saturday morning muffins and music :: a giveaway with Reeve Coobs

I met my sweet friend Reeve through the wonderful world of blogging and Instagram. She has been such a dear voice online the past few months always full of words of encouragement and prayer I truly feel so blessed to have met her! Reeve is an incredible singer/songwriter and her new album, What Love is All About debuts on November 1st. She sent me an early copy and I have been listening to it ever since it arrived. I love her gorgeous voice and deep beautiful lyrics and have found myself singing along with the catchy melodies. Night Owl is my most favorite track on the albumn and after reading the story and evolution behind the song I love it even more (you can read about it and listen to it HERE).

This morning felt like a baking morning and since we have about a dozen over ripe bananas sitting on the counter I decided to experiment with some vegan banana nut muffins and listen to Reeve's beautiful voice. I love her heart and the way she bares it so beautifully on the album...and the muffins turned out really yummy so I thought I would share the recipe...

Vegan Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins (makes 24)

•  2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup of evaporated cane juice
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed 
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 bananas)
• 1.5 cups of canned coconut milk
• 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce 
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375° Fill 24 muffin cups with liners. Combine the flours, sugars, flax, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside. Combine the banana, coconut milk, vinegar, oil, vanilla extract and apple sauce and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix and then seperate into the muffin tins. Bake for 22 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

And Reeve sent a copy of her cd for one of you, I am super excited to get to share it - enter below for a chance to win! Hope you guys have a truly blessed weekend, and thank you Reeve for sharing your gifts it's beautiful to behold! xoxo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

gold spray painted pumpkin buckets :: yay or nay?

A few weeks ago I asked Chris to spray paint some of those plastic pumpkin buckets after seeing really pretty gilded ones in a Crewcuts window display. He kindly obliged like he always does but then after bringing them in he deemed them a fail since the pain ran a bit. I looked at them for a few days and then decided to fill one with a bouquet of flowers for our piano, but I am still having trouble deciding if they should make the cut to put away for use again next year or to indeed agree that they weren't quite at cool as I thought they might be...what do you guys think?

I sure had fun dreaming about the idea. Concepting a project is often just as much fun for me as the actual completion. It just fills such a deep part of my soul to create something out of nothing and during these busy days with young kids even the dream of making something with my hands can be enough to keep me going for days until the time arrives. So what about you, is there anything you've been dying to try but haven't quite found the right moment yet? Either way I hope you find something to do this weekend that fills your soul, happy friday!

thursday through my lens :: fox hollow farms

Just a few from a little adventure we took out to Fox Hollow Farm last week with Jenny and her Mom! The sun poked it's head out about halfway through and I so wish I had taken a few dozen more photos, it really doesn't get much better than a pumpkin patch on a sunny day in October! Maybe we will find time to visit another one as a family this weekend! So what's going on through your lens lately?

Pumpkin Spice Winner!

I had so much fun looking through all of this months Ten on Ten sets with my friends at photo.net and we are super excited to announce the winner of the pumpkin spice challenge! We just loved this adorable one from Lyndsay over at Educated not so Domesticated  - this picture of her daughter is just the sweetest!! Congrats to you Lyndsay for winning the 24X36 canvas print and a super special thank you to my friends at photo.net for generously donating this months prize! Make sure to check out the current wildlife photo contest they have going on right now on photo.net , you could win some really fun prizes including a WD Passport Slim!! And thanks to all of you who played along this month I plan to post another prompt for November!!

Ten on Ten :: October 2013 :: Pumpkin Spice

I had so much fun today looking for beauty with the prompt Pumpkin Spice -- it's seriously so funny how much you start to see when you're really looking for it! I can't wait to check out all of the sets on the linky and throughout Instagram and I will post the winner of the 24X36 canvas print from photo.net as soon as we choose one! Thanks to all who played along with me today, feel free to link up for the next week...and I think I will choose another prompt for next months installment but I promise to give you a little more heads up this time! xoxo

Ten on Ten :: October 2013 :: Pumpkin Spice

Happy tenth everyone I am so excited about this months installment! Today I am challenging you with the prompt Pumpkin Spice for a little extra inspiration as you search for beauty throughout the day! there is no pressure if you want to stick to your usual process but for those of you who choose to join me I will be looking through the linky party and will choose a winner along with my friends at photo.net - for a 24X36 canvas print!! Interpret the theme however you choose but just be sure to let me know somewhere in the post that you are using the prompt! Instagrammers use #10on10pumpkinspice so I can find you there. Have fun today I can't wait to see what you find!
find out more about taking a photo an hour for ten hours on the tenth of the month HERE.

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reminder that thursday is ten on ten :: plus a prompt just for fun!

Just a little reminder to charge your camera batteries for Thursdays installment of the Ten on Ten project...this month I thought it would be fun to spice things up with a prompt. Nothing you have to do of course but if you're looking for some added inspiration use Pumpkin Spice to get your creative juices flowing and I will be on the lookout for my favorite sets...I am thinking this gives me another good reason to buy a yummy pumpkin spice latte for the occasion too! Hope you will consider joining me in this long standing tradition of finding beauty in the ordinary - I am so looking forward to it! xo

*more about Ten on Ten HERE

our halloween house

I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water these days, the past month kind of snuck up and smacked me upside the head a little bit. It's just been a whirlwind around here and when I get kind of overwhelmed I oddly must decorate something..ha ha! Can you relate at all? So all the tiny spare moment I have had lately have been spent adding some Halloween fun to the corners of our home. I love the fall it is one of my most favorite times of year I just wish it wasn't so darn busy!

This week I am gearing up for Chris to be away - he heads out of town tomorrow so I am pacing myself for how full the week will be with my four kids, alone :). I also stepped out in faith on a big dream of mine (I promise to share more on that soon) and have a ton of work to do to give this little baby new life. I am in a season of wanting to say yes to pursuing those things I feel tugging at my heart and saying no to the things that are not in line with what God is really asking of me and although this probably sounds super vague and weird I am making note of it here because it is a new exciting adventure and I want to mark it somehow!

So here's to biting off another week - lots of hope and beauty around. Ten on Ten is Thursday which always makes me smile...thinking about doing a prompt this month just for fun! So what about you hows the fall treating you so far? Any new adventures you're hoping to jump into? Go do it friends we only live once right!! xoxo

*Adorable glow in the dark trick or treat bags were a gift from Personal Creations we can't wait to use them in a few weeks!! The Halloween banner is from Land of Nod and more about that cute Home Sweet Home laser cut from Furrow and Feather coming soon!!

leather headband with The Merrythought

You guys I am so excited about todays guest post with Caitlin from The Merrrythought. I have been huge fans of the  girls behind this incredibly inspiring blog for a really long time and was first introduced to them through the Ten on Ten project - they are seriously some of the most beautiful, talented women and I know you will adore their blog if you haven't found it already. True eye candy almost everyday of the week over there!! Caitlin is showing us how to make this adorable leather headband today and I am honored to host her here!

Hey! My name is Caitlin, I am a vintage ­loving, craft­making lady that spends a lot of time behind a camera. I share a lot of pictures, projects and thoughts over on The Merrythought, where I blog with Manda and Marla! I am so excited to be here on Rebekah's blog to share a quick DIY beaded leather headband today!

What you need:

­Leather

­Leather lace

­Beads

­Needle and thread

­Scissors

­Mod Podge and brush

How to make it: Cut a piece of leather 12" x 1.25"  and lay out a design with beads that will fit in that space. (Sketching out your idea ahead of time will help.) Use your needle and thread to sew the beads in place. For bigger beads you will have to go through the leather between each bead and smaller ones you might be able to get away with stringing a few on the thread before stitching it back through the leather.

Cut four 19" pieces of leather lace. Use a dab of Mod Podge at each end of the beaded leather to help hold two pieces of the leather lace per side. Cut two pieces of leather .75" x 1.25". (I used the same type of leather as I did for my main band but I used the back side of it to add some contrast.)

Use another dab of Mod Podge to secure this over the pieces of leather lace. Once the Mod Podge has dried, use your needle and thread to stitch an X over the piece for extra support.

Tie it and wear it!

Thank you so much for being here today Caitlin and a huge kiss to your whole team over at The Merrythought you guys are definitely on my blog crush list! xo, Rebekah