i finally made banana bread!

 banana bread is one of my favorites!

today, while taylor and i were sofa shopping

we wondered by the baking section of crate & barrel

and i finallyyy got a bread pan

i have to say, for the first time baking banana bread,

it was pretty darn good

moist, rich banana & nut flavors and chocolate-y goodness

i didnt even use butta!

what you need:

1 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 ripe bananas, smashed

1 egg

3/4 cups greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional -- my secret touch)

what you do:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees & grease a large loaf pan

2. mix together bananas, egg, greek yogurt, vanilla and sugar.

3. gradually stir in the pastry flour, baking powder and salt.

4. add in chocolate chips and chopped walnuts (optional)

5. evenly pour batter into the pan about 3/4 full. bake for 45 minutes  or until toothpick comes out clean. cool completely before removing and cutting.

raining dogs... and dogs!

a few snapshots from this weekend

tay had his winston over for the weekend

so it was a full house of bulldogs!

and many, many laughs

and rain!!!!

and baking (pictures to come soon)

happy monday!

the getty

there is no better place to be on a clear l.a. sunday

than overlooking the westside at the getty museum

the getty is one of l.a.'s gems

a place to feel like you can get away

with being less than a mile off the 405!

its one of my favorite places to people watch

on a clear day you can see just about everything

the ocean, downtown...

and the architecture and gardens are enough to leave you feeling cool

taylor and i walked through some exhibits

he sketched some, i wandered about with my camera...

and then spent a long time lounging on the grass

doing what we love to do best

eavesdropping on all the little conversations going on around us

making up scenarios for all the people in our little story titled "sunday at the getty"

 

 

book club beauties

happy monday!

i hope your weekend was full and wonderful

sunday night was a book club night with the 10 book club beauties

we devoured every sweet you could imagine

carmel apples, mummy hot dogs, brown butter rice krispy treats, cupcakes, redrum cake, artichoke dip, spinach dip, crostini's, donuts, whipped cream vodka punch... am i missing anything?

it was a fun-filled night with lots of laughs

we discussed the shining

and agreed that the film didn't do the book any justice

and quite frankly, we were all kinda pissed about it

if we could do it all over

we'd suggest an HBO mini series (because there is no way to do the shining in less than 6 hrs)

 and would cast either johnny depp, ryan gosling, or leonardo dicaprio as jack

and really anyone besides shelley duvall would be a better wendy

next up "Sabrina"

a light hearted love story for the the holidays...

sunday in venice

what beautiful weather we've been getting lately

i am in love with socal's beginning of fall weather

sunday, taylor and i were on our feet all day long

we woke up early and went to the gym

walked around the farmers market

walked all around the abbot kinney festival in venice

and you better believe molly was right there with us

 we were pooped by the time we got home

so, we relaxed some and decided to make a mushroom pizza

with all the produce we got from the farmers market

(pictures to come)

and ended the night with a few glasses of wine and a game of poker

it was a great end to the weekend
and molly got to try out long-boarding!

the weekend is like a mini-vacation

what a beautiful and relaxing weekend it was

much too short.. 

but amazing

woke up early sunday morning and went to the gym with davana, taylor and leila

took an amazing class (that kicked our butts!),

went to the brentwood farmers market

wandered around 3rd street for a bit until davana had to go to work

cleaned up around the house

and then taylor and i vegged out from 5pm onward watching harry potter

i couldn't have asked for a better sunday

every time we go to third street taylor has to stop by dwr to stare at le corbusier's famous 

lc4 chaise lounge

with a sticker price of $3,600!

he's on one right now... searching craigslist for that steal deal.

who knows, maybe he'll find his dream lc4!

happy monday!

lazy days

sunday taylor and i had a a nice, relaxing day

we woke up late, went the the brentwood farmers market, cooked a seafood inspired lunch, caught up on some true blood, went to this parents for dinner, and got back in time to walk around the venice canals at sun-down.

all in all, it was perfect!

taylor made an amazing chipotle salmon burger with fruit and vegetables we got from the farmers market

and i had a to die for pan-fried sea bass salad also with fruits and veggies from the local market. 

sunday was a "go with the flow" kind of day

none of it was planned and i aways say, no plan is the best plan

i know its a little late to say this, as its now past the middle of the week...

but i hope you all had a wonderful weekend

xx

weekend escapades.

happy monday!

i hope you all enjoyed the summer-y weekend we just had

it was a scorcher, but i loved it

is it safe to say june-gloom is on its way out? its been so nice waking up to the sun

this past weekend taylor and i tried something new. we went to kcrw's summer nights at one colorado in old-town pasadena. the seattle based band, motopony, played a free show and boy was it a blast.

laughter and love filled in the air. i couldn't help but take shots of all the couples dancing and enjoying each other's company. 

there is nothing better than a summer romance

 we also went to h.d. buttercup located at the old helm's bakery for their yearly 20-70% off sale

everything was still outrageously expensive, but tay and i love going. its like disneyland for us; we can roam for hours!

stay tuned for my next post

my mom rescued a momma cat and her five kittens

i have so many pictures and will post later tonight

cheerio!