. . . for Lauren and Lauren: Date Night In

October 23, 2014

Date Night In

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target. All opinions are my own.  #TargetWedding


Before we had Addilyn Chris and I definitely didn't go out on dates every week, but we sure did more than we do now.  I feel like maybe we didn't take advantage of how easy it was to go to a movie or go get dinner, because now it just doesn't happen too often.  

Most nights we end up putting Addilyn to bed around 7:30 and spend our evenings watching tv, I'm often on my computer and Chris is often on his phone.  I've shared before that we need to work on being more intentional with our time together.  And even if we're not out on a date, treat an evening like a date together.  

In the past we used to like eating dinner early, but now at least once or twice a week we wait until Addilyn goes to bed to eat our dinner.  It's nice to be able to take our time eating and not having to help Addilyn eat and clean her up soon after, rushing to eat our meals ourselves.  

Fall makes this all more appealing with the cooler temperature, fall recipes and staying cozy at home. There's been a handful of nights recently where I sit in the kitchen, drinking a glass of wine, talking to Chris while he finishes up dinner.  He makes a fire and we can sit and enjoy our dinner together.  It feels much more like a date. Plus I can stay in my sweatpants which is always a bonus.  

seasonal products //  kitchenaid mixer // peanut butter cookie dough dip 

Last weekend was the perfect opportunity,  and Target registry makes it easy to get everything you need for a date night in.   

I had already made a super easy and delicious meal in our crock pot.  This stuffed pepper soup was easy, cheap and really good!  (Seriously crock pots are the best thing ever.  And even better in the Fall and Winter when soups and chili are my favorite.)  

Dessert isn't Chris' favorite thing, but it's definitely mine.  So making a dessert using the KitchenAid Mixer to eat while we watch a movie makes a date night even better.  And peanut butter cookie dough dip? YUM!  

This year more than ever I've  appreciated our house and fall decorations.  I don't know if it's because I spend more time at home than ever before, but decorating for fall, having pumpkins around, fall garlands, and candles burning make me so happy.  Add in a fire in our fireplace, followed by a movie in our living room and we've got a perfect date night!  

Like I've said before I want to work on being more intentional with our time once Addilyn goes to bed.  It's so easy to just sit on the couch and do our own thing, but I want working on our marriage to be a priority.  So planning a nice meal, dessert and evening with Chris needs to happen more often. 
 
And shopping at Target to get ready?  Done.  

Now thanks to Target, I get to giveaway a $25 giftcard to buy anything you want! All you have to do is comment and tell me your favorite date night in.  And please don't tell me you play Chess or Stratego with your husband because that's the ultimate act of love over here and I avoid those games at all costs. 

Winner will be randomly picked on Friday.  Thanks for entering! 


GIVEAWAY CLOSED.  THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

  
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47 comments:

Sarah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Hi! I've been reading your blog for awhile but am just now commenting :) Love your blog, btw!

First I agree about being more intentional with your marriage. My husband and I are currently both on the couch doing our own thing LOL. We have a 2 year old and a 1 year old so things are hectic!! Our girls go to bed around 7:30 so we usually spend an hour doing our own thing (I catch up on work / he watches sports) and then hang out the rest of the evening (watching movies or playing cards!).

Our favorite date night in happens every Friday - Friday Night Date Night! We get the girls to bed, make dinner, have wine or beer and play cards together! Super fun and I look forward to it all week!

Lauren Shaw said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Our favorite date night in is wine, Jim cooking, eating together, then watching a movie with no phones or iPads allowed. It's pretty simple, but we enjoy it : )

Michelle said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I think my favorite date night in would be ordering out for something delicious, but if we made our own food it would definitely have to be home made pizza. Throw in a movie and you're golden!

muriel said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

We usually rent a movie & snuggle on the couch. It's much easier & cheaper than going out since we have 2 young kids.

Lynsey @ Eternally Wanderlyn said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Our favorite date night in would be either a good homecooked meal or food ordered in, our favorite wine, and a good Netflix movie. :)

Emily said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I need to try that cookie dough dip recipe! Our favorite date nights in are making pizza together after our little girl is in bed and watching a redbox together! :)

Jen V. said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Putting down the iPads and watching a movie are the best date nights for us! A little ice cream never hurts either...

Sara Howland said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite date night in is to cozy up on the couch with my husband and watch a romantic comedy 😄

Sara Howland said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I Agree about the ice cream, yum

Liesel said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Watching a show after the kids go to bed definitely ranks on top of the list!

Reggie said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite date night in would be dinner and games or a good movie...with some tasty dessert of course. :)

The Lady Okie said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

We get Chinese takeout and watch a movie :)

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I've been working on date nights every week that are something a little out of the ordinary dinner/movie combo--because we do watch our shows throughout the week together. My favorite one so far has been breakfast in bed..as a date night! :) Just so much to love about it.

Vicki said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Favorite date night in is watching a movie & enjoying dessert together. Ava is usually not sleeping on our 'date nights'. But we also enjoy to cuddle and just talk. Who knew you would still have so much to talk about after 4 years of marriage? But we enjoy the silence too haha!

Denise said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Sounds nice.

two birds said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I think most couples do the same thing at night, sit on the couch with the tv on, each doing their own thing. Jim and I definitely do! It's a tough habit to get into and I think a date night in is such a perfect way to break the habit. I love this idea!

shelleystirs said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

We love to order Thai food after the kids go to bed for a date night in!

laurieb145 said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Honestly we have way more date nights in than out! Love grabbing a movie and snuggling on the couch after a yummy dinner!

C said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Perfect date night in would include hubby and I ordering a pizza and catching up on some favorite shows: New Girl and A to Z. And if my almost 2 year old sleeps through the night, that's a bonus! Tough times lately in the sleep department!! :)

Bria said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite are probably "screen free" we set aside phones, TV, etc and just make sure we are actually connecting. They aren't necessarily date nights but I always appreciate it and it feels like it really sets our course for the week.

Jennifer said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Favorite Date Night In - Movie watching and cooking a new recipe we find!

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Ordering take out and binge watching a series on Netflix is the best!

Amber said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My husband built a fire pit over the summer, and it's finally cooled down enough where we can use it, so my new favorite date night in is going to be s'mores at the fire pit! =)

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Date nights in are my favorite kind of date night! Now that we finally have our own house and not an apartment, I think we are enjoying doing that even more. Crock pot meals are my favorite - especially for Fall and Winter nights in!

Meredith said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Rich & I love to have wine and some sort of dessert together while watching a movie. In my "dream home", we have a giant fire place to snuggle in front of too!

April Lynn | Our Little Loves said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Yes. I have to remember this too. We both get lost in our own thing. I'm all touched out by the time he gets off work. Every so often we both make it a point to put the phones and ipads away and spend real time together.

Amy said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I have struggled so much with making my time with Russ intentional bc usually we are just so tired we just turn on the tv and veg out...so recently we started playing scrabble or have ice cream and wine together once a week!

Anonymous said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

lovely blog, i found you thrue other bloggers...

Carly said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

We are not good about doing this at all, but were just talking about working on spending more time quality time together. I guess our favorite thing to do is eat some kind of yummy dessert together and talk. :)

Mallory said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

With a newborn, we like to invite our friends over to our house. We order a pizza and play Apples to Apples while baby sleeps. It's a great way to save a little money but still be social too.

Abbey said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I LOVE the crock pot! I got a super small one last Christmas and just upgraded a few weeks ago to a six-quart one thanks to the sale Target was having on them. :)

Although we don't have kids, we also tend to stay in more than we go out, but I love being able to cook dinner together and just relax...Eating food and snuggling up to some Netflix are me and Jason's date night's in.

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Right now, our dates are over skype :( but we love sushi and red box dates!

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

We've been trying to have one night a week without computers or phones and if we are watching anything we both ave to agree. That's as close as we get to date night since we had Grace in June

Kim @ Pages and Pekoe said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Our favorite date night in involves some dill pickle chips and a marathon of our favorite TV shows on Netflix!

brittany said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My husband and I love picking out a movie we both want to see & enjoying a dinner cooked by both of us!! Love your blog :)

Marissa said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite date night in would be snuggling up on the couch with the fire place on and watching a funny movie and also probably making cookies!

the girl in the red shoes said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite date night in is renting a movie and ordering a pizza!

PolkaDottyPlace said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite date nights are... when we get the ingredients to try a new recipe together - usually a tasty dessert to make after Olive goes to bed. I also enjoy taking turns selecting a movie to watch. We make popcorn and eat yummy snacks which helps us pretend that we're in the theater. The date night that I'm currently working on planning is to put together a cheese plate with grapes, crackers and a variety of cheeses with some yummy wine for dinner! I think my hubby will LOVE it :)

Erin said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Date nights in are great with a yummy home cooked meal and a good movie to watch!!! :)

sburton1130 said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Date nights in are the best. Making super unhealthy desserts and watching a movie by the fire? That's my kind of night.

Karen said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Netflix, food and wine by a roaring fire. Now I just need a date. ;)

TheTinyHeart said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

We usually order food in and watch a movie on the couch!

-Sharon

J and A said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Date nights in are our fav now!! Make a nice dinner, bottle of wine and catching up on shows. Sometimes playing nerts!!

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

my favorite date night in is something we both cook together for dinner, then popcorn and a movie while we cuddle on the couch. :-)

Anonymous said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

My favorite date night in may sound funny. But it was last summer. We stayed up all night until we crashed. We played video games and one of our favorite movies "be kind rewind". We ate watermelon and laughed like we were teenagers again!

- Amanda

Sarah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

So strange but my favorite date night is when we put all the electronics away and either read a book by the fire or just sit and chat about our day. I also love watching movies together, we pretty much do that every Friday and Saturday, catch up on our shows and/or watch a movie. We have a tradition of stopping mid-movie and going downstairs to get a snack/treat for the rest of the movie. I guess you could say I just love spending time with him no matter what we do.

Unknown said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Our favorite date night it soup from the crock pot and binge watching shows we've missed since having our 1 month old baby girl!