Last Saturday, I was itching to try some Crunchy French Toast. I saw it on my friend Owen’s facebook and I was curious as to how it might taste because it sounded really good. I kind of followed this recipe and made an additional batch with no almonds because True is allergic. The girls loved it, but I thought it was eh. I think it was also because I used sugar free syrup and I don’t really like the taste of sugar free syrup, so that didn’t help much. The girls loved it though, so that’s all that matters. Although for tomorrow, I may just make regular French Toast and get me some loaded with sugar syrup. Yes, please.

Do you make a special breakfast for Saturday mornings?

Healthified version of Orange Chicken. Yes, I love the orange chicken at Panda Express or any other fast food Chinese joint, so I was wanting to try and make a healthy version for a long while now. I didn’t deep fry and only used chicken breast. I used one less tablespoon of sugar than the recipe called for and it still came out sweet. Might try to go even lighter on the sugar next time. The girls loved this dish and I was pretty much a fan too! This will definitely be made again.

Oven Fried Chicken. We’ve made this many times before and it even looks really fried, but it isn’t all and I think taste even more delicious than fried chicken and the best part it’s guilt free. The girls get the drumsticks and Ben and I eat the breasts. Our breading (the girls had their breading with a lot less cayenne) has like triple the cayenne than the recipe called for and oh yes, that totally makes it. We love anything spicy!

Week 7/30 – 8/3
Monday: Chile Stuffed Burger
Tuesday: Cold Soba Salad with Dried Shiitake Dressing
Wednesday: Turkey Tacos
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza

I didn’t get to cook two of the things that was on my plan this week, so they will get pushed to next week and we have enough leftovers to last us until Thursday, so we are good to go for this week. I forgot to plan for some vegetables, but good thing Ben was able to whip up something fast. Gotta remember to add that food group to my planning. What’s a quick vegetable dish you make?

I think our walls are pretty full now. A couple weeks ago, I introduced the girls to Andy Warhol and we made a little lesson of his style of art. Little did I realize, True already studied about him in her art class during the year, so she was chiming in with the things she already knew. Then I showed them some of the posters with his quotes and asked them if they had any personal quotes and so True turned, what she claimed is her most favorite quote, into the art piece that now hangs on the wall.

Another day, I just rolled out a long piece of paper and gave them two colors: black and white and told them to paint me a story. I pretty much always tell them to make a story in whatever medium they are working with (it keeps them occupied). True’s portion was the top and it was something about water and a boat. Brave’s was the bottom and I think it was about Monchichi. The presented their story to Ben when he came home. I just took some masking tape and hung it up! Although, according to True, I hung it upside down. Oops!

Ben said their work reminded him of Robert Motherwell. 1) I had no clue who Robert Motherwell was until Ben told me. 2) I already think Ben’s the bees knees and pretty awesome, but dang, baby 5 almost happened when he started talking about Motherwell. Just sayin’.

*Don’t forget to enter this giveaway and if you are in SD and want some pretty pictures this weekend, contact this gal (or she can just teach you French too!).

Monday evening’s here and my house is upside down. Same old story right?! I have some fun plans this week that involve seeing friends, so we’ll see when this messy house gets back on track. The most monumental moment of last week was having all clothes washed and all clothes put away and there was no single piece of laundry left undone. Of course, now I have one batch that needs to be put away, but let’s see if I can control it before it becomes uncontrollable. Doubt it, but I will try. Also, I did get to clean out our front porch and prettify it up with some plants and some furniture re-arranging. It makes the space much more inviting. I love sitting out there now. Do you have a front porch that you can relax on?

Learned and links…

I love silence. It’s a rare thing, so when I get it, I cherish it.

Glow can pull herself up to stand now.

Love this lyrical bunting DIY.

This gal’s packing is insanely good. I always link to her because her blog always surprises me with good things.

This Competitive Mothering post is good for a heart check when it comes to the blog world.

My friend Kim, who I plan to have my next family shoot with, will be in San Diego this weekend. If you want to get some engagement, family, or just because portraits done, now is the time and she wonderfully good with the camera. See her stuff here and here (and she did the photos for here too). Send her an email at [email protected].

Don’t forget to enter my Mixie giveaway!

Monday’s already been crazy over here and so I am sure the rest of the week will be too!

Meet Mixie. Mixie is a clothing company handmade in Los Angeles. Shannon, the mama behind Mixie, makes things for kids and the ladies! It’s a nice little mix-y. *wink* I am especially in love with the sunsuits, which Shannon graciously sent over for Soulie and Glow, and they come in such great patterns. Doesn’t Soul look so cute?! Also, I love the striped dress she sent over for me. If the company sounds familiar, it may be because you might have come across some of her dresses for us girls over at Modcloth, they are a carrier of Mixie clothing (see my dress here). Take a look at the Mixie blog and shop and you might just find yourself sticking around!

For one of you, Mixie is giving away a $50 gift certificate and to enter all you need to do is…

1. Tell me what you would pick from the Mixie shop.
2. Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway and leave separate comments to the links here.

Now, if you do all of the things mentioned above, you might even be able to up your chances by getting your name in 4 times! Fantastic, right?

The giveaway will end at 8am PST on Saturday, July 28th and the winner will be announced via twitter (follow me on twitter here) on Monday. Good luck!

I love these girls. Yes, they drive me nuts. Yes, they bicker, fight, and create ruckus together. Yes, after a long day of being with them I need a beer. But man oh man, yes, I do love them a whole lot that I will put up with being nuts (and having a beer every night) for the next 20 years. Though I will probably alternate the nights with wine.

And how cute is True in stripes and denim?! This little ensemble was sent over from the folks over at Molo, an overseas brand, and we are now big fans of their stuff (very well made goods!). True also suddenly looks a tad bit older in this pairing. I wish I could look as cute as she does in stripes and denim.

These girls are all so different from each other, but they all come from the same mold. If you know Ben and I well, and you know True, you would see that she is the perfect mix of both of us personality-wise. Brave is just utterly sweet. Soul’s looks sweet, but she’s dangerous. And our little Glow has a perpetual smile on her face when she isn’t whining for food. Yes, our everydays are pretty crazy with these four, and as much as I often get so frustrated in the heat of the moment (a lot of moments), I deal because this is what I want to do and where I want to be.

on me: shirt and skirt, vintage and thrifted. brick me up heel, c/o modcloth. on true: shirt and denim, c/o molo. shoes, salt-water sandals. on brave: shirt, misha lulu. shorts, vintage. shoes, rachel’s pop up shop. on soul: dress, misha lulu. shoes, vintage. on glow: shirt and skirt, f21 baby (when it used to be around).