kk's favorite things

Oprah isn't the only one who can have favorite things! 
(Though she can still be the only one who gives away her favorite things...this girl hasn't won Powerball just yet.)

It's that time of year...when everyone under the sun puts out their Gift Guides.

I've done the due diligence and scoured them all, and have come up the best gifts that are on my every girl's list.

Mixing bowls from West Elm. $59/set of 3

Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Blender. $34.95

(this could be on the list because my immersion blender died right before I was going to puree the soup for Thanksgiving dinner. this is one of those tools that you don't use all the time, but when you need it, it's awesome.)

Mustache iPhone case. $98 

Mustaches are everywhere, yeah yeah yeah. For the record, I stole a beer glass from a bar with a mustache on it WAY before they were a thing. This 'stache-decorated iPhone case is a 'must'! 

Frye Melissa Button Boots. $328

I'm not sure if these were truly on a Gift Guide, or just on MY gift list. Frye's break in perfectly and fit like a glove.

Le Creuset 2 1/4 qt Saucier. $180

A girl can't have enough Le Creusets, that's what I always say!

This pretty blue goes amazingly well with my orange stove.

Essie + Bracelets = fabulous. $50

This girly collaboration from BaubleBar is one part Essie nail polish and 3 parts trendy bracelet. Design your own collection in a variety of must-have colors.

Murray's Cheese of the Month Club. from $275

I'm a cheese whore. Even my high school questionnaire said so.

With all the junk mail we get, imagine having THIS deliciousness delivered to your door???

Julia Child's Biography and Cookbook. $17 and $40

My very own personal homage to Julia. Bring on the butter!

Aerie Fuzzy Popover. $50 

A top that looks luxe but feels like fleece? With a fur collar? Where are my leggings and boots??

 Corkcicle wine chiller. $24

This gift is so that I can keep the white wine chilled for my mother. But I love that you can keep white on the table without having a ceramic snuggie.

Pet Silhouette Art. $35

Vito will look fabulous.

"Made In America" skillets. various prices.

I don't actually want this, considering the "Connecticut" pan is $250 and barely fit a fried egg. But how cool are these???

Happy Shopping!

Next up: Thanksgiving recap.

A blog post 20 years in the making.

Last night was my 20-year high school reunion. 

(if that's not an opening line that makes you feel old, I don't know what is.)

I don't know if I would have gone unless my friend D hadn't wanted to go. So, being the good sport that I am, I agreed to attend. And, since Mr. KK went to the same high school, he was coming too. (And, he would probably know more people than I did.)

Some people looked EXACTLY the same. It was as if their yearbook pictures popped off the page and morphed into actual humans. Others, I didn't even recognize (mostly the guys, some of whom had puffed up from drinking and possibly eating other classmates).

I didn't really keep in touch with people from high school, so after the "what have you been up to for 20 years?" question, the conversation lacked a little bit. 

Social media has definitely changed reunions. Some of my favorite quotes of the night:

• "Hey! Your facebook posts crack me up!"
• "I love seeing all the places you travel for work. You always seem so busy!"

and my favorite:

• "You sure like to drink." (As a matter of fact, I do. And I will need a whole shit load of drinks to get through this night.)

And what was the million dollar question of the night? Well, it pertained to pushing offspring from your vagina. Some of those conversations went like this:

"Hey! Do you have kids?"

KK: "No, no we don't. Oh. Well that why you look so great!"

"How many kids do you guys have?"

KK:  "We have one four-legged furry kid. He's home-schooled."

"So, did you have any kids?"

KK:  "No. I don't have a uterus." (I may not have said these exact words...)

The other highlight of the night was opening the time capsule. On graduation night, everyone filled out a questionnaire, sealed it in an envelope, only to be opened in 20 years. You could also put letters, pictures and other paraphernalia in there. My friend D got a million (no joke) letters addressed to her. It was like she was the mayor of high school. 

After reading my questionnaire, it seems besides my new and improved hair since high school, not much has changed.

First, my handwriting is exactly the same.

QUESTION: What will you be doing in 10 years?

ANSWER: married and working in Advertising. Check!

QUESTION: Who are your best friends?

ANSWER: Well, of the 10 people I listed, 8 of them I hadn't spoken to since college. 6 of them were there last night. All 10 of them I probably won't talk to for another 20 years.

Question: What's your dream car?

ANSWER: White Cabriolet Convertible. I never got that car, but I DO drive a Volkswagen. Half check!

QUESTION: Do you plan on staying in your home town?

ANSWER: No.

Technically, I didn't STAY in my hometown. I moved to Boston. And the question doesn't ask if I currently lived in my hometown. So...check!

QUESTION: Favorite food?

ANSWER: Cheese. Check! Check!

QUESTION: Favorite TV shows?

ANSWER: My Two Dads and Blossom. Hey, it was the nineties!

My contribution to the time capsule was a mix tape. (Again, it was the nineties!) It was a tape that my best friend and I had put together and listened to that whole following summer before heading off the college (where we would realize we were different people and then never speak to each other again. Anyone noticing a trend here?)

A snippet of songs from that tape:

Brown Eyed Girl

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Paradise By The Dashboard Light

Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody

The Joker

Jack And Diane

Baby Got Back

Mama Said Knock You Out

D:  "Ohmygod! You put in a tape! Can we listen to it on the way home?"

KK:  "Um, no. My car doesn't have a cassette player. We may never hear this tape again."

Oddly, though, if I had put in a VHS tape, that we could have watched. (Don't ask.)

I found one letter in the time capsule addressed to me, and it was from and ex-boyfriend. Mr. KK got a lot of miles out of that one, continually referencing his "nemesis". It was bordering on trying to be profound and referencing song lyrics and totally all high-schooly.

All in all, an okay night. I'm good for another 20 years.

And I was right: Mr. KK talked to more people than I did.

I'm a compulsive locker upper

Here's something you might not know about me: I'm neurotic about locking doors.

Double- and triple-checking the house doors.

Beeping the car alarm six times. Walking ten feet and asking, "Did I beep it?"

I like to think it's an endearing habit that Mr. KK finds totes adorable*.

Last night, in the middle of the night, our house alarm went off.

Holy crap.

Mr. KK ran to the keypad and said, "The motion detector in the basement made it go off."

Holy fucking shit.

And then Mr. KK shut the alarm and cancelled the call to the emergency service, told me he'd be right back, and LOCKED ME IN THE BEDROOM.

Are you fucking kidding me???

I heard him rustling around the kitchen (getting a knife?) and then open the basement door and slowly make his way down the creaky stairs. What if a murderer was waiting for him? What if they put a chloroform cloth over his nose and mouth? What if...

And then I fell asleep.

I fell asleep when there was a possible axe murderer in my house, and my husband might be walking into his trap.

It seems I'm so incredibly exhausted from work, that my neurosis are cured.

For the time being, anyway.

*This may be my misperception.

i'm a salty & sweet whore

Perhaps not a full-blown whore. 

Maybe more like a two-bit harlot.

Anywho, I'm a sucker for anything salty and sweet.

M&M's pretzel.

Special K sweet & salty popcorn chips.

Mini ice cream sandwiches made with Ritz crackers, vanilla ice cream and caramel. (OMG you have to go home and make these. They're the best white trash dessert you'll ever have. Recipe below!)

My new obsession:

Starbucks Salted Caramel Cake Pops.

Admittedly, I've only had them once. And only after I heard them described as "crack on a stick".

And if eating crack on a stick is wrong, I don't want to be right.


White Trash Ice Cream Sandwiches

ritz crackers
vanilla ice cream
caramel sauce

Using a tablespoon, spoon out vanilla ice cream and place onto a ritz cracker, being careful not to press to hard and break the cracker.

Using a teaspoon, put a bit of caramel on a second ritz cracker.

Put the caramel to the ice cream and make a sandwich.

They're messy, but amazing.

nablopomo FAIL

Apparently "blog every day the month of November" apparently means "write a blog post EVERY SINGLE DAY for the ENTIRE month of November".

I already messed this up.

How about this: you might not get posts every day, but you'll get them as often as I can.

Deal?

Work is crazy and I have a wedding to attend this afternoon.

So I'll leave you with one of my favorite signs in Boston:

Advertising at its best!

Happy Friday!

election day

For the first time ever, I voted in a Presidential election.

(insert your shocked faces here)

I know. I know.

It's my civic duty.

I can have a voice.

I can help make a change.

I'm just not that into politics.

But in the back on my mind I felt that if I voted, I would maybe, just maybe have something to do with the removal of political commercials on TV, signs on lawns*, and posts in my Facebook feed.

Girls, looks like you'll have control of your vaginas for another four years!

*in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, people somehow lost fences, trees, lawn furniture...but somehow those god-awful signs were never ripped out of their lawns!

perfect fall snack

Mr. KK and I enjoy spending time at this little craft beer and bistro place down the street from our house. Not only do they have an impressive beer list, they actually have really good food.

One of our favorite small plates are their fried cumin-spiced fried chick peas. They so crunchy and delicious that they're completely addictive.

In true KK fashion, I've recreated this small plate at home; baking the chick peas instead of frying them, making them a healthy snack.

Ingredients:
2 cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
salt

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Place rinsed chick peas on paper towels on a baking sheet to dry them. Once dry, throw away paper towels.

In a bowl combine olive oil, cumin and paprika. Pour in chick peas and stir until coated. Toss with salt.

Pour chick peas onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake 35-40 minutes until dried and crispy.

(keep and eye on them, sometimes they cook quickly. and you may hear them popping!)

Enjoy!

better late than never: nablopomo 2012

I'd like to thank Hurricane Sandy for me being late to the party for NaBloPoMo this year.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by Sandy. I can't believe the devastation and destruction I'm seeing on TV.

Our brush with Sandy resulted in losing power for a few days. They were the longest three days of my life. I'm not a roughing-it kind of girl, so put me in a house with no power or access to anything electronic and you'll have one bat-shit crazy girl by the end of the day.

Oh, and my office was closed as well with the servers and email down.

My days went something like this:

Ask divine beings for our power back.
Keep wood on the fire for warmth and light.
Eat.
Eat some more.
Cart every electronic we own to my parents' house to charge.
Boil water to wash dishes.
Drink and eat again.
Go to sleep at 8:30.
Wake up at 5:30am and start all over again.

Some super exciting days.

So without power, not only did I forget to start NaBlo, I didn't even realize that it was November.

But here I am. And you got me starting today until November 30!

Teaser! Things to look forward to in this month's posts: a wedding, a senior bus trip to the outlets, Thanksgiving and my high school reunion.