Lets go Banana's

I took my chances on a recipe I found last week on two peas, and I was totally impressed. I have just recently been introduced to Nutella...and I LOVE it! So I wanted to share how mine turned out, and encourage you to try them out too! I'm copying the this recipe right off of the two peas blog...but please don't hesitate to check out Maria's site...it is awesome. She has amazing stuff on there that inspires me to get in the kitchen. Now if I could just get the sewing machine to fit next to the cutting board.

Banana Cupcakes (Muffins) with a Nutella Swirl Adapted from EveryDay Food and Spork or Foon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Jar of Nutella
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
With a toothpick swirl in the Nutella, about a ½ teaspoon each.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

I made mine in the extra large muffin tin I'm in love with, so I baked a tad bit longer than this. Just like banana nut bread without the nuts Dal hates.

It's Spring at my nest

I must confess I had left the christmas glitz in my apocrathy jars all this time.

So today was the day to update for spring. And possibly longer. Who knows when I'll decide to do something different. So here's what they have in them now. eggs (yes plastic easter eggs I painted to be more natrual and match my decor)

butterflies from feathers and this little birdy that also happened to get a paint job

So happy spring for my home!

Sew Sew Sew....

Mocha
Is my friend Allison's dog. She's a total cutie...but she tore up her dog bed pillow cover and needed a new one. So Allison being the trusting friend she allowed me to try out my skills on a new one.
So the big reveal:

Yes I did that zipper! Oh yeah, happy dance.

I also made some crayon rolls which will be available on my etsy store soon. But if you want one just tell me and I'll get you one!

Stuff We Did on Saturday:

Sleep in, clean up dog pee from living room floor (WTC?! Though he was housebroken), and get dressed to head to Brenham, TX.
We wanted to visit the Blue Bell Creamery, check out the local shops, and take some pictures of the bluebonnets. I'm glad to say that we in fact got to do all three of those things.
However the creamery doesn't give tours on Saturdays, but we got to enjoy some ice cream just the same! I love Bluebell, hands down my favorite ice cream, really I think if anyone is from the south it's their fave. How could it not be?
We left the ice cream heaven and headed for the downtown area. If you're from Texas you know that all the small towns have a downtown area with unique shops and such usually wrapped around the city hall or courthouse. I have to say that Brenham has quite a few, seems to be a very active area...I was impressed and inspired by some of the items I saw in the shops. Oh I need more time to create! We had a delicious lunch at a cafe, that served this amazing herb bread. I really need some recipes on spicy/ herb bread. I'm wanting to try to make some soon. After lunch we headed back down HWY 290 towards Chapel Hill (a one stop light town) to a field covered, stress on the covered in bluebonnets for a little picture time.The whole day Neely was excited to go get pictures taken in her new dress, that I made, but once we got there I couldn't get a freaking smile from her for the life of me. Grr! So much for nice new spring pics for everyone, you'll all just have to get crappy upset looking depressed goth kid in flowers. Super! So we left to head towards the Washington On the Brazos state park to get some play time in for the kiddo, and I was hoping to enjoy the historical goodies it has to offer since I was like 12 the one time I ever went and could have cared less. Half way there (like 15 miles) I realize I lost my phone in the flower field. Oh (insert sailor language here)! So we had to turn around and go find it. I'm about to puke at the though of loosing my phone it's got so much info on it I can't imagine living without as well as the cost of replacing it. Lucky for me I found it no prob! Helped that I could use the hubby's phone to call my phone. Wheeww! Relief. So back on the road...and we arrive at the park;
with a tired ticked off kid, and an allergy infection-ed husband, and exhausted me.
We went right for the playground and left it at that. And that was pretty much our day. Not so bad if you ask me.
I've been working on my pictures and would like to invite you to check them out at:http://picasaweb.google.com/lauraallmon or just click here!

Bookcase Up-do

We have a bookcase in our living room, and I sorta despise it. I hate how it always looks like a cluttered mess. I'd love a fancy new one with the sliding glass doors, but my budget says NO! So I ran across a bit of inspiration in the Serena & Lilly catalog.

I love how all the books are covered to match, I've actually seen this done in a few catalogs, where they are covered to match the decor.

So I set out to give my bookcase a bit of an up-do: and this is what I have accomplished so far...a work in progress, so use your imagination I haven't made it to the bottom half.

Hopefully I'll get around to finishing the bottom part soon.

A while back

I made this box a while back for a gift using clip art and some cute scrapbooking paper. I thought I'd share with you guys, since I've been feeling a bit under the weather and I haven't come up with any new creations.

Alright I couldn't for the life of me get the card picture to rotate...but you get the idea.

A few more

things I love from the catalog previously mentioned.

Really I love everything in the catalog, but these are some really cute and unique ideas that I would love to replicate (some day).

Just a little something I made

I received a great catalog in the mail a while back. LOVE it. Can't afford one single item from it. But I've hidden it in a special place to refer to for inspiration.
Well they had this awesome Note Holder Frame, and I said to myself "Self you can make that!" So here is my much cheaper version of it. I used a $4 frame from the church resale shop, some jute twine, and a few binder clips. Simply just tacked down the twine, and I'm ready to go. (Okay Okay, being me I spray painted the frame black to match everything else I have!) So overall savings $35!

Tada!

So here's the pictures of our paint job. (this picture makes it look a lot lighter than it really is, the first one is a more acurate picture)And here is a pre- paint pictures from when we first moved in.

We're trying to adopt...

This super sweet baby:Leroy!
I really hope that this works out, we're waiting on a call to set up our in home interview/ inspection. Please wish us luck, and keep us in your prayers. Dallas isn't against it (totally) but I think we have a great home and I know we can give him some lovin' and attention. Aren't those the sweetest eyes you've ever seen?

Too Busy Thursday

After a full busy day at work..and what day isn't? I came home and got to work! I was modivated!

I've decided and convinced my husband that we need to paint the inside of our house this weekend. Right before we bought the house the last people painted it this light blue grey color...and it depresses the heck out of me. It's like a cloudy winter day everyday. So in an effort to speed up the process I started taping off the trim and areas we don't want to get paint on. That blue tape doesn't stick very well. I have a feeling I'm going to come home tomorrow and re-tape the whole thing over again. I did most of the area's I will need taped off, so a small percentage of the way there.

I washed a small bit of clothes, which I refuse to fold, or switch into the dryer until later. So Yeah, what I'm a little lazy?!

I made a wonderful little dress for Neely, because that's right I got my sewing machine figured out! Very excited. however I feel like such a spaz because I have so many half started, planned out not started and needs to just be done projects...so you can't expect too much from me. This took me maybe an hour. Glad it was a quick project. She's such a little show off.

I also cut a slip of fabric to put in her new cup that I bought her, it's one where you can decorate the paper on the inside. So she will be sporting her new dress and matching cup to "school" tomorrow.

I also saw the cutest idea on The Shabby Nest...and it was like the answer to my prayers (or at least frustrations). I have a dresser that we repainted and use for our TV stand..and it holds almost all of Dal's Cd's so it's perfect...however when I repainted it I took off the hardware, and once they dried I put them in a grocery bag to put back on later...long story short, Dal thought it was a bag for trash, and I no longer have pulls for the drawers. I've not been able to find any that fit the holes either. So I used this twine I bought last week to make some pulls. I like the rustic, casual look. I'm sorry for the poopy pic. It's dark!

So I feel very accomplished that I have completed not one, but THREE Projects as well as a small bit of cleaning.

Tomorrow I will purchase my paint, and attempt to start painting the small areas with a brush. Wish me luck...I think the eleven foot ceilings might be an issue. Poor Dal doesn't have a clue what this project will entail. So wish us luck. Updates to follow!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Beach In February?!

Saturday night after realizing what a huge disappointment our room was (Please do go to the link for the room if you missed yesterday's post!), we decided to get out of there for as long as we could (without falling asleep). We headed over to the Iguana Grill for dinner. It was great food, a nice sunset, and we got to listen to the lovely tunes of the Dust Devils, a local band. That is one thing I love about Austin, everyone is some sort of artist, or they try to be. We left the restaurant and went to Bee Cave to the Barnes and Noble, we're book junkies. I picked up two new books (Megan Hart) and we walked around the outdoor mall there. We went back to our room...to fight the shower curtains, and dust bunnies.
The next morning we decided to take a drive around Lake Travis and take in some of the hill country views. It was such a beautiful drive. I don't know how anyone couldn't live there and not feel inspired.

We made our first stop at Marble Falls, it's a very nice small town. We drove around, checked out some of the over priced boutiques down town, while we waited for the incredibly long line to die down at the Bluebonnet Cafe. Luckily we snuck in there just in time before they closed at 1:45 to give this little gem a try. Honestly the best home cooked meal I can recall having since I was young and my grandmother would cook for me. (Check back soon for more on this great place.)

We left Marble Falls and headed for Largo Vista...but on the way we got distracted by a sign that said "Flat Creek Vineyard"so we went there. However we got there right at three when they were ending tours for the winter hours, so I felt very uncomfortable about going into the tasting room, plus being frugal as I am and stuffed to the gills, I didn't want to be forced to pay more than a few bucks, or feel compelled to buy an expensive bottle of wine. - The good news is after some google time today, it fits my budget, and it sounds like they have great wines that I plan to look for next time I hit the store. Next time I'm going to brave it and go in!

We continued our journey back around to Hippy Hollow. If you're from Texas I'm sure you've heard of it. It's the only real public beach type access to the lake, and it's beautiful! Since it was a nice 68* day we decided to get some sun. It gave me a great chance to take some pictures, and read my book in the quiet while listening to the water hit the rocks. True relaxation.

We left the beach once it started getting dark/ closing time, and headed home, listening to old country songs and laughing about them.
It was a great weekend...and it seemed like it was more than just a few days. I truly enjoyed spending quality time with my wonderful husband, as well as taking in the beauty of the area.

I know this post consist of a lot of links, but check them out!

Don't forget the YoPlus giveaway, time is almost up!

And the WORST B&B award goes to...

Robins Nest Bed and Breakfast, Lake Travis

Saturday we met up with Dal's grandparents (in Madisonville, TX) and gave them our little angel for the week. We decided to hit the road and head to Austin to spend the weekend. I'm thinking, we'll get there and we'll get a crap hotel room we can afford, and buy a toothbrush and deodorant at Wal-Mart and enjoy our weekend in our favorite town. Well, apparently Dallas had something already in mind. He called this little place and reserved a room on Lake Travis. So..we drive, and we arrive at the Robin's Nest around 5 in the afternoon. Of coarse he checked with me for my okay before we even left Madisonville to Austin to get my approval on the room (I Phones are the best). I was delighted. Because this is what I see online:Anyhow, we drive up to this place and it looks so cute and eclectic. I'm excited. We meet the front desk girl, and she shows us to our room.

HOLY CRAP, what is wrong with this place? Seriously? This is what $200+ got me? Oh man, your website is a HUGE FRAUD!

Here is what the room actually looks like...

and I can't even discribe the filth on the floors (thank God I wore flipflops in February) or the musty smell it had.
We kept thinking, "How is this supposed to make you feel romantic, when all I want to do is run?" And "Why wouldn't you keep the room clean, and where the heck to you get this ugly junk from?" We were holding out hope that breakfast would redeem the situation...but instead this is what we ended up with:

Cold eggs, undercooked bacon, cold mushy potatoes, and rotting fruit salad on paper plates. YUM! Needless to say I give this place a negative 10 on my hotel stars rating!
Stay tuned for the good part of our weekend...

Zoo

Saturday we decided to go to the Zoo, we've never been to the Houston Zoo, and 39online has a list of free things to do about town, so we picked a few museums we wanted to check out in that area as well.
1st we broke our "no eating out at all this month" policy to try Cafe Adobe (the best margarita in town). It was not, and our waiter sucked. I'd rather eat crap food that have a crap waiter. So that set the tone for the rest of the day I think. We were mad at ourselves for breaking our rule for something that didn't turn out so great.
We head to the Herman park area, where we sat in bumper to bumper traffic for 1 whole hour to only find out that they have all the parking lots closed off. It was packed, and we were royally angry. Neely knew that there was a surprise but we didn't tell her it was the zoo.
So we hit up two museums, which weren't terrible, okay the first one was crap (but it was free) I just expected more. And during the second one, which is rumored to have a real Dali, Neely got all grumpy and pouty so we had to leave before we even got to it. Grr, somewhat annoyed, but truth is it was supposed to be a fun day for her and not me...so on we go. We walked around the neighborhood, which again is something I love. Me and Dallas are house looking junkies. We love to drive around and just look at houses and talk about what we like about 'em and guess how much they are typically going for. Probably if I wasn't so lazy and the market wasn't so bad I'd dream of being a realtor. In any case I love love a craftsman/ bungalow/ 1930's style house. LOVE THEM! My absolute dream is a cute somewhat updated one in a ecliptic neighborhood.
I took a few pics of the few I liked the most and the features I love about that style of house...besides a claw foot tub and wood floors.
Later we visited the big wall fountain next to the William's building in the Galleria area. It's amazing if you've never seen it. A bit cold when the wind blows the water on you. but worth it!If you've never seen the William's building (i.e. non-Houston folk) it's "the largest non-downtown building" in the state. Click the link it's got all that info. Dal's great great uncle (or something) used to be the president of the company that owned it and he occupied the top floor, YIKES! It really is freakishly tall, and I got sick just thinking about being that high...well Dallas of course tricks Miss Gullible/ Miss Not Scarred into thinking she can climb to the top, so I took a pic of her attempt. She kept saying "Come on, just give me a push, we can do it together." So I guess it's okay that we never made it to the zoo, it turned out to be an alright day in spite of the crap waiter, simi-okay margarita, and the hour of traffic to no where.

Something silly

I picked these up a while back: They are terracotta eggs that have seeds and soil in them. I was hoping to sprout some mint and lemon grass, however I digress. I have managed to kill an ivy, let the basil get dried up and droopy, and not even get any sort of sprout or hairs out of these. They are so cute, but I have black thumbs. So good bye little silly egg heads. RIP

Sexxy little things (I wish)

This past weekend I was all set to craft my butt off. However on Friday night I got home and started playing with my new sewing machine (thank you again awesome hubby!) and I had some continued issues with the bottom string getting tangled up. Being the least patient person in the world I lost my temper and decided to move on. I began to make a few journals, which I will be posting to my Etsy shop. THAT'S RIGHT! I created one!

So come Saturday, Hubby's first day off in a while, and we were kid free, I decided I had cabin fever...we had to get out. So we went to this neat little area of Houston off of Westheimer near Montrose. They have awesome vintage clothing shops as well as old furniture stores. Not to mention that all the houses in that area are bungalows and craftsman style (my dream). It's "up and coming" but I think it's just like heaven. Plus it reminds me of Austin, and I'm sure that's another reason we went. So being that all the shops had the vintage clothing, nothing fits this old gal, except these fabulous shoes. I got a steal on these Kenneth Cole's for $20 at Taxi Taxi. Now if only I could find something to wear with 'em. Sometimes I forget to act like I'm only 23 (almost 24) but I will be daring with these sexy little things.

Correction to Pics

So here are the pics that should be with the last post, I'm sick of trying to edit this and the truth is I dont have time, so guess where they go, and use your imagination. Thanks, and sorry guys