bananas and bread

Today we will focus on two of my favorite foods. Bananas and Bread.. I find myself always buying way more bananas than I can consume before they turn into mush. Which I guess is a win-win because I love me some banana bread! Brew yourself a cuppa jo and enjoy this recipe!

Recipe//

You will need

3 mashed bananas

1 tsp | apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup | almond milk

1 tsp | vanilla extract

2 cups | all purpose flour

1/2 tsp | baking soda

1/2 tsp | salt

1/2 tsp | ground allspice

1/2 cup | coconut oil

1/2 cup | brown sugar

1/2 cup | white sugar

Preheat that oven to 350F and spray a 8x4 loaf pan with nonstick spray. I always forget to do these steps.

Then combine and set aside the almond milk and apple cider vinegar.

Grab a large bowl and mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and allspice together.

In a separate bowl cream together your coconut oil and sugar. Then add the mashed bananas, vanilla extract, and the vinegar/ almond milk mixture.

Combine the flour mixture to the wet mixture. And pour into loaf pan.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes depending on your oven. I like to keep an eye on mine. Once your tooth pick comes out clean you are set!

I am actually headed to make a loaf myself! Gotta use up those bananas!

Enjoy!

patterns please

 I saw these shorts on ThreadSence and had to have them! I've always been afraid of putting patterns into my wardrobe but this year I feel like it's all I own. These shorts are great because they are incredibly comfortable while still looking stylish! Here I'm just wearing a plain black crop tank but they would be totally cute with a boyfriend tee or a ratty band tee! Be creative!

What I Wore

shorts | threadsence

top | windsor

kimono | h&m

shoes | vicky's closet

Sara

Spring evenings

A couple weeks ago we finally reached above 50 temperatures. 6 months of winter is a bit much if you ask me. Anyways after dinner John and I decided to grab some blankets, the iPad, and some drinks, and parked ourselves on the back deck. Condo living isn't always roses but I will never complain about our view. A perfect place to relax out in the boonies after a long day. So we did just that. We took in the fresh spring air, talked about life, listened to music, and after a few drinks, slow danced to some Dylan. I like you spring. You can stay:)

 I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day! 

Sara

#theinstantmeet

photo credit: @iampatrickchin

A couple of Saturdays ago, Erik and I got the opportunity to be involved in an “Instagram Meet-Up.” I had seen random pictures of other meet-ups in different cities and I was so stoked to hear about one happening here in Orlando. Each meet-up has a certain theme from a scavenger hunt, a simple gathering at a bar to talk about photos, or a photowalk around your city.

We participated in a photowalk - an instant photowalk. People brought out their polaroid cameras and it was so fun to see everyone’s vintage camera’s with real film and sounds - oh, how I love the sounds those cameras make! It reminds me of my grandma back in Southern Illinois, so simple and beautiful. 

photo credit: @malcjax | photo credit: @_arizonarose_

We met up at Colonial Photo & Hobby and made our way around Koreatown/Colonial Town for about 2 hours. The rest of the group then headed downtown to wander some more. (Erik and I had to leave a bit early so we could eat and he could get to class. BOO Saturday night 5-9 labs!) After the group was done downtown, they headed to Lineage Coffee @ East End Market for a private coffee cupping and pies made by Patrick Chin! The whole day ended up being filled with community, art, creativity, and just old fashioned fun. There are some amazing people and places that call this city home. 

photo credit: @igers_orlando

It was great to put a face to a name finally - Patrick is a little instagram famous around here + he works with my favorite friend Alli's husband at Real Thread, so I felt like I knew him even before we were introduced! He helped host this whole thing for Orlando, is one of the nicest humans ever, AND has the sweetest little family. (I also heard that his pies were the bomb.)

photo credit: @ayelyssadawn | photo credit: @penelopelane | photo credit: @igers_orlando

I'm thankful that for the amazing people that we've found in this city - from Patrick, to everyone at Lineage, and even Siam Garden where you can eat the best Thai food of your life.

photo credit: @penelopelane

V

// all photos are borrowed from instagram and credit is given through insta username, none are my own. please check out everyone's personal instagram and look at the rest of the pictures on instagram: #theinstantmeet //

on wearing white

This post is about stepping outside of my comfort zone - in a lot of ways. I always felt that white would wash me out because I am P A L E. I strongly believ(ed) that wearing a white dress was only for a bride (or a Kardashian). There are also too many rules ABOUT wearing white & I certainly couldn't memorize them all. Mostly, though, black. Black is my favorite thing to wear, decorate with, paint on my nails, look at and/or do anything with. So, in honor of a new blog and a new journey, I decided to try something new: wearing white.

This may not inspire you to go out and start wearing white - but let it represent trying something new & being free from others opinions! Try a new drink at Starbucks (my latest favorite is a Hazelnut Soy Misto, so yum!), maybe quit going to Starbucks at all and support local, listen to a different band (Sir Sly, anyone?), find more people who inspire you to live a creative life. Whatever it is - have fun and take chances!

What I Wore:

dress | H&M

vest | maurice's

necklace | maurice's

shoes | target

jewelry | all over the world

Also, besides my wedding day, this is the only time I've felt truly comfortable in front of a camera. (Maybe this is a sign - I was wearing white that day too. Hmm!) Some major props to my new vegan eating|midwestern soul|tattoo loving|skull collecting friend & photographer, Melissa. I cannot wait to have more fun with her! Please show her some love on her new blog: Tiny Bones & follow her on insta @melissaaudrey.

V

you me and the sea

Here it comes, our very first post! Thank you for reading and supporting us!

Let's rewind a little bit. a few months ago I (Sara) presented the idea to Vicky of having an outlet for all the things we are passionate about. Thankfully, she was on board with it! As you may have read in our about section, we are very far apart distance wise so it took some brainstorming on how we were going to make this work! After many Skype sessions and much planning, we decided to sign up for alt summit for everyone! So, John and I ventured down to the tropics where Vicky and Vrik are located. a win win for us - work & vacation! ALT was so great for our new minds in the blog world. It really pushed us to just go for it!

Here is a tiny break down of our trip! Even with all of our classes I think we did a great job of taking in the sun & fun! Our classes were taken poolside which was amazing! (Anyone living in Rockford will understand how great this was.) Friday morning we headed to Rifle Paper Co. ,where Vicky works, for the mother’s day sidewalk sale. Guys, if you’re ever in Winter Park, FL  go there ...you will not be sorry. So beautiful.

 We had a lot of great coffee from Lineage Coffee Roasting and the yummiest superfood smoothie from Skyebird at East End Market. That place is doing it right! We sat down for a drink at Courtesy bar in downtown Orlando followed by the tastiest cuban food at Black Bean Deli. This place was so cute and unique I just loved it!

 Finally our beach day. Okay, you should know I have never been much of a beach girl but I think this day changed that. We headed to Cocoa Beach sunday morning and spent the entire afternoon playing in the ocean, basking in the sun, and even eating some bomb hot dogs. note: vicky loves hodogs!

Feeling crispy from the sun and ready for some dinner, we headed to the pier to clean up/lose the car keys/find the car keys. Now that we knew we didn't have to sleep on the beach we rented some mopeds! Fish and chips, cruising on the beach, and a sunset with friends was the perfect way to end our trip!

//a few photos..!

thanks for a good time florida! we liked you!

 sara