Hello Darlings,
What girl doesn’t love to doll up and spend the night out with her charming date? But more than fancy dinners, in my experience the casual dates are the ones that tend to be most fun. So in this spirit, here is my list of top ten favorite casual dates:
Rollerblading
As a couple we are quite active and rollerblading is one of our favorite activities. In Toronto, we enjoy rollerblading on a dedicated path along the Lake Ontario waterfront.
Sunday Brunch
It is nice to have rituals and a casual Sunday brunch is one of the favorites in my couple. In Toronto, we enjoy Mildred’s Temple Kitchen in Liberty Village.
Play Offs and Beer
We enjoy attending hockey games and now that the play offs are on we enjoy watching them over beer and nachos at our local pub.
Attend a Sports Game
In the winter, we love hockey and in summer we enjoy baseball. There are always free games you can watch in a local park, and going to a Toronto Blue Jays game is on our June to-do list.
Grab a Tea/Coffee and Go For a Walk
I enjoy making grabbing DAVIDsTEA Luscious Watermelon tea to go and then going for a walk either in a park or along my favorite streets.
Skip on Dinner and Grab Dessert
Why not enjoy a lovely dinner at home and then head out for some dessert. Our Toronto favorites are Caffe Demetres or Summer’s Ice Cream.
Art Gallery
As an art buff, I love going to the gallery and E likes it or at least pretends to. In Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has a Pablo Picasso exhibit on until August.
Comedy Club
Who does not enjoy a good laugh? In Toronto, check out Yuk Yuks or Second City.
Go Shopping for Him
Going shopping for yourself with him in tow can be brutal, but going shopping for him is fun. Be sure to keep it brief, plus remember to be supportive and guide him.
I AM WEARING:
Gap Crewneck Pullover
Dallin Chase Patchwork Skirt
Kate Spade Little Blaine Purse
Marc by Marc Jacobs Big Idea Mirror Watch
Tai Weave Crystal Bracelet
J.Crew Classic Leather Ballerinas
Special thanks to my personal favorite Sunday brunch destination – Mildred’s Temple Kitchen – who kindly offered a $50 gift certificate for a WithLoveGabrielle reader!
FOR A CHANCE TO WIN:
Leave a comment below with your favorite casual date ideas?
Note: $50 gift certificate winner to Mildred’s Temple Kitchen will be chosen at random on Sunday May 27th.
With Love…
Marta
We love doing our own mini food crawl, head to a certain area and just walk around and explore, eating (maybe some shopping as well) a bit of everything on the way
we love doing that too. there are so many areas in the city part of the fun is exploring for new great places. where are your favorites?
I would have to say Kensington Market is one of the places that I never get bored of (^_^)
My idea of a casual date is going dinner and a sports game.
any suggestions Sarah about your favorite restaurants?
A suggestion for a favourite restaurant to go for dinner when going on a casual date to a sports game is Great Burger Kitchen.
Vibrant skirt. Love it. Great dates you’ve had. I’ll like try rollerblading one day.
Thanks Inez. You should definitely try rollerblading. It’s not as scary as it may seem, and a good way to see more of the city than walking.
My favourite causal date idea consists of me + date walking around a beautiful neighborhood/shopping strip (downtown oakvillle by the water). There is always so much to see, and at any point we can stop into one of the many beautiful restaurants! Now I just need to find a guy…
too funny Melanie. downtown Oakville must be full of good catches in spring?
I love your purse Marta!
thanks Chiara. i love Kate Spade purses. did you buy any new purses for summer?
I love sports games dates. Whether with a new beau or your one and only it’s always a great time. My bf and I bought a 15 game flex pack for the Blue Jays this year. The tickets are cheap and it is fun to have set games to look forward to. It would be fun to get to go for brunch before one of our Sunday afternoon games. Thanks!
wow 15 games. my bf would love that… we went to one game last summer, and will probably go to one in June
I love making food. whether it be dessert or dinner. We go shopping for some ingredients and head back home to prepare it
what do you make?? sounds amazing that he helps…
My favourite casual date is going for brunch, then spending the afternoon at Kensington Market.
where is your favorite brunch spot Ree??? i’ve never been to brunch in kensington.
My favourite casual date would most likely be going downtown back in Ottawa and just strolling/shopping around Byward Market.
it’s on my list of things to do this summer to visit Ottawa for a weekend getaway. any restaurant and things-to-do suggestions are appreciated Stephanie!
If you want to go for brunch, my favorite place is this little cafe called Memories in Byward. Their sandwiches are really tasty and their desserts are amazing. Their apple pie slices are huge!
There are so many restaurants in the area. My favorite is Victoria Trattoria, though there are so many I haven’t been to yet.
As for things to do, I suggest walking around Byward. There are some very cute boutiques around. The National Gallery of Canada is really close by. They have a new Van Gogh exhibit there this summer and I am so excited to go see it.
Otherwise, just enjoy the capital. There are a lot of museums and galleries around as well as cute parks
Thanks for the suggestions Stephanie. I will definitely check them out. Ottawa seems like such a pretty city to visit.
My favourite casual date is going for a picnic in the park or near the lake!!!
Hi Anna – i just got my first picnic basket and was thinking about doing this too just yesterday. What is your favorite park in the city?
High Park!!!! I also like going to the Central Island during the summer:)
love High Park too. i went for a walk there a few weeks ago. do you know if the zoo is saved yet?
Our favourite casual date is to go for a walk around downtown and usually spend the night at a pub watching sports (usually hockey)!
Hi Maggie – what’s your favorite pub downtown? always looking for great new ideas since my bf likes doing that too on “his nights”
Hi Marta! Love the outfit you put together – perfect for a day date adventure and can easily transition into an outfit for a date night.
My favourite casual date would simply be a day out in Main Street Unionville – the view is beautiful and the little shops are fun to walk around in!
Hi Aney Mei – downtown Unionville is a place that I’ve never been. i’ve heard it’s very cute. do you think it’s worth planning a day trip from downtown on a Saturday?
LOVE your skirt. Our casual dates usually are just us going for dinner and then walking around and exploring the city
xx
Thanks Naghmeh – what’s your favorite area of the city for walking and exploring. Always appreciate learning about new places to explore since we love long walking dates too!
Well it really depends on where we are at the time. A favourite of ours is the downtown Harbour Front area. we start walking and taking little streets to explore. Or the Danforth area where all the Greek restaurants are
I love going over to the Toronto Islands. Pick up something lovely for lunch at St Lawrence Market to eat there – it feels like a mini-escape from the city!
Hi Ashley – I went to St. Lawrence for the first time a couple of weeks ago. We ended up walking on King and ate at a place close to Distillery and then went to Soma for chocolate. We would have stayed for brunch at St. Lawrence, but it is pretty overwhelming since we didn’t know where to go… Any suggestions?
Saturday morning farmer’s market at the Brickworks – grab some food (Jamie Kennedy’s son has a French fry booth!) followed by a hike around the park or up through Rosesdale Valley ravine.
Hi Ali,
Have they finished the new Brickworks building yet? And do you know what’s going in there? I went there a few summer’s ago, and also for a walk through the ravine. It’s a really nice part of the city.
Hope you’re having a fun weekend.
Marta
All of the renos are complete – one building is an environmental center, and there are two others that are open-concept and used for the farmer’s market now …so three areas in total for the market. There are a lot of prepared foods as well as fruits/veggies. There’s also a restaurant now too. Well worth checking out!
CONGRATULATIONS ALI – this is the WINNING comment for the $50 gift certificate from Mildred’s Temple Kitchen – enjoy!
Morning walk or bike in the park, Sunday brunch , attend sports game or shopping.
Mildred’s Temple Kitchen sounds amazing I would love to try.
I love your outfit, very pretty!
Thanks about my outfit Margaret. Mildred’s is worth checking out if you live in the city. My favorite is the pancakes! and it’s a really sweet atmosphere to for a brunch date.
Hope you are having a fun weekend!
Some of my favourite casual dates includes a picnic in the park, or fish and chips at the pier.
thanks for commenting Mari-Ann
which pier do you go to in the city??
A coffee (Starbucks or 2nd Cup) and a movie (action flick)…it could be the other way around
Ohhh Davids Tea and a date…. perfect day!!! I think brunch is a great date as no matter how busy a week you’ve had, getting together sunday morning is a great wrap up and perfect beginning to the new week
Hi Jess – Sunday brunch or Saturday lunch are the best dining dates. My bf is always way less consumed with work, so we have better discussions. Another good place to check out if you don’t know it is Nervosa in Yorkville (our Saturday lunch date favorite).
BF and I have been dating for 5 years – we have to be the king and queen of casual dating by now! I think the most “memorable” ones for us are the ones where we are active together – we recently got into hot yoga dates at a studio near us, which has been super exciting. Now we’re doing active runs in the park dates on beautiful days like today
which is your favorite park in the city??
Our favourite casual date is dinner at Arriba, followed by an evening Jays game. When my husband and I started dating, it was the first date that I arranged. I was as surprised to discover that he didn’t know baseball as he was to discover that I did, and that I attend about a dozen games a year. Today, a lot of our casual evenings out include checking out a new restaurant. I’ve heard so much about Mildred’s Kitchen but we’ve never been, so if we are lucky enough to win, we will enjoy checking it out!
thanks so much for posting Colleen! I didn’t know about Arriba so just checked it out. definitely going to check it out myself.
Our idea of a casual time is walking around Professors lake in Brampton while our little girl rides her bike. Then it’s ice cream time!
“In my couple” we watch shows that we only watch together (Portlandia, Dexter, etc.), we go dancing just the two of us (we loooove to dance!), and we cook A LOT
Hi, I was invited to the Liebster Blog Award, and I put your blog as a favorite, this is the link, if you want to be part of it!, And if you like my blog you can also put it to your favorites! bye!
http://lalloslndingfashion.blogspot.it/2013/01/liebster-blog-award.html
You’re so pretty. I like your printed skirt.
I usually go to the movie with my BF when dating on the weekend.
Hug,
Iffa
Thanks Iffa – hope you’re enjoying the weekend.