banana ice cream + a houndstooth tray

Happy late Easter!  My family had a lovely day.  We went to church, took a nap, received a hilarious wrong number call ("Aunt Sally" was distraught about the dog biting the Easter ham. Luckily, Andrew walked her through the tragedy, and we laughed for 3 hours about it), went for a walk at dusk, scared our neighbor Cole, and ended the day with some delicious (and healthy) banana ice cream.  Here is a picture of us right after church.

I made the boy's bow ties on a whim at midnight the night before.  Mia put up a great {tutorial} on how to make your own, so I looked it up and made two in no time at all.  Such an easy idea for using thrifted ties to make the ever popular bow tie for the little men in your life.

Now let's talk about the banana ice cream...... Have you ever found yourself sitting in a chair at the salon and all of a sudden your hair girl says something to you that you can't stop thinking about?  Well, it happened to me about a month ago.  I was telling the adorable Ann about an upcoming event I had (the next week) and how I wished I had lost 20 pounds for it.  She very calmly asked me if I was serious about losing the weight.  To make a long story short, my husband and I watched {Forks Over Knives} (which he had been begging me to watch with him for a month), then started the Engine 2 challenge a week ago.  It's a 28 day eating program of 100% plant based foods.  Today is day 8.  It's hard.  Needless to say, the highlight of our Easter menu was the banana ice cream we got to indulge in.  Even though this is freakishly healthy, my kids beg for it!  It's really delicious served with fresh berries as a garnish.  Don't try to freeze the leftovers.  It really tastes the best right when it's done.

Banana Ice Cream
6 frozen bananas, broken into chunks
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/2 - 1 cup almond milk

Blend in a food processor or a blender.  Eat immediately!

If anyone is as crazy as us and has done this 28 day challenge, or eats 100% plant based foods, I'd LOVE to hear from you.  If you care about me at all.

Oddly enough, last Friday evening I found myself all alone in the house.  As I was carrying some laundry upstairs, I looked over at the ottoman with the very plain tray on it.  I picked the tray up a few months ago at Goodwill for $4.99, and have been itching to do something with it.  Without a further thought, I dropped the laundry on the couch and carried the tray upstairs. 

I decided on a houndstooth pattern since I don't have any of it in the basement.  I did the same thing I always do to transfer the pattern, as shown {here} and {here}.  I cranked Pandora up and spent the next couple hours singing and painting.  The windows were open and there was a cool breeze.  It was so therapeutic and relaxing. 

After the paint dried, I sanded the pattern just a touch with a sanding block, then sprayed it with some matte finish polyurethane.  Sometimes it's nice to be able to finish a whole project in under 2 hours.

I washed the outside of the tray with some of the light gray paint I used on the pattern, then wiped it off.  It just stuck where there were little divots in the wood, and around the handles and brass fittings on the corners.  I love how it looks just a little bit older now, but not like it has lived in a barn for the past 200 years.

I'm excited to show you the full reveal of my basement someday.  I still have a lamp to make, curtains to finish up, and dresser drawers to overhaul.  At least the sectional has been slipcovered in white denim.  The only reason that's done is because I couldn't look at the mauve velour for one more minute, so I hired it out.

Moving at a snails pace around here, but at least we're making progress, and for that I'm so grateful!  Try the ice cream, and please, oh please tell me know how I'm going to make it through the next 21 days eating like a bunny.