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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