Let's Bake Some Bread!

Today in between 2 soccer games we baked some bread. Our family loves homemade Pumpkin Bread. It's my husband and kids' favorite! So today we made Pumpkin Bread and Banana Bread.

Of course the kids were involved in just about every step. Yes it took longer but worth it.

 The Banana Bread Recipe we used comes from "Just a Pinch Recipes". This Recipe is called: Grandma Browns Fantastic Banana Bread by Freda. CLICK HERE to Print the recipe.

GRANDMA BROWNS FANTASTIC BANANA BREAD BY FREDA Added by FREDA GABLE [cookin4me] on Jan 26, 2012 FREDA from Vanc. (born in Savannah, Ga), WA (pop. 0) says: Our Grandma, Alvina Brown, always made the best moist banana bread in the country. It is one of the family's all time favorite, and will be passed down generation to generation. (Already down 5 generations to my grandchildren!) Cook time: 1 Hr   Difficulty: Prep time: 20 Min   Serves: 2 Loaves or 4 mini loafs INGREDIENTS - 3 lg eggs - 2 c sugar - 1 c cooking oil - 2 c ripe bananas, mashed - 3 tsp vanilla extract SIFT THE FOLLOWING DRY INGREDIENTS TOGETHER: - 3 c flour - 1 tsp salt - 1 tsp soda - 1/2 tsp baking powder - 1 c nuts, (optional) DIRECTIONS 1.   Preheat oven @ 350. Grease and flour (2) 4x8 loaf pans. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl; mix well. 2.   Sift together all the dry Ingredients in a separate bowl. Add nuts, if desired. 3.   Add all dry ingredients to wet Ingredients; blend only until mixed well. Pour (evenly divided) into both prepared loaf pans. 4.   Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour. Makes 2 moist, large loaves or 4 mini loaves. Also about 1 dozen banana muffins.

 While we were baking we had an unexpected "BOO" at our door!

The kids were SO excited! 

Hunter loved the Banana Bread, Taylor not so much. I will post the Pumpkin Bread recipe soon!

Tip of the Day...What to Order at Starbucks

Starbucks drinks can definitely add up in calories! 

Over at the "Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans" they have put together 

"10 Starbucks Drinks that Won't Blow Your Diet"

The Skinny Vanilla Latte is usually what I order.

Over at "Mom.me" she has some great ideas on what to order your kids at Starbucks!

First up...she says...

Kids' Hot Chocolate

The old standby comes kid-sized (8 ounces) and kid-temperature (130 degrees). The littlest ones might like it even cooler—100 degrees is lukewarm. It comes with 2 percent milk, but nonfat, whole and soy are also available. Whip cream is optional ... but yummy!

Passion Iced Tea

This fruity, decaffeinated drink is totally kid-friendly. It's hibiscus flavored, which is a fancy way of saying red and berryish. The barista will ask if you want it sweetened. This means adding three pumps (assuming you're getting a tall, which is the smallest iced size—12 ounces) of a simple sugar syrup. Adding raspberry syrup or lemonade also tastes good. Green tea and black iced tea—your other options—have caffeine, so aren't good for kids.

Vanilla Steamer

Also available in kid's size and temperature and with a variety of milks, a vanilla steamer is simply steamed milk with vanilla syrup. You will see sugar-free vanilla on the menu, but know it's made with sucralose—the sweetener used in Splenda.

Smoothie

Little known fact: Starbucks has smoothies ... and they're good! Flavors are orange mango, strawberry and chocolate. All the smoothies come with a banana (though you can't really taste it), 2 percent milk, and whey protein and fiber (is derived from cow's milk). Strawberry and orange mango smoothies are also made with fruit purees, while chocolate smoothies contain mocha syrup. Since they come in one size only—grande (medium), which is 16 ounces—you might want to share

Babyccino

This is simply extra-foamy milk—like a cappuccino, but without the espresso. (Cappuccinos are about half foam and half steamed milk, while lattes have about 1/4 foam and 3/4 milk.) Little kids especially love the light, bubbly nature of foam. Ask for it bone-dry if you want the drink to be all foam.

Click HERE to see the other drinks she recommends for kids.

Go check out the other great articles she has! 

GREAT WEBSITE!

Stop and Hear the Music

I first saw this story on Pinterest and was so intrigued by this story. It sure gets you thinking....

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly..

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:

*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*Do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.

How many other things are we missing?

Here is one of the videos...

Thank you Jeffbridges.com for posting this!

You can also read the whole post from the Washington Post by clicking HERE. There are some cool videos as well!

Action for Austin

 
We need your help! 
My good friend Stephanie Sides Kallenberger was given a great piece of advice from someone who has walked in her shoes of losing a child... "Your son's legacy is up to you. How you move forward from this los

s will determine Austin's legacy." - Pastor Roger Spradlin

The Kallenberger Family is choosing a legacy for Austin that will bring other families hope, faith and courage as they face some of the toughest trials. *****Please join us with the "ACTION for AUSTIN" cause.

Our friends over at RJ's Bar & Grill have partnered with us to help collect candy and other small little halloween goodies (stickers, spider rings, little toys etc). These items will be bagged up and handed out to families spending Halloween in the NICU and PICU of Cedars-Sinai, Mercy SW and Memorial Hospital - along with families currently staying at the Bakersfield and Los Angeles Ronald McDonald Houses.

We would LOVE to have your help! 

Please drop off any of the items mentioned above at any of the 2 RJ's Locations- Candy for "Action for Austin"
Northwest Location: 9440 Hageman Rd. Suite C (Hageman and Calloway)
Downtown Location: 1660 Pine St. (Corner of Truxton & Pine)

----> THANK YOU RJ's for always lending a hand to help support families right here in our community! Friends this is a great chance for you and your family to help give back to local families. 

You can visit Austin's website at:

http://austinkallenberger.com

Bathroom Cabinets DIY... $20.00

How many of you have these same cabinets....??? Well I was ready for something different!

I went to Home Depot, and picked out a pretty antique cream color that I thought would look good.

I used the same technique as I did on my last two projects. The DIY Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

If you missed that post you can find it here ---> "Let's Paint"

The cost for my DIY Bathroom Cabinets.... $20.00!!!!

Paint... 2 small sample jars... $6.00

Drawer Handles... $8.00 (4 for $1.99)

So here are my bathroom cabinets before....

 The great thing about the DIY Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is that you use less paint and there's no need to sand!

Let's get to work! I put down some plastic wrap so I wouldn't get any paint on my new floors. I also used painter's tape to tape off the tile on the counter. There was no need for me to take off the doors or anything since I was totally fine leaving the inside the wood color.

Done..... and I LOVE the color! I also distressed it a little with a sanding block. 

It took a while for me to find just the right handles I had in mind. But after 2 months I found them at Hobby Lobby. %50 off so they were only $1.99 each! Score! And they are Beautiful!!!

So here is my NEW Guest Bathroom! I love it!

BEFORE...

AFTER...

My Next project will be to repaint my Master Bathroom Cabinets in black!

My Little Weekend Craft Project

If you scroll down to the previous post you will see where I got my inspiration! However, I didn't want to go out and buy anything new so I just used what I had and of course made it a little different. But I like how it turned out and it was quick and easy!

So here is my completed piece! I had a piece of wood that I had already painted white (mine is about 8X10). I wanted to make it versatile- one side with a little chalkboard and then the other with the "out of treats". That way I could just flip it over.

So first.... I painted the back side a lime green. Simple enough. Then I totally cheated.... Once it was dried I used a permanent marker and wrote out my saying and added the little spiders. Looks great huh?!

 Then on the other side it was already white, so again I used my permanent marker and added my wording. Then painted the sides yellow, probably would have used orange if I had it but didn't. But I like the yellow. Then with the back side of my paint foam brush I dipped the end in the yellow paint and added little yellow polka dots. Then for the middle I made some "Chalkboard paint" and painted it across. Here's a link how to make "Chalkboard Paint" click HERE. Or you can always buy the spray bottle or do without.

Just like the last post (where I got this idea from) you just add an eye hook and ribbon and you are done! 

So again just use what you have. Make it simple and easy.

Our Halloween Tree is up!

After a day of soccer we came home and started putting the rest of our Halloween decorations up! Including one of my favorite Halloween Decorations...

Our Halloween Tree

I got this beautiful 6ft pre-lit tree at the Goodwill last year. At an incredible price.... $3.95! Yep, in fact over the years I've gotten 3 pre-lit Christmas Trees from the Goodwill ranging from $3.95-$7.95. So at Christmas time  my kiddos have their own 6ft Christmas tree in their rooms that they get to decorate with all of their own creative handmade ornaments. 

So start looking NOW for some Christmas trees at the Goodwill!

I put one of the trees out in our little nook area for Halloween time, and it's the perfect decoration.

I add some orange lights and a Witches hat stuffed with some baggies inside to give it some shape.

Then I add Halloween Pictures from Previous years. I Hole punch them add some ribbon or tule. Just use whatever you have.

These little signs I picked up last year at Michael's Craft Store for only $1.00.

Last year the kids and I created dough ornaments. It was easy and a lot of fun! I didn't think that they would last a whole year in storage but they did, so we get to enjoy them again!

This fun little skeleton frame can be added for free when you send your photos online to Wal-greens to be printed. 

We absolutely LOVE our Halloween Tree each year!

Hope this inspires you to get creative!

Halloween Prep and Your Friday Soup Recipe

Check out this cute craft that I will be attempting!

I found it over at 11 Magnolia Lane. LOVE their blog! Tons of great ideas for your home!

So cute and it looks pretty easy...right?!

Here is their photo of some of the supplies they uses. To make it even easier I'm going to pick up a white Paint pen.

First step to sand and paint wood. 

They are so brilliant, then they added a little eye hook to the top for the ribbon. 

SO CUTE!!!

She also has another GREAT idea with this project. I will for sure be attempting this as well. My kids have gotten to the age where the neighbor kids are always knocking on the door! I wonder if this would work...

I told you, you would LOVE their ideas.

CLICK HERE to Visit their site for more ideas!! You will love their blog!!

Ok and those following our soup Friday, here's the soup I'm going to be trying. 

I wasn't a fan of last weeks soup. Were you?

This Recipe comes from the kitchen of SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl

Zuppa Toscana

From the kitchen of SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl

1. 4 slices bacon, diced
2. 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
3. 1 large yellow onion, diced
4. 4 cloves garlic, minced
5. 4 cups (32 oz) chicken stock
6. 3 cups russet potatoes, cubed
7. 3/4 tsp sea salt
8. 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
9. 2 cups kale, in bite size pieces
10. 1 cup heavy whipping cream
11. parmesan cheese, grated

In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain the grease. Add the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Once sausage is browned and crumbled, drain off grease leaving a tbsp to saute the onion.

Push the sausage and bacon to the edge of the pot and add the onion to the center; saute until translucent; add garlic; saute until fragrant.

Stir in the stock and potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Add kale and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a simmer. Top with parmesan cheese, when serving.