a little about A LOT

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

By Angela Comments

To be perfectly honest, I've never been much a muffin fan... however over the past year or so, I've come to really enojoy them.

It all started with my hubby, he hates eating breakfast, however if we have muffins in the house, he'll eat those {strange I know}. So after buying muffins for a few weeks, I realized that making them would be cheaper & I could take the regular muffin recipe and turn them into mini muffins, which are perfect for my little munchkins fingers :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins | A little about a Lot

Last week's Pintastic post was a bunch of new recipes, so I thought it was time to finally try a new one out. This recipe does not disappoint! They were DELICIOUS!

My hubby & kids love muffins... especially when they are filled with chocolate chips {well who doesn't - right?} and I love them because they are super easy to make and a great, quick snack that can be eaten on the go.

Since we are always running late in this house, on the go food works for us!

Here is how you make them. Seriously, it's super easy and most of the ingredients are probably already in your cupboard.

First you'll need your ingredients:
Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Salt, Baking Soda, Bananas, Butter, Milk, Vanilla, Eggs & Chocolate Chips

Today I was lucky, since I had my assistant helping... made it easier for me to take pics

I don't normally pour all the measurements out into separate bowls {since it just means more dishes for me to wash}, but since my little one was helping, this step made it much easier for her :)

She's cute huh??

okay, back to the muffins

Combine your wet ingredients: Milk, butter, eggs & vanilla

Next combine your dry {except the sugar} ingredients in a large bowl: Flour, Salt, Baking Powder & Baking Soda

Now pour your wet ingredients into the bowl with your dry ones.

{do you see her little tongue sticking out? When I'm concentrating, I do the exact same thing!}

Mix {just until combined}

Time to add the banana ** which you peeled and smashed up in a separate bowl**

Stir in the banana

Time for everyone's favorite part ... THE CHOCOLATE!

She "sneaks" a few chips. but who doesn't?? hehe

She even shares them with her baby sister... thank you kisses... so adorable!!!!

Okay, back to the recipe, no more distracting photos....

Last but not least, you want to fold the sugar in gently. This produces a muffin with a delicious, crunchy exterior without having to make a streusel.

Interesting, huh? I actually picked up this tip from Ina Garden {yes, yes, we are BFF's} hahaha, NOT! I actually picked up the tip from watching one of her Food Network shows.

Time to scoop the mix into your muffin pan. I use a mini muffin pan, but you could definitely use a regular muffin pan. Use liners or spray with PAM first

I use a melon baller to ensure that all the muffins will be the same size.

Instead of making 2 batches of mini muffins, we made 1 batch of mini muffins and 1 batch of animal muffins.

Bake at 350° for about 12 minutes

I tasted one before I remembered to take a pic... oops!

Of course my helper had to test one out too!

These are how our animal muffins turned out. My munchkin decided that these were "her & sissy's special muffins"

FULL RECIPE
Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter {melted}
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas {peeled and smashed up}
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup sugar

Heat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt in a large mixing bowl, set aside. In a smaller bowl combine the butter, milk, vanilla & eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and MIX. Stir in the bananas and the chocolate chips. Lastly, fold in the sugar**

Scoop batter into a greased bread muffin tins. Bake mini-muffins for 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Larger muffins will take approximately 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Complete cooling on a wire rack.

**This produces a muffin with a delicious, crunchy exterior without having to make a streusel. {tip I picked up from Ina Garden}

HAPPY BAKING!
(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

DIY {sharpie} Coffee Mug

By Angela Comments

I've seen these DIY Coffee Mugs floating around Pinterest for a while and I thought it was time to make one.

DIY Sharpie Coffee Mug | A little about a Lot

In case you didn't know, there are a TON of Pinterest Fails in regards to the sharpie "wiping right off", so I decided to ask a friend who makes them regularly. She told me that sharpies didn't work for her and to use Ceramic Paint Pens.

Now normally I would have run down to the craft store to by some paint pens BUT those who know me personally, know that I'm a MAJOR procrastinator. Unfortunately, I had planned to give this gift to my mom... who I was going to be seeing in a few hours... eeeckkk!

I thought... it only needs 30 min in the oven, I can do it the morning of... no such luck!

On to plan B!

I scoured the internet looking for Pinterest Success with regular Sharpies and luckily I found a bunch! Here are a few things I learned:

* The type of mug you purchase makes a difference. The cheaper the better. Why? Well it seems that cheaper mugs don't have as strong {or nice} of a glaze ---> which means the sharpie actually adheres to the mug better.
* Everything I read says "30 min at 350°" so most people would preheat oven, then put mug in - which is WRONG. You want to put your mug in the COLD oven and then turn it on to 450° and bake for 30min. Then let your mug cool completely before removing from oven {crack the oven door to help the speed up the cooling process}.
* The colors will change. So don't get upset when your red sharpie turns pink :)
* Handmade = HANDWASH. I thought this was kind of a given, but it's amazing how many people thought they'd be okay in the dishwasher... hand wash only
* Pure dumb luck - even if you do everything right - it still might turn out wrong.

Luckily my mug turned out perfectly - hahahahaha - except for my terrible penmanship, but heck, it give it character :)

I did a simple design ------> Madison + Riley = Happiness for Nana

See the date? My momma's birthday {well minus the year}.... and here is a picture from April 16, 2014 {almost 7 months later} via my mom's FB page

I must say that it still looks pretty darn good! Hopefully you'll have the same dumb luck as me :)

HAPPY CRAFTING!

(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

Photo Flower Pots

By Angela Comments

Being a blogger can be very frustrating.

Photo Flower Pot | Mothere's Day Gift | A little about a Lot

I spend a lot of time taking photos, editing photos and then writing posts and I sometimes wonder if anyone is even reading what I'm writing?!?! Getting people to visit your page is tough work and getting them to come back is even harder! I seriously think my sisters and hubby are my only true followers - haha.

So last week when I received an email from Parenting.com saying that my blog had been featured on their website I.WAS.ECSTATIC!!! I couldn't believe that a website {who's magazine I subscribe to} featured my blog!

Click here to see ----> Colorful Initial Art - Parenthood.com

It was such a nice confirmation that other people {besides my family} actually read my blog AND that they enjoy the content I provide. So if you're reading this, please remember that blogging can be very time consuming with little rewards, so spending an extra minute to leave a comment or share a link, really REALLY makes us bloggers happy.

{okay, stepping off my soap box now}

Onto today's craft - this lovely little Photo Flower Pot I made for Mother's day - for the grandmas - to go along with my craft from yesterday {click HERE to see it}

This was really easy to make, however I apologize for not taking ANY photos of the process. I made these 2 years ago, about 2 weeks after my daughter was born... I had to make these in between feedings and after I was done I looked at my hubby and said, "Ahhh, I forgot to take pictures!!" I blame pregnancy brain - hehe :)

Anyhow, the process is very simple.
1) Spray paint a ceramic pot {any color}
2) Print photos from a regular printer on regular paper {NOT photo paper}
3) Place the photos on pot and cover with 2-3 coats of Mod Podge {let it dry in between each coat}
4) Spray with an acrylic sealer - which makes it water resistant
5) Plant a pretty flower

Here is a picture of all the pictures :)

I think what made this gift so special was that my sister-in-law & I both had babies born only a few weeks early {my daughter was 2 wks old and her son was 3 wks old} and I was able to include a few photos of all our kids together.

These turned out so cute and I love how versatile this gift is. You can make one for your kids teacher or give one as a house warming present, the possibilities are endless :)

HAPPY CRAFTING!
(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

Family Hand Tree

By Angela Comments

I can't believe how fast these past couple of weeks have flown by! I didn't mean to disappear but it's been CRAZY around here. First I was up to my ears in Minnie Mouse decor {post to follow soon} for my little girls 2nd bday party. Then I got this cold... ugh... I hate being sick... especially when it's sunny and 90° out.

Family Hand Tree | Mother's Day Gift | A little about a Lot

Anyhow, I'm so excited to share this easy and cute Mother's Day craft with you. I made these a few years ago for our moms "the grandma's" and they absolutely loved them!

Here is how you can make your own Family Hand Tree :)

First cut out the tree from brown paper

Time to add your hand prints.

Instead of making a tree from MY family (me, hubby & kids), I chose to make a tree with my hubby's family {for his mom} and a tree with my family {for my mom}.

This was my mom's tree. We started with our hand prints {me & my girls... my littlest one was only 2 weeks old, her hands were sooooo little!} and we added my 2 sisters later.

Then I added the wording "Other things may change us, but we start and end with Family"

Next was my MIL's tree {hubby family}. The hubby & kids did their hand prints first, then we added his sister & her son {who was also only 3 weeks old}.

Let me tell you, trying to get a 2 & 3 week old to cooperate with painted hands was NOT easy, but they turned out pretty good, considering...

Since both our moms live over an hour away, we weren't going to see them on Mother's Day, so I drove up the Friday before to surprise the moms "grandma's" with their gifts. Both moms absolutely LOVED them!! It was a hit :)

{Do you see the flower pot? I'll be sharing that Mother's Day craft later this week}

HAPPY CRAFTING!
(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

Pintastic Friday #8 {Muffins}

By Angela Comments

Welcome to Pintastic Friday!!

For those of you here for the 1st time, here is a little recap... I share a few of my favorite pins each week and then pick one to make. Last week I selected a few favorites and the "goal" is to share my completed pin with you ~~the next~~ this week. So here is the big question... did I actually complete anything? {drum-roll please....... }

Sadly, I didn't get my pin done this week {technically it was last weeks}, but between my cold, Easter and planning a Minnie Mouse birthday... I just couldn't get around to another craft. Now that I'm finally feeling better, I hope to have my blogging back on track!

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My whole family loves muffins, especially the hubby. So I love coming across a new recipe for us to try out. Here are a couple of delicious looking muffin recipes that I've been dying to try out.

Best Blueberry Muffins

by Cooking Classy