Walnut Banana Bread Adventure!

Starbucks' recipe! They just....gave it away...on a recipe card. What's wrong with these people?



Mashin' bananaz.

Addin' walnutz!

...more walnuts on top!

Fresh outta the oven!

With butter... juuuust before going in my belly with a glass o' milk.

This was super easy and so good for breakfast!

New hobby idea?

Talkin' bout picklin', y'all! Nothing better in a spicy bloody mary than an okra pickle..or pickled green beans. They're just soooo good! I used to eat my Gammaw's pickled okra by the pound and.... srsly? They want like.. almost $4 for a small jar at Kroger. That's stupid. It can't be super difficult, right? Plus I like mason jars! What if I got like.. super good at it...and came up with some amazing blend of spices no one has thought of before and I pickle everything under the sun and sell thousands of jars at farmer's markets across the country??!!

PICKLIN'.

We could have a slogan!!

You'll Relish Our Pickles?

Never a Dill Moment?

hmmmm

In other news, we roasted some sweet potatoes last night and made sriracha ketchup. It was fantastico!

If you've never had sweet potato fries (or in this case, not fried!) I highly recommend.

1.Scrub em up real good.

2. Slice em (like in circles) Then slice the circles in half.

3. Throw em in a big Ziploc with one tablespoon of olive oil.

4. Shake em up!

5. Throw on a cookie sheet and bake @ 445 (i know, it's hot!) for like.. 15 mins.

6. Flip em and bake em for 10-15 mins more.

7. Remove from oven and salt/pepper as desired!

Keep Calm and Eat an Entire Onion

I've been a little fussy lately so I was sorta looking forward to my second ever yoga class. I needed to stretch, breathe, focus, etc. Calm it down, basically. It's the Hatha, which is supposed to be the pretty easy going one (so I've heard...if I'm this sore after the "easy going" yoga, I don't want to know what intense yoga is like).  So I was all like this:

(just kidding y'all, no way in hell I could do that)

 and as with any exercise (I hate exercise) during the class I was like.. "You know what? Forget this...I quit" But a little voice inside of me was like "Don't quit! This is a good thing!" and then I was all "Yeah? Well what do I get if I stay?" and the voice said "Fried onion strings".

So after Yoga, Ryan and I proceeded to fry an entire onion. (a la Pioneer Woman!)  And then eat it.

And it was good....for the first 10 minutes. I don't feel so awesome now.

Side note: I'm so happy my yoga studio doesn't make us pair up and put our butts on each other. Maybe this is couples yoga or something...

[photos google images and pioneer woman]

I was a teenage mutant ninja turtle in another life.

I won't try to hide it. I love pizza. Pizza is my kryptonite, but because it's not amazing for you, I love looking for healthier options, where you can obliterate 2 big slices and not want to curl up in the fetal position afterwards, swearing you'll never eat again. One of my favorite meals to cook is homemade pizza because it's not just dinner, but it's a fun activity! Pour a glass of wine and get to choppin.  I like to peruse the produce aisles looking for anything that can be diced and sprinkled over a thin crust. Fresh Roma tomatoes, onion, green bell peppers, artichoke hearts, black olives, big plump mushrooms... oooo even though its 7:44 am... I'm craving. We always end up with this massive, 4.5" high concoction, piled with fresh veggies. It really is a sight to behold. More mushrooms? Yeah throw em on there...Oh, we missed a spot...needs more tomato. Done. Sometimes we'll even bypass the sodium packed tomato sauce and brush olive oil over the crust...maybe a little pesto.

So last night we tried something new! Instead of a mountain of veggies, we chose 3 little ingredients to layer on top of some fresh naan bread and made naan pizza caprese! It was divine. We spread olive oil and freshly grated garlic on slices of tandoori naan and topped with organic basil leaves, diced Roma tomatoes and low fat mozzarella. (probably threw a few goat cheese crumbles on there because I have an addiction). Boy did it smell good in the oven! It even tasted better, the naan was so crispy! Will definitely make again. So much flavor!

Do you ever make pizza at home? What kind of crust do you use and what are your favorite toppings?

[ images google, weheartit, and my own ]

Room Tour: Bedroom

With each passing week we're making progress and making this house a home. We got so much done this weekend and I wanted to share. Welcome to the bedroom!

Hung painted frames and wall art. 

Ryan put our dresser together and I got a clothes rack to hang my vintage dresses (and it's a pretty good spot to let clothes hang-dry).

We sat the TV on top of a vintage olive green American Tourister

Decorated some exposed pipe with green and brown finger knitted "ropes".

...and now the part I think I love the most! Our re-purposed headboard! We found this great louvered door at a junk shop in Montrose for $25. It's the perfect size! We took it home, scrubbed it down (thing was dirrrtttyyyy) and hung it on two nails above the bed.

I love the scratches and imperfections on the door and just the overall effect it gives the room. The little slats are so perfect for tucking in cute note cards or decorative papers.

 

We're still hunting for a cool old bench for the foot of the bed, but I think we're almost done in this room!

 So fun!

Anatomy of our Christmas Tree

Happy almost Christmas y'all! Last night Ryan and I finally got around to decorating  our tree... we had a tree up before we had a TV or even silverware (priorities). But we're finally getting to the point where things are sorted and it's looking more and more like a home everyday! I thought I'd share a few shots of our modestly adorned tree:




Above we see a vintage paper Santa bought from an antique shop in the heights. I only wish I had 50 instead of just 5. I like how the paper ornament adds a different texture and dimension to the tree as opposed to glass or plastic. You can also see the "cornament" from Omaha!

  

We've got a touch of Mardi Gras already! Mom and I snagged a box of these pretty glittery fleur de lis when we were in Louisiana last weekend. It's hanging next to the Czech Kitchen Witch I bought in Prague in 2007. She's missing a foot... i know i have it somewhere....




Crocheted red and white garland!




Pretty glittery glass owl.




Sleepy fawn I bought at the Nutcracker Market this year!




Handmade German owl ornament I bought at the Nutcracker Market 2009



Close-up of the fantastic vintage paper Santa.



I love this fuzzy little owl my friend Amy gave to me last year. Before we decorated the tree we had the ornaments sitting on the counter and the Fuzz kept jumping up and dragging it all over the apartment. We'd try to hide it and she'd always find! Poor little owl...but I definitely see it's appeal to the Fuzz.



We really have a hodgepodge of items on this tree. Some weird, random things...I mean.. I may have (may have..) hung my 2007 TX state graduation tassel up there.... Srsly what else are you supposed to do with those things? We have a really pretty Nativity scene in a glass bulb,a cat wearing pink socks and a scarf, a gorgeous pelican ornament my mom gave me this year along with other wildlife, even a tranny Santa which is probably the strangest thing up there but... I really like how it came together. When you don't have much, you have to imrpovise!

All in all, it's a good little tree.

Do you guys have any weird things hanging on your tree?

Before the Chaos

Bedroom



Bedroom





Living room





View from front door down hallway and into living room




View from window



Snapped these on our initial walk through when we got the keys. I'll take some tonight to show progress, i.e. a bunch of crap...everywhere. The best is the view from the patio, promise to get one of those today too! More coming soon! 

Crafty Christmas Bonanzaaaaa

Hello sweet visitors! I know Thanksgiving is in two days, but I'm still thinking a month down the road.

Christmas 2010 = D. I. freaking Y. With Ryan and I moving into a new apartment next week, our moneys will be a bit smaller this Christmas, but there will be no stressing out.  There will only be...busy!

I got a bit of a jump start this year since I anticipated the move...I had about 75% of my gift shopping done and my Christmas cards made at the beginning of November.  But there's still a fair bit to be done, like decorating the apartment after all the boxes unpacked. Decorating my home for Christmas is one of my favorite things about the holidays. I absolutely watching (or maybe directing? "More of the colorful lights! More on the bottom!") Dad string the lights and garland on the tree so we could dive into the boxes of ornaments, carefully unwrap the delicate Kleenex-packed ones are get-to-decoratin'.

This year will be the first time Ryan and I get to spend the Christmas season together. I'm determined to go  (a bit) overboard with the cheer and super determined to use mostly handmade, vintage and re-purposed items to do it

There's no limit to what you can do or make, just google Christmas DIY or look up tutorials and go nuts! Etsy has an endless supply of amazing vintage pieces and supplies, even pre-made kits, like this Winter Wonderland cupcake kit , this Holiday journal kit,  and this needle felted snowman kit  just to name a few, that can be shipped to your doorstep in days! 

If you like to shop local, hit up any antique shop. I guarantee they will have lots of vintage Christmas ornaments, figurines, cards and books. Last weekend Ryan and I snagged this 3 foot Santa

 at August Antiques  in the Heights (If you're in the Houston area, I recommend stopping by;  they have tons of Christmas items from the 50s and 60s!

I also bought a handful of these vintage Santa cut-outs to string up in the apartment.

At the moment, I'm waiting (not so patiently)  for my Jenni Bowlin chipboard buttons to come in the mail (via Etsy!) so I can make this awesome garland per Amanda's awesome tutorial found here.

So if you'd like to get your hands dirty this December, here are just a few of the hundreds of ideas and tips to help make your Christmas super DIY and unique:

Reuse broken or old ornaments to make a beautiful wreath! 

Use scrap yarn to wrap foam balls! 

I LOVE the candy cane candle in the upper left had corner!  I think the evergreen pieces on the outside of the glass adds such a classy touch to a table setting.

Great tutorial for making your own antique tin candles

This is what I'm working on now...crocheting Christmas tree garland. I chose fluffy white sparkly yarn to look like snow!

Use blank cards and scrap booking stickers or chipboard pieces to create your own unique cards! 

Chose pretty holiday fabric to make your own cheery bunting. Here is a no-sew tutorial!

Even if your gifts aren't handmade, you can add your own personal accents to the packaging! Use stamps, ribbons, buttons, or stickers to create your own gift tags. Blank tags can be found at Hobby Lobby or any craft store.

This is a great idea if you have kids and even if you don't making paper ornaments or decorative (using pretty holiday scrapbook paper) paper chains is a fun and easy way to add a handmade touch to your decor.



Happy Christmas crafting!

[photos from google images, light up Santa is mine]