friday five.

{one.}

on tuesday, i went to jason's deli & got a sandwich to go. i have no idea why on earth this made such a significant impact on my week, but their zucchini grilini just did it for me. 

"roasted zucchini, organic spinach, red onions, roma tomatoes, roasted red pepper hummus, toasted on 9-grain artisan bread. served with organic blue corn chips & salsa."

that excerpt is taking straight from their website and i'm not sure i'll ever go there without getting this again. oh, and i added turkey. i'm a meat girl - vegetarian doesn't do it for me. good job jason. two thumbs up. 

{two.}

it snowed in charlotte. and i'm sure this is part of five hundred other people's five on friday - unless they live in atlanta; which really was absolutely horrifying. but here in charlotte, we enjoyed it. 

front yard. 

side yard. 

it started coming down on tuesday around 4pm in the uptown area and kept on all through out the night. driving to work was pretty iffy the next day. check out these sketchy roads! 

regardless, it's something about the snow that's so magical and brings out the kid in everyone.

{three.}

these pants from h&m.

i have been searching everywhere for some burgundy/plum colored jeans. and i'm glad i got them when i did as they are now sold out! i seriously think i almost would qualify for a blogging advertisement for them, but i promise i am not getting compensated for this. the online store didn't even have my correct size! i got a size bigger in hopes that by washing and drying them, they will shrink a bit. don't all pants do that? here's to my finger's being crossed. 

{four.}

so i'm up to date with all the newest country/hip hop/alternative songs on the radio. my musical taste ranges from my beloved taylor swift to 2 chainz to the fray to luke bryan to j cole to switchfoot to eric church to beyonce to imagine dragons to macklemore. 

but last night i was unwinding from the day's stress and just listened to my christian songs while i lit some candles and just reflected on life. seriously, i just sat in the dimly light bedroom and listened to these songs below as the boys watched some guy movie in the living room. to me, that is one of the most relaxing things. i'd like to share with y'all a couple of my favorites. give them a listen in the links to youtube if you want.

before the morning by josh wilson

blessed be the name by chris tomlin

god gave me you by dave barnes {the original version and it's way better. sorry blake.}

god of wonders by third day

i can only imagine by mercy me 

i need a miracle by third day

lift me up by the afters

sound of your voice by third day

how he loves by dave crowder band

what faith can do by kutless
i will follow by chris tomlin

trust in jesus by third day

untitled hymn (come to jesus) by chris rice

light up the sky by the afters

you can tell i really like third day. another band i love is tenth avenue north. i hope to see them live someday. the following songs are by them. 

some of my favorites include:

losing

worn

you are more

healing begins

strong enough to save

grace

i hope you get something out of them like i do all the time. thank you Lord for your blessings.

{five.}

the following products which i use on the daily. 

healthy sexy hair's soy tri-wheat leave in conditioner 

this actually came as a sample in my ipsy bag and i'm obsessed. i must go buy. this makes my hair unbelievably soft. 

clean & clear's deep cleaning astringent

lee and i got this in our stocking for christmas. and i will forewarn you - this burns on your skin. i don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but after it dries, my skin is so soft. it also removes all the extra makeup/dirt/oil that regular face wash doesn't get. which brings me to...

cetaphil face wash & face lotion

y'all this is the least expensive, less glamorous, everyday face wash i've ever used and it's hands down the best. i've never had super terrible acne prone skin, but ever since i've used these two, i have had soft clear skin with hardly any blemishes. you can snatch this up at any target for like eight bucks. 

hooray for my third #fiveonfriday and hooray for the mere fact that it is friday. i've been needing this weekend relaxation time since like ......... last friday.

cheers to the weekend. 

xo,

-A

not ya mama's banana bread: cinnamon chocolate chip style.

i say “not ya mama’s banana bread” mainly because i didn’t have a flippin banana bread pan. and i feel like this is something my mom and all other mom’s on the face of the earth have.

you know, the long metal bread pans that are kinda required for this? yeah, we don’t have that at the new house .......... yet.

i had been thinking about banana bread all day yesterday and had three perfectly ugly bananas that i needed to do something with – so i hit up the next best thing. an 8x8 casserole metal pan.

so hence the title. even so this probably should be called banana bread cake or something, but let me tell you – this did not disappoint. and you should make it.

how you ask? read on.

preheat the oven to 350. i always forget this. 

you’re gonna need all this stuff. oh and the sadly not pictured, but mostly needed item:

brown sugar.

½ cup of butter

½ cup of sugar

¼ cup of brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 crushed old ugly bananas. the uglier the better. ew, right?

1 and ½ cup of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder/soda – whatever, same thing.
(UPDATE: just googled the debate between baking powder and baking soda and turns out due to a chemical reaction - they are kinda different. however, you can use the powder in replacement for the soda, but not the other way around. so holla; i did it the right way! i had a 50/50 shot.)

1 baby teaspoon of salt

as much as you want of cinnamon – i just kinda dumped some on there.

as much as you want of baking chocolate chips

sorry i don’t totally have measurements, but trust me. it’s foolproof.

anyway, this is what you do.

cream together the butter, brown sugar, & regular sugar.

chunk in the bananas and beaten eggs. batter will be kinda goopy for a lack of a better word.

in a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. add to the goopy stuff. add your desired about of cinnamon. i probably did around 3 tablespoons. this will make it more thick. stir together until the consistency is thicker like above.

add those chocolate chips!!!!! & stir. maybe a cup of chips? use your judgment.

pour into your “bread pan” or casserole dish; ya know, whatever. i ended up sprinkling the top of mine with brown sugar for a more caramelized effect. yes, this adds more sugar. but really, if you’re worried about sugar, you shouldn’t be making this recipe.

baked on 350 for around 35 minutes. regular bread takes around an hour, but i pulled this out after 35 due to it not being as thick as bread and it was perfect.

oh caramelization.

y’all gotta try this. 

seriously go try this and thank me later.

the boys were raving over it all night. what’s y’alls favorite homemade dessert?

xo,

-A

recent purchases.

lately i have been an online shopping guru. not that the deals i got have been crazy expensive, but i have been getting in the habit of just browsing around on h&m, vestique, and even forever 21 online.

is it even ok for me to still shop at forever 21? at the age of 25 i feel like that’s slightly pushing it a tad, and even though most of their clothing has more of a punk rock feel, there are still a few pieces i deemed worthy.

plus they recently had 50% off of all already marked down clearance items. and h&m had 50% off of their faves from their spring collection. and vestique had this dress i couldn’t say no to.

so there you have it – my reasoning for all these purchases lately.

however, the bottom line isn’t even all that bad if you ask me.

so here's what's new in my closet. 

vestique; $44

forever 21; ps this was $8 flippin dollars

look closer - it has a cute peep hole along the waistline.

h&m; chiffon dress in light blue

h&m; $19.95. i am so obsessed with this sweater. it's a powder pink semi-oversized. 

vestique; $44

look closer - the raised studded shoulders. 

h&m; suit trousers in gray; $34.95. y'all I wore these yesterday and received compliments. they fit your body perfectly. 

h&m; very light powder pink slim fit skinnies. the picture makes them look more pink than they actually are. 

i wore the pants this past weekend to the baby shower. these go so well with any color as they can be used as a neutral. 

h&m; treggings in mustard yellow; $17.95. 

forever 21; onsale for 6 dollars. 6!!!!

h&m; maxi skirt in cognac. $17.95 

so ok i went a little crazy. jumped off the deep end maybe, but these deals i mentioned above saved me significantly. 

so whatever forever 21 - keep making causal cute dresses/skirts for under $10 and you'll have me shopping there when i'm forever over 35!

yikes. 

xo,

-A

living for the weekends.

happy monday y’all. i don’t know about you, but this weekend did not come anywhere close to lasting long enough. lately i think i found out that i was getting too much sleep and yes, that is a real thing. i used to try and be asleep by 10 {since 6:30am is my wake-up call on the workdays}, but i found i’m more energized when i fall asleep around 11. weird right? anyone know why this makes zippo sense??

anyway, today that did not apply. my energy light is beeping on red. here’s what i was up to this weekend.

meet taylor & sean. you already know lee. they are one of the first couples i’ve met through lee and i adore them! this pic was from back in the summer as i failed to take one friday night. friday was sean’s birthday so we had a huge crew of about 12 of us that ate dinner at the carolina ale house in concord. and it was PACKED. thank goodness for reservations. happy birthday sean!

saturday around noon i headed over to the walker household and went with mrs. laurie to a baby shower for one of her closest friend’s daughter – chrissy. she’s having a boy named hudson in march! this pregnant lady doesn’t miss a beat – fully decked out in her fur vest and heeled boots, she was the cutest thing.

lovely cake from nona's sweets. 

laurie's champagne punch. 

chrissy also had this super cute canvas as house decor that i bet she can't wait to partake in once the baby makes his arrival! 

saturday night we had people over for a little “beer/wine? pong” & Jared smoked a pork butt that cooked for 12 flippin hours. & yup we held the beer pong games on the pool table. hey, desperate times = desperate measures. but it was the perfect length.

sunday. oh sweet sunday. you know it’s been cold in charlotte when we wake up and everyone exclaims how “warm” it was outside  and it’s like 40 degrees.

sunday was a day for a few house projects, cornhole, and lee’s amazing feta-stuffed burgers with spices. 

as well as the brass fireplace cover that screams 1991. to be painted black!

hannah made this transformation. 

franny loving that we were outside. 

breaking in the cornhole set. 

now for those burgers. y'all. 

i mean, Y'ALL. 

a perfect ending to a pretty chill weekend. next weekend is the ron white show: a little unprofessional at ovens auditorium!

xo,

-A