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March 31, 2025

Intentions for the Week

 

Intentions for the Week Workbook by Tracy Benjamin now on sale!

Intentions for the Week- Week 14 in 2025

Hi hiiiiii! Welcome to week 14!  How was your weekend? 

Did you have any time to yourself? (I did)

Did you get to rest?  (I tried!) 

Did you do meal prep? (I did)

Do you know what’s for dinner tonight? (I’m having soup!)

 

Here’s what I meal prepped this week:

Shutterbean Meal Prep- Tracy Benjamin in her Hobonichi Cousin

Meal prepped this week:

Here are my Intentions for the Week: 

CONTINUE READING

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March 30, 2025

My Everyday Life Week 13

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 13

Sunday snack & check in.

My Everyday Life Week 13 of 2025- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

Previous week! 

My Everyday Life Week 13 of 2025- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

Casey cleaned the grill and I fired it up for the season.

My Everyday Life Week 13 of 2025- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

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March 27, 2025

I LOVE LISTS

I love lists//shutterbean/Tracy Benjamin Hobonichi Cousin

I LOVE LISTS 

  1. Imagine seeing one of these cars IRL.
  2. On the to-do list: quick strawberry cake
  3. Also, this strawberry matcha latte looks so good! 
  4. Surreal landscapes lit by drones. 
  5. World Press photo contest winners.
  6. Let’s look at Diana Ross’ stage outfits! 
  7. Time travel: old American architecture
  8. Advice from someone who used to work a deli counter.
  9. Do you know about the fish doorbell?
  10. Is soft-serve just melted ice cream? 
  11. What did Hubble see on your birthday?
  12. Some tricks to get rid of weeds in your garden. 
  13. Don’t grocery shop hungry. 
  14. Jumpsuit love: one / two / three / four
  15. That’s a lot of paper moths & butterflies. 
  16. What a time to be alive. 
  17. Speaking of, ChatGPT got an image upgrade. 
  18. Things to ask yourself before buying a home. 
  19. My favorite cleaning supplies! 
  20. I started a Shutterbean Meal Prep board on my Pinterest.

but wait theres more

 

Let’s CONNECT! Join me TOMORROW- Saturday, March 29th, from 12- 1ish PM PST for a special Handwriting Club Show & Tell—a special ZOOM hangout for paid subscribers. 

We’ll be gathering to:

  • Share and work on our Spring Bucket List/Bingo – Set intentions for the new season.
  • Review and complete our March pages – A final reflection before we work on April!
  • Wrap up our Winter Bucket List/Bingo – Winter is officially done, so let’s take some time to celebrate what we accomplished.

More information can be found here!

 

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March 26, 2025

Julia Child’s Butter Braised Carrots

Julia Child’s Butter-Braised Carrots – A Simple, Classic Side Dish That Melts in Your Mouth. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Julia Child’s Butter Braised Carrots

A late-night Reddit rabbit hole got me reading about other people’s experiences maturing into food tastes. Were there things you didn’t eat as a child that you enjoy now as an adult?

Survey says a LOT of people like beets now. Maybe because they were forced to eat them as kids? I had the opposite experience. Root vegetables were shunned in my household because THEY CONTAINED CARBS AND SUGAR AND THAT IS THE DEVIL (if you’re trying to lose weight).

My mom would have made me eat beets and carrots if she’d been given the OK to make them for dinner. But out of all the root vegetables, carrots somehow got a pass. Cooking them? Roasting them? Heating them up? Totally off-limits. They were only allowed raw, as a potato chip replacement.

I can still hear my mom’s ghost shouting from my childhood kitchen: “GO EAT SOME CARROTS!”

Julia Child’s Butter-Braised Carrots – A Simple, Classic Side Dish That Melts in Your Mouth. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

My algorithm switched into root vegetable mode, and forty-five-year-old me (with my readers on!) watched a young man make Julia Child’s Butter-Braised Carrots on TikTok. And I was like, “You know what? Hell, yeah.” (My child will cringe at that reference.)

I made the carrots two days later and…

THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

The best part? No fuss. Just simple ingredients you can set and forget: butter, water, salt, a little bit of sugar, and pepper. WOW. One of the greatest ways to use up that bag of long-forgotten carrots. (See also: carrot coconut soup)

Julia Child’s Butter-Braised Carrots – A Simple, Classic Side Dish That Melts in Your Mouth. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Don’t let anyone tell you they aren’t good for you. Also, maybe put them on your brunch menu for Easter?  My Mom would have loved them. 

I had ours with Sol Food Chicken and a salad the other night(see above!).

CONTINUE READING

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March 24, 2025

Intentions for the Week

 

Intentions for the Week Workbook by Tracy Benjamin now on sale!

Intentions for the Week- Week 13 in 2025

Hi hiiiiii! Welcome to week 13!  How was your weekend? 

Did you have any time to yourself? (I did)

Did you get to rest?  (I tried!) 

Did you do meal prep? (I did)

Do you know what’s for dinner tonight? (not sure yet!)

We spent a large chunk of our weekend doing baseball things! Cooper got to play a baseball game at Oracle Park with his high school team (he pitched and they won!).  I also did meal prep this weekend and a ton of yard work. I am excited for this new season. All my hard work after all of these years is finally paying off. 

Here’s what I meal prepped this week: 

Shutterbean Meal Prep - inside Tracy Benjamin's fridge

Here’s a list of that Meal Prep: 

Shutterbean Meal Prep - inside Tracy Benjamin's fridge

Meal prepped this week:

Quick announcement! 

Are you working on a Currently Workbook this year?

We made it through Winter!  

Do you need help staying on track with your workbook? I’M HERE TO HELP! 

Let’s CONNECT! Join me this Saturday, March 29th, from 12-1ish PM PST for a special Handwriting Club Show & Tell—a special ZOOM hangout for paid subscribers. 

We’ll be gathering to:

  • Share and work on our Spring Bucket List/Bingo – Set intentions for the new season.
  • Review and complete our March pages – A final reflection before we work on April!
  • Wrap up our Winter Bucket List/Bingo – Winter is officially done, so let’s take some time to celebrate what we accomplished.

More information can be found here!

Here are my Intentions for the Week: 

 

CONTINUE READING

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March 23, 2025

My Everyday Life Week 12

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 12

Big day for Cooper!! His high school baseball team got to play at Oracle Park this weekend.

(he’s #9)

My Everyday Life Week 12 of 2025- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

He started out in right field and then got to pitch!

My Everyday Life Week 12 of 2025- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

I am so happy for him! 

My Everyday Life Week 12 of 2025- Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

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March 21, 2025

I LOVE LISTS

I love lists - tracy benjamin of shutterbean/the handwriting club. Hobonichi cousin

I LOVE LISTS 

  1. I learned all about India’s stepwells this week. 
  2. Parchment paper vs. aluminum foil. 
  3. I share the same love for a few of these TJs freezer staples.
  4. Things everyone had in the 80s. 
  5. I’d like to go to Yosemite one day. Hear that, universe?
  6. Let’s look at some interesting pictures. 
  7. Paper is art!! 
  8. Maybe I’ll make a bag charm. 
  9. I will miss you, salad bars! 
  10. I bet this house would be nice in the rain. 
  11. Is it time to let go of Instagram?
  12. Looking at old photos makes me happier. That’s why I take so many. 
  13. Why did they stop putting toys in cereal boxes? 
  14. What happens when you shoot a gun in space? 
  15. Cities in the U.S. that have the most green space. 
  16. How to buy asparagus. 
  17. That reminds me… I made an asparagus pizza once.
  18. Do you recline your seat on an airplane?
  19. Get your life organized with my meal prep/planning pack! 
  20. It’s never too late to start an Intentions for the Week Planner. 

 

 

I shared my Spring Bucket List on Substack this week! 

self check in- tracy benjamin

Self-Check-In 💌—a weekly accountability group (now on Substack!) where we check in, reflect, and support each other. Spend your Sunday mornings with me and our group, setting intentions and staying on track with your goals. $40/month