Monday, August 20, 2012

more raspberries.

I still had some leftover raspberries so I decided to FINALLY make the raspberry banana bread recipe that I found. It also is considered a "skinny" recipe, which I'm not sure if that is really that true. 

I worked all day in my classroom and got SO much done! I can't wait to share the pictures once it is all done :) I made a lot of my stuff this year and laminated all of it so I won't have to do it again for quite awhile. I didn't use a lot of my stuff from last year because I had no idea if I would even have a job this year! SOOOOOOOO glad I can finally say I am good with a job for awhile :). 

So back to the banana bread! I used just frozen raspberries that I had. The recipe also called for applesauce and I've never baked with that. It really was good in the bread! 

Here is the recipe

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps cinnamon
2 large ripe bananas
2/3 cup of all natural applesauce (I used strawberry flavor.)
2 eggs
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 tsp of v anilla
2/3 cup of frozen organic raspberries
All natural raspberry jam (optional, but recommended)
Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar and salt together. Whisk the eggs, vanilla, oil, smashed bananas and applesauce together until smooth. Mix in the raspberries and then stir in the dry ingredients. Pour into a 9×5 pan coated with cooking spray. I topped with about 1/3 cup of all natural raspberry preserves and “swirled” it around. Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour or until your fork comes out dry. Let the bread cool and then shake onto a plate. (It may be helpful to loosen the sides first)
I used Jams, Jellies, and More Raspberry Rhubarb jam where it called for jam. That's probably where the "skinny" can go out of the recipe! For some reason the bottom o the bread got stuck on the pan. I was pretty disappointed because I felt like I used enough Pam. Oh well, just because it doesn't look great DOES NOT mean it doesn't taste great!


Still looks good even if it is missing the bottom :).

Anybody have any good "skinny" recipes??

Saturday, August 18, 2012

one day we'll decide to be adults.

What a beautiful morning. I love waking up where it's a little bit crisp in the morning. It says fall is on its way! My favorite season! This morning I decided to be a nice girlfriend and make some breakfast! I recently got some whole wheat pancake mix to try out. I also had some frozen raspberries in my freezer that I am going to use to make some skinny raspberry banana bread (hopefully tomorrow...). 

It turned the batter pink and smelled amazing!


YUM! Can't tell how pink they really were! 

I put good use to my new placemats and napkins :)


Don't mind the garbage on the floor... I was taking off all of the wrapping from the frames from IKEA! One day Tony and I will be adults and use a kitchen table... or maybe one day when we have room for a kitchen table! I'm already itching to move and we've only been in our apartment for 4 months... 

I finally put one of my Very Jane  purchases in the frame!


Not sure where it's going to go... I wanted to get another photo ledge at IKEA but OF COURSE they didn't have it in black until the next day. Oh well... looks like I'll have to go back. I know my mom would love to go as well :).

Well today I plan on attempting to laminate some of my stuff for my classroom and then headed out for dinner with a friend.




Friday, August 17, 2012

if only money grew on trees.

Yesterday I went to IKEA with my mom. YES! Only the best place in the world! Seriously if I had more money I probably would've gone crazy, but being the end of the summer that isn't quite the case. I really didn't need much of anything, but made away with more! 


I needed frames so I really bad. Because they are SO cheap there I stocked up! They are actually excellent quality too!


I also got this $20 rug! I could not believe it was that cheap. I mean, I know this rug probably isn't the BEST quality, but we just had to get rid of the one we were using so this came in just at the right price! 


I got some very cute dish towels as well. Maybe these will help me get back into baking cupcakes. Just haven't gotten there quite yet... I think I just need to find some new recipes to try out! Looks like Todd decided to photobomb this picture too! What a crazy cat :)


I got some cute bird napkins (who would've known they had bird napkins?!) and some placemats because Tony and I always eat on the coffee table in our living room so now maybe we (me) can try to keep it a little cleaner!


I got more frames and these cute prints that they had for $0.99. I have a hard time passing things up that are that cheap! I decided to throw them in some frames and put them in my classroom.

We then decided to stop at an outlet mall and I didn't find too much other than this dress..


Loooooooove! It's so cute and wasn't too expensive either which is always a plus!

I got some stuff at Target as well... well because I LOVE Target. One of my favorite places to go :)


A cute maxi dress (which I'm thinking of wearing for my friend's rehearsal dinner). $14.99!


Some more plain V-necks so I can make some more shirts with the embroidery around the neck.


And these cute scarves!

Overall, it was a great day and I didn't feel like I spent TOO much. I just love being able to spend time with my mom and we are a pretty good shopping team! We literally shop until we drop! I was soooo tired today when I had to get up for work this morning. Good thing I may have to take just a little nap for like 5 minutes :)






Wednesday, August 15, 2012

it came from a candle.

So first off... NO I'M NOT ENGAGED... let me just start there because when you see this ring you may have thought different.

So first off... let me say sorry for not  blogging like I should be. Nothing exciting is happening right now... just getting my classroom ready... and summer school...

I bought a Groupon for one of these Diamond Candles I have been seeing. It was $15 for the Groupon so I basically spent $15 for this soy candle. Not too bad considering how huge these candles are. I got the Cozy Cabin scent and I feel bad saying this... but it smells... bad. Not a fan at all of the smell. So, I decided to light this sucker because I say the ring and it was about 3 inches from the top so I figured it wouldn't take too long to burn to get down there. Well... then this happened...


Those silver things sticking out of the candle are... scissors. I just couldn't wait to see if I got the $10, $100, $1000, or the $5000 ring. I had to fish it out! So basically I dug in the candle with scissors until I got to the PRIZE!


WOO HOO! The $5000 ring!! Or so I was wishing. Blah... pretty sure it was a $10 ring. Let me tell you though... it looks real :) and funny thing is it is the same shape of diamond I like!


Looks pretty good right?! I think it's the perfect size ;) juuuuuust kidding! It's pretty darn big. I really did think that I had potential of getting the $5000 ring! I hate that, when you think that you actually won something. Like everytime I play the lottery... I always think "Okay... this is the time I'm going to win big". It still has never happened...

So let me just say one more time so I have NO ONE asking me... No... I'm not engaged. That's all I need!

Another one of my Very Jane products came today. This one is CUTE! Can't wait to use them!


So cute and so cheap! Little notepad! I love it and I'm very happy with the way it turned out :) I should be receiving more items soon.. or I hope!

I'm headed to IKEA tomorrow with my mom.. YES!!!! CANNOT WAIT. Stay tuned for some good blogs soon (hopefully...). 

Here are some things I'm hoping to blog about...

Trip to IKEA
My weight-loss body wrap
Banana Raspberry Bread (skinny!)
The removing of my extensions :(
and...
One of my best friend's weddings!!

Got some good stuff coming up! I'm off to (attempt) clean. Let's just say I've had a small pile of coffee ground on the carpet for almost a week. UGH! I hate cleaning!





Wednesday, August 8, 2012

online shopping is destroying me.

Man... this online shopping biz is killing me (not really mom and dad... just over exaggerating. I'm not going broke or anything like that). A friend from work recently introduced me to this website veryjane. You must check it out! But don't say I didn't warn you... you will become addicted. They have new deals everyday and everyday there is SOMETHING that I usually want. The good thing about it is the deals are relatively cheap! Most of it (if not all??) is handmade, which I really love. 

I have received a few of my purchases so far. The first purchase I made a cute print. I've been into my photo ledge lately and finally added pictures. I thought this would be a nice touch, however... I ran out of room! Good thing my mom and I are going to IKEA next week (favorite place EVER!). I will have to pick up another one of these ledges. I absolutely love them. Anyways... I ordered this print and you could pick out the background color which is great because I'm trying to go with a black/gray theme. 




I also ordered some washi tape. I have never heard about until Pinterest (weird... I know. Me.. Pinterest?). It is made of a rice paper I believe, but is very cute! A lot of people use it to wrap presents, but I got it to use with my planner. Which I haven't blogged about how I will be using circle stickers and washi tape to help organize it... that blog will be coming when I start work in the fall.


I ordered some other things that should be coming within the next month so I will post about these products once I receive them!

Another online shopping site I'm obsessed with is Groupon. I'm a big fan of Groupon Goods. I blogged about my purchase of a body wrap! I will be doing my body wrap closer to the wedding I'm in at the end of my month and blogging about my results (if any ;) ). I also ordered tranquility bracelets that I love! I ordered them in black and white and received my black beads today! 


So... online shopping is really not destroying me... I just say it gives me something to blog about :)

What website is your downfall for online shopping?

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

gettin' crafty.

I've been on a little bit of DIY stint lately. I most recently made a magnetic make-up board. I have the problem of my make-up being shoved in a bag and covered in powder or blush. I also notice that it is so hard to find anything too. I saw a ton of these going around Pinterest and decided I needed to try it!

I got fabric and magnets and was just going to use an old pan that I had because it was looking pretty gross. After I had it all done, I decided I was NOT into it. It did not look that cute at all. I don't think that it the magnets would've worked either.

I went to Hobby Lobby to get some other stuff that I needed and found a frame that had a magnetic board already in it. I was going to buy a frame and then go to Home Depot to get a metal board until I ran into this little number. It was 50% off too! Even better when things are one sale :)


I still used my leftover fabric and wrapped it around the magnetic board because I am obsessed with this Ikat design! It also matched the frame perfect!

I then hot glued all of my make-up with magnets and put them on the board. I also wanted to revamp my brushes because they were getting ruined in my bag. I got 2 vases from the Dollar Tree and those glass pebble things (?) also from the Dollar Tree! They are very accessible now and are in a lot better shape!



I love the way it looks. Now I just need my own area (maybe a 2nd bathroom) where I can have all my stuff. I don't think that Tony likes having all my "crap" all over the bathroom! I've been reading a blog and her little vanity area is amazing! That is one stipulation when looking for a new place to live one day!


How do you keep your bathroom "crap" organized?!

Monday, August 6, 2012

up in the U.P.

Wow... clearly I have been slacking on the blog. I can't help I spent that last month on Pinterest and trying to recreate some of that stuff! Oh... and also watching my daily TV shows... Live with Kelly... The View... The Chew... and then 3 hours of Grey's Anatomy... I can't help I have a very busy schedule. ;) But now... it's back to summer school for the next two weeks.

Before summer school though, Tony and I were able to get away for a long weekend to my cottage where my grandparents live in the summer WAAAAAAAAY up in the U.P. and right on Lake Superior. We got to go with my sister and her family. It takes a good four hours to get there and it even switches to eastern time zone which always messes with me! We left Thursday afternoon and drove up there and got some pizza and got to our cottage at about 8. We lounged around and watched the Olympics (which I am VERY obsessed with!!). 

The next day, Tony and I headed into a nearby town which is about 20 minutes away. It is absolutely beautiful up there. We started by going to a great local restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat. They have a brewery there so Tony and I decided to try some of it. 

We then did a little bit of shopping around the area and stopped at another local brewery. They do have some pretty good stuff up there!



It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy weather that wasn't 100 degrees! It was at most like 74 out when we were up there. It was beautiful weather!

I have been craving frozen yogurt so we found a little place that had some! Unfortunately, it wasn't like my Smart Cow experience where they have 12 different fro-yos and like 30 toppings... but I settled for blueberry fro-yo and granola. It was still very tasty :)




We went back to our cottage and had some dinner and decided to have a bonfire. I always loved going to the beach and having a bonfire when I was little. The best part is when you walk out of our cottage it's the beach and water! Check out the view...


It's so beautiful up there! 


My mini fire I made.. next to the big one of course! 


This was the ONLY picture of the sunset that Tony took and it was a picture for his company Twitter... obviously with the posed Routine Baseball sweatshirt haha. He's too much :)

We ended the night playing some cards and watching the Olympics (duh!). 


Overall, it was such a nice weekend away. My little niece and nephew ended up getting very sick so my sister and her family had to head home early :( poor kiddos...

I am making a goal to start blogging more! I have some great projects to share too that I have been working on. 

Where's your favorite place to go for a relaxing trip?






Wednesday, August 1, 2012

surprises.

I can't believe how long I haven't blogged! I went through a phase where I thought no one was reading it... until I had a few people ask why I haven't been blogging! Always a good feeling. Well... I was pretty busy planning a SURPRISE party for my wonderful boyfriend. Tony and one of his friends started a business nine months ago from TODAY! His partner's finance and I planned a great party to celebrate the unbelievable success of their company. We had it at a local bar and had drinks and food. I can easily say I was beyond stressed out and nervous. All I wanted was for Tony to be surprised. 

So we (okay... they) started the day by going golfing. A little guys day, it was perfect! The girls then quickly ran over to the bar to do a little bit of decorating. Nothing over the top because we were running behind. The guys thought we were going to a winery, little did they know!




The standing banner was a huge pain in the butt to put together... but we finally figured it out and it looked awesome! The place also had an outdoor patio where we ended up spending a lot of the night because it was a beautiful night!

After we rushed home got ready, the girls and I went to the restaurant for our reservations. The restaurant was about 2 blocks from the party so it was a good way to get the guys close to the party. We went to a sushi place and the guys met us there and could not figure out why we were rushing so much. They were still clueless and we ate our dinner (fast) and were on our way to the party.



 I told Tony we had to stop by a birthday party for a friend from work. They weren't completely into it, but we finally got there. Tony had to get some money out from the ATM so Michelle and I quickly ran upstairs and saw that everyone was off to the side so you couldn't see anyone when you walked in. We joined the group and waited for the guy to walk in. When they did, they were stunned and looked quite confused. I wish I would have gotten some good pictures. They were both stunned and I was so excited because they were soooo surprised!

It took about a minute to figure out what was going on and then we started the party! My family ended up coming to we got some great pictures :)


My beautiful mom and sister :)

We had such a great time. SO many people ended up coming, some from even far away! I am so proud of Tony and I know sometimes he may not realize it. I'm just so glad that he finally has a job that he really enjoys and he works so hard at it. I can't believe their success so far and couldn't be happier for him. 

My best friend.

More exciting news today... I finally received my contract and signed it! It's so good to know I have a job more than just one year!