Good company can make a modest destination feel generous.

Where you go matters less than who is there and how much attention you are able to give each other. A plain cafe with the right person outlasts an expensive weekend spent beside someone distracted. Part of this is simply that company decides what the day is about, and a place is mostly the setting for a conversation. The budget for an outing and the quality of it are only loosely related.

Rather than upgrading the destination this month, upgrade the company or the length of time. Invite the person you have been meaning to see somewhere ordinary and nearby. Ordinary places are much easier to repeat.