Setting the Stage

Pin this, pin that. Like this, like that. I curate my Pinterest board and Instagram likes similar to a designer about to launch a new collection. The images have to inspire, have to spark. Entertaining photos make up a majority of the pie. Having my own home (or 60 square meters of space) means I have my own playground, my own canvas. It means I can decorate, entertain, create without abandon. I search and search for pretty things, dainty things, fun things to fill the table with. It still gets to me where stylists get all those stuff (a tree stump? glittered tablecloths? lavender sprigs?) but I guess what I find will do for now...

Life & StyleDeanne BanaresFebruary 16, 2016Domesticity, Entertaining, Cooking, Decorating, Housewife Comments

A Christmas Loaf

I remember the joy on our faces, especially mine, when my mom would announce that I'm baking banana bread today! I'm not totally (verbally) expressive but my heart is so I felt it skip a beat. I don't know if it's the chocolate chips. The loaf shape. My mom baking. The beautiful, heavenly, delicious waft from the kitchen. Maybe it's all of them, put together...

Life & StyleDeanne BanaresDecember 10, 2015Banana Bread, Chocolate, Baking, Christmas, Goodies Comment

Do It Yourself

It is quite sad how I've become a bit cynical about Christmas in the past years. Well, not Christmas itself but the traditions that accompany it. All the mandatory gift giving and dinners and parties have made the malls and roads unbelievably chaotic. So instead of experiencing the season, we just mindlessly whiz through it. Consumerism reaches its peak and when I succumb to it, I walk away bereft of the actual peace and love Christmas is supposed to bring.

Thankfully, I have more time in my hands this season. When I was drawing up the gift list, I just couldn't imagine shopping in the malls alongside everyone else. The thought of it alone stressed me out. And then I came up with a brilliant beyond brilliant idea (plus points for anyone who knows where I got that line from)...

Life & StyleDeanne BanaresDecember 5, 2015christmas, gifts, do it yourself, divisoria, creativity Comments

It Looks Good

It’s amazing what I do to get that perfect Square shot. It’s amazing what any of us do, really.

Okay, style it. No, no, the flower looks better angled. Is this shot good enough? Probably better to take a couple more. Click, click, click. Now, which VSCO filter goes best? Okay, maybe adjust the brightness and contrast a bit. There you go, perfect.

We spend more time editing the photo to make it look presentable to the public. But before that, we make sure it's a photo of something fun, spontaneous, creative, and... good. Yes, I'm living the life! Yes, I'm eating in the new, hip café! Yes, I got accepted!

Life & StyleDeanne BanaresNovember 4, 2015Crepe Cake, Baking, Failure, Instagram, Social Media, Martha StewartComment

Mondays and Me

Mondays are about the little things, the quiet moments, the sacred solitude.

It's when I kiss my husband goodbye as he leaves yet again. It's when I look at my planner and see what's coming. It's when I say a little prayer for the week that will be.

It's about recooking the leftovers from last week and making them something new. It's going on Spotify to fill the silence and then turning it off to make space for quiet. It's about the afternoon trip to the grocery to refill the pantry lest we go hungry...

Life & StyleDeanne BanaresOctober 12, 2015Mondays, Rest, Thoughts, Life, Lessons Comments