#BLOGMAS: Gingerbread Cookies!

Merry Christmas Eve! At the beginning of every year, Christmas feels so far away, but alas, it's finally here! Well, almost. And of course, there's the tradition of leaving cookies for Santa so I thought it was fitting to do a baking post today. I got a Gingerbread recipe from Taste, an Australian site that has a collection of various recipes, so be sure to check that out :-)

I usually make some modifications to recipes since I don't want too much fat or sugar in them so I just reduce the amount, and honestly, they still taste great. So don't be afraid to cut back on things you don't want too much of (it may not make too much of a difference health-wise, but hey, it's the little things, isn't it?)

I got these adorable cookie cutters from IKEA a few months ago (I think). I actually couldn't find the classic gingerbread man cutters but thought these were just so cute & something different. However, it was a little hard since the long 'handle' bit was prone to breaking off before & after baking.

It was also my first time using an electric beater & whisking eggs to form a 'soft peak'. I always had to whisk by hand & it never got to where I needed it to be so the end product was never what I wanted. But finally, I cracked & got it and I think it was $20 well spent since it actually worked.

I just used little plastic bags & cut a tiny corner to do the piping and it was so much fun! I think this would also be a great activity for kids as well. Being able to decorate their own cookies & eating them afterwards would be a real treat :-)

So, what do you think? Not bad, huh? As you can see, some of the cookies don't have the stem part since they broke off but c'est la vie! And of course, I had to make Patrick Star out of the star-shaped ones. Does it even look like him though? :P

Be sure to tell me what your favourite cookies are, what's on your Christmas wishlist & any other traditions you may have because I love reading about all of that.

Love Always,
Anna Banana ☃

♡ 21st Birthday Recap

Guess who turned 21?! That's right, this girly :P

I share my birthday with my bestie, Mon & Halloween...although that's not a birthday. Halloween was never really a big thing here in Australia but lately I've seen more trick or treaters & decorations at some houses. Although there weren't any trick or treaters at my place this year. But I hope you all had a fun & exciting Halloween and didn't get too sick from eating so much candy.

I had an amazing day. Starting as soon as I opened my eyes. I must have really been out of it because Kalen managed to get up and attach balloons on my bed and place the most beautiful bouquet of (21) roses beside me. We had a delicious breakfast at one of our favourite cafés and then went shopping at IKEA with Mon & her boyfriend, Jeremy. That's right ladies & gentlemen, an IKEA double date on our birthday. Romantic, huh? But really, we just love strolling through IKEA and I bought a few bookshelf inserts. I may or may not have already started getting the dog's room ready...

Then we just relaxed at home, putting together the drawers & whatnot, and I gotta say, it's coming along pretty great. I'm planning on doing a 'Puppy Trilogy' sort of thing so stay tuned. I'm so excited! I know I got the car for my birthday (for the next 5 years), but since it is my 21st, it seems I really am getting a puppy! I just feel so blessed & lucky to have such amazing family & friends...I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. We're going to see the puppies tomorrow (Sunday) and I'm super, duper excited to see them! Just imagine, this time tomorrow, there will potentially be a little puppy tucked into my lap as I type and exciting new blog post.

If that doesn't work out, we may be going to another place next Sunday. It'd be a little disappointing if that happens since I've been hyping this up the whole time but a puppy will definitely join the Rose household by next month so that's all I can ask for. Plus, I'd prefer all the stuff I ordered online to arrive before the puppy comes so that may even be better. I'm trying to make the best of anything & everything because I'm just so grateful for the amazing gift of a new best friend.





Enough about that now. A birthday wouldn't quite be a birthday without cake now, right? We picked up 2 of these adorable little cakes that were amaaaaaazing! We got them from this cute little Korean bakery/café in Strathfield called Hello Happy. What a cute name! We'll definitely be going there again, soon! And of course, a cake that pretty was just screaming 'Instagram' so naturally, we dressed up the table a little :P

Honestly, my family & friends made this day so special for me. We love having these low-key occasions, even if it is a big birthday like a 21st, and it was made even more special being around all my closest friends and family.

But on top of that, when I posted these pictures on Instagram, all of you wished me a Happy Birthday and that was seriously just the icing on the cake. The cherry on top. The sugar coating. Enough cake puns? ;-) And I can't thank you all enough for making my day even better. You have all become such great friends of mine & I wish there was a better way of me to express my thanks for you, but at the moment, thanks seems to be the only way...

Thank you so, so much.

Love Always,
Anna Banana ♡

✿ HELLO SPRING!

Hello Spring & Hello Everybody!

It's the 2nd of September and although a lot of you in the Northern Hemisphere's are probably like, say whaaat? It's Spring down under. I have to say, Spring & Autumn are my favourite seasons. It's not too hot or too cold. It's a happy medium and flowers, autumn leaves...need I say more? No to mention my birthday's in Spring :-)

Here was a little pic I took today of my Filofax...

Spring has sprung!

As you may have noticed in this picture...there are 3 easter egg looking things. EOS LIPBALMS! I have searched high and low for you. I was tempted to buy ONE for TEN DOLLARS but I fought the urge. And one Sunday afternoon whilst I was browsing the Costco aisles with my friends...we stumbled upon these!

EOS LIPBALMS! LET ME LOVE YOU!

This 4 pack was only $12-13! So of course, we promptly added it to our cart. My favourite would definitely be the light pink one (top right). As the name Strawberry Sorbet suggests, it just tastes delicious! But don't eat it! :P My next favourites are the Sweet Mint (top left) & Honeysuckle Honeydew (bottom right). I couldn't choose because they both smelt divine.

Obviously the Honeysuckle Honeydew had a melon-y smell whereas the mint was so nice and refreshing. My least favourite, which I am over-using at the moment to use it ASAP is the bottom left one - Summer Fruits. It has an unusual smell...I honestly don't know how to describe it... But I will admit, the more I apply it, the more I'm getting used to it. I'm the kind of person that can't use all 4 at once. I haven't even tried the other 3 & refuse to until I finish the one I'm using right now... Does anyone else do this? Am I just weird?

My boyfriend is sitting right next to me as we watch Thor and just nodding. Oh well.

And that's right, ladies & gentlemen. I'm blogging mid-date. I made us homemade cheese pizzas and we're having a movie marathon.

As for the pizzas, I just bought the ready-made mini pizza bases, Devondale creamy shredded cheese & Leggo's pizza sauce. Bada boom, bada bang! They were soooo good & soooo cheesy. Not good for you. But...it kinda is :-) There were 12 in a pack and we've already gone through about half...as I finish my second, I'm thinking we're gonna have to make a few more...

I guess the fact that we just finished Chef doesn't really help our salivating taste buds. That movie is just...food porn. We've moved onto Thor now and can I just say, am I the best GF in the world or what? Just kidding. I actually love all those superhero movies & the A-Team sounds pretty fun as well. He told me he liked it and we love watching the same movies over and over again.

Do you have any movie recommendations? If so, please leave them down below! We watched Divergent last week (for the first time!). We were a little slow on the Divergent bandwagon but it was awesome! It really made me wanna read the book so hopefully I'll finish that soon. I like to watch the movie first and then read the book because that way it seems I don't get too disappointed. But sometimes, I do read the movie first and it so happens that the movie is made... I don't know. What do you guys think?

Anyways, Kalen is poking me repeatedly and has actually paused the movie for us to go down and make more pizza so...talk to you later! (he says bye!)

Love Always,
Anna Banana ♡

(and Kalen :P - That's right Annie Rose, I'm fixing your post while you're waiting for the pizza and I'm "washing my hands")