today's project.

You know how the story goes.

You sell your old house.

You renovate your new house.

You move into your new house (oh, let's say 5 months ago...).

You become lazy and would rather go out drinking than stay in painting trim (or weeding the yard, or unpacking boxes, or hanging things on the wall, or...).

But then you realize that Thanksgiving is in two weeks, and you're hosting. And you have a list a mile long of things you'd like to get done in the house before the big day.

Things on that list might include:

1. hang the TV in the living room

2. order the bracket to hang the TV in the living room

3. put up the buffet back splash

4. cut and measure the wood to put up the buffet back splash

5. organize the basement

6. install all 49 kitchen cabinet handles - that is NOT a typo. Forty. Nine.

7. eliminate some bare walls by hanging up framed photos (that are all sitting in a pile on my office floor, ready to go!)

8. finish my office - patch holes, prime and paint the walls and ceiling

9. install the shelving in our closets

And #10 - clean out the garage so we can put our cars in it before it snows (again).

#10 might look something like this:

Lord help me. Let's get some IPA in the fridge for later, stat!

dear internal alarm clock,

WTF is going on?!?

4am? Seriously? Every day this week?

And please don't throw the 'daylight savings time' excuse at me. You were over that hurdle Monday morning.

Tonight we have dinner plans with friends. It's restaurant week, and we're going to one of Mr. KK's favorite places. I would have appreciated at least sleeping until the alarm, as not to fall asleep in my second course tonight.

Alarm clock, tomorrow is Saturday.

S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y.

Please refrain from being obnoxious.

There is no need to make your presence known again for 2 days.

Hugs,

kk

kk's fall must haves

I do it every year - pick 10 of my favorite items for the fall and winter.

In no particular order, here is what I'm finding fabulous right now:

1. Put Mademoiselle away for the winter, and try brushing on a bold, dark shade for winter. I love Essie Bobbing for Baubles.

2. This blog isn't called "will work for shoes" for nothing! My next footwear purchase will be these awesome platform booties by Vince Camuto. I love the grayish-taupey color.

3. Give a hoot - these are cute! I totally wouldn't want to hide these measuring cups in a cabinet. They come in 4 cute colors and make measuring more fun.
4. Okay, it's FREEZING in our house (we won't put the heat above 66!) so I need some warm jammies. Vito especially loves my doxie flannel pajamas.

5. Don't leave the house without a statement piece of jewelry. If I could pick, this bold bracelet by Tory Burch would be at the top of my list. Bonus points because it's animal print, which is so hot right now.

6. I just wore this awesome skirt yesterday from Ann Taylor Loft and got a million compliments. It hangs perfectly, is a bright red-orange, and looks awesome with tall boots and fitted top.

7. Hey, not only is my house cold, but my office is an icebox, too! I keep warm with thin, ruffly cardigans that layer easily over whatever I'm wearing.

8. Monkey slippers from Target. 'nuff said.
9. If you can't GO to Bar Americain to eat - which is FAB btw - then make some of the dishes at home with Bobby Flay's latest cookbook. Hello, mussels frites!

10. Put technology aside - every desk could use a bright, fun calendar and planner like this one from Kate Spade. Don't forget to add my birthday - April 15!

the making of an office

You may remember that there was a bit of a lull with my blogging over the last year.

It's because we were enthralled with Renovationgate '10-'11 (it was so big, is spanned across 2 different years).

After much blood, sweat, tears and more tears, we're just about done...except for one room: the corner room.

We call this room "the office", though I refer to it as "my room", simply because it contains:

my big, beautiful Mac (whose name I have not yet decided on)

my dresser

2 closets filled with my clothes

all of my accessories

a bookshelf filled with my books

my fabulous desk and chair

The ceiling and walls are not yet painted, but I have a fabulous shade of magenta on stand-by.

And since I spend more time than anyone in this room, I've gathered a few things that make it special to me, and set the stage for a fabulous office.

Consider yourself warned.

Check out this coaster I found 2 Christmases ago in TJ Maxx. Thankfully, I didn't lose it in the move!

My inspiration - I've had these in a closet for 2 years, just waiting for the right place to hang them.

(please ignore the unpainted walls)

So far, I've felt VERY inspired for NaBlo...I love sitting in here and writing!

say "Cheesecake!"

It's that time of year - pumpkin cheesecake time at The Cheesecake Factory!

Mr. KK and I need to start planning our pilgrimage.

Now, some of you know that I've been disappointed in the past. It's not uncommon for The Cheesecake Factory to RUN OUT OF pumpkin cheesecake.

It happened to me a few years ago. Twice. In two different states. In one weekend.

(Talk about a grouchy KK!)

So get ready for me Cheesecake Factory! You're on our list!

betty ford is probably laughing her ass off at me

On Sunday afternoon, I was still piecing together the events from Friday night.

It seems, that somewhere between the first double IPA, and the second glass of wine, I agreed to run a 10K.

KK: "OMG. A 10K? That's like...I don't...how many miles is that?"

Again, math - not my strong suit.

MR. KK: "6 miles." And then he laughed a little. At me.

KK: "Well, that's just fabulous. I haven't run as far as the mailbox since September, and I'm supposed to just put my sneakers on and run 6 whole miles???"

MR. KK: "It's not until June. You can do it."

KK: "Why don't you run with me?"

Silence.

I thought so.

I really shouldn't be drinking unsupervised.

I totally understand why people get depressed

But my GOD it gets dark early!

Today I was a multi-tasking maniac, doing my grocery shopping during my lunch hour. When I was out, it was sunny and beautiful.

I get back to work, and what felt like 10 minutes later, I look up and it looks like midnight outside.

What the...?

When did THAT happen?

I don't understand daylight savings time. Why do we do it? Why don't we politely decline, like Arizona does. A simple, "No thanks, moon, earth and universe, I don't much feel like participating this year."

Sure, I'm no longer driving to work in the dark. But now I'm driving HOME in the dark. And it makes me want to skip all after-work activities and immediately jump into my jammies and cuddle up on the couch. It feels like midnight at 7pm, so the real midnight feels like 4am. It throws off my whole internal clock. Plus, it makes me cranky.

We used to have a clock in our kitchen on which we never changed the time. Six months out of the year, the clock was wrong. But then again, six months out of the year, the clock was right. That's me looking at our laziness with a 'glass half full' mentality.

How am I supposed to find the motivation to exercise when I get home from work, when all I want to do is crawl into bed??

So I'm officially somewhat depressed; that's it's dark at 4pm. that the winter is around the corner. that i'll inevitably be putting on my 'winter weight' in the next few weeks.

I don't want to leave you on this sour note.

So I'll end with a picture of Vito, taken with my new Hipstamatic lens. Old-school debonair: