How I Track Recipes in My Bullet Journal

January 6, 2019 2 Comments

New Recipe Book? Here’s How I Track My Recipes.

I love recipe books, and I love getting them for Christmas or going on vacation and finding new local recipe books. My most favorite recipe books are compilation books, where everyone from church or school contributes their favorite recipe, they’re compiled in a book, then you buy them for fundraising or at cost.

Recipe books accumulate in my bookshelf, so I guess you could say that I am a recipe book collector. Recently, I bought three whole30 recipe books – no, I’m not an ambassador for the program, but I’ve been doing the program. I thought it was a great example to show you how I track the new books in my bullet journal.

Here are the books I bought:

Now I’m slowly making my way through the food creations, tracking and recording in my bullet journal.

Watch the Flip-Through on How I Track My Recipes:

The Process for a New Cook Book

When I get a new recipe book, Before I start adding the list to my journal, I mark the pages in the recipe books and then forget which recipes I wanted to try. I go through every single page and mark each page with a recipe I want to try with a sticky note tag. Then I write the page number and the name of the recipe in my bullet journal in a list. I know when I write things down, I tend to remember them better.

Selecting Recipes

If a recipe doesn’t look tasty to me, I don’t try it. Sometimes I’ll go back and revisit the book and try new ones. I can create a new list or add to my current list. When I try the recipe, I mark it with a key to show me which recipes I liked and which ones I didn’t like very much.

I prefer my color keys to be very different in color. If I did all green or all red tones, or varying intensities of any given color, I would get confused with the ones I loved and the ones I didn’t like, so my colors are always varied.

Color Code Key

Using Tombow Dual Brush Markers, I assigned a color Key to this set of recipes:

Yellow Gold 026: YUM! The whole family loves – the quickest way for a recipe to land in the regular rotation.
Coral 873: I love – but the family doesn’t. That means I won’t make it as often. If I develop a particular craving for a recipe in this category, sometimes I declare a ‘fend for yourself night’ and indulge myself.
Gray Green 228: No Go – something that didn’t work at all
Orchid 623: We liked the recipe, but it requires a change to something in the recipe – I love to do this for recipes and customize them.

There are some weeks that I want to try all the new recipes and feel ambitious in the kitchen. There are other weeks that I don’t feel like cooking at all. So it’s nice to have a reference for when I want to try something new, and I don’t have to flip through all the pages in every recipe book each time I want to try something new.

What Do I Do With All the Recipes I Love?

If a recipe wins our hearts (and stomachs) or I modify the recipe enough to fit our style, I add it to our online recipe manager. I use Pepperplate.com, but I know AllRecipes.com has a recipe manager as well and there are some other choices for apps and digital recipe managers out there too. But I’ve used PepperPlate for years – I can’t even tell you how long. If they had an ambassador program, I’d jump on that boat so fast. My husband and I both have the app and we can access the recipes and ingredients. I love their meal scheduler and shopping list creator. Plus you can import recipes from different sites.

Additional Layout idea

There are so many ways to track recipes. I would LOVE to make a recipe journal. Either write out the recipes by hand or create a visual diary of the recipe. One Thanksgiving I made a spread highlighting delicious food. It’s still one of my favorite spreads to date. Here’s the mouthwatering video:

How do you try new recipes from recipe books? Or do you find them from online? Do you have a special way to organize your favorite meals?

Supplies Used:

Scribbles That Matter A5 Dot-Grid Notebook: https://amzn.to/2Lm40Za
Papermate Flair Pens: https://amzn.to/2PDWHfy
Camera Paperclip: https://amzn.to/2EvqPJ5
Tombow Dual Brush Pens: https://amzn.to/2PDy7eN

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2019: Phrase of the Year

December 27, 2018 3 Comments

There’s a lot of things I didn’t do before I started bullet journaling. One thing I added to my life since starting this little adventure over two years ago, I included ‘words of the year’ to my life. In 2018, I focused on the word “grow.” A quick assessment of the past 12 months, I can say that I did indeed grow. I’m still the same height (and even a little less width), but my soul grew by leaps and bounds.

2019 Phrase of the Year

This year, I decided on a phrase. My phrase of 2018 is “Fake it Until You Make It.” Funny phrase, but the confidence and power behind faking it until I make it is quite substantial. So many times I feel like I don’t belong where I’m trying to go. Impostor syndrome is a real thing (this is despite your accomplishments or talents you’re afraid others consider you a fraud.)

Like this print?
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& a planner printable

Impostor Syndrome – Does it Affect You?

An article in Time suggests that 70% of people experience impostor syndrome! For years, I wished that I didn’t feel like a complete and total impostor, but a majority of people suffer from this phenomenon. My phrase of the year “Fake it Until You Make It” gives me the confidence boost enough to ‘just try.’

Simply telling myself to ‘fake it, and just try’ shifts my mindset and empowers me to push aside those pesky doubts and do the things that I want to do.

Recently, I tried my hand at faux watercolor portraits. Nothing in my life could be more classic of ‘fake it until you make it’ attempts. But here’s the thing, all I needed to do was try. I tried it, I liked it, and I’m going to keep developing that talent plus any others.

Have you done anything to ‘fake it till you make it’ and ignore that nagging feeling of impostor syndrome? The feeling is indescribable and freeing.

I plan to try all sorts of new things in 2019, specifically in developing my talents. If it’s outside my comfort zone, I’ll tell myself ‘fake it until you make it’ and do it anyway.

What is your word or phrase of the year? How do you feel about ‘faking it until you make it?’

~Tricia

Custom Watercolor Family Portraits – Why was I Scared to Try?

November 27, 2018 3 Comments

Watercolor Family Portraits

Have you seen these simple, yet beautiful watercolor family portraits in your Instagram or Pinterest feed? I admired them greatly and longed for the confidence to do something like that. But alas, I always told myself that I don’t draw people.

One day, on a whim, I asked my niece, Alexis, (who is a photographer in Charlotte, NG formerly in Oklahoma) for a full-body picture of a couple so I could try it out. Lo, and behold! I did it! And it didn’t look half bad! In fact, I admitted to myself, it looked good. What’s more: I enjoyed it! Here’s a secret. The picture on the top is the first one I EVER did. Ever. It’s always a learning process to evaluate how to improve, but fear kept me from trying. If you let fear keep you from trying, you’ll never discover new passions or hidden talents.

The Thing

Here’s the thing: I’ve always enjoyed shading I love seeing where the light forms and how it rounds an object. In my opinion, light is the key to shape to an object. I may not be good at faces (well, I’ve not put in the practice to BE good), but I am good at shading, and it will only get better. Why I was so scared, I have no idea, but I sure am glad I tried. These watercolor family portraits are so much fun to do. I love seeing the personality in each person come alive from sketch to finished product.

If you have something you want to try: Try it. Go for it. If it doesn’t turn out great on the first try, learn more about it. Then try it again.

If you’d like me to {digitally} paint a picture of your lovely family (sans faces because that’s my style) visit my shop! Don’t worry, I print them and send them to you too.

Watercolor Family Portraits | ChocolateMusings.com #watercolor #custom #portraits #painting

ChocolateMusings.com Shop - Find it in the shop!

Custom Digitally Painted Watercolor Family Portraits | ChocolateMusings.com #watercolor #portrait #painting #custommade

Motivational Take Away

Here’s the take away: try it. Just try something you are terrified to do.

What is something you want to try but fear is holding you back?

~Tricia

I Did It…Or at Least Started – Getting Healthy and Changing Habits

November 15, 2018 8 Comments

Backstory & Disclaimer

Remember a while back when I said my husband was an evil genius? Well, I’m still scared, and he still is a genius. Not that I didn’t want to lose weight, but the whole idea of permanent change scared me. I’d have to give up sweets, treats, soda, all the things I knew I binge-ate and showed on my hips. If you didn’t read the first post, I would recommend it. This is my journey to get healthy and change habits.

Disclaimer: Here’s the deal, I write this for my benefit and accountability. I also write in the hopes that I may help and inspire someone else. I won’t approve comments that trash or are ‘judgy’ to me or anyone else. Fair warning: if you’re here to cause drama, move on. These are my opinions and my thoughts based on my own body and research. Now, as Forrest Gump says: “That’s all I have to say about that.”

Getting Healthy and Changing Habits

I window-shop for a program to help me change my soda-drinking, junk food eating ways. (I say I window-shop because I wasn’t fully committed and casually acknowledged various options.) But I hadn’t decided on a plan because I wanted to make the change permanent. No yo-yoing back to my original size/weight afterward.

I WANT permanent changes, not just a quick fix where I would balloon up again after falling off the proverbial wagon. Years ago, I tried The South Beach Diet, and that had the most profound effect on my body than anything else I’ve tried.

But it didn’t last. Boredom set in with the food. Sweet treats constantly bombarded my thoughts. I never reached Phase 3. Invariably, I started eating the sweets and treats before I was entirely over the cravings and fell back into the sweet-eating consistent consuming pattern.

What Makes this Time Different?

The desire was always there. But not the will to change it forever. Other than that, nothing is different, other than I have studied habits and understand my habits better. In addition to making a drastic change, I work on changing the triggers and patterns behind the behaviors I want to modify. See the list below for books I’ve read this year on habits.

But is the Time Right?

What in the world was I thinking to start a program heading into the holiday season? I was tired of looking/feeling the way I felt. Waiting for the end of the holidays and the start of a new year made me feel sad. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to have control over the holidays and not be controlled by them.

My friend, Elizabeth, told me about Whole30 and what a difference it made in her mood, her ability to think clearly, and her body. I know it’s not a new program, but I got the book from the library and read it. It made sense to me. And I love that there is a way to reintroduce foods once you’ve broken the cycle after 30 days.

(To read about Whole30 visit their website: whole30.com). This post is not sponsored in any way, but it is simply my journey to a healthier, happier me. My hopes are that you will research and acknowledge your own habit cycle and make a change according to what you want and feel. If change is what you’re seeking.

Elizabeth was itching for an excuse to jump on the wagon again, so we jumped feet first, together. So with the support of my best friend since junior high (yep, I can say we’ve been friends for most of our lives). I started what I fully intend to be a life-changing endeavor.

A Phrase in the Whole30 Book Impressed Me

While reading the Whole30 book, I came across this paragraph. These words are how I knew it was time for me to make a significant change in my life. It was time to get healthy, make changes, and modify long-standing habits.

“Don’t even consider the possibility of a ‘slip’. Unless you physically trip and your face lands in a box of donuts, there is no ‘slip’. You make a choice to eat something unhealthy. It’s always a choice, so do not phrase it as if you had an accident… Don’t give yourself an excuse to fail before you’ve even started.”

Its always a choice quote | ChocolateMusings.com #quote #weightloss #bulletjournal #handwriting

That paragraph empowered me. I have a choice. After reading Gretchen Rubin’s Better Than Before and discovering that I am a Questioner tendency, the need for having choices and making choices is a very clear need for me.

For the longest time, I was afraid of losing the markers (again – see original story of why my husband is an evil genius) and worried I would revert to old ways and lose those coveted beauties. (If you’ve ever used the markers, you’ll understand.)

The package is 96 markers plus the desk-stand. Can you imagine earning those lovely markers in 96 shades and then having to give them back because of a poor choice? The thought terrified me. That’s not 50 shades of gray, that’s 96 shades of sad.

Bullet Journal Tracker

I made a tracker in my Bullet Journal to help me visually track my progress. 110 squares for success! I’d figure out what to do with the extra squares later. Maybe a check in every 10 days? It’s kind of like a candy-land game. I sent one to my sister, and she used it in her elementary classroom at school as a reading tracker. I’m very excited to select some shades and fill it in. Find it in my shop!

Gameboard Tracker for Bullet Journals, Planners, & Teachers | ChocolateMusings.com #printable #tracker #game #candyland

Printable Tracker Game Board – Turn anything into a game!

$6.00

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It’s a Choice – My Choice

Preparing for dinner today for the kiddos, I licked my finger, and it had something on the ‘no-no’ list. I actually spit it out in the sink and not letting it go any further. Here’s a secret: I’m proud of myself. I took the advice seriously that it was a choice. I told my husband that hypothetically I’d just fallen face-first into a box of donuts and didn’t lick my face.

Do you know what else? Since I’ve taken it to heart that I have a choice, the Halloween candy hasn’t really tempted me. It has a little, but not much. I hope this is life changing for me, just like the woman in the introduction from The Power of Habit (see below) who completely changed every aspect of her life because she modified her habits and rewired her brain.

The biggest thing is, after a week, I haven’t opened the box of markers and picked out the first colors as rewards. Oh, I will…don’t you worry. But the prize has now changed to the accomplishment of setting a goal and altering a habit for the better. The markers are now just a bonus. Fingers crossed I feel like this next week, and the cravings continue to subside.

My Advice?

My recommendation for anyone wanting to make a huge change in their lives? Figure out what your habits are, then study ways to change them. That’s how I did it. It may not work for you, but it’s made all the difference in the world to me. For those of you wondering: I still do the dishes every day.

Here are some books I’ve read on organizing, decluttering, and habits. I’d love a recommendation and add it to my list. Let me know if you have more to add in the comments below.

Whole30 Books

It Starts with Food

Whole30

Whole30 Slow Cooker Recipes

Whole30 Fast & Easy

Turn anything into a game! Tracker Game Board | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #weightloss #readingchart #chorechart #selfcare

11 Reasons to buy Postcards as Souvenirs – Genius Idea for Traveling

September 6, 2018 3 Comments

Do you listen to podcasts? I haven’t until recently, and even then, it is difficult for me to pick up in the middle of a podcast. Should I go back and listen from the beginning? That will just set me back even further in the listening queue. I received an email with a link to a podcast from Gretchen Rubin (I have read several of her books and will link them below). So I listened this morning without going back and starting from episode 1 and surprisingly, I enjoyed it.

(I started listening to books/podcasts in response to this post)

A small part of the 34-minute podcast was a note from a listener. The listener said they buy one or three postcards from their travels of significant memories of the trip such as their favorite art piece at the museum. Postcard as souvenirs don’t take much room to pack, requires no customs, and stored in a small tin at home. She writes a note on the back of the card to herself which captures more memories of the trip!

Genius!

What a genius idea of buying postcards as souvenirs! The cost is minimal and you still get the feeling of ‘buying something’ from your trip.

I remember in my parent’s basement a couple of little dolls from their visit to Pennsylvania and Amish Country. I asked my mom why she didn’t have them on display. She said they were just silly little dolls and wished she wouldn’t have bought them. But she couldn’t throw them away either. I asked her why she didn’t just throw them away and she couldn’t give me an answer and just ushered me out of the room. There is something about buying a souvenir on a trip. Then there is something about having to get rid of it afterward.

How Many Things are Too Many Things?

I have a child who cannot throw away anything because it is all significant to him. I have the same struggle with anything I create. (At what point does my pile of paper become a fire hazard?) I understand the struggle of loving things, but I also understand the struggle of having too many things.

This idea of selecting a postcard to commemorate the best moments of your trip is fantastic, plus you keep a short journal entry on the back for even better memories.

11 reasons to buy postcards instead of souvenirs when you travel - sketchnotes adapted from a podcast

Here are the Reasons to Buy Postcards as Souvenirs

(I’ve adapted this list from the podcast and added my own thoughts)

Choose the best memories from your trip
You don’t have to take pictures all the time
Your friends can help you choose which one you want to take home
Easy to pack
Doesn’t take much space on the trip home
No Customs
Inexpensive
Write a note on the back for memories
Easy to store at home, doesn’t take much space at home
Buy two or three of them without guilt
Isn’t a picture worth a thousand….trinkets?

If I find more gems like this from podcasts, I may have to make an effort to listen to more! And travel more. I definitely need to travel more just so I can buy postcards as souvenirs as if that’s the only reason.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

New Recipe Book? Here’s How I Track My Recipes.

Watch the Flip-Through on How I Track My Recipes:

The Process for a New Cook Book

Selecting Recipes

Color Code Key

What Do I Do With All the Recipes I Love?

Additional Layout idea

Supplies Used:

2019 Phrase of the Year

Like this print? I created a wall printable & a planner printable

Impostor Syndrome – Does it Affect You?

Watercolor Family Portraits

The Thing

Motivational Take Away

Backstory & Disclaimer

Getting Healthy and Changing Habits

What Makes this Time Different?

But is the Time Right?

A Phrase in the Whole30 Book Impressed Me

Bullet Journal Tracker

It’s a Choice – My Choice

My Advice?

Whole30 Books

Genius!

How Many Things are Too Many Things?

Here are the Reasons to Buy Postcards as Souvenirs

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

Like this print?
I created a wall printable
& a planner printable