THE GOOD: HALLOWEEN EDITION

Image credit Emily Henderson

• 6 days until halloween! have you decorated yet? there’s still time! here’s how to do it.
• can’t wait to see this on the big screen.
• this recipe is to diiieee for….did i mention i have another blog with my siblings?
• i still don’t know what i’m going to be for halloween…

Image credit Emily Henderson

EASTON RHETT CURTISS

I’M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE! kenna, the soon to be mama is one of my oldest friends. we grew up together, first on a cul de sac in eastbrook, then only a street away after we both moved to a different neighborhood. our families (and the lewis fam) were (and still are) always at an arms length of each other. it’s hard to mention one without the other, it’s been the mitchell, mccarthy and lewis family for a long time now… kenna, taylor and i even share the same tattoo to commemorate our lifelong friendship- because it’s not forever until you’ve got ink under your skin right?! i’m actually looking forward to showing our grandchildren our saggy tattoo after we all grow old… but first comes your son, baby easton. he’s due february 9, 2018 and he is already so loved. he’s one lucky dude to have you and casey as his parents.

last weekend we showered the hell out of mama and her baby boy, surrounded by friends, family and so much love.

you were able to create your own trail mix at the “trail mix bar” which meant NO RAISINS, HALLELUJAH! i’m not saying that my trail mix only consisted of m&ms but it was about 90% m&m’s and 10% popcorn. i really enjoyed my trail mix freedom.

after folks were able to get some food and drinks, we let the games begin…

THE GOOD

• you get a gift! you get a gift! you get a gift! *oprah style*
• time to let the dogs out and find out what happened to baha men.
• it’s begun- someone get miranda priestly
• staying on repeat all weekend long.

LULA’S GARDEN

a sweet friend gifted me this adorable succulent box for my birthday and i’m obsessed. i had two thoughts when opening my box- 1.”how friggin cute!” 2.”why have i never heard of this before?!”- so i went online to find out the skinny on all things lula’s garden. founder, liraz birnbaum says this all began when she was looking for a unique gift idea. inspired by the growing popularity of succulents, due to the rise of drought awareness in california, lulu’s garden was born.

“I wanted to create a gift that would last and be an ongoing reminder, a gift of life … ”  

lula’s garden supports local farmers by using locally grown succulents from southern california while offering a variety of succulent boxes to choose from. inside each box you find a curated succulent garden with instructions and tools on how to pretty much keep your garden alive. lucky for me, it needs minimal effort and is very hard to kill. (bonus points) take a look at my “unboxing” below and check out lula’s garden for more succulent gift ideas.

 

LUNCH TIME

i don’t know what’s more fun- photographing the food or eating it. happy lunching!!

• cucumber sandwich
• arugula, almond, cranberry salad
• cream cheese, apricot jam, walnuts and water crackers

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

for the past month i haven’t really spent a weekend at home- between traveling for the holidays and spending time in orange county, my poor bed started to wonder if i’d ever come back. this weekend i decided to stay in la to clean and reorganize my apartment because “new year, new me” is in full flux… yesterday morning, i did laundry, put new sheets on my bed, dusted my shelves and had a dance party because what else do you do when you clean?? and then-i got hungry. not really wanting to brave the sunday brunch hour, i decided to make something at home. so i pulled a cookbook off the bookshelf and made some chocolate chip banana bread. *warning* this banana bread is like crack, please bake responsibly-only if you are a strong and independent woman…i mean only if you are strong willed… yeah, will power.

ingredients: 1 1/3 cups light brown sugar-2 eggs-1 cup mashed banana-2 1/4 cups flour-1 teaspoon baking powder-1 teaspoon baking soda-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon-1 teaspoon ground ginger-1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted-semi sweet chocolate chips-

preheat oven to 325ºf. put the sugar and eggs in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well incorporated. beat in the mashed banana.

add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger to the sugar mixture. mix it thoroughly until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the egg mixture. pour in the melted butter and beat until all the ingredients are well mixed.

pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth over with a palette knife. bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. let the cake cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

GREETABL

i am in loooovveee with greetabl! i’ve got friends in lots of different places at the moment so this has become a great way for me to send them my love from LA. with greetabl, you can send a personalized note and a gift to all your friends in far away places. recently one of my best friends moved to idaho (not cool idaho…not cool) so i’m sending her a greetabl with a “I MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY” note and lots of confetti because who doesn’t like confetti?!

1. build: pick a box and a gift.

2. personalize: add photos and a sweet message.

3. happiness is on it’s way!