Banana Bread Muffins

My grandmother Reagan was a great cook (and a fantastic seamstress as well).
Here is her recipe for the best banana bread I have ever had. It is so moist, and becomes more so with each passing day. For all I know this recipe came from a cook book, but my copy says that it came "from the kitchen of Mimi"

1 1/2 t. baking soda
2c. sugar
3 c. all purpose flour sifted
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter softened
2 eggs
3 bananas mashed w/ 1/8 t. of salt, and 1 T. lemon juice mixed in.

Disolve baking soda into the sour cream and set aside.
In a mixer, cream sugar and butter, then add eggs one at a time, until blended well.
In a separate bowl, using a fork mash bananas, with salt and lemon juice.
Add the sour cream mixture to the mixer, and blend well, then add banana mixture and blend well, then add the sifted flour, and yes, blend well.

Set your oven on 325, and bake in a greased bread/muffin pan.
This recipe makes two loaves, or 24 muffins.
If making loaves, bake about one hour, if muffins, then about 25 minutes.
Let them rest for a few minutes, and then turn out onto a cookie rack.
If you like serve them warm with butter. They will keep in an air tight container for several days, if they last that long.
Ours never seem to make it more than a few days.

A few crafty projects that I've been up to lately.

Drew and I have been without a bed frame ever since May. We had been using Foof's colonial four-poster bed for the past two years. But ever since she decided to up and get married, she thought that she and her new husband would like to use the bed in question. Being as it was that her new husband had gotten his set of mattresses out of a dumpster, where the previous owners had discarded them, we begrudgingly gave it back. Well... actually we gave it back with gratitude for letting us use it. All the while secretly hoping that wherever they moved, the frame wouldn't fit and they would let us use it again.
But it fit.

( note: Drew was the man behind this project with all the drilling and sawing and what not)

All that say, while the bed is a beautiful bed, it was a little more traditional than I prefer. I had been talking with my friend Lizzy, about the mechanics of making a headboard that would be a little more modern to fit our taste and I came up with this, and I LOVE it!

A purple fall coat for Parkey.


A "little longer" apple skirt for Sadie Parker as well.

I love both of these fabrics and couldnt pass them up.
This was the first time I have made pockets, they were a lot easier than I thought they would be.
I fahioned them after the pockets on one of SP's little signature Lilly Pulitzer shift dress.
(oh to be Lilly and have invented one of the cutest lines of clothing there ever was)

Welcome Fall.

Of course its not officially fall until you paint and glitter your pumpkin with a good friend...

(notice how some of us think that paint must taste good!)

And an after-you-paint-and glitter-your-pumpkin Jeep ride.

summer time close out.

With the closing of summer, and with cooler weather on its way (yay!).
I was thinking that there were a few events that weren't blogged about, that were worthy of a farewell to summer.

Drew took Parkey hiking this past May in the Smokey Mountains.
It was a full on Dora the Explorer adventure.
Here is the "map" they followed so that they would know which way to go.

Apparently Parkey hitched a ride part of the way.

Studying the real map, and wondering where the pictures are that tell you which way to go.

The final destination, a stream which they had a picnic by, and then played in afterwords.

Next to the stream were a ton of butterfly's. Sadie Parker had a great time trying to pick them up, and chasing them as they flew around.

Here is a short video of a successful butterfly hold.

Quotes

SP: (patting her head)
Mama, my hair feels like that stuff the girl on Sesame Street was eating....

Me: Oh, yes... what was she eating?

SP: That stuff you ate on Halloween, it was pink and big.

Drew: Cotton candy?

SP: YES! my hair feels like cotton candy!

Birthday thoughts.

This birthday has been sad for me. I wanted to celebrate big, but I was overwhelmed with thoughts of Lilah Burch. And not knowing the best way to help, I spent my time in prayer, and crying out to the Lord for her healing. I ask you all to do the same.

Here are some pictures that represent this birthday for me.
My sweetest friend and my craziest friend Rosie, sent me this beautiful necklace.
It is on a scrabble letter "E." Obviously for Emily.
It is really cool, and they have all sorts of pictures and chains to choose from, it makes a great gift.



Here are some PJ's I have been working on for Parkey.
Kimono style.

Here she is showing you the matching waist band.

These are the first pair that I had made, but they are a size to big. So I scaled the second pair (the ones above) so that they would fit her better. But these are just as wearable.

I have saved the best for last, this is my birthday gift.
It was a great surprise gift from Drew. Now, he didn't pick it out, but he is the one who told me to go and get a new machine. My old (1 1/2 year old) machine just wasn't cutting it anymore.
It was a great machine, but the more I sewed, the more features I was wanting in a machine that mine just didn't have. So this is the one I landed on. And let me tell you. I LOVE IT!
But here is the best part of all. When I went to go and pick up this machine, I brought my old one with me to have serviced, and while I was there a lady was wanting to buy a introductory machine for her daughter. She and I started talking and she bought my old one from me on the spot! It was so fun and it just made getting my new machine all the more enjoyable.

Thats about it for me now.
I think I see a sushi dinner in my future.

oh yes.....

Happy cinnamon-roll- birthday to me!

(This is what awaited me this morning when I woke up, sweet drew and sp baked last night while I was out. I love my family!)

Lilah Burch

On Saturday, our sweet, sweet friends the Paul and Gina Burch were told that there 7 week old daughter, Lilah, has some serious heart issues. Three to be exact. They need your prayers, and your petitions to the Lord on Lilah's behalf. Please visit their blog, and read more about the exact information, which is bound to change soon, the more they find out about what Lilah's conditions really are. We are wrought with sadness for them, but oh so hopeful that the God of the universe can heal and provide just what Lilah, and her family need.
I ask that you all please pray without ceasing for them.

lemonade shirt

A new reversible pinafore for little miss sadie parker

Thanks to Joy, I was able to find this fabric on a website.
As well as the pattern.
I love it!

I think that I will make some for the holidays with matching pants.
These are really cute with long sleeve shirts underneath too.
So it technically could be worn year round.

new favorite game.....

For some reason or another, this has been the girls new favorite "game".

Ruby will grab a big 'ole hunk of Parkey's hair and just yank it to no end.

You might think that this would elicit yelps of pain from Parkey, but quite the contrary, it actually invokes belly laughter, from both of the girls.

Here is Ruby with her reward.
A mass of curly hair.

Never to early to start

The other day when Parkey was hanging out with my mom, they decided that she needed her nails painted. So that is exactly what happened. It was impromptu, otherwise you all know that I I would have been there, no question. But here is the picture of the event. Parkey sat very still and was so enamored by the whole process....

And of course the end result was pretty little pink fingernails.

Our time in Memphis....

We spent the last few days in Memphis with Drew's family and our dear friend the Myatt's. Sadie Parker wanted to live with Hud at his Memphis house, and cried and whined for about an hour after we left his house to go home. We had to entice her with another trip where we would stay longer in the near future.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Kenneth, aka Deedah, was able to meet Ruby for the first time.
He is still recovering from his open heart surgery, but he was able to "play" with the girls some.

We went to meet Nana at work where they have an amazing carousel. So of course Sadie Parker was more than happy to be there with her. She decided to ride the ostrich for some odd reason.

We were able to spend some time with Aunt Sarah, who is newly engaged to Mr. Clay.
It was so fun to hear all her plans for their wedding. She also asked Parkey to be a flower girl, and she immediately accepted. However she was very particular about what kind of dress she would wear in the wedding. One without sleeves and shoulders, only armpits. Translation... sleevless. I dont know where this comes from.

Nana and sweet Rubes.
Poor thing, we schlept her around all over the place, and she was great. But constantly tired.
She has made up for it once we were home.

Kenneth really took to Ruby, she was more his speed, since Parkey was all over the place.

Drew, the girls and his dad.

Uncle Grant was there as well. He had been there for around two weeks to help out Kenneth. He is great with the girls. He had the "privileged" of riding with us from Memphis to Nashville, where his flight was leaving from. The girls were actually really great in the car for that leg of the trip, and it was selfishly good to have Grant to ourselves for a little while.