citrus rum punch

 

spring is in the air! as a winter lover i am a little sad to see spring come THIS early, but i am going to embrace it. i am already thinking about all the spring & easter recipes i can make with the fresh produce that will soon be out. the one major thing i miss in the winter is the fruit. luckily citrus is available year round, so finding that perfect lemon or lime shouldn't be a problem. it is actually at its best in the winter months!

this punch is like the end of winter & the start of spring in a beautifully coloured drink. it is bright, vibrant & the different colours of the grapefruit, orange & lime make for the prettiest colour combination. i used all pure fruit juices & added in grapefruit citrus zevia for the fizz. it is sweetened naturally with stevia making it zero calories! the grapefruit citrus is also so good on its own, it is my new favourite soda to drink. if you wanted to make this virgin for a child friendly event or baby shower (i am sure we all have quite a few of those this season), just leave out the rum! it makes for a refreshing virgin punch too.

ingredients

  • 2 cups grapefruit citrus zevia
  • 2 cups pure orange juice
  • 2 cups pure grapefruit juice
  • 1/2 cup white rum (leave out if you want to make a virgin punch)
  • 1 orange, thinly sliced
  • 1 grapefruit, thinly sliced
  • 1 lime, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch of mint, roughly chopped
  • ice, for serving

directions

  • fill a large pitcher or dispenser halfway with ice.
  • add the grapefruit citrus zevia, orange juice, grapefruit juice & white rum. give it a good stir!
  • top with sliced orange, grapefruit, lime & mint.

modest (great) room

 

the great room is COMPLETE! okay, i'm not sure if this is technically considered a great room or just a living room but i like the term great room better. sounds more epic & i would say this room turned out just that. like i did with the powder room i am going to breakdown each design element for you! over all my goal with this room was to create a cozy, rustic, monochromatic all while keeping things a bit fancy. we decided not to turn this into a family room because the old features were way too classy for that. instead the family room is a work in progress! we are going to turn the third floor loft/attic space into the ultimate hangout zone. now let's get into the details of this room!

step one: the wallpaper & paint

putting in wallpaper here was a no brainer, just like the rest of the house. what started in just one room is slowly escalating to the entire house. i just love the charm it brings! for this room i wanted to do a subtle wallpaper, something i would never get sick of & that you only really notice if you look carefully. farrow & ball had the perfect print for that: amime. while this print is named after the space between netting inspired by japanese fishermen, i find it looks so woodsy! it goes perfect with warm woods & antler pieces. the actual colour of the wallpaper is farrow & ball's purbeck stone so it was a very easy decision to paint the rest of the room in purbeck stone. i chose farrow & ball's wevet for the fireplace + trim as it is a a bright white with the most subtle hint of grey. it makes for a clean, blank slate mantel for candle sticks, vases & of course a silver fox.

step two: textiles

there wasn't a whole lot of textiles to determine, mainly just the curtains, pillows & the rug. i chose simple white linen curtains from rough linen. they help bring in that old world charm while also providing the perfect amount of natural light & privacy. don't they just look so dreamy paired with that brass deer head curtain rod? secondly, i went with a mix of linen & mud cloth pillows from loom goods. i LOVE pillows so i added a lot to the room design & you can bet buddy has made every single one hers. she loves the down fill because she can shape it as she pleases. lastly... the rug! it was so hard to pick a rug that wasn't going to clash with the wallpaper. or so i thought! but the wallpaper ended up looking so simple that i was able to choose a rug that had a subtle design to it. this handwoven rug is the woodmere rug from rejuvenation. i love that it pulls in the whites, greys, black & even gold!

step three: the marble & brass

because this room is all pot lights thus doesn't allow for a bold light fixture, i really focused on the details of everything else. i added a marble fireplace hearth that i got custom made from a local stone shop, brass switch plates from rejuvenation, brass laterns, brass curtain rod & a brass table + floor lamp. the laterns & vases are from crate & barrel, the table lamp is from west elm (along with the couch/library chair) & the floor lamp is from restoration hardware. i saw a gorgeous coffee table from restoration hardware made from reclaimed wood, but justin & i cannot decide if we should splurge on it or not! the one featured here is a piece we made years ago when i found a brand new broken butcher block on the side of the road. the last little bit of detail i added in are the brass fireplace tools & long holder from crate & barrel. okay, so the fireplace doesn't ACTUALLY work at the moment. the previous owner closed off the chimney, so i can only imagine there is a major issue with it. one day we plan to get it back in use! for now the logs add a sense of warmth & coziness. while it sounds like i added in a ton of brass features, each is subtle & adds a touch of elegance to everything. i love bringing in golds without going overly gaudy. i also love a mix of old & new, i mean how perfect does that gold switch plate look next to the brass diamond door knob that is original to the house (as well as the french door)!

step four: wall art

i have the MOST trouble deciding on wall art. i never know what i should frame! but then i came across framebridge & it made everything so much easier. you get to custom frame your own prints & decide on all the details. naturally i framed a huge picture of buddy holly & judging by her face in all the photos she is pretty proud of it.

for a complete list of sources, check out the links below!

roasted banana bread

 

i have been making so much banana bread lately. maybe it is all of the snow we have gotten this month that is keeping me indoors or maybe it is because it is my absolute favourite thing to bake! while i was CONVINCED my banana bread recipe was absolutely perfect (something that took quite a while to perfect), i am having fun mixing things up. for this recipe i roasted the bananas first to maximize the sweetness, used butter only, topped it with grey sea salt & i added over double the yogurt. now i don't know which recipe is better! this one turned out so moist.

i will be honest though, roasting the bananas first did not make as much of a difference then i thought it would. this technique would be great if you want to make banana bread but don't have the ripest of bananas on hand. it kind of speeds up the ripening process. this is also the first banana bread where i put a fresh sliced banana on top. how cool does it look?!? i don't know why it took me this long to do it, i have seen it pop up on my instagram so many times. i think i will do this from now on if i have an extra banana on hand.

ingredients

for the banana bread

  • 3 roasted bananas, mashed (recipe below)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup plain organic greek yogurt, full fat
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • raw sugar, to sprinkle on top
  • grey sea salt, to sprinkle on top
  • 1 banana, sliced lengthwise to top banana bread (optional but not really)

for the roasted bananas

  • 3-4 large ripe bananas, peeled & sliced lengthwise
  • 1 tablespoon raw sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon grey salt
  • 1 pinch cinnamon

directions

for the banana bread

  • preheat the oven to 325°F and butter a loaf pan.
  • in a mixing bowl, mash the roasted bananas with melted butter and yogurt.
  • stir in the raw sugar, egg, and pure vanilla extract until well combined.
  • sift in cinnamon, baking soda, grey salt & flour. mix until just combined.
  • pour into loaf pan, sprinkle with additional raw sugar & top with a sliced banana.
  • bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, approximately 45-50 minutes.
  • let cool completely before slicing!

for the roasted bananas

  • preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • in a roasting pan or cast iron skillet, lay in bananas sliced side up.
  • sprinkle with raw sugar, grey salt & cinnamon.
  • roast for 30 minutes, or until the flesh becomes browned & squishy.
  • let cool.