Looking to spice up your love life?
Newcastle's Amanda Wilson has come up with a quirky idea - the "date night box".
Each box - released monthly - has its own theme. The first release is titled, "Love at First Bite".
About now you might be getting a bit scared or perhaps titillated. Don't worry, we're not here to judge.
Besides, this isn't some kind of kinky vampire love. The box brings together the "love of cooking and spending time together".
"Couples will receive a custom apron each, ingredients to make a special treat together, delicious artisan snacks and drinks for two," Amanda said.
The drinks, she insists, are a "love potion".
Included in the box is a date book with games, activities and themed playlists.
The aim is to get Jack and Jill - or Jack and Jack, or Jill and Jill - spending more quality time together.
Amanda urges couples to look beyond the modern-day trend of "Netflix and chill".
Of course, for long-term couples, Netflix and chill means just that. But for younger types, it's apparently code for a booty call.
The date box, though, does strike us as a fancy kind of way to get couples in the mood for a roll in the hay. Amanda says when the desire for nookie - or coitus [as Sheldon from Big Bang Theory puts it] - wanes a tad, "couples assume that the flame has gone out".
She insists that quality time together will reignite the flame.
Oh, she also advises us not to see our partner "as the other parent or person you live with, but as your lover". [How about the love machine!]
Amanda suggests scheduling time with each other to "keep your relationship fresh, full of romance, intimacy and fun".
"Having love and feeling loved is great for your overall wellbeing, making you and people around you happy," she said.
She believes lockdown is the perfect time to keep the love alive.
We'll leave the last word to Huey Lewis and the News: "You don't need money, don't take fame; Don't need no credit card to ride this train; It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes; But it might just save your life; That's the power of love".
Yes indeed, Huey. Check out littlepartycrew.com.au for more on the date night boxes.
'Shagadelic, baby'
Speaking of love, Port Stephens butcher Steve Barnett has enlisted one of the greatest lovers of them all - Austin Powers - to give people a laugh in times of plague.
"Do I make you hungry baby?" Steve's sign says.
This reminds us of that famous scene in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
Vanessa [Elizabeth Hurley]: "Do you think she's prettier than me?"
Austin Powers [Mike Myers]: "Who?"
Vanessa: "You know who."
Austin Powers: "Oh, the Italian bird. No, baby. She's rancid. I think you're shagadelic, baby. You're switched on. You're smashing!"
