On this Weekend’s Meanderings..Homemade pasta noodles, inspiration bulletin boards, a great book with some unexpected charcuterie ideas, and Madewell pieces you’ll want to add to the closet..and more!
It’s time for some chat and and fun things you might want to know about -with my pals Elizabeth and Juliet. We have been so lucky here in Northern Cal with days of 70’s temperatures here after a last week’s unbelievable heat. I even wore jeans and a cardigan today. I can’t believe fall is next week already. I am ready!
The Queen’s Service Coverage
Have you been watching the coverage of the queen’s funeral and all surrounding it? I’ve been catching a lot of it on SkyNews live stream on YouTube. It’s the next to best thing to being able to watch live BBC in the U.K. If you are in America, and don’t want to miss a thing, you’ll appreciate it. I’ve had it open on the computer non-stop and watching all of it. There are some wonderful stories on Sky..Like Eisenhower’s granddaughter sharing notes from the Queen and her special scone recipe she wrote out with a note for the President and other fascinating tales.
So many people queuing to see the Queen, it’s quite something isn’t it? I don’t think we’ll ever forget this. Princess Anne is the first female royal to be part of Vigil of the Princes, and walk and stand next to the coffin. I do like her in the pants, something we haven’t seen before.
Pumpkins and Fall Decor
Juliet and I have a thing about fall decor.. We both don’t like a ton of it and I do hate the pushing of it so much in every single store. There is only so much we need and people can go over the top.. I do have a few glass pumpkins I’ve had for years I’ll put out in October. I also buy real ones and leave them on the porch through Thanksgiving, but not until October!
I was complaining about the cargo ships loaded with this stuff and saying if I hear another thing about pumpkin spice… UGH! Well Juliet being the joker she is, gave me a little pumpkin mug as a gag (along with some gorgeous candlesticks .) Thing is, it’s my favorite mug now! I sent her this photo of me with it.. pardon my morning appearance.. Ha I love her!
That said… I kind am of thinking of breaking my no more pumpkin decor rule with these rattan pumpkins I’ve been eyeing at Pottery Barn. Don’t you think they are cute? One might be kind of cool mixed in with my real ones..I’m a lover of anything rattan. How do you all feel about the fall decor thing? Are you all in -or more like me? Would this be terrible? I know I’d keep them a long time, so that sort of justifies one?
Bulletin/Inspiration Boards
I am still getting my small office the way I want it, and we finally removed the big television we had and I now have another wall to play with. I knew I wanted a big bulletin board to pin all the things inspiring me. I had my eye on one of the Ballard Design boards.
They are well made with cork behind them so they work beautifully. I previously had a beautiful burlap version that I gave to my son. I know these are pricey so I looked all over for something similar in the same size and linen. Even going through Etsy, and making the same size board, it was near $600, so I finally went with the Ballard Linen version during a sale.
I am so happy I did. It’s really the focus of this extra wall now. I’m having fun pinning up some images that are inspiring me for autumn, and inspiring quotes..
I’m loving rusts, blues and hints of yellow for autumn 2022! I’ve also done boards in the mud room before with postcards from travels or all family photos. That’s what I love about these boards, you can treat it as a living collage of sorts and change it up when the mood strikes you!
The Boards Book
My sweet son Jackson gave me this book, Boards, for my birthday and it’s fantastic. There are a lot of charcuterie board books out there right now, but this one is different. It is by Elle Simon Scott, of America’s Test Kitchen, and she is a chef, food stylist and also a show-runner. Food is her passion though and she’s the genius behind this wonderful book.
Charcuterie boards have evolved from the big wooden board with a hunk of cheese. They are so much more now and almost a creative art that can be used from breakfast on and for almost all occasions. They make things casual and fun and encourage gathering, chatting and eating..
Because Elle is a food stylist as well as a chef, these board ideas are stunning. Just some of the ideas are breakfast taco boards, pizza parlor, martinis, afternoon tea, steak frites, shawarma, Octoberfest, pavlovas- and so much more.
What really makes this book though is the delicious recipes. This isn’t just pretty boards. She has a load of dips and fun foods to make. It’s a perfect book if you want entertaining ideas for the holiday season coming…
I also enjoy following chef Elle on Instagram here.
Homemade Noodles!
Last Sunday Max made homemade noodles. Fall makes me think of comfort food and I was remembering my mom and grandma’s own homemade noodles. I would love waking up and seeing noodles drying all over the counter as a kid. We don’t have a noodle attachment for our mixer, so we did them the old fashioned way like mom, just rolling the dough into tube shapes and then slicing and laying out for a while to dry before refrigerating.
We used a jar of Rao’s marinara because we had it on hand, grated fresh Parmigiano Reggiano on top and served it with a green salad and an Epi Baguette from the Los Gatos Farmer’s Market warmed up and we indulged with real butter. It was heaven! I ate the leftovers for lunch later in the week. I can’t tell you how good homemade noodles are until you try them. Full recipe here from Love and Lemons.
Max also used King Arthur 00 Pizza Flour which really worked well. If you haven’t tried it, I recommend it for home pizzas and other things you want sort of a chewiness.
Madewell Insider Sale
Madewell has so many good items for fall ! Of all the pretty things, I have a few pieces that I am considering adding to the closet…
You can also pin these collages if you want to save them..
The Puffy Transport Bag, in four colors is darling, so is the Piazza Bag in color and size options, this Glen Plaid Baseball Cap, this boxy Cashmere Cardigan, the Smocked Waist Top, these Mid-rise everyday jeans, these vintage wide leg crops jeans, the Corinne Lugsole Loafer, the Mindy Mule, and this cute two piece necklace set.
You can also shop the pieces here..
My Closet Video
If you caught last week’s Signature Style with Sarah and Cindy, we did Closet Cleanout. To go along with that theme, I did a small video tour of my closet and how I organize it! I’m trying to get better about making these little clips..and I’m still learning, but you can catch it here on my Instagram.
Cute Personalized Stationery
I just wrote a few thank you and it reminded me I have been wanting to order personalized notes for a while. Its nice to order them before you actually need them!
I love the quality of Minted and they are a local Bay Area business and use small artists for their designs. They have so many artful styles to choose from.. I chose this design which kind of reminded me of Hawaii and is a bit modern. It also comes in other colorways..
I also love this poppy design, this modern circle design, and this bird one..
You can see all the options for your own cards here.
Well that is my weekend meanderings for this week.. Please check out Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs to see what good things they are sharing…
MAKE MINE A SPRITZER
PINECONES AND ACORNS
Thank you for being here! Hope your weekend is wonderful and you enjoy the first days of fall.
Kim
On last weekend’s meanderings.. Queen Elizabeth, a lunch at Juliet’s pretty house, some uber soft pajamas for hot nights, a luxe lipstick balm, and an inspiring Australian home book..
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We are in Europe- and every station has the royal proceedings. I can’t believe we will have this event as a marker in our own lives… my entire life with one Queen! We are so lucky we got to see her in person except I’ll be 50 feet away from her at the Braemere gathering several years ago in Scotland. That was very special.
The Boards Book looks great- I always get so many good ideas from you! For years I had a giant bulletin board just filled with all my inspiration. Now we downsize to a smaller house I don’t have an office anymore- My inspiration biard got moved to the garage! I do have some large willow pumpkins- with lights inside. They look so pretty nestled in with real pumpkins on the porch. I can’t believe I’m talking about fall and I’m laying on the beach next to the equator!
Martha, I’ve been enjoying following along your trip so much! I hope it’s wonderful. How cool you got to go to the Braemare Games. The Queen always seemed to have so much fun there. You will always remember that. Love the candles in the willow pumpkins, I bet that is cute. I know can you believe fall is here? Enjoy the beach time! Sending you lots of wishes for more fun. xo
Good morning! It’s the sign of a good post when there are many things I want to click on and open in a new tab. Today I went down many “meandering” paths to check into things more in depth. Always fun, sometimes dangerous! I’m with you about the decorating for Halloween/Autumn. Each year I drag out a few ceramic pumpkins collected over the years, a bundle of wheat and a cornucopia filled with fall leaves. I do like the PB pumpkins, favorite is one in the middle. I love that Max likes to get in the kitchen! That pasta looks SO good, just simply sauced. Last night I was at a winery listening to music and everyone was cold because of wind – such a radical change but welcome. Happy weekend, Kim.
Hi Wren! Aww thanks hope it’s a fun post. I love bringing out my pumpkins, but I can’t always find where I put them all. I need to get better about that! I do love the middle pumpkin too! Max only got into cooking the last few years and frankly, I am so glad as I am over cooking doing it for 26 years nearly every night..This recipe is so good too! Wow we had the wind too.. Nice, but sudden wasn’t it? Have a beautiful weekend Wren and yay for cooler weather. xo
Great post Kim! I’ve gotten some lovely book recommendations from your posts before and they don’t disappoint. My favorite thing is to pull my sweaters out of storage and see what I had completely forgotten I had. Like christmas!! I am bit obsessed with sweaters and of course white button down shirts. Ha! Like your blue shirt obsession;)
Vikki
Henryavenuedesigns
Thank you Vikki! Glad to hear the books have been good. I love the idea of pulling the sweater out like another Christmas! I’m going to try that..Sounds like we have similar taste. Happy weekend! xoxo
Good morning, Pumpkin! I’ve got Sky News going in the back ground right now … don’t want to say I’m loving the coverage because it’s a sad circumstance. But I do love how we have so much access and can feel part of events and tributes to this remarkable woman. Doesn’t it feel great to be in jeans and a sweater? What a difference from just one a week ago. I hear it’s going to heat up again, but not as bad. I get such a kick out of your pumpkin position … there shall be no pumpkins at Snowberry until October 1st either. Although I do love a wicker pumpkin and I have those PB pumpkins … they’re awesome. I’m looking forward to pulling them out of my fall bin. Yes, bin … singular! I also have a few glass pumpkins and last year I invested in a trio of Hot Skwash velvet pumpkins. Ok, I love pumpkins. But at the appropriate time. Your fall style boards are so good!!! Made well has wonderful things … I adore those clogs. Who am I kidding, I adore everything. And speaking of adoring things, your bulletin board! I love the size and scale … and all your fall inspiration. Your office is the best … it was a treat to see it for myself last month. You know I have office envy. Jeez … this post is packed with so much good stuff. Max and his home made noodles. Yum. I’ve considered getting a pasta attachment for my mixer … but is it easy to use? Could I do it?! And the stationary. I’m a Minted fan too. I didn’t know they are a Bay Area company. Personalized stationery is the best. Is it too soon to start thinking about holiday cards? Do I even want to do holiday cards anymore. I always say that and then I do … and Minted has beautiful designs and is so easy to use. Ok, I’ve gone on too long … wishing you, Max and Marlo a wonderful weekend! xo
Forgot to mention the board book. Your sons know how to celebrate you. This book looks incredible. I think I’ll order it. I’m joining a group to do a post on charcuterie in early November. This is great research. That steak frites board … oh my gosh!!! xoxo
They are pretty good at choosing things! You have got me onto charcuterie! I know loved that idea the steak frites too.xo
HA!!! SkyNews is so good! Like being there. Too loving the jean/sweater thing! Its been months! How cute the velvet pumpkins and the rattan ones. I guess I love things with texture.. Yes the clogs look so good. Trying to figure out which pieces to buy. I don’t have clogs so it’s a good idea..and love the blouse and cardi. I wass ordering that stationery and the holiday cards are already out! Yikes. Hope you and crew have a fun weekend too.xo
Ok you can BUY the rattan pumpkin it goes so well with your CASA‼️ I never bought new Halloween decorations I stuck with what I had when the kids were young and mainly that was for outside we of course carved a pumpkin and put it out two days prior and then had bits and bobs outside but I never did anything inside no room I guess😆 but every year it got pulled out until a few years ago when there were no kids on the street and we get very very few trick-or-treaters if none at all!It takes the Joy out of the holiday for me. Plus I eat all the leftover candy I only buy my favorites baby Ruth snickers milk duds there’s only a couple candies we grew up with that I didn’t care for one was heath bars which my mother loved I never got heath bars!!!
It was one of my favorite holidays. I have old cement wheelbarrows in the garden and I usually fill those with pumpkins but in the last couple years I haven’t had the energy to do that sad I know! no pumpkin spice for me ever good grief I don’t get the appeal whatsoever and you know it’s all made with fake stuff!!! loved Juliets humor I loved your little video on Instagram about your closet. What did you do with that old TV that was enormous I suppose you gave it to us son love the idea of a inspiration board I have one in my laundry room that is very very small I used to make inspiration boards and sell them i’ll have to show you next time you’re here!!
Xxx
Gave the Tv to my son’s girlfriend Kristin for Arizona at Med school! We weren’t using it. Gosh so crazy my mom LOVED Heath bars and I never got that.. Like eating a stick!! I feel the same about the trick or treaters.. We have hardly any now and it really bums me out. I still have pumpkins out there..Okay going to get the rattan pumpkins.. Thanks for the green light! xoxo
Nice post! I am one of those who does have some fall decorations
I bring out. I live in Arizona and we don’t have a real fall, its still in
the high 90’s so hard to feel that crispness and sense of fall.
I grew up in Colorado and miss the seasons. Anyway I have some
gorgeous pottery pumpkins and a rattan one that
I put around the house. I have a beautiful huge wreath, that has
all the fall colors of leaves and twigs on the front door.
Corny but they are simple and nice and I can “pretend”
its fall since I can’t wear jeans or even imagine a sweater
yet!😂 Loved the boards from Ballard, will check
them out. Liked the idea of a inspiration board.
We are watching all the events for the Queen too. My
grandmother was born outside of London and came to the
US as a young woman on the Queen Mary to marry my
grandfather. Its neat to have visited so many of the places
they are showing and feel a bit of kinship. The outpouring
and respect will probably never be seen again and certainly
not here. Thanks again for all the tips.
Char I can understand! My son’s girlfriend is now in Arizona for med school and has been missing fall terribly! Your decorations sound pretty. Wow what a romantic story about your grandmother. On the Queen Mary she traveled ? Amazing. That is wonderful! I agree loving seeing the respect for the Queen and for all her years of service and caring. I do think that is going away and not here. The respect for those who serve has been really destroyed by the last presidency and others.. It used to be about honor and all that. Anyway, it’s inspiring to see people from all walks of life lining up! I am highly moved. I hope you have a good weekend and feel a little fall soon! xo
Kim,
Good afternoon to you! I have been glued to the tv/internet as well. Now I am switching to Skytv! Thank you for the tip. I cannot get enough of the articles, photos, and the line. The Queen was one of a kind and her amazing legacy will live on. I am going to miss her mischievous smile and colorful outfits.
As for Fall, I love your mug! I don’t decorate for Fall, other than a few mini pumpkins, three wicker pumpkins I have on the table and dried flowers or wildflowers. I do not like scary stuff or Halloween so that is never a consideration at my house for decorations.
I have never made homemade noodles! I will have to try them. My husband is Italian and his family makes all of the old traditional dishes, including homemade noodles.
Boards are always fun, for one, like Juliet serves or for many. There are so many creative things you can do with them. I just ordered your book, I love Americas Test Kitchen and have several of their books, so if you think this is a keeper I am getting it.
I have thought of you several times this weekend while cleaning my closet. You “what would Jennifer do/wear” line went through my mind several times and helped me get rid of lots of stuff.
Have a wonderful weekend Kim! xo Elizabeth
Elizabeth so good that you, Juliet and I are all on the same page on the Queen and her legacy! You cook so much I think you would love the homemade noodles! I have a pumpkin noodle recipe too.. Yes the Test Kitchen book is so well done. Aw glad the closet thing was helpful. I know my Jennifer mindset has helped a ton and also prevented me from buying some odd things too.. Hope your week is great . xo
A post full of great ideas! Loved your closet post, I am glad you didn’t listen to others advice about getting rid of that 4th bedroom. (we never have guests overnight except the grandkids) Our 3rd bedroom is an office.
That charcuterie book was such a thoughtful gift from Jackson, I wish I entertained more but these days I am so busy!
So ready for Fall! My favorite season for clothes. That recent heat wave was the worst I ever remember in SoCal and I have lived here my whole life.
Homemade noodles are the best. I still have the Atlas hand crank machine but I think it’s time to up my game.
Linda
Thanks Linda! I am so glad I did what I wanted to with the house too! It seems crazy to live one way just for resale value? What about the quality of life when you’re in the home? Right? I cam so happy the heat waves are over. hard to believe it was just last week… and here we are in rain and jackets. I have heard the old hand crank machines for pasta work well! Have a good week.
Kim,
So much good stuff…Again this week! I love that Juliet got you that mug! That’s so funny and a favorite year round for sure.
I love those rattan pumpkins…and your idea of mixing maybe one with some real pumpkins. I too have way too much stuff, but maybe just one rattan pumpkin!
I’m beyond flattered that my “It’s the little things” postcard made it onto your inspiration board/collage!
xx
Isn’t she funny…and I love it! Love that postcard and was hoping you saw it! Your inspiration board with quotes is one of my favorites! xo
Love your bulletin board – great choice! Can you share where your swivel chairs are from? We are looking for a pair – planning to remove the table from our eat-in kitchen and replace with swivel chairs and a side table… we always eat in our dining room or sun room! We would like to have a lounge-y area to hang out and have coffee in the morning and wines & nibbles in the evening while we cook! 🙂
The rattan pumpkins are great also – fall-ish without being over the top. And just added the Boards book to my wish list. 🙂
Happy Fall! ~ Elle
Hi Elle! Thank you so much. That’s a great idea to have a lounge area where it’s sunny! The chairs are from a local Bay Area shop called Harvest. If you are in the Bay Area they have a few locations. I also noticed they have a nearly identical style on Pottery Barn and the same price I paid too..You can find them here..https://rstyle.me/+P1BqrrN183Vz20QxUuKucQ
Aw thanks I love those little pumpkins! You’ll love the book too. Happy Fall to you too!