Thanksgiving: Cousin Love

A Party: Girlfriends, Food...Clothes!

Shoulda taken photo after the romantic candles were lit!

Can you see these ladies getting down to business in this last photo? One highlight of November was my girls party, with soups and cider and a clothing swap. Yes, we all brought a few bags of clothes from our I-never-wear-this-or-that-doesn't-fit-quite-right pile and we swapped. One room was set up as a dressing room, the other for shopping, the music was loud, and we giggled the night away. It was seriously fun. Our house is big enough for parties and I love hosting them! I'll definitely be having a spring party just like this one! 


(Note: Here are a few tips for a successful "clothing swap". Make it big. Have many friends bring lots of clothes and there will be a range of sizes. Have displays and clothes racks ready. I prefer to have no rules on who shops when or what you can take. Set up a dressing room with full length mirror. Parties in a home are always more fun. Make it a true party with good food and drinks. Don't be afraid to turn the music up in case people feel like dancin'! Whatever is not swapped will be donated to charity at the end of the night.) 


The soups were mexican chili and autumn gold soup with Michael's cranberry sourdough and vanilla butter (new fav). 


Mexican Chili


1 lb ground turkey, browned
1 jar salsa, I prefer a chunky salsa
1 cup water
1 bag frozen corn
2 cans black beans, undrained
1 package Taco seasoning


Combine all ingredients in crockpot on low for 8 hrs (or high for 4ish hrs) OR whip up in a pot on stovetop and let simmer on low for 30 minutes. Enjoy with your favorite chili toppings.

Kids Rooms: Decorate!

"Kids and Baby Spaces" by Megan Biram

So I've got kids rooms on my mind. These are a few images with creative ideas that I'm thinking about. 

We had the best time with our families on this holiday weekend! Only three more weeks until Ababayeh has his long holiday and we'll be celebrating Christmas break! 

I'd better help Hensley as Tegegne tries to get her into the dryer with him! She is laughing and loves his "brotherly play" but it must be highly monitored!

Happy Monday.

Tis The Season: To Window Shop

So, it's the Friday after Thanksgiving and we are all full and happy and laid back out here at Big Sky Ranch. I've been "window shopping" + day dreaming = surfing the net (with my mama) and thought I'd share the fun with you!


Ready for drapery, floor to ceiling, in our home. I want a soft PINK, but will probably go white.


Need a wall giraffe? (I'm ready to decorate the kids rooms.)


Dipped serving spoons. Lovely gift idea.


Have stockings yet? My mom said she'd make me some from her collection of burlap coffee sacks!


These boots are made for walkin'. (Tried these on in Paris last year and I haven't forgotten about them.)


Need a POP of color in your home? Aren't those blue babes adorable?


Ever seen a spinning Christmas tree? (Need Christmas tree ideas for kids?)


Wreath making + this one = recycling an old book.


Tis the season to decorate the house for Christmas, take family photos and send cards, make gifts for loved ones, eat, drink and be merry! (Cozying up by the fire and drinking a chai latte was also a part of my evening!)


Good night.


Kristyn

Recipes: For Thanksgiving

CROCKPOT HOLIDAY CRANBERRY SAUCE

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 cup orange juice + zest of 1/2 an orange
• Get Ingredient
  16 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen
• Staple Mark
  ½ tsp cinnamon
• Staple Mark
  1¼ cups sugar
• Staple Mark
  dash of cloves (very small dash!)

WHAT TO DO:

Put all the ingredients in your crockpot and stir carefully to combine.  Cook on high for 2-3 hours until the liquid is starting to get syrupy.  Refrigerate until ready to use!

Door to Door Organics.

CINNAMON-SPICED WHIPPED CREAM

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 cup heavy cream 
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

WHAT TO DO:

To make the whipped cream, beat heavy cream on high speed in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Beat in confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Serve with the pie.

PUMPKIN PIE WITH PECAN CRUST 

So, we are hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow and I thought I'd share a few simple recipes I'll be using. We will also be doing the turkey and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes (I mash mine with orange juice and bake it with green apples on top!). Michael will bake rolls, and the rest of the Joneses will bring the other dishes to make our meal complete! 

Yes, I did mention that I'm hosting. That probably means I should get moving here. 

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving. Remember to eat lite today so you can go to town tomorrow!

Love,

Kristyn 

P.S. I must tell you that we will also be making vanilla bean butter...because it is to die for!

VANILLA BUTTER

WHAT TO USE:

• 1 stick 1/2 Cup Butter, Softened
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar

WHAT TO DO:

To make the vanilla butter, combine the softened butter, the caviar from the vanilla bean, and the sugar. Stir until totally combined, then spread into a ramekin and serve with the warm muffins. (Butter can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge.)

(Thanks Pioneer Woman!)

And that's a wrap, folks.

TV Show: Up All Night

Up All Night. Do you watch it? We love this show. 

Shopping KC: H&M

So H&M opened on the Country Club Plaza today and I heard it was the place to be. Maybe Hensley and I will check it out when Tegegne is in school next week. Zara, if you come to town I won't miss your grand opening. I'm just sayin.  

Get Ur Skate On: At Skate World

So I loved it when my boss at my old job would get on the intercom on a Friday afternoon and announce an "All Skate" in the cafeteria. He is so funny. 


This was by far the best 9 year olds birthday party we've attended yet. And we (especially the boys) go to quite a few. Why was it great? Because it was at Skate World. Why else? It's the place for parties, young and old! Tegegne used more of a skate-running technique. We had a blast.

Design: Elle Decor UK

So, I am a bit out of the loop when it comes to what sits on the magazine racks these days. Hensley and I were killing time before picking Tegegne back up from school so we ventured into Barnes and Noble. I found Elle Decoration, UK Edition and I love it. This magazine is jammed full of unique design ideas, informative articles, and the Nov issue even has a fantastic bread article...

It's perhaps understandable that we embraced cheap, plasticky bread in the 1960s, the decade when Britain went doolally over mass production and disposable Pop culture after decades of war-time austerity. But it seems like a good time to snap out of that habit. Real bread is too precious a thing to lose; making it is an instant route to emotional wellbeing, comforting you on dark days and reminding you that home is a place of safety and indulgence. 

And with that said I best walk the walk and not just enjoy the talk. I'm going to make a loaf of bread. Not today. But Thursday. Michael does it quite often and tells me it's so easy. So, I'll do it. And then maybe say...Oh that is easy and fun and I'm going to do it again! Yum!

Anywho, I'd highly recommend Elle Decoration, UK Edition. My friend does like the US version too.

Toodly Doo,

Kristyn

Tegegne: Conversations

Photo.

T: Mommy, why don't you have arm hair under there? (He says as he sneeks his little fingers in my under arm.)

M: Well, I do, but most women don't like hair under there so we shave it.

T: Well Ababayeh has hair under there. I don't want you to shave it. I want it to grow really big, like as tall as my room! 

M: Really? I'll work on that. 

T: Mommy, when I get big will I still be chocolate?

M: Yes. 

A Party: Halloween in NE

Great Day: M Mag Shoot

We had a really fun morning with the editors and photographers from M Magazine. They are doing a story on us for the "To Market" section of their Dec/Jan issue and we will also be on the cover! We made alphabet soup, cranberry sourdough, and mini corn muffins with vanilla bean butter. Tegegne and I had fun taking these photos after they left.  they captured the morning a bit more professionally. The magazine should be on news stands soon so be on the look out! 


Love,


Kristyn, Tegegne, and Hensley (who may have her head resting on my shoulder on the cover! she was so tired and has a runny nose and is drooling a ton b/c of teething!)

Design: 12 Kameren

Hello sweet little home at 12 Kameren. I have a design crush on you and here's why:


10. You contain my all time favorite piece of furniture. The Ligne Roset Togo loungers. 
9. Your natural materials are beautiful. You realize that gray from your stone, and orange from your wood and white are colors too.  
8. You perfectly threw in the colors olive green in your kitchen cabinets, blue in your study lamp, your babies red rocky horse, and red and green in your bedding. (But really, how can you have a baby with those stairs?)
7. Your windows and frames and doors and frames are nice and simple. 
6. You have selected the most lovely dining table and chairs from the Eames era.
5. You pretend that you work out in the room with a ladder and two dumbbells. 
4. Your exposed ceiling and delicately placed angled beams are quite good.
3. You have a dear outdoor patio for parties.
2. Your proportions are so likable.
1. You're cute. When can we move in?


Source.