All You Need is Love...and Sushi with a side of Salad

I don’t remember the first time we discovered it, but I know it was early in our marriage, sometime in our first few months.  I think we were headed to a beach to watch the sunset one night and decided to bring something along for a picnic dinner, so we stopped where everyone in LA stops when planning a picnic—Trader Joes.  I am not a sushi eater, but somehow we decided to grab a package of their California rolls—the fully cooked ones with the piece of crab meat, avocado and carrot rolled in brown rice.  We also grabbed one of their pre-made salads—Trader Joe’s has a ton of salads to choose from and they are all pretty delicious.  We took our sushi and salad to the beach, spread out a blanket and shared our meal—each eating 4 California rolls and sharing the salad out of the container between us.  It was perfect.  Inexpensive, easy to transport to wherever we wanted to enjoy our meal and the perfect amount of food to share between the two of us.  In our early years of marriage that was exactly what we needed.  Anytime we needed a break from studying or decided to head to the beach for an impromptu sunset watch we could run into the store, grab a pack of California rolls and a salad and be off.  We ate this meal on beaches, in parks, as a picnic at the zoo, in our car parked outside a theater before a show and in our own living room and it was perfect, it defines our first couple years of marriage when I think about our date nights.  I remember one night the Oscars were on and Charles was supposed to be studying. But after studying all weekend he just looked at me and said “I’m done, lets watch the Oscars together—Trader Joes run?”  Often there was no table between us, just a simple take out meal on a park bench or picnic blanket and these meals helped give us a foundation for our family.  I’ve read a lot of blogs and websites on marriage and date night and the importance of getting dressed up and going out for special occasions and I think there’s a lot of truth and wise counsel in that advice, but I also believe a marriage is strengthened with these simple traditions that belong to just the two of you.  There are seasons where getting out for evenings away just isn’t realistic for various reasons—costs, having little ones at home who are nursing or a variety of other factors.  We’ve certainly had those seasons and in those times we love nothing more than a take out meal from the refrigerated section of Trader Joes and an episode of whatever Netflix show we’re currently watching--The West Wing, Newsroom, Madam Secretary or Friday Night Lights.  We love getting out for special occasions but we’ve logged so many more cozy evenings at home than we have fancy evenings out on the town and it’s these simple date nights that have made up so many seasons of our last 8.5 years together.  What’s your tradition that might belong just to the two of you?  Where’s your favorite take out spot or your favorite in-home date night for those times when you just can’t get out?  Fancy occasions are awesome but I believe it’s the simple nights together that build a marriage over the years and I’m so so thankful for ours.  

I'm posting this from the airport as today's a travel day for us and I don't have my recipes with me--besides I have no idea how to make sushi :)  Check back tomorrow for post #16 and we'll be back on track with recipes!