|
March 25, 2016

I LOVE LISTS

I love lists- Shutterbean

Hey! It’s Friday. I love lists and here’s one for you:

  1. Thank you, Serena. THANK YOU.
  2. These calligrams are pretty neat.
  3. I want an inexpensive summer house. Yes, I do.
  4. How to throw a dinner party in an hour.
  5. I’d like to get lost in this photo.
  6. This made me excited for the new season of Silicon Valley
  7. What do you think of this way to organize your grocery shopping list?
  8. Photoshop + a sense of humor
  9. Umm. I can’t sleep just anywhere…but maybe it’s cuz I don’t have one of these.
  10. What an abandoned Disney Water Park looks like now. Wow.
  11. Oh man. This post about kid’s rooms in the 90s brings me waaaaaaay back.
  12. RIP Garry Shandling. 🙁
  13. I’ve always wondering about the Japanese fake food displays.
  14. How are your survival skills?
  15. Gotta make this bread for Cooper one day.
  16. There’s beauty in mundane moments of relationships.
  17. Bucket List Item: See cherry blossoms in Japan
  18. We chill our eggs in the USA. Other countries don’t.
  19. Been craving Philly Cheesesteaks since Casey’s birthday.
  20. A Palm Spring house for sale that’s been untouched since 1969.
  21. What happens to your home when you take a month break from social media?
  22. Leftovers are the most joyous part of cooking.  Perhaps that’s why I meal prep?

Food from the Shutterbean archives for your weekend:

Sweet Potato Fries with Avocado Dip

Cinnamon Sugar Wonton Crisps

Homemade Ricotta

Zucchini Herb Fritters

Things that caught my eye:

This skirt for my summer capsule….

Freelance Wisdom

Patchwork Clutch

Raw/Vegan/Not Gross Burritos

Instagram accounts to inspire:

@chantalphoto

@ccerruti

@evakolenko

@emmadime

|
March 23, 2016

Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

This Grapefruit Yogurt Cake tastes like a citrus crumb doughnut. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

I have family coming into town for Easter weekend. YAY!  Honestly, I’m barely keeping it together. There are field trips this week, school things, work obligations, half days, taxes to complete, photos to take & recipes to make all before I have time to even think about our Easter Brunch and shopping for that. I’m not complaining. Life is just full at the moment. When I make it through this week, I will have legit super powers. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

This Grapefruit Yogurt Cake tastes like a citrus crumb doughnut. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Maybe I should take this time to think about Easter Brunch.

Let’s kill two birds with one stone. Stream of consciousness begins NOW:

Things I’m thinking of making…. Well- I think I want to make something with asparagus. I could make these Egg & Asparagus Gratins… an Asparagus Soup with some type of panini…OR I could make this& Asparagus Pizza/Flatbread with eggs on top?  It would be kinda of like a breakfast pizza. But then my brother-in-law doesn’t like fried eggs and he’s gonna give me a hard time about that even though I’m feeding him. Perhaps I should just make scrambled eggs or a fritatta. Oh! A fritatta would be fun.  That way I can make it ahead of time and serve it at room temperature.  I was also thinking that it would be fun to do a Honey Glazed Baked Ham with Crispy Smashed Potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a blueberry muffin situation.  Maybe I’ll throw in a fancy salad for the ladies. No scrambled eggs. Just fritatta. Ok we got this.

This Grapefruit Yogurt Cake tastes like a citrus crumb doughnut. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

OH! And I’m also going to make this Grapefruit Yogurt Cake the night before because we need a nice breakfast treat with coffee before we get to brunching (we’re having a weekend sleepover thing happening).  So this cake will be an appetizer.  Cake as appetizer.

That should be a thing.

Let’s definitely make that a thing.

CONTINUE READING

|
March 21, 2016

Spring Capsule Wardrobe

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

After the past few months of wearing all of these items for my Winter Capsule Wardrobe, I’m excited for my Spring Capsule! Honestly, I can’t believe I actually did it. I wore everything and only dipped into my reserved clothes stash once (we had a Hawaiian themed dinner to go to).

I really loved implementing my capsule wardrobe because:

  • I was able to be more creative with my clothing combinations
  • I now understand what a minimalist wardrobe is all about
  • I loved all of my outfits
  • I learned about myself & how to manage my shopping impulses

The bottom line is that when I have a minimalist approach to my closet, I can make more deliberate choices about my clothes.  The creative challenge keeps it interesting and in the process I found the shapes, colors and combinations that work well with my body lifestyle.  I have less clutter in my mind when I get dressed because the choices aren’t overwhelming. My closet is still super CLEAN and I am never feeling like I have nothing to wear. Success!

Ok! So let’s talk about SPRING:

I was looking at the Pantone Spring Fashion Color Rep for 2016 and none of these colors really scream TRACY. Those colors don’t work well with my complexion, so I’m going rogue and doing my own thing. This is great because I don’t really have to buy much for this capsule. The whole idea is to use what you have and I’m gonna do just that.

Now that this is my second time doing this, I went back through my Pinterest Board to compile the looks I liked. I went through and looked at all of the articles of clothing in each outfit and pulled stuff from the clothes I packed away in my guest bedroom closet.

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

From there I built my color scheme:

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

Navy/ Gray/ Denim/White with pops of Purple Kelly Green & Tan (the tan comes from leather).

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

I kept some of my base/foundation pieces from my Winter Capsule because I knew they would easily transition into Spring.  I find this super reassuring because it means I’m coming up with my go-to-looks/uniform and perhaps by the end of year of doing this I won’t have to think much about my wardrobe.

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

Here are my foundation pieces. These are the pieces that I will build outfits from.

I might end up adding a pair of leggings. We’ll see.

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

And here we have the jackets & dresses. I think I sectioned these off into a separate category because they are filed together on the right hand side of my closet.

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

The tops & sweaters are kind of basic this round. I think that I want to play up all of my outfits with accessories and pops of color. I know it’s going to be raining off & on for the next few months, so I have to have a lot of layers. If you live in the Bay Area, you always have to wear a lot of layers. You just never know if the fog is gonna creep in one day.

 

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

And we end with the fun part. Here’s where most of the color comes in. I really like mixing floral with stripes so these scarves will help with that. I want to keep my jewelry simple this season. My hair is getting a little bit longer and I’ve been playing around with colorful clips, so I feel like I have to tone it down in the jewelry front.

Spring Capsule Wardrobe 2016 on Shutterbean.com

 

There you have it! That’s my Spring Capsule Wardrobe. It’s kinda preppy and packed with jewel tones, huh? I suppose some of these items could go really well in an Autumn Capsule, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

I’m going to be traveling to Vancouver with some of these clothes and it’s going to be my first time packing for a trip using the capsule foundation. I’m kind of excited about how easy it’s going to be to do that. Hope this inspires you to pair down/edit your wardrobe!

Be sure to check out my Winter Capsule Wardrobe & Closet Organization posts!

|
March 19, 2016

My Everyday Life: Week 11

Here’s what My Everyday Life- Week 11 looked like:

California poppies are out!

myeverydaylife11-15

A drive to wine country.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

We took Cooper out to breakfast at Ad Hoc.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

So cute.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

Love these leaves.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

Goals.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

Life is beautiful.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

To DO list making.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

Painting things gold with this paint. I’m kind of obsessed.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

Dying things!

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

I never use gloves…which is bad.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

In my bath tub.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

A little bleach adds the rust color.

My Everyday Life: Week 11 on Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

|
March 18, 2016

I LOVE LISTS

I LOVE LISTS on Shutterbean.com

  1. Stop Thinking / Start Doing
  2. Foods that regrow without dirt!
  3. How to make an Irish coffee. Pro tips.
  4. Dreaming of Palm Springs…sigh.
  5. Why Work Life Balance is overrated. 
  6. Waffle S’mores. Can’t even deal with that.
  7. Travel Expectations vs. Reality  whoa, Brazil.
  8. Don’t leave me alone in a room with this tart.
  9. 3 Time Management Rules
  10. 40% off doesn’t mean what you think it means.
  11. I love whiskey.  and WAFFLES!
  12. There are hidden rooms in King Tut’s tomb!
  13. Stovetop Mac & Cheese for one (lovely lady)
  14. How Different People Spend $100 at the Grocery Store
  15. Engineers” who “fixed” things.
  16. People are amazed to see what designers used to do with their hands.
  17. This will make you want to go to Souvla in San Francisco
  18. Bringing this book on our anniversary trip.
  19. Dad jokes for your Friday afternoon.
  20. Saying goodbye to my Winter Capsule soon! I’m so excited for Spring.

Food from the archives for your weekend:

Things that caught my eye:

Instagram accounts that inspire me:

|
March 16, 2016

Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns

Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns made with Pizza Dough! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

I have a thing for store-bought pizza dough. I like having some in our fridge because it means I can easily make pizza, garlic butter rolls, herb bread twists, pizza rolls or broccoli cheddar rolls if I feel like it. I can also turn the dough I bought for making pizza during the week into an impromptu Saturday morning breakfast because you can turn pizza dough into Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns. See??!

Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns made with Pizza Dough! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

All you do is roll some butter into the dough. Chill it. Fill it. Roll it. Bake it. Eat it.

Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns made with Pizza Dough! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

The best part is that the bottom (or I guess top part?) gets crispy because the butter and sugar caramelize and the dough crisps up. Definitely putting this one on the MAKE FOR GUESTS lists.  Totally making these for guests because Casey and I would eat an entire batch in one morning if we’re not careful.

#yolo

CONTINUE READING

|
March 14, 2016

Orange Soy Glazed Ribs

Orange Soy Glazed Ribs can be made easily in the oven. No grill required. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

I’m always trying to take flavor combinations my child likes and apply them to other things. Like, my little man loves orange chicken and he also loves ribs. So, let’s turn ribs into an orange chicken hybrid with this Orange Soy Glazed Rib recipe. Seems like it will work, right?

Orange Soy Glazed Ribs can be made easily in the oven. No grill required. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

Instead of starting from the ground up and making our own BBQ sauce, we enhance our favorite BBQ sauce with orange zest, fresh orange juice & soy sauce.  Sesame seed addition to the end because we’re fancy.

In retrospect, I should have left a few pieces without sesame seeds, because the boy did not approve.

He loved it all except for the sesame seeds.

Life’s not fair, man. Sometimes you just have to eat them.

Orange Soy Glazed Ribs can be made easily in the oven. No grill required. Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com!

To be totally honest, I really just made these ribs because I CANNOT WAIT FOR WARMER WEATHER AND TO START GRILLING SEASON. There… I said it.  I mean, I am glad we’re getting rain (we need it!), but I am kinda getting excited for the leisurely outdoor dinners coming up soon.

For now, I will turn on my oven broiler and pretend my feet are freezing  and eat these while wrapped up in my fluffy robe.  Anyways- make these! It’s a new/flavorful spin on an old favorite. Discerning husband & picky child approved.

CONTINUE READING