to drink his coffee black — plain and unadulterated. He was really excited for the beer drinking part of the tour, though.

The Wicked Brew Tour has got us visiting places we don’t normally get around to visiting. Here are a few photos.

The picture above is from our trip to the Donut Whole a few weeks ago.

This one is from River City Brewing Company. Incidentally, the night that we decided to go there for dinner was the same night as Automobilia and that was a real treat. Mostly for Brian but I enjoyed watching his eyes light up as he walked up to his favorite cars.

Automobilia surrounded River City so we decided to look check out the car show while walking off our dinner. There were 1500+ cars on display downtown from Washington to Broadway. It was car heaven!

We’re really enjoying the tour so far and I think we’d enjoy it even more after we get our Wicked Brew shirts. I’m hoping we can get the rest of the stamps in the next two weeks because the deadline is just around the corner. I sure hope they have some shirts left!

No Comments

Hall of Heroes at Exploration Place

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.

Brian and I finally used our Exploration Place membership a few weeks ago. We went to check out the new Hall of Heroes exhibit. It’s actually pretty cool.

Here are a few pictures.

Okay, so I took more than a few photos. Brian and I were like two children in a candy shop. Everywhere you looked there’s something interesting to look at, read or interact with and, Brian being the comic book buff that he is, all of it was right up his alley. Brian and I completed several tasks to test our superhero powers, including the vertical jump test and the hang time challenge.

The station that I liked best among all of the stations, is the one where you have to answer true and false questions (about everything that you’ve learned at the various stations) in order to get the code to the vault that holds the answer to question “What is humanity’s last hope?”

I won’t ruin it for you but I’m sure you can guess the answer. I thought it was an awesome message for kids, though.

What I liked best about the entire day is seeing how excited Brian got about each exhibit and how eager he was to share all of his comic book knowledge. It was such a fabulous day date and to think we never would have had the opportunity had we not taken the Monday before the 4th of July off.

He loved the exhibit so much that I’m actually thinking of taking him to the Capes and Cocktails event next month. I think it would be the perfect way to kick off the weekend of our 15th wedding anniversary.

In the meantime, if you haven’t been to the Hall of Heroes, we highly recommend it. It’s a traveling exhibit so it’s only here for a limited time. It’ll be flying on out of the museum on January 1.

No Comments

Uncork the Music Concert Series

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Ching under Date Ideas, Things to Do.

Brian and I enjoyed our first outdoor concert at Wheat State Wine Company so much that we decide to return and share the experience with some friends.

Here are some photos.

We had beautiful weather that day. It was the perfect day for an outdoor concert.

The summer concert series at Wheat State Wine Company reminds me of the good old days when we use to go to the Bradley Fair summer jazz concerts. That was one of our favorite summer activities of all time.

While we’re waxing nostalgic, here are a few of the old blog posts about the Bradley Fair summer concerts.

This is the time that we celebrated Brian’s birthday at the Bradley Fair outdoor concert four years ago.
This one is from 2011.
Here are a couple from 2010: Week 1 and Week 2. We used to go every week back then.

Life is busier these days so we’ve missed the Bradley Fair jazz concerts the last couple of years. It’s still one of my favorite things to do in the summer though, and I would totally be there for each one if I’m in town and my schedule allowed it.

If you’ve never been to an outdoor jazz concert at Bradley Fair, I highly recommend checking it out. The concerts happen every Thursday during the month of June so it’s already over for this year.

In the meantime, if you’re looking to get your outdoor summer concert fix, head on over to Wheat State Wine Company in Winfield. It’s a bit of a drive but it’s totally worth it. The upcoming concert lineup is as follows: