date night - Stuff Parents Need

An Easy Way to Make Date Night at Home Feel Indulgent

September 9, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This post brought to you by Breyers Gelato Indulgences . All opinions are 100% mine.

Even though we are making an effort to prioritize having dates with each other, my husband and I still struggle to book a sitter and hit the town very often for fun. Part of the problem is the expense (spending $100 on a night out is shockingly easy to do, as it turns out.

But let me just keep it real: the cost of a date night is only part of the struggle. The other part is the timing of social acceptable date nights. I cannot for the life of me tell you the last time I was out at 11pm. I also can’t tell you the last time I was sitting down for dinner at 7pm. You guys, we eat at 5pm ON THE DOT at my house. The kids are in bed between 6:30-7pm. I am often asleep by 8:30. Not working my way toward the bed, friends, but working my way through a REM cycle. So when Tim and I leave the house at 6pm for a date night, we are straight up ready to be back home by 9. Yes, it’s boring, and maybe a little sad, but it’s just the season of life we are in.

SO….I’ve been realizing that we need to do a better job of capitalizing on the time between when our kids go down and when I am ready for bed. There are a lot of great date night ideas for home (and a lot of super cheesy ones, let’s just be honest), but so many of them require you to make elaborate meals or do stuff like erect a giant sheet in your backyard to watch movies on while eating a tray full of homemade chocolate treats. I mean, all of that sounds awesome unless you are the one who has to put it together. By the time I’d have something like this set up and ready to go, I’d be OVER it and just want to go to bed!

Friends, it doesn’t have to be that hard. And just because it doesn’t take you hours to put together doesn’t mean it won’t be really fun. Take a moment to think about something you really enjoy doing together that is really low key. For us, we LOVE to watch Parenthood. So I created a SUPER easy date night at home that centered on watching a few episodes of our favorite show and indulging in yummy food that we DIDN’T have to make!

To give the room the whole “Parenthood” vibe, all I did was string up some lights and light a few candles. This is reminescent of Camille and Zeek’s backyard. It took all of 5 minutes to do, I promise.

While we were reading stories to the kids just before bed, I had a take and bake pizza going in the oven for us. We skipped the 5pm dinner for ourselves for a change (though not for the kids!) and had something special set aside just for us to eat. It was really fun to not have to share it, help small children eat it, or scarf it down after it was cold, as these are al normal things we have to do at dinner time. And I like the take and bake idea because you don’t even have to go pick it up. Of course, delivery would also be an option. But this was just $8.99 at a warehouse club store. It was a great value!

I did have one surprise for Tim as part of the date, and that was the dessert tray that I had planned. I spent 0 minutes baking or otherwise preparing for this, but I knew it was going to go over VERY well!

I purchased all 4 flavors of Breyers Gelato Indulgences for us to get to enjoy. They happened to be on sale this week at my grocery store, so this was the big splurge, at $20. And of course, we had massive amounts of leftovers, so it really was quite an excellent buy!

After we were finished with our pizza, I brought all the flavors up and it seriously felt like such a treat. I mean, just look!

I have 3 favorite flavors (out of 4…I know…), and the one I reach for just depends on my mood. My least favorite, just to simplify things, is the Triple Chocolate, BUT you need to know that I just don’t love cold chocolate. I don’t know what’s wrong me, either. Tim and both girls go after this container of gelato like rabid dogs, so I think it is safe to say that if you like chocolate, you will love it!

Our date night at home fit us to a T, friends. We got to enjoy a show that we both genuinely love, we ate really yummy pizza and only had to turn the oven on and off to make that happen, and then we were spoiled rotten by Breyers Gelato Indulgences. These taste, in my opinion, every bit as rich and creamy as gelato you would expect to find at a specialty ice cream store. It was so fun having as much as we wanted of each flavor. I definitely recommend going the tasting route for your date night at home; such a simple way to make the evening feel in every way like a special treat.

Do you ever do date night at home? I’d love to hear about your ideas that make for a fun evening without too much work on your part! And do you have a favorite flavor of Breyers Gelato Indulgences? If you haven’t tried it, yet, you are gonna need to get on that, friend. This stuff is LEGIT!

Get Inspired for Your Next Date Night: Roman Holiday Theme Ideas!

May 19, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

This post brought to you by Breyers Gelato Indulgences. All opinions are 100% mine.

Yesterday Tim and I had a FABULOUS date night, all because I took just a little bit of time to think outside of the box about what we would do for our evening. We didn’t do anything crazy (or crazy-expensive) like a hot air balloon ride, or an overnight getaway. In fact, we just went out to eat, pretty much like every time we have a date night.

Only we took some inspiration from the classic movie, Roman Holiday. This made it SO much more fun!

Instead of just wearing the same old tired stuff in my closet, I went for a new outfit. But not just any new outfit…I went for Princess Ann’s look in the movie (no, not the ball gown…). She had such an adorable look with her blue skirt and white top. I replicated it easily with items currently being sold at Target! Woo hoo!

We were also inspired by the fact that Princess Ann just wanted to get to enjoy her surroundings a bit, and so we decided to just enjoy ours. We walked to the restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of downtown Chattanooga, and then after dinner, and quite by accident, discovered ping pong tables that had been set out for the public to enjoy. How fun is that?

Finally, once we returned home and sent the babysitter on her way, it was time for dessert. Get your mind out of the gutter, you guys! Sheesh! I’m talking about the perfect ending to a perfect Italian date:Breyers Gelato Indulgences.

I had a container of the Tiramisu flavor for me, and a container of the Triple Chocolate for Tim. We were both in heaven! And we saved a bit of money on our date by coming home after just 3 hours out, and having our dessert at home. We also watched a movie, courtesy of our Amazon Prime membership. That’s right, Roman Holiday is available for viewing there for free if you are a prime member! 🙂

While it wasn’t anything too outside of the norm, this date night was just different enough to make it absolutely delightful. That’s actually sort of how I feel about the difference between gelato and ice cream! The next time you head to the grocery store, switch things up just a touch and add a carton (or 4) to your grocery cart. They retail for $4.49-$5.99 (depending on location) and they are truly an indulgent treat. You can even surprise your significant other with an Italian-inspired date night and claim it as your own idea. I won’t tell, promise! Divertitevi! (Have a good time!).

28 Date Night Recipes For Romance at Home!

October 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

If Tim and I waited to spend time together until we hired a babysitter, our marriage probably would not have survived the past 4 years. We do spend money on sitters on occasion, but we can’t afford to do it as often as we need to in order to get sufficient quality time together. That’s why we sometimes create our own date night at home after we put the kids down for the night. It’s cheap, it’s relatively easy, and when you make just a little bit of fuss over the food and light a few candles, it honestly does feel special.

Here are 28 of my favorite date night recipes to help inspire you. I hope a date night with your significant is in your immediate future!

Thanksgiving for Two & My Favorite Stuffing Ever by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Dijon Cream Sauce by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Boeuf Bourguignon | Beef Burgundy by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Slow Cooker Salmon Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip by Farm Fresh Feasts
Chicken Saltimbocca Stuffed With Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese by Farm Fresh Feasts
Skillet Mushroom Dip for Two (Quick Take) by Farm Fresh Feasts
Spiced Sirloin Roast for Two by An Edible Mosaic
Chocolate Lover’s Cake by Noble Pig
Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon by Hezzi-D’s Books & Cooks
Italian Herb Sautéed Chicken by Hezzi-D’s Books & Cooks
Skinny 4 Ingredient Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse by Back for Seconds
Tropical Chocolate Mousse Parfaits by Back for Seconds
Deep Dish Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes For Two by Chocolate Moosey
Mini Pear Walnut Crisps with Blood Orange Caramel Sauce by Chocolate Moosey
Mini Deep Dish Lemon Meringue Pies by Chocolate Moosey
Nutella Ganache Dip by Wine & Glue
6 Date Night Ideas Under $20 & 2 Hours by Frugal Foodie Mama
Easy Chocolate-&-Honey Fondue by The Kitchen is My Playground
Thanksgiving Meatballs by Jew Hungry
Coconut Milk Southern Fried Chicken by Jew Hungry
Homemade Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce by Jew Hungry
Deep Breath Chicken by Jew Hungry
Champagne Chicken & Mushroom Pasta by Snappy Gourmet
Dark Chocolate Coconut Muddy Buddies by Jen’s Favorites Cookies
Morocccan Chicken Bastilla by Thirty-One 10
Taco Truck Tacos by Thirty-One 10
Beef Sosaties by Food Done Light
Seared Scallops with Blood Orange Glaze by Food Done Light

Want to see the entire 31 Days of Unforgettable Recipes series? Just click the banner below to see the full list!

How We Got Two Free Dates Each Month!

April 6, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

Tim and I have been lamenting about the fact that we never took the advice that was given to use REPEATEDLY by moms and dads who came before us: hire a babysitter AT LEAST once a month. We were told again and gain, “You can’t afford not to.”

So true. And yet, we couldn’t seem to come up with the money to pay a babysitter AND pay for dinner and/or a movie. So even though we couldn’t afford NOT to, we still couldn’t seem to afford TO do it!

But we knew something had to give this past February when we realized that our last date had been in early November, when my mom was visiting us…and we had no prospects for another date until the end of March, when my mother-in-law would be coming to visit. It makes NO sense for us to only have dates when our parents come to town!

Then, we decided to think a bit more creatively about the time we DID have. You see, twice each week, Darah is away from home from 9-2 at a parent’s day out program. Tim is still able to come home for lunch on those days. In the past, we have spent that time vacuuming and mopping the floors, taking out the trash, and cleaning the kitchen. And that was a very good thing to do. But we realized that an even BETTER thing to do would be to have a lunch date twice each month on one of those days. The childcare is already covered, and the menu prices are typically lower at lunch.

The only down side is that the dates are brief, but since we were used to having NO time together, this has been a huge improvement! We are getting to try out some fabulous restaurants in Chattanooga and just have some quality time together. We are also committed to finding a babysitter in the near future so that we can go on a date longer than 50 minutes in the near future. But I’m glad we’ve made this small change, as it is making all the difference!

Now I’d really like to hear from you. Have there been any “little switches” you have made so that you can have more quality time with your partner? Any tips and tricks for other readers, to help them find the time where none seems to exist, at first glance? We still have a lot to learn, so I, for one, am all ears!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Cottonelle blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”