Holiday Table Decor

Hi dolls, no color day today as we're busy prepping our list for the 12 Days of Christmas which will start next week.  Instead, here's a post for your holiday party planning. Tis the season to feed your family, friends and loved ones. For some, creating a festive environment starts at the table. From glassware to serving platters to napkins and place mats, a festive table setting can really dress a room up. We're big fans of mixing and matching, so combine shapes with patterns and old with new for a fun, eclectic, and memorable look.

1. Crate and Barrel | 2. EMStinson | 3. SarahSniderDesign | 4. Kohl's | 5. Lenox 6. Sur La Table | 7. soobeart | 8. Target | 9. riricreations

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Happy eating!

XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Color Day Themes: Turkey Day Delight

Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been celebrated each year in the United States.  Often overshadowed by Christmas, Thanksgiving doesn't typically get enough credit and many might look at it as the day they can finally start playing their Mariah Carey X-mas CD.  While we do love Christmas, we think Thanksgiving is just wonderful and deserves equal celebration.  Tell the people in your life you're thankful for them and go ahead and gobble up some yummy food.  Traditional thanksgiving day foods like turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce that is shaped like the can, delicious pies -- these are things we look forward to all year!  Don't forget to wear your stretchy leggings so you have plenty of room for that extra helping of stuffing!

Thanksgiving Inspiration Board

Images from: The Sweet Occasion, Manolo Brides, Our Wedding Plus, Raina Dawn Events, The Allan House, The Budget Minded Bride, Inspiredbythis, RitzyBee, Le Bride, Weddingbee, Social Couture, West Elm, Sophie's Favors



Have a Happy Turkey Day!



XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Halloween Planning: More Treats, Less Tricks

Halloween is one of our favorite times of years, and it's only a week away! Almost every year we throw a Halloween party with all our friends, who have the most amazing, over-the-top costumes. And when you have serious Halloween costumes, then you need serious Halloween treats. Here are some ideas on how to get creative and express the true spirit of Halloween:

This looks disgusting, but it's actually delicious! It's just shortbread cookies topped with almonds and a little bit of red dessert sauce. The hardest part is getting the shape right, and adding in the authentic finger lines. But if you can pull it off, then this will be one grossly yummy snack!

Halloween cupcakes are one of the most creative treats to make. The smooth, rounded surfaces makes for a great palette, and there are endless options available online. Rather than provide an exhaustive list, we decided to feature these cupcakes that are to die for! We're not entirely sure how they made the little knives on top, our guess is that they took some card stock, cut it shape, and threw some icing on top. Of course, an all edible version would be perfect, so if you have any ideas how to do this, please let us know! 

If you're not much of a baker, then these vampire cupcakes are for you. We like this cupcake style because it's simple, a little creepy, and a little artsy. Plus they're super simple to make: all you need is vanilla icing and some red gel, and voilà! You have your own mini Edward Cullen, sorta. 

Halloween doesn't have to only be about candy! Check out these creepy teeth made from healthy and delicious apples! All you need is a half a dozen apples, a sharp knife, and maybe some lemon juice to keep it looking fresh. On second thought, the apple turning brown will make it that much creepier! 

There are many ways to make creepy eyeball snacks (cupcakes, deviled eggs, fresh mozzarella) but we love how squish and slimy these lichee eyeballs look! They're pretty easy to make, you just need some fresh lichees, strawberry jam, and blueberries. Of course, we're not sure how many of your guests will want to actually eat these... they look a little too real.

Another simple, but very festive option, are these blood test tube shots. Fill them with anything you want, fruit punch, jello shots, what have you, and throw in some little gummy spiders to add some extra spook to it.

These tombstone pudding cups are very detailed, but require very few ingredients! You just need some dark chocolate pudding, cookie crumbs, cookies, and some chocolate icing. The little flowers are a good touch, but if you're feeling especially morbid, you can also throw in some little skeleton hands!

Happy Halloween!

XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Salad of spinach and avocado

I had a bag of baby spinach to use up and two ripe avocados so I decided to make a tossed salad with a few of my favorite ingredients.  It was a simple salad to make and tasted fantastic! I love the creamy avocado, sweet craisins, crunchy croutons, salty Parmesan, and the tangy vinaigrette - it was a delicious and flavorful salad and was a huge hit with my entire family. I served this salad with the Penne with Mixed Vegetables, Parmesan Cheese, and Pine Nuts.

Spinach and Avocado Salad:
Baby spinach
1-2 avocados, diced
Cherry tomatoes, quartered
Red onion diced
Craisins
Croutons
Parmesan cheese, shaved
Fran's Simple Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Place the baby spinach in a large bowl then top with the avocados, tomatoes, red onion, craisins, croutons, and Parmesan cheese.

Fran's Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 red wine vinegar
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sugar
Sea salt and Freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Make the vinaigrette at least 30 minutes prior to serving the salad so the flavors have time to mingle. Combine the ingredients together and whisk well before serving.

Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad to taste; toss until evenly coated. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

Delicious pizza with chicken

  pizza-chicken

I wanted to make something quick and simple for lunch so I decided to try making a barbecue chicken pizza. We all loved this pizza, especially my daughter. My son wasn't a fan of the red onion but enjoyed the pizza after he picked them off of his slice. My husband and I both thought it was terrific.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza:
Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net
Cooking spray
Corn meal
1 pizza dough
1 container of pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese (not pictured)
Leftover roasted chicken
Barbecue sauce
Red onions, sliced thinly
Low fat feta cheese
Tomato, diced
Green onions, sliced (not pictured)

delicious-pizza-chicken
Remove the dough from the bag and let it sit on a floured counter for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a pizza tray with cooking spray and a bit of corn meal sprinkled all over the top of the tray.Place the leftover chicken on a cutting board and drizzle with barbecue sauce; chop the chicken and mix well with the barbecue sauce so it's evenly coated on the chicken.

Flatten the pizza dough onto the prepared pizza tray. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the top of the dough then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Top the cheese with the barbecue chicken, red onions, and feta cheese.Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Top the pizza with diced tomato and green onions. Enjoy.

Fall Wedding Tips: It's All in the Details

Traditionally, June has been the favorite month for wedding planning, but we've noticed that fall weddings are becoming increasingly popular.  Perhaps it's the warm colors, the cool weather that keeps your hair looking fierce, or the cheaper venue rental prices, but whatever the reason, we love this trend.  As we always say, details make the event.  With fall weddings, we feel like you can get very creative in planning your wedding and add little seasonal touches to really emphasize your theme.  From food to decor, here are our thoughts on how to make your fall wedding extra special:

We posted before how soup shots are a great appetizer, but how about soup instead of salad as part of your however-many-course dinner?  It's perfect for the crisp fall weather, and you can opt for a traditional type of soups (i.e. Italian wedding) or go for something more consistent with your theme (like butternut squash or pumpkin soup).  Your guests will feel comfy and cozy in no time, and the pumpkin soup looks so yummy we want to bathe in it!

Sticking with food, we've talked about how many brides are choosing cake alternatives for dessert on their big day.  Our favorite non-cake dessert is definitely pie, which is perfect for the fall.  Hot apple pie and delicious pumpkin pie are fall staples that everyone loves, and are best served in the fall.  So forgo the traditional wedding cake and opt instead for a pie table! Or, if you want a little bit of everything, then how about mini apple tarts and pumpkin pies? It's your wedding, so have fun with it. Your guests will definitely appreciate it. 

Instead of coffee with your dessert, try apple cider! It's delicious, goes with the theme, and looks too cute with the cinnamon sticks! Of course, you can always serve this during cocktail hour as well, to help keep your guests nice and cozy. 

While fall wedding colors tend to be bold and vibrant, you can still have a seasonal theme minus the orange and red.  Instead of pumpkins and applies, think harvests and crops. We love this wheat centerpiece, which is so delicate and beautiful, and provides a more muted palette for your fall wedding.

 As for your bridal bouquet, try tying it with some twine rather than with ribbon.  It will give a more rustic, country feel, and add charm to your wedding.  The (slightly major) downside is that twine is so itchy and uncomfortable! Which means while it may look shabby chic, you'll definitely be ready to toss the bouquet at evening's end.  While most brides usually don't carry around their bouquet all night anyway, this is definitely something to consider before adopting this look.

While we do think pumpkins at fall weddings are very typical, be careful not to go too far. Keep it simple with these mini pumpkin candles that help create some ambience around your center piece. It's definitely better than having legit jack-on-lanterns at your wedding, but it adds to your theme and we think it's cute and quirky.  We do think, however, that this look would look better with less bold colored flowers.  Also, use it to decorate the gift table, the card table, or any other surfaces to pull your theme together.

Another fall wedding staple are autumn leaves.  Yes, we know it's fall which means leaves are falling, and it's very cute and all, but we're aware that too many fall looks can be overkill. With that said, we think these tea lights wrapped in bright fall leaves are so beautiful and understated. It works great if your surfaces are light colored, as shown above, because it really makes the color pop without making it look cluttered. 

Here's to falling in love!

XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Wedding Planning: Desserts

And finally, a party wouldn't be complete without some sweet treats to enjoy.  As far as weddings go, many view the wedding cake as being the pièce de résistance, and we don't disagree -- cake is delicious. However many brides are opting for desserts other than cake, or in addition to cake, and we can't argue with that either. Like your dinner menu, your dessert menu reflects your style, theme, and budget, so don't feel constrained by tradition when deciding what to do. While we always look forward to the cake cutting ceremony (and checking out the adorable cake toppers), our motto is: Let them eat cake... and pie, and cookies, and ice cream, and souffles...

1. Assorted Pies: If you're not a cake eater, then you are probably a pie eater. Pies at weddings are one of our new favorite trends. They make a wedding seem more intimate and personal, as if the bride's grandmother is actually standing in the back kitchen preparing every single pie served at the wedding. It's a nice change of pace from wedding cake, and allows you to incorporate seasonal fruits that go with your wedding theme.  Feeling fancy? Make it a la mode!

2. Ice Cream Bar: Yes ice cream bars sound like they might be a bit juvenile, but really they are incredibly fun and delicious! You can have gourmet flavors, tons of different toppings, and serve them in mini cones or bowls. They are perfect for summer weddings, and everyone loves a little bit of nostalgia. Don't forget to put the cherry on top!

3. Cookie Station: We catered a wedding a few years back where the bride asked her close friends and family to bake two dozen of their favorite cookies for her wedding. The rules were simple: it must be homemade and it must be made with love for the bride and groom. We were touched by the sweet sentiment of having your loved ones help make your big day just a little bit sweeter, and the rows of glass cookie jars really made a beautiful sight. Even if you have the cookies catered, or bake them all yourself, we think this is a great idea -- just be sure to remember that if you give your guests a cookie, they're going to want some milk to go with it!

4. Cupcakes: We know, we know, cupcakes are "technically" mini cakes, and the point of this post is to give you ideas other than cakes. But we view cupcakes as an entirely separate entity from regular cakes. They are just the perfect amount of deliciousness that fits into the palm of our hands. We love how they look with their delicate little cupcake wrappers, small pile of frosting, and ample amount of sprinkles, and we are definitely of the school of thought that cupcakes make every gathering that much better. Cupcakes seem a bit whimsical and innocent, but that's what we love about them. Coordinate them to go with your wedding colors, experiment with gourmet flavors, and enjoy!

5. The Chocolate Fountain: Dipping your sweets in chocolate makes them, well, sweeter! Whether you choose milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate the chocolate fountain is a sure-fire way to get your guests interacting and having fun.  Marshmallows, Rice Crispy treats, pretzels, all kinds of wonderful fruits on sticks - your guests will go on a dipping frenzy and love every second of it!  

6. Candy Bar: A lot of weddings we've attended have had a candy bar on the side. While it's usually not served as the main dessert, it's fun, colorful, and very decorative. You can go for an old fashioned candy shoppe look (pictured above) or only serve candies that correspond with your wedding colors. This is a huge hit with kids, but don't be surprised to see you Great Aunt Esther filling up her bag with treats too!

7. Mini Desserts: If you love everything on the list, but don't know what to choose, why not choose everything? Have a dessert table filled with a number of different mini pies, tarts, cookies, brownies, chocolates, fruit, and everything you can possibly think of.  Not only is this a huge crowd favorite, you can finally stop stressing about having to make another decision. Just pick your top 10 favorite desserts, reduce them to miniature form, and you are all set.

XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Wedding Planning: Cocktail Hour

We've decided to make this week's posts food centered. Why?  Well, we'd hardly call ourselves gluttons but we're certainly not afraid to admit how much we love to eat!  And, when planning a party or event the hardest thing trying to figure out what you'll be feeding your guests. If you have bad decor that is one thing people can forget, but have bad food (or music!!) and your guests will be talking about it for years to come, and not in a good way. Recently we've been to a bunch of weddings and we both agree on one thing - one of the best things about a wedding (in addition to seeing two people celebrate starting their lives together, blah blah blah) is the cocktail hour!

 The cocktail hour tends to feature some of the best food of the night, and is a great way for couples to experiment and really treat their guests to a delicious smorgasbord. The trick to a great cocktail hour is tasty food that requires minimal silverware, can be eaten while standing up, and won't spill all over you.  And, as always, this applies to any event or party, not just weddings.  Think birthdays, anniversary parties, New Year's Eve, casual dinner parties - the opportunities to showcase these fun foods are endless!



Here are a few suggestions on how to make your cocktail hour as yummy as you are:

1. French Fry Bar: While french fries don't instinctively seem to be wedding appropriate, they are delicious, easy to serve, and a big hit among guests. They can be served in a number of different ways, such as the traditional funnel (pictured above), in little shot glasses, in small baskets, or just buffet style. And don't forget to throw in a number of different dipping sauces a la Pommes Frites. 

Ketchup is so passé.

2. Chinese Food Take-Out: We were recently at a wedding where one of the appetizers was Chinese food served in take-out boxes! It was ingenious: chefs prepared either noodles or rice with stir fry veggies, shrimp or beef, dumped them in a takeout container, and voilà! Pure deliciousness AND it's easy eating for the guests -- just grab a set of chop sticks and you're free to mingle.

3. Pasta Bar: If lo mein isn't your type of noodle, how about some penne? A delicious wedding trend is setting up a pasta station, where guests can choose their type of noodle, sauce, and cheese for a delicious pre-wedding treat! While we do foresee potential red sauce disasters, our motto is no stain, no gain. We love this idea because not only are there so many options to choose from, but it's a good idea for guests to start carb-ing up before they hit the open bar!

4. Sushi: Serving sushi for 200+ people can be very expensive, but we just LOVE it so we had to add it to our list. Which means if you happen to have a sushi at your event, pretty please invite us! There's a variety of different types of sushi to choose from, so have fun with it! Just remember to throw in some veggie options for your vegetarian guests, as well as guests who are more hesitant to give raw fish a try!  If you can't afford to supply a whole bar, selecting one or two rolls to have passed would be a great alternative.

5. Soup in Shot Glasses: One idea that we both love, especially for fall and winter weddings, is soup served in shot glasses or espresso cups.  Think how nice it would be to have a warm sip of butternut squash soup on a chilly evening. But to take it a step even further, you can serve small portions of tomato soup with little grilled cheese bites! We think this is very cute and creative, plus very kid friendly!

6. Fried Macaroni Balls: Another kid friendly option is to serve mini fried macaroni balls! Words cannot describe how yummy they are, plus they are perfect finger food. We love old fashioned macaroni and cheese, but if you want to go a little fancier, you can opt for fried risotto balls, which are equally delicious and just a tad bit more classy.

7.  Pretty much anything miniature: Hamburgers, milkshakes, tacos, cheese steaks, crab cakes - seriously anything that can be made into a small finger sized version is sure to be a big hit with your guests.  People love these fattening and delicious staples for meals, but of course no one would eat something large and messy during cocktail hour. Make it mini and you're good to go.  Guests will love the fact that it is tiny and neat plus they'll think your awesome for  including these "comfort" kinds of foods.

XOXO,

Jen & Saira

Exotic food - sushi

Japanese sushi is a type of vinegar rice topped with fish, meats and vegetables. Nowadays, sushi is prepared creatively for a more inviting appearance. It possesses many nutritional benefits.
Sushi comes from an archaic grammatical form of word which means sour. Rice and fish is being combined for a more likable meal. Most restaurants today serve sushi in different ways. Here is some additional information about one of the most popular food not only in Japan but in many countries across the globe.
Sushi did not actually originate in Japan. It was introduced into Japan from China during the 17th century. People made sushi from fermented fish. This is since there were no refrigerators back then.

sushi



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exotic-food

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The fish was consumed and the rice is discarded. Sushi is even considered as the marriage of vinegar rice with many other ingredients. Different sushi combinations had actually evolved. Sushi became the most popular food in Japan until now.
The Japanese love sushi, especially if it is served in rolled nori called Makizushi and nigirizushi (toppings laid in clumps of rice). This is also for inarizushi (stuffed with fried tofu) and chirashi-zushi (toppings scattered over a sushi rice bowl).
One should learn the basic ingredients in preparing sushi. Ingredients should be properly set in order so as to achieve the perfect art of making sushi.

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