Holiday: The 1st Day of Fall

Today is the 1st day of Autumn, although in San Diego it still feels like summer. Us Double Decker sister's love this time of year! It's getting cooler out and soon we will be able to break out our scarfs and cute boots. In the evenings we want to bundle up and be close to our loved ones. We love the cool crisp air, family time & thankfulness is everywhere. The best part, there are many fun holiday activities to do from now until December! So get ready, it's Fall and that means the holidays are coming!!!!

By now, if you've been following our blog you know all about our Thanksgiving family traditions . Here we've included a "Fall Bucket List" so you can start in on the Fall fun. RIGHT NOW! Good luck, we hope you can fit in all the fun this Fall season.  

Until we blog again, XOXO, Connie & Jenn

Holiday: Easter Traditions & Crafts

Happy EASTER weekend everyone & the end of Lent!!! Now we can indulge in whatever we gave up for the past 40 days. Great job to those of you who stuck to your goals. Easter always falls on a Sunday but the date is always changing. Easter Sunday usually falls sometime in April. This year it falls on April 5th, 2015. Easter is a great time to celebrate a day with your loved ones.

Some fun Easter traditions & crafts:
~First of all, we love holidays so decorations are very important to us! When we were little we would leave out carrots for the Easter bunny the night before. Then we would wake up in the morning and go find our Easter baskets & head off to church in our best Easter dresses & bonnets. Followed by brunch & an egg hunt once we got back home.

I know once we have children we will do some of the same traditions. As we get older the décor changes a bit but the holiday spirit still says with us. That's why we love to have Easter craft Parties!!! Below are some fun springtime craft ideas:

Peeps in a Nest

Easter Basket Cupcakes

Basic Easter Decorations

Easter Egg Tree

Peeps Easter Flower Arrangement

20 Minute Spring Wreath

 

This is super easy! Just buy the wreath, flowers, ribbon and wooden letter. Hot glue the flowers on and tie the letter on with ribbon!

~We hard-boil, color and decorate the eggs in spring colors. An egg is the symbol of a new life. Easter is a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The two go hand-in-hand and that is why we believe Easter eggs are such a huge part of the holiday.

~ An Easter egg hunt, we are a little old for that one but it is still fun to do for our little cousin's or niece & nephews. Below is an Easter egg hunt for our cousin's a few years ago.

~Attend an Easter Sunrise Service - this is always a great start to the day.

~ Wear (or make) Easter Bonnets. Our Mom was a very crafty lady and passed that on to us. She taught us how to make our own Easter bonnets.

Easy to make Newspaper Easter Bonnets/Hats:
1. Old newspaper

2. Masking tape

3. Paints

4. craft flowers, ribbon, bows and any other spring stuff for decorating.

What to do:

Lay double-lined sheets of newspaper on top of the child's head, squeeze the sheets down to form a custom crown, put masking tape around it to hold the shape. Repeat to get a more solid hat. Take off & begin making hat brim into shape you want. Once that step is complete, paint you hat in any color you choose. Let dry. Tie your ribbon around the brim and hot glue all the flower & spring décor you choose.

~ Attend Easter Parades and/or spend time outdoors, it's usually always lovely weather in the spring time. It's a great time to enjoy nature. Go for a bike ride, swimming, a walk, or just hang out in your backyard.

~We like to have a big Easter brunch with mimosas after the Sunrise service. Sometimes we do pancakes and sometimes it's an egg casserole but whatever we do we always have family around.

~Lastly, one of our favorite Easter traditions is to make a Bunny Cake! Our Mom used to make bunny cakes for us every Easter (sugar high???) The picture below (bunny on the right) was created by our family in 1994.

BUNNY CAKE directions:

Below is a picture of the Bunny cake Jenn made last year, April 20th, 2014. The one on the right is a bunny cake our mom made in the 90's. This is how the bunny cake tradition started.

* Make any flavor cake you choose and bake in 2(two) 9-inch round can pans.*

after your cake is cooled You Need:
~to leave 1 round cake whole (the bunny's face) and cut the 2nd cake into 3 pieces (bow + 2 ears)

~Place pieces of cake on a large baking sheet (as seen in photos) then frost to connect.

~ You NEED any type of white frosting, we like to use an (8 oz.) tub of COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

~ white sprinkles or shredded flake coconut (for bunny hair)

~ Candy for the bow tie, nose, mouth, whiskers & eyes. You can use any type of candy you desire. I suggest licorice for the whiskers and mouth (or black/red gel frosting), m&m's, sprinkles, jelly beans etc. for everything else. Another good idea is to sprinkle the coconut on the bunny ears & face for hair. You can look at our sample pictures to get decorating ideas

Until we blog again, XoXo, Connie & Jenn

Holiday: St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day falls on a Tuesday (March 17th, 2015) this year! If you are wondering how St. Patrick's Day got started, here is the general history. St. Patrick's Day is always on March 17th - the date Saint Patrick died. He is the foremost patron saint of Ireland. This celebration commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and Saint Patrick. It may also be called "Feast of Saint Patrick" This is a cultural and religious holiday. You can celebrate by wearing green, decorating with shamrocks and celebrating the general culture of the Irish. People tend to make corned beef cabbage, drink Guinness, make Irish car bombs, Irish coffee's, green foods & desserts.

We have always celebrated St. Patrick's Day in my family. When we were little our Mother Kristy would pretend a leprechaun came to our house and left a "pot of gold" (which would be a bowl of gold chocolate at the end of a gold glitter trail. We would wake up and follow the glitter trail to the lucky pot of gold. It was always so much fun and something we looked forward to every year. What are some traditions your family did/does?

Here are some ideas of things you could do for your St. Patrick's Day Party:

1. Enjoy Guinness, Whiskey, Green Beer & Irish Coffee

Beer mixed with a dash of green food coloring. (pictured below)

 

2. Wear something Green or Irish (like a Guinness t-shirt)

3. Decorate your house with 4-leaf clovers, green or St. Patrick's Day plates, cups, napkins, Green cupcakes and anything else fun & festive you could think of!

 

 

4. Make green mustaches or other green/Irish photo props. These are very easy and fun for guests. Just cut out mustaches, lips, glasses &/or hats onto green cardboard paper and tape them to wooden skewers.

 

5. Last but not least make corn beef & cabbage. I prefer to add corn beef, seasoning packet, 1 can beer, carrots, cabbage, onion & red potatoes in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours. (in the photo below we baked a few extra sides)

However you celebrate, don't forget to be safe & most of all have fun!

Until we blog again, May the Luck of the Irish be with you! Xoxo, Connie & Jenn

Party: The 87th Academy Awards, The Oscars

Are you counting down the days to this years 87th Academy Awards? The Oscars will take place this Sunday, February 22, 2015 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The host this year is Neil Patrick Harris! The pre-show starts at 3pm (Pacific time). We have to admit this is our favorite part! I love to see what everyone is wearing & watch them walk the red carpet.

Below are a few ideas to throw a fabulous Oscar party Connie & Jenn put together.

1. Dress up in Oscar worthy dresses (old prom dresses anyone?)
2. Print out ballots: Have a ballot for each main category & the person who gets the most right will receive a reward.
3. Oscar "photo-booth": Create a gold or black/white backdrop and have swanky props like champagne glasses, mustaches, top hats, kissy lips. Set up a photo stand or use a polaroid
4. Have a popcorn bar: since popcorn and a good movie go hand in hand. (Connie & I will have to skip this one because we gave it up for lent this year) 
5. Box candy from the theater
6. Drinks: champagne, champagne & more champagne
7. Fresh lobster is always great too!
8. Have gold stars everywhere for decoration

 

A re-cap of the big winners: WILL BE POSTED IN A FEW DAYS

We are really gunning for our favorite, American Sniper (pun intended ;))

Here is a direct link to the OSCARS nomination page http://oscar.go.com/nominees/

You can even choose you picks on here as well: http://oscar.go.com/mypicks

Stay Classy & fabulous! Until we blog again. XOXO, Connie & Jenn

Holiday: Mardi Gras 2015

 

Happy FAT TUESDAY everyone. Today is the day you indulge in all your favorite things before fasting. Connie & I both picked 1 thing we LOVE to give up for 40 days and 40 nights. We chose.... POPCORN.

I know it is going to be hard but we are going to do it. This fast will start tomorrow, on Ash Wednesday and end on Easter Sunday. As for tonight (being a Tuesday & having to work tomorrow...) we are going to have a little festive dinner party. Below are our decorations. Leave us a comment & let us know what your MARDI GRAS plans are.

 

 Until we blog again, XOXO, Connie & Jenn

Craft: Shell Door Wreath

I (Jenn) am newly married and just changed my name... I started thinking about cute crafts for the house that will utilize my new last name. I decided to make a shell door wreath for our front door. Our whole house has a beachy theme so I thought this type of wreath would fit perfectly with our style. You may choose whatever style fits you, It does not need to be shells. You can use fake flowers, ivy, beads, holiday theme décor etc.

Here is our finished product:

How to complete the look?

You will need:

1. 1 paper plate
2. Scissors
3. Ribbon (color of your choice)
4. Hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
5. raffia (I bought at Michael's)
6. Shells of your choice (6 - 8 medium sized shells + 40 - 45 small shells)
7. gems or other craft items to glue on.

*1st you will need to cut a the center out of the paper plate to leave a round "donut" shape. Just follow along the circle on the plate (most designs will have a border line). This will form the base of your wreath.
*Next cut 2 long strands of ribbon (about 2 feet each), tie both ribbon strands around the border of the plate into a knot. Then tie one of the ribbons into a bow and the other into a big loop. This forms the easy to hang part of your wreath.
* Take the raffia and wrap around the plate and hot glue into place. Make sure there is not space in between each loop, go over 2x if needed. Continue until the plate is fully covered.
* Next place your shells on the plate how you would like them and hot glue into place. Start with the big shells and add the smaller ones next.
*Once you are finished let sit for the glue to fully dry then hang on your door.

Congratulations you have created an easy door wreath!

We hope you enjoyed this wreath craft. Until we blog again, XoXo, Jenn & Connie

Friendsgiving & Blind Wine Tasting Party!!!

This year my husband and I decided to host a Friendsgiving dinner! I've always wanted to have a blind wine tasting party, so we did that as well :)
It was so much fun!!

We invited some friends by emailing/messeging this:  

"Please join us for a potluck: 

We will cook the turkey, make the gravy and have some yummy apps! 
(and of course our wine for the blind tasting!) 

Please bring a bottle of wine to taste, white or red, sweet or dry, your favorite or one you've never tried, doesn't matter, as long as it's wine! 

Make sure it's covered in a brown paper bag (we will have some too, but make sure no one sees the label, but you)

We will taste & rate each wine from 1-5 (5 being amazing) & whoever brought the highest rated white & red wine wins a prize! 

Please also bring one of the following side dishes:  
- mashed potatoes
- sweet potato dish
- green beans casarole/dish
- veggie dish
- salad
- stuffing
- cranberry sauce
-  dessert (x2)

Let everyone know what you're bringing so we don't end up with a bunch of the same thing. 
Super excited & can't wait to celebrate with you!!!"

We ended up doing smoked pork tenderloin instead! It was amazing!! My hubby recently got a smoker so he wanted to make this too :) He did such a good job! 

For appetizers, I decided to make Jenn's Fruit Turkey (she made this for Thanksgiving before and helped me learn how to do it):

Then while looking for a cornucopia to buy online I found this recipe:
http://recipes.safeway.com/recipe/13462/cornucopia.aspx

Jenn was in town and helped me make it! It turned out great and was such a hit! 

Thanksgiving Cornucopia: 

1) Use foil to shape cornucopia.

2) 

3) Next, roll out dough into strips, overlapping to cover foil. Start from the back.

4) Braid three long skinny strips to go around opening. Then bake at 350 degrees for 25 min.. after that we turned off the oven and let it sit in there to cook a little more and stay warm. 

5) Fill as you wish & enjoy! 

For the Blind Wine Tasting  I made everyone a scorecard. We started out with the white wine with appetizers and right before we sat down to eat. Then throughout the meal I  poured the bottles in numerical order. We mixed the paper bag wrapped bottles up before we numbered them... it worked out great! 

The results:

After dinner and dessert we spend the rest of the night signing karaoke! :) We had such a blast and are so thankful to have such wonderful people in our life! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving! 

Xoxo 

Double Decker Sister Cooks
Connie & Jenn