Author Archives: laurenkahan

Mommy Manicure (take 2)

Little White Dress + Boots (Yes, after Labor Day!!)

I’ve never been one to adhere to the “No White After Labor Day” rule. I say wear white all the time! It’s so versatile, and there’s something about crisp white clothing that makes me feel so good!

Granted…they don’t stay crisp and clean for very long, but that’s what Oxyclean is for haha.

I actually scored this dress new with tags ($145!) at Goodwill a few years ago for $8, but totally forgot I had it! Yes, I’m a pack rat, and can go shopping in my own closet. I have issues, but I certainly wasn’t mad about finding this gem! blog-terra-nostra-white-dress-aquatalia-boots-1 My new favorite picture of the two of us!! blog-gapkids-floral-dress-pink-saltwater-sandals-1 The many poses of Maya… I can’t even handle this next one! I want to EAT HER UP!!! “Mommy, look! I’m an old lady!!” haha. The Huz was out of town for the first part of last week, and I vowed to get some sunset shots of us while he was gone. Well…we missed it the first few nights, but got them this evening! Actually, I really wanted the sun poking through the trees (which we got), but after we left the park, I had to get out of the car and grab this shot too… So lucky to live where we do! blog-west-seattle-sunset

On me…

Dress- Terra Nostra (thrifted for $8!, similar here)

Boots- Aquatalia (eBay for $50! similar here)

On Maya..

Dress- GapKids (thrifted)

Leggings- Hanna Andersson (thrifted, but similar here)

Sandals- Saltwater Sandals

Keeping it Real…

Trying to wrangle Maya back into the shot haha

I attempted to take a few vertical shots, but my lens was too heavy and sank down! Oh, and Maya was standing right in front of the camera haha. The latter wouldn’t have been a big deal if I’d actually captured the top half like I meant to!

Can we call this a shoe shot? 😉 blog-outtake-2

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Wool Hat + White Button Down + Crop Flares + Booties (I can smell fall!)

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We are in that time of year where one week it’s in the 90’s (say WHAT? Shoot me…), but then…we’ll have a cooler morning here and there, and this week RAIN! It’s one of the many things I love about Seattle. We have definite weather changes, and with that comes variety in our wardrobe choices-yay!! I’m getting excited to wear booties again, so I broke them out for a test run the other day with my favorite cut of jeans-crop flares! Oh, and a wool hat, because I hadn’t washed my hair in…well, a few days. 😉 Oh, and her little hand gripping my hair…DYING!

I know that everyone thinks their kid is the sweetest, but…she IS!! OMG, her face!!!! It’s a cross between wanting to show that she’s mad, but…NOT-HA!
blog-tank-leotard-peek-kids-floral-skirt-pink-minnetonka-moccs-1 Maya had gymnastics later this day, so she was totally on trend with the leotard look haha 🙂 When I asked if she’d come outside to take some pictures, she said…

“But MOM…I’m WORKING on my COMPUTER!

….I guess, I could just bring it out there too…”

🙂
blog-tank-leotard-peek-kids-floral-skirt-pink-minnetonka-moccs-3

Seriously, the best $.75 ever! I originally thrifted this a few years ago just for her to pretend to work on it. I never thought it would actually work, but 2 batteries later…a total working learning “laptop”! blog-tank-leotard-peek-kids-floral-skirt-pink-minnetonka-moccs-4

On me…

Hat- Nordstrom (thrifted, but similar here)

Top- Alara (eBay)

Jeans- J Brand “Gigi Crop Flare” (ebay, sold out, similar here)

Boots- Sam Edelman “Petty Suede Boots” (thrifted for $8.40!!!)

On Maya…

Leotard- Bloch (thrifted)

Skirt- Peek Kids (thrifted, but similar here)

Moccs/Boots- Minnetonka (hand me down from a friend-SCORE)

Keeping it Real…

OMG, haha! I showed this video I took on our Instagram Story. She often grabs the remote shutter and starts taking pictures. She thought it was hilarious to take pictures between my legs….between HER legs! 😉 And…the camera caught me getting a picture of US, that she took. haha.

Oh, and I had another post all together taken in this direction of the side walk, but CLEARLY I f’d up the focus. It was 8:30 in the morning, so I blame it on my coffee not having kicked in yet!

All in all, a blessing in disguise, because I love the light in the other direction more 🙂

(all pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Grilled Orange Chicken with Onions and Quinoa

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Last week I posted a recipe for a easy, refreshing, delicious Clementine Goat Cheese Salad. I mentioned in that post, that I made this dish to go with it, and here it is!

I rarely use recipes (ironic, no?!), but one thing I love doing, is repeating flavors in the different dishes of the meal. I used the same flavors in the chicken, the quinoa, and also the salad. It cuts down on needing a bunch of different ingredients, and makes everything go so well together!

blog-orange-onion-chicken-and-quinioa-1 This tastes great on it’s own, but even better when paired with the salad…

What You Need… (feeds 4)

4 Chicken Breasts
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Sprig of Rosemary or 1 Tablespoon
1 Medium sized Orange
1 medium sized onion
1 Cup uncooked Quinoa (Omit or sub out with cauliflower rice for Paleo/Whole 30 option)
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

What You Do…

Pour Olive Oil, Garlic, Rosemary, and juice from half the orange, into a small bowl and stir.
Take 2/3rds of the liquid and pour over chicken breasts in a large bowl or zip lock bag. Slice the other half of the orange and place inside bag/in bowl. Salt and Pepper to taste. Let that all marinate for 30+ minutes. If you want to do this in the morning and let it marinate in the refrigerator all day…even better!
Slice Onion in 1/2 inch slices and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Light your grill to medium heat and let it get hot.
Take quinoa and either place in a rice cooker (what I did) and add left over 1/3rd mixture from above and cook. It’s usually done in 20 minutes.
Or, if you don’t have a rice cooker, cook on stove top with 2 cups water plus added 1/3rd left over mixture. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and let it cook covered for another 15 minutes. Let it sit for another 5 minutes covered but with the heat turned off. Fluff it up.
While Quinoa is cooking place chicken, onions, and orange slices on the grill. Cook on each side for 7-8 minutes (depending on breast size).
Layer quinoa in a serving dish (I drizzled a little of the salad dressing over the top, but you could just drizzle with a little olive oil), then top with chicken, onions, and oranges.

Enjoy!!

Black jumpsuits for the win! (date night)

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Whenever the Huz and I get a date night, it’s usually last minute. We are SO fortunate to have my parents that live only a few blocks away, and if they are in town they are always up for a last minute

“Hey! So…tomorrow, we were thinking of squeezing in night to ourselves”

Yes, I KNOW how lucky I am!!!

But, because of the short notice planning on our part, I rarely have time to think about what I want to wear! I decided to get ahead of the game, and think about what I wanted to wear the morning after I asked my parents (aka, the day of the date night haha) I knew that even if I had my outfit all planned out, there was NO way I’d have time to photograph it before we went out! (I was SO RIGHT!!), so I bribed Maya to go outside for a few minutes in the morning to take some pictures. All it took was me drawing a picture for her. It’s her newest obsession. She finds an image on the iPad, I draw it, she colors it in and cuts it out. On repeat FOR HOURS!! 🙂 Blog Theory Lortan Jumpsuit Zara Leopard Tie Up Sandals-1 Right before we went outside, Maya took my clutch and said she wanted to put a few things inside for me! (little toys :)) LOVE my little snuggle bug. Blog Cru and Lu Striped Playsuit Purple Hanna Andersson Clogs-1 Yoga move? This is seriously her new thing. It cracks me up! But…some things never change! I can’t even…

On me…

Jumpsuit- Theory “Lortan Jumpsuit” (ebay, sold out, similar here)

Shoes- Zara (old, similar here)

On Maya…

Romper- Crew & Lu (sold out)

Clogs- Hanna Andersson (sold out, Scored on a $10 sale!! similar here)

Keeping it Real…

Maya taking our picture…

And…taking our picture between my legs? haha. Blog Outtake-2

Note to self- don’t eat the dandelion 🙂 Blog Outtake-3

(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Clementine Goat Cheese Salad

1 Reply

Every night I try and make a big salad to go with dinner. I like to throw in a lot of good veggies and or fruits to pack in the nutrients and vitamins in one yummy bowl.

Lately, I’ve been making my own dressing too. I keep it pretty simple, but throw in fun things that compliment what’s in the salad every once in a while.

All in all it takes only a few minutes to throw this together, and it tastes light and delicious, yet packs in the flavor!

Next week I’ll post the Orange Chicken with Grilled Onions and Quinoa that I made to go along with this. It all went so well together-YUM!

Blog Clementine Goat Cheese Salad-1 (I’ll be honest, I don’t measure, so the below are approximates to feed 3-4 people)

Dressing

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice from one crushed clementine
1/2 Teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Drizzle all over the salad with Trader Joe’s Balsamic Glaze

Salad

One large handful of greens per person that you want to feed
1-2 clementines quartered and sliced in half
1 oz goat cheese crumbled (omit for Paleo or Whole 30 option)
Additional toppings that I frequently use (crushed almonds, or walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or hemp seeds)

Enjoy! dit-elle-Lauren

Fringe Crop Top + Levi’s Cut offs + …Hunter Boots? (Blackberry Picking take 2!)

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I know some people can rock boots with cut offs, and I LOVE it on them…but the only way I felt ok wearing this was because we were going blackberry picking again. The last time we went, my ankles got all scraped up! So, I planned ahead this time!

What I didn’t quite plan for was that it would be 90 degrees in the SUN!

SEATTLE, WHAT IS UP?!?!?

We went a little earlier this time, because we were having people over for dinner, so the sun hadn’t set behind the trees yet. Needless to say, I was SWEATING LIKE A PIG! (BTW, do pigs even sweat??)

So…I decided to take pictures before we picked and that ended up being a very smart move. I was a hot mess (pun intended!!) by the end of it all! Blog Free People Crop Fringe Top Levis 501 cut offs Hunter Gray Boots-1 Blog Tea Collection Pupple Blue Dress Kamik Rain Boots-1 If you look close, you can see blue fingers 😉 You can also see two bandaids on her elbow and another one on her finger. Yes, we made TWO trips back up to the office and they were so sweet. Note to self. ALWAYS carry bandaids!! I usually carry them in my purse, but didn’t have it with me ;( Blog Tea Collection Pupple Blue Dress-3 On me…

Top- Free People (thrifted)

Jeans- Levi’s (thrifted and DIY cut off, similar here)

Boots- Hunter “Graphite Gloss” (thrifted for $40!)

On Maya…

Dress- Tea Collection (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Kamik Stomp Rain Boots (thrifted, similar here)

Keeping it Real…

Me- “C’mere!!”

Maya- “I’m going over there…”

Hahaha.

Classic…

Showing me her owie (from trying to pick her own blackberries ;() Blog Outtake-2

Everything about this. Her face, the fact that I didn’t move the focusing stand out of the way.

Life.

(all pictures taken with a shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Blackberry Lemon Pudding Cakes

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I made Lemon Pudding Cakes for dessert on Easter, and they were DELICIOUS!!

SO…I decided to make them again the other night when we had some friends over. I shook it up a little and incorporate some blackberries that Maya and I picked earlier that day. Blog Blackberry lemon pudding cakes-1

What you need…

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
3 large eggs (separated)
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (room temp)
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 Teaspoon Finely Grated Lemon Zest
1/3 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice and Blackberry Juice ( just strained a handful of berries and then filled the rest of the 1/3 Cup with lemon juice 🙂
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
3 Teaspoons Turbinado or Some Other Coarse Sugar

What to do…

Heat oven to 350° F.
Place six 4-ounce ramekins into a 9×13 Pyrex dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and flour; set aside.
In a second medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and butter until combined.
Whisk in the milk and lemon zest and juice. Add the lemon mixture to the sugar mixture and whisk until smooth.
Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt on medium-high until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.
In 3 additions, gently fold the egg whites into the lemon-sugar mixture.
Divide the pudding mixture among the ramekins (about 3/4 of a cup each). Dividing evenly, sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours if you have the time.
To the roasting pan, add just enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
Bake until the tops are golden brown. I accidentally undercooked mine at 35 minutes, and honestly the general consensus was that was a happy accident. Original recipe says to cook for 40-45.
Take out of the pan and let cool on a rack.
Here’s what I would do again, but didn’t have time to do this time, which is why the pudding and cake aren’t as separately defined. I refrigerated the cakes for a few hours before cooking and the pudding was creamy and the top cake was solid but moist. Also, you can eat them right away, and it will be more like a lemon molten cake. To each his own, but cold lemon sounded better to me. 🙂
Can make one large cake (probably best in an 8×8 pan). If you do that cook for 30-35 minutes.

For reference, here’s what the original lemon cakes looked like that I refrigerated for a few hours before baking. A definite distinction between the pudding and the cake. Blog Real Simple Lemon Pudding Cakes-3 Either way…still so good!