Makeover!

New blog makeover!

because we all know how much I love fall...

:)

Getting into gear...

We are now on the countdown to the LSAT...

the thought terrifies me, actually.  I know Seth will do great but standardized testing is scary.  I took the GRE two times. Both times I was sweating in my seat...there is just something about them that intimidats the poo outa me...maybe because you're WHOLE future depends on that one score... (alright, maybe that is a little dramatic, but you get the point) 

For those of you who keep up with us, when you have a spare second or two, please pray for Seth.  He has been preparing for several weeks now and I just want him to do the best he can.  He takes is on October 9th. 

Well, I had my first wedding this past weekend.  We left for the NC mountains on Friday around lunchtime and got back around 3am on Sunday morning.  It was so much fun, and everything went very smoothly.  I LOVED every minute of it, and I am so lucky to have a job that I love.  We sure worked VERY hard, but it was worth it because her wedding was beautiful and ran smoothly. 

Here's a funny story that happened though:  On Friday night, after the rehearsal, we went back to our hotel to work on last minute wedding details.  One of those details were the wedding favors.  The "theme" of this wedding was like a Country Fall setting with brown, orange, yellow...all those yummy fall colors.  The wedding took place in an apple orchard in the North Carolina mountains.  It was gorgeous.  So, naturally the wedding favors should be caramel apples, right?!?!  We ordered 100 caramel apples, with cute little brown boxes and their initial on the front of the box.  After assembling the boxes, I started putting the apples in each one.  After about the 20th one, I noticed they smelled kind of sour, so I started looking more closely and found MOLD on every one of them!! All 100 apples were molded.  It was so gross.  Remember, this was the night before the wedding at like 11 o clock at night...seemed to me, there was nothing we could do about it.  So, we unassembled the boxes because we didn't have anything to put in them...no stores were open to get more favors so Jill and I decided we would just forget about it. 

The next morning, Katie (remember, Jill and Katie are my bosses) called and said she found more apples at Walmart! haha, i bet you know what is coming next..

Yep, I reassembled all the boxes and put the new apples in them. Haha, it was funny because we spend so much time putting them together, then taking them apart, and then I put them back together.  But everything worked out, and she had beautiful caramel apples for wedding favors.

We have no more weddings until next year, so these next few months will just be spend with some meetings to discuss preparations etc. 

Seth is working, working, working!!  I am so proud of him.  Even though he works at Chick-fil-a (which is not his dream job, but it puts food on the table) he works so hard to provide for our family.  He was supposed to be off tomorrow, but took someone's shift that really needed off.  He worked overtime last week.  He is such a hard worker.  I'm glad last weekend when I was at the wedding, he had some guys over to stay the weekend, because he sure deserves it.

I am going to post a video pretty soon of Penny.. I don't want to give away anything, so that is all I am saying, but stay tuned.  I also have a story that includes me, Huey, and band-aids...it should make you laugh.

It's almost 2am..goodness.  Night night!

Bringing back middle school days...

So..i found this on a friend's blog and thought I would go back down memory lane and fill out one of these questionnaires like I did a MILLION times in middle school.  Seriously, I would sit at home and fill out those things for hours...sheesh I was a weird kid. 

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:15am
2. Diamonds or pearls? You an usually catch me wearing my pearls on any given day, BUT a big fat diamond is reallly nice too.  :)
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Dinner For Schmucks with the hubby.  It was funny.
4. What is your favorite TV show? HG TV ALL DAY EVERY DAY!  The Office, Food Network, Say Yes to the Dress
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Life Cinnamon cereal, oatmeal, or a fiber one bar.
6. What is your middle name? Hogan...well...Ann.  Kaitlin Hogan Ann Jones.  haha, not really..but on my SS card it says Kaitlin Hogan Jones..but my given name is Kaitlin Ann.
7. What food do you dislike? I pretty much like food. Period.
8. What kind of car do you drive? 2008 Nissan Rogue
9. What characteristic do you despise? Arrogance, clinginess, know-it-all's.
10. Favorite item of clothing? Dresses in any shape or form for EVERY season. I love them!!!
11. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?  British Virgin Islands
12. Where would you retire? I want to live on the lake in a big house with a wrap-around porch with a huge yard for my gradnchildrens to run around in :)
13. What was your most recent memorable birthday? This past year when I turned 22 on my honeymoon! I got to sip margaritas all day long with my hubby of three days!
14. When is your birthday? May 31
15. Morning person or a night person? Neither. I like my sleep! But more of a night than morning person
16. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I am determined to become a "runner"...like more than once a month runner...like a 3-5 days a week runner...we'll see how it goes.
17. What is your favorite flower? Peonies, Zinnas, Gardenias, hydrangeas...i love flowers.
18. What was the last thing you ate? A flat chocolate chip cookie.
19. How is the weather right now? HOT and humid...come on Fall!!!!!!
20. Favorite restaurant? Red Lobster, Bonefish Grill, PF Changs, Chick-fil-a..i love food.
21. What was your favorite toy as a child?BARBIES
22. Summer or winter? There is nothing like a little summer sundress.  SUMMER
23. Chocolate or Vanilla? Double Dark Chocolate...anything and everything chocolate.
24. When was the last time you cried? A few days ago..listening to a sermon.
25. What did you do last night? Went to bible study and made some yummy enchiladas.
26. What are you afraid of? Roaches. I HATE THEM.
27. Salty or sweet? Sweet---I am my mother's daughter!
28. How many years at your current job? Umm..around 2 months. I'm a newbie.
29. Favorite day of the week? Sunday. I love a good sermon, yummy Sunday lunch, and a Sunday nap.
30. Do you make friends easily? I would say so...but i guess you'd have to ask my friends...

So, there you have it. I am now a middle schooler.  And I feel so accomplished now that I wasted twenty minutes of my life..

TO DIE FOR Enchiladas...

Tonight Seth and I went to our first small group with Elevation Church.  We really enjoyed it and the theme for cuisine was Mexican.  I volunteered enchiladas because I made some Sour Cream Enchiladas the other night and they were really yummy.  Well, I decided to try a different recipe because it sounded yummy and was healthier and we LOVED them.  They were seriously some of the yummiest enchiladas ever.  And healthy too!  I found this blog called www.skinnytaste.com and fell in love with it. 

Here is the recipe for the enchiladas I made...taken from www.skinnytaste.com.

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 enchilada • Points: 3 ww pts
Calories: 230 • Fat: 7.3 g • Protein: 20.4 g • Carb: 28.7 g • Fiber: 12.2 g 


Chicken and White Bean Filling:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1/3 can water
• 1 chicken bullion
• 1 tsp cumin

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:

• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth
• 7 oz can chopped green chile
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (I used jarred)
• salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream

• 3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
• 8 medium flour tortillas
• chopped fresh cilantro or scallions (or both!)

Preheat oven to 375°.


For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add green chiles, beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles, jalapenos, and salt to taste. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each tortilla with 1/3 cup of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions.


Man, I want some of these right now!

Enjoy :)

Top ten...

I've been thinking..how incredibly blessed I am.  And I wanted to share that with you...now, I know I'm not old so I still have LOTS more "top ten" moments to experience, but here are mine so far.

The top ten moments in my life as of September 22, 2010

I no particular order:

1. Giving my life to Christ at age 8.

2. Getting my first cat at age 5-I named her Princess...imagine that from a five year old girl. She looked like this:

3. My first day of high school.  I had the cooler older brother a grade ahead of me, so that was always fun.
4. Graduating high school with my best friends.

5.Getting accepting to all of the colleges I applied to, and deciding to attend Texas A&M (Gig 'em!)

 6. Meeting Seth Jones at Centrifuge in 2006. (Below is a photo taken at Fuge)

7.Moving across the country to attend Appalachian State University in 2008.

8. Getting engaged in August of 2009 on top of a mountain.

9. Graduating college in May of 2010.  I'm so thankful my mom and dad could both be there!

10. Marrying the love of my life in May of 2010.

11. Accepting my dream job of a wedding planner in August of 2010 with The Charmed Event. The two lovely ladies on the left are my bosses. :)

Alright, so I added 11..it was one to grow on.

I am lucky.  Thank you Lord, for your love and blessings in my life.

 I must get to bed now..


nighty night!


 

Even Martha Stewart has off days...

So, if you haven't noticed from all the crafts, cooking, and decorating I've been doing, I consider myself a mini Martha Stewart.  Now i know in real life, my abilities to think up incredible craft or recipes don't match hers, but I love looking at her website for inspiration....I've always wondered if she ever burns something while cooking or messes up when decorating.  I'm sure she has to, right?


Let's just say that Penny ate some of our dinner tonight because even SETH JONES wouldn't eat it. Now, if you know Seth..he will eat almost anything...

At least Penny ate it...so here is the story:

When I was grocery shopping the other day, i decided to buy a sweet potato.  Seth loves them but me..not so much.  I wanted to cook it for him because i knew he liked them so i bought one and tried cooking it tonight.  I don't eat them or have never cooked one before so I thought you just cook them like regular potatoes.  Bring water to a boil, cube it, and let it cook until it gets soft.  So, I did just that and then proceeded to mix it with brown sugar, butter..a dash of cinnamon.  But it looked like this:

According to Paula Deen, they should look like this:

Just a tiny difference in the two, right???

Needless to say, Seth did NOT eat them, and we fed them to the doggie.

ANYWAY,

Poor Seth has to get up at 4am to be at work at 5am.  I feel sorry for him because while he is working, I am sleeping our comfy bed and get to sleep as late as I want to! I'm so thankful that he is providing for our little family.  Even if it isn't the best job, he is doing it with his whole heart and working his hardest.  
This verse comes to my mind when I think of how hard Seth works without complaining and with a joyful heart.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, 

as working for the Lord, not for men." -Colossians 3:23

Seth and I got to talking today and I was telling him how I thought he should post once or twice on our blog.  He said that he doesn't really have an interest in blogging, and since I loved doing it so much that I should keep it for myself. Sometimes I feel that my posts are too "female specific" but I guess it's okay.  If you are male though, thanks for reading!  :)  Maybe I'll post once about hunting or fishing...haha that would be interesting to read for sure.

With that being said, I'll show you some more of my recent redo's since I can be as girly as I want!  Here is a tray I got from GW (Goodwill) for .99 cents:

(Sorry for the poor lighting)

Here it is after a coat of paint:

And with some fall decor (because we all know I am kind of obsessed with that):

I looks kind of funky since you can't see the whole room, but it gives the room a nice clean feel with the straight lines and cream paint.

The other day I baked 8 loaves of banana bread...I froze them and whenever I want a loaf, I'll just take it out and thaw it.  I've already eaten so much and have told myself I am not allowed to take another loaf out until next week.  :P

Here is the YUMMMMY recipe I used.  It's from Cooking Light.

Classic Banana Bread

FREE TRIAL - Recipes & More!

Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Jan Gautro

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 2  large eggs
• 1 1/2  cups  mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/3  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

187 (21% from fat)

Fat:

4.3g (sat 2.4g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.3g)

Protein:

3.3g

Carbohydrate:

34.4g

Fiber:

1.1g

Cholesterol:

40mg

Iron:

1mg

Sodium:

198mg

Calcium:

20mg

I looked at other recipes, and they had twice as much fat and about 150 more calories per slice.  This one was so moist and yummy, I will definately be using this one for years.

Speaking of fat...

Huey Cat is fat.  When he got him, he weighed around 8 pounds.  Take a look at this:

12.1 pounds...that is an increase of 4 pounds.  That's a lot for a feline...He is halfway to DOUBLING his body weight.  Sheesh, think about if a human did that.  Say a 120 pound female gained at the same rate Huey has.  In 4 months, she will weigh 60 more pounds.  180 pounds. Haha..crazy!  At least he is happy! 

So everyone...go make that banana bread and tell me how to make sweet potatoes!

Goodnight moon.

My new favorite store: Goodwill

Hello everyone!

I have a story to share:

Before I got married, I would sometimes stop by Goodwill to just see what they had. I rarely got anything but just liked to look at the junk.  Well, when we moved to Cornelius I found a Goodwill (and a good one at that) right down the road from our house.  I went three or four times before I found something I liked, but was very happy with what I found.  Going to a store like this is kind of hit-or-miss.  You have to go and go frequently in order to get some great finds.  Because we all know that great finds don't last long.  Here's an example:

I went a couple weeks ago around 10 in the morning.  I walked in the front doors and spotted this beauty:

Yes, that is a wine refridgerator.  Those things run $250+.  I saw the Goodwill worker take it out of the back and place it onto a shelf.  He plugged it in to show people that it worked...I called my mom debating on whether or not to buy it, she told me to go ahead and purchase it because the price tag read:

Can you believe it?!?!!??!   $25 dollars for an awesome wine fridge.  I figured it I don't really use it now, I will in the future.  So I told my mom I was getting it and proceeded to take the sticker to the check out counter.  If you frequent Goodwill, it's common courtesy that when you want to purchase a large item, you peel off the pricetag and take it to the cashier.  I pulled the tag off and some old grumpy man yelled "I ALREADY BOUGHT IT".  So I left emptyhanded.  It kind of made me grumpy too because he didn't take the tag to the front desk, and he was just standing there staring at it and not taking it to his house!  Oh well..I went back another day and found some pretty great stuff. 

Now, before I show you these items I would like for you to remember this old wise saying:

"One man's junk is another man's treasure"

I'm sure some of you may think i'm crazy for actually spending money on this stuff, but once you see the end result, I hope you'll change your mind.  Here's the bottom line:  I love being crafty, thinking outside of the box, and finding CHEAP stuff.  So..take a gander at what I bought:

1. A ball of lace.  It was actually a frilly window valence that was my most expensive purchase at $1.99..what in the world do you do with one window valence???  I had a few tricks up my sleeve... :)

2. A glass candlestick and a vase...i bought two candle sticks and two vases actually for .50 cent a piece. 

3. Pieces of tile...I spent .99 cents on four of those.

So..for $4.98 I got all of those items and here is what I did with them...

With the lace, I made little rossettes to go on my lampshades in our bedroom.  I LOVE the way they turned out.  Take a look:

I love the lace because it makes for a softer look and coordinates with my Pottery Barn rouched pillow cases that I got at a wedding shower.  I made sure that Seth was okay with me beautifying our lamp shades so that when he walked into our bedroom, he didn't feel like a total girly girl.  He was okay with it.  ;)  I really like the added texture and eye candy.  Also, the wreath above our bed is made out of the pages of an old book.  I am not completely done with it, but wanted to see what it looked like above my bed.  I liked it there.

So, that's what I did with the lace...here is what I did with the 2 glass candlesticks and vases:

I made my own hurricanes (if you don't know what a hurricane is, it's a fancy word for a glass container on a pedistool that holds neat things).  Pottery Barn has them here and look at that price!  I made mine for $2 total...one of theirs like around $40. I filled one with wheat that I got while walking Penny one evening and the other with pinecones...you know, to celebrate fall.

Fall is being celebrated at our house in lots of ways.  I love it.

And lastly, those ugly tiles...here is the transformation:

I just painted fleur-des-lis one them and made coasters out of them..we have been needing some more, but I didn't want to spend $10-15 dollars on decent ones..these will get the job done for .99 cents!  (Notice the red one..i freehanded that one and decided for the rest of them I should probably trace..haha)

That's what has been going on in the Jones' household...I 

have been Mrs. Crafty and Seth has been watching tennis all day.  He was so excited because his favorite woman player took the title of U.S. Open Champion:  Kim Clijsters

He has a major crush on her. 

Oh yeah, here is another thing I made the other day.  My own topiary...I got moss, the pot, a dowel rod and balled up newspaper for this one..I like the end result.  These are also for sale at Pottery Barn for around $25 dollars..i'm sure they look a little better than this one, because I slacked off towards the end but I spent around $5 on this one.  I should have used a smaller pot..

 

and MORE fall decorating!  I got this frame from a wedding shower, the vintage keys from my mom (which are WAY in style, apparently..Here is proof)

I previously had a blue and white plant holder with some fake greenery on the top..now I framed the keys in front of leaves I gathered from the yard.  I placed some wheat in front with a few corks on the top...

And now for the last project for the evening (I need to get to sleep!)  I finally made my own pillows using this great tutorial. I made the pillow cases out of a Burlap-esque fabric from Hobby Lobby...

I made the "S" and "K" pillows.  The letters were hot glued on with the remaining lace from the other project.  I added a rossette to each one..I was initially going to paint our initials on them, but got really nervous in fear of messing up, so even though this may not be as cute as paint, I liked the result, nontheless. 

 

Adorned with Huey Cat

Aren't hubby and kitty cat cute?

Well, I'm about to fall over from exhaustion...Seth and I are trying out a new church tomorrow in Uptown Charlotte..we are really excited to see how it is.  Tomorrow is also our monthly DEEP CLEAN day.  It's the first time we've actually had a list to go by and that we've set aside an afternoon to do it..but I hope it becomes monthly...now, don't get me wrong: I clean my house more than once a month, but DEEP CLEAN takes it to a whole new level! Stay tuned for pictures of hubby scrubbing the floors and toilets!!!

OH! And more recipes coming soon...garlic lime Cajun shrimp, chocolate chip banana bread, HOMEMADE laundry detergent...

Goodnight!

Fall Festivities...

Whose beautiful fall wreath is that, you might ask? 'tis mine!


I don't know about you but fall is officially here in the Jones' household.  I spent the better part of my afternoon decorating my house.That wreath adorning our front door is homemade! I am quite proud of it. I saw tons of them that look almost the exact same at Michaels for around $25-40 dollars...I spent a grand total of $6.00 and some change on that one.  I like it a lot. I may take the pumpkin off...haven't decided yet, but for now, it'll stay.  All I did was get the leaves, flowers, and pumpkins from The Dollar Tree, the pinecones were from Goodwill for .50 cents or so and the  twig wreath (or whatever you call it) was 3.00 from Michaels. I had a 50% off coupon. I will definitely be hanging that up every fall... Wreaths make the front door feel so homey and inviting.  :)


What else did I do?  Well..I also got some brown placemats and red napkins from The dollar tree...for REALLY cheap! Yes, they may not be the best quality but I am not going to use the napkins at dinnertime. They are just for looks.  Here is a few photos of our dinner table:

(I kept the tags on the chargers on purpose..I am not that tacky, i just haven't decided if I am keeping them or not!) :P

Does it look fall enough for you?  I LOVE that I registered for white dinner plates because they are good to decorate with for any season! AND I can use the red napkins for Christmas time as well!!

I don't really know why I get so excited about decorating..but I guess it's alright to. Seth has tennis, and I have decorating.  Here is our end table in the living room..I got those pumpkins for $1.50 from Goodwill!!


It may look like I spend a lot of money on decor, but really it's all from either Goodwill or The Dollar Tree!  I love saving money and I think it looks great!


Here are a few recipes that I've tried the past few days..they are really yummy and easy to make!


I got it from crockpot365.blogspot.com

Chicken Parmesan CrockPot Recipe

The Ingredients:

--2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

--1/2 cup bread crumbs

--1/4 cup parmesan cheese

--1/2 t Italian Seasoning (I ran out, so I used Mrs. Dash)

--1/4 t black pepper

--1/4 t kosher salt

--1 T olive oil

--1 beaten egg

--sliced mozzarella cheese

--favorite jarred marinara sauce (I used Ragu spaghetti sauce)

The Directions:

--spread the 1 T of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert

--whip the egg with a fork in a separate bowl

--mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the parmesan cheese in another separate dish

--dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings

--place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crock

--layer 2-3 slices of mozzarella cheese on top

--cover with entire jar of marinara sauce

--close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4. If your chicken is still frozen, it will take longer.

Serve with your favorite pasta.

Seth and I gobbled it up! It was really yummy and so tender! I will definitely make it again.

Here is a recipe that I cooked tonight called Cornbread Taco Casserole.  Seth and our friend Allen said it was really good too.  I'm not sure if they were just making me feel good, but I'll take their word anyway!

Cornbread Taco Casserole

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (For a healthier option, I used ground turkey and it was delicious!)
1 can cream corn
1 packet taco seasoning
1 box cornbread mix
2/3 cup salsa
1 onion 

1 cup water
1 can black beans
1 cup shredded cheese


Preheat oven to 375.
Mix cream corn, cornbread mix and 1/2 cup water in small bowl.
Spread mixture into bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes and then remove.
Cook meat with onion, drain well.
Add 1/2 cup water and taco seasoning and simmer until water is absorbed.
Add salsa and black beans to meat and mix well.
Spoon meat mixture over cornbread evenly. Top with cheese.
Cover and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles.

Enjoy!

Also, the other day at Harris Teeter, I picked up 15 bananas for 50 cents! I decided it was time for me to bake some yummy banana bread.  I started looking for recipes online and noticed that they were somewhat high in calories.  I finally found one that I LOVE! I will forever be using this recipe from now on.  It's from the Cooking Light website.

Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf, 14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 2  large eggs
• 1 1/2  cups  mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
• 1/3  cup  plain low-fat yogurt
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.


Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.


Since I had so many dadgum bananas, I Quadrupled this recipe. I made 6 loaves regular and two with chocolate chips.  I stuck all but one loaf in the freezer and they should last a while since Seth doesn't eat Banana bread..he is allergic to bananas!

Yes, that IS a cat platter that my sweet meme got for me.  haha, it's adorable

I will post the pumpkin bread recipe when I figure out what the heck I did with it.


But yes, as you can tell, fall is here..whether the weather wants to cooperate is another story.  I took Penny outside this morning around 10 and it felt PHENOMENAL. Then it got up to around 90 this afternoon...I'm still waiting for those 70 degree days...they will come with time, i am sure.


What's the plan for the weekend?  We actually have none yet...a cookout at our place was talked about amongst a few of us Charlotteans <--is that the right word?  Or is is Charlottites? Either way..we may grill out on Saturday or Sunday..and of course we will be watching the Final of the U.S. Open and some football...other than that, not much.  


We are visiting a new church on Sunday called Elevation church.  It's in Uptown Charlotte.  Don't really know the different between uptown and downtown, but it looks like this:

I googled uptown and downtown Charlotte and it gave me the same photos..


We are excited to find a church home here in the Charlotte area. We've heard good things about Elevation church..we will see.


It's time for me to get in bed! I have lots of stuff to get done tomorrow for work.  Addressing postcards, cutting ribbon, gluing papers on paper bags..etc.  Our first wedding is in 15 days so I am getting the decor stuff ready to go.  Seth works tomorrow until 2 and then I think we may just take it easy..we will probably make a trip to Barnes and Noble and take Penny for her evening stroll.


Have a Happy Happy Friday!