August 17, 2017

Everyday Pancakes

I typed pancake recipe in google a few weeks ago and Mark Bittman’s Everyday Pancake recipe from the NY Times popped up first, followed by thousands of other pancake recipes. The internet is just BURSTING with information, isn’t it! Where to start??! A quick glance at the ingredients (no buttermilk! which I never have!) and a 5-star rating made this recipe a no brainer. Made the pancakes. Loved them and my child is so grateful for my google searches, I am sure of it.

A week later, I used the recipe to make pancakes (again!) for Cooper’s sleepover. It’s in the rotation, folks!

The pancakes are light and fluffy. The batter is really so easy to whip up. I don’t know why I relied heavily on pancake mix all of these years when I usually find most of these ingredients in my kitchen.

I’m pretty close to memorizing the proportions and we all know that’s probably the best sign of a well-loved recipe. Make sure you pin this one for the future!

LISTS

August 15, 2017

Intentions for the Week

Hello friends! This week is our last full week of Summer! We’re on a family vacation in Tahoe. We look forward to this week every year. Here are my…

Intentions for the Week:

enjoy the last week of summer vacation
less internet, more love
edit photos
spend quality time with my family
put my feet and or body in lake Tahoe
chocolate dipped ice cream cone
one late night talkfest with my mom
recharge my battery
learn something new
draw in my sketchbook
write letters
paint the view
go to a yoga class
go for hikes
teach Cooper Rummikub
put together a puzzle
coffee date(s) with my dad
grocery shop with my mom
nighttime cocktail hour walks
stargaze
meditate on my career path
make an epic cheese board
read a book
take a picture of a sunset
date night with my husband
enjoy my 38th birthday with my family in Tahoe

Last Week’s Intentions:

~~LAUNDRY~~
p~~rep for One Potato~~ photoshoot
~~trip to the library~~
~~DMV appointment~~
~~doctor’s appointment~~
~~hike~~/yoga (at least once!)
~~finish cleaning schedule spreadsheets~~
finish handwriting workbook (in progress)
write letters to pen pals (in progress)
~~put together water-coloring post~~
~~do an art project with Cooper~~
make 2 recipes for the blog
~~wash car~~
~~catch up on social media~~
~~go through notes on~~ computer ~~and delete~~
~~delete at least 2000 photos on~~ phone
~~sort through paper work on~~ desk
~~back to school supply/clothes shopping~~
~~create a homework station~~
~~make kombucha~~ (mango guava this week)
trip ~~to the salvation army~~
~~catch up on bookkeeping work~~
make Thai Basil Beef (made spaghetti instead)
work on summer book (working on it)
maybe figure out a fall capsule wardrobe (I only did winter, spring & summer!)
~~continue reading Cheaper by the Dozen~~
enjoy the last two weeks of SUMMER!!!!!!

MANTRA FOR THE WEEK:

What about you?

What’s on your list this week?

Leave them in the comments!

around the home, Inspiration

August 14, 2017

Watercolor Classes with Skillshare

My watercolors have totally been neglected this year and that’s sad because playing around with watercolors is one of my greatest stress relievers!

To get myself back in the rhythm of painting, I took several Watercoloring Classes with Skillshare this Summer and I’m happy to say that I GOT MY GROOVE BACK. Watercoloring and playing around with ink is back on my radar. Praise be!

If you’re not familiar with Skillshare, it’s an online community for learning & teaching creative skills. Skillshare connects expert practitioners with students around the world who collaborate on everyday skills from culinary arts, photography to design.

They have kindly offered my readers TWO MONTHS free of Skillshare Premium! Let me show you what you could work on if you want to improve your watercolor skills.

These are the classes I just took:

my everyday life, Photography

August 13, 2017

My Everyday Life: Week 32

Here’s what this past week looked like on My Everyday Life- Week 32

Tomato overload at the market.

Tacos for three.

Curry for one.

Rib dinner with tots & salad.

Spaghetti, please.

Cooper got to be my hand model this week while I was shooting recipes cards for One Potato.

I made so much pasta this week!

Casey ate so much pasta this week! 🙂

Roasted broccoli is back in our meal rotation.

Hey Jere! Here’s Ella!

I’m excited to show you all the art I’ve been working on lately. Coming up soon!

Snuggs.

Doing yoga in the living room…with company.

Found at Goodwill. After I went to the DMV. Yay errand that’s been nagging me is done!

My dream sandwich.

The commodity of children.

LISTS

August 11, 2017

I LOVE LISTS

Welcome to I Love Lists. It’s Friday! Here’s a list for you:

Loneliness and isolation = today’s modern life
Church signs are my favorite.
Next time you get a window seat….
Champagne vending machines exist now.
IKEA made a 25 minute ASMR video. Oh boy.
To get kids into a good routine
Raising creative kids – loved this.
A solution for all of us with an iPhone.
This is why plastic surgery freaks me out. It all depends on the doctor’s vision.
If you’re traveling to Seattle, my friend Heather knows what’s up!
Spaghetti + pie
Wanted: for my laptop / for my jean jacket / for my bathroom / for my library visits
I’ve been waiting for this Trader Joe’s information!!!
A good read about Multi-Level-Marketing Companies.
Do you agree? I do…but Cooper does not.
I don’t need a quiz to tell me I’m awkward. I already know I am.
The 90s looks from Wet Hot American Summer (are you watching??!)
Well, this is interesting!
To be honest with you and Trust Me are red flags
One of my goals is to host a party like this one!
This hits close to home.
Stop Motion Music Video made with stickers. This is rad.
Use your ideas before they expire.
Just in case…. sigh.

around the home

August 9, 2017

Creating a Homework Station

Yesterday, I spent an hour Creating a Homework Station for Cooper so we can get ahead of the school year. I know he’s going to have a lot more homework this year so we might as well be prepared to tackle it, right??

What goes in our homework station? Let’s make a list:

Homework stations start with a caddy.

Here’s ours:

This is what our homework station looked like after last year. Time to clean it out!

A lot of random things end up in there if we aren’t diligent….

Dump it out and SORT. That’s my favorite part!

I decided that we should use some labels. If I make it fun to look at, I’ll want to use it, right?

Perhaps it will make us more likely to put things back where they belong?

Whatever it takes!

(tape / favorite pen / other favorite pen)

And this is what it looks like inside now.

As you can see, I used mason jars to separate the crayons/pencils/pens.

On the other side, I actually used small beakers for the erasers and paperclips.

I think this will be the key to us keeping the caddy nice and neat.

I slipped some index cards in there because we could always use some!

I added the labels on the caddy and then put packing tape on top to make sure the label stays on longer.

We’re ready for the school year now.

Creating a Homework Station will help you corral all of your office supplies.

I hope this inspires you to come up with a good solution for your homework needs!

If you’re also an office supply lover, you might love:

LISTS

August 7, 2017

Intentions for the Week

Happy Monday! We have two weeks left of Summer here before we head back to school! I’ve been glancing over my Bucket List, trying to figure out some things to knock out before we’re into full on school schedule. I’m hoping to take Cooper to an art museum this week.