#bookstogift

Hi friends. Just a quick little post to share a few good things. How are things in your neck of the woods? We have had the gambit here with the strongest storm we have had in years last weekend and now to warm and sunny again for Halloween. Guess this is fall in California!

It is persimmon season so don’t miss out on those. Just got this bunch from my sweet neighbor…

Last October, I did a fall table post and used the persimmons for the table. I tried to replicate something like it for Thanksgiving…

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Anyway, I had a crazy few weeks, and went to see the son on a short jaunt to Salt Lake City. He goes to the University of Utah and it was nice to see his place and get to experience more of the city and also see cute Park City. More photos of it are on my Instagram under my Utah Story Bubble, under my bio. Utah is insanely beautiful and Salt Lake City is surrounded by snow-capped mountains right now. The town was a lot of fun and charming.

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It was fun to travel for a weekend and I mainly wore white jeans, sweaters and these Paul Green boots all three days- which a few of you asked about on my Instagram. They were bought a while back, right before the pandemic and I am finally putting them to more use.

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They have the nearly same ones still at Nordstrom. This is my first pair of Paul Green shoes and I know people rave about them- the quality and the comfort. I wore these in the snow in Park City and through the airport and all around town and my feet felt great! They were rained on and no marks left. It is definitely worth paying for better shoes that are going to be a go-to and workhorse in your wardrobe. I am wondering about a black pair too. All the gals in Utah wore combat boots with their pants and dresses and it looks current. Sometimes all you need is a great shoe to update everything. The coat is a classic I wear all the time from Emerson Fry.

Right before I left, I hosted a Bunco group. It was the first gathering we have had indoors since the pandemic. We don’t play anymore, just socialize. To make sure we all had space, Max and I spread the sectional and chairs far apart, and took up the whole main space in the house. Everyone was vaccinated and I made individual appetizer platters for each person.

I was hoping to find individual wooden charcuterie boards, from Target, but not having any luck, instead used these slightly larger trays.

What is fun on these individual boards:

• Consider the season and add a whimsical touch I added a little pumpkin shortbread cookie for an October vibe.
• Seasonal fruits – I went with grapes and clementines, but sliced persimmons, pears or apples could be good for fall.
• A triangle of brie, and some chèvre drizzled with honey, walnuts and pomegranate seeds.
• A variety of crackers (I like Raincoast Crisps, Italian breadsticks, and rosemary crackers.) Ask your friends who is gluten-free. I had a basket of two kinds of gluten-free crackers. I think it’s nice to have extra baskets of the other crackers nearby also as you never have enough with boards.
• A sweet side where I broke up bars of Ghirardelli Salted Dark Chocolate, chocolate powdered almonds and date bite cookies.
• A savory side which I added ribboned uncured Italian salami, English Cheddar slices, olives and almonds.

The pros about these size boards versus a smaller ones is you have a bit more room for balancing them on the lap. Cons are- they are bigger, so you need more food. I might have done too much, especially with women. My husband took a tray to his office to eat during the gathering and thought it was the right amount. Consider who you are entertaining! Using them next time, I would do less food and perhaps take up part of the tray with a cute napkin and individual knife rolled up and tied.

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These trays are melamine, so they stack well for storage. I bought these with the dark green stripe to use at Christmas and in the summer outdoors, as they can take on a camping look. They also have this cute plaid! Think of the holiday possibilities!

Evening photos aren’t so great, but I had almost no time to photograph them after pulling these together!

One day before the Bunco gathering, I had the nicest lunch ever at Cindy Hattersley’s beautiful new home in Salinas. Cindy downsized from her huge home in the country that you may recall I featured here on Californians at Home.

Her new home was previously a rental for them. They moved to the most charming neighborhood and in swift time, turned this lovely Spanish style home into a sanctuary with the most inviting garden where she hosted six of us for a birthday lunch for Mary Ann and I.

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You may have seen on my Instagram, some of the gorgeous pics and a fun Reel I made. It was the loveliest day and Heidi, Elizabeth, Juliet and Annie (all the way from Connecticut) were part of it too. Annie did a great post on the whole day with a lot of photos of Cindy’s gorgeous home and yard- and the pretty table- and fantastic food! See it all here on Annie’s blog. I felt so lucky to be with all these sweet ladies!

Cindy’s home was so inspiring and her fall decor especially, I wanted you to see… How beautiful is this?

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Cindy blogs about all of it and has shown the progression of her new place on her blog, Cindy Hattersley Design.

These girls are so kind and generous and I got three books I am LOVING. They are all so enjoyable and true treasures for your library..and yes great gifts if you need some. Julia Reed’s South is wonderful if you are into cooking and entertaining with great stories and recipes. Athena Calderone’s Live Beautifully has some of the freshest and modern, but pretty homes and kitchens to inspire you. Romantics and Classics invites you into some of the beautiful historic homes never seen in the English countryside!

I also got the coolest wooden carved salad servers from Mary Ann. They would make a lovely gift for a hostess or friend with a block-print towel like this one.

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I couldn’t wait to put them with my wooden spoon collection..

Also Cindy gave me the sweetest olive wood bowls from one of my favorite shops in Carmel, Tancredi & Morgan. I’m in love with them!

I’ve got the holiday season on the brain and have been trying to find small treasures like these before the holidays hit! Anthro has a nice collection of block-printed kitchen towels ..

Pairing a towel with a small thing like a candle- like the one below, or a small bowl- (like this one -also from Anthro), or candle holders or these little vases are all good and not too pricey gifts for girlfriends or hostesses.

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I try and buy several and then keep them on hand for upcoming gatherings during the season.

Also, on my radar, if you are a tennis player as I am, and love design, you may have noticed the Marimekko tennis collaboration with Adidas..My friend Jeanne had one of the looks on the other day and it was SO cute! I want the skirt and there is also jackets, dresses and a shrug to protect the arms, as well as tennis shoes, swimsuits, sweats and more. The whole collaboration can be seen here, but has already sold out on some pieces, so don’t wait if you like it! Also more of it at Nordstrom too.

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Lastly, I ended this crazy week with my first colonoscopy. I waited longer than most people because of surgery for a fibroid, and then the pandemic. I knew I wanted to get this done, as my dear friend Wendy passed away at age 45. I hate stuff like this, but I can say it wasn’t bad and the actual procedure felt like a small nap. The prep was the hardest part, drinking 64 ounces of Gatorade with Miralax in two separate sequences. I honestly couldn’t get it all down, but the procedure went fine, and not really any after issues

either. Colon cancer is one of the most treatable cancers if caught early, that’s why everyone needs a screening as early as possible.

Please friends, do not put this off. I now am good for ten years!

I hope you have a great Halloween weekend and some fun. We are making our usual chili and quesadillas and hoping we get a few little goblins after really missing them last year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kim

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