In partnership withBlue Apron

Gerri Phillips Spends Her Perfect Night In with Food, Fun, and Family

published Oct 30, 2020
Post Image

Perfect Night In is a series where we ask actors, artists, entrepreneurs, and beyond how they’d spend the ultimate luxury—a blissful evening at home.

Gerri Phillips loves to connect with people. The Louisiana-based lifestyle maven and mother of two has built an enthusiastic following, empowering women with her warm, motivating posts and covering everything from parenting to personal style.

Phillips and her family of four stay busy beautifying Instagram feeds everywhere with their casual elegance, whether sharing cute coordinated Halloween costumes on their front steps or a glamorous outdoor Christmas photoshoot. No matter the occasion, she always finds a way to seamlessly blend the places, people, and products she loves.

Like all of us, one place Phillips has seen a lot more of this year is her home. Though the pandemic brought everyone’s hustle to a near-halt, she seamlessly adapted with her signature cozy-chic vibe, reminding us to carve out time to take care of body and spirit, even when working from home.

As many of us have experienced, just because we have to stay home doesn’t mean work or family commitments stop. So, we were curious: How does a Perfect Night In look to Phillips? The answer involves food (cutting the guesswork out of a picture-perfect dinner with Blue Apron); fun (she’s already watching Christmas movies); and the people she loves to connect with most: her family. And if you want to spend your perfect night in like she does, you can save $60 off over three Blue Apron boxes.

Set the Scene

Describe your perfect homebody scene: It’s a very cozy fall day. The air is crisp and the sun is shining; it’s likely a Saturday. The fireplace is going and we’re watching a movie. There are tons of snacks and laughter—such a cozy vibe.

Are you alone or with someone else? With my husband and kids, spending time together as a family.

What’s your night-in uniform? It varies depending on the activity. Since the pandemic started, most of our nights are family game nights, and my uniform for that is really cozy sweats, oversized sweaters, and leggings. My date night uniform is chic but still comfortable: a monochromatic look of a jogger and a bodysuit, or a little dress and a heel to make the most of it.

What two people, dead or alive, would you let crash your night? Beyoncé. My doors are always open for Beyoncé; she can come in day or night. And because it’s a pandemic and we’re always looking for a reason to laugh, definitely Kevin Hart.

Favorite cozy product: My fuzzy slippers. Express has a cute cheetah pair I love. They make me feel like I’m walking on clouds. I also always have a very cozy blanket I can curl up in; it puts me in a very good mood after a nice long soak in the tub. I love to wrap up in it.

Now Playing

TV or a movie? Movie! My husband and I LOVE action movies on our date nights. If it’s just me, I love a romantic comedy.

What are you watching? I’m rewatching A Bad Moms Christmas. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year and I’m the type of person who tries to stretch out the holiday season as long as possible.

Silence or music? I love having some music in the background. I like different music for different moods, like upbeat music when I first wake up. When it’s mommy time—soaking in the tub on Wednesday with candles—I like music without lyrics. That puts me into a meditative mood.

E-books or the real deal? I prefer audiobooks, but between e-books or the real deal, I’m going to go with the real deal.

What are you reading? Make it Happen by Lara Casey. It’s such a great book. I love how she talks about her own journey of making her dreams come true.

Board games: yay or nay? A definite YAY.

Credit: Courtesy of Gerri Phillips

What’s Cooking

Describe your perfect dinner night in. The perfect dinner night in for me is filled with my family, good food, good drinks, music, and maybe a movie at the end. Blue Apron helps take the guesswork out of dinner time, which is always a perfect option in my book.

What’s your favorite Blue Apron meal you’ve made recently? The Calabrian-Fig Chicken & Mashed Potatoes was absolutely delicious. I especially loved the fig spread! This was a meal that was flavorful and healthy. It had protein from the skinless chicken, flavor from the nutrient-rich kale, and a bit of comfort from the mashed potatoes with crème fraîche.

How easy was it to make? Very easy. It’s virtually impossible to mess up with the helpful steps provided and pre-portioned ingredients. A lot of the recipes I follow from cookbooks have a lot more steps and ingredients. It was great that this was flavorful but still manageable.

On a scale of 1-10, how happy were you with the final dish? 10! There were so many varying flavors, it was absolutely delicious! And the ingredients were extremely fresh. Each one served its purpose and I wouldn’t have wanted to experience the dish without all of them.

Were there any new-to-you ingredients in any of your recent Blue Apron meals? There were a few items I rarely use: persimmons and crème fraîche.

What are the top three benefits of Blue Apron? Convenience, healthy food options, and easy prep time. I save quite a bit of time.

Take Care

Do you have a self-care ritual? Wednesday baths! Every mom should be taking that time one night a week, at least. I do facials, use my steamer, and take extra time to give my body some TLC.

What do you try to avoid at all costs? Stress, anxiety, and things that will zap my mood and energy. Also scary movies! I try to keep my mind on things that are happy and positive, because that can change your entire day.

Candles: yay or nay? Yay for sure!

Beauty masks: yay or nay? Yay!

Bubble bath: yay or nay? Yay!

Chores: yay or nay? Yay, and my kids try to help. My daughter is my mini-me and makes her own bed when she wakes up, and both of my kids put their plates in the sink after they eat. I’m trying to teach them those types of responsibilities early on!

Ideal bedtime? In a perfect world, I would get to bed by 10 pm. It doesn’t always work that way, but I try to stay as close to that as possible. By 9:15, I’m doing my last check of emails and social so I can put my phone away and fall asleep naturally.

Thanks for chatting with us, Gerri!