Boho Vibes…. A new favorite.

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Maya had had morning music camp this whole week, and it’s amazing the difference it made in both our moods.  We came to this park to have a picnic lunch, and then just had the best time.  Once again…so glad I get to document these days to remember forever.

As a side note, it’s taking a WHOLE LOT OF WILLPOWER not the chop off all my jeans to this length!!  I have really short legs for my height, and I usually have to roll all my jeans.  LOVE the raw hem trend!!!Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-1 LOVE HER!!Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-2 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-3One of my favorite shots from the day…  Although, I have a few! Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-4 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-5OMG!  Both of our faces here hahahaha.

Dying.Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-6 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-7 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-8 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-9 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-10 Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-11Another favorite… Blog Free People Two to Tango DL1961 Cindy Dansko Clogs-12 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-1 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-2 The camp Maya went to was 1.7 miles from our house.  She walked there every morning, and 3 out of the 5 days walked home too!  SO proud of her!!Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-3She wants to pet just about every dog we see.  This owner was nice enough to let Maya throw the Frisbee for her dog a few times 🙂 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-4 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-5 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-6 Blog Tea Collection La Ventana Embroidered Dress Keen Rivington-7

On me…

Top- Free People  “Two to Tango” (Nordstrom Rack, sold out)
Jeans- DL1961 (Bootcut thrifted for $4.80!, and DIY Crop Flare, similar here)
Clogs- Dansko (thrifted, similar here)
On Maya…
Leggings- Tea Collection (thrifted)
Shoes- Keen “Rivington” (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
This is the look I get at the start of every outting…
“NO PICTURES!!!”
Thankfully, she usually gets over it after playing for a few minutes.Blog Outtake-1I had this idea of shooting through the hanging branches, except it was pretty windy, and half the shots are like this… 🙂
Blog Outtake-2
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

Blackberry Jalapeno Syrup

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As Blackberries start to ripen, this is a GREAT base recipe that you can make up to a week in advance and store in your fridge. I’ll post a couple of drinks next week! Jalapeno adds a lot of heat, but you could certainly leave that out if you want a non spicy syrup!

blackberry jalapeno syrup blog

Ingredients (makes 1 ½ cups)

  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Directions

  • Combine the sugar and water in a small pot and bring to a brief boil over medium heat.
  • Transfer the syrup to a blender and add the blackberries and the jalapenos. Blend until smooth. To extract the seeds, pour through a fine mesh strainer into an airtight container or mason jar. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Inspired by Heather Cristo’s Blackberry Jalapeno Margaritas.

dit-elle-Esther

Grilled Chicken, Onion, and Pepper Shish Kabobs

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It’s summer, and what screams summer more than grilling?!!  Ok, pools, popsicles, all of Esther’s yummy cocktails (!!)….ok, a lot of things scream summer.  BUT…grilling.  YUM!

I’ve talked many times about my love of grilling.  Ok, the EASE of grilling!!  It used to intimidate me, but now I LOVE it!  I usually do whole chicken breasts, but decided to try and do shish kabobs.  SO GOOD!Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-1 Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-2Ingredients (varies people you want to feed)

  • Chicken Breasts (cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
  • Bell Peppers-I used red, yellow, and orange (cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
  • Large Onion (cut into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
  • Olive Oil
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Trader Joe’s Every Day Seasoning

What to do

  • It’s not absolutely necessary, but if you can marinate the chicken a few hours before you’d like to grill, that’s the best.  Just put the cubed chicken in a bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic, and grind the Trader Joe’s Every Day Seasoning over it.  I honestly had all these ideas of various spices I was going to add, and then (OF COURSE!) was running late and reached for what’s easy, and good!
  • Do the same for the veggies (not as necessary to have those marinate!)Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-3 Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-4
  • You can use wooden sticks to spear all the meat and veggies.  If you do, make sure you soak the them for a good 10 minutes prior.
  • Preheat  your grill to medium heat.
  • Evenly spear chicken and veggies until everything is used up.Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-5Grill for 7-8 minutes on each side. Blog Whole30 Paleo Grilled Chicken Peppers Onions Shish Kabobs-6Oh, and Maya is in this stage where she doesn’t want her picture taken, UNLESS I’m trying to take pictures of something other than her… haha.Blog Outtake

Enjoy!dit-elle-Lauren

4th of July Almond Zucchini Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

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Happy 4th of July, happy Independence Day! Hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Need a festive dessert for the holiday? Make these cupcakes and decorate with berries – a beautiful and great cooking project for kids to help with (especially the decorating part)! 🙂

And.. the secret ingredient? Zucchini! This makes them moist and delicious, and who can say no to some extra healthiness? 🙂

zucchini cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting blog (2) zucchini cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch (or corn starch is fine)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
  • dash sea salt
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or other sugar, white/brown)
  • 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely grated zucchini (from 1 medium zucchini), squeezed of excess liquid

Frosting

  • 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp lemon zest
  • Berries for garnish (I used raspberries and blueberries)
  • Shredded coconut for garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tin with paper forms.
  2. Whisk together almond flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Set a large heatproof bowl over (not in) a pot with 1 inch barely simmering water. Add eggs and whisk until foamy, about 1 minute. Whisk in sugar and continue to whisk until mixture is fluffy and sugar is dissolved, 3 minutes. Remove bowl from pot and, using a mixer, whisk on high until mixture is thick and pale, 7 to 10 minutes (I did this in my food processor with the standard chopper blade).
  4. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in melted butter, flour mixture, vanilla, and zucchini. Pour into tin and bake until cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool.
  5. For frosting, with mixer (or again I used the food processor here) beat together room-temperature butter, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined. Spread on top of cupcakes and decorate with berries and shredded coconut.

 

I originally made this recipe as a cake inspired by the queen herself (Martha Stewart’s Zucchini Almond Cake).

Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

All Black, Under a Willow Tree…

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 The trend lately here in Seattle is that it’s totally chilly and overcast in the morning, and then it switches gears about half way through the day (usually RIGHT as we are heading out!), and suddenly the clouds part, and it’s super sunny and HOT!!

When we left this morning, Maya said she wanted to be a vampire. haha 🙂  She wanted to wear all black and wear her wings from last year’s Halloween.   She wore the wings to the gym, and seriously-SO CUTE!

We were going to visit one of my best friends and her newborn for lunch.  They live in Kirkland about 5 minutes away from one of my favorite parks to shoot at.  It’s about 30-40 minutes away from us (with no traffic) though, so I’ve never taken Maya there.  I was super excited envisioning Maya running through all the tall grass and down all the wooden boardwalks with her wings flying on her back!

Of course as soon as we got to the park…the clouds parted and it got HOT!

I’d already lugged all my gear out, so we just sat in the shade of a big willow tree and snapped a few.Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-1 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-2My girlfriend’s teenage daughter curled Maya’s hair while we caught up.  I’ve never curled her hair before, but it looked SO PRETTY!!Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-3 Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-4Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-5 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-6 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-7 Blog Leyendecker Blouse 7FAM Slimmy ShoeMint-8Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-9 Blog Gapkids Tunic Destroyed Mini Skinny Soda Ballet Flats-10On me… (no time for links, sorry!)

Top- Leyendecker (eBay)
Jeans- 7 FAM “The Slimmy”
Sandals- Shoemint
On Maya…
Top- GapKids (thrifted)
Jeans- GapKids (thrifted, and DIY distressed)
Shoes- Soda (thrifted)
Keeping it Real…
That’s pretty much how I felt about the sun too.  This was as close as I got of her running through the high grass with her wings….sigh.
Blog Outtake
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

White Sangria with Summer Fruit

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This is a perfect summer drink! Pick fruits that are in season.. I used peaches, cherries, raspberries and blackberries.. but you could add some citrus fruit, other stone fruit or other berries! Serve chilled.. lovely on a hot summer day!

white sangria with summer fruit and berries blog (3)white sangria with summer fruit and berries blog (2)white sangria with summer fruit and berries blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle white wine
  • 1/2 cup triple sec (or brandy, or rum)
  • 1-2 cups chopped summer fruit or berries
  • 1/2 cup peach juice

Directions

  • Mix all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve
  • Serve with ice

dit-elle-Esther

Salmon Avocado Mango Salad with Soft Boiled Egg | Paleo // Whole30

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Anyone else guilty of thinking up recipes about 30 minutes before you need to start making dinner?

There’s benefits to thinking on the fly, but a lot of times I’ll forget what I did.  That makes it hard to recreate if it turns out well.  I’m also forced to use what I have on hand, as a trip to the supermarket is out… Somehow, they always turn out ok…

This one was more than ok!  Light and refreshing, yet totally satisfying with lots of healthy fats!

So glad I wrote it all down 🙂Blog Paleo Whole30 Salmon Avocado Mango Salad with Soft Boiled Egg -1 Blog Paleo Whole30 Salmon Avocado Mango Salad with Soft Boiled Egg -2

Ingredients (Would serve 4)

  • 3 6oz cans of wild Alaskan Salmon
  • 10 grape tomatoes (cut in half)
  • 6-8 eggs (The Huz and I each had two, but Maya only had one)
  • 1 large avocados
  • 1 Mango diced
  • 1/2 and inch slice red onion diced (or a scallion)
  • 1/3 cup diced pickles
  • Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Head of Butter Lettuce

Directions

  • Boil water and cook eggs for 7-8 minutes (I accidentally forgot to set the timer and cooked mine a little longer than I had planned)  7 minutes for a runny yolk, 8 for a soft one as pictured.  Take off burner and add cold water and ice until they are cool.  Very important to have them fully cool, in order to peel properly.  Set aside while you make everything else.
  • Drain Salmon, place in large bowl, and break it up.
  • Dice tomato, avocado, mango, and onions and stir into salmon
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Set butter lettuce in a bowl, and scoop large cub of mixture on top.  Top with eggs.

Enjoy!

Next week, I’ll show you how I ate this for lunch the next day!  It was almost better!!

dit-elle-Lauren

Avocado and Apple Salad with Sea Vegetables

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This is a great salad and I can’t wait to make it again! I have been experimenting with kelp noodles recently and came across a mix of “sea vegetables” (which was a variety of seaweeds) in the local grocery store. I found a packet of the “Sea Tangle” brand of fresh seaweed in the refrigerator aisle. It’s supposed to be high in calcium and iron, and known to promote thyroid function and skin support. the seaweed was crispy and tasted fresh and good! The only downside, as my husband likes to point out, is that you are paying for “not a lot of calories”. Well, however you want to look at that 🙂 these are a great alternative to starchy pasta noodles and a great way to try some new foods!

avocado and apple seaweed salad blog (2)avocado and apple seaweed salad blog (1)Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsps. lemon juice
  • 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 3 oz. sea vegetable mix

Directions

  • Whisk olive oil, lemon juice
  • Add avocado, apple, and sea vegetables and gently toss
  • Serve fresh or refrigerate for a while
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

 

Twinning in Levi’s Cut offs…and another low tide :)

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 I’ve been feeling a little down lately.  There are a number of small little factors adding up, but one of them is that we aren’t able to do as many outings lately for a number of reasons.  I really miss them!!

And creatively, I miss taking pictures for ME…of US.  I miss the fun we have (not that we aren’t still having fun!), but I really miss being able to document that fun.

Anyways, enough about that!  But be forewarned.  Since the outings are fewer and far between, I took a TON of pictures haha.  Trust me, this post could have been even longer!!Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-1 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-2Getting her to come to me when there’s all the open space from low tide, is practically impossible!  Although, I tried to take a bunch while I was holding her, but my remote trigger was acting up-GRRR! Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-3 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-4 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-5Our shoes didn’t stay on long 🙂 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-6And, she’s OFF! Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-7 LOVE this next one!!Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-8 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-9 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-10 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-11hahaha. Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-12 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-13- Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-13 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-14 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-15 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-16 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-17I had to get in the water for this shot, and let me tell you.  The water was COLD!!! Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-18 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-19 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-20 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-21 Blog Levi Cut Offs The LB Brand Dear Big Me-22

On me…

Top- Monrow (thrifted)
Jeans- Levi’s 501 (purchased 20+ years ago and DIY cut off, similar here)
On Maya…
Top- The LB Brand “Dear Big Me” (tee version here)
Jeans- DIY Levi’s Cutoff  (thrifted, but similar here)
Keeping it Real…
So, my remote trigger (MY 3RD ONE!!!) wasn’t working about 5  minutes in.  I’m really hoping the batteries are just going out.  I haven’t had time to test it again.  I had to hold it pointing at my camera, which I shouldn’t have to do.  I had to Photoshop it out of my hand in the first shot 😦
Oh, and my face?  hahaha.
Blog Outtake
(all pictures taken with a self timer/shutter release and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

dit-elle-Lauren

PIMM’s Summer Drink

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PIMM’s is a light and tasty British liqueur, popularly served in summer in a tall glass with ice, some lemon/lime soda, maybe some strawberries and cucumber and a slice of lemon. You can read more about Mr. Pimm’s and the history of the drink on Wikipedia, or just stir up a pitcher and enjoy! 🙂

pimms cucumber strawberry drink blog (2)pimms cucumber strawberry drink blog (1)

Ingredients

  • PIMM’s liqueur
  • Ice
  • Strawberries
  • Cucumber
  • Ginger ale, lemon/lime soda or unsweetened carbonated waters
  • Lemon slices

Directions

  • Fill a tall glass halfway with ice
  • Add 1.5oz of PIMM’s
  • top with soda
  • Garnish with a lemon slice
  • Optionally stir in some slices of cucumber and strawberries

Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther