One to Nothin'

Banana Nut Bread

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Who doesn’t love banana nut bread?!
Usually I only attempt to bake this stuff when the bananas are about be thrown out because they’re so bruised and gross (I am one of those people who likes her nanners to be a little bit green still), but despite the still-yellow outside appearance, I was craving me some banana bread. So I went for it.
I used this recipe with a few minor changes.
I’m pretty sure I also added a couple tablespoons of Agave nectar for moistness & sweetness purposes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, mix these ingredients together, slosh ’em into a greased up pan and bake for about 60 minutes (when the toothpick comes out clean).
Benefits to making this bread are as follows (and I quote):
It tastes delicious
It makes your house smell delightful
It’s low in sugar
It’s filling
Your nasty bruised bananas won’t go to waste
Your family & boyfriend get to enjoy it and..
It’s a quick & easy breakfast the next day before school when you have class from 9:30 to 12:30 and you’re  a baby who can’t go more than a few hours without food, hypothetically speaking..
And now, without further ado, I present to you the song of the day.

InstaFriday/Friday’s Letters

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Dear Tennis Shoes,
Apparently I have forgotten how to wear you due to a “Born to Run” induced anxiety about  clunky-heeled running footwear. My form COMPLETELY changes when I wear you & not in a good way. You will only be worn at the gym.
-Kens

Dear Treadmill,
I have a love/hate relationship with you. You force me to stare at you constantly during my run watching the little fluorescent green numbers sluggishly increase. But if it weren’t for you, I would’ve skipped out on my long run (7 miles this week) due to rain. So thanks, friend.
-M

Dear Ziggy,
Thanks for trying to bathe me by licking the sweat off my legs after I run. You never fail to do it & I never fail to think it’s funny get grossed out. Also, you need to stop hogging the bed. You’re only 40 pounds, you don’t need THAT much room!
-Yo mama

Dear Jessica,
Thanks for making this delicious protein shake for me. My legs are on fire from our gym sesh. Walking to class was a chore this morning.
-Your Biff

Dear Florida,
It’s pretty cool that you allow me to lay out mid-January. Weird, but cool. If only my skin were capable of being tan..
-Freckly Resident

Dear Blog Readers,
How flippin’ cool are these boots I thrifted?!??!
-MacKensie

Happy Friday!!

Keep it classy this weekend! 😉
Photobucket               
                            
      life rearranged

WINNER

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We have a winner of my very first giveaway!!!!

I thought that was pretty crazy. BUT lucky number 26 is:

Michelle of Making Sense of Cents!!!!
Congratulations, Michelle. Here’s what you won:
Please contact me with your address when you can, Michelle!

So while we’re on the topic of excitement..
I won TWO blogger awards in the past couple of days and I am SO honored.

From the lovely blog of Style of a Mrs. I received the Kreativ Blogger Award:
And the talented Thoughts of Paps blog awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award:
Thank you guys so much! Both of these awards call for seven random facts about yourself, so I figured I would take this opportunity to reintroduce myself to anyone who may be new to my blog scene. 
(Brand new readers should start here)
1. I am obsessed with music and I’m positive that I could never, ever pick a single favorite song or band, but in order to make things simple I chose this one a long time ago (like when I was 5):
“Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” by Meatloaf.
It’s way depressing & It used to make me cry.
2. (OK, it still does) Everything makes me cry. Including this scene of “The Office” (& just about every other Jim & Pam moment) even though I’ve seen it a million times. Seriously, is that not, like, the best show ever?

3. I graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and now I’m going back to school to become a physical therapist.
4. I cannot stand the feeling of squeaky glass that just came out of the dishwasher on my hands or dry wood under my feet (my toes are tingling & hands are sweating just thinking about it, no joke).
5. I often do Kardashian impressions, bible. I literally, just over-pronounce my s’s, r’s and y’s.
Kourtney is my favorite. Khloe is my sister Britni’s fave & Kim sucks.
6. I always wear mismatched socks.
7. I recently cut off 17 inches of hair for Locks of Love.

I would like to pass on this blogging love to these talented ladies:

Show the Wonder
Captivated By Grace
Cheeky Cheeky
The Magnolia Pair
Kaleigh
Aunie Sauce

Basically I love their blogs.. a lot. So you should definitely check them out.
Spread the blog love, y’all!

You’re supposed give some fun facts about yourself and then award some of your favorite bloggers as well — letting them know that they’re loved and appreciated and we want them to blog forever. 🙂

Savannah, GA

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Sunday Austin and I drove to Savannah, GA for approximately 48 hours.
It was an adventure we wanted & that’s what we got. I have so, so many photos to prove it.
Beautiful (cold) weather + 
delicious food + 

lots of walking + 
posing +
drinking +
+ history lessons
 + getting hazed by my mom
=
One badass adventure.

Allison’s Sweet Potato Fries

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While discussing lactose-free cheese products with my friend Allison (whose husband is a fellow lactose intolerant) I learned that feta cheese is made from goat milk and I can eat it! Which lead to ultra excitement and the discussion of a delicious sounding recipe for sweet potato fries with feta. I tried it, it’s delicious. Thanks for sharing it, Allison. 
Here it is:
Balsamic reduction

1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp. arrowroot (can sub cornstarch)
1 tsp. water

In small sauce pot over medium high, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, stirring often.
mix arrowroot and water into a slurry and pour into reduction.
cool and place in a squeeze bottle.


Sweet potato chip Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8 inch thick or smaller (use a mandolin if you have one!)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt, preferably sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in center and lower positions. Divide sweet potatoes between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with oil, toss, and spread them in a single layer on sheets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Bake, flipping once or twice, until centers are soft and edges are crisp, 22 to 25 minutes. (I like to finish them under the broiler to get them a little crispier, but you have to keep a close eye on them so the edges don’t burn.)



Remove from the oven and spread on serving platter. Crumble some goat cheese over the chips, and then lightly drizzle everything with the balsamic reduction. Enjoy while still warm!

InstaFriday Part III

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Top left clockwise: Jessica, me and some friends at Gators Dockside watching the National Championship (woo hoo, Roll Tide! ..I just like Bama more than LSU.. I’m a Florida girl), my sweaty self stretching after a three mile run yesterday, me doing what any girl does after reading “The Hunger Games” for an hour: daydreams about archery & captures it on InstaGram, and lastly, my cute little pup loungin’ in the sun.
But this photo right here is what really sums up my iPhone week:
This isn’t even my high score. Guys, I’m addicted to this game. You might think I just use that word loosely, but I see the tree roots, arches of fire and monkeys scrolling at me when I close my eyes sometimes. It’s a problem.
Also, speaking of addiction, I finished “The Hunger Games” yesterday and it was as exciting and awesome as everyone said it would be. I am cautious about when to start the second one because I know I won’t be able to stop once I start. I think I’ll read one of my Christmas books in between first (probably “Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides).
Do you guys play Temple Run on your iPhones too?
This weekend is going to be full of adventure. Hopefully not the kind where you are forced into an arena and have to kill each other off and what not, but still. Hopefully there will be running and temples and explorers and fire. I’ll keep you posted.
May all of your weekends be full of adventure as well!
& If you haven’t already, be sure to enter my first giveaway here!
life rearranged
PS: If you want to follow me on InstaGram, my username is MacKensieG

My Very First Giveaway!!!!

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I told you guys something super exciting was waiting for you when my readership hit the big one oh oh!!
It’s time for my VERY first blog giveaway! 
And in true Kensie style, all the giveaway items are homemade 
(whether that’s a good or a bad thing, you guys be the judge).
Here are the goods:
Necklace made by yours truly
Earrings also made by this guy
All-natural (and even edible, although perhaps not too tasty) lotion & two lip balms made by my momma. They contain bees wax and honey from my mom’s bee hive, extra virgin olive oil & coconut oil.
Warning: Lotion will make your dog want to lick your skin off.

Want to win?!
Leave a comment for each of the following things you do to increase your chances of winning:
1. Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (over on the right) 
2. Follow my blog on BlogLovin
3. “Like” my blog’s Facebook page
4. Follow me on Twitter
5. Tell me what kind of posts you’d like to see more of
I will pick a winner next Thursday with a random number generator. Be sure to check back or link up your e-mail to your comments so I can contact you!
Thank you all so much for reading. You make my day every day with your sweet comments.
Good luck!!!

What I Wore Wednesday Part VI

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Dress, Shoes & Clutch: Ross
Belt: Target
Jacket: Dillard’s

This is what happens when I come home all buzzed from an interview and attempt to take photos on my tiny point-and-shoot, without a tripod, for the 10 minutes before the battery dies and have no idea where the charger is. Whew, deep breath.
I think the back of the dress is pretty cool, but I never quite know how to handle such things because I’m not about to go bouncin’ my boobies around town without a bra, but my bra is so clearly evident & an undershirt would take me from 22 to 12 in about three seconds.
This necklace was a gift from my sister-in-law — DZ’s symbol is the turtle. 🙂

And there’s the fact that this dress is fairly see-through anyway. Sheesh. 
How do you guys feel about the whole wearing-a-see-through-blouse-and-black-bra look?
I think it’s so scandalous! (I feel like the church lady) But sometimes I see chicks who rock the crap out of it.. so I have mixed feelings. 

Happy Hump Day!

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