8.31.2011

Banana Bread Squares

This recipe has been in our family since my parents were married (over 30 years!). It's called Sandy's Kona Banana Bread (Sandy was a high school friend of my mom's) and it's called Kona bread because the original recipe had macadamia nuts in it, however, growing up we never added them in.




Our entire family loves this bread! I can't make it fast enough...it gets gobbled up, practically, as soon as I take it out of the oven. If you have ripe bananas that need to be used up, give this recipe a try!


  • 1/2 cup shortening*
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup macadamia nuts (optional)

  • Cream shortening and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each egg. Add banana and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, baking soda, salt and nuts to banana mixture and mix until blended well.

  • Pour batter into 9x9x2 inch pan (sprayed with non-stick spray) and bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. 

  • If baking in a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan, bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out of center clean. Cool and cut into slices.

  • * I don't always have shortening on hand, so butter is a good alternative.

8.30.2011

Happy Anniversary!

8 years ago today, I married this handsome guy


I like him...A LOT! He has such a heart for others. He loves Jesus. And he loves little ol' me.

He is a hard worker with strong work ethic. He is tender-hearted AND he is an awesome daddy!


Here's a picture for each year of marriage...

2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Photo by Emylyn Photography
2008
2009 (I couldn't find ONE photo of just the two of us!)
Photo by Emylyn Photography
2010
2011
Happy Anniversary Mr. Turco! I love you always and forever!!

8.29.2011

Weekend Wrap-Up

Here's what we did this weekend...

On Friday, I finished up one of my projects: State Love Canvas. You've probably seen these all over Etsy and Pinterest. I found all these canvases at a garage sale for $2, so I figured I'd put them to use and create one of my own.


I found a tutorial here.


On Saturday, my hubby and I had an opportunity to go on a date!


Our anniversary is coming up this week, so we thought we'd celebrate early. It was so nice to feel like an adult and not have people that are 3 feet tall interrupting us and pulling on our pant legs. I {heart} date nights. To top it all off, our sweet baby girl slept through the night...yusss! Of course, I didn't. I kept waking up to make sure she was still breathing.

Sunday was a low-key day...church, lunch, out to my mom & dad's to drop off some things. Then home for naps, lawn mowing, car cleaning and dinner.

How was your weekend?


8.25.2011

Watercolor Trees



It's been a while since the kids and I have sat down to do a craft together. So, yesterday, we did some painting.

The idea came from here. I love Meg. She is an awesome, creative mommy.

We used regular paper, crayons and watercolor paints. Nothing special.

I drew up some trees and the kids painted (and painted and painted) :)



Here are their masterpieces:



I love how different they both turned out. They wanted to send them to their cousins in Georgia. So sweet.

8.24.2011

Confidence

via


I read this today and it hit home with me.

I consider myself a pretty trusting person and I've always had an attitude of "everything will work out," but do I trust everything in my life to Him? Do I have FULL CONFIDENCE in Him? Or do I only give Him certain areas and then say, "I'll handle the rest"

The answer is no, no and yes.

My prayer for today (and for everyday) is that I will fully rely on God and have full confidence that He is in control. That I will " trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)

"Confidence in myself has very limited power, whereas confidence in Him brings limitless possibilities."
- Amy Carroll, Proverbs 31 Ministries

8.23.2011

Master Bedroom Redo: Part 3

Here's a peak at the new wall color. It's a Behr color called "Blue Fox"


So much better, right? The blue is so much more fresh and cool feeling. It's also a very calming color, which is exactly the mood I was going for in the bedroom. I want it to be a relaxing retreat where the hubby and I can kick back and relax.

More pictures to follow in the coming weeks. I still have lots of other things to bring into the room.

8.22.2011

15 days until school starts...



but who's counting :)

We have a soon-to-be Kindergartener and a soon-to-be preschooler. It's pretty exciting.

I'm starting to think about back to school traditions to start with our kids. Over the last two years, we've taken first day of school pictures and this year we'll be adding these cute little cards:

via

IF I want to up the ante with the photos, here's a good place to start for ideas:


via

Some people make a special breakfast or treat. Others throw parties.. I have come across some amazing back to school parties all over Pinterest. Check these out!

back to school ideas
via
first day of school place setting with free printables
via

Party Printables
via

Keep the ideas coming. What are your back to school traditions?

8.19.2011

We've been camping

We've been off the grid this week.

No phones. No email. No Facebook. No Pinterest. No blogging.

Since my brother and his girlfriend (below) were here from PA, our whole family went camping.


It's been a loooong time since we've camped. I think the last time my hubby and I camped was when we were first married, so this was our first time camping with kids!

This was our home away from home for the week...


It had electricity, a little table with chairs, a lamp and REAL. BEDS. It was definitely the way to go for our little campers.

And this was the "Master Suite" where my parents stayed. Or as the kids called it..."The Palace"


It sleeps, like, 30 people or something like that (okay, maybe more like 12)! It was fit for a King and Queen for sure! The kids got to stay in it for a few nights and LOVED it (we enjoyed the break too)!

The kids had a fantastic time. There was lots of water playtime, fishing, boating, eating, tubing, crafts, painting,  games and more eating.





Thanks, Mom, for bringing all the paint and craft supplies! It was popular!

I wish I had more photos of all the water activities, but I was too much of a chicken to bring my camera on the boat. Lots of smiles all around though.

On the ride home, the kids had in-ride entertainment...



as well as some amazing mountain views

Mt. Hood, Oregon

It was a great week. We made memories. We all had fun.

And now...let the laundry begin.

8.15.2011

Coconut Banana Pancakes


One of the things on our summer list was to make "fancy pancakes". So, I came up with these...Coconut Banana Pancakes. And they were goooood! Wanna try? Well then let's get cookin'...

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. buttermilk
3/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, plus extra for garnish
1/4 c. toasted coconut*, plus extra for garnish
Non-stick cooking spray

* To toast coconut, place it in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until browned.

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, mix dry ingredients and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.
3. Using a fork, mash bananas. Mix in toasted coconut.
4. Use non-stick cooking spray on large skillet or griddle.
5. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop batter on hot pan or griddle.
6. Place about a tablespoon of banana/coconut mixture on each pancake.
7. Cook until bubbles start to form around the edges, about 2-3 minutes.
8. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
9. Repeat until all batter is used.
10. Serve with bananas, toasted coconut, butter and syrup. Or if you're feeling really crazy...Peanut Butter!

How's your summer list coming along?

8.12.2011

Painting Tips

Since I'm in the thick of painting, I thought I'd share some awesome tips...


1. A supermarket bag, tightly secured with a rubber band, will keep a brush (or roller) moist for a day or two in between painting sessions. Saran Wrap also works well.


Paintbrush wrapped in plastic bag resting on open can of paint
via


2. Soak gunked-up nylon brushes in hot vinegar for up to 30 minutes to remove paint and soften the bristles. Afterward, wash them in hot, soapy water, brushing off paint as needed, then rinse and let dry—good as new!

cleaning brushes in a bucket of vinegar
via


3. Wrap hardware and doorknobs with foil to keep from getting paint on them.

Foil-covered doorknob protected against paint
via

4. Place a rubber band around the open can so you can wipe the excess paint off the brush and not the side of the can every time you dip.  This keeps the can’s lip clean – no build up of paint to have to clean up.

via
Do you have others to add to this list? Please share!

8.11.2011

4 Months

Our sweet baby girl is 4 months old today.


She laughs at us, grabs onto things and likes to people-watch. She's easy-going and content. We're enjoying her so much! Happy 4 Month Birthday Baby Girl!

8.10.2011

Master Bedroom Redo: Part 2


Painting a ceiling is one of those things that most people don't really notice, but ours really needed it. There had been a small whole (from a hook in the ceiling) that we had patched up, but we were never able to match the original ceiling color. As we've painted the other rooms in the house, we've been painting the ceilings too.

As you can see from the photo above, I wasn't worried about the corners where the wall meets the ceiling. I figured I'll have to cut in the wall color anyway.


The new color is called Creamy White (Olympic brand from Lowe's).

Now that the ceiling is done, the trim is next!

8.09.2011

Master Bedroom Redo: Part 1

As I've mentioned before, we're getting ready to redecorate our Master Bedroom. It's never really ever been "put together." We've spent a lot of time on other areas of the house and the master just kept moving further down on the priority list. It has finally been moved up the list and this week is being dedicated to painting. So, here are the "before" pictures (aka what our bedroom currently looks like):

I started painting the ceiling...I'll update on that tomorrow :)



As you can see, we were experimenting with color on the walls and I'm embarrassed to say that those samples have been there for over a year!!

So, I'm off to do some painting...

8.08.2011

To Do List


Lots of things to get done today, so I'm off to be productive!

Happy Monday!