Happy Halloween!

From our family to yours, Happy Spooking! 

Master Bedroom Pillows Makeover

When we got married we registered for a great bed set from Bed Bath and Beyond. It's vibrant and happy and lovely in our small bedroom. The only problem is its just a little too matchy matchy.

I think I was on a wedding registry high (pointing that little gun at items is super addictive!) and I didn't think about how mainstream everything would look. 

I have since come to my senses and learned that one should never buy everything from the same store. Shopping around is way better. Even if a collection is beautiful, don't buy the whole thing. It just ends up looking like you set up the store display in your house. Zero personality.

I am in love with our duvet cover. So that we will keep. I also love the vintage green crochet chevron blanket at the end of the bed. Its the throw pillows that could use some work. On the one hand I want to start over with our throw pillows. On the other hand I don't want to spend the money it would require to get cute new pillows. Solution: recover the pillows we already have!

This is the pillow that I am getting color inspiration from. Its a combination of teal, chartreuse, Kelley green, navy, purple, magenta, lighter pink, and goldenrod. This pillow sits on a great blue chair over in the corner of our bedroom and it will really pull everything together once the room  is done.

Truthfully, I would love two magenta velvet pillows, but I am not going to fork out the dough for that. So here are some of my fabric ideas. 

Don't you love the little hand of my helper in the corner?

I would love some input. Do you like these fabrics? Which one is your fave? Which fabrics would you use if it was up to you? Any combination of these or suggestions for different colors or patters or styles. Give me your creative juices!

Leave a comment with your ideas and then enter your email address and follow Domestic 360 for updates as our bedroom gets a little TLC.

Happy Decorating!

Xoxo,

Coco

P.S. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

DIY Plate Wall

In our old apartment we has super high vaulted ceilings. I spent so much time trying to figure out how to make those walls beautiful. We had some awkward shaped walls too, the wall behind our dining room table was also the wall that was in front of the staircase leading up to our loft. It was this weird angled thing and so hard to decorate. I settled on a plate collage. It was beautiful. I loved it. It brought a ton of color and interest into the space. I hung the plates so that they sort I migrated up the angle if the wall, really embracing the weirdness.

You can kind of see the plate wall in our old place, behind my musical boys.

 When we moved into our new place in July I quickly hung the plates above our dining room table just as they had been in our old place, though not in the same pattern. And I quickly decided I didn't like it. Nope, the plates just did not have the same effect in this new apartment. At least not on that wall. I was ready to give in the towel and pack up the plates. But my wonderful hubby inadvertently gave me an idea. I think his exact words were "The wall above the stove needs... something." Brilliant Hubby!

Not working...

My original plan for the wall above our stove was to hang some floating shelves for added storage. But thanks to some creative solutions I didn't really need the extra storage. Plus I wasn't too keen to do the work of installing shelves in an apartment that we aren't planing on being in forever. Once I gave up the idea of shelves over the stove, it opened up a huge blank wall. Enter: Plates. 

Sad boring wall.

To make sure the plates formed a good pattern, before I punched any holes in the wall, I traced each plate onto craft paper, cut it out and taped the tracings onto the wall. I played around with the pattern until I got something I was happy with. Then I hung the plates exactly where the tracings were.

Do this! It makes a huge difference in the finished product and in the process.
So much less frustration and guessing.

[plates are from Target, Marshals and various thrift stores]

I love, love, LOVE the way it turned out. It adds so much color and interest in my tiny kitchen. 

What do you think of my plate wall? Do you have a wall in your home that is just screaming for something interesting? Leave a comment and let me know!

Xoxo,
Corey

The Best Banana Bread Recipe Ever!

This is one of my oldest and most trusted recipes. I am not sure where it came from because its been in my recipe scrap book for years and years. I started making this recipe in college and haven't looked for a new one since.

as you can see from the stains and notes, this recipe is well loved!

I don't know about your family, but we seem to accumulate brown bananas. Some weeks we will eat a whole bunch of bananas in a few days and the next week we won't eat any, resulting in brown bananas. I hate wasting food and the nice thing about bananas is that once they turn brown you can just pop them in the freezer and leave them there until you are ready to make banana bread or breakfast cookies, or whatever else you might need smooshed-up ripe bananas for.  

Like I said, I have been making this particular banana bread recipe for years and years. In that time I have made bread, muffins and mini muffins. I have mixed in walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, and mini chocolate chips. I have thought about adding peanut butter and chocolate chips. I have thought about adding cocoa powder. I have thought about adding blueberries. I have thought about cutting the banana and adding pumpkin instead. I have thought about baking it in a cake pan and then icing it with cream cheese icing or chocolate, or Nutella, or even salted caramel! Oh so many culinary ideas! (What would you add?)

I have learned a few things after making this recipe so many times. First, do not over fill your pans or muffin liners! This batter will rise quite a bit. I learned the hard way with banana bread burning on the bottom of my oven. Fill whatever your baking pan is only about 1/2-1/3 of the way full. Second, make sure to check with a toothpick for done-ness (technical term) and check a few places when making bread. The bread will usually be a lovely golden brown and still gooey in the middle. I usually let it get a nice color and then cover with tin foil to finish baking through. Third, you can make this recipe with or without a mixer. If you have the arm strength/willingness to cream the butter and sugar the rest is a breeze. Forth, one banana equals about half a cup, so you will need roughly four bananas for this recipe. Fifth, experimenting with flavors is awesome! My favorite is chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips is making mini muffins. Sixth, shmere with butter or cream cheese and have some coffee. 

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. It the best banana bread recipe I have encountered.

follow me on instagram (@coreysuzanne) for more yummy inspiration!

What mix-ins do you add to your banana bread?

XOXO,
Coco

The Best Banana Bread

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large over-ripe bananas)
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
• 1 cup chopped nuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, etc... (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour three loaf pans, or put liners in muffin tins.

Mash bananas and mix with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.

Cream the butter and the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until well combined. Beat in bananas.

Sift all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) together. 

Add the flour and sour cream to the butter alternatively, starting and ending with the flour. Mix well after each addition. (Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mix until combined. Add 1/2 of the sour cream to the butter mixture, mix until combined. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mix until combined. Add 1/2 of the sour cream to the butter mixture, mix until combined. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mix until combined.)

Fold in nuts, chocolate chips, blueberries, etc... 

Pour batter into greased pans or spoon into muffin cups. DO NOT over fill pans. Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes for loaf pans, 17-20 minutes for regular-sized muffins, 12-15 for mini-sized muffins, or until a toothpick that is inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. If the bread has developed a golden brown color but hasn't baked all the way through, cover with tin foil and bake until done.