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

*~Party: Celebrating or Throwing a Birthday!*

Event: last Friday night was Matt's 31st Birthday. We had a Charger's Party (watching the pre-season game at 7pm) and also made blue fin tuna, white & brown rice, stir-fry vegetables, garlic edamamme, seaweed salad and Matt's mom made her famous Ice box dessert. Every Coleman family birthday party always has ice box dessert for the cake. It wouldn't be the same without this family tradition... unless you bring us a turtle pie.

How to make Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi:
~ You will need: FRESH fish (Matt's employee brought him a bunch of tuna from a fishing trip so our fish was very fresh).
~Prepare the fish: Matt likes to trim all the "dark meat"  & excess skin off the filet. Then he mixes 1 gallon (16 cups of water) with sea salt and lets the fish soak in the fridge for 3.5 hours. After soaking the fish you take it out and wrap the filets in saran wrap and store in the fridge (no longer than 1 day for freshest fish).
~Before you serve: throw the fish in the freezer for 30min. this will kill the bacteria and make it easier to chop the fish into nice slices.
~Cut the fish: into a one to two-inch wide by a half to one-inch high fillet, or simply use it in whatever shape it’s already in. Cut the fish against the grain into ¼-inch thick slices. Or whatever size you prefer.
~For taste and freshness: the fish needs to be consumed as quickly after preparation as possible. We also like to add a bunch of Asian dipping sauces to awaken the palate.

 

We also seared some Yellow fin tuna in a cast iron skillet on the stove under medium heat for 3 min on each side. This option turned out GREAT as well.

Ice Box Dessert

Ingredients:                      

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream   
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (9 ounce) package chocolate wafer cookies

Directions:

 

Basically you make a tower of cookie and whipped cream sandwiches, lay said tower on its edge, and cover with whipped cream. You will refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours or overnight. We like to add cookie crumbles to the top of the cake. You can shape it anyway you would like. Below is a "C" cake for Coleman.

 

 

Ice box cake for my birthday a "J" for Jenn

 

Below are a few ideas for a party gift that will double as a decoration. I also made Matt a Beer Can Birthday Cake:

This is actually really easy to make. you will need:
*22 cans of beer
*A platter or plate to use as a base
* 2 cardboard circles
* Ribbon & Bows

Directions: Start with the bottom beer base. Add 12 beers is a circle on the bottom. Next cut out a cardboard circle (so the beers will stack easily), add 7 beers to the center layer. Next cut out a smaller circle and add 3 beers for the top layer. Tie a ribbon around each layer of beers. Add a bow to the top. Then add any "extras" you would like. I added more bows and Reese's candies, which are one of Matt's favorites.

For a Birthday Candy Cake you will need:

• Packs of gum
• Candy bars
• Suckers
• Ribbon & tape
• Large Plate
• 3 different size tins that stack together

You need to construct a solid base and put the tin on the plate the tape the candy all along the outside of the bottom tin. Next, add the middle tin on top of the bottom tin. Next tape your gum (or whatever candy options you choose) all along the outside. Then add the top tin and place candy all along the outside. You will want to fill in any space with suckers, ribbon, candy etc. Add your own style to the candy cake and create your present. Below is a photo of my finished product.

 

 

Another view of the Candy Cake Jenn made for a 28th birthday.

                 Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes:                           Beer Can Cake from 2012:

Until we blog again, Happy Birthday, XoXo, Connie & Jenn

Event: March 8th, 2014 Matt & Jenn's Engagement Party

It's always so nice to have a big group of our family & friends together. On March 8th, 2014 Annie, Stu & Blake threw Matt and I an Engagement Party @ Matt's parents house. We had mai tais for everyone + beer and wine. They had Supannee House of Thai cater the party, there was so much good food.

 

Here is a group shot of some of our friends & family.

 

Jenn with her Uncle Tony and Jenn with her Grandma Sherilyn

 

 Jenn with Savannah and Matt & Jenn with their parents

 

 The Bride & Groom to be enjoying the party

Matt & Jenn being silly in a photo backdrop.

 

Until we blog again, Xoxo Connie & Jenn

Craft: March 23rd, 2014 DIY Hanger Workshop

I went to this DIY Bride Hanger Workshop in San Diego to make a hanger for my wedding dress. The shop was adorable. The hanger was actually really easy to make once I got the hang of it. I love how my hanger turned out. I had to twist & turn the wire into each letter. That started to hurt my fingers after awhile but all the hard work paid off. Once complete with "Mrs. Coleman" I cut the wire to the proper length and stuck in some crazy glue. I let it sit then began to glue the other decorations on my hanger. I added a bow, starfish & pearls all with a hot glue gun. Below is the final product.

 

Until I blog again, Xoxo, Jenn

Event: Tuesday, December 17, 2013: Jenn's Engaged!!!!

Wow, this year has been incredibly busy and we sort of forgot about our blog. I can't believe it is already August 14th, 2014. The next few blogs we post are going to be re-caps of big events or fun things that have happened in 2014.

Here are the details about Jenn's proposal to her wonderful fiancé Matt Coleman. Jenn was so surprised because they go out to watch the sunset a lot. Matter of fact the night before they were out on the beach with a sand snowman.

When it happened: Tuesday, December 17, 2013

 

 

How we got engaged:

On Tuesday December 17th, 2013 Matt asked Jenn to go watch the sunset with him. December was having beautiful sunsets so Jenn didn't think anything of it. She just said, "OK!" As they were walking along the sea wall to the pier they saw a small wedding going on. The couple, a harp player, an officiant and a witness were all under the pier on the beach. It was so random, "A wedding on a Tuesday?!" Matt & Jenn watched a little bit then went up on the pier. (Matt took it as a good omen). As they were walking along the pier Jenn noticed Matt was walking, "So fast!" "He didn't even stop to watch the surfers." Jenn thought he was racing to the restroom because he had to pee and even asked him. He said, "No". (Meanwhile, Matt thought he was walking REALLY slow). They watched the sunset at the end of the pier, even shared a kiss then headed back towards home. Matt asked if she wanted to walk along the beach, so they did. As they walked on the grassy area in front of tower two Jenn noticed Matt wasn't beside her and turned around. Matt stopped walking and had his arms spread wide open and said, "Jenn I didn't know where to do this but all I know is I can't imagine my life without you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. (he got on his knee) and asked, "Will you marry me?" ...Jenn was laughing and they started hugging and kissing and they both don't remember what was said after that. At some point Jenn said, "Yes, Yes, Yes" and put the ring on.

After getting engaged Matt took Jenn over to his parents house where they popped a bottle of champagne & celebrated the good news. Jenn & Matt FaceTimed Connie & her parents to tell them the news as well. It was such a great night!

A few fun facts about the proposal:
It was a full moon and Matt planned it because his parents got married on a full moon. Jenn and Matt met on a Tuesday night & he ended up proposing on a Tuesday night. Also, there are 21 diamonds in Jenn's engagement ring and they met when Jenn was 21.

Until we blog again, Xoxo Con & Jenn