Craving a sweet treat that is easy to make and delicious? Try out my banana bread recipe for a fast, cheap, and easy baking adventure.

What you’ll need:

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup of White Sugar
1/2 Cup of Brown sugar
2 Eggs
3 bananas (overripe & brown are best)

Pro Tip: You can freeze any bananas you let get overly ripe and use them for a batch of dough later

1tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Salt
1-2.5 tsp Vanilla
1/4 Cup of Butter (you can use oil if you prefer)
1/4 Cup of Greek yogurt (since it’s getting closer to fall, I like to use pumpkin-flavored yogurt)
Bread Pan or something similar (Mine is 9.25 x 5.25 x 2.7 inches )
Cooking Spray or something to grease your pan, butter or oil will do just fine.

Optional toppings:
Powdered sugar
Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, raisins, butterscotch chips, sprinkles, nuts, or whatever fun thing you want to toss in to boost the flavor or texture.

First, preheat the oven to 350 degree (Fahrenheit) and grease your pan.

Pour all your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine.

In a separate bowl, add your peeled bananas and mash them up, then add your eggs, yogurt, softened butter, and vanilla. Mix until combined.

While stirring, gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet mixture.

Note: If you want to add some of your flavor and texture boosting bits into the bread instead or in addition to being on top, mix them in after you have combined your wet and dry ingredients, and gently stir in.

Pour and scrape your dough into the greased pan, and add any toppings you would like, then place it in the oven for approximately 50-60 minutes.

When you think your bread is done, pierce it with a toothpick or butter knife, if it comes back out clean, it’s done.

I like to add a light dusting of powdered sugar on top as the bread cools for a soft sweetness along the crust.

Slice your bread, then enjoy either plain, with butter, or with a spread of your choice!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Banana bread was one of the first things my mother taught me to make, and it remains a staple for me.

Note: the greek yogurt adds a light, tangy, flavor and boosts the protein content of the bread. You can absolutely adjust the recipe to omit the yogurt, use different flour to be gluten free, omit the butter in favor of an oil for a dairy free version, and/or use an egg substitute if you’re vegan!

Banana bread is a very forgiving treat to bake I would encourage you to play with it and see how you can personalize this easy, tasty treat.

Enjoy!
BellaDonna De Wolf

Feeling heavy?

Fed up?

Need a minute to yourself?

Overly stressed?

I’ve got good news!

First of all, you’ve got this.

I know it’s hard… All the bullshit is exhausting. People are difficult and have hurt you or made your life complicated. Sometimes it’s loss, stress, relationships, or simply nothing at all that’s causing you stress.  It might be your own brain. You might be drained… Or a slew of other things. It’s hard being a person sometimes.

So here’s a pro-tip:

Take time for yourself. Disconnect for a little while. Dedicate some time to yourself.

I’m here to share with you one of my favorite ways to heal, charge, and have “me time”.

It’s time to take a bath!

You might be asking yourself, “But, what do I need to do?”

Get up! Yep, get up and start drawing yourself a bath.

Do you have a favorite candle or candles?

Light ’em in a safe spot, so by the time your bath is ready, it smells nicely in your bathroom. Treat yourself to some aromatherapy.

What about other things for my bath? If you do want something to make it magical, you can to go the store and grab some bath salts, bath bombs, bubble bath, biodegradable glitter, or other products. If you’re an avid bath taker, like me, consider finding a few small, local businesses that make products you like (and support them!). Don’t have the time or the energy to make your own fancy bath materials? That’s perfectly fine. You don’t need ’em. Water is really magical all by itself. Just like you!

Just do it!

Get it all steamy in the room.

Start to strip.

Yep!

That’s you. That beautiful, sexy, and powerful being. Look at you, all raw and amazing.

“Damn.”

Say it in the mirror if you want to… Sometimes it feels nice.

Or just climb into that nice warm bath and settle in.

Enjoy yourself.

Heal yourself. Notice how your body feels. Notice how your mind feels.

Check in with yourself, and gently let the water heal you. Let it give back to you.

Enjoy!

And then go about your day as the big, bad, powerful being that you are.

Or take a nap, naps are good too!

Now….

If you’re reading this in advance and wanna get more fancy. Here are some  things I use in my baths.

What I Use:

Bath salts: I like the ones with muscle relaxing qualities because they makes my aches and pains melt away. You can make them yourself, or buy them.

Crystals of your choice! You have a favorite? Go ahead. Use it. Line your bathtub with it, or the floor around the tub. If you are going to put your stones in the water, make sure they won’t react with water of the other materials you are using. Some crystals will react badly, and may even be toxic when wet.

Candles: I use gray, purple, blue, and black candles. It’s always preferable if they smell nice. I tend to go for an odd number of candles, and an even number of stones. Of course you don’t have to do this, it’s just what works for me.

These are a few of my handmade herb candles!

Music:

Do you want music? Or is this gonna be a quiet time?

You pick!

Some people like music to help relax, and ease the mind. Some like silence. You do what you gotta do. If you want to check out what kind of music I tend to reach for, feel free to check out my Spotify playlists at this link.

Bonus tip: Make yourself a few playlists for different moods and activities you do frequently. It can be nice and help set a tone. Maybe it’s a chanting and drums night, or maybe you just need some rap, or heavy metal. Or maybe you wanna listen to country, or pop? Whatever, there’s no judgement here. This is your time.

Plants: If you like, you can add flowers to your bath. In the past, I’ve done with and without them. I usually add petals of dried flowers or pine needles that I’ve collected.

Some beautiful purple lupine from a recent foraging trip.

I’m not a big fan of lavender, but a lot of people are, and it has great energy and smell. Rose petals, chamomile flowers, jasmine, pine needles, or nice smelling tree bark works well. Go for it. Just do some research to make sure you are putting in safe botanicals. You can either let it float loose, tie it in a satchel or tea bag, and let it float in the water.

Speaking of tea bags, you can also use tea! For this, I tend to reach for green tea or an herbal. But, you’re the one taking the bath.

Do it up!

Colors: Want some more color in your bath? Make a colored bath bomb, or buy one. There are also bath liquids you can get that have awesome pigment. You can also play with color psychology with this! Keep in mind what your goals are, use cool tones to relax, warm to energize. Colors are capable of effecting our mood and perception. Use this to your advantage!

So you’ve got the stuff? Awesome!

Here’s what you do: 

Arrange your candles and stones around the tub in a way that feels right to you.

Light your candles.

Run your bath and add your goodies.

You want it cool enough to not burn you, but hot enough to stay warm for a good while. Hotter water may help relax your muscles, colder will sooth aches.

Now climb into that tub. Close your eyes and let yourself relax. Mediate if you enjoy that, sing if that feels good. Reconnect with yourself and take a moment to have pride and joy in being the amazing person you are.

And this is the most important part… Don’t forget, to enjoy yourself.

I hope you enjoyed, and find this useful in your own magical, beautiful way.

~BellaDonna DeWolf

Everybody has within themselves the element of duplicity. There’s nothing scarier than facing the deepest realms of our self, but how can you completely and wholeheartedly accept who you are if there are sides of yourself that you’re too afraid to explore?

Every story has a hero and a villain, and in your story you’re both.  All the bright aspects and all the dark aspects of your self orchestrate the melody of your song, but in order to truly hear this song you have to learn to listen… To listen not only to what you want, but also to what you’re afraid of. Your fears and your darkness are not detached from you, do not disregard them… Analyze them, internalize them. The shadow is always there and it will always be, but the shadow can look big or it can look small depending on the angle from which the light caresses you. What is the size of your shadow?

Famous psychiatrist Carl Jung described the dark side of a person as their “shadow” which contained all of the things society teaches us to repress: greed, anger, hatred, fear, our raw sexuality, and our primitive side. Jung believed that this latent energy is present in all of us, in many instances forming a strong source of creative energy.  It’s really the same as the Japanese principle of Yin and Yang: that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for without darkness there cannot be light.

By getting to know your dark side you can know yourself better and become a better, more authentic version of yourself. This doesn’t mean acting on your darkest instincts, but rather acknowledge your feelings and work through them, instead of pretending they don’t exist. Taking a deeper look at what makes us uncomfortable and why is a useful tool for self development.

That being said, stay true to yourself, pay attention to your instincts, feelings and personal tastes. Maybe you don’t like the same things others do, and that’s okay. We cannot fix that which we do not understand, after all. Ensure that you adopt an analytical, nonjudgmental and compassionate attitude toward yourself, rather than playing the prosecutor and judge which hinders your ability to embrace your shadow self fully.

Ways that can help you to embrace your shadow self:

• Ask the people close to you what they feel your greatest personality flaws are
• Art and writing
• Practicing meditation
• Developing self awareness

Hello Kittens and Gents! 

This is the follow up to the recipe that I mentioned in my last Hippie Kitty publication. In this article, I’ll show you how to make a totally natural castile soap-based body wash that also doubles as a shampoo and hand soap. Really, this stuff can be used to wash pretty much any part of your skin or hair. 

Note: Please use it externally only, and know that some people may have a sensitivity to certain essential oils, so please test them carefully before using. 

This topic was taken from the book I read by Madeleine Somerville, All You Need is Less. You can see an image of it below. I was inspired to make this series of publications after reading this amazing book. I swear, this is the last time I’ll bring it up! 

Here’s how to make the soap. 

First, you’ll want to gather your ingredients. You’re going to need:

• Water 
• Castile soap
• Rose essential oil
• Geranium essential oil (or any oil of your choosing) 
• A recycled and cleaned plastic container or bottle, preferably with a pump top (or a new one made of glass) 

Note: If you change the type of essential oil, the amount added is going to vary. Rose essential oil is very tame and requires many more drops than other oils. For example, I made a jasmine version of this soap with the same number of drops I would normally use for my rose version and the scent was way too strong. My recommendation for the number of drops can be used as a general guideline; however, you may add or subtract from this amount based on the strength you’re looking for. Start off small and add slowly to your mix until you reach the scent you want. You can even simply blend together castile soap and water in equal amounts to have a scent-free soap. 

Second, remove the lid from your chosen container and add water to it until your canister is about halfway full. If you prefer to measure this precisely, you can look on the container’s packaging to see how many ounces or milliliters are in it and divide by two. Then add that amount of water to your container. You want to add the water first because if you add the castile soap first, it will foam up and overflow your jar when you add the water. Don’t do that. It makes your life harder and I’m here to make it easier and simpler. And more green! 

Note: My container was about 34 ounces or one liter. 

Third, add an equal amount of castile soap (or about half of the bottle) to your container, filling it almost all the way to the top. Leave a bit of room for the essential oils. 

Note: We buy our castile soap in bulk (a gallon at a time) because we use it extensively for our body products. I also use it to make my homemade and green cleaning products for my business. You can purchase it here. This is the cheapest price we’ve found in the U.S. After all, being green is not only about helping the Earth and doing your part, but it’s about saving money, too. Because we buy it by the gallon, we are using fewer single use containers. And…because I reuse my plastic soap container,  I’m keeping a lot of plastic out of the landfill. For extra green points, you can keep your empty castile soap jug and use it to make other green products as well. E.g., my husband made us some powdered dishwasher soap out of entirely environmentally friendly ingredients just the other day.  We’re currently working out the kinks of that recipe so I can share that with you as well. 

Please let me know if that’s something that would interest you. You can mix the castile soap in bulk as well, to save yourself time by doing a lot at once, instead of every time your bottle empties.. I might suggest that you use your gallon container of castile soap to mix your soap in bulk. Just sayin’! Re-use, recycle, and be green! 

Fourth, add your essential oils. You’ll want to add these carefully. I will let you know how many I have added to make my Rose-Geranium blend with the size bottle I’m using, but this can vary a lot, as I mentioned above. Essential oils are naturally powerful because they are the distilled and concentrated version of the plant they are derived from, so it’s best to use them sparingly. 

For this recipe I’ve used about 70 drops of the rose essential oil and 30 of the geranium to get my desired scent. 

Finally, you’ll put the lid on your carton and shake it vigorously to mix it. You’ll want to do this every time you use it to make sure that the elements are combined and usable. If you prefer, you can buy a glass container that foams the soap for you, so you can skip the shaking step. 

Image and product credit can be found here.

That’s it! I hope that you can take this recipe into your daily life and live more comfortably, and more green. I look forward to hearing about the many varieties of this recipe that you create. Please feel free to share the successful essential oil blends you’ve used by commenting below. 

Happy showering! And especially during the pandemic, but at all times, wash your damn hands! Use my soap recipe and enjoy. 

Note: Who would like a natural recipe for an effective and healthy hand sanitizer? Leave your ideas for more green topics and recipes below and you may see them soon. 

With everything that’s been going on lately, I think we could all use a pick-me-up. There’s almost nothing better than getting together with your kitten sisters for some amazing company and wonderful food. That’s why we all decided to get together and have a cheer-filled day to brighten all of our lives.

I began the day helping DeviantMynx pick up a prop for an upcoming photo shoot of hers. Can’t wait to see that set! We then went back to her home to get ready for our event. We headed down to The Chateau to eat, drink, and be merry. Everyone served us up the most delicious treats they had brought or created. November shared her homemade pancakes, hash browns, bacon, and brought a craft cheese plate. Yummy, yummy. Her gent made THE MOST delicious pancakes I have ever had in my life!

Here they are, posing and being very cute in front of our food filled table.

DeviantMynx kept the fruit, mimosas, and poinsettias flowing, refreshing us all throughout the day. She also had the most killer outfit, as always. 

Skylark served me her famous tea, which I had never tried, but so looked forward to. It was a pleasant surprise and so beautifully served in this adorable tea cup.

I wish I had taken more photos of the food, but I was really hungry and just started digging in.

After we all ate, we watched Skylark work on her portraits, this one, of a close friend. We all admired her skill and dedication to her work. We wanted to help her out, so we helped pack up all of your merchandise for shipping. I got to try on and buy some new items that will be available soon. Erika Rae has begun to make resin ears and ankhs, and I was able to snag one of each. They are an affordable option to be able to show your kitty side and represent The Chateau. I would highly recommend them. here’s a set of the resin ears.

Skaylark and I had spoken about recording a podcast for her new show, “The Hourglass with Isibella” and she surprised me by being able to record the show the same day we came to visit her.  You can listen to it on Spotify here. We were able to talk death and many of the topics that come with it. She chose me to for topic because I began my career working at a funeral home/cemetery. It was totally cool, because we actually sat out a thunderstorm on her wrap-around porch while recording, so the sounds you hear are completely authentic.

Here is a coveted image of the hourglass that she really uses to time the episodes! Isn’t it just lovely?

As an aside… I can’t help but add a cheap plug for the tumblers that Kandiikitten makes for The Chateau, too. You can see an example here in Tiffany Blue. I can’t wait to grab my own! She is so talented.

We wrapped up the day as Chateau events often are, curled up around the fire. Thank you ladies for helping me make the day special. A huge thanks for November, DeviantMynx, and Skylark. I adore you all.

It was a day for the books.