At least once every summer and fall, my brother and Rob and I try get together at the lake for a fire. Summer is always fun, but I'm totally into fall campfires. A few weeks ago, we made some turkey chili, grabbed a couple of blankets, and headed outside for a cozy dinner by the fire.

I don't know if there's anything more comforting on a chilly night than a bowl of, well, chili! There's just something about the way it takes all day to simmer away on the stove that makes it feel so special. My brother and I came up with our own recipe and I'm going to be making it all fall and winter long.

Sean usually builds the campfire while I finish up the food inside, but since the chili is pretty low-maintenance, I decided to help him outside and see if I could learn a thing or two about building a fire. Here's what I learned, in case you are ever in need of a campfire but without the help of an Eagle scout:

• Keep buckets of water or, ideally, a hose nearby. Spray down the edges of your campfire circle and any trees or bushes that are within close proximity to the fire pit.
• Start small. Begin with thin, dry branches no larger than the size of your pinky finger. Use newspaper or dry leaves to get it started.
• Move on to larger pieces of wood, this time the size of your thumb, twice that size, and then to the size of your wrist. Make sure you let the fire catch up before moving on to larger pieces of wood.
• Once you get the fire going, don't be afraid to let it die down so you have a good bed of coals to work with--this is especially important if you're going to be heating up food in a pot, like our chili. If you're doing hot dogs or s'mores, though, you'll want to keep some flames going.
• When you've decided that you're done, spread the fire around with a large stick and spray it down with water until there's no more smoke. Don't ever leave the fire unattended until it's totally out and you don't see any more embers or smoke.

Don't forget to visit the La Crema blog for my turkey chili recipe! 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of La Crema. The opinions and text are all mine.

Photos by Sarah Gatrell for Freckled Italian.

When it gets cold outside and the holidays are near, I love throwing some aromatics into a pot to make our whole apartment smell like heaven. You can make up your own or change the measurements however you like, but this is how I make mine:

Ingredients:

• One or two clementine peels (you can use oranges if you have them)
• A couple slices of lemon
• One or two cinnamon sticks
• A palm-full of whole cloves
• Several cups of water (or more, depending on the pot you use) 

Instructions:

1. Put all fruit and spices in a pot and add water. Turn stove to medium.
2. Get it to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer. Leave as long as you like, refilling water as it evaporates. (I usually just have it going when I'm anywhere near the kitchen.) Don't forget about it!

We're in Farmville this weekend for the Hampden-Sydney vs. Randolph-Macon game on Saturday. Going to two different schools in the same town was such a perfect situation for the early years of my relationship with Rob--we both had our own space and our own groups of friends, but it was so easy to see each other, and it's so fun now to go back and visit Longwood whenever we're in town for a Hampden-Sydney event. I like sharing a college town with my husband.

Last year we missed lots of fun weekends like this one, but all throughout our college years and right after graduation, we were always tailgating with friends for HSC football games. My twenty-first birthday party was actually a tailgate at Hampden-Sydney!

To prepare for The Game (and because I can't resist any excuse for wine and food), I put together an early tailgate for La Crema--because whether you're at the game or just in your backyard, you can throw a quick, easy, and beautiful party. Even the neighbor's dog, Bentley, couldn't resist showing up and begging for a chicken wing or two.

This post is sponsored by La Crema. For tips on throwing a great tailgate of your own, check out my post on their blog today!

Photos by Sarah Gatrell of Photo + Love.