60's Christmas Inspo - Grapefruit Gum Drops

So, here’s the thing. Kitty wanted a 1960’s themed Christmas Party (think Madmen meets Leave It to Beaver) with a house full of like 50 friends, martinis and old fashioneds splashing around, 60’s era appetizers and food being dipped into and falling on the floor, the record player raging and laughter ringing throughout the house…and Covid ruined it.

So, redirected. Six of our pod members were still down to meet and do a little themed thing along with white elephant and playing some board games.

Dirty Martinis were had, butterfly shrimp, puppy chow, meatballs and baked brie was had (among other delicious things. We did white elephant (with an actual ceramic white elephant somehow beating out the other gifts as the most sought after prize. Farkle was played and decaf coffee was drank and I asked everyone to leave at 9:45 pm (don’t worry they stayed until 10:30pm).

BUT. The gem of the show were the Grapefruit Gumdrops that had intimidated me for YEARS, and, like a lot of hard things I’ve tackled this quarantine, were something I wanted to complete and accomplish so that the scary candy making monsters weren’t lurking in the closet anymore.

Turns out, they are so easy and perfectly delicious. So, everyone make these whether you are going to eat them all or not. They are pretty, holiday spirit-y, and will make you feel like a badass in the kitchen whether you make them for yourself or give them away.

*Recipe from Better Home + Gardens/Dec 2017

Wild Wednesdays - Crafting with Kat

The holidays bring home all the crafting and cozy vibes which I am undoubtedly here for. One of my favorites? Drying oranges to make into garland or to use for garnishing cocktails and drinks like in the previous post.

It’s the easiest thing.

• Slice oranges with knife or mandolin (mandolin makes all the slices consistent, but like, watch your fingers).

• Lay on paper towels and pat excess liquid away

• Place on baking sheet

• Bake at 200 degrees for 4 hours

• Let cool for a couple of hours, then string, lay for decor, use for drinks, etc!

Holiday Gift Guide - Part One

The holidays are upon us and who knew that we would still be in Pandemic mode and even more unsure of what the next year holds. While you are probably starting to put your Christmas lists and budgets together, sifting through names for Christmas Card lists and if you’ll be going home or not, the gift giving portion can be overwhelming.

While I waver between the idealistic simplicity of minimalism and the undoubted maximalist that I am (to be fair, I think I am smack dab in the middle) I can’t argue with anyone that I have many things and I do love a good piece. Servingware, vintage glasses, random antiques and nature I’ve collected and the thing is that no one can come at me because I have probably lent something completely random and obscure to half the people in Nashville at one time or the other.

But, I will say, the holidays can make people consumer crazy and I’m as guilty getting caught up in it as everyone else. Usually it’s a slow easing out of my tabs as I realize I just spent an hour googling a random item at 10:30 pm that in actuality I have no intention of buying and then taking some deep breaths and murmuring some words about being content with what I have.

So, here’s an idea for you. That beer bread from the second episode for Wild Wednesdays? It makes a great gift. Low number of ingredients, easy to mix and make, and is basically foolproof. Just combine all of the dry ingredients into a bag or cute containers ( can be all divided up), add in a can of beer and instructions, then package up (in a super cute stocking from Spark Vintage) and gift!

Great for someone who wants to get into baking but is intimidated, a group activity for kids, or a friend who wants the self care of being in the kitchen without the stress of a million things happening at once. It gets used, is practical and won’t take up shelf space.

Happy Holidays,

Kat