Just because we’re having a socially distant summer doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy a date in Austin!
We asked Mariel Fernandez to share some date ideas with us. This week she shows you how to have the perfect picnic in your own yard.
COVID-19 is back on the rise again so we chose to lay low this week. What better way to have date night fun safely than enjoying your own backyard?
To prep for this week’s date night, we shopped at our local Central Market as well as Savory Farmers Market, located at 2437 Travisso Parkway in Leander and open every Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m.
Both places stock lots of fresh fruits so it was easy to pick favorites. We started at the Farmers Market where we were able to get most of our brunch essential faves. We then went to Central Market to grab whatever was missing from our list because brunch just isn’t complete without eggs and bacon!
If you don’t want to deal with the bustle of the grocery store, you can also order curbside pick up from both Central Market and H-E-B. Or you can get your goods delivered via a service like Instacart!
Utilizing these items, I curated a little SIP style picnic in the backyard. It was fun to plan ahead and pick what we’d both enjoy for brunch, make a list together, get the ingredients and then finally pack everything in our picnic basket. I even went as far as juicing carrots the night before!
Here’s a list of what we included on our picnic date:
- Assortment of fruit
- Scones
- Croissants
- Fruit jams
- Eggs
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Quiche
- Yogurt
- Freshly squeezed juice (honeydew from Central Market, carrot juice from the Farmer’s Market squeezed by muah)
- French pressed coffee
Of course, if you don’t want to prep things yourself, you can also order delivery from a local restaurant. Here’s a list of a few who do their own delivery.
After gathering all our food, we grabbed a waterproof mat, laid it under a tree for some shade, and voila… we were dining al fresco!
Not only were we able to enjoy each other’s company, free of distractions, but it was a gorgeous day and we could include our dog Maxwell. It couldn’t have been more perfect! It’s been years since our last picnic date so this was long overdue.
When was the last time you and your significant other went on a picnic? There’s no time like now to reconnect and give it a try!
Be sure to check back here on Austin.com for a new socially distant Austin date idea every Friday! And follow Mariel on Instagram for more food features and Austin activities.
