January 21, 2018

My Everyday Life: Week 3

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 3

More adventures in 2018!

We took Cooper to Scandia. I try really hard not to think of how many people have touched all the things. Gimme the hand sanitizer please!

Cousin Elaine & Sharon made dinner at my parent’s house!

Ladies begging me to be fed.

Robe club! He’s wearing the robe I bought my mom. It’s the same one as mine.

Mornings are extra cozy now.

Thinking of my mom at Trader Joe’s.

Always grocery shopping.

Gonna start getting the bread out of my diet soon.

If I can’t do a whole30, at least I can do baby steps to help me.

I’ve definitely been on a bread kick for months…

Met a kindred spirit while wine tasting.

I get the cutest mail.

LISTS

January 19, 2018

I LOVE LISTS

Welcome to I Love Lists! It’s Friday, let’s surf the internet together.

Putting this elixir on the TO DO LIST.
Look at this cat bed!
This is beyond crazy.
Where do you draw the line between creative & creepy advertising?
Oh hello, crow.
There’s sneaky science behind kids & technology these days.
I’ve definitely been in this headspace before.
Gorgeous mosaic floors.
Good news for the Bay Area. Yay Shake Shack!
Time to drink more tea!
HAHAHAAAAAA
Cute alert: yoga mat /cats on shelves/leaf pin /cat mug
Apparently, I am 16 years old according to how I see color. WEIRD.
Stuff from our childhood that kids wouldn’t understand now. Le sigh.
People love my sense of humor based on my fries choice.
This salad looks bonkers!
Remember that movie Her? Well, this is happening now and it makes me kinda sad.
Don’t stack your plates when you’re done eating at a restaurant.
Minimal kitchen inspiration
These photos give me a slight panic attack.
I had no idea that January was my least productive month…
Whole Foods is banking on rotisserie chicken

New cookbooks added to my collection:

Can you tell that I’m wanting to use my Instant Pot soon??

recipes

January 17, 2018

Orzo with Pancetta and Pine Nuts

My mother’s recipe binder is one of the most treasured items I have of hers. It was one of the first things I brought home with me. I’ve been pouring through it whenever I feel like I need to be close to her. It’s filled with food stains and notes. A lot of recipes are written out in her handwriting that I had such a hard time forging (always). There are quite a few recipes clipped from old newspapers, now yellowed with age. The most trusted recipes seem to be the ones where my mom put those sticker reinforcements around the fraying binder paper holes. My mother always taught us to mend what we had, not immediately seek out its replacement.

When I saw this recipe for Orzo with Pancetta and Pine Nuts, I was transported back in time. It was a dish my mom made for their company a few times. I know exactly where I was sitting at the table eating a big bowl of this orzo. YOUNG TRACY FREAKING LOVED IT.

It wasn’t part of our regular meal routine (my dad was always watching carbs) so I always looked forward to this orzo dish coming up when my parents were entertaining.

The only thing I feel sad about is that I don’t remember what she served it with… Whatever it was, it was definitely overshadowed by the orzo.

Here’s something I definitely learned from my mom–

Entertaining doesn’t always have to mean you have to attempt something super complicated and fancy. Sometimes simple recipes that have stood the test of time are enough. That and a good conversation can help whoever you share a table with.

LISTS

January 15, 2018

Intentions for the Week

Hello friends! Happy Monday.

This weekend we:

had an amazing dinner at my parent’s house with cousins
straightened up the house/cleaned
took down the Christmas tree (YAAAY!)
washed car (thanks, Casey!)
rocked out on laundry

I’m starting to feel like I’m getting my routine back and I’m so happy about that. I think I’ll celebrate by doing some meal prep this week too. It’s been FOREVER and I’d like to get myself back on track with that. It saves time during the week and it’s also a really good way for us to control what we put into our bodies when we’re armed with good options. Anyone currently on the Whole30? How’s it going?! I think I’m going to ease into it soon. It depends on how many social engagements we have coming up soon. That’s always the kicker!

And here we have it— My Intentions for the Week:

Intentions for the Week

accounting work
conquer laundry pile
hang out with Leslie
sort through letters/enter addresses in my holiday card spreadsheet
post Intentions for the Year (probably tomorrow!)
eat more salads
work on printer
delete surplus of photos on computer
send out letters/stuff for The Handwriting Club
make lemon ginger elixir
clean out fridge/keep it clean
have a long date with my calendar
figure out Easter vacation plans
order a kit from ThredUp to clean out closet
make a list of things I want to do around the house this year
make a new recipe for the blog
get outside & move body go to yoga
dip toes in the ocean

Last Week’s Intentions:

~~start taking down the Christmas tree~~
~~write my Intentions for the Year~~
~~tackle laundry (it’s not pretty)~~
~~go to a yoga class + hike~~ (went to dance class & yoga class)
~~spend quality time with cousins in town from NY!~~
~~mail thank you cards~~
~~share art on my blog~~ (here it is!)
get printer situation figured out
~~continue to get my house in order~~
~~photograph recipe for One Potato~~
~~take stuff to Salvation Army~~
~~catch up on social media/blogging~~
do some meal prepping (made banana bread & chili)
~~clean computer screen (it’s so gross right now)~~
finish up hand lettering project for a client (!!!)
~~send out some zines!~~ Check out The Handwriting Club on etsy
~~take good care of myself~~ (I tried!)
limit carbs (oops)

Mantra for the Week:

What about you? Need to get your head in the game? Write your Intentions for the Week down!

my everyday life, Photography

January 14, 2018

My Everyday Life: Week 2

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 2

I feel like I finally got some of my photo mojo back this week. I think it’s because I set out some extra time to make it happen.

I got lost in a bamboo forest with my friend Jerry!

We had our own 20 year high school reunion. Jerry was visiting from New York!

Adventuring in Mill Valley.

The trees are very good for the soul.

ADVENTURE!

Leaf pile.

Breakfasting.

YES!

Flowers from Barbara + Tim.

Flowers from Elaine & Sharon.

LISTS

January 12, 2018

I LOVE LISTS

Welcome to I LOVE LISTS! It’s Friday. Let’s see what’s up on the internet this week:

Here’s a feel good food plan if you’re looking for one this month.
I suppose the photos from drones are sometimes worth how annoying they are.
Millenials are not grocery shopping anymore.
What’s hurting kids.
No gifts, please.
Get your finances in order.
Here’s a Bob Ross rabbit hole for you.
Grieving in the New Year.
Whoa, Ikea.
Nut’nola looks like something I’d enjoy for sure.
WHOOOOAAAAA.
This dress makes me miss summer
These vegetarian Swedish meatballs look awesome.
Whole Foods looks empty
I found this amusing.
We all die eventually. This is true.
This makes me want to redo our master bathroom SO BAD.
How you see the world if you’re colorblind.
Epic kitchen fails.
Weekend reading: Wisdom of Sundays
We’re improving ourselves to death.
This makes me pretty happy we moved out of Silicon Valley
Simple Valentine’s Day Ideas from yours truly.

around the home, Inspiration

January 9, 2018

Make More Art in 2018

One of my goals last year was to Make More Time for Art and I’m happy to say I did that–mostly with the help of Skillshare!

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 to photography to design.

Right now they have a GREAT promo- 3 months of PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP for 99 Cents!

That’s such a really good deal. You should totally get on that.

Last year I took quite a few watercolor classes- I wrote about that here!

Here’s what my work has been looking like lately:

My hand lettering has improved greatly with classes + practice.

I love being able to introduce things I love into my food styling work!

This week Cooper is still on winter break from school, so I carved time out for us to do some Skillshare classes. It’s a great way to fill the downtime when the kids are on vacation and you’re at home with them.