On this Weekend Meanderings…cozy kitchen lamps for the dark months, the best hummus to make, a Thanksgiving guide book, Chanel style jackets, and Carmel homes to dream about..

How has your week been? With Halloween done, some people are already thinking about the holidays. I’m not quite there, but Max and I got our Thanksgiving book out and checked on what we cooked last year, and put our turkey order in and made a preliminary menu..

About December…I am not sure I am ready! I just want to enjoy November. Is everything rushed or am I just being lame and waiting too long to plan for the holidays? Maybe with our artificial stop at Thanksgiving that other countries don’t have, we are at a disadvantage and could be prepping and enjoying more of the holiday season? I am conflicted, which adds to my perennial procrastination and living on the edge as Max says I do.. Sounds cooler when you’re younger!

Foraging for decor..

Have you been foraging the yard for home decor? I trimmed my olive trees in the front and brought in a bunch of the branches in. I am loving this look for November with a few little pumpkins until Thanksgiving..I also do this closer to the holidays with branches with berries and conifers.

Go check out your yard for ideas!

Other November happenings…

Kitchen Counter Lamps

The dark season is upon us, a week or so ago, I realized the kitchen is especially dark in the mornings.. It’s that time of year when I put a counter lamp back up..

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of overhead can lights. We have a thousand as they are mandated in new homes and renovations. That doesn’t mean I use them. I like pretending my home is like a cozy inn, or a pub.. I reject the surgery center lighting! I’ve used it to look for lost items and clip the cat’s claws..and that is about it. I use some caps near the sink to wash dishes.

Anyone can use a little lamp on the counter, and I’ve gotten them for both of my son’s kitchens. It’s nice to wake up and switch on a soft little lamp while you greet the morning and make your first cup. ( Note look for lower wattages on these, not some bright LED, which defeats the purpose.) After the kitchen is cleaned up after dinner, I switch off the pendants and click on the lamp..It sort of signals the relax portion of the evening when we read our watch a show.

If you don’t have a kitchen lamp, I recommend a smaller size lamp, away from water if you can. A corner under a cabinet for the perfect spot..Here’s a few that stood out to me.. Links in photos..

The cute Como lamp with a scalloped raffia shade is darling for under a cabinet, in white, chartreuse and three other colors, this Faris Ceramic lamp is a bit bigger, the Carmen Lamp is smaller and comes in a lovely white grey or white glass that looks like stone. I love this Anthro Rattan lamp with a cool shape and also love this little one from Target.

If you are worried about hiding the cord, or have a very small spot like near the sink, consider a cordless version..They are quite popular now and you can see them at charming restaurants and bars.. Options are here from from Amazon, in a cute wood, and here in a white/wood look. These are great for outdoors as well, or place a couple in the center of a dining table for warm feel.

Sam Sifton’s Thanksgiving

If you are just taking over the Thanksgiving duties, or need to some inspiration, I recommend Sam Sifton’s Thanksgiving. This treasure is filled with great stories and recipes and even room for notes, so you can look back on what worked or didn’t. No matter what you think, you WON’T remember the details of previous years meal! Max always say, oh so glad you wrote notes afterwards.

Sam is the founder of the NYTimes cooking and this book goes from planning- up to how to clean up right. As someone in comments sad, ‘this is not the meal for innovation’, and I could not agree more. Not that these menus don’t have any cool variations, but Americans generally want the classic meal. We do our variations on green beans and the mashed potatoes and pies, but we try to keep it to the crowd pleasers and this book will inspire you as well as be enjoyable to read.

Easy Hummus

Max and I have been getting into a routine with our meals and the empty nesting thing. In an effort to eat better, we have been getting a bunch of veg -mainly carrots, celery and peppers, and cut them all up on Sunday and store them in containers for easy grabbing.

I have started making my own hummus to go with it, and we have snacks all week this way. I’ve experimented with different hummus recipes and this one from Love and Lemons is a hit. It is light and flavorful and is super addicting.

This is mine above, from Halloween night.

I make this in my Cuisinart, but you can use a blender too. I like that this calls for canned chickpeas and I find the Italian brands to be the best. I top mine with a drizzle of good olive oil and toasted pumpkin seeds and a bit of paprika. I also like a little extra fresh lemon juice in the place of one of the teaspoons of water. You add water at the end so take your time to make it fluffy, but not too watery. Once you get the hang of this, you’ll never go back to store bought!

Chanel Style Jackets at J.Crew

I’ve been jacket obsessed this season, and the Chanel look jackets are all over now and I adore them. I really like them dressed down in a modern way with denim. Throwaway chic if you will..

The Chanel style jacket is always collarless, sometimes with pockets, and often short, but some can be long. Tweeds are the traditional fabric they come in..I found that J.Crew has a lot to offer in this category and I thought I’d share. Other good places to look are your local consignment.

They call their version of this jacket ‘The Lady Jacket’ and they have offerings in quilted leather, in denim, in a black (and pink) boucle, and knit red (also cream and grey). All so cute!

There is also this casual puffer version and more… All their Lady Jackets are on this page. I also saw a lovely quilted faux leather version in Plus size.

California Homes of the Week for Sale..

There’s less homes on the market now, but I found this great Carmel thatched home that’s walking distance to the beach, and trails. Just as soon as I picked it, I saw it was pending!

I knew the price was pretty good for beach proximity, updated kitchen and baths, and it has a sunny location. It’s cute so I’m sharing it anyway. I LOVE this place and the size and proximity to Carmel River Beach.

If you want something more under the radar, check out this Big Sur cottage with it’s own potter’s studio nestled in the forest…

Speaking of California homes, have you seen this Mid-Century Gingerbread House at World Market? I have to admit it’s pretty cute.

This was also Signature Style week with Cindy and Sarah and our topic was, ‘Does Your Home Reflect Your Personal Style? It was fun to think about and you can read it here.

On that post, I got a few questions about my home pieces and my kitchen runner. I noticed along with other rugs at Serena & Lily, my runner is on sale and also another I love -the runner version of my Alamere rug I have in the dining room…

Juliet, Annie, Cindy, Mary Ann, and Sherri Silver all did an autumn progressive party themed post with so many great ideas. You can start at Juliet’s who did the Apple Cider Aperol Spritz cocktail..Doesn’t that sound perfect? I think it will be our Thanksgiving drink.

VOTE!

This next week’s election is so important. I hope you all will vote and help those in your family – the younger ones especially, get to the polls. I also think it’s kind to check with older neighbors who might need a ride or help filling out their ballots. I made sure both my sons did their ballots this year, even though they are distracted and busy. We need those young people more than ever, so please engage and encourage them. In 2020, half of all young people 18-24 voted, a marked increase from previous years, so it’s improving.

It’s great to sit down with the younger people and talk about the options. If you don’t know what to vote on something, it’s okay to leave it blank. My sons did not know that..

If you live in California, you can register to vote up until election day! You can even walk into the polling place the last hour if that is what you need to do. They will give you a provisional ballot, that they will verify later. I love that. Everyone can get their vote in ! I sent ours via the mail and already got a confirmation it was counted last week.

That is my weekend meanderings for this week.. Please check out Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs to see what good things they are sharing…

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Thank you for being here and I hope your weekend is great!

Kim

On last week’s meanderings, ideas for persimmon season, autumn napkins, two fall casual outfits, and a untouched 1973 Aptos home for sale that’s a gem..

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