chic living magazine

your guide to accessible chic

contents

A Labor of Love I can’t believe we did it! I’ve wanted to create a digital magazine for My Chic Life for almost a year, and it took that long to stop talking about it and actually produce something. Along with the little boy in my tummy, this project is truly my baby. I hope these pages inspire you, and help you Spring in to Summer!

xo, Rachel

chic living

Rachel Hollis Chief Cook & Bottle Washer

rachel@mychiclife.com

Melody Neeley Magazine Coordinator

melody@mychiclife.com

Mandy Fowler My Chic Life

mandy@mychiclife.com

Advertising Inquiries info@mychiclife.com

www.mychiclife.com

We asked our Chic Team… What Does Chic Mean to You?

To me chic means stylish in a classic way, not subject to a passing fad. It means carrying your own personal style with confidence! ~ Mandy Fowler

Chic is using whatever you've been given in life to create for others a sense of love, comfort and happiness. ~ Melody Neeley

Chic means being classy and current while maintaining your own personal style. ~ Alex Zamora

Chic is the pursuit of something better. Even if you don’t always hit the mark, I believe you’re chic just for trying to be a little better every day! ~ Rachel Hollis

My city, Santa Barbara is so chic! The beaches, and gorgeous views make it feel extravagant but it still retains it’s small town vibe.~ Jacqueline Pilar

Blackberry Citrus Mojito

These fresh blackberry

mojitos are the perfect cocktail

for a get together with all your friends or a

happy hour built for two!

Ingredients:

Rum Fresh Spearmint Ripe Blackberries Lime Wedges Citrus Simple Syrup Club Soda Ice

~ For Simple Syrup – 1 Cup of Sugar, 1 Cup of Water, 3 oz of Fresh Orange juice. Bring all ingredients to boil in a sauce pan and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Cool before adding to drink.

For One Cocktail – Muddle 3 Blackberries, 4 Mint Leaves, 1 Tbls of Simple Syrup and the juice of half a lime in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add 1 part rum to two parts club soda and mix together well. Pour over ice and garnish with mint and a skewer of blackberries.

Picnic Basket

The grass is green, the flowers are in bloom and it’s the perfect time to take your lunch or dinner outside. No need to purchase special baskets or “picnicware” just take a cue from us and use whatever you’ve got lying around the house. Gather a collection of blankets and throw pillows to make your guests comfortable, put your soda pop on ice and make sure you’ve got some great tunes wafting along with the summer breeze. Don’t forget fun activities like croquet, and badminton, or madlibs and magazines for those who’d prefer to just lounge. When it comes to menu think of individually wrapped fare that can be served at room temperature… oh, and don’t forget a sweet treat to end your day in the sun.

This Quinoa Salad caused quite the ruckus when I featured it on the blog served in

individual mason jars. The packaging makes it the perfect addition to your picnic basket and

the flavors are the ideal compliment to whatever is on your menu! To get the recipe

for Quinoa Salad click HERE

These throw-back desserts from

CakeNonkey.com are the perfect sweet treat for your summer

party!

Re-Collection

Light My Fire

I started collecting vintage lighters years ago during a my first-ever trip to a flea market. I was wandering around thinking “surely this process would be funner if I was looking for something specific”. Not a moment later did I decide that “something specific” meant vintage lighters. I love that they come in so many shapes, sizes and colors and that I find varieties from all over the world.

A lighter also wont set you back very much money… whether I’m shopping locally or wandering around a street fair in Paris (no I’m not being snobby, I’ve actually done that!) I can usually find something neat for $15 or less; each having their own story and memory attached. For instance, I’ll always remember this gold elephant was a Christmas Gift from my Aunt Linda and as with anyone’s collection the story is what makes each item so precious.

Cooking With Kids

I’m a huge proponent of cooking with your kids… partly because I secretly hope my boys will turn out just like Paula Deen’s and partly because cooking is my passion and something I want to share with my children. It’s a great way to occupy their time, and slip in a lesson or two in math (“what does ½ + ½ equal”) or spelling (“who can spell milk?”) or science (“what happens to the water once it gets really really hot in the stock pot”).

One or our favorite summertime recipes to work on together is Fruit and Veggie Popsicles. The boys love creating something they’ll get to eat later and I love that each pop is secretly hiding pureed veggies that they might not eat otherwise. This is a great recipe for a pool party or birthday soiree and because they last forever in the freezer you can make them well in advance and enjoy them all summer long!

For this “cooking” session the boys and I made three different kinds of popsicles… Berry Delicious and Watermelon Kiwi

Mojito both of which hide pureed spinach inside. And a Citrus Banana Blend that’s so good your kids wont notice that pureed

carrots are one of the ingredients.

To get the recipes for each of these tasty treats, click HERE

Lavender Bellinis

Ingredients

Lavender Simple Syrup

Chilled Fresh Peach Juice

Chilled Champagne or Sparkling Wine

To create a Bellini add a tablespoon of simple syrup to a champagne flute. Pour in peach juice and top with chilled champagne.

Lavender Simple Syrup

1 Cup of Water 2 Cups of Sugar 3 Tbls of Dried Lavender Flowers

For simple syrup bring water and lavender to boil in a small sauce pan. Once water boils add sugar while whisking until sugar dissolves. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and strain lavender flowers out of mixture. Allow to cool before adding to your drink.

Baja Ceviche Appetizers

This is one of those recipes that I go back to again and again when I’m entertaining in the summertime. I first got the recipe from one of my chef idols, Susan Feniger when I had the pleasure of getting a cooking lesson from her. For this festive appetizer I simply re-imagined the presentation in a mini parfait glass and it became instantly festive. For Susan’s Baja Ceviche recipe, click HERE

A big thank you to everyone who helped me pull together my first digital magazine! From my incredibly talented childhood friend Jacqueline Pilar and all her amazing photos, to the five year old who oversaw every set up, this was a team effort and I’m so thankful for the friends and family who always support my hair-brained schemes. Until next time, here’s to Chic Living!�