Ladies Who Lunch

What is better than The Crumpet Tea Room during Springtime? I can tell you! Friends who join you for lunch at The Crumpet! 

 Mandy and her sweet girl, Eden are adorable!

Mandy and I have been friends for a few years now and I just love her. I am so glad we got together yesterday. We always have such fun together!

 I always love the chicken salad with fruit and their famous orange rolls. Y.U.M. I had to take a picture of my plate! :)

A few of my friends have asked me to post this recipe on here. Believe me, this banana bread is heavenly. I can't wait to make it again soon! It's 4 points a slice and should be 18 slices.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3 spray(s) cooking spray
5 large banana(s), very ripe
1 cup(s) whole wheat flour
1 cup(s) white all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
5 tsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup(s) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg(s), at room temperature
1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup(s) chopped walnuts


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a large loaf pan with cooking spray.
Peel and mash 3 bananas. Peel and cut 2 bananas into small chunks. Set both aside.
In a large bowl, sift together both types of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat to incorporate.
Alternating in batches, add mashed bananas, flour mixture and milk to bowl with butter mixture. Combine well but do not over beat; fold in walnuts and banana chunks.
Turn batter into prepared pan; bake until a tester inserted in center of bread comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in pan for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool more. Cut into 18 slices. Yields 1 slice per serving.

**Note for those on WW: I calculated it online and I used 5 Tbs butter instead of 5 tsp. It changed the value to 5 points per slice, rather than 4, which is still not bad! Enjoy, everyone!

Hope y'all have an awesome weekend and Happy St. Patrick's Day! Wear Green! ha!

The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Proverbs 27:9

Beautiful Spring

It's Springtime! Oh, my goodness, I love Spring! I love Fall and Spring better than Summer and Winter for some reason. I love the colors that burst during the Spring and Fall and love the milder weather. It feels so good in Northwest Arkansas. The weather is perfect right now.

Russell and I went for a two mile walk at the Crystal Bridges/Compton Garden trail. 

 Here is the end of the trail looking at the Crystal Bridges museum. So pretty!

 Here we are during the walk. This was taken before we got so sweaty. HA! We are trying to walk as much as we can lately because we want to get healthier. We want to walk outside rather than on a treadmill, too. Quick WW update, I have currently lost 17.2 pounds since I started WW. It is a total lifestyle change, but I am loving it. I can still enjoy things like chocolate brownies and pizza, but just watching how much I eat of it! :) Plus, I am trying to continue drinking lots of water and eating fruits and veggies of course. Anyway, on to talking about Spring.....

 We love the flowers at the Bentonville Downtown Activity Center. Just gorgeous.

 So pretty

 Love these tulips!

 More tulips!

Last week, I tried a new WW recipe, Banana Bread. Oh. My Gosh! It was so good! It's only 4 points per slice and worth every bite.

So go outside, enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the flowers, grass and trees. Don't ya just love Spring?

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things. Philippians 4:8



Be My Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, a little late, but you get the point. :)

We had a very low key, but still special, V-Day. 

Here is our table set before our dinner. We had steak, baked potato and salad. Russell and I cooked it all together.

 I also made Raspberry Squares for our Valentine dessert. Three points per square is not too bad, right?

I found this picture on Pinterest. I love it. It will be our verse for today. I believe it should be the meaning of V-day! Hope y'all have an awesome week!

Grammy Night

Oh, how I love music. I try to watch the Grammy's every year. I also knew Adele was predicted to win every award she was nominated for. And.....she did! I loved her dresses, her performance, and even her makeup!

Carrie Underwood looked fantastic, I thought! She is another one of my favorites! She sang a song with Tony Bennett. Interesting combination, but their voices sounded good together.

How can I talk about the grammy's without mentioning Jennifer Hudson singing, "I Will Always Love You?" It was so good and it was impossible to not have chills during that performance. I don't know how she did it under the circumstances.

 It was so  sad to hear about Whitney Houston. She was so talented throughout the years. I leave you with a song everyone knows from her.


Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 100:1

Sweet Things!

Ahh, February...the month of love, hugs, and kisses. Ya gotta love it! I just wanted to share a few things I like right now.

 I can't wait til this movie, The Vow, comes out tomorrow! I am sure it will be so good! Any movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book will be good!

 I am loving Vintage Valentine's lately. I thought this one was cute.

 I saw these on Pottery Barn website the other day and I just fell in love with them! Soo adorable for the whole month of February!

And speaking of "sweet things".....

I can't wait to make these Weight Watchers cupcakes that are 5 points per serving! I know they would be less points without the icing and maybe you can use a dusting of powdered sugar, instead. That, my friends, is a very sweet thing! :)

I hope y'all are having a wonderful day! XOXO!

Greater love has noone than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Just an update!

I wanted to share a quick Weight Watchers update with y'all. I'll say it again. It works! Thirteen pounds are gone! I am so excited and I am definitely going to keep going with this program. Again, if you are considering losing weight or to just get healthy, WW is by far, the best in my opinion. I think that drinking water, eating more fruits and veggies and staying active really are key points to losing weight. And bonus: because I am on WW, I still enjoyed a piece of that wonderful birthday cake on Friday, but I still lost 3 lbs this week! It's definitely possible and it definitely works! Hope y'all have an awesome day!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

What I Love About Russell!

I am a little late posting this but I wanted to post a special blog today for my sweet husband, Russell. Today is his 28th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Russell!!

When we were dating, I actually gave him a little something "valentine-like" each day from the 1st to the 14th, which is obviously Valentine's Day. It was fun!

 Here's my Valentine with his early birthday cake from this weekend!

Here are 14 things I love about him, from today til V-Day!

1. I love his love for the Lord.

2. I love the love his love for others

3. I love how we laugh together about the most silly things!

4. I love his patience (I have none. HA!)

5. I love his humbleness.

6. I love watching him watch the Razorbacks (he gets really into the game). :)

7. I love and I am grateful for the sacrifices he makes for us!

8. I love his smile.

9. I love that we are best friends.

10. I love how he shows his dedication to not only me, but everyone!

11. I love the love we share for movies!

12. I love how we do almost everything together, even grocery shop!

13. I love the way he loves me. (cue the song. :) )

14. I LOVE that we will be together forever!!!

Here we are after we had only been dating 6 months. I think this was taken in October 2005!

Russell,

Thank you so much for everything you do for me. I love you more than I can say! Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Love, Meredith