How many more times can you hear about how much someone loves fall time? You are about to hear about it one more time! The season brings very sentimental memories for me. It started in highschool. Football, pumpkin patches, hot chocolate, haunted  corn mazes … then as I grew it became more about salted caramel lattes and makeup. (Side note: Pumpkin spice lattes have been a serious trend the past few years. When did it start trending that PSL was uncool? I am not saying it has to be starbucks or even a latte, but I am team pumpkin spice all the way!)

“P” and I met last fall- so if I was obsessed with the season before it is times ten now. Cool crisp air, cozy blankets, changing leaves… these all remind me of when we first began dating. Somehow anything cinnamon or brown sugar reminds me of warmth which in turn brings me to these “fall” inspired banana cranberry muffins.

You can make them even healthier by skipping the streusel topping. I will not be doing that, but you can. 😉

The first time I experimented with this recipe I did not even get to try one. That’s right… 12 muffins… zero for me. “P” sampled a few then gathered them up and shared with his office. They are incredibly easy to make and I assumed their disappearance meant they were good enough to make again.

What you need:

4 very ripe bananas

1 tbsp of honey

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Streusel topping:

3 tbsp cold butter

1/2 flour

1/2 brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 12 muffin tin with non stick spray or fill with liners. Mix sugar, honey, egg, and cooled butter with the banana. Add in the flour, baking power, baking soda, salt, and cranberries.

Very important not to over mix. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 of the way.

For the streusel mix all the ingredients until it forms little crumbles. Sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

These are just as good the next day. I like to individually wrap them to keep them extra moist.

Enjoy!

Fall is my favorite time of year, well second to Christmas! I love decorating for the seasons, but it can definitely get expensive. I always make a list of items I need for a season update, but then end up walking around trying to justify $20 worth of smell good pinecones. I decided this year would be different. I wanted a pottery barn look for cheap and I wanted to go with a color theme that could transition into winter.

  These candle holders are a very sturdy black iron. I picked them up at the pottery barn outlet for less then $20. The leaves and white pumpkins I found at Michaels. It is always better to check the sales before buying. When you go late September/ early October you can find pumpkins for 60% off.

   This vase I found at Kirklands. It is actually a hurricane. I removed the candle holder. The flowers and lemons are from Walmart.

  I knew I wanted to try and get a lot of white pieces. White candles, blankets, pillows, flowers, ect… This will make it really easy to move into winter. Once it starts getting colder I am going to pick up about 4 more white blankets. I want them to all have different textures. This will give the living room a cozy feel. I honestly usually have about 5 pillows on the couch. P and I end up squeezed into a corner of the couch while the pillows take over. For the sake of my relationship I scaled back to 2 per chair. Pillows are the most expensive pieces usually. I change my mind so often I knew I could not justify $30 a pillow to get the cozy white feel that I wanted. I waited until the Hobby Lobby decor sale. They already have great pillow cover prices, but on sale you rarely spend more then $5 per case. All 4 of these cases are from Hobby Lobby and are still available on the website! The gray and white blankets are from Home Goods. Blankets and pictures frames are the best deals at Home Goods.

  Finally, the scarecrow. I usually only have one of these. I found these leaves, flowers and the scarecrow pick at Michaels. The vase is old, but also from Michaels.

I hope I inspired you to decorate this season while saving a few bucks! I will update as I add more pieces!