Banana Cake

In honor of my mother, I am sharing a recipe for banana cake. She always made this to go to my dad's family reunion. Several family members asked for it again and again...so...yes, Nancy, I will continue with the tradition.

In the mixing process. It isn't this yellow, but you know how lighting and cell phone cameras are...


1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup lt. brown sugar
2 eggs
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup buttermilk

Cream this all together. Gently add:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking soda
-1/2 cup nuts are optional-

Bake in a non-stick 9 x 13 cake pan (or use nonstick spray) at 350 degrees for approx. 40 minutes.

Cool cake completely and then frost. Mom always used a buttercream frosting to appease Dad, but I prefer a cream cheese frosting. This is even tasty with a light chocolate frosting. To each his own!
Enjoy however you make it!
~jan

PS. Nancy...which frosting do you prefer?

She Loves Green!

Since moving into our home two years ago, I have changed my daughters room three times. Our current color palatte...neon green and turquoise. This is what Miss H's room looked like before...


Here is the during process...


and this is the new room with a few things left to do.


I wasn't too sure how it would turn out but I just went with what the adorable three-year old chose and I must say she has some fun taste. Nice choice baby girl...
Amanda

Facing Anxieties

I like to think that I Fear No Craft! (Because I am very {brave}, you see.)

I admit I have been a tiny bit apprehensive (not scared!) about a few aspects of quilting. Pinwheels and free-motion quilting. They just look scary intimidating!

I decided to combine them into one project, and get over it. 

Ms. Amanda's little girl had a birthday recently, and I made a little doll quilt for her with this pattern. 


This pattern ends up being 18x18, and I made it entirely out of scraps. 

Pinwheels? Piece o' cake. Free-motion quilting? So fun! 

I will be doing both of these again very soon, and now I'm looking for something else that frightens bothers me to try out! 

My daughter tries out the quilt... guaranteed to keep even the chilliest of dollies cozy!

<3 AmberLou

Eric's Adventures in Baking

My Sweet Baboo needed a dessert for an event at his job not long ago, and I encouraged him to make a cake himself. He freaked out a bit, but I assured him he was capable and that I'd make sure he didn't burn down the house or break anything important.

Starting with a boxed chocolate cake mix, he mixed it according to the package directions.

Next, he folded in a can of cherry pie filling and a cup of chocolate chips. (please ignore the recycling next to the mixer how embarrassing!). Then he baked it in a bundt pan, and I helped him make a chocolate glaze for it.

It turned out beautiful and was extremely tasty. Next time we'll try a lemon poppyseed cake, just for fun.

See honey, that wasn't so hard, was it?

He Can Sew!

My son had a teen-living class last trimester. One assignment was to sew a pillowcase, which he put off until the last day of the tri. So he was whipping one out under pressure at the last critical minute - he has a habit of this and I hide my face in shame to say he came by this unfortunate trait quite honestly.

His only requirments were to make one to actually fit a pillow he owned, use a straight seam, a zig-zag seam and iron open the seams and the finished project.

So here he is... Sewing his straight seam.

Measuring his hem. He had to improvise because his unorganized mom couldn't find her seam gauge. He was appalled he couldn't just 'eye-ball it'. (Another bad inherited trait - yikes)

Ironing the finished product. You can see his very straight zig-zag top-stitching done in white.

His precise measuring and slow guided stitching paid-off! His teacher raved about his great job and was so frustrated with him when she found out this wasn't the first sewing project he had done. But seriously, he is 15 and so very cool, how would that have looked to admit that in class with his posse (and harem) looking on?

Happy Sewing!
~jan