Dinner at Eight :: Candlelight

I am so sorry for my delay in sharing about our first dinner at eight date night - I know I promised I would over the weekend but with the Superbowl excitement and everything I just didn't get a chance. Speaking of, is anyone else still in physical pain over the Seahawks loss? SUCH a huge bummer :(.

I am excited to share about our date night in though, it was seriously so much fun! This month I decided on candlelight for our theme which made it super easy to throw together because candlelight makes everything more special and romantic and it even makes a dirty house look great :)! I didn't tell Chris about the date which I might do every month because when he walked through the door I could tell that the little scene by the fire made him feel special immediately.

I had already given the kids dinner and instructed them to watch a movie together while Daddy and I ate our first course. Of course they all came in to check on us and ask random questions throughout but seriously it didn't even matter, it still felt like a date. I can't quite explain it but putting in the extra effort is so worth it.

I had forgotten that Simon had basketball that evening so after our first course we took a little break and Chris took the older boys to practice while I cleaned up and put the younger two in bed. Then when they got home the older two went to bed and we had dessert by the fire and got to spend some good quality alone time!

For dinner I just did a ton of yummy appetizers, cheese, meat, olives, nuts and fruit and yummy bread and wine. I also made some really incredible brie with broiled honey that was so good - the whole things was quick and easy and we really had everything on hand thanks to a Christmas gift from one of Chris's co-workers! Josie and Zeb and I had set out a bunch of tea lights in mason jars and strung some cafe lights over the fireplace and some pretty flowers on the coffee table was about it. Super easy and not at all stressful, the best kind of evening!

I am really excited about this monthly tradition and spending time being intentional about my marriage in a really doable and special way. This first date was just the thing to reunite us after a long and exhausting week and doing something thoughtful and special for Chris not only blessed him but it totally blessed me so much!

So did any of you join me this month in hosting a candlelight dinner at home too? If you did I would LOVE to see or even hear about it in the comments. The linky will be up all month - and for February I am thinking of doing a true valentine's date night theme…hope you will join me next month too! xoxo

Friday Pieday :: Fudgey Pudding Cake (vegan/gf)

This week for Friday Pieday Josie and Zeb wanted to help with my date night in prep for Dinner at Eight and they were excited about the fudgey chocolate pudding cake I had picked out for dessert. I thought it would be the perfect thing to bake together this week even though it wasn't technically a pie - it was fun for them to get to help with mommy and daddy's special evening together and this healthy version of a pudding cake was so fun to make with them!

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks ever - Oh She Glows, Angela Liddon is basically my hero and her vegan recipes are always a hit around here! This pudding cake called for all kinds of healthy stuff like oat four and almond milk and raw cocoa powder. There is a little bit of coconut sugar in the recipe but otherwise nothing guilty going into this dessert including flax eggs and coconut oil.

Josie was a huge help of course and I even caught her licking the bowl - she loves chocolate just as much as her mama that is for sure!

The recipe calls for hot coffee and oh that sounds so divine to me but my family isn't as big on the flavor of coffee as I am so we opted to use the hot water instead. I have a feeling the addition of the coffee would've taken this one up a few more notches in the yum factor!

While the cake cooked the kids helped me set up all of the candles and lights for the evenings date - it was really fun to do together and since I was surprising Chris they couldn't wait to see his face when he came home to the romantic scene.

I let all four of the kids taste the cake too before dinner and there were certainly no complaints on this one. It did have a distinct oat flavor and you cold tell it wasn't laced with tons of butter or eggs but it was really yummy and so guilt free - will be making it again for sure!

I will be back tomorrow with pictures from our fun date night in - hope you have a wonderful Friday! xo

Fudgey Mocha Pudding Cake from the Oh She Glows cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 T ground flaxseed
1.5 cups oat flour (I ground mine from rolled oats in the vitamix)
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup of coconut or granulated sugar
1/3 plus 2 T of raw cocoa powder
1/3 cup chocolate chips
3/4 tsp sea salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup almond milk
2 T coconut oil, melted
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup of hot decaf coffee or hot water

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (2-L) square glass baking dish.

In a small bowl, whisk the flaxseed and 3 tablespoons (45 mL) water together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, 3⁄4 cup (175 mL) of the sugar, 1⁄3 cup (75 mL) of the cocoa powder, and the chocolate chips, salt, and baking powder.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flaxseed mixture, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. 

Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top evenly with a spoon.

In a small bowl or mug, combine the remaining 1⁄3 cup (75 mL) sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons (30 mL) cocoa powder. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the baking dish.

Slowly pour the hot coffee over the cocoa powder mixture, ensuring that the coffee completely covers the mixture. The cake will now look like a complete disaster, but this is normal. Promise.

Bake for 27 to 33 minutes, uncovered, until the cake is semi-firm on top but bubbly and gooey around the edges.

Let the cake cool for 5 to 10 minutes before digging in (that's if you can wait that long!). If desired, serve with vegan ice cream, along with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and toasted walnuts on top. 

Tip: For a nut-free option, swap the almond milk for a nut-free non-dairy milk (such as coconut milk) and leave out the optional walnuts. For a soy-free option, use soy-free non-dairy chocolate, such as Enjoy Life brand.

date night inspiration

Chris and I are finally having our date night in tomorrow evening right after basketball practice and bedtime for the kids of course!

This months Dinner at Eight theme is candlelight but I am not going to be super fancy on this one. It'll  be nice and simple, appetizers and wine and a chocolately dessert laced with conversation and the fireplace. I am collecting tea lights and flowers today and hope to set it up tomorrow with the kids before Chris gets home from work. It's so wild and crazy over here at all times with our full house but I am genuinely excited about taking some intentional time to focus on my marriage and where it all began!

I am hoping that you might join me on the Dinner at Eight challenge of hosting a simple date night at home for your sweetie too - I'll be posting all about our candlelight date on Saturday along with a linky so if you do join in I can't wait to see what you came up with!

Above are a bunch of pictures I gathered from Pinterest to get me inspired - pretty antipasto plates, pudding cake and candles of course!

dinner at eight :: sweetheart

{Dinner at Eight is a special project I am doing with my friend Andi this year - planning date nights at home for our husbands, putting the kids to bed early and being intentional about our marriages! Read more about the dinner at eight project HERE}

This past year I have been learning so much about Gods provision. Not always an easy thing to trust or count on I will confess but always, ALWAYS finds it way into our lives especially when we are looking for it. I love this dinner at eight feature it is very close to my heart but sometimes the thought of putting together a little more effort for a date night at home is hard. After we moved last Fall and I unexpectedly found myself pregnant again I was am tired. I don't always have the enthusiasm to try.

But this I know: God loves marriage and He loves to provide for us and last night I was so blessed by both of those things. A few weeks ago when I said I was bringing dinner at eight back I really was excited I promise but as it got closer pulling off a nice date started to feel so exhausting and on Sunday I still had so much to do.

I needed to go to the store. I had my Pinterest board going for inspiration and a loooong list of things that I wanted to make for the date. But we were out at Church until late afternoon and by the time we got home I just needed to sit my tired body down.

My step Mom, Julia hadn't seen the kids in several weeks and popped by for a little visit and she brought with her a bag of goodies to share. Guess what was in the bag? It was all the makings for the sweetest evening, oh how the Lord provided us such a gift through her!

First she brought me some red tulips to brighten up the place. She packed two rib eye steaks from their grass fed beef stash because she knows we aren't able to afford that kind of treat often and she thought Chris might like it especially. Some potatoes, mushrooms and a salad plus a little plate of veggies and dip for an appetizer. I think I almost cried when she pulled it all out of the bag and laid it on the counter.

That evening after she had gone home I told Chris it was such an unexpected blessing and we both agreed that we could not wait to enjoy the steaks. I then decided to forgo all the over the top decorations and gathered up what I had around the house for the next nights date.

As luck would have it Amanda from Festivities Party Supply had sent me some adorable red and white striped straws and flags (thanks Amanda!) to use for our date night and they provided a little more red to go with the tulips. I also laid out the vintage fifties red roses table cloth (also a gift from Julia long ago it was her Mom's I love it!) and hung up my little xoxo bunting from the talented Stacey Winters etsy shop!

Then I got out my trusty glass jar collection and filled each one with white feathers and a battery operated candle to add a festive glow. So easy and yet so special especially when I set the card table out by the fireplace.

And that was about it. I waited to start dinner until Chris came home last night. Instead I fed the kids and then we both took turns getting them ready for bed and working on our food. 

I will be honest Josie went down pretty easily but our boys were NOT even close to sleeping while we enjoyed our meal together. It was pretty comical listening to them rough housing and carrying on. At one point we heard a terrible loud crash and lots of crying and my heart stopped but all ended up fine. And they did eventually go to bed. But to be honest it wasn't even a big deal they knew we were having some alone time and  even though they kept interrupting us it still felt really really special to get some good adult conversation mixed in. And the food was super yummy too!

We enjoyed Chris' favorite milk shakes in these sprinkle rimmed jars and I also made a vegan chocolate torte. So I am happy to report that dinner at eight was a blessing to our relationship once again and the Lord truly provided for us in really tangible ways. I am looking forward to doing it again next month!

So now it's your turn, did you host a little date night at home for your sweetie or do you plan too this month? If so please consider heading over to the dinner at eight page HERE and adding your date night post to the linky so that we can all see it and be blessed. I think Andi is planning a date night to and I will let you know when her post is up!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

sweetheart date

I have been busy setting up a little date for Mr. Gough and I for this months Sweetheart Dinner at Eight theme! I am going very simple with the decorations this time but setting up something always makes it so much more special and I am really looking forward to putting the kids to bed early for a quiet night alone!

We are also filling out some store bought Valentines cards for Simon's class tomorrow - I am lame and didn't make handmade but he seems please with his super hero themed cards and I'm also trying to ignore the rest of the house and all of the mess...the farther I get in this fourth pregnancy the less energy I have to do just about anything. I will be back tomorrow with more details from our date - hope your having a wonderful Monday!

dinner at eight returns!

It's been a little quieter around here this week than I like. Little miss Josie has been pretty sick (read up every thirty minutes at night kind of sick) and it has turned into Mommy being a bit under the weather too. But have no fear I shall return soon enough. Being pregnant with a baby in arms is exhausting though I will admit...I made it through once having my boys sixteen months apart so I know I can do it again (praying hard and crossing fingers :)) but I am working on taking it one day at a time and offering myself a bit more grace these days...it's so hard isn't it not being able to do everything especially when sickness is involved. sigh.

 

In the mean time I wanted to mention that I am finally planning to bring the old dinner at eight feature back just in time for Valentines day! I am planning a special little date night at home for me and Mr. Gough and I know many of you have been interested in jumping in to participate too. I wanted to give you a heads up that February I will be hosting a linky party for it and will add it to the dinner at eight page at the beginning of the month. It will be open for the entire month so feel free to link up your date night at any point so that we can all see!

Last years Valentines date was so much fun so I am looking forward to getting the juices flowing again and Chris is excited as well. We had a little household meeting last weekend and got to talking and he mentioned that he really loved those date nights at home...I got the hint ;).

So who is in for February? Let's call the theme: Sweetheart that way you won't feel pressure to host it on Valentines day specifically. I will leave you with a few inspiration photos to get the ideas started. Hope you have a wonderful weekend friends!

(all images and sources can be found HERE)

(You can check out other dinner at eight date nights HERE)

dinner at eight :: takeout for two

{Dinner at Eight is a special project I am doing with my friend Andi this year - planning date nights at home for our husbands, putting the kids to bed early and being intentional about our marriages! Read more about the dinner at eight project HERE}

Since we are in the middle of such a huge change with our big move underway the house has pretty much turned upside down and getting any sort of dinner on the table has been a hard one. But last week I said to Chris that I thought we needed a date night in the midst of all this crazy stuff and he got super excited at the sound of that. So I decided that this months theme needed to be takeout for two.

A super easy and casual night together without fussing around with cooking and shopping. It turned out so special, we had a really fun time. I let Chris pick whatever takeout he would like and he instantly chose sushi - one of our favorites!

We have a special spot down the street that we will miss greatly so we decided it would be the perfect time to indulge in all of our favorite rolls as well as miso soup and yummy bubble tea too!

All I did was set the table out on our deck and strung up a few paper lanterns to set the mood. The weather was gorgeous and the conversation much needed and truly a blessing to both of us.

I long to continue to be intentional about dating my husband even when my life is in total chaos and confusion. It really proved to me that taking a little time out even if it only means ordering in can truly be that perfect way to connect without going out for some big over the top date!

We talked about change and about how blessed we are even in the midst of trial - God is so good and we are so very thankful to have each other to walk this road with. Last weekend we also celebrated being together for a decade. I can not believe we have been a couple for ten years I still feel just as lucky as I did on our first date together Mr. Gough!

So now it's your turn to take the dinner at eight challenge. For the next month at any time I challenge you to set up a simple date night at home, put your kids to bed early and order some takeout for two. You will not regret it friends I promise. You can link up with blog posts and pictures HERE!