A date night trick from Terrace House

Tony and I are obsessed with Terrace House. It's a Japanese reality show where six strangers, always three guys and three girls, share a house. Unlike Big Brother, the cast can leave the house to go to work or uni, and exit the show whenever they want.

We're in the middle of the third Netflix season (new episodes come out on May 22 - we've been checking!), and are waiting to see how a few new relationships pan out. Dating is a huge focus of the show, and the dating culture is pretty formal. Usually one of the cast members asks someone they're interested in when they're free. Once they settle on a day, the asker starts making plans.

I love the surprise element of the dates. So the other day I asked Tony when he was free and planned a mystery date for him. He asked a lot of questions - what he should wear, when he should be ready - and it was heaps of fun. We ended up going to his favourite cafe to try out the dinner menu. I drove the long way to there to keep him guessing :) A few weeks later he returned the favour, and planned dinner around my favourite dessert in the city (banoffee pie!).

My most recent surprise date for Tony was an artist talk at the National Gallery of Australia that was part of the Terminus exhibition by Jess Johnson and Simon Ward. We're both big fans of their virtual reality and video work, having stumbled across it on trips to Melbourne and Sydney. It was cheap and super cheerful afternoon - the gallery talk was free and we rode our bikes, stopping on the way home for lakeside beers and snacks.

Our Terrace House inspired dates have been fun. Having been together for 10 years (!), we're used to deciding on date activities together... which sometimes means discussing some of the finer points - like do we have enough money in the bank that week? On surprise dates, the person who asked pays :) It also reminds me of those early months of dating where you don't always know where you're going and are up for pretty much anything.

Lucky dip dates

I've borrowed a sweet idea from Sydney stylist Megan Morton. A year ago I read that her family jots down fun activities on pieces of paper and pops them into a vase. It becomes a lucky dip when they have a pocket of free time to spend together.

Inspired by the idea, Tony and I have started a date book, which is filled with different kinds of activities we'd like to do together. We spent a lot of last year exploring places to eat in our new hometown so we're trying think of things other than eating :)

So far we've checked out a cute speakeasy's jazz night where we sipped gin fizzes and ate a huge bowl of olives. We happened to go on a stinking hot night, which was especially great because the bar was underground and air-conditioned - something we don't have at home.

And last Sunday we hiked up Mount Ainslie before breakfast, which we've been meaning to do for almost a year. Mount Majura has gone into the book for another time :) I'm yet to convince Tony to go for the lucky dip idea but for now it's been really fun - and we feel like we're getting heaps more out of the city.

P.S We've also started doing chore dates, which is mainly an excuse to eat ice cream after Sunday errands :)

Neighbourhood date night

Last year when Tony was on an art school residency in Canberra, I would drive up to see him on Thursday afternoons and stay for a couple of nights. It was a good excuse to visit a city and the change of scenery was good for the soul.

Because we spent a good chunk of last year apart, Tony and I always treated ourselves to a meal out on Thursday nights. It was a fun way to explore different parts of the city and sample food that was hard to come by in Wagga Wagga.

Now that we live in Canberra we've kept up the tradition, partly because Thursday is the almost-there day of the week that feels worthy of a little celebration. Plus it's a fun way to explore different suburbs in our new city.

The other night we went on a neighbourhood date in Braddon, which is a suburb between our two offices. We had drinks at a microbrewery and walked over to one of our favourite cafes, which is open for dinner one night every few weeks.

We sat in the front window, ordered all of the sides and tucked into to very delicious chicken burgers. And there was just enough room for a gelato dessert. It was really fun to try out a few new places in one night. Next up, I'm keen to explore Dickson.