On a scale of 1 to 10 when it comes to being impressed with a date, I was at a 1 when Pete drove into the parking lot of IKEA back in 2010. Seriously, I was thinking, “OMG. He’s taking me to effing IKEA. As a date. Awkward. Is this guy for real? Dating suuuuuuuuucks.” All of this was going through my mind a mile-a-minute as I was mentally taking note of everything I wanted to text my friends as soon as I had the opportunity.
I Dunno, Where Do You Want To Go?
But let me back up a bit. It wasn’t actually our first first date. We actually affectionately argue about when that date occurred. You see, I met Pete for dinner at a neighborhood cafe when I first moved back to Orlando after quitting innkeeping in Mount Dora. To me, I was just meeting a friend to catch up. Total friend zone. To him, that was totally our first date. So, Ikea was technically our second or third date. And after one phone conversation that went something like, “where do you want to go? I dunno, where do you want to go? **repeat**” I challenged him to come up with a date night idea on his own. “Surprise me,” I said.
Our First Date Was At IKEA?
Well, yeah, you could say I was really surprised standing in the superstore’s parking lot for an Ikea date night. All I kept thinking was how am I going to mask my disappointment and not wrinkle up my nose at this kid’s idea of an international meal — Swedish meatballs. And then, he reveals this worksheet he made. This sweet, very thoughtful, and very thorough worksheet he designed and printed just for our date. And this worksheet is why I’m writing this post, because whenever I tell the story about our date at Ikea, everyone asks to see the worksheet and list of questions.
IKEA Date Night 25 Question Domestic Challenge
It’s quite brilliant, isn’t it? After glancing through the questions, I realized there is no better way to get to know someone than walking through each of the home departments in Ikea with this little personality test.
And you know what? We did end up having Swedish meatballs, coffee, and apple cake. And I didn’t mind one bit. Afterward, he revealed his cultural side by taking me to an independent theater in Orlando, the Enzian, to see a foreign subtitled film.
And, well, spoiler alert, we’re married now. So that “I dunno, where do you want to eat? I dunno, where do you want to go? **repeat**” still happens quite often when we’re home. I’ve actually made it a goal this year, a resolution of sorts, to pick a favorite restaurant in Orlando. There are just too many delicious places now, and we travel a lot, but I should have a quick answer to “where do you want to eat tonight” by the end of the year. Perhaps we need to make it down to Ikea again for a run though this worksheet to see how our answers have changed.
Want to save this idea (and the worksheet?!) Pin it! 🙂
Great quiz.