little things i love

Recent Posts

    • valentine bookmarks

      For the last three years, I’ve made Valentine’s Day bookmarks to give to my girls along with a great book.  Bookmarks are so fun and easy to make – I love them!  I get mine from one of my favorite basic supply companies, Paper Accents.  The girls know they’re coming and have already asked me about theirs for this year, but for now they are safely tucked away with cool old copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Nurse Matilda (the basis for the “Nanny McPhee” movies) that I bought at a local used bookstore.  I leave the flowers and chocolate to Daddy – the bookmarks are something that the girls and I share.  It’s never too late to start a new tradition, and having these little things to look forward to makes our life even sweeter.

    • banana bread

      Another winter weekend is upon us and for my family that means another road trip to Stevens Pass for skiing.  Every Sunday in January and February we head up in the car for what really feels to us like a mini vacation.  Since finding our ski legs, we’ve discovered a great way to cure the winter blues; escaping the gray Seattle weather for clear skies and beautiful slopes makes us so happy.  Right along with fun car music, books on CDs and travel games, banana bread has become part of the ritual.  During the week I actually think about making sure I’m going to have the perfect ripe bananas on hand for my Saturday baking.  I will say that – in a pinch – the pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joes has been a nice substitute, but my family still goes crazy for the original.  There’s nothing like delicious banana bread on the way up so early in the morning and again on the way home, tired and starving after all the hard work.

      This is a great banana bread recipe.  It’s simple to make and impossible to mess up.  Like most of my favorite go-to baking recipes, this one comes from my friend Stephanie.  She got it while visiting her newly married college friend Renee in California.  Stephanie said, “She was making that stuff for her hubby EVERY morning!!”  Seriously, it’s that good.  Make it as soon as possible – you can thank me later!

      Banana Bread

      4 ripe bananas
      1 cup sugar
      1 1/2 cups flour
      Sprinkle of cinnamon
      1/2 teaspoon salt
      1 teaspoon baking soda
      1 egg
      1/3 cup olive oil

      Mix together and pour in a non-greased bread pan.
      Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then 300 degrees for 45 minutes or longer until done.