For the third day of our 12 Days of Christmas we decided to try a viral holiday trend going around this year — hot cocoa bombs! If you have been scrolling Tiktok or Instagram this season there is no doubt you’ve come across a video of these adorable chocolate balls!
It was hard to resist making these treats this year, especially with our extra time…there is nothing better than curling up at night with a hot cup of cocoa and turning on our favorite holiday movies!
For anyone who doesn’t know, hot cocoa bombs are put in a mug, you pour boiling milk over them and watch them come to life! Once they open up, out pours hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, crushed peppermint or any other sweet you would like to mix in!
After trying this holiday sweet trend, we think the most important thing is to have fun with this! It’s okay if it’s a little messy and not perfect! We had the most fun drizzling different colored chocolate and sprinkles on top! They look adorable and festive!
The most satisfying part of this was finally pouring hot milk over the hot cocoa bombs and seeing them come to life! See the video below!
We hope you try this with your close friends and family this holiday season! Maybe even add it on to your list of classic holiday trends like making gingerbread houses!
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For the second day of our 12 Days of Christmas we are sharing another holiday-inspired tablescape from our Sunday family dinner!
We decided to utilize these rustic christmas trees as our neural touch to the bright red plaid runner. We added touches of shimmer and gold with our chargers and napkins. And finished the table with sprigs of artificial greenery and red berries!
We love setting a beautiful table for our Sunday dinners, especially during the holiday season as it surely helps us all get in the spirit!
Keep scrolling to see all the details of this rustic christmas tree table!
We love our holiday plates from Pottery Barn — they are such an amazing touch to any table!
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Today is day 1 of our 12 Days of Christmas series! For our first post we are sharing some of our gift wrapping ideas. The best part about wrapping a present is there is no wrong way to do it! The thought is what counts when you are giving someone a gift, the wrapping presentation just adds a personalized touch.
Before we begin wrapping gifts we gather all of our supplies: a variety of wrapping paper, tape, scissors, ribbon, gift tags and any extra decorative touches. This Christmas we kept things festive with a mix of wrapping papers in red, green and cream. We used matching ribbons in solids and prints. Each gift is finished with a gift tag and sometimes an ornament or a sprig of dried greenery!
Keep scrolling to see photos of some of the ways we wrapped gifts this holiday season!
We really love to keep our wrapping simple and classic!
If you looking for an extra touch, take a walk around your house or around the block for dried leaves or a stray twig! We love a rustic touch with a classic red bow!
We hope this post inspires you to add a different touch to the way you wrap gifts! …Or maybe this post is just a reminder for you to not to procrastinate any longer and make finishing your gift wrapping fun!
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Every December we look forward to planning and hosting our friends at our annual Christmas party. We always have the best night filled with lots of food and laughs! This year would have been our 7th annual Christmas party! We are going to miss getting together with our friends so much. We are sharing details from our Christmas party last year and looking forward to making next years party the best one yet.
We wanted our tablescape to feel like a Christmas wonderland! We used giant red and white peppermint ornaments, candy cane decorations and red and white sparkly baubles to make a festive runner. All of the decorations were fastened to a long greenery runner.
For the name cards we used a silver bell with a handwritten tag attached. The champagne glasses were rimmed with red sugar and filled with a few cranberries.
Some of our details included red and white striped ribbon to tie the red napkins. Then we found matching peppermint round napkins and adorable sparkly red Santa party hats.
Don’t forget to subscribe and check our our Instagram for more holiday inspired table settings. Also, check back this Monday for the first day of our 12 Days of Christmas! 📸: @allinaandmarreana
The weeks leading up to Christmas are always special and feel different than any other time of the year. The holiday season brings us happiness, cheer and festivities! This year the holidays won’t be the same for many of us. We won’t be able to gather with our extended families and friends. The traditions we look forward to now have to be adapted to fit our current times. With that being said, we still wanted to find a way to embrace the magical Christmas season we all know and love…
We hope you will join along and follow our page through Allina and Marreana’s 12 Days of Christmas! We will be sharing our favorite holiday traditions and trying some new ones as well! From cookie recipes and baking, to gift wrapping and holiday beauty trends, we hope you will follow along and embrace the holiday season with us.
Starting Monday, December 14th, we will be posting a holiday-inspired post once a day until Christmas!
Subscribe and follow us on Instagram so you don’t miss a post! 📸: @allinaandmarreana
Since we are all spending much more time at home this holiday season, we are taking advantage of finding beauty inside. Normally around this time we would be visiting the tree in Rockefeller Center… admiring the beautiful sight and at the same time really kicking off the Christmas season. Our holiday traditions are looking a bit different than normal but that is not going to stop up from getting in the spirit!
This past Sunday we set our table with tall trees, snow flocked reindeer and flickering candles. We played Christmas music in the background and ate a delicious dinner together. This table was simple but filled with beauty.
We used a linen table runner and ivory napkins with a bit of shine to them. The downward swept trees sat at a few different heights and the reindeer added a festive and playful touch. As always we used our flameless flickering candles in crystallized birch to add another dimension of ambience and sparkle!
Keep scrolling to see more details of our Sunday dinner table…all things will be linked in our Instagram post!
Special announcement coming soon…
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This Thanksgiving for most of us was unlike any holiday we’ve celebrated before. Less people and smaller portions but still the same amount of thankfulness and gratitude expressed- possibly even more than usual. We shared in our smaller group how grateful we are for one another, how we missed the family and friends we couldn’t spend the day with and most importantly our good health. We called, texted and FaceTimed our family who we missed. We discussed our traditions and talked about how we can’t wait to celebrate together next year. If anything, this year has made us appreciate the most simple things in life. From passing a thanksgiving side dish to laughing about stuffing spilled in the driveway (inside joke…!) we will surely never take for granted another holiday spent with our loved ones around the table.
Our thanksgiving dinner for five was still filled with thanks and amazing food! We made all of our traditional dishes with the exception of the portions being cut in half. Along with our mom we made a delicious turkey served with all of our favorite sides: pasta with marinara sauce, stuffing, cranberries, gravy, mashed potatoes, cornbread casserole and butternut squash. Yum! We set the table very simply with light colored pumpkins, textured charger plates and pretty matching dishes. Keep scrolling below to check out all of our Thanksgiving day details.
We loved a touch of silver on the linen tones with our napkin rings and platter that served as a part of our centerpiece!
We like to serve all our sides in white serving pieces for a classic look! Can’t forget our butter turkey either!
A full plate…had to go back for seconds (and thirds) because it wouldn’t all fit!
Check out our instagram for more photos from Thanksgiving! 📸: @allinaandmarreana
For Marreana’s birthday we wanted to celebrate with a few friends and take advantage of the last of the fall weather! Before the party we headed to our local pumpkin patch to pick up some fall decorations. We found pumpkins in different colors and sizes to place on the tables and around the yard. We also set up a couple of fire pits and heaters outside to keep warm. From a delicious cake to individual charcuterie boxes the food was all yummy and on theme. Keep reading to see all of our fall fest party details!
To drink we had spiced apple Prosecco with local apple cider and a cinnamon apple slice! Tip: we squeezed a little fresh lemon on the apples to keep them from browning.
Our other drink options included a variety of hard ciders!
Individual charcuterie boxes are a crowd favorite and very covid friendly.
In our charcuterie boxes we included assorted crackers, cured meats, cheeses, seasoned olives with fresh mozzarella, grapes, apricots, candied walnuts and for a finishing touch, a little potato chip ghost and candy pumpkin on top!
We had a fall-themed cake done by a local bakery, decorated with pumpkins…and we can’t forget the local apple cider donuts as a sweet treat!We also had individually wrapped caramel apples topped with nuts and crumbled apple pie topping, for all our friends to take home!
For the tablescape, we started with a black gingham tablecloth, added a natural runner, a Boston firm left over from the Summer in the center and surrounded it with a couple orange and yellow mums, big and small pumpkins, and gourds.
We made sure to light candles all around the tables and yard to finish creating our warm, cozy, harvest environment!
We had so much fun creating this birthday theme and hope it can give you some ideas for a future party during the fall months!
Don’t forget to check out our instagram for more photos from the party! 📸: @allinaandmarreana
This pasta dish is such a special staple in our house! We’re not sure how it came about, but it’s been developed over the years and we have truly perfected it!
This red pepper romesco sauce is the perfect way to switch up a Sunday dinner and try something new. It works well with all types of pasta and is gluten free! We served ours with homemade pizza bread, a small antipasto and a fresh toss salad!
Ingredients:
(Serves 6)
-2 12 or 13 oz. jars of roasted red peppers
-4 cloves of garlic
-1/2 small onion
-1 to 1 1/2 lbs. pasta
-2 cups frozen peas
-3 tbsp olive oil
-1/4 cup pecorino romano
-2 tsp garlic powder
-1/3 cup heavy cream
-salt
-pepper
-parsley
-fresh basil
Instructions:
1. Mince your garlic and finely chop your onion. Add to medium skillet over medium heat with olive oil. Keep moving around to ensure it doesn’t burn!
3. Transfer everything from pan into a food processor (if you don’t have a food processor, a blender would work as well!) Pulse until a smooth consistency. Return to pan over low heat.
4. Bring large pot of water to boil. Generously salt. Toss pasta. When your pasta has about 5 minutes left, toss frozen peas into the same pot to finish cooking along with the pasta. Reserve a mug of pasta water from the pot, then strain and set aside.
5. Add a splash of your hot pasta water to your heavy cream to temper it. Then add heavy cream, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder to sauce. Stir and let it come to a simmer.
6. Combine pasta and peas with the red pepper sauce. Add cheese, fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil or a splash of pasta water to incorporate.
7. Serve and enjoy!
Keep scrolling to see more pictures and details of how we created this dish!
Roughly chop your roasted red peppers before adding to the pan.
Put the sauce base in the food processor and return to pan, slowly stirring in the heavy cream!
Putting the frozen peas right in the boiling water is the best short cut! It starts to flavor them and leaves them perfectly cooked! We love the addition of peas to this dish, but they could be easily swapped or left out.
We kept our sides simple — homemade pizza bread and antipasto! (and of course a toss salad we forgot to photograph!)
Finished result! Beautiful!
Please let us know if you tried this and what you thought! Leave a comment and see more photos on our Instagram! 📸: @allinaandmarreana
We were laying by the pool today and both had a craving for pineapple! We sat and talked and came up with the perfect way to incorporate our craving for fruit with our dinner for the evening. The perfect sweet and savory Summer kabobs!
Pineapple, peppers, onions and perfectly marinated chicken, slightly charred over rice! We paired with a Summer mandarin orange salad, topped with Hawaiian roll croutons!
Ingredients:
3-4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 pineapple
2 sweet onions
4 red bell peppers
2 cups white rice (chicken broth optional)
Marinade:
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
fresh cracked pepper
garlic powder
olive oil
Mandarin Orange Salad:
1 head iceberg
Half bag romaine
1 can mandarin oranges
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Handful grape tomatoes (halved)
3 Hawaiian rolls
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
Orange Vinaigrette:
1/4 c orange juice
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp honey
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
1. Take your boneless skinless chicken breast and cut into small chunks, lay in dish you will marinate in. Cover the chicken in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, generously coat in garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper.
2. Make the marinade. Whisk in a small bowl rice vinegar, pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Pour over chicken, reserving about 1/3 cup of the marinade. Tightly cover and let sit for 2-4 hours (longer the better!)
3. Cut up red peppers into big chunks. Toss peppers with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set aside. Cut up onions and set aside.
4. Assemble kabobs, put peppers, onion, marinated chicken and pineapple on your skewerers. Grill kabobs 20 mins, flip half way. You want a nice char on them!! 3-4 minutes before taking off, brush remaining marinade on top!
5. Make two cups white rice according to box. Optional: substitute water for chicken broth. Top with parsley and set aside.
6. Turn oven broiler on high. Roughly rip apart Hawaiian rolls on baking sheet with aluminum foil. Melt butter in a small bowl. Brush each piece of roll with butter. Sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Put in oven for one to one and a half minutes. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn! Flip over and put in an additional one to one and a half minutes.
7. Chop head of ice berg. Combine with romaine. Half tomatoes, add to salad with mandarin oranges and slivered almonds.
8. Make vinaigrette. Whisk the orange juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper together. Slowly stream in the olive oil and continue to whisk until all combined. Add vinaigrette to salad, toss & top with Hawaiian roll croutons!
9. Serve your grilled pineapple chicken kabobs over rice and the delicious mandrian orange salad on the side.
Keep scrolling to see more pictures of the steps it took to create this dish!
We started by cutting our chicken breasts into chunks and pre-measuring our ingredients for the marinade!
Prep your veggies and get them ready to assemble!
Salad time! These Hawaiian roll croutons will be the main event for many salads to come!
Tip: Soak your skewers to prevent burning and breakage on the grill!
Rice paired perfectly with the sweet and sticky chicken kabobs!
Picture perfect! Not only do these kabobs look beautiful, they are delicious!
Happy Cooking!
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