Berry merry

To the dissapointment of friends and commenters, the pink berry cluster of two posts ago did not morph into a ceiling fan pull, but rather became a new necklace style that I'm quite fond of. I made it yesterday morning and it made it's debut at the cookie swap. It was out again at a Christmas party last night and after for some late night, last minute shopping and then again at church this morning. It's really making the rounds.

There are many other color schemes in the works and it may even show up in my Etsy shop because the picture isn't half bad with my little point and shoot. It's hanging up there from the old door to the laundry room which is off our sunny little mudroom. Too bad my gifts of jewelry have all either gone out or are already made, otherwise this style surely would have found it's way into some gift bags. There's always next year.

I'm enjoying winding down now that all my pre-Christmas orders have gone out and am really looking forward to the few weeks the kids have off from school. No lunches to pack, no paperwork to keep up with, no having to make sure homework gets done, no school schedule to keep. Ahhhh. Enter baking. I really like to bake. Cooking's fine but I like baking better and I'm getting in the mood for more of it and now have the time. The bananas on the counter were just begging to be made into bread so I obliged.

This bread is from the recipe of my friend's now deceased grandmother and is simple, totally foolproof, smells divine and comes out looking like this every single time. It usually doesn't last two days around here.