a special spaghetti dinner

Hospitality at Home

our at home date night with our sweet girl along!

On Friday I was looking forward to trying a few new recipes.  I planned to prepare them during naptime.  Naptime didn't happen as is sometimes the case.  Therefore, my helper would be awake as I cooked, and we needed a plan!  Making our simple dinner a bit more special was a good way to keep us both excited about Daddy coming home soon, while serving him as well.  We LOVED the new recipes for spaghetti sauce and especially these heavenly meatballs.  Our salad was also a good addition.

*As an aside, do my Louisville friends all know about the fairly new EarthFare grocery store at The Summit?  They send out AMAZING coupons!  Last week, I had a coupon allowing me to purchase 5 specified "Italian dinner" items for $5 TOTAL.  The coupon included... a box of fresh salad, cherry tomatoes, salad dressing, pasta, and 1 pound of fresh ground Italian sausage.  (The sausage inspired the meal as I really didn't know what to do with it, so I went recipe searching!)  I think these 5 items for $5 coupons come out about once a month as I've benefited from them in the past as well.  Subscribe to their e-mails and keep your eyes out!

We decided to make dinner "special" by using a candle, serving the meal in courses instead of all at once, and having everything ready and the table set by the time Matt came home!  Here are a few pictures.  I considered it a lovely date night, even with our sweet girl joining us :)

the first "course" toasted ravioli appetizers

then came the salad

lastly, the spaghetti and meatballs finale!

My sweet husband who enjoyed our surprise, also surprised me with two Starbucks cake pops!  We weren't having a dessert, so it was really a treat to enjoy.  I'm blessed by simple nights like this one, and pray to cultivate hospitality toward my own immediate family as much as I would toward guests.