my everyday life, Photography
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July 22, 2018

My Everyday Life: Week 29

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 29

I can finally share something I worked very hard on!

I have a 6 page spread in the August issue of Better Homes & Gardens and it’s on stands right now!  My meal prep is in a magazine. YAY!!!

My Everyday Life: Week 29 on Shutterbean.com

The most exciting part for me is that they wanted my handwriting in the feature.

My Everyday Life: Week 29 on Shutterbean.com

I hope my Mom can see it, wherever she is. I know she would have been LOST HER MIND to see this. My Dad is pretty excited!

I wore her jewelry in the shoot and her soup & salad dressing recipes are in there. It made me feel happy to know that she is a part of it.

Thank you for helping me produce beautiful photos, Todd! 

My Everyday Life: Week 29 on Shutterbean.com

Family adventure in Sausalito.

My Everyday Life: Week 29 on Shutterbean.com

SWe spent the afternoon looking for funny boat names.

My Everyday Life: Week 29 on Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

54 comments
LISTS
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July 20, 2018

I LOVE LISTS

I LOVE LISTS

  1. A whole bunch of odd potato chip flavors
  2. Here are some reasons why women live longer than men.
  3.  Can smelling coffee make you better at math?
  4. Inspirational books recommended by Elizabeth Gilbert
  5. I dunno, this seems like it could get really messy.
  6. Should almond milk be called milk?
  7. If you’re camping this summer, here are some things you can cook in foil packets
  8. These photographs are INSANE
  9. Some of these responses remind me of Cooper
  10. I almost always use salted butter. 
  11. This video is oddly satisfying
  12. Photo series- the lawless energy of teenage youth
  13. Life from an only child’s perspective
  14. What a beautiful way to respect a teacher’s wishes
  15. What prison cells look like all around the world
  16. Open office designs will be the death of us introverts
  17. A picture of health
  18. Dresses I could live in all summer long: one / two / three / four
  19. How to become more self-aware
  20. Another round of design fails that will make you laugh. #7 – oof!
  21. #2 is how Cooper opens things. UGGGH.
  22. Turn toxic emotions into positive actions
  23. Choco Taco all the way
  24. I haven’t made apricot glazed chicken in ages.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Having a jar of this strawberry shrub in the fridge.

My new mechanical keyboard makes typing fun! I love the sound it makes and the keyboard lights up!

Read through this cute/simple weight loss book this week. Some really good points in there.

 

 

9 comments
recipes
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July 18, 2018

Apricot Almond Cake

 

Apricot Almond Cake for summer parties! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

I had an old photocopy of this cake in a stack of papers.

I have no idea what year I photocopied it, but there it was sitting on my desk.

For weeks I thought about the cake. Apricots were on a few of my grocery lists but all of my trips to the grocery store were fruitless. None of the apricots I saw were ripe and they were too expensive to justify less-than fruit.

Apricot Almond Cake for summer parties! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

If you’re wondering, for the record I say APE-RI-COT. It’s not an app to me. It’s an ape. What about you?

Apricot Almond Cake for summer parties! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

So, yeah…no APE-RI-COTS that I liked in the stores and then….

I got a text message from a friend of a picture of a ton of apricots from her tree that said, “WANT SOME?!!”

I was seriously just looking at the recipe when she texted.

Yes, I do!  THANK YOU VERY MUCH. And I made that cake and it was GOOD.

When the moment presents itself, make this Apricot Almond Cake.

It’s nice served warm with vanilla ice cream.

You’ll love those juicy apricots mixed with the light cake and crunchy toasted almonds.

It’s kind of like a pineapple upside down cake meets a cobbler.

Now friends, who has a fruit tree to share with me??! TEXT ME. I’ll bring you cake.

 

CONTINUE READING

22 comments
LISTS
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July 16, 2018

Intentions for the Week:

Looking to get your head in the game? Tracy from Shutterbean makes a weekly TO DO LIST called her Intentions for the Week. Here's what this week looks like:

Hello friend!

Hope you’re doing well. This weekend we drove into the city to hang out with my Dad and niece (who is staying with him this summer!). We had dim sum and then hung out on my Dad’s roof with wine. Yesterday we strolled around Sausalito, looked at all the funny names of boats and had lunch. Family time on the weekend is the best. Especially when there are food adventures involved.  Did you have a nice weekend? What makes a good weekend for you? I’d love to hear what your ingredients are that make up a good weekend.

We have a few trips coming up, so I am starting packing lists and daydreaming about adventures.

I also need to figure out where to get my prints done for the paintings I made for #100daysartbeforebreakfast.

Can anyone recommend a good place online?

What about you?

What are you up to this week?

Write down your Intentions for the Week in a journal or on a piece of paper and commit!

Have a great week!

xo – Tracy

Intentions for the Week:

  • laundry (always laundry)
  • manage working from home while Cooper is home
  • send out returns at post office
  • drop off library books
  • post ice cream cake on instagram
  • look out for the August issue of Better Homes & Gardens (I’m in it!!!)
  • straighten up office
  • pick up Birkenstocks at the shoe repair place
  • do some meal prep
  • make kombucha
  • figure out something to do with carrots or make this carrot soup
  • make a cake, post about it
  • work on favorite pen roundup
  • art time with Cooper
  • work on letters to pen pals with Cooper (he has a few!)
  • catch up on social media & computer work
  • work on summer bucket list
  • work through this workbook while I try to eat healthily
  • get my heart rate up/go workout or hike or both (Fitbit is helping)
  • make a packing list
  • drink enough water

 

Last Week’s Intentions:

  • laundry
  • spend quality time with friends
  • clean up the kitchen from the weekend
  • figure out meals for hangouts this week
  • get work done so I can feel good about hanging out with friends
  • catch up on computer work
  • get haircut
  • post a new recipe
  • edit photos
  • get used to using a windows computer, RIP MAC LAPTOP
  • play some board games with Cooper (we played uno)
  • binge on Handmaid’s Tale at night
  • choose sleep over watching another episode a few times at least (went to bed at 11 one night!)
  • work through this workbook while I try to eat healthily
  • get my heart rate up/go workout or hike or both (Fitbit is helping)
  • work on summer bucket list (went to beach & library!)
  • finish up my #100daysartbeforebreakfast project  (I FINISHED. F YEAH!!)
  • find a sticker for my water bottle
  • spend time daydreaming about vacation/mapping out intentions
  • give myself permission to slow down when I need to
  • ask for help when I need to (it’s working!!!!)
  • make healthier eating choices when possible (I’m trying!!)
  • catch up on bookkeeping
  • DRINK WATER  (drank this shrub with sparkling water all week!)

Mantra for the Week:

 

A song to pump you up:

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

7 comments
my everyday life, Photography
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July 15, 2018

My Everyday Life: Week 28

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

In case you were wondering…

My Everyday Life: Week 28 on Shutterbean.com

This week I finished the #100daysbeforebreakfast project! YAAAAAAAAY

My Everyday Life: Week 28 on Shutterbean.com

Delicate flowers.

My Everyday Life: Week 28 on Shutterbean.com

I worked on this one for awhile.

My Everyday Life: Week 28 on Shutterbean.com

When I was working on this one while my friend Nicole was over, a butterfly flew up to one of the flowers and tried to rest on it.

It happened twice!

My Everyday Life: Week 28 on Shutterbean.com

My friends brought their new baby over! So nice to have a little baby in our house.

This is Rowan!

My Everyday Life: Week 28 on Shutterbean.com

CONTINUE READING

21 comments
LISTS
|
July 13, 2018

I LOVE LISTS

Welcome to I love Lists! Let’s see what’s up with the internet this week:

I LOVE LISTS

  1. Animal facts!
  2. What makes this cat look like it has a human face? I mean it does… is it the eyes?
  3. Social media depression is on the rise.  I totally get it and it suuuucks.
  4. How to eat like a marine in the field.
  5. The middle child is going extinct. I didn’t even think about this!
  6. The dangers of distracted parenting are real.
  7. 10 traits every aspiring artist needs according to Frank Lloyd Wright
  8. A new routine for you- set a new alarm for each day of the week.
  9. You can blame/thank California for all of your fancy pizza toppings.
  10. People are impressed by this lemon rolling down the street
  11. When parents push too hard or not enough
  12. Put your phone away!
  13. This must be so cool to see in person
  14. Make a pizza with a tortilla. Smart thinking!
  15. Short story clubs are the new book clubs
  16. That would be camel pose for me.
  17. The most popular video game that I won’t let Cooper play
  18. Oprah is doing is going to be part of a restaurant chain
  19. Apparently telling people to “Find Their Passion” is terrible advice
  20. I was wondering why some big Instagram accounts are private
  21. The Power of Positive People is real
  22. The different between perfume, cologne & other fragrances
  23. #5 gives me life
  24. All the top restaurants in California

Are you watching The Handmaid’s Tale?  We have 4 episodes left! AHHHHH

My favorite pen + paper combo– black paper & this white pen

This sweatshirt is making me happy this summer! So lightweight and stretchy.

 

12 comments
recipes
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July 11, 2018

Strawberry Shrub

If you're looking for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, mix this Strawberry Shrub with sparkling water! Recipe on Shutterbean.com

 

The second you whip out a jar of this strawberry shrub to add to sparkling water or a mixed drink people will be immediately intrigued.

You will begin by explaining what a shrub is because someone will be curious and want to know more.

A shrub? What’s a shrub?

 

If you're looking for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, mix this Strawberry Shrub with sparkling water! Recipe on Shutterbean.com

A shrub is a sweetened vinegar-based syrup used for cocktails & mocktails. It’s sweet and tangy and makes an excellent mixer.

Chances are they want to try it. (If they don’t, they’re not your people).

Do they want to try it alone?

Do they want to try it with sparkling water?

Do they want to mix it in a cocktail or stir it into some kombucha?

Offer these choices only if you have them.

Make a friend.

Share a shrub.

If you're looking for a refreshing non-alcoholic drink, mix this Strawberry Shrub with sparkling water! Recipe on Shutterbean.com

Tell them how easy it is! Or don’t… it tastes so good, people will think you’re a kitchen whiz.

Make sure to take all the credit.

CONTINUE READING

14 comments