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"I&amp;amp;#8217;m always looking for cheap new date ideas&amp;amp;mdash;especially after the holiday season when I&amp;amp;#8217;ve already broke the bank (yes, I had to buy myself those new jeans and earrings when I bought my sister&amp;amp;#8217;s gift). It seems like lately all of my friends are talking about this totally low-cost, mature and, well, just plain fun date idea. Ladies and gents, at-home double dinner dates are totally in right now and J and I could not be happier. Can I be honest for a second? I totally hate winter and would hibernate until mid-March if it were socially acceptable. Most Saturday nights I have to drag my lazy behind into the shower and force myself to get all dolled up for a date night with J. It&amp;amp;#8217;s true, I&amp;amp;#8217;m a homebody and, although I love spending that quality time with my man, I wouldn&amp;amp;#8217;t mind reinterpreting date night to include takeout Chinese food, a good movie and cuddling on the couch. Going out is so overrated. Well, when our good friends Ashley and Josh invited us on a double-date I was already thinking about what I would wear that would still be comfy and contemplating which pick-me-up I&amp;amp;#8217;d use to perk up and get my booty out the door. That is, until they told us we were invited to &amp;amp;#8220;steakhouse night&amp;amp;#8221;. Oh yes, my dears. Ashley and Josh (who, by the way, are getting married in May and have been together for over nine years. LOVE!) were including J and I in on their at-home dinner date. They&amp;amp;#8217;d started steakhouse night to save some cash on dining out at restaurants and Josh has been working on cooking the perfect steak at home ever since. So, while we were going out for date night, we would be staying in with friends and enjoying a home-cooked meal of steak, potatoes and asparagus. J and I brought wine and cupcakes for dessert and, there you have it, date night totally reinvented. I felt so domesticated after that night (not to mention totally full and tipsy from wine). I couldn&amp;amp;#8217;t stop thinking about why we never planned double-date dinner parties before. Were we mature enough? We decided to test out this new date idea in our own home and invited over J&amp;amp;#8217;s brother and sister-in-law (and even Sweetie, their dog). Preparing an antipasto tray and caesar salad to start, we decided on our own specialty (okay, J does most of the work for this meal, I won&amp;amp;#8217;t steal the credit) for dinner: rigatoni and meatballs with a bacon tomato sauce (everything&amp;amp;#8217;s better with bacon!). And guess what? It was another awesome night with great company! I&amp;amp;#8217;m already arranging our next dinner party and deciding on the menu (I got 3 new cookbooks for Christmas&amp;amp;#133; should I take the hint?). It&amp;amp;#8217;s so nice to plan a grown up, low-key night in with good friends and never have to leave your own apartment. I still love a fancy night out but until I can say sayonara to this winter weather I&amp;amp;#8217;ll totally be inviting our friends over every weekend. How can you beat a new cheap date idea that never fails to impress? Have you ever been to or thrown an at-home double dinner date? Do you have a dinner or dessert specialty (I need ideas!)? What do you think about this cheap and fun date idea? Do you and your friends have any fun double-date ideas? More Cheap Date Ideas... * Cheap Date Idea: Bingo Night! * Cheap Date Idea: It Involves History * 3 Cheap Date Ideas for You and Your Girlfriends Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2012/01/try-this-cheap-new-double-date>