Wednesday, February 27, 2013

banana nut bread

 
One of my favorite things to munch on in the mornings {or afternoons, heck even for dinner} is a slice of homemade banana nut bread. Sometimes I have a bad habit of buying bananas and forgetting about them. A couple days later and they are on the counter with brown spots on them . . . a definite doozy {perhaps it is because I like my bananas when they are still a little green, I know that's kind of strange, my mother tells me that every time I eat one}. Luckily for me, I did just that last week which resulted with a sweet batch of banana bread that made the house smell delicious! I had enough bananas to make two batches so split the recipe in half to make a normal batch.
 
6 bananas, smashed
1 cup softened butter
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup of sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans {optional}
Pam Non-Stick Cooking Spray
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray your bread loaf pans with Pam. Cream sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and butter. In a separate bowl, mix together your dry ingredients and slowly add them to the wet mix. Fold in your smashed bananas. At this point you can pour the mixture into your baking dish if you just want plain banana bread. But I prefer them with nutty pecans, so fold the pecans into the mixture and then transfer to your baking dish.
About an hour later and you have these glorious loaves of banana nut bread. This double batch made one large {non-pecan loaf} and three little loaves {but as you can see one and a half are already gone thanks to a hungry teenage brother, ha!}
 

Monday, February 25, 2013

weekend roundup + the oscars

Show was located in the heart of downtown Birmingham at Bromberg's
I sure hope this week lives up to how nice my weekend was. Not that it was extravagant or anything, but it was just simply wonderful. It started out with a phone call from my grandmother Friday. She's almost as hilarious as Gladys. And then a little work, beautiful weather, and my weekend ended with the first set of shows for Birmingham Fashion Week. I had a few friends walking in the show, so some girl friends and I decided to support them and the city's emerging fashion setting. Needless to say, we had a ball! It was Bride Atelier {wedding runway show} which consisted of stunning wedding gowns, flirty bridesmaid dresses, and multiple exchanges of  "Oh, are you a bride?!" with a laughing response, "Oh no no, Lord no, not for a while, we're here supporting friends!" The show comprised of Bella BridesmaidBella Couture, Ivory and WhiteLula Kate, and Ivy & Aster
 

 

Some friends that walked the cat walk with some fierce attitude.
 
 



Such diva models, ha!
Ivy & Aster models with the designer
Do you watch the Academy Awards? They are my favorite award show of the season, or at least the red carpet. This year did not disappoint! Other key notes of the evening 1) The shark attack music played when the award winners rambled on forever 2) My brother shushing me every time Jennifer Garner appeared because apparently that is his dream girl {one of his many}, ha! Too bad she's married and he's twenty years plus younger than her.My best dressed choice of the evening was Anne Hathaway's mullet-inspired dress {not kidding, business in the front, party in the back}. She looked absolutely stunning and her speech was so thoughtful and sincere. Other favorites included: Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kerry Washington.  Here are some of their glamour shots on the red carpet . . .
 
Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, Naomi Watts
Zoe Saldana, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Hudson, Kerry Washington, Amanda Seyfried
Charlize Theron, George Clooney and Stacy Keibler, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman
* Thanks to Instagram friends, People, and my iPhone for capturing the photos found on this post.

Monday, February 18, 2013

jewel tones & bright neons

photo credit
Woo those "Monday Blues" with some transitional colors during the awkward weather change between winter and spring. Each year in the south we always go through this transition of freezing cold mornings, then mild afternoons in the 70s, and by the time the sun goes down, it's undeniably cold again. With this transition, mixing prints and patterns with equally bold colors in layering pieces is essential. This year it's time to break out jewel tones and bright neon's together. Here are some great staples for this seasonal change:

jewel tones


bright neons


* click on a picture below for link

Friday, February 15, 2013

happy friday!


Friends, it's safe to say that it's going to be a wonderful weekend! Why you ask? Well, because it has been a great week and has been getting better and better each day. First off, I'd like to welcome home this guy . . .
Jessica + Jesse
My sister's fiancĂ©, Jesse, has been stationed in Afghanistan serving our country for the past nine months. So glad he made it home safely after his long journey {of being overseas and traveling home. Short story: My sister moved to Manhattan, Kansas to be with Jesse once he returned home. He was suppose to be in the States about a week and a half ago, but due to the winter snow in Afghanistan, he arrived home unexpectedly Monday. I was surprised when I saw the above picture!} Out of that - who knew that it snowed in Afghanistan? I sure didn't until recently, ha! Now just let the count down begin til I get to call him brother!

Have a great weekend, and as always, spend some time looking at these links around the web : )

Song for your weekend

Summer essentials : lace shorts + chambray

Now this would be cool in the backyard

How to wear flared jeans

40 photos that will make you tear up. Seriously, get a tissue.

What It's Like To Be A Twentysomething, As Told By “Mean Girls,” “Bridesmaids,” And “Girls”

Ellen Degeneres is hilarious. And so is Gladys.

10 ways to dress up your ponytail

Pretty sandals for spring

Some inexpensive drugstore favorites, thanks Jana for sharing!

Funny birthday candles

Monday, February 11, 2013

good people brewery | luella and the sun


Supporting the locals is always one of my favorite things to do - whether it be local grown food, artists, musicians, etc. Last night, I went to my first brewery in Birmingham. It's funny how I've spent my whole life in Birmingham, yet I never knew the hidden gems it had to offer. I found a gold mine last night thanks to my friend Anna, called Good People Brewery. I tasted most of their brews and my favorite has to be the Coffee Oatmeal Stout - talk about dessert in a glass, yum! But the stand out of the night was the music. Although not local, Luella & the Sun come from Nashville {my favorite city in the south}. Luella has such a sweet personality and a soulful voice. She has a raspy blues voice and sings the most beautiful gospel songs and her own tunes.