three squares

I had a rather busy weekend, and I will say that 1 day of weekend-time is definitely not sufficient. I did at least take full advantage of my one free-day. Sleeping late, snuggling, a biking adventure that ended with a broken chain at the furthest-away point, errands and cleaning were how I spent my Sunday. How was your weekend?


I'm still trying to play catch-up, but I've got a little bunny with a fever, a busy boy and a whole lotta work to do. 


Lucky for me, The Honey was home for the last week, which has meant I've been eating well. It's been so nice to enjoy the simple things like having lunch together or a cup of tea after the kiddos are asleep. Unfortunately, he's back to travelling so my lunch-dates are on pause for now.


Here's how I've been getting my 3 squares a day:

[breakfast of champions: ultrasimple smoothie, green tea, blogging]

[delicious salad with greens and radishes from our little community garden plot. deeelish!]

What are the little luxuries you appreciate most?

xo,

chelsea

ultrasimple eating

Hi folks. I suppose, yet again, it's been awhile. Try as I might, life just seems to be getting the better of me lately. I can't keep up with it and posting at the same time. I'm changing that now. For reals. Lots of changes are happening in fact. Starting with my dietary habits. I'm feeling more energized than ever thanks to some cleaner eating habits.

I put my honey and I on the UltraSimple Diet and I honestly haven't felt this great in a long time. I know everyone and their mother is doing a cleanse, detox, whatever right now, but I love that this is real food, real eating, real changes that make for better habits. I tried it about 2 years ago, when Harper was about 2 and my metabolism was just at a standstill. It was amazing what it did for my body, my mind, my energy and my skin. These days I'm looking for some added energy - being a full-time working mama of two can wipe you out! And the slimmer waistline won't hurt either.

Last night's dinner was the end of week 1. There isn't technically a week two, but lots of tips about how to make the transition off the cleansing portion. We had butternut - coconut soup which I adapted from a Clean Eating recipe for pumpkin coconut soup. Unfortunately the soup isn't on their website so I thought I'd share it here!

Butternut-Coconut Soup

1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 chopped onion
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp chile powder - I used this amazing ancho chile powder we bought yesterday!
1/2 ground cumin
pinch nutmeg
3 cups low-sodium broth (I used veggie even though the recipe said chicken)
2 - 12 oz packages diced butternut squash (or real squash if you can find it!)
1 cup coconut milk
fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
raw pumpkins seeds to sprinkle on top

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion until softened. Add the butternut squash and saute lightly. Add the spices and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly to coat the squash. Add the broth, cover and simmer until the squash is cooked through. Transfer to a blender, or use a stick blender, to blend the soup. Bring it back just up to a boil and then remove it from heat. Stir in the lime juice, the coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. Serve it up into your bowls and garnish with some pumpkin seeds. Deeelish!! This soup was so great I had it a second night in a row, although I swapped out the pumpkin seeds for pistachios and that was even better!! I served it all up with a side of Moroccan Roasted Carrots and Chickpea Quinoa Salad, which is a mouthful of a name but an amazing dish.

Please feel free to share any great recipes, I'm looking to build up my recipe box.

Here's to happy, healthy eating!!

XO,

Chelsea

fancy friday

Its hard to believe that Labor Day is actually here already! It definitely feels as though summer has breezed in and out way too quickly this year. In my neck of the woods, summer was a mild affair. I think we were all hoping for some more heat, but the last few days have proved to be plenty warm once the morning fog burns off. I love Indian Summers and although everyone seems abuzz with talk of Fall, I'm still hoping for warm days spent basking in sunshine. 

I'm definitely pumped to work on lots of projects in the long weekend ahead. A little family time, some time in the great outdoors and going to see David Gray and Ray Lamontagne are topping my list! 

Here's a little roundup of what I fancied this week:

Dreaming of this peanut butter tart ever since I saw the post. Does anyone else obsess about certain foods? Recently a friend told me about some salted caramel ice cream and I couldn't stop thinking about it until I got some. 

This adorable idea for gifting money. So much more creative than an envelope. 

Drooling over Hilda's $4 thrift find. Her photography is also amazing. Check out her color vignettes. 

These beautiful key-print blouses from Snoozer Loser's F/W Collection. 

Playing this song over and over. And over. 

Here's to hoping you all have a fantastic loooong Labor Day weekend!

Do you have any traditional ways of saying goodbye to summer? 

XO,

Chelsea

Happy National Waffle Day

That's right, folks, today in 1869, marks the day of the first US patent on the waffle iron.

I love waffles. They are amazing in their ability to be both crispy and soft at the same time. 

 (source)

Yes, this is an entire post dedicated to the deliciousness of waffles. 

 (source)

If I wasn't sitting at work, I'd be whipping up a batch of waffles right this minute to enjoy as an afternoon snack.

My waffle-maker is by far one of the favorite gifts I've received.

I life to put rainbow sprinkles in the mix because they melt into very fun tie-dye blobs. Although blueberries are pretty darn tasty too. 

How amazing does this chocolate-dipped waffle-pop look?

(source)

I foresee waffle-coffee-ice cream-nutella-sandwiches in my very near future. 

How about you?

Are you a waffle or a pancake person?

How do you like your waffles? Drizzled in syrup or spread with jam?

XO,

Chelsea

oh how I love...

Brinner! 

Brinner = Breakfast for Dinner

Easy, fun and a great way to clear the fridge

The kids love it...and so do I!

Last night's "brinner" was some whole grain toast, broiled with bruschetta and buratta (say that 5 x fast!), topped with a fried egg and sprinkled with basil. 

Do you make brinner? 

What's your favorite brinner recipe?

XO,

Chelsea

happiness is...

being a proud mama as I watched this sweet little guy graduate from Pre-K on Friday,

 

friends and loved ones that come hang out with you at work

(it helps to be working at a winery on a beautiful Saturday afternoon!!),

waking up Sunday morning and fixing a delicious and healthy breakfast with your sweetie,

(ok, so I didn't actually do much in terms of making this meal happen. But I did make the tea!!)

and a fun SATC2 girl's night filled with fabulous food, yummy fun cocktails and an amazing group of ladies.

Weekend - accomplished

How was your weekend?

XO,

Chelsea

favorite things

Last night Carl made us an especially delicious homemade pizza. First attempt at making his own homemade pizza dough. The results were amazing! Its so incredibly easy that I seriously doubt we'll ever go back to store-bought dough again.

Carl's Curry Pie

Homemade pizza dough

2-3 chicken breasts (cut up into bite size pieces)

Curry sauce (we used a bottle of Trader Joe's Curry Simmer Sauce)

1 onion - sliced

Cilantro- a handful or two depending on your tastes
Mozzarella cheese - shredded

Pizza Dough:

we used a great recipe from The Kitchn

the ingredients are super simple and include:

3/4 cups (6 ounces) of water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don't need to dissolve it during the first step)
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour (we used wheat flour)
1/2 tsp salt

Once you've made the dough, just roll it out, get it on a baking sheet or pizza stone and go crazy!!

For the curry topping:

Carl tossed the chicken pieces into a bowl and smothered them in the curry sauce

He then laid the chicken right on top of the dough (I was a bit skeptical about this one - I was WRONG!)

I carmelized the sliced onions

He chopped some fresh cilantro from our herb garden

Keys to a great pizza:

Put on your toppings first - no cheese

Cook for about 5 minutes, rotate 180 degrees (to make up for the oven's hot spots)

Cook another 2-3 minutes, THEN add your cheese

Cook another 3 minutes and VOILA - its pizza time!

 And don't forget that glass of Sangiovese...

Carl enjoying some of his favorite things: homemade pizza, glass of good red and favorite T-shirt

More favorite things from this weekend

Watching this awesome drum group banging it out:

These kids were amazing. Check the head-banging they've got going on.

A fun little walk downtown, with a quick pit-stop in front of our amazing Museum of Art

And a very necessary pit-stop here for some delicious gelato

More sweet goodness from here

Its always a must when I work up in Los Olivos

How could I resist these sweeties?!?!

Coming home from work, my honey waiting with a cocktail (sort of a necessity after the lame-o day I had) and our amazingly talented friend, Rusty Lindsey there for an evening serenade in our front yard

If you get a chance, please check out Rusty's site. He's awesome, and if you live in the SoCal area there's a good chance you'll be able to check him out live!

And finally, enjoying some craft time

Hope your weekend was filled with favorite things as well. 

XO,

Chelsea

weekend rewind

I really do need to get better at posting weekend highlights on Monday, rather than Thursday! I just never quite get it together by then though! That will be my new goal for next week. Maybe.

This last weekend was a whirlwind of activity! From charging it down to LA for a night with some friends and much needed catchup to a pit stop on our way back to SB for some cliff soaring and then lots of get togethers back in town to celebrate the fun Easter weekend!

Graham about to take a picture of me taking a picture of him. He was having "lens envy"...

We had dinner at Spanish Kitchen on La Cienega. The black mole was outstanding! One bottle of champagne, 3 desserts, a latte and a round of port later and we were all stuffed! But we somehow managed to finish off the night with a dip in the hot tub and a bottle of Cristal! How's that for fabulousness?

A little breakfast at Basix the next morning was something we could hardly wait for!

Saw a Harper Ave sign on our way and of course had to stop and snap a shot of that!

you know I love me some Freeeeench Toast and Tam and I love our fishbowl mimosas!

modern buildings in West Hollywood

Highway 101

Carl ridge soaring Bates, while I ran along the train tracks overlooking the ocean and then jetted down to the beach to built a heart with rocks for him to see from the sky.

We rushed home to scoop up the kiddos, color some Easter eggs and prep for a huge brunch feast the next day! Fantastic Mr. Fox was an awesome diversion for the kids while the adults were busy in the kitchen.

Easter egg hunt madness

backyard "lasso golf" which is the PC name for testy toss!!

my favorite part of brunch - dessert

it looks like eggs, but they are really homemade meringue cups with lemon curd! YUM!!

Clearly a good time had by all. 

(and yes, that is my new Liberty of London for Target shirt. I was surprised that the Tar-jay I hit up on the way to LA had quite a bit of Liberty left. Yay!!)

Everyone retreated after brunch for a little naptime. I cleaned, grocery shopped and we watched Sherlock Holmes. Being lazy felt pretty awesome, but we somehow rallied ourselves for another party Sunday eve. 

Whew!!

I need a nap just thinking about the busy weekend!

Thankfully, its been a restful week.

Looking forward to a date night with my two hunky guys tonight. 

A little dinner and How to Train Your Dragon 3D.

What's your favorite part of brunch?

XO,

Chelsea

i HEART Thursdays - this one's for you

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to say...

Happy Birthday to the greatest guy I know! Thanks for making our life a constant adventure.

We started the party out yesterday with a little beach time with the kiddos, a HUGE meal at Palace Grill complete with chocolate birthday souffle, and some quiet snuggle time in the evening. We'll be keeping the party going with a little birthday/housewarming bbq this weekend. Can't wait to decorate, bake lots of fun desserts and share our home with good friends!!


Lets face it Birthdays are awesome! Cake, prezzies and lots of fun party decorations. I've always loved birthdays and will continue to celebrate my birthday - even if I don't necessarily want to celebrate my age!

So in honor of Carl - here's a sweet little heart-image heavy birthday roundup

homemade birthday cakes are the best. This one is sweet and fun!

can't wait to dig in...

(images via weheartit.com and flickr.com)

What do you love most about birthdays?

XO,

Chelsea

weekend wrap-up and happy monday!

Do you ever have those weekends where you wonder where they went? This one seemed to fly by way too fast. Perhaps it was the fact that I worked 6 days last week, perhaps it was just one of those great weekends where you wish they could last forever.

There's nothing like sharing your home with good friends to make everything feel worth while.

Thursday night arrived with Carl returning home. We had a great evening making dinner with a friend and getting a (sort-of) early start on the weekend!

Friday afternoon and our friend Brian came into town from Austin. Its so wonderful to get to share our home with a friend. Another friend joined us for a great dinner - I love tacos!!

Nothing makes me happier than spending a Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market.

After downing some espresso, we hopped on the bikes and headed downtown for some fresh produce.

Loving the end of winter fruits and veggies.

 

  

nothing like some anatomically correct vegetables...

 

squash butt

 

and oh wow!! fresh bread

 

yum yum

 

with some amazing heirlooms too please

 

and gorgeous flowers

nothing says spring like sweetpeas and cherry blossoms!!

 

  

After the shopping and the ride, the boys were tired

 

but no rest for me...

I was off to my favorite winery to sling some vino

 

  

seriously, its hard to call this work!

disclaimer: she didn't really drink from the Centellino
 

 

all in a hard day's work

Then back home to a house-full. More guests and happy kiddos

the indoor version of bowling for children

Sutter loves him some Alison

 Apparently he's been brushing up on his reading too...

All wrapped up with some Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. All in all, a pretty amazing day.



Brian was mistaken if he thought he'd be getting any rest.

They were all ready for attack number 2 first thing Sunday morning...

 

although I'm not sure if he's attacker or attackee in this one?

off to the park

some swingin'

some baseball

 

some brushes with nature

 

 

i love that little girl

but it was time to go home

 

grab a snack

 

and learn about the Godfather

 

"I made him an offer..."

so sad to see Uncle Brian go -
 

but Sutter gave him a pretty good send-off. Can you guess which one's Sutter and which one's Brian by the capes flying in the wind?

The weekend has already come and gone. And now its Monday again. Next week/end means more guests!! March is going to be nuts.

But for today, I've got Happy Feet.

How was your weekend??

XO,

Chelsea