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


Crisp autumn evenings are perfect for a date night in! Reid and I always do what we call a "late night date night" where we cook up something yummy to eat and watch a movie after the girls are in bed. It's a great way to get in that date night without getting a babysitter! Recently I concocted the perfect fall meal...Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili!

I know, it sounds a bit strange, but it actually turned out so yummy! It has really healthy ingredients and the pumpkin makes the broth really thick and creamy. It's also versatile, so I'm sure you could add in anything you wanted to make it your own!

And if you are looking for a winter wedding gift idea, how cute would it be to include a "date night in"? You could include a few items from Target as well as a pretty note card with this recipe written on it.

Crock-Pot® 6 Qt. Designer Series Smart-Pot
 Crock-Pot® Programmable Slow Cooker
 KitchenAid Ultra Power 4.5 Qt Stand Mixer
Target Seasonal Products

Ready for the recipe?

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili (adapted from this recipe)
1 lb ground turkey
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can pumpkin puree
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 onion, diced
2 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of cinnamon
1.5 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin

Saute turkey, onion and garlic in olive oil until turkey is cooked through. Add the other ingredients. Cook in a crockpot on low for 3-4 hours or simmer on the stove for 30 minutes. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream or any other desired toppings!

And now for the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Van Gogh Inspired Paintings Featuring Target's Toy Emporium

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TargetToys #CollectiveBias

As a former elementary art teacher, I was so excited to team up with Target and play with some of their Kid Made Modern art supplies. These can be found in stores or at Target's Toy Emporium available only online.  Just the packaging alone is enough to catch my eye, but the art products are super high quality.  I came up with a Van Gogh inspired painting to do with my Kindergarten and Preschool age daughters using these fun products.

I wasn't sure how it would go over since I used to do similar projects with 2nd and 3rd graders, but they loved it and I think they turned out super cute.  It also goes to show that pretty much kids of all ages could do this little painting project and love it.

These were the Kid Made Modern products that I chose:

You will need:
Heavy white paper
Construction paper
Acrylic paint
Crayons

First, I showed Van Gogh's Starry Nigh to my girls and just talked with them about what kids of lines, shapes and colors they saw.

Then, with crayons, they made the moon and stars.

Lighter colors work better in the end,  but also let them get creative with it! Next, they added swirls and dashed lines to mimic the brush strokes in the original painting.

I mixed some of the shimmer shine acrylic paint with water and let the kids paint over their entire picutre. The crayon creates a resist and shows through the paint.

The colorful night skies look so pretty once they are completely painted.

Lastly, Lula cut out some construction paper to create the silhouette of a landscape at the bottom. Jane left this part out (shes only 4). So an older child could get much more detailed with this step or a young one can skip it!

The girls had so much fun learning about Van Gogh and playing with new art supplies.

Visit the Pinterest board below for more inspiring and creative ideas!

DIY Fall Place Setting Ideas

 I’m excited to be partnering with Dollar Tree to share their anniversary Bonus Buys with you! As always, all opinions are my own.

I’ve gushed about my love of Dollar Tree for home décor and craft items before and I’m going to do it again today! In light of Dollar Tree’s Anniversary Celebration, I’ve created an easy fall place setting with all products from Dollar Tree! It was such a fun challenge for me to come up with creative ways to make a super inexpensive place setting perfect for a fall get together or even Thanksgiving.

 

I gathered my supplies from Dollar Tree. I used a white plate, an orange bowl, some stones (that I spray painted gold for a previous project), a brown dish cloth, a neutral placemat, and some faux pumpkins.

 

To create a super easy napkin holder, I hot glued my painted gold stones onto an old hair band. This was wrapped around the brown dish cloth to act as a napkin.

 

For the placemat, I dressed it up with a metallic sharpie by taping it off and adding some lines around the edge. You could definitely leave it plain, but I thought it added an extra special touch.

I spray painted the pumpkins gold and decided that it fit perfectly inside the bowl. I added a name on some washi tape and wrapped it around the stem of the pumpkin to be the perfect way to display the name of the place setting!

 

I took the rest of the gold stones and put them in a mason jar (also found at Dollar Tree) and added some white branches. The rest of the gold pumpkins also can act as a centerpiece along with the mason jar and branches.

 

How easy (and cheap) was that? There were a million different ways to use Dollar Tree stuff to make a place setting, I can’t wait to try it again for a different holiday!

 

Right now at Dollar Tree, there is a huge Anniversary Event going on! You can get up to 58% more free on specific Bonus Buy items and they are still just $1 each! I’m definitely going to stock up on candy. And my other favorite staples from Dollar Tree; L.A.’s Totally Awesome cleaners, Hefty baggies and glass vases are some of the bonus buy items!

 

The Anniversary Event only lasts until October 11, so hurry and visit here for more details.