On this post, thinking about Thanksgiving, a bright home to inspire, good things at West Elm, and more!
It’s time for the weekend meander with Elizabeth and Juliet! I have been loving these pomegranates growing next to my driveway..
How has your week been? We have rain- a lot of it. I cannot believe Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. It’s one of those holidays that always seems to take me by surprise and I am rarely ready. Thanks to my blog pals who are ahead of things, I had to start thinking about what I’ll actually serve. I came up with a side dish I’ve had on the brain from a restaurant dinner a few years ago. It is a sort of California take on Brussels sprouts with pomegranates and walnuts. I joined four others and we all shared Thanksgiving sides. You can read it here for more ideas. My friends had some unique twists on Thanksgiving sides and a few family stories to go along with their recipes.
Do you plan Thanksgiving dinner with the same sides? We do have certain ones everyone loves, like sweet potato casserole, and mashed potatoes, but I change up the stuffing (dressing) year to year. This week I’ll be consulting my Thanksgiving binder. I had saved so many photos and recipes over the years, it warranted its own space. Thankfully Max does the turkey as I am not a big meat person and I don’t like dealing with the raw turkey. He’s done it on the Traeger the past few years and it was nice to have all that outside as we need the space with one oven!
I have changed up things by adding apples to the mini pumpkins for November.
My furry bag came…
Somehow my Gap bag I ordered was lost? I may reorder it….I did however receive my DeMellier tote and I am very pleased with it! It was my first time buying on MyTheresa website from Munich. (This fleece bag was out of stock on DeMellier.) Shipping was very fast and free in a beautiful silver box. The cats appreciated the box too. The bag is lovely quality and I took her out yesterday for her maiden voyage as it is chilly enough for a fuzzy bag. YAY!
DeMellier contributes a percentage of their sales to childhood vaccines, and has funded over 1.5 million lifesaving vaccines in places like Somalia where 1 in 6 children die of childhood diseases. I think it will be a bag I can use for years. If you don’t love the fleece, they have the New York bag style in other materials .
I’ve been thinking about my Thanksgiving table. We have ten this year, so we have to set up an auxiliary situation with a Costco table that I hope we can dig out. Did I mention Griffin moved home and the garage looks like a hoarder’s episode? We have an extra couch in the center of the house so there more seating! It’s a LOT and with the kittens life has been a bit crazy.
I’ll pull something together. I’ll probably mix up the napkins with the white plates. Next week I’ll have it more together I hope. These are some of my past tables…
I liked last years’s with my thrift store plates I scored in Truckee…
House Beautiful has gathered so many good Thanksgiving table ideas if you want ideas and inspiration.
West Elm House Picks
I’ve been loving having a home store that is not in a mall and easy to stop by and pick up a few things. Our West Elm in Campbell on Hamilton is a fun store in a great space and the place is BEAUTIFULLY curated and staged. I always come away with ideas. This brick and mortar store is a joy to browse and find inspiration. Right now they have some wonderful holiday tables and of course Christmas and Hannukah pieces as well as ornaments and cute stockings.
I was there for faux fur throw for my sectional and came home with this. I actually like it better than the RH ones. It’s so nice we are all fighting to sit on it. It’s great with pets too as it’s thick enough to prevent a pet accident (my littlest kitten.) It washed up perfect.
I bought the throw in sand, but there are five other colors. Rico is my in house model… 😉
They also have lighter faux fur options (below) and a pretty boucle throw…
These glasses caught my eye with their shape and unique texture. I love these plates for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and I also really liked this lamp..
They have some great rugs right now too. I was attracted to this pillow, the Ellery side table, and their velvet curtains. This particular Elm color reminds me of my favorite velvet curtains I left behind at my old house from Pottery Barn that they no longer make. This is almost the same mossy color and look. They have a really luxe and timeless look!
All their holiday table things here and Christmas Shop here. It is worth popping into your local West Elm if you have one nearby!
A London house with charm to spare
I was enchanted by Millie Cowie’s home she shares with her brother and another friend. Though they are young, they have transformed this space into something utterly fun and functional. Her brother is also a garden designer, so they reoriented the home to take advantage of their great green space. She used color to brighten dark rooms and pulled together a fantastic kitchen for $500. That is not a typo! She also makes a salad that I want to replicate….
Millie has an online shop called The Chuffed Store, which highlights goods and products made in the British Isles. You can shop here, though who knows if they can ship to America right now. Seems it is not possible now, but you can always contact them… I hope these tariff issues end soon. I’m over this.
FYI…Pre Thanksgiving Sales
This weekend Ba&sh has an Early Access Black Friday sale up to 40% off on select items here and here.
Bloomingdales has 17 days of daily deals with an exclusive item every day in the form of an advent calendar. Tomorrow’s is Roberto Coin jewelry, Sunday is Ugg booties, and Monday is cashmere, and so on.
Apparently Liberty of London can ship to America. (Their own courier I suspect.) It’s fun to see what is on their gifts and they have a pre-Christmas sale up to 30% off now too. Their beautiful pillow collection is on sale. Last year I got one from Max for Christmas. (Duties are added at checkout.)
Quince has so many great cashmere beanies, scarves, wraps, gloves, socks and even ponchos. Great gift ideas in that section!!
Lastly my favorite pajamas from Serena & Lily are on sale almost half off. My linen pjs are my go-to especially in winter. They are so comfy, don’t have a high waist (so ridiculous in pajamas), and get softer and softer over the years. The baby blue is so pretty I want another set. Both my sets are five years old and I wear them all the time!
Nobody’s Girl
I am about to start Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl after hearing her amazing brother and sister-in-law speak out on NPR. All I want is for the victims to be believed and for the powerful who harmed them to be held accountable. I am sick to know so many people in powerful positions knew and were silent about it. This week TV personality Megyn Kelly made excuses that Epstein and his ilk were just into ‘barely legal girls’, not children – as if that is okay or even normal. She is a woman who herself called men out for abuse at Fox News, and has a 14 year old. The depravity of people, especially a woman normalizing this sort of misogynistic thinking and abuse is sickening.
This article in The Atlantic this week was a good answer to the hate that has been sent women’s way lately from articles about women in the workplace, and others. Insecure men are doing a lot of chest thumping to hold onto their dominance and it seems many of them are in the Trump administration!
If you missed last week’s post, I shared fun spots to check out in downtown Los Altos, Michelle Obama’s new style book, a hearty soup for November, Brunch with Bab’s charming basket house remodel, and more.
Have a cozy November weekend,
Kim
Please stop by Elizabeth and Juliet’s blogs for more good things…
PINECONES AND ACORNS
MAKE MINE A SPRITZER
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Australian 60 minutes recently had a story on Virginia, hearing her brothers and sisters-in-law tell her story was heart wrenching. The abuse she suffered is incomprehensible, how a human can treat another that way. I still remember where I was when I heard she had passed.
Rita, Thank you. 60 Minutes Australia seems to be getting some great reporting out. I felt like you after hearing them, I know it was important to read it.
I was shocked when she passed too. I wish she could have seen she helped take down Andrew and hopefully soon Trump too.
Didn’t see the 60 mins segment, but I am very cynical about Virginia’s family now speaking out as they are no doubt being paid large sums of money to do so. Where were they when she was being used and abused by men? It just seems so many people are still making money from that poor woman’s life.
Susan that was over 25 years ago. Her brother and sister in law are speaking out to help other victims and get justice for others.
Your comment, ‘no doubt they are being paid large sums of money’ sounds like your own bias and not facts. DO you have evidence? What if they were not speaking out now? Would that be preferable?
She was abused by her father and molested by a close family friend starting at age 7, and was a runaway who went in and out of foster care, so her family was not in her life at the time. Her brother was a young person at the time too, so him speaking out now is only a good thing I would think. It always easier not to speak out isn’t it?
Not long after Virginia’s death, her siblings, concerned that it would take years for her estate to be finalised, set up a Go Fund Me page, trying to raise $15,000, supposedly for a memorial to be built. It came across as opportunism surrounded in a coat of altruism, which is why I think they would be paid for interviews. Virginia had two brothers, one older and one a bit younger than her
Per the NYTimes on August 2025:
Virginia Giuffre’s brother and sister were not paid for their interviews about her posthumously published memoir, Nobody’s Girl. Royalties from the book will go to her estate and a charity she founded to help survivors of sex trafficking.
Her brothers, Sky Roberts and Danny Wilson, and their wives, Amanda Roberts and Lynette, have given numerous interviews to outlets like CNN, the Associated Press, and ABC to defend their sister’s legacy and ensure her story is told accurately.
Their primary motivations for speaking publicly include:
Continuing Giuffre’s fight for justice and accountability.
Honoring her life and sharing personal details of who she was beyond the public persona of an Epstein accuser.
Advocating for the release of the remaining Epstein files and supporting legislation like the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Helping other survivors of sex trafficking by providing insight into the grooming process and the ongoing struggles with trauma.
The family collaborated with the publisher, Knopf, to add a foreword to the book that addresses the changes in Giuffre’s life, including her marital issues and tragic death by suicide in April 2025, ensuring the book accurately reflects her life up to her passing
I hope that helps Susan.
This is the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/books/review/virginia-roberts-giuffre-memoir-knopf.html#:~:text=Giuffre's%20siblings%20are%20not%20receiving,a%20little%20bit%20of%20justice.”
Kim
Kim, Enjoyed your post today. Regarding the Serena & Lily pajamas. What size do you wear? I am normally a size 6. I am 5’3. I am thinking the small?
Hi Cynthia! Thank you.
Yes! Small and it runs a little big. I air dry them, and then tumble for a minute, so they don’t shrink. If I have a chance to run an iron on them, if I feel like it.
I love them so much. I am 5’3 and 132 pounds. Hope that helps!
I tried to read the book but couldn’t. But I did take note of their recruiting methods like going on campus and asking pretty girls where they could post a help wanted notice. I have a granddaughter in college and it makes me sick to think about. How do you combine being kind and helpful with that depravity.
I can understand. Ugh of course taking advantage of our helpful nature. I can understand having a college kid!
Yes the depravity and also that the most powerful in this country- and many of the richest knew all about this and covered it up and participated.
Trump made sure Ghilane Maxwell is in a posh place with fancy meals and a service pup for destroying young lives for the powerful. It’s sick.
Last year’s Thanksgiving table was beautiful and your plates were a lucky thrived find! Would you mind sharing where your flameless candles are from? I noted them in two photos. 😉
Hi Barb! Thank you!
Some are real tea light, but these at Home Depot seem close to the ones I had…
https://go.shopmy.us/p-31205729
Hope that helps!
That was supposed to read thrifted. 🙄
I know!! xo
Sorry Kim. I meant the tall orange tapers. 🤣
Oh Barb those are real. A gift along with the holders from Juliet!
I found them here… ( or very similar in the natural color)
https://www.greentreehomecandle.com/products/12-inch-square-tapers?srsltid=AfmBOoowgaoqVbw12P9y9gBrZ24BNBGzsXVvthxvcqA2bPCkwgcMtMMb&variant=707795947
The glass? candle holders are beautiful. Do you recall where you bought them? I would love to buy a pair of them.
BTW, I really enjoy and I can relate to everything you write about each week. Thanks for being brave and writing about what’s really happening in our country. We can’t afford look the other way. Meanwhile, China rises as we sink deeper into chaos.
Hi Jeanne! They were a gift from Juliet a few years ago. I love them so much. I don’t see them sold anywhere and I think she got them at a small home store. They are by Blenko and you can get the same pair here on Etsy for $30 which seems like a deal.
https://go.shopmy.us/p-31494430
Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot. Agree while we sink in chaos, China has built high speed rail and so much else.
xo Kim
Dear Kim,
Enough room for a full household is “Thanksgiving”! May it be joyful.
Thank you for highlighting Virginia R Giuffre. Her autobiography, as difficult as it is to read, should be required reading in the halls of power. I’m practically thrusting my copy on as many friends as possible. Megan Kelly and the white house press secretary, who didn’t pronounce Virginia’s last name correctly, are the worst for perpetuating lies about sexual abuse and dismissing the lasting harm done to young girls who grow up to be broken women.
Grateful for you,
Diney on Mercer Island
Aw that is the truth Diney! I will embrace the full house while I have it.
Well great idea to pass this book along. I may buy an extra copy or two and leave it in a free library or donate to our Second hand library!
Ugh I cannot stand that Karoline and no doubt she mispronounced and disrespected her on purpose.
You are right the harm done to these young women, is compounded by those dismissing their harm and not taking it seriously or hold those accountable.
I truly hope some people are held liable at some point.
Aw I feel the same. have a great week ! xo
Kim, it sounds like you have a full house. How wonderful to have your sone home and to have 10 for Thanksgiving. I love, love , love the holidays so much more when we have family with us.
I loved all of the recipes from this week and cannot wait to try them out. To be honest I do not like brusslesprouts but I will make these for my husband who loved them.
THANK you for sharing your West Elm finds, I ordered a few of the plates when you shared them this week. I cannot wait for them to arrive.
Your new bag is fabulous! As is your fur throw.
I have that book on my Kindle to read. One thing that I have always wondered is where were the parents of these your girls? I am not placing blame just curious. I am sad and sickened at the depravity of these men.
Have a lovely weekend Kim,
xo
Hi Kim,
You have lots on your plate. I hope I don’t hear about you on 60 Minutes and how your household turned into one of those hoarder’s when Griffin moved back home. I bet it’s been challenging. It’s times like this you would live to have another 1,000 square feet.
Rico is sweet hanging out in his box.
The plates you scored in Truckee was a great find.
Truckee and all of Lake Tahoe was my territory in my previous life. I loved the area.
Great post.
Hi Kim, your Thanksgiving tables are always so gorgeous! I’m sure this year’s table will be no exception, your guests are very lucky.
We had our first snow on Monday and it was pretty cold on Tuesday standing at the Remembrance Day ceremony in downtown Ottawa – we were there for 3 hours, as we like to try and get a good spot. Brrr!
I agree with you about Meghan K., and especially Karoline Whats-her-face, I cannot listen to that woman, the bald faced lies are egregious. Still, we have to hope that this is all going somewhere, i.e. that the women get justice and the men get their comeuppance.
Have fun prepping for your holiday next week!
Kim, whatever you decide, I have no doubt your table will be beautiful. Love those branches with the goldenrod candles! So pretty!
I have heard so much about Virginia Giuffre’s book; I have not read it, as I am nervous about it, but I feel like I must to honor her. It’s tragic on so many levels…
xo
annie
Kim! So many pretty photos and memories of your Thanksgiving tables past. Love the apple and mini pumpkin combo. And I adore your new furry bag. I want to read Virginia’s book, but after many articles detailing her life of neglect and abuse I’m ashamed to say I don’t think I can. It’s tragic how she – and so many other young girls (and boys) fall through the cracks and become targets for evil people like Jeffrey Epstein and his ilk. I’m glad to see the other victims of his atrocities come forward and put more pressure on Congress to release the files. Of course, now that Trump’s suddenly onboard so we can be sure they’ve been heavily redacted or otherwise altered. I’m surprised Trump’s (Un)Justice Dept. hasn’t had them incinerated. On a happier note, those S&L PJ’s look so cozy, I may have to treat myself! xo