Gone Bananas... Be Back Later.

     I love my bananas... ripe. Very ripe. Antique bananas, if you will. If there is a spot of green, it's too ripe. But I had a few bananas that were even too ripe for me. I've heard that those type of bananas were still good for making banana bread with. And... I've never made banana bread before... and... I had a free Sunday... and... I had all the stuff. My baby banana loaf was about to be born.

     But then I thought "HOW BORING"... and then I thought "HEY I HAVE SOME STRAWBERRIES THAT NEED TO BE CONSUMED"... and then I thought "I HAVE SOME CUPCAKE LINERS" (surprise)... and then I thought "QUIT THINKING AND GET IN THE KITCHEN AND BAKE YOUR ASS OFF!"

     My ass is still there... but I do have some lovely strawberry banana muffins. I found a pin on Pinterest that lead me to Toni's blog, Sugar Tart Crafts. Which then lead to me to Joy of Baking.

     The only thing I did differently was use cake flour instead of all purpose flour. So they aren't so dense like a typical muffin. But they are still wonderful. And you don't look a gift muffin in the mouth.

In the Pursuit of Parties, Washi Tape, & Sparkly Nails

     Saturday evening Jaymee and I headed over to "The Boss" 's house. Her and her husband were making dinner for us before we all headed out to Westlake for a birthday party @ Bogies. Sabina LOVES to entertain... more than Spongebob loves jellyfishing. She served Ribeye steaks with a coffee rub, juicy chicken breasts, HUGE garlic shrimp, asparagus, green beans & my favorite... kale chips. Like potato chips... but greener.

 

This coffee rub was amazing! It was her second time using this Bobby Flay recipe. You can check it out here.

All you need is one head of kale, 2 tbsp olive oil & sea salt. Just strip the leaves from the rib of the kale, and toss with the olive oil and salt on a baking sheet. Bake @ 275 until crisp (about 20 minutes)... flipping the leaves halfway through. Be careful with the salt. Both times I've had these they've been a bit too salty for me.

     It was our co-worker's, Deanna,  33rd birthday. I felt bad cuz I thought she was 35. Oops... sorry Deanna. You do NOT look a day over 27. I just momentarily had poor math skills. We had celebrated her birthday there 2 years ago and I thought she celebrated her 33rd birthday THEN. My memory is suffering with the math, I see.

     There were lots of fun people at her get-together. As fun people usually do... we danced and had fun. And... as usual... I was asked to dance by the oldest men in the joint. They were in their 70's or 80's. Very sweet, but I politely declined. One of them insisted I take a picture with him.

 Not really diggin' my new lipstick here. It looks like I was sucking on pink sidewalk chalk.

Jaymee & I relaxin' in the booth.

     The birthday girl appeared to have a lovely night and hope she was able to remember it. She was so far gone, she kept having me put on and remove her heels for her. Not sure why. They were brand new hot pink Madden's with rhinestone studded heels. If they hadn't been 2 sizes too small for me, they would've come up missing.

We made the drive home and got there about 2am. That was the time to let my hair down and knock out. 

Actually... my hair doesn't easily go down after being up... it kinda wants to go out!

     Now on a completely separate note... and day... today I got my first GEL MANICURE! GOSH I'M SO EXCITED. I cannot take my eyes off the super sparkly shineyness. I have a rough time with my nails. 2 years ago I took my acrylic nails off after having them for many many years. They were fine at first, but began to become ridgy and would peel easily if they grew out from super shortness. I dunno. It's probably my diet. But needless to say... it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to keep regular nail polish on without it chipping after one day!

 

I got a color to match my ring... and of course, my hair.

     Now when I say it's my FIRST gel mani... I mean by a pro. I've tried it myself... but I get it everywhere and then it lifts and peels. All my friends get it done at a place by my house called Beth's Nails for only $18! I think that's the cheapest place in Santa Clarita Valley! They are way sweet there too. And busy! Combine that with superb Yelp reviews... and that's a recipe for yummy nails!

     Anyone who knows me is aware I have a deep, sometimes complicated love affair with paper. I say "complicated" cuz I am not very monogamous in my paper relationships... or "paperlationships" because I love all types. And I'm weak. So you know it killed me to stop at the craft supply store before heading home to get some frickin' cute paper for some presents I'm making for 2 lovely girls. Who are sisters. Who no longer live in CA. Cuz they left without me. So now I send gifts to fill the void they have left.*

(*Does not indicate guilt)

But really... any excuse to buy paper tickles the shit outta me. 

I also wanna add how much I love that photo fix tape pictured above. I use so much of it. It has replaced all glue sticks in my life.

   And one last thing. I have been really loving washi tape recently. But I don't wanna buy just ONE kind. I need MANY patterns... or I don't want any. There are some sellers on Etsy that offer a variety... but then it gets pricey. So in my washi research... I found a way to make my own! Crafty and cheap. HELL YES! Thanks to GoodLookCookbook.. I have tons of cute washi tape. I downloaded THIS template from Avery and did my fancy fingerwork in Photoshop. I went with a pastel theme and used clear labels to get the slightly transparent look common with washi tapes.

Now I gotta go do grown-up stuff and drink coffee, watch Regular Show & do laundry.

Eh... almost grown-up.

Kombucha Tea - It's ALIVE!

... Yeah kinda. It seems to have a mind of its own. And I'm not too fond of that. I'd like to think I have more mind power than the things I consume.

Last week I had some stomach troubles that I've had a few times before. I went to see my doctor, finally... and she tells me it's most likely an issue with my gallbladder, which I suspected. I'm still waiting to get an ultrasound. In the meantime, my boyfriend does what he does best and GOOGLES.

Googling brought fourth to our attention this product called Kombucha tea, A rather expensive drink bought from fancy supermarkets ($5 a bottle @ Whole Foods). It claims to have cured many ailments and is especially good with digestive issues. But the internet is a buzzkill and some sites also mention you can die from drinking it. But apparently the main causes of that are unsanitary conditions associated with home brewing... and the way it can react with drugs and alcohol. It's made by mixing a buncha tasty ingredients like, tea, sugar, bacteria & yeast.... and just letting it sit there and ferment. OH GOD... YES!?!?

There were quite a few flavors to choose from, many of them unfamiliar to me. One of which was BILBERRY. Oh you know... Bilberry? I love the warm Bilberry pies from McDonald's. Yeah. So I got Hibiscus flavor. Sounded... tropical. And frankly, it was a familiar word I was comfortable with.

I looked at the bottom and saw all the brown sediment just sittin' there. So what comes naturally? A good shake or two. BUT WAIT... In small letters on the bottle, crammed in between tons of other informative sentences, were the words "DO NOT SHAKE". Ah. Well. Of course. And since the bottle also stated that the product was "naturally effervescent"... It had appeared that I had angered it. When I tried to open the bottle, is was puffing and fizzing and all the brown flotsam was rising to the top. Finally it calmed down enough to be opened.

Next came the important part. The first sniff. I smell almost everything, including things I'm not even eating. It's a thing for me. Smell is important. It smelled fierce and fermenty. Almost apple cider vingery. I'm always curious as to how something tastes. Even curiouser if it smells weird. So I took a sip and it's definitely an experience. The bubbles, the "cultures", the taste. I can only liken the flavor to the lemon-lime Airborne tablets that you put in your water to reduce the duration of your cold. Same flavor. Same fizzing.

Only due to the coaxing of my coworker who picked up the tea for me, did I drink a serving... which was half the bottle. "Drink"? -- No -- I think "chug" describes that action better. I think that's only way it coulda gone down. I mean, Of course there aren't any medical miracles or enhanced intestinal superpowers to mention of after one drink. But on the bright side, I'm not dead. VERY bright side, indeed.

Hello Kitty Buttons

These cute Hello Kitty button sets have been sold and relisted in my Etsy Shop: SixtySixHearts