what i love most about my home ...

this bread is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s.

Scrumdiddlyumptious Banana Bread

as perfected by my friend, Andi Jeane

Ingredients:

• 6 overripe bananas
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or eyeball it for nilla generosity)
• Coarse, granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Lightly grease two loaf pans. use butter flavored Pam for best taste!
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
4. Mash 3 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture; set aside. 
5. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes into a banana cream; think light and fluffy!
6. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Mix in the dry ingredients and remaining mashed bananas just until incorporated; no need to overly blend.  
8. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans in equal amounts.
9. Give both pans a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out. don't forget!
10. Sprinkle a generous amount of coarse, granulated sugar on top of the batter in each pan. adds alittle crunch to the crust...

Bake for about 45 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don't get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that's no mistake, it's typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Grab a slice or two or three or four and enjoy!

 

 

impatient. yes. spoiled? as if!

Ever need something perhaps a slightly used and abused yet also melodic and thrifty upright  real  bad but when you search and search and search, etc. for it, it is absolutely nowhere to be found?
Practically does. not. bleeping. exist?!? 

Utterly irritating.

via Houzz.com

this doesn't exist. in real life. 

craiglist schmaiglist. more like craigplist.

just sayin'.

collage and mod podge.

Get comfy. This one's a two-fer.

About a week ago, Justin and I decided to spruce up the foyer with a photo collage. So I turned to Pinterest of course for a little inspiration and stumbled upon a "cityscape-esque" pattern. I guess I also need to explain that Justin and I have a thing for cityscapes. There's just something about a view from the top that just tickles our fancy. Maybe that's why we L-O-V-E New York so much.
Anyhoo. Here's what our collage was supposed  to look like.

via Pinterest

Pretty neat, huh?
Well, this is how it turned out.

If you just tilt your head a bit, squint your eyes, maybe stand one foot ... oh forget it.

It's not the cool, sleek cityscape that made us waggle our brows.

No. Just a simple, ordinary collage. 

See what had happened was...
Little did we know that buying 20 quality frames at one time, sizes 5x7 to poster, would pretty much break the bank. Seriously. I totally understand now why my lady frand has been collecting her frames for ages. So until we're able to gather a fancy collection of our own, the cityscape-esque pattern must be put on stand-by.
But in the meantime, our foyer just seemed ... naked. And we're not one of those families. Naked is a no-no. Well, perhaps once in a ... oh, I digress.
Thank goodness for Marshalls!
After a short trip to the store and a quick purchase of an el cheapo 10 piece frame set for only 10 bucks sa-weet!, we decided to get alittle crafty and create a collage with what we had. We snagged our framed name art I seriously don't know what else to call it that we recieved as a wedding gift to create a centerpiece and used the sample pictures from the frames to tape a template around the centerpiece. After alittle measuring, alittle hammering, and aLOTtle tweaking ... voila! ... our foyer was all gussied up!

said framed name art

So it's not what we originally planned, but I love how it makes the foyer perk up and say 'ello! And I must say, it gels with the sister wall pretty nicely.

note: an attempt to DIY a larger entryway table is in our near future...stay tuned!

So we're happy!

And now, a quick intermission ...

This is Justin squishing a bug.

Okay! How to DIY cute and crafty coasters.

Once again, I can blame thank Pinterest for this one. 

We've had these simple little picture frame coasters for quite a while now.

And as you can guess, they've never housed any cute little pictures. Partly because they are out of sight, out of mind. And partly because I didn't feel like printing out pics small enough to fit. Way to be crafty, Tabitha.

So I pondered ... what can I use instead of pictures? I was thinkin' and thinkin' and thinkin' and then ... an idea. I've got all this extra scrapbooking paper laying around ...

So I cut the paper into 2x3 rectangles ...

And then slipped the paper into the picture slot ...

And dadgum! These coasters are uniquely my own!

  

The project literally took me a mere ten minutes and  zero dollars. woot!

But wait! Project Crafty Coasters didn't stop there!

Since ten minutes only teased my crafty craving, I decided to embark on my first Pinterest Challenge better late than never and make coasters from scratch.

To keep readers fatigue from creeping up if it hasn't already, I'll make this short and sweet.

Supplies:
4x4 tiles
($.16 each at Lowes)

4x4 scrapbook paper
($.50 a sheet at Michaels)

Mod Podge
($5.99 at Michaels)

Clear spray paint
($3.78 at Lowes)

Cork/Felt pads
($1.18 for set of six at Lowes)

                 

                                                                                                                                I was feeling alittle seasonal.

                                                                                          Maybe it was my Pumpkin-Mallow Scentsy wafting in the background. idk :-) 

1. Cut the scrapbook paper into 4x4 squares.

2. Mod Podge the paper to the tile and let dry. (for tips on Mod Podging, look here)

gettin' alittle snarky while the Mod Podge dries...

3. Spray clear acrylic and let dry.

4. Place cork/felt pads on bottom corners of tile. (I chose cork.)

5. Give yourself a pat, find a drink, and enjoy!

I had such a hoot making these autumn treasures, I decided to make more to match the photo frame coasters ...

And now, not only do I have enough coasters for a party of people, I've got a super thrifty gift idea. :-)

Now THAT's the way to be crafty, Tabitha!

a pause.

September. is. over.
Hallelujah, praise the Lord, amen!
I cannot even begin to describe how fantastic it feels to simply take a pause. To exhale. September's schedule was busting at the seams with nonsensical busywork lectures and exams and 12 hour shifts and group projects and term papers *cringe* and presentations. I also went a whopping 26 days without seeing Justin. Yes, we've been there before, bought that t-shirt stoopid t-shirt. But my goodness, it just doesn't get any easier. At all.

Anyhoo, I am happy to report that I have resurfaced from that particularly dense patch of edumacation/separation. And whaddyaknow? It's October, people! Sweater weather ... cinna-pumpkin smells ... crunchy leaves ... candy corn yum! . Oh, how I love me some autumn. The next few weeks shall be stuffed with trips to mi casa where I can catch up on my nesting, baking, crafting, and snuggling. And yes, school and clinicals will be sprinkled betwixt all that pleasure. But the worst is over! Only 63 more days 'til freedom! Now ain't that just fancy?!

 

via Pinterest