This post is on a holiday night at Serena & Lily, meeting powerhouse Shannon Watts, and a holiday outfit..
Hello lovely friends. It’s been a crazy week and I had written a probably too long post on a night out at Serena & Lily, and meeting Shannon Watts and more. Unfortunately, my host for my WordPress blog updated my site right before dinner on Friday and all the day’s work was lost. They were not able to restore backup for some reason, and the entire blog was lost. This has never happened to me in nearly 14 years of writing this blog. I even have a software engineer hubs and son, and there was no amending this.
Upwards and onward, this is a mini version of that post. I don’t have it in me to rewrite it.
This is the neighbor’s pomegranate tree.. I just love the colors
Night at Serena & Lily Showhouse
Juliet and I had a blast at the Holiday House party at Town & Country Palo Alto on Tuesday night. It was also Juliet’s birthday so we grabbed dinner before and amazingly she won the $500 gift card they gave out so I hope it was a good night for her!
The theme was ‘ A Love Letter to Scotland’ and the designer Kari McIntosh is a Bay Area designer and also has an Atelier in cute downtown Burlingame with her home and antique finds. She mixed pieces from her shop with specially selected S&L pieces and it truly evoked Scottish home and holiday with lots of color, pretty upholstered pieces and florals.
They had it catered with Scottish bites and even two themed cocktails on the patio. One was the Balmoral! SO fun.
We loved the Wisley wallpaper (on sale now) and the lovely window treatments.. and the sconces that look like they came from a castle.The whole thing reminded me of last October’s trip to Scotland. I found it especially cool this floral wallpaper had a small ladybug hidden here and there on it. At Holyrood Castle in Edinburgh, I snapped a pic in the garden with a ladybug. I also was reminded of the greens and tapestries from the palace in my photos….
Below are better photos taken during daylight of the room from Kari’s Instagram and Serena & Lily…
Serena & Lily did the trees and wrap this year in a blue and green and I loved it. I bought some of the wrap and I may run with green and blue for my Christmas tree.
You can follow lovely Kari on Instagram, and visit her Atelier too. Cindy had stylish Kari on her blog earlier this year too.
On My Radar – Best of the Holiday House Items on the Serena & Lily Sale
We got to see and experience all the Serena & Lily things up close and I came home with the green and blue wrap, and thinking on one of the pretty wreaths (we loved them), this gorgeous blue rug with pops of color, the softest gingham pjs, a velvet blue quilt, and a few other gems I am linking below. The sale is until Dec 4th and things are 25-40% off with free shipping!
Photos link to the item..
Casual Chic Holiday Look
I saw this skirt at Lululemon of all places and was in love! It is beautiful quality, feels amazing and I thought of all the cute possibilities with it..
It comes in black and would be super with a sweater and nice sneakers or dressed up with a cute top and boots… Had fun picking possible options linked below the graphic. I love the pull on skirts that look chic and are so versatile. We all need one or two in the closet…
Meeting Shannon Freaking Watts!
That is how she was introduced by the founder of a local women’s group and it fit!
Wednesday night I joined a friend Tracy who told me that Shannon Watts, one of my heroes, was in my own neighborhood and doing a talk! I felt lucky to hear this amazing leader speak to a small intimate group in a little historic clubhouse.
If you are not acquainted with Shannon, she began Moms Demand Action after the Sandy Hook shooting and grew it to the largest women’s volunteer organization in America. She has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time magazine and during the Harris campaign held the largest Zoom call in history raising 11 million dollars for the campaign in one night. She seems to have a hold on the zeitgeist and when she talks, people listen. I was surprised to learn she is a Bay Area resident and we had a lovely two hours talking election, how we are divided in everything right now, including young men and women. It was great to hear her take on things. She is ever hopeful, and insightful and inspiring.
Shannon has a new book out in spring and we talked about women and what we want. She said when asked, women feel the need to fulfill their obligations all their lives and men want to fulfill themselves. So many of us, want more from our lives, particularly our second half.
She shared that of 550,000 political positions in the US women still only hold 25%? We have to get in those jobs if we want to be the change we want to see. She is on the board of Emerge, a new to me, organization dedicated to getting Democratic women in politics. Check them out!
If you need good right now, I recommend her Substack, Playing With Fire. Two this week I loved: No One Let Go of Anyone’s Hand and A Sacred Pause Between the Election and What Comes Next.
You can follow Shannon on her fantastic Instagram.
Another great Substack I got into lately that was shared here and I an loving is The View From Rural Missouri by Jess Piper. I appreciate her viewpoint from the south. Jess is a former lit teacher who decided to run as a Dem in a deep red district.
Happiest Thanksgiving to you all and I will be taking next weekend off from posting to get out in nature, spend time with family- and not shop! I am against Black Friday. Spend time doing things that matter and try and buy less this year and do experiences with friends instead of exchanging….At least that is my goal.
Thank you for your friendship, comments and kindness here. I am so thankful for this space and you all!
Kim
Please stop by Juliet and Elizabeth’s blogs for more weekend things…
Make Mine a Spritzer
Pinecones and Acorns
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Kim, I am so sorry that you lost your post, what a pain in the butt. I cannot believe they were unable to restore it.
This post is fabulous so I can only imagine how the one that was lost was. It looks like you and Juliet had an amazing evening. How wonderful for Juliet to have won 500 on her birthday, that makes a special day even better.
S&L has so many beautiful things, especially for Christmas! I love the blue and the green. This year I did one tree in tones of pale green and another in tones of blue. Both are simple and I think they look beautiful.
This skirt from Lulu is beautiful, the color is perfect for this time of the year.
Have a relaxing and wonderful weekend Kim.
xo Elizabeth
HI Elizabeth, I know hazards of the job I suppose.. Fortunately this morning I got a bit of it back together.
I wish you could have gone to the S&L night with us as I know how much you love Scotland.
I hope you share more of your trees! I love the one in your kitchen with the pinecones and tartan!
Hope you have a good weekend too. xo
Love Shannon Watts too! And going to consider that beautiful wallpaper for my entry way. Thank you for persevering and getting this out!
Isn’t she great? Oh Leila I love that paper. Would be beautiful in an entry.
Wow Kim. I feel your pain – I have stuff like that happen all the time – tech stuff that I cannot figure out and it takes me hours of finagling to fix it. I spent an hour last night trying to rehook Instagram up to the blog – it was so frustrating.
I am sorry you had to do it all over again – the links alone take so much time. It’s still a great post!
I just love S&L and the fact that you have one so close! I have never been in one!
I agree with you on Black Friday – I am over it. Much better things to do the day after Thanksgiving!
Have a wonderful week!
Hello Kim, I noticed that I didn’t get the email yesterday, glad you managed to get it sorted out, but what a pain!
I hope you and the family have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. Yes, the future looks grim, but I know that you and many others are committed to pushing back and trying to make the best of it. Enjoy your time off!
Good morning Kim! Apparently your post arrived a day later, go figure. I am so sorry about your blog getting computer lost. Goodness, how frustrating. Thank you for posting this one because it is so good, starting with the stunning pic of the gorgeous pomegranate tree. You and Juliet were lucky to attend the S & L event, and she even luckier to have won a $500 gift on her birthday! I love anything Scottish, and this event looked like fun. I’m on my way to check out more of Shannon Watts. Happy Thanksgiving, and yes and amen to no Black Friday shopping! Xo
Great post! Loved Shannon Watts substack pieces. She is inspiring.
“…a sacred pause between the election and what comes next. ” wow… no words.
Town and Country Village…. Omg! I grew up a few miles up the road and my mom loved Town and Country Village. Edy’s Ice cream and this restaurant called Stickneys. I think I got my first bra at some store there too. This post brought back so many memories.
To the present. You ladies are gorgeous surrounded by the beauty of Serena and Lily’s take on Scotland. Love love!
Sorry about losing your blog, Kim! nothing more frustrating, I’m sure. Good come back though
Cheers!
Ooo Kim thanks for the information on Shannon l will look into her writings and internet posts! Have a beautiful relaxing Thanksgiving with your family. health and happiness to you and yours xox
Kim, I can’t even imagine having a post draft go pouft into thin air … incredibly frustrating and upsetting and you handled it a lot better than I would have. And look … you picked yourself up and got another post out there and I can’t image the first being anymore fabulous and inspiriting. It was so much fun at Serena & Lily … I could have stayed in that store forever and might have. And after listening to you and Kari talk about your Scottish travels I’m even more motivated to organize a similar trip early next fall. I know you’ll steer me in the right direction. Love hearing more about your evening out with the inspirational Shannon Watts. How cool that you were able to meet her in such an intimate setting. I did a deep dive into her Instagram this week. And I’m going to click over Jess Pipers Substack right now. I do love that Lulu skirt and might have to bring it home for a couple of upcoming holiday parties. Can you believe it … it feels like yesterday we were too hot and here we are stuffing our turkeys. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Max and the boys. xoxo
Another great post! Drooling over the S&L everything. LOVE the Christmas colors! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Hi Kim,
I’m so sorry you lost your first blog post – so frustrating! I just love the photos from the Serena and Lily event, and would have loved reading all your details. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
I am moved reading about your event listening to Shannon Watts. It’s great to know that we have people like her fighting for such a worthwhile cause. I’m sure after recent weeks, this was a wonderful feeling of hope to hear. I will definitely be checking out the links that you listed.
Wishing you and your family a peaceful Thanksgiving. Thank you to you, Elizabeth, and Juliet, for all the love and hope and eye candy you provide us all every week!
Janet
Hello Kim, I can imagine how frustrated you felt losing your last post. You mentioned your trip to Scotland and I’m planning with friends a trip there next May. How can I read your blog on your trip? Enjoy your media break and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Hi Sheila, There is three parts of my trip – London, the Cotswolds, York and Chatsworth, and last part was Edinburgh.
This one has Edinburgh https://northerncalstyle.com/2023/11/edinburgh-thanksgiving-and-black-friday-gift-ideas.html
This is part 2 of it and what I packed for it!
https://northerncalstyle.com/2023/12/what-i-packed-for-the-uk-edinburgh-and-more.html
At the bottom of this post, are links to the England portions.. Hope that helps!
xo