Free date night? I think I will.

As many of you know, John and I are both students which means that the cash flow isn't spilling over in our house. However, we both live richly in our love and friendship with one another and wouldn't trade our lifestyle for the world. Not having a lot has also made me become very creative when it comes to planning date nights. So, the past few nights we have hit the jack pot since two awesome and FREE events took place in our wonderful city.

Thursday night Pepper Place held a holiday open house. So, all of the cute shops and businesses located in the Pepper Place market area were open late, decked out for the holidays, and serving all kinds of treats ranging from Olexa's cake to free coffee from Red Cat Coffeehouse. Even though John and I frequent Pepper Place Saturday Farmers' Market most Saturdays, we rarely get to look at the amazing garden, home interior, and antique stores that are within the walls of Pepper Place. We were also happy to find Terrific New Theatre is housed there too! In addition to the free goodies and treats, one of my favorite local bands-Act of Congress was playing for free outside. So, as we walked from store to store bundled up, sipping on coffee and eating cheese straws and cake, beautiful music filled the air.

On Friday night, we started the evening by eating at one of our local favorites-Rojo. Besides being one of the tastiest restaurants in town, it is one of the first places in Birmingham that John and I went to when we first started dating. We usually go during lunch or for a later dinner. So, we have never been able to catch their happy hour. However, since we went at 4:30 yesterday, we got to take advantage of their drink specials! I'm not a big drinker by any means, but I was happy with my one discounted Mexican beer. 

After we had filled ourselves up on yummy tex mex, we headed across town to the Emmet O'Neal Library in Mountain Brook. While the library wouldn't usually be considered a prime place for a Friday night date, it was last night! The library's Young Friends group put on a free concert featuring Birmingham native Duquette Johnston, with complimentary drinks from Good People Brewery and baked goods from Church Street Coffee and Bookstore. The music was amazing and the snacks weren't half bad either. Our friends Sheena and Casey came too. So, it was a fun night with friends, good music, and food at the library. Who would have thought?