This post is co-written by guest bloggers, Lydia Ness and Steven Amrhein, students at Southeast Missouri State University.
With work and school, it had been a while since my boyfriend and I had been on a date. Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, what better time to plan a date? We came together and decided on the perfect downtown date.
A key ingredient for the perfect date is perfect outfits for each, so being the awesome girlfriend that I am, I helped him pick out an outfit for the date. We made a trip to one of the newest stores downtown, Southern Style, where they have a great selection of both casual and dressy attire. After shopping around for a while, we decided on a Southern Tide button up shirt, Polo Ralph Lauren khaki jeans, and a Collared Greens belt.
I, however, wanted to keep my outfit a surprise, so after finishing up at Southern Style, I sent him on his way and made a trip to Main Street to visit my favorite boutique, Stash. A friend helped me pick out the perfect little black dress by Fable paired with a handmade necklace by Shira Melody and a pair of neutral heels by Gomax. Now with the outfits chosen, the date could not come soon enough!
To begin the day together, we visited eDen Spa and Salon for the VIP Couples Massage, which included a one hour massage and one hour in the sauna. It was nice to just relax and spend time together. Afterwards, we headed over to Cup N Cork for a light lunch and took a stroll afterwards since the weather was so nice. We came across Cream of the Crust, located on Spanish Street, and I just had to get a strawberry milkshake! Come to find out, their ice cream is homemade along with the other pastries, cakes, etc. that they now carry. The perfect afternoon was only getting better.
Now it was my turn to be surprised, and I definitely was. After walking by the gorgeous river, looking at the murals, and hopping along the train tracks, the sun began to set and we made our way to Bellevue Street. I was curious as to where we were headed, until I saw the sign on the outside of a unique house - Celebrations.
I always wanted to try the elegant restaurant, and now I was so lucky to get to share the experience with my boyfriend. We were seated by a very personable host who introduced us to their award winning wine list with wines from small artisan producers. He also explained that the owners buy most of the food from local farmers so the food is guaranteed to be fresh. My boyfriend ordered the main dish of Sautéed Pacific Rockfish, but I went with a smaller dish, the Housemade Fettuccini.
The date was going so well that we just weren't ready for it to end. We were all dressed up so we decided to take a leisurely drive down Broadway on our way back home and I instantly saw the bright lights of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. We figured it was a way to have some more fun and a chance to win back some of that date money, right? When we walked in, the live band was rocking loud music, playing all of today's hits and even some oldies. Not only were people pressing their luck at the machines, but a crowd was forming on the dance floor. We ended up dancing the night away and the band just so happened to play our song, "Treasure," by Bruno Mars.
The perfect date was a success! I was so happy to explore downtown with the best boyfriend around. I look forward to spending even more time downtown in the future and I encourage you to do the same. Who knows? You could convince your other half to take you on a date like ours!
Disclaimer: Lydia and Steven are only friends, but pretended to be dating for the purpose of this blog post.