Kelly’s Monthly Edit: August

Welcome to Kelly’s Monthly Edit!
Join me every month as I round up the little joys that sparked inspiration, from must-make recipes and Mom-approved grocery finds to favorite products in kitchenware, skincare, fashion and beyond. Consider this your behind-the-scenes bite of life at Just a Taste—no gatekeeping, just good taste.

It’s hard to believe that another summer with my crew is in the books! We summered hard this year, spending a majority of our time exploring our hometown of San Diego, with trips to The Cave Store, Legoland, the beach, and of course, countless local restaurants. A family favorite is Dodo Bird Doughnuts, where they serve up delicious fried dough and some of our town’s absolute best coffee. It’s connected to my favorite date night spot, Paradisaea, so you really can’t go wrong at any mealtime on this block.

A Chicago Weekend to Remember

My husband and I took a rare trip sans the kids to Chicago, where he and I both had work, plus a family wedding. I slept in every morning until 10 a.m., ate doughnuts in bed, walked one of my favorite cities and enjoyed some quality time with my extended family. It was a much needed break from the day-to-day routine at home, and it gave me the chance to get dressed up without carrying baby wipes in my bag!

I wore one of my favorite A.L.C. dresses, paired with Veronica Beard gold heels and the real highlight of the ensemble: a gold clutch from Amazon that gives Bottega Veneta a run for its money. It’s the best $52 I’ve spent!

Once my husband and I wrapped up our work commitments, we grabbed cocktails at my favorite Chicago spot, Z Bar, followed by the most epic dinner at Maple & Ash with my parents. I cannot recommend it highly enough for the ultimate pairing of food, drinks and customer service. The Smoked Seafood Tower with a “pasta back” (ie. hot pasta poured into a bath of butter and herbs) is unbeatable. All in, The Windy City delivered big like it always does and brought back amazing memories of the four years I spent just up the road at Northwestern.

The Summer of Bowls

I’m often asked what my signature dish or cuisine specialty is, and it’s a question I answer without hesitation: easy, but impressive meals. I want it to look like it took 2 hours for you to make dinner, but in reality, it only took you 20 minutes.

Bowls (a.k.a. random assortments of prepared ingredients) tend to be one of the most-served meals at my house. They’re a great way to make the most of whatever you have stashed in your fridge or pantry. Mine always include:

• Creamy Coconut Rice as the base (I make this at least 3 times a week)
• A protein of choice (generally steak, chicken or rarely salmon) bathed in Teriyaki Sauce
• A roasted vegetable (Chinese Garlic Green Beans get my vote)
• Chickpeas tossed in Peanut Sauce (trust me with this addition)
• Sliced avocado

This dish never fails me. It’s loaded with flavor, quick to whip up, and most importantly when you’re feeding four kids who all have their own palates and preferences, it allows me to dish out various parts of the meal based on who wants to eat what. Not into the green beans? Great! We’ll skip ’em. Can’t do chickpeas? Not on your plate! Won’t eat without a bucket of Ranch Dressing? Get your straw ready! And my life is made all the easier with my go-to bamboo trays with dividers.

Back to School… Times Four

I always knew the day would come when all four of my kids would be in school full-time… as in, one dropoff at 8 a.m. and one pickup at 3 p.m. I’ve had the best blessing in keeping Mia home with me her first 3 years and I will forever cherish the one-on-one time I had with my greatest gal pal in the world (other than Noni, of course). But she was so, so ready to start school. Like… beyond ready.

It was at the point where maybe I worried I was holding her back for my own selfish reasons. It’s a lot to go from a decade (yes, 10 whole years) of always having at least one kid home at all times to no one being home.

I am so thankful for our school and our incredible teachers, who made the transition so much easier for all of us. Mia and her brothers are all thriving in their first few weeks. And to quote Mia’s teacher, “It’s like this girl has been going to school all along!”

I’m so happy for her and so sad for me. I know it’s the best decision we can make for her, but as the fourth of four kids, it makes it that much harder. It’s made me realize there will be a lot of “The last first time to…” moments coming up. I am trying so hard to stay in the moment and soak them all in. Definitely easier said than done!

The Dean Machine Turned 5!

It’s official: Hurricane Dean has reached Category 5! The spunkiest member of our quad squad celebrated 5 amazing, action-packed years this August, and he requested a “very chocolatey cake” with “so many monster trucks” as part of the birthday festivities.

There will be much more to come on the making of my first-ever number cake. I love how it turned out, but it was a process to get here! I used my go-to Best Chocolate Cake recipe paired with the Internet’s favorite 5-Minute Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. A few crushed up Tate’s Chocolate Cookies as “dirt,” plus Amazon’s finest monster truck gear, and we were in business. Happy birthday to our sweet Deanie Beanie!

Dean’s birthday wrapped up our marathon of three kids’ birthdays in an 8-week span. It’s an annual whirlwind of fun and I so look forward to these big birthday milestones and the memories they bring.

Looking Ahead…

While I’m as present as possible in my personal life, I can’t help but get excited for all that’s to come here on Just a Taste. We have an amazing lineup of recipes and entertaining guides heading your way, with so many fresh holiday ideas perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and beyond. Until then, you can find me cooking up a storm with my favorite football party recipes!

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