Yesterday we dined on turkeys next to trees, our house having been fully decorated for Christmas (sans trees) for a week. And guess what? Everyone survived! You actually CAN have Thanksgiving dinner while your halls are decked and the mantel is glistening.
Every year I do a Thanksgiving recap in photos, so here goes:
Our “night before Thanksgiving” partying craziness has turned into putting the leaves in the dining room table, ironing a tablecloth and being in bed by 9:30pm.
Our one drink the night before Thanksgiving because “we have a lot to do tomorrow”. Me, at 5am, mentally preparing for the day.Super proud of my Turkuterie!Frying one of the turkeys in the rain!So very thankful for a delicious meal with family, and so much more.A house full of wiener dogs.
And I couldn’t resist this, since Mr. KK is NOTORIOUS for blowing leaves on Thanksgiving when we’re getting ready for guests to come:
Except this year it was raining, so he blew “pine needles” on Wednesday, and then spent Wednesday night washing and cleaning glasses and dishes that we were not going to use on Thanksgiving! Love you, sweetie!
And now, it’s Black Friday. Though according to retailers, it’s been Black Friday since November 12th. I’m sitting on the couch, covered in puppies and a blanket, enjoying tea and typing, while Little Mister sleeps like the almost-teenager he is.
It is officially the start of Christmas! We’re getting trees! We’re decorating those trees! We’re playing Christmas music! We’re shopping online! I can barely contain my excitement!
Monday I will be hit with reality as I board a plane for a work trip. Making the most of the start of the Christmas season as I can this weekend!
This last post is a few days late, thanks to the flu that took me down the week after Thanksgiving. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, but I’m slowly coming back to life.
It was hard to lose a week of my life in prime holiday time, but it wasn’t as awful as last year, when after avoiding Covid for two years both Mr. KK and I tested positive the beginning of the second week in December. And on top of Covid, I also had the flu (I have always been an over achiever), which was a super fun time. Miraculously we were able to keep Little Mister from getting sick (and inevitably missing Christmas), but we did miss out on quite a bit of festivities during the month because WE were sick. My goal was to test negative by Christmas Eve, and I did – on December 23 – when my Mom and I held our cookie making day (which had been cancelled from a week earlier). I was thankful to be able to have that day and then enjoy Christmas and Christmas Eve.
One Balsam and One Frasier Fir
Balsam on the left – check out the difference in color between the 2 trees.
We secured our trees this past weekend. I was still feeling pretty crappy so we didn’t venture too far from home, and the selection wasn’t huge, but we found two pretty great trees. We’re normally a Frasier Fir family, but this year we’re mixing it up and bringing a Balsam into the mix. Right now we have 2 naked trees up in our house and they smell amazing. And, in true kk fashion, I’m more in love with our second ‘kitchen’ tree than I am the tree in the big room. It’s just so round and fat and green.
The Elf Is Here
He arrived on Thursday, a nice surprise for Little Mister when he got home from school. He’s already up to his shenanigans.
The Year Ahead
2024 promises to be a big year. But before I look ahead let’s look back and see what your Unwrapped looks like when you only listen to Spotify when driving your 9 year old around. The fact that Imagine Dragons isn’t listed here is shocking. I remember when each of these songs became an obsession that we listened to on repeat throughout the year. Thanks, Spotify.
So, the year ahead.
First, it’s a milestone birthday year for me. And I have decided that we will celebrate all year long. We’re planning a long Birthday Weekend Spectacular (BSW) a few months after my actual birthday, and planning that will be almost as fun as going. If there’s ever been a time to reflect on life so far, next year will be it for me.
Second, next year is my 20 year cancer-versary! It’s hard to believe it’s been twenty years, the memories are so vivid it feels like yesterday. So thankful for my doctor and the amazing team of nurses at Dana Farber.
So that’s it – another month of blogging in the books. I missed a few days, but I’ve made peace with it! I hope you enjoyed reading…until next year!
As the last day of November (and my blogging) draws near, the long-awaited arrival of our Elf is here. He will make his appearance tomorrow while Little Mister is at school: find himself a spot in the house and leave a package on the front steps with Christmas pajamas and ornaments for the tree.
If any of you also have an Elf that visits your house, I thought I’d share some of our Elf’s shenanigans from last year for inspiration.
If you’ve gone to a grocery store in the last year, you’ve see the ridiculous rise in costs on just about everything you buy. Items I frequently purchase have gone up $1 or more in the last year. Household staples like mayonnaise, chicken stock and milk have astronomical prices. And don’t even think about produce; since when are strawberries $7 a container? No matter where you go, prices are insane.
This weekend I was at our local produce store and saw a sight that made me almost cry happy tears: the Christmas trees had arrived! This place is usually our first (and only) stop when it’s time for the annual pilgrimage to pick out the Christmas Trees. No need for us to trudge through a field to find a tree and cut it down ourselves (who has time for that?). Instead, we’re able to shop easily (and quickly!) to find the perfect trees. Yes, trees plural. Two. Though I’d get three if we had the room.
I was so excited to see the trees that I took a photo and sent it to Mr. KK. Now, we have already compromised that I must wait until 12:01am on the Friday after Thanksgiving before I can start decorating for Christmas. Perhaps Mr. KK feels our meal may taste differently if he’s surrounded by trees vs turkeys. So the Friday after Thanksgiving is pretty much “Sparkly Friday” over here, because that is when the bins (and bins, and bins) of Christmas decor make their way up from the basement so I could deck the halls all day long. Cue the Christmas channel on Spotify!
In my excitement to send Mr. KK the below photo, I didn’t read the sign next to the trees.
The price for a 6-7 foot frasier fir tree is $89.99.
$90 for a short tree.
No one loves Christmas more than I do, but $90 for a tree that grows naturally outside? Maybe it was my little local shop realizing they could be charging more like the tree farms.
But a quick Google search showed me this: “Data from the National and the American Christmas Tree Associations state the average price of an authentic Christmas tree is between $80 and $100. This reflects about a 10% increase that occurred in the last year, largely due to inflation and drought.”
I looked back in photos from past years of our tree outing, and found a photo from 2021 where Mr. KK is holding up our tree, and the tag on it reads $65. Yep, $25 less only 2 years ago.
“So why don’t you spend $200 on an artificial tree and use it every year it would be so much cheaper?”
Great question! Because I like having a real tree. I love the smell. I love the tradition. I love the slight imperfections. And did I mention that piney smell?
When I was growing up, we had an artificial tree. This was back in the late 70s when artificial trees bore zero resemblance to actual trees. Our tree had a dark green metal pole that snapped into a metal X. Inside the box were about 30 “branches” that you stuck into the holes in the metal pole until you had a plastic-looking, sparse “tree” that would go up in flames if it ever came near fire.
Now you can find artificial trees that are incredibly realistic. I imagine if I had two large boxes with trees in them and we had to find room to store them in the basement, Mr. KK might throw all my Christmas decor on the lawn and light it on fire.
I have designated the first Saturday in December as the day we will get our Christmas trees. It’s early enough that we can enjoy it for weeks, but not too early that it will dry out and drop brown needles before Santa comes.
I will do my homework and price shop real trees before December 2, and find the best place for us to go: a balance of cost and quality of trees. We’ll have our usual discussion on tree shape because Mr. KK likes a taller, tapered tree while I prefer a big, fat, round tree (translation: more lights and ornaments!), so we agree on something between the two. By the evening on Sunday, December 3, our tree will be up, lights on and decorating can commence.
Here’s my time-lapse video of decorating last year – enjoy!
Now that it’s November, I am in full-on holiday mode. And while Christmas is my most favorite time of the year, I have to give a little holiday love to Thanksgiving, especially since we host everyone on turkey day.
Every holiday needs a festive cocktail. This weekend, we put several recipes to the test to determine which cocktails would be the stars of the gathering for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. And you get a front row seat.
First up, the Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail. This festive cocktail showed up in my Instagram feed from @cheesegal. She had me at sugared cranberries.
Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail
INGREDIENTS: 3 ounces bourbon 2 ounces 100% cranberry juice (not cran cocktail) 1 ounce fresh lemon juice 3/4 ounce rosemary cranberry brown sugar simple syrup
DIRECTIONS: First, make the simple syrup by bringing equal parts brown sugar and water to a quick boil until sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat, and throw in a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and cranberries. Let steep for at least 20 min.
She didn’t give exact measurements for the simple syrup so here’s what we used:
100g brown sugar 100g water 30g rosemary whole 150g fresh cranberries
Rim your cocktail glass with some of the simple syrup and dip into brown sugar, then add a festive ice cube*. Pour cranberry juice, bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker full of ice, and shake well. Strain + pour into prepared glass and garnish with rosemary + some frosted cranberries.
*We did not make festive ice cubes for taste testing but likely will do something for the real thing.
Ours was not as brightly colored as hers was, but the flavor was delicious.
Verdict: Definitely in the running.
Next up: the Spiced Cranberry Sparkler from @cocktails.
Spiced Cranberry Sparkler
Ingredients
1.5 oz bourbon 1 oz spiced honey syrup Juice of 1/2 an orange 2 oz cranberry juice 2-3 dashes of orange bitters 3-4 oz Prosecco (we used club soda) Ice Garnish: Dehydrated orange slice Star anise Rosemary Cinnamon sugar rim (we skipped this for sampling)
Spiced Honey Syrup:
300 g honey 100 g water Cinnamon stick Ground nutmeg Pumpkin pie spice Ground cloves
Directions
Put all ingredients for spiced honey syrup in a small pan over heat. Still until all ingredients have melded and honey and water are fully combined. Remove from heat.
In a shaker with ice (she stirred in a pitcher but we were in a shaking mood), mix bourbon, syrup, orange juice, cranberry juice, bitters and shake. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and top with club soda (or prosecco, but we thought that would make the drink too sweet) and garnish.
Woah, this ones goes down easy. It’s the perfect mix of warmth and spice with a bubbly kick at the end.
Verdict: Perfect for Thanksgiving
Next up: Fall Old Fashioned. This recipe is from @thirsywhale_
Fall Old Fashioned with Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Ingredients
1.5 oz Rye or Bourbon ½ oz Aged Rum ½ oz Pumpkin Syrup 4 dashes Aromatic Bitters 2 dashes Orange Bitters Orange Peel
Pumpkin Syrup 1 can pumpkin pie 2 cups brown sugar 1 cup water Pumpkin pie spice to taste (you may want more or none at all, up to you). Heat on stove and stir until incorporated, then fine strain.
Directions
Still all ingredients (except orange peel) in a cocktail pitcher with ice until blended and chilled. Strain over a giant ice cube and garnish with an orange peel.
Verdict: this one was a little too potent for me, but the guys really liked it. The pumpkin syrup, however, smelled divine and would be delicious over vanilla ice cream.
Our taste test was a success! The winners are:
Spiced Cranberry Sparkler for Thanksgiving.
Brown Sugar Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail for Christmas Eve.
This time of year is when some of my most favorite things convene into a perfect storm of bliss: Christmas, decorating and Target.
Last year (also known as ‘The Year with No Rules’), I decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving because it makes me happy and last year sucked big time. Plus, I was spending so much extra time in my house, I wanted pretty things to look at 24/7.
This year, Mr. KK (sort of) put his foot down that I was to not decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Which I heard as, “You have extra time before you have to decorate, so you should buy more stuff!”
Personally, I can’t wait to start decorating because I am running out of hiding spots places to put my new decor purchases.
If you haven’t been to Target yet this season, prepare yourself. Their holiday offerings are on point.
The minute you walk in you will be greeted by Bullseye’s Playground (formerly known as the Dollar Spot). During the holidays, they have great items like gift bags, gift tags, little houses, greenery…all for $1, $3 and $5. I have a love/hate relationship with Bullseye’s Playground; I love how cheap and cute everything is, and I hate how fickle the inventory is. I stalk Instagram accounts that showcase holiday finds, and I am SO JEALOUS of how awesome Targets are in other areas of the country.
And now, for the good stuff. No matter what your holiday decor theme is (or even if you don’t have one!) there is something for your home at Target. I’m obsessed with little houses, red trucks and bottle brush trees. And Target does NOT disappoint.
These trees come in 2 sizes, and are a perfect way to light up your decor. I have a similar version of these trees that I put in a bookcase where I don’t have any lighting and it lights them up so nicely! (NOTE: I will also be purchasing these this year!)
You can never have too many bottle brush trees, that’s my motto! And I love that there are a few different styles of trees! I can’t wait to add these to my collection.
I love, love, love the truck trend. In fact, I have an entire side table dedicated to red holiday trucks in our living room. And only $10 for the medium is a great price!
If you have a more modern decor or a darker color palette, this little ceramic tree is perfectly understated! I would mix this with cream and gold decor items of different textures.
If you’re looking for an alternative to a traditional wreath, this is it! It’s so colorful it can go in almost any room, and would be especially amazing in a kid’s room or playroom!
If you get the colorful wreath, you need the colorful tree shirt! If you’re like me and you have more than one Christmas tree, this is a great skirt for the secondary tree, wherever it may be!
I mentioned my affinity for little houses – wood, metal, ceramic – and this little collection makes a cute little village. The glitter roofs add a special sparkle.
I have a few of these birds (the Fall version is out in my bookcase right now!) for Christmas but I love the red and pink outfits on these three. I’m sure I could fit a few more birdies into the decor…
How cute are these?? If you have a little house theme, these are the perfect addition to your mantel.
There you have it, all of my Target Christmas favorites. Stores have had limited stock, but everything is online! For your late night/early morning shopping!
I think we can all agree that this year was lacking in the “awesome” department. And some people may be thinking that the last thing they need right now is the arrival of…The Elf.
Here’s….Jack!
I may be in the minority here, but I’m actually looking forward to the little bastard’s arrival. If nothing else, it will give me something to look forward to at the end of each night: finding a new creative spot for our little Jack to land.
Don’t get me wrong, our elf will be abiding by CDC guidelines, and he will be wearing a mask, and he will keep a respectable distance from Little Mister. I will not be “quarantining” him in a glass jar or box, but instead embracing all of his “elfness”.
Of course this year, we have the added element of BRUNO, king of getting into everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if this puppy took down the tree AND ripped Jack to pieces. Guess Jack will need to stay up high this year.
To me, the Elf is a sign of normalcy. And if there was ever a year that needed normalcy, it’s this one. Our Little Mister is already missing so much in his life – school, friends, going places, etc – that I couldn’t imagine not having his little elf come entertain him.
During the days leading up to Christmas, the Little Mister practically jumps out of bed every morning (score!) and the first thing he does is look for Jack the Elf. After he finds him, he runs to his advent calendar to see what Jack has put inside the little drawer (oh, the advent calendar with the drawers that are just TOO small for most toys!). Little Mister wakes up smiling every day.
In our house, Jack makes his arrival on the day after Thanksgiving. But the surprise is that he can come at any time. Usually there’s a knock at the door, and we find a package on the steps addressed to Little Mister from the North Pole. Inside the box is a note from Jack, a new pair of Christmas pajamas and a Christmas book. And while Little Mister is opening his gift, I sneakily hide Jack somewhere in the house – so he can go and look for him. And how excited is he to find Jack in a place that we’ve been in all day but now he’s there!
Last year Jack had quite the shenanigans…and I’m sure this year will be no different.
So the countdown is on…3 days until the Elf arrives…masked up and ready for Christmas mischief!
If you asked me 6 months ago what would be on my “favorite things” list, I likely would have told you a strong cocktail and some alone time.
(And, if I’m being honest, I would still take either one of those things, no gift wrap necessary).
But now, I’m in full holiday mode. In fact, today Little Mister and I decorated our house for Christmas. In a text to our family I told them: “The only turkeys you’ll see here on Thanksgiving are the ones ON the table and sitting AROUND the table.”
Christmas, I’m ready for ya!
And while I quickly learned this year that I literally need nothing, it wouldn’t be a month of blog posts without my favorite things. As a family we’ve decided that we’re not doing crazy gifts, so this list isn’t meant to make anyone go out shopping (I’m talking to you Mom and Mother-in-Law!). This is simply me, sharing things that I find comfort in during the craziest year I’ve ever been alive.
While I have a hat I love (and can pull off), I’d like to branch out a bit. I’m quite particular about hats: they need to fit snugly and not give me a weird-shaped head. This beanie from Banana Republic is a soft cream, and looks like it’s warm as well as fashionable. Also, I like having the option to pop on a hat for unexpected Zoom video calls.
Move over, Starbucks! We have perfected the vanilla iced coffee in the KK household! Now, I need a new tumbler to enjoy my tasty concoction in each morning! I love anything by S’well, and this tumbler will not only keep my coffee cool, it will look pretty while I sip from it on my video calls.
Let’s face it: who wears real pants anymore? Work from home chic plus a cold New England winter means warmth over everything. Feejays are pants AND socks, all in one. Put them on, you’ll never take them off.
While I don’t have a pair of Rothy’s, I know from friends that they ridiculously comfortable. And I am in dire need of a new pair of high top black sneakers. And since comfort is the name of the game. these are the perfect solve.
Warm? Check. Pairs well with leggings? Check. Acceptable for video calls? Check! Sign me up! I don’t imagine I’ll every take this off once I put it on!
I got an Apple watch for Mother’s Day this year and it’s the first time I’ve ever committed to wearing a watch. I love it! And this stretchy watch band will add the perfect pop of pink.
Do you think LL Bean is short for Ladies Love Bean? (LL Cool J joke…anyone?). Because kk LOVES all of their cozy tops. Plus, they come in petite, and beautiful colors like this teal…double win! Plus, thumb holes!
When I was little, I slept with an electric blanket on my bed. Then, there were stories of electric blankets catching on fire while people slept, and then electric blankets disappeared for a while. So between when I was 8 and right now, I would just a fleece to bed to keep warm. BUT, electric blankets are everywhere again…and one needs to be on my bed, pronto.
This year, I’d like to skip right over Thanksgiving and dive antlers first into Christmas. I mentioned this constantly casually to Mr. KK who replied, “It’s not even the middle of November.” Well, seems the Grinch came early this year at least!
It goes without saying that this year is unlike any other year we’ve experienced. I remember being on a neighborhood walk in April and a house was decked out in holiday decor, with 3 different Christmas trees in the windows. Everyone’s mantra is basically, “Because, 2020.” And I’m totally down with that.
As COVID cases continue to rise, schools move to remote learning and states threaten to shut down, I saw my opportunity for one last hurrah before the sh*t really hits the fan. I took the day off from work to run a few errands on a weekday to avoid the crowds. And, in true KK style, I made sure I was at the stores waiting for them to unlock their doors for the day.
After being the envy of the entire country all summer, this is what CT looks like now.
My agenda for the day included Target, Homegoods and TJ Maxx. I broke my Target hiatus in the summer, but I haven’t been to Homegoods or TJ Maxx since before last Christmas. I was looking forward to a day of me, wandering down empty aisles with a highly-sanitized cart.
Before I left the house this morning, Mr. KK lovingly said, ” Have a great day off today! Buy everything you want, but remember that we already don’t have any room for more Christmas stuff in the basement! Love you!”
Talk about a pep talk.
I spent the morning in my glory, wandering aisles and perfecting my anti-social behavior of avoiding all other humans (except for the cleaning aisle at Target, where they were restocking Clorox Wipes; you’d have though they were handing out winning lottery tickets). I wasn’t even there to Christmas shop – as a family we talked about not really going crazy with gifts this year (what do you get for the person who doesn’t leave the house?) – but instead to hoard bottle brush trees and wooden houses from Bullseye’s Playground. Mission accomplished!
You can’t have too many mini trees is my motto!
And, because Mr. KK has so wonderfully reminded me that we didn’t have any storage room for additional Christmas decor, I smartly purchased a nice red bin to store all of my new Christmas! Problem solved!
I spy dog toys!
While it felt good to be out, between my hat, mask, glasses and Airpods, I’ve never been so decorated from the neck up. I got my fix of Christmas Inspo (and a few small gifts) and headed home. I spent the rest of my rainy day off on the couch with Mr. KK, Little Mister, Rocco and Bruno watching a movie. Which was better than any shopping trip.
I can stop shame-listening to Christmas music in the car along and blast Burl Ives and Mariah Carey proudly in the house!
The Thanksgiving decorations are down, and I’m ready for the 47 bins of Christmas decor to make their way up from the basement! Today we got our trees, and those will go up in the stands either today or tomorrow. One full day getting acclimated to the house and they can be decorated!
Today on the way to get our trees, Little Mister asked me why I like Christmas so much.
“Is it because Santa comes and you get lots of presents?” he asked me.
“No,” I told him. “It’s because Christmas is magical and it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. And we get to have lots of people over our house all season long to visit us. We make cookies and have parties and stay up late and eat yummy foods.” And because I get to buy lots of presents for people!
December is by far the busiest and craziest month of the year. Between work and family, there is so much to cram into those 24 precious days: Santa visits, shopping, family parties, work parties, cookie making, Christmas Light spectaculars, decorating, wrapping and…whew!
But I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
In our house, Christmas means the music is always playing, the bar’s always stocked, and we have snacks at the ready – because you never know when someone is going to stop by to say hello and have a cup of cheer.
And that includes a drop-in visit from Santa!
Is there anything more magical for a child than seeing Santa?
Growing up, I remember many years with our artificial out-of-the-box Christmas tree, and bending the branches into shape and trying to cover up the green pole that held the tree together (my how artificial trees have come a long way!). We’d set up our tree in the basement where my playroom was. I have always been an early riser, and I distinctly remember waking up before the sun had come up, begging my parents to get out of bed in the dark to see if Santa came. (Now that I’m a parent, and we tend to go to bed rather late after our Christmas Eve dinner and putting out all of the gifts and filling stockings, I realized that my parents were likely exhausted and hung over when I wanted them to get up. Somehow, I was blessed with a child who prefers sleeping in no matter what day of the year it is).
At some point we started getting real trees, and I remember going to cut down a Christmas tree one year. I feel like that’s someone you feel you need to do once – bundling up and trekking out into a field where every tree literally looks the same and you have no concept of how big of a tree you need (every tree looks small in the forest…and then you bring it into your living room!). And after that year you realize you’re just as happy going to a place that has already cut the trees for you and you can simply browse them like winter coats on the rack at the mall.
As an adult, we are a ‘real tree’ and an artificial tree family. Each year we get two real trees – one for the family room and one for the kitchen – and we have a small white artificial tree that goes in the Little Mister’s playroom.
There’s decor throughout our main living space, and there’s always a ‘Christmas Cookie’ or ‘Sugared Plums’ candle burning.
I hope the Little Mister continues to love the traditions we’ve started: getting our trees as a family, decorating, ginger bread houses, cooking making with my mom (he’s mostly a cookie taster!) and having family and friends over throughout the month.
No one loves a party more than our Little Mister, who can work a snacks table like it’s his job!
Time to get decorating! Only one more day of NaBloPoMo!
Life of kk 