Low-Key Date Night

I love a good date night. There's nothing like getting dressed up and going to a fancy dinner with your other half or planning a fun vacation for the two of you to take. But to be honest, nothing beats a casual date night-in watching a movie together! It's not only cozy and intimate, but can be a lot of fun. With my recent surgery, Will and I have been taking it easy most weekends and have enjoyed renting and watching movies together. Below are 15 movies (and one or two TV series thrown in) that every couple can enjoy together. Some are new, others are classics, and some are, well, chick-flicks because they are too good not to include!

1. When Harry Met Sally

2. What Women Want

3. Wedding Crashers

4. The Finest Hours - Based on a true story!

5. My Best Friend's Wedding - The breakfast scene when everyone breaks out in song is my favorite.

6. The Holiday

7. Date Night - Tina Fey and Steve Carell are a hilarious (by nature) pair in this film!

8. Notting Hill

9. Big Fish

10. New Girl - a TV show one of my best friends introduced me to.

11. Veep - another TV series I had to add. Fun fact, Will got me into watching this one!

12. Catch and Release

13. Saving Mr. Banks

14. Brooklyn - So good that I watched the movie and read the book.

15. Crazy Stupid Love

Can you think of any others that should be added to the list? Not a couple that enjoys unwinding at home? That's totally fine! Here are five additional low-key date night ideas to keep in mind...

1. Go to trivia night at a local bar or restaurant. I always opt for arriving early and grabbing a drink or bite to eat if I haven't had dinner yet. Make the night more fun competitive and invite some friends to play against.

2. Go bowling. A round or two is generally inexpensive to play and you won't have to worry about getting dressed up since the atmosphere is almost always laid-back. Bonus points if you get a picture of you and your honey wearing those ridiculous looking bowling shoes!

3. Dance and sing at the top of your lungs at a concert. Summer is my favorite time to go to concerts, especially when the venue is outdoors. And you can sometimes event find free concerts going on at a local park or convention center. Even though outdoor concerts are my favorite and cant be beat, there are PLENTY that go on indoors as well. I use Ticketmaster and Livenation to purchase tickets and see who's coming to play in the coming months.

4. Have a picnic. Pick and pack the main option and have your significant other decide on the sides and the dessert, or vice-versa. This is a money-saving option and always adorable. If it's too cold outside, have one indoors! Set out a blanket in your living room and viola.

5. Take a complimentary class. Do some research and see what you can find. Here are a few that I know of: cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma, DIY home improvement courses at Home Depot, and yoga classes at Lululemon.

Coffee Date

I don't know about you but I have an obsession with coffee shops. And the smell of coffee. I guess you could say coffee in general. Oh, and spending time with my husband. I'm obsessed with that too. If you asked me, I'd say that coffee shops are great to go to and unwind, study/work (if you don't get distracted easily!) or meet up with friends. I actually feel lucky that I married someone who enjoys coffee as much more then I do because we get to try different shops all the time. Even though we enjoy trying new places, we still have our favorite; Not Just Coffee.

Fast forward to Southern Weddings saying they would like to feature us for one of their series, Southern Newlywed: Date Night (you can read our feature here). Not only was this an honor, but I knew just the place to go and was as giddy as a school girl when Allison Kuhn agreed to join us and capture it all on camera! Aren't the above photos amazing? I mean, we met up at 8:30 AM and look at how well she worked with the lighting. Pure goodness if I must say so myself!

So what are some of your favorite dates to go on with your significant other? Do you have any date ideas that aren't real expensive? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Will and I like to have game nights, go on walks around our neighborhood, go to sporting events and watch movies at home. Nothing extravagant but just as fun! And for those who might be interested, I listed a few of my favorite orders from coffee shops in the Charlotte area below!

Not Just Coffee - Vanilla Sugar Latte

The Mayobird - Caramel Latte

Amelie's French Bakery- The hot chocolate with whipped cream is the bomb! Side-note: it's listed in french on the menu as "Chaud Chocolat"!

The Daily Press - Just a plain ole' Cappuccino

Smelly Cat Coffee - I've heard that the Iced Chai's are delicious

Caribou Coffee - Vanilla White Mocha

Starbucks - Caramel Apple Spice or the White Chocolate Mocha depending on my mood

Crispy Crepe - Cookie Butter Latte...just don't look at how many calories are in it!

Sunflour Bakery - The Hot Chocolate...and PS they now have two locations

Terrace Cafe - The Tiramisu or Brown Sugar Latte

5 on Friday

ONE
I love photography and my sweet pup Miller. Put those two things together and you've got my attention. So it's almost obvious that when I saw that Nikon has made a camera for dogs I almost died. I don't think Miller will ever have one of these but it does make me wonder what his photos would turn out like! What do you think of this camera?

TWO
Will and I have been taking dancing lessons at Queen City Ballroom and I'm actually kind of sad that it's coming to an end! Over the course of 7 lessons, and with 3 left, we've learned so much. My favorite things we've learned have been the tango and swing dancing. And honestly our lessons have turned into a fun activity that we both enjoy. Often it feels like date night when we go. It's an hour out of the week that we can look forward to and get to focus on each other while letting loose and having fun! Our instructor Rachel has also been amazing to work with and has turned into a such a sweet friend. We highly recommend her if you live in the Charlotte area and want to freshen up your dance moves!

THREE
It's Memorial Day Weekend and there are tons of great sales going on right now. I'll defiantly be checking out the ones at ASOS, Banana Republic, Gap, Loft and Baublebar.

FIVE
On Tuesday I wrote a blog post recapping my bachelorette party at the beach. I had the best time with my best friends and am so thankful for all that they did for me to make that weekend one to remember forever. One of the things that I did to thank them was gift them with a candle from Rewined Candles based out of Charleston, SC. Along with the candle, my MOH Emily put together the most adorable little sand buckets filled with everyday beach essentials such as sunscreen, face oil wipes, snacks and the cutest mason jars I ever did see. I was super spoiled by my girls and it was only fair that my girls be spoiled with me <3

Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!! Can't wait to catch up with you all next week.

Lucky I'm In Love With You

You may be following me on Instagram (@mmackvick) and also on Facebook and probably saw a few engagement photos that were posted last week! My wedding photographer, Callie with Nancy Ray Photography also shared this blog post with a handful of them and I couldn't help but show you all of my favorite ones too! It was hard to narrow them down because I love so many but hope you enjoy the one's I chose. I've already gone ahead and put in an online order to get these beauties printed (thanks to mpix) and can't wait for them to arrive so that I can display them all throughout our home.

On another note, I  would like to give a quick shout out to my sweet and adorable Mom! Today is her birthday and even though I am not able to celebrate it with her in person, I hope she feels extra loved and knows how important she is too so many people in this world.