Valentine's Day on a Budget
Valentine's Day
The day to show the special person in your life how much you love them. Sometimes though, however much you might want to there isnt always the opportunity or funds to show just how much you care by spending money. Especially on a student budget!
Personally the idea of going to a restaurant along with the rest of East Sussex isn't appealing and I would much rather be able to have a conversation without having to shout over the other guests! To me a cosy night in is just as romantic as any public display of affection. Lucky for me Matt knows this and together we prepared a lovely romantic evening for two!
So here's my 'how to' spend a romantic Valentine's Day on a budget.
Set the scene
Whilst matt got busy with the starter, I set up my living room in to a cosy candle haven! My little flat doesn't have enough space for a dining table so I decided to take it Japanese style and use the coffee table with big cushions on the floor as seats - it actually proved very comfortable! As you will have probably guessed from my previous posts I'm a bit of a candle fiend and placed them all around the room and on the table, including my sweet heart cut tea light holders.
Come up with a menu that suits you
The best thing about eating at home is that you are not restricted to a restaurant menu and can eat to your own palette. I'm a very (read VERY) fussy eater. Add that on top of being vegan and the result is a considerably limited diet! On the otherhand Matt will eat pretty much anything, minus mushrooms, put in front of him, so sometimes trying to find food that we will both enjoy can be mission impossible. However, this is the menu we came up with and both thoroughly enjoyed!
A playful pitta with chilli hummus and meditteranean vegetables
Bright and beautiful salad with a tomato salsa and cod fish cakes for Matt
Homemade lemon sorbet with fresh mint and raspberries
Just to make me even more less like a uni student, I also don't drink alcohol. So we had a go at making our own cocktails. A recipe will follow on my next blog post as they were seriously good and great fun to make!
Split the cooking
Not only because my kitchen only has room for one, but we also thought it would be a nice idea to each take one course and do the main together. Matt took the starter, I took desert and we came together for the main.
Add some background music
James Bay all the way!
put on a Movie
After you've finished eating there's nothing better than to cosy up on the sofa under a blanket and watch a RomCom together munching on your favourite sweets (vegan rainbow belts!)!
And that's how we spent our Valentine's Day evening together on a budget! Much cheaper and much more romantic than a restaurant!