July 19, 2019

I LOVE LISTS

A sweet idea if you’ve got a new baby.
I can’t even believe the diaper technology these days. WHAT.
Airlines are rethinking the middle seat.
What happened to all of Bob Ross’ paintings?
I wish I could play the piano like this.
Nature vs. Man (nature wins!)
Bon Appetit comes up with the magical summer formula
Famous photos and the cameras that captured them.
Hummingbirds are magical creatures.
Instagram is hiding the likes in 7 countries now.
Apparently we don’t have enough vegetables on Earth.
These photos are amazing.
I’d love to try a savory breakfast bread.
I finally found packing cubes for our trip. Going to test them out!
How far will technology go?
What cool men looked like in the 1970s
How our brains decide when to trust.
There’s a mass conch shell graveyard in the Carribean.
Etsy is the place to get imported tropical fruits.
Summer treats: s’mores dip / raspberry cornmeal cobbler / arnold palmer popsicles

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A post shared by Tracy Benjamin (@shutterbean) on Jul 16, 2019 at 11:12am PDT

Get yourself a food journal (comes with sparkles, a coloring page, a MAGIC HAPPENS sticker, your name hand lettered on a postcard, and magic) before my Etsy shop goes on vacation this Monday!

Need something to do with the kids this Summer or looking to take classes (art + business) online? Here’s 2 months FREE Premium membership to Skillshare. My creative practice has improved greatly since I started taking classes several years ago! You can see more on @thehandwritingclub

recipes

July 17, 2019

Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Dip

New recipe alert! Peanut Butter Cup S’mores Dip!

One of the things I think about often since my Mom died is how much she indulged my son in sweets. She never did it for us kids but grandchildren were a different story. Popsicles for breakfast at Nana’s house? SURE. A big lesson my Mom taught me about parenting is sometimes you have to go crazy (on purpose) for a while. Cooper will always remember how much of a wildcard my Mom was and I’m pretty sure she did that on purpose.

I’m the parent who is the sugar police. My child loves sugar (he gets his sweet tooth from Casey!) and I am always trying to limit this because I know how my child acts when he’s had too much sugar.

It’s WILD.

But the other night we had a sleepover and I had all of the ingredients… so here we are!

Have you ever tried Peanut Butter S’Mores Dip?

Have a sleepover coming up? Make it.

Honestly, this is the easiest way to make S’mores.

Grab a bunch of graham crackers, find yourself a seat at the table and dip!

It’s a sticky/sweet mess and it’s totally worth it for all the smiles.

Go wild. Indulge your sweets loving friends and family. You only live once (in this body at least).

LISTS

July 15, 2019

Intentions for the Week:

Happy Monday, friends!

We are on WEEK 29 of 2019. Here’s what week 29 looked like for me last year. That was a big week for my career!

This weekend there was a baseball tournament, a deep house cleaning, an intense pruning/ gardening session, a hike with a friend, and an impromptu dinner at my house with my Dad and niece. It was nice to have a casual dinner out on our deck. The weather was perfect and we ended the night with strawberries and chocolate cake. I’m still enjoying my mornings in the hammock! and I don’t know how I ever lived without one!

I also started the week with some meal prep! HOORAY!

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I received this shipment of fresh produce from @delmontefresh this week and immediately put it to work in my #shutterbeanmealprep I used the watermelon to make watermelon aqua fresca and cut up pieces for snacking. I roasted the tomatoes and made salsa with them. Avocados and tomatoes turned into guacamole. I chopped up pineapple and red peppers for snacking. I took some of the bananas and prepped them to go in the freezer for smoothies. I made a batch of hard boiled eggs, ranch dip, limeade (with the limes) and a zucchini frittata with the cut up zucchini. A little prep goes a long way! #mealprep #partnership #ad #shutterbeanmealprep

A post shared by Tracy Benjamin (@shutterbean) on Jul 14, 2019 at 3:55pm PDT

Let’s get my head in the game with some Intentions for the Week. Here’s what’s going on around here.

my everyday life, Photography

July 14, 2019

My Everyday Life: Week 28

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everday Life Week 28

This week I went to a strawberry farm in Salinas with California Strawberries!

Farm time is bright & early!

What an inspiring trip.

I learned so much about strawberries.

I also was so inspired by everything I saw.

Pops of red!

The colors really made my creative brain happy.

I learned quickly that strawberry farming is very hard on the back I am so grateful for all of the workers who put their bodies through so much in order for us to have fresh produce!

LISTS

July 12, 2019

I LOVE LISTS

I LOVE LISTS:

These ladies bought a house together to retire in. Modern Day Golden Girls!
Los Angeles, 1930s
Treat your oatmeal like risotto. Make it savory.
Inside Instagram’s war on bullying.
We can’t quit our microwaves here in the USA.
Funny sleep memes.
This music video must have taken forever to edit.
Oooh! There’s an electric Mini Cooper now!
What happened to Doggie Diners?
Art made entirely of denim. Wow.
Looking up at trees in the middle of the forest.
This made me laugh.
Teach your children kindness.
Reading can make you happier! Thank you for this, Andrea.
Want to learn something new? Get 2 months of Skillshare FREE with my code!
This is my favorite dress! I love wearing it with my Birkenstocks.
If you want to make your cat very happy…
I’m pretty sure this recipe would go over well at my house!
This pasta pie is totally last meal worthy. I’d eat it with my garlic bread.
I need to go on more hikes in the Bay.
The world from above.
Comparison shots. Some are pretty fascinating!
Should you use a food journal? YES YOU SHOULD! Thanks, Katie!!!

Don’t forget that MAGIC HAPPENS!

recipes

July 11, 2019

Sweet Corn Fritters

I’m on the lookout for simple recipes that will change up my breakfast/lunch/dinner game. That’s why I just added Repertoire by Jessica Battilana to my cookbook collection. I met her last month at my friend Sarah’s book event for Every Day is Saturday and learned we have very similar food taste!

You can see I’ve already marked a TON of recipes that I’d like to try.

Organizer Brain Sidenote: I always put a post-it of what I’m currently making at the bottom of the cookbook so I can easily flip to it while I work.

The first recipe I tried:

Sweet Corn Fritters.

Savory pancakes with bits of green onions peppered throughout. The texture is both a bit fluffy and a bit crunchy.

They are definitely going into my quick meal arsenal. I can’t wait to pull this one out for company!

Uncategorized

July 8, 2019

Intentions for the Week

Happy Monday, friends!

We are on week 28 of 2019. This is what week 28 looked like last year.

How was your weekend? Ours was filled with work and play! We went to the Marin County Fair after spending all Saturday cleaning the house. We were up late this weekend with friends and we had the best time!!! WORTH IT. Especially the funnel cake!

It was the first weekend in a long time that we didn’t have a baseball game to watch so it was nice having time to work together on stuff around the house. It’s amazing how much can get done when you set a timer and ask for help. I suggest doing so if you’re feeling like you can’t possibly motivate your family to clean. It’s very helpful when people are motivated to beat the time.

I’m away for a few days for work this week so I’m going to try to get as many Intentions for the Week done as possible! Let’s get my head in the game.