How About That!

Eons ago you might have seen or heard commercials for an offline dating program called "How About We." The company basically provides you with deals on dates and supposedly other people see those dates and want to join you. I've never tried the site for single people, but I have recently enjoyed the truly thrilling experience of How About We for Couples.

Here's the lowdown. It's awesome. But before I go into all the details of what you get for your money, let me show you some pictures of our latest date.

We went to two local cafes, both nestled into the gray iceberg of Wrigleyville. I got a photo of Wrigley Field but for some reason forget to snap a photo of the pizza place we went to: Dimo's.

There we shared a salad called "The Philosopher" and each got a monster-sized slice of pizza . On the left, Joey's chicken barbecue-ranch. On the right, my Philly cheesesteak. They were delicious. 

Let's get a better look at those, shall we?

And then we played The Game of Life, Simpsons edition! It was hilarious. I'm pretty sure I won.

We didn't get to finish the game because the parking meter was about to run out, and we had to rush back through one of those 6-way intersections. Plus, we had somewhere else to be!

Heritage Bicycles makes custom "vintage" bikes--bikes with pretentious names like "The Jane" and "The Chief." They also make coffee and delicious pastries, which are displayed on a bamboo cutting board and then served on tin rectangular trays. (Oooh, Aaaah) Joey got a hazelnut latte (see below), I got a chai tea latter (not pictured, because it looks oddly like a cup of milk and that's just lame.) We both got the walnut coffee cake, which was a little dry but still super tasty.

It's hard to explain how much I enjoyed our two dates without also telling you how ridiculous the whole atmosphere was. The walls were mosaic-ed with chalkboards and tandem bikes and huge medicine bottles full of mysterious liquids. There was an old typewriter sitting on the corner of the counter, which I can't criticize because it was beautiful. But still. They were basically shouting, "This is organic! I'm a hipster! Our barrista has dreadlocks!" 

The pizza place wasn't like that. They just had some really sassy wall art, an a can crusher on the wall which looked like the same one my grandparents used to have at their ranch. 

Still, it was an evening well spent. And would you like to know how much all of it cost us? 

The entire date itself (not including parking, which totaled $8) came to a whopping: $0.

That's right. Both of those dates were free. Because at HowAboutWe (for couples) you get one free date every month. Joey and I got 2 on this particular day because the original free date from February (which we scheduled in March)... it closed. What I mean is, the place we were supposed to go closed down. So we got a credit to our account (yay!) and 2 free dates. We decided to make a day of it and use them both at once.

You're probably saying, "oh, but it's a dating service, it's expensive," blahblahblah. But honestly, it isn't that much. It's $18 a month. (Your first month is always free, btw.) I can't go on a normal date for $18 let alone an awesome date to a new place with food I've never tried before. 

There are other perks as well. In addition to the free dates, you also get "member prices" for every date on their site. This includes concerts, stand-up comedy shows, fancy restaurants, dancing classes. There's also a "Rewards" section, which gives you coupon codes for discounted prices on things like moving vans or a clothing store or (my favorite) buy-one-get-one-free at Fandango. The Fandango reward is usually there every month, allowing Joey and I to both go to the movies for about $15 once we buy the popcorn. 

So I know this whole post seemed like a giant advertisement, but let me tell you, even if you only do it for your free month trial, it's totally worth it. And it's worth the $18, because it forces you to choose something to do with your spouse. Or fiance. Or boyfriend. Whatever. I think we live in this world where dating has little meaning and so you stay at home all the time. For me, it's nice to have a reason to go out and try new things. Maybe someday Joey and I will be old and wrinkly and we'll go to the same restaurant every week but for now it's nice to just sort of be adventurous.

It's nice to find something new together. :)

So go ahead and try it. Click HERE and you'll get $50 off your first date!!