Penny for your thoughts?

Happy "almost" Friday! Oh, hooray for the weekend! 

I was talking to close friend the other day about clothes--what we like, what we don't, what makes us feel like "us".   

Over the past year I have really began to fall more and more in love with menswear.  I am current collecting J.Crew men's button down shirts (they are long and lean and fit great---better than the women's!), blazers, and my new addiction-penny loafers.



loafers from Land's End Canvas



I just got this adorable pair from LANDS END CANVAS- part of the classic company, Land's End, but with a bit of a more youthful feel.  I love their looks and I just love these loafers.  Such a great price and comfortable as can be.   Not to mention the company is on my "favorites" list as after ordering these shoes, I received a personal, hand-written note from a staff member at LEC thanking me for my purchase.  IMPRESSED.

Although loafers can seem a little too masculine at times, paired with the right outfit and worn with confidence, they are such a great addition to any wardrobe. I look forward to wearing these all year round. Could be so cute with shorts in the spring time!

xo, k 

Made it. Love it.

This was such an easy classic pasta recipe that we just loved! I found it on Epicurious but it comes from Gwenyth Paltrow's cookbook - My Father's Daughter. Who knew Gwenyth Paltrow would ever present the world with some good home-made recipes?!  Thanks Gwennie!

xo, k

Spaghetti Limone Parmeggiano

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 pound (3/4 box) spaghetti
• Coarse salt
• 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 cups finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3–5 tablespoons of pasta water, to thin
• Handful fresh basil leaves (from 4 leafy stems)

PREP:

Boil the spaghetti in salted boiling water, according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, using a Microplane, grate the zest from the lemon into a large mixing bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl (I like to use the grater as a strainer—one less thing to clean). Add the 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, pepper, and a pinch of salt, and mix in the olive oil to form a wet paste.

When the spaghetti is perfectly cooked, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the cooking water to the lemon and cheese mixture. Add the spaghetti to the bowl and toss thoroughly, adding another tablespoon or 2 of pasta water if necessary so that the sauce coats each strand. Roughly tear in the basil leaves.

Serve each portion with a sprinkle of coarse salt, a fresh grind of black pepper, and a few gratings of extra Parmesan.

Corn Souffle Happiness

So R and I made our very first Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us this past Sunday afternoon. All I gotta say is we nailed it! (pictures to follow). Everything was so delicious and R even managed to BBQ a turkey in the rain. Pretty impressed! 

One of the dishes I made was Paula Deen's corn souffle.  I'm not a HUGE Paula fan, but this dish was so easy and really yummy---especially the next day. Try it out...I promise you will love it.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

xo, k

Ingredients

• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

FRESH

love this.

xo, k

shade me

I love, love sunglasses and rarely leave home without mine.  I also tend to break, loose, scratch, and torture mine on a daily basis as well.  That is why I have given up on buying pricey sunglasses and only purchase ones with a price tag of under $100. 

Today I found a an amazing website that  sells reasonably priced sunglasses and frames....all for $58!!! The company is called LOOKMATIC and they have some adorable glasses for both guys and gals.  You can also try them online but uploading a photo of yourself to their website and placing frames on your pretty little face. So clever!  And with prices that lovely, you can break, scratch, and loose your frames without shedding a tear.

xo, k



TA-DAH!!

such a small thing made such a huge difference to my dining room wall.  Just loving my blue and white plates. Thanks again, mama!


xo, k

sweet

love these gorgeous Kamala dessert plates from Anthropologie.  These would be a great addition to any white plate collection in hopes to add a little color to your dinner table.  LOVE!

xo, k

weekend project

R and I have quite a bit of white wall space in our home. In most rooms I have grown to love the clean look, but some rooms are calling out for a little wall lovin'.  Our dining room is one of those rooms. I have been on the hunt for months for the perfect set of plates to hang on the wall above our buffet. Luckily, my mom has a gorgeous set of blue and white plates that she has agreed to "loan me" until her next home where she swears on returning to her blue and white pallet. :)

I'm hoping this happy plates will add some happiness to my blank wall.  Here are some photos that have inspired me along the way. Post project photos will be up on Monday. Happy weekend!

xo, K 

clean out

R and I are in the process of trying to reorganize our garage.  Living in an old home, we are constantly looking for new spots to store our things and are trying to make better use of the space we have.  As we begin to plan for "project organzing garage" next weekend, I did  some research and found some great garages as inspiration.  Can you believe these speaces? So clean ond organized!

xo, k

Happy Halloween!

What a fun day Halloween is!  Lot of sugar and crazy costumes...what more could you ask for?

Have a great holiday!

xo,  the piggies

and.........

I'm back! Wow..it has been a ridiculously long time since I've blogged and I've missed it so.  Thing have been a little nuts in the house of K + R since we got this little nugget 5 weeks ago....

Meet Otis. This is our new pup....3.5 months and growing by the minute.  Look at those paws...are you kidding me?!!! He's going to be massive.

 He is a smart, fearless, confident and such fun to be with!  Don't get me wrong, he can be a total terror and I have had many a meltdowns over the last few weeks, but overall he is pretty amazing for a puppy and we are so glad to have him in our family.

So Otis is officially my excuse for not blogging.  Now that we are more settled with our furry friend, I plan to keep up the blogging as some great times are ahead of us as we enter our first holiday season in our new home.

xo, k

Weekend Treasures

Hi everyone!  I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend.  We spent ours in Summerland enjoying some cooler weather and relaxation.

While trolling some of the most fabulous stores in Santa Barbara, I found (and bought) some lovely things!  First things first.....THESE!!!! I'm on love with my new Frye Reagan Driving Loafers.  I am a huge fan on Frye boots and when I saw these in one of my favorite stores, Indian Summers, I had to buy.



avaialbe at Indian Summers, Summerland (805)969-1162



Also I cruised on in to a new shop on Santa Clause Lane called PORCH.  Please hold me back from moving into this store and calloing it my home.  It it amazing and filled with some wonderful indoor and outdoor treasures.  Here are a few cool things I had my eye on....

Cool recycled rug from FAB HABITAT

amazing wire chair

love this garden set up!

a fun spin on the average pouf

Next time you visit the Santa Barbara area make sure to check out the new shops on Santa Claus Lane and the new boutiques throughout Summerland. Lots of treasures out there to make your home even more lovely!

xo, k

puppy love

So my hubby went up north yesterday to check out the dog breeder that we were interested in getting a pup from. And well...it went great! R said the four-week-old puppies were beyond wonderful, healthy and happy. Such great news!

We have not decided on the pup we plan to take home in a few weeks, nor a name (although we have a few in the running), but we have decided to get a boy.  We hope a boy will be a little easier for Ella to digest rather than another feisty girl. We'll see about that!

Here is some adorable video that R took during his trip to the breeders.  Seeing these little guys in action got me so excited to be a new puppy mom!
xo, k



ziggity zaggity

i know everyone and their mom is excited about the upcoming launch of the Missoni for Target line that will grace the big red stores across the country next month.  I am too..don't get me wrong...I just also like finding a good look a like with a bit more history when possible.

low and behold..a cute treasure from ETSY. So cute...so Missoni...and so affordable!  This will not really fly in my house, but I think it would be perfect for someone out there. Someone, come on! Buy this cutie.

xo, k



Click here to buy me at ETSY.COM


***note: for a chevron print blanket in your fav colors, just search on ETSY. Lots and lots available.





Life, Love, Lilly

SALE! SALE! SALE!

What a fine time of year...summer sales!  What I love about summer sales is that all the great stuff that most would consider not appropriate for fall, goes on sale.  Living in California, this is such a treat since our summer really lasts until about October.  Hooray!

I love me some Lilly Pulitzer.  Classic. Fresh. Fun.  Her patterns have gotten very mainstream and much more fashion forward in the last two years.  A little Lilly is always a great addition to any closet.

Happy Shopping!

xo, k

Click HERE to visit the LP Sale!



TGIF

Beyond thrilled it's finally Friday.  Plan on spending my weekend lounging here with my handsome hubby.  A weekend in SB is much overdue!

Have a great one!

xo, k

weird??

I love the idea of using this carpenter bag as a big, fab-o handbag for fall. Thoughts?!

Wood and Faulk

wall dressing

As a newlywed and a new home owner, I know it can seem overwhelming trying to decorate your home the way you want on a budget.  But...I am a firm believer that there are amazing copy cats of whatever you may be dreaming of out there.  You just have to look. Sometime extra hard, but that makes the purchase even more fabulous!

We have a ton of wall space in our home that needs some lovin' so I am on the hunt for some great---and affordable--pieces that will brighten up out home without breaking the bank. 

Here are some pieces that I have found during my search.  All from Etsy, of course. Some may be coming home with me very soon!
xo, k

Elgarbo Art $12

Misval $39



Present Paintings $110



Pam Van Loden $64



The Big Harumph $20

LCY Blog $68 (for three prints!)



Chris Gill $110

saddle up partner!

Hi all...hope you had a great weekend!

Yesterday my husband and I ventured out of town about 30 minutes to visit a Boot Barn.  Yes, true story.  R is off next month on a 5-day ride on Catalina with some friends so we headed to "the barn" to get him decked and ready for an awesome man trip!

Although I don't live on a ranch nor do I ride horses (sounds fun though!), I do happen to fancy some good ol' fashion western wear.  Used sparingly, I think some western touches are fun additions to any closet and can help each of capture the dream of living in a Ralph Lauren ad (everyone's secret fantasy, right?!)

The trip to BB got me inspired to look for some fun pieces for fall.

xo, k

Selma Riding Boots at Tory Burch

Chambray Shirt at The Gap



Ralph Lauren belt at ralphlauren.com



Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent Sweater at revolveclothing.com 

Waverly Blouse at toryburch.com

Blanket Hobo Bag at ralphlauren.com



Happy Weekend

Soak up the sun and enjoy August!  

xo, k

cute T...avaialable at J.Crew

Red Sea

I love wearing red all year around and tend to buy more of it in the Fall during football season...(Go Cats!).  Here are a few pieces to add to your closet that won't break the bank and will add some pop to your wardrobe.

xo,  k

J.Crew Cord Pants

Dooney & Bourke Satchel

Tretorn Rain Boots

Timex Camper

Striped Web Belt from Brooks Brothers#

Heritage Rain Coat at Anthropologie