Measure up some Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies!

 It's Monday Folks! Whether we want it to be or not! haha

I have been sick all weekend and am still only halfway here. So this will be short and quick! I just wanted to share this great cookie recipe! I have had these cookies since I was a kid. Banana Chocolate Chip cookies! They are soft and a more cake-like cookie. BUT I tweaked them to be GF and allergy freindly this past week and you could hardly tell the difference!

The pic is the allergy friendly ones. When you make them with the regular recipe, the coloring will be much lighter, almost white like. The coconut sugar I used in the ones above is a brown color though, thus the color change. 

I'll post the recipe as the regular version and then show the substitutions I made if you want it GF and/or allergy friendly too.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 cup shortening (I used palm expressed shortening)

2/3 cup sugar (I used Organic Coconut palm sugar)

2 eggs 

2 1/2 cup flour (I used GF flour in these kinds: 1/2 c potato starch, 1/2 c white rice flour, 1 c sweet sorghum flour, 1/2 c millet flour and 1 tsp xanthum gum)

2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cp bananas (about 2-3 ripe)

1/2 cup evap milk (I used almond milk)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Blend shortening, sugar, and eggs. Add the bananas, milk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and bake for about 9 min at 375 degrees. 

We love them! And this was the first time I have used the coconut palm sugar and I loved it! Love the flavor so much more than stevia! And it didn't change the consistency of the batter like honey and agave nectar can.

And one more quick share...found these GF donuts in the freezer section of a local grocery store and they really are good! My hubby loves them! (Hard to find this stuff for him.)

Hope you have a great week and have fun in the kitchen!

From this to that Friday: Wood Turning

Yeah! It's Friday! My favorite day of the week in blogland! Just a quick reminder before our FTTT Friday...the HUGE link up party for Ginger Snap Crafts is still going on through today, so if you haven't checked it out yet or linked up, you still have time! IT HAS BEEN AMAZING! So many links and so many ideas! Just go here to get to the link up party post!

Now, for our From this to that Friday (FTTTF)! I am excited to show you something that my husband actually made today! Have I mentioned that I have a very talented husband!? Well, I do!

He has had these cabinet doors sitting around for years (from extra supplies at a job he had years ago installing cabinets). 

 This is just a small stack of the ones he had. He had them in different kinds of wood and different sizes. All super nice wood and never used...Well, he surprised me by taking the doors and gluing some together, annnnnnddddddddd...creating this as a gift for me!

 Isn't it gorgeous?! I love it! Love how you can see the different layers of the different kinds of wood.

(I took the pic crooked, the bowl is not! haha)

Love my beautiful repurposed wood bowl and love my talented husband!

Featuring....

So this linky Blog Birthday Party over at ginger Snap Crafts has been A.MA.ZING! this week! I have been looking through the entries daily and thought I would feature a few!

Have to say I am always on the lookout for new gluten free recipes and BROWNIES?!!! Can't help but want to try making these from Domestic Bliss Squared! They look so good!


These Star Wars party games were so fun too! My boys would probably still love, although they may not admit to it now. lol Thanks Craft, Interrupted!

Clean and Sensible showed an ingenius way to cover your thermostat at home.

Inspiration for Moms gave a super easy tutorial on Faux Roman shades!

and I loved the super cute and easy Fabric Flip Flops over at The Crafty Blog Stalker! So much cuter and more comfortable this way! I will definitely be making these this summer!

Thanks to everyone who has already linked up and the party is still open if you haven't! Just check out the link party here!

It's my lucky week!

     I was featured (or rather my toilet was!ha!) not once this week, but twice!...this past weekend on Someday Crafts AND this week on Gingerly Made!If you haven't checked out either site yet, you should! They are both a wealth of creativity and ideas.
Someday Crafts is constantly sharing and posting some great ideas and fun projects from helpful tips around the house, to crafts, to household renovation tips from so many different crafters!

Here's one she shared last week from Find it, Make it, Love it.



She even does a link party on Wednesdays and you find ALL kinds of ideas there.

And Gingerly Made does a show and tell party on Tuesdays here.

  

I love the wood crate linen closet she made here.

They are both great places to find all kinds of inspiration. Thanks to both of you. I'm flattered and glad my toilet made you both smile! (If that is not the weirdest thing to say, then what is?!) Ha!

{wow me} wednesday at Ginger Snap Crafts

I am excited to be a co-host this week for {wow me} wednesday over at Ginger Snap Crafts! We are celebrating the 2 year birthday for her blog! 

Ginger is so creative! I am always amazed at the constant stream of ideas she comes up with. She has done an amazing job there the past two years and we are partying with her! AND....not only are we celebrating with her, BUT over 40 other co-hosts are also celebrating as well on their amazing blogs too! What a party! 

Check out all the co-hosts that love Ginger Snap Crafts making it the  #biggestlinkpartyever!

Vintage Barn, 

Whole New Leaf, 

Taking Time to Create, 

The Best Blog Recipes, 

The Pin Junkie, 

Stardust Decor & Style, 

Kayla LeBaron Interiors, 

Southpaw Crafts, 

Wine & Glue, 

Denise on a Whim, 

Keeping It Stepford

Jedi Craft Girl, 

It Bakes Me Happy, 

InkHappi, 

The Love Nerds, 

Titi Crafty, 

The Domesticated Princess, 

Mom Home Guide, 

This Girl’s Life,

Two Ten Designs, 

Robyn’s View, 

Find it, Make It, Love it!,

A Southern Lady’s Ramblings, 

I Got This Martha!, 

Cherished Bliss, 

Lemons for Lulu, 

In Designer Jeans, 

Create it. Go!, 

Sweet Little Gals, 

Crafty (Mis)Adventures, 

Rambling Reed, 

VMG206, 

Missy Inspired, 

Life a Little Brighter, 

Night Owl Corner

My World Made By Hand, 

Sparkles and a Stove, 

My Turn (For Us),

The Benson Street, 

My Life as Robin’s Wife, 

Bits of Everything, 

Quinton Wench

So, here are the party rules:

The "rules' are simple.

Please consider sharing this party on

facebook, twitter, google+ or pinterest.

Link up to your post, not your main blog.

Must be something made by you!

{No etsy shops, giveaway or business links, please.}

Visit other links, make new friends & most of all have fun!

The party will be open until Friday, so link up and check out all the amazing things that will be posted on here, and on Ginger Snap Crafts as well as on all the other co-hosts blogs! And everyone LOVES comments, so don't be shy!

Please don't pin thumbnails, click over to the original blog & pin from there. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Ginger Snap Crafts!

Tag You're it! with Coordinated Cuties

Well, I gave you a sneak peak as to what my girls would be wearing fro Easter, but now you get the real thing! I was so stinkin' excited the night before as I was working on them and seeing them come out so well! I absolutely love them! And so did the girls! 

I loved seeing their faces when they each saw their own set done and how they looked as they put them on. I could see in their face that they loved them and that they felt special! Mission accomplished and soooooo worth the lack of sleep for me! ;)

 Above is a close up of the shirts I made to match the skirts. I bought the white shirt at Target and created my own stencil to paint the bead necklaces on. I had to do one, and then let it dry before doing the other, since they overlapped on some. Then I made a fabric rosette (again with coordinating fabric to pin onto the bead necklace.)

 For the hair clips. I did more of the rosettes. (I think I made a total of 17 rosettes. They are easy, but with that many...it took a little while.) On two of the clips I did a variation of sizes, in coordinating fabrics with their skirts, of 5 flowers. On the one below, I decided to just do four rosettes and added some frayed edge white leaves to embellish it a bit too. I attached all of the rosettes to a fabric backing, and then to an alligator clip. This way they can clip them to headbands OR wear them as is.

Now, the skirts! I got my PDF pattern from a shop on etsy: Lateedakids. I actually bought her 3 pack of skirt patterns. I made the first skirt for my niece a few weeks ago and didn't use a pattern. I just winged it and made up my own. BUT it was easier to figure out all the different sizes with Lateedakids' patterns. Less work for me. :) And her instructions were great! Sizes seemed pretty true to size too. I was very happy with them! You can also find Lateedakids on FB here.

I let the girls help choose their own fabrics, but I chose the top and bottom little panels and did the same on each girl's skirt. So they were all coordinate, but still different. And really, you can make this skirt with sooo little fabric. Just scraps if you want with all the different panels. I used five different fabrics for the panels on the one below, 4 on the blue skirt, and 8 different fabrics on the pink and orange one...just what I liked and had...

And just so you know, I DO include my boys in Easter pics... :) Although they don't prefer to be so coordinated. They were each happy with their new shirts and ties though. 

 And I can't resist posting these!

Love my kids and had sooooo very much fun sewing these easy and adorable outfits this Easter! Told my boys they MAY get coordinated ties next year with the girls. They were NOT excited. ha!

Comment below and add any links with any fun Easter projects you made or anything else for that matter! :) Hope your  Easter was grand! :)

Measure up some juices and green drinks!

I have been wanting to make more of these yummy looking juices and green drinks. I have tried a few, some with better luck than others. My mom makes some pretty good ones and includes mango in almost every one  with other various fruits and greens. (TIP: Do not use kale in your green drinks. I tried it once b/c I was out of spinach and lettuce and anything else green, but BLECH!...couldn't even finish it!)

Here are a few recipes that looked good to me:

from Fit and Free with Emily

Good Morning Green Drink

from Amee's Savory Dish

She even suggests making a bunch, putting them in baggies and in the freezer to pull out quickly each morning. What a great idea!

Dr. Oz's Green Drink Recipe:

Buddha Blends: Acai and Chia Superfood Smoothie

and  Yogini's Green Smoothie (with lots of protein in it too!)

from Buddha Belly Bites

and a few tips on making more Green Drinks of your own:

 If you have any great recipes you want to share, please do! Happy juicing!