The Secret to the Perfect Night In

If there's one thing we've learned over the last eight years, it's how to properly spend a night at home, completely content and comfortable. It has little to do with who you’re with (although that certainly helps) and everything to do with creating the perfect atmoshphere.

We’re usually in for the night by 7p, either cooking something or ordering a pizza from the local pizzeria down the street. If we’re cooking, it’s usually pasta. Lately, we’ve been doing our best to eat healthier, so it’s been vegetables and some form of grilled chicken or fish. We love staying in putzing around the house, maybe picking up a little, maybe playing with the girls, maybe watching Netflix.

While the itinerary changes night to night, there’s a couple of things we do every night that we swear by to create that perfect cozy, no-place-I’d-rather-be-than-home feel:

Wine: A glass of wine (or two). We always go for a good red; either a cab or a pinot noir. Over the summer when it was almost too hot to drink anything but water, we started getting into whites, specifically chardonnay, but our go-to is always red. We’ve been obsessed with 7 Moons Red Blend lately. Have you tried it?

Music: Music is a necessity. We usually play some in the background while we’re cooking or just hanging around the house. Our favorite is Bossa Nova radio on Pandora. It instantly makes you feel like you’re in a Nancy Meyer’s movie, or some other romantic comedy where you live in a perfectly decorated NYC apartment that you could never actually afford. No matter how bad or good the day is, as soon as we turn on Bossa Nova, it’s instantly better.

Food: This doesn’t have to be anything special. It can be as simple as some grapes and cheese, or homemade guacamole and tortilla chips. Or, if you’re feeling something light and easy, try making popcorn. For as long as we can remember, we’ve been making our own popcorn and it tastes SO MUCH BETTER than the bagged kind. We like the white kernels of Jolly Time best. To make it, add one kernel to a pan/pot, pour just enough vegetable oil (or olive oil) in to cover the kernel. Make sure the heat is on high, and leave it uncovered until that kernel pops. Once it pops, you know it’s hot enough to pour in the desired amount of popcorn kernels. Then cover with a lid, but make sure a little bit of air gets out so the corn will pop. Once it’s finished popping, cover with sea salt and you’re good to go! It’s our favorite food to snack on while we’re at home and it’s not terrible for you, so there’s no feelings of guilt!

As long as you have those three things on hand, your night should be relaxing and cozy, and the perfect end to the day. What about you? What other things do you do to have a nice evening at home? We’re always looking for tips!