busy

I've always thought quotes were kind of cheesy, but recently I've been getting into them.  (Likely due to their rampant availability on a little pinning site you may have heard of.)

 

 

   

these quotes + more here

 

 

In one of my pinning sessions, however, I stumbled upon the following little tid-bit which really made me pause:

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Glorifying busy?  Guilty as charged!  
Even with an incredibly un-jam-packed life with plenty of time to do whatever I please, I claim to have lots of "busy" days.  While they might have lots of things in them, they're in there by choice which - in my opinion - means no right to complain.

A day later, while perusing one of my daily reads (Jess Lively), I came across the following story, which enlightened me further:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”


Just some thoughts.

xoxo
KK

persimmon season

So I'll just come right out and say it: I am a persimmon junkie. 

I cannot get enough of the intoxicating things.  Only problem is - my drug of choice isn't exactly readily available.  I can only get these golden jewels come this time of year. 

But oh come they do:

This past Saturday marked my first trip to the Farmer's Market during official persimmon season.  Sure, I had snagged a $3 imported persimmon from the supermarket here or there, but I hadn't been able to get my full fix until this past weekend.

When I settled down from the frantic frenzy of seeing my love for the first time in too many months, I was able to carefully catalog the market's pickings.  Interestingly, there were a few new varieties I hadn't yet come to know.

There were the classic, super sweet Fuyus, of course:

These crunchy beauties can be munched on while they're still hard, just like an apple.  They're also great chopped up and tossed in a simple salad.  The more golden (and less green), the sweeter.  At $3 a pound, I couldn't resist getting 10 bucks worth.  I mean - come on - I've been waiting 10 months!

In addition to my traditional Fuyus, however, there were crates upon crates of GIANT Fuyus - a much larger, heartier variety of my original love:

These monsters taste just like their smaller cousins but have more sweet-savory flesh to go around.  I obviously needed a bag full of those as well.

Then there were copious amounts of the Hachiya - an astringent variety that only turns edible (that's right - eat them too early and your life is in jeopardy) when they're disgustingly soft (like fall apart in your hands soft). 

Ready to go Hachiyas

These guys are tough to eat when ripe (literally all over the place) but are absolute perfection in a pudding or bread or muffin.  I also love to wait until they're ripened and ready, but then stick them in the freezer - the frozen version makes for a perfect and easy-to-eat after-dinner treat.  Obviously needed to stock up on a bag full of those.

But in addition to the Hachiyas, I spotted a totally new variety called the "Chocolate" persimmon.  These little jewels are named for their chocolate-colored interior stripes which pepper the normally orange flesh with a creamy brown set of spots.  Like their Hachiya sisters, they need to ripen to a certain softness before being ready to eat, but thankfully not to the same level of flabbiness that a Hachiya requires.

Because none were being sampled (as is usual for all product on display at the market - hence my love), I was tentative to add these to my already overflowing set of persimmon-filled bags.  But alas - I couldn't help myself.  I quickly struck up a conversation with the equally-persimmon-loving farmer who agreed to slice me off a few samples before my purchase.  They obviously were delicious (I mean - come on!  they're persimmons!)  so I bought a full bag of those as well.

When all was said and done, I was one happy gal.

Now THAT'S my kind of fruit basket.

xoxo
KK

plan-less

I come from a family of planners.  We love to have a plan.  We've already got every single minute accounted for over Thanksgiving weekend.  We are currently nailing down plans for next spring.  And June is almost already established as well.  We are the type of people who make plans for making plans.

So naturally, I'm a gal who needs an agenda, and that includes weekends.  So you might imagine my anxiety when heading into this past weekend we had almost no plans (with the exception of a dinner on Saturday night).  What were we going to do with our time if we didn't already know?

But (as you likely already know), we ended up doing a plethora of lovely things despite not having them on the list beforehand:

a dinner-and-movie date on Friday night to see Cloud Atlas

(totally weird but very thought-provoking)

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a trip to the Saturday morning

Farmer's Market, of course

complete with lots of seasonal decorations

(note the pumpkins and gourds in the window)

and copious amonts of fresh produce

a drive up Highway 1 along the coast

a leisurely walk on Stinson Beach

an afternoon seaside snack with a side of live music

 

a spotting of a persimmon tree / bush / vine / plant

(more on these magical orbs tomorrow)

 

Do you head into your weekends with or without a plan?  Which do you like better?

 

xoxo

KK

 

  

favs for halloween

Are you a Halloween person?  I used to be in a big, big way, but living in non-trick-or-treater territory for the past eight years (college dorms then urban apartments) has taken some of the punch out of the day.  So this Friday, I'm bringing you my favorites to get back in the Halloween spirit - with or without those little munchkins knocking at your door...

For drinking:

 

bloody martinis

from bhg

 

Bone Chillin' Brew

freeze water in hospital gloves to make bone-like ice

from nestle

 

 

For snacking:

Tombstone Taco Dip

from bhg

 

spooky graveyard pie

from here

 

 

For decorating:

 

Carrot-nose jack-o'-lanterns

from martha

 

 

And best of all,

for wearing:

 

my sister Gretchen dressed as a

Mail-Order Bride!

How clever!!

 

Are you dressing up for Halloween?

 

xoxo

KK

 

 

 

nightly traditions

I'm the kind of person who loves coming home and hopping right into her pajamas.  Even if it's 5 o'clock.  There's just something so cozy and comforting and relaxing about slipping into PJs.  Any stress from the day just seems to melt away.

jcrew of course

But Stefan couldn't feel more different.  For him, pajamas mean: the day is over, we're headed to bed, no more fun to be had. 

Like all sorts of things in a marriage, we've learned how to compromise.  Now when I get home, I hold off on PJs until after we've eaten dinner and washed dishes.  Then when I do slip into them (still a good while before sleeping time), he doesn't say a peep.  He just smiles as I settle back into the couch, comfy as can be.

A week or two ago, however, Stefan implemented a new nightly tradition.
"Let's go for a walk," he prompted at 8:45pm.  (I was obviously already bed-ready.)
"Like now?  Dressed like this?"
"Yes - now.  But, no - not dressed like that.  Toss on a pair of jeans - let's go!"
Incredulously, I slowly pulled on my jeans, let out a large, surly sigh, and sluggishly followed him outside.  I was not pleased.

But as we turned the first street corner - and the light evening breeze danced through my loosely-tied pony and the darkness let the moon glow in the most romantic of ways and the quietness of the neighborhood streets aroused all sorts of calm - I couldn't have felt more content. 

We walked silently for a minute or two, but then began talking about a whole host of things we never would have chatted about had we been sitting on the couch in our warm and well-lit apartment.  I was hooked.

Since then, we've walked almost every night.  I look forward to it all day and I crave as soon as we finish dinner. 
And interestingly, my pajamas stay tucked away until bed.  Stefan - you are one smart (and sneaky) husband.

xoxo
KK

wedding photos!

After what seemed like years of waiting, our wedding photos finally arrived!  And boy oh boy, was it worth the wait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photos by Cooper Carras

 

Hungry for more?

 

Hop on over here.  Password is kunde.

 

xoxo

KK

fall favs

I know it's totally cliche, but I've got cider, pumpkins, and sweaters on the brain.  I'm totally itching to throw a little autumn-inspired soiree.  Whether we will or not is yet to be determined, but regardless I'm sharing my ideas for an easy-to-put-together, yet completely seasonally-inspired party:

for decorating:

chevron pumpkins

from my sweet savannah

pre-dinner cocktails:

a pumpkin ice bucket

from martha of course

cider in apples

from somewhere splendid

dip in a pumpkin

from bailey

for dinner:

place cards made from dried leaves

from once wed

butternut squash and crispy sage pizza

from alexandra cooks

with a side of Brussels Sprouts 

with cranberries, barley and Gorgonzola

from cookie and kate

and for dessert:

deep dish pumpkin meringue pie

from martha

 

What do you do to celebrate fall?

 

xoxo

KK