Homemade Banana & Walnut Cake

I am really starting to like baking and I love the Better Homes and Gardens Youtube channel. I am learning so much from this channel. The recipe videos are just fantastic! It is so easy to watch them. I got this recipe from it and my family just loved it. Below is the recipe and my photos. Enjoy!

Ingredients


Original recipe yields 2 – 8 inch round layers

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 – 8 inch round pans. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, cream butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in the bananas. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture. Stir in chopped walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and place on a damp tea towel to cool.



My C Wonder Store Visit~ Part 2

A few weeks ago I posted my visit to our local C Wonder store. I loved seeing the store for the first time! The staff was nice and the products were great. Well, it’s been about a year since that last visit so I took another trip this weekend. Below are photos from the visit. It was great as usual. Enjoy!

The Big Book of Chic by Miles Redd. I can’t wait to get 
my copy!

Great starfish necklaces

Weekend Breakfast

I love the weekends but then again who doesn’t! It’s nice getting up on a Saturday morning and making breakfast because on a normal weekday I don’t get to try new recipes for breakfast.

I was watching a video on YouTube from Better Homes and Gardens. It was a minute video on how to make french toast. I have never tried to make french toast but the recipe was so easy I figured I would give it a whirl.

I went to our bakery called Shapiro’s and picked up some challah bread. I followed the video and it was so simple. So if you have the time to fix a nice breakfast try this simple french toast recipe. I guarantee you will enjoy it! The video is below and have a great Mother’s Day weekend everyone!

The challah bread I picked up from the bakery 

My french toast


Easy Breakfast Recipe – How to Make French Toast – YouT

Nordstrom Rack Room ~ Store Tour

Nordstrom is an upscale fashion retail store. The company began as a shoe retailer and has expanded their inventory to include clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics and fragrances.

In the Nordstrom Rack Room the prices are cut in half! All of the designer items you want for half the price! It is just fantastic! They have men’s, women’s, kids, and home decor.

It is a great place to shop if you are wanting some designer items for yourself or your home. Below are some photos from my tour of the store. There was so much to take pictures of I just captured what I could. Enjoy!

The Nordstrom Rack Room located at 4036 East 82nd Street, Indianapolis

Michael Kors bags

Kate Spade earrings for $25!

More Kate Spade jewelry 

Kate Spade leather bag; I believe it was $225!
Michael Kors travel bag

Coach Bag

XL Coach Bag

Dooney & Bourke

Men’s Dept. 

Racks with clothing for $16.97!

Cute shirt for $16.97

Another cute shirt for $16.97

Another clothing rack with items for $26.97

Designer suits for $79.97!

This was a Calvin Klein suit  for $79.97!

Shoes, Shoes!

Tory Burch flats, Coach shoes & Kate Spade heels

I loved these Tory Burch heels!

Tory Burch

Kids Dept. 

Home accessories

Cute pillows, “Money can buy cupcakes & champagne”!

Classic Movies I Enjoy

I love, love, love classic movies! They don’t make movies the way they use to. I am a big fan of the 30’s and 40’s. Honestly, anything before the 1960’s I am a fan of. The costumes of the movie stars are just breathtaking and so elegant.

I love seeing the women in their gloves and hats and the men in their suits. Looking presentable on a daily basis was normal back then. But times have changed and that does not mean that I can take a look back and enjoy some of the best movies out there.

Below is a list of the movies I have in my collection so far. There are still quite a few I would love to get but I am having a hard time finding them. I have watched these movies over and over. I just love them. Here is the list:

An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr
I am such a Cary Grant fan. He was just stupendous!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) with Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
This is an all-time classic! I want every piece of Audrey’s wardrobe in this movie!

Carmen Jones  with Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte
I adore Dorothy in this movie. She was so glamorous and sultry!

Coco before Chanel (2009) with Audrey Tautou
One of the best stories of Chanel I have seen.

High Society  (1956) with Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong
What a cast! Great film and music!

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall
Again the wardrobe is fantastic! I thought Marilyn Monroe was a hoot and Lauren Bacall was such a class act!

Little Miss Marker (1980) with Walter Matthau and Julie Andrews
I saw this movie on Netflix and I just enjoyed it so much. Walter and Julie come together at the end to save the little girl! Just great!

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) with William Holden and Jennifer Jones
I think Jennifer Jones is just a gorgeous woman! The politics in the movie was great also!

Murphy’s Romance (1985) with Sally Field and James Garner
An older man falling in love with a single young mom. Just fantastic! I love James Garner’s line at the end. “Separate the men from the boys Emma”. I show some wear I don’t deny it”. “I am faithful and steady”… it’s just something you don’t hear anymore.

My Fair Lady (1964) with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison
This movie has it all. The clothes, the scene, the music & the acting. I love the song at the end of the movie sung my Dr. Higgins. “I’ve grown accustom to her face”. Just lovely.

Only You (1994) with Robert Downey, Jr. and Marisa Tomei
Oh my gosh, this movie is filmed in my dream vacation spot, Venice, Italy. Each scene is just stunning! The story is a bit funny. Marisa who plays “Faith” is following a man by the name of Damon Bradley whom she thinks is her true love. She gets the name from the Quija board game when they were kids.

People will Talk  (1951) with Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain
This is one of my favorite movies. “Debra” played by Jeanne Crain faints in a classroom while being taught by Dr. Praetorious, played by Cary. She then ends up at his doctor’s office. She shoots herself once she finds out that she is pregnant. Dr. Praetorious marries her to stop her from “trying again”. It’s a great movie with Cary Grant. Did I mention it had Cary Grant?

Remains of the Day (1993) with Anthony Hopskins, Emma Thompson and Christopher Reeve
This is a very special movie to me. It’s about an English butler who is fanatical about his work. Emma Thompson plays as the estate’s housekeeper. Hopskins and Thompson gradually fall in love and neither of them admit it. But you see it in their fierce arguments with one another.

Sabrina  (1995) with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear
This is my favorite movie! My top five! The Larrabee estate is a dream home. Being sent to Paris for a year to study fashion, another great bonus! Having a makeover by Vogue, need I say more. Also, having two brothers being in love with you, oh my……

Somewhere in Time (1980) with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
To travel back in time to meet someone whom you have fallen in love with just by looking at their picture. I bet a lot of people would be doing that if it were possible. What was interesting was the fact that she gave him a gold watch in the future and told him to come back to her.

Working Girl (1988) with Harrison Ford, Melanie Griffith & Sigourney Weaver
I can relate to this movie. I am a secretary and it feels as though you work your tail off and get no where with it. But then an opportunity comes along and changes the atmosphere. I thought Sigourney and Melanie were very classy and sensational in this movie!

Well these are some of my favorite movies. I have watched all these over and over. I hope you can find some of your favorites from this list.

The movies that I am still going to buy or I can not find are:

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge with Halle Berry

Do not Disturb (1965) with Doris Day

In the Pleasure of his Company with Fred Astaire & Debbie Reynolds

The Birds & the Bees (1956) with Mitzi Gaynor and George Gobel

Sabrina (1945) with Audrey Hepburn




(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

The Container Store- Store Tour

Recently, I took a visit to the Container Store.  The Container Store was started in 1978 by Kip Tindell, Garrett Boone and John Mullen. They opened the store offering an exceptional and eclectic mix of products devoted to helping people organize and simplify their lives.

The Container Store has everything you need to organize you life. It is a wonderful store. It will inspire you to live your best life and inspire you to be and live elegantly. You must make the trip to visit this store. You will enjoy it!

The Container Store located at 4120 East 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN.

Plastic storage containers

Different color hangers

Organizing boxes for your drawers

Closet tools

Office supplies 

Gift Packaging 

Items for Traveling

These are fantastic. Plastic bottles for putting your
toiletries in while traveling on a plane. 
Yeah! Look at what I found! The Container Store also carries
The Laundress products! I purchased the Delicate Wash bottle.
It smells wonderful and works great! I will be coming back for the Stain Solution

More of the Laundress products. Read my blog entry on 
The Laundress. 

Organizational products for the Kitchen

Products for organizing your kids. These are kid’s stacking baskets. 

More products for the Kitchen 

Storage blocks for Lego’s. I thought these were neat. 

I love these black gift boxes. They are so chic!

They have fantastic linen spray. I purchased the Cucumber melon. 
I love spraying this on bed sheets. 

Lastly, products for organizing your jewelry. 

Office Inspiration

I work a 9 to 5 job and sometimes just staring at my computer all day just drains me! So I bring in fresh flowers and a few decor pieces to brighten up my day!  I also have a fragrance bulb from Bath and Body Works so my area smells great also!  I figured I am here 8 hours a day I should have things around that I enjoy!

I have an office at home also. Home is where I am more inspired. So I just have a few pieces here also. Below are some photos of my offices and also photos of other offices. Let them inspire you to bring in some decor pieces of your own. Even if you have just a cubicle. I think your space should reflect you and you should make it a joy to be there. So take a look at these photos below and check out my Rooms that Inspire board on Pinterest. 

Photo by OhTilly on Unsplash

My desk at home. I love my little decor eggs. They
are music boxes that I purchased at T.J. Maxx over 10 years ago.




My desk at home 





Always have inspiring computer wallpaper. This is Tory Burch at her office. 





(photos via Mrs. Shockley)