AfricanKelli

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The Salty Senor and his adorable gal Kim (Salty Senorita?) had me over for dinner last night.  Really Kim did all the work. Adam and I watched with eager anticipation.

What was she cooking for her first real meal? Why, roast acorn squash stuffed with corn chowder, of course.

Pretty sure my first meal cooked came out of a Kraft box and involved only stirring and squeezing some magic sauce over noodles.

Needless to say, she impressed us wildly. And within about two minutes, my plate magically transformed from this …

to this.

Can you tell she cheered in college? This was her automatic go to pose for a photo. GO Dinner!

Happy Halloween weekend, friends! May you be blessed with gobs of your favorite candy, friends, family and much laughter and some fantastic pumpkin dessert too.

~K

Like a little kid at show-and-tell in elementary school, let me be a bit brash and share a few of the thoughtful gifts I received last week. How rad is this stack of books? Oh, fantastically so! The Frida cookbook? I didn’t even know it existed until I squeeled like a fat kid in a candy shop when I dug open the paper. Amor!

The titles of all these books show you how truly thoughtful my friends are.

Amanda hunted down this cookbook for me after hearing about it on NPR. We are both cookbook junkies. I read them like magazines, marking pages, and circling things that sound interesting. This book in particular seems fascinating because of it’s emphasis on the science behind baking. I’m certain to share what I’m learning as soon as I dive into these recipes. (I need to find a new group of people to feed. Baking for one is a certain recipe for living in stretchy pants.)

My friend Kathryn sent a pressure cooker. Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder how people know me so well. New kitchen toys? SCORE. Thank you!

My brother had this lovely WPA print framed for me. To say it is perfect isn’t quite perfect enough.

And there was the Frida pendant Sue sent. Por el amor de Dios! Precioso!

There were many other handmade gorgeous things too. I am particularly looking forward to wrapping up in a new turqouise scarf Colleen sent. Safe to say I am thoroughly spoiled.

Thank you!

~K

I have a pot of orange marigolds sitting on my windowsill at work making my office smell like a monsoon wedding. Just their color, with the morning sun striking their blossoms (which remind me of a kid who hasn’t combed his mop before climbing on the school bus), makes me warm. At home, the basil and squash are pumping chloroform but the pumpkin vines have shriveled and soured like I forgot to take them out of the bathtub. As we approach November, it’s time to reassess the garden and plot the next move. I’m considering planting tomatoes early just to see how they’ll do. We have so few below freezing days in Phoenix, I might as well play around with this new globally warmed version of gardening in winter and see what we can harvest.

The pumpkins? I cannot get them on board with my gardening strategy.  They loved Matt. They disdain me. This is my fourth attempt in six years of living in this home to provide friends with pumpkins for the Fall holidays. Instead, I’m buying bunches and placing them in my garden to be festive. And perhaps to show the earth and these wimpy vines their potential — like taking a tour of an Ivy League school in junior high. Shape up! Look what you too can accomplish!

I’m thinking of adding some trellises also and trying plants that need to climb, like beans. I saw a new cookbook at Liberty Market’s shoppe this weekend that I fell in love with. I’m going to pick it up soon, or check it out of the library. I love the idea of someone cataloging heirloom beans and sharing their histories.

Yes, trellises and heirloom beans. I know I’m an odd duck, but at least I will be a well-fed odd duck. Mmmm… duck.

~K

When I took my current job more than a year ago, a magazine in Phoenix featured the top 100 women in business. I sent each of them a letter, congratulating their achievements and introducing them to my new organization. Several replied favorably and relationships that have resulted from a letter-writing campaign have been serendipitous. (Go correspondence!)

One such friendship is my mentor, E. She recently turned 50, owns her own company and is wildly successful. We bonded over our first lunch when she told me her real love was travel — specifically to Africa. For her recent birthday, she asked friends and family to give to a local organization that will build a school and latrine in a village she visited in Niger.  She told me it wasn’t enough to just build the school because in this region, girls weren’t allowed to go to school when they were on their “moons” unless there was a latrine nearby. Otherwise they were kept at home and eventually fall so far behind the boys, their educations are handicapped. So, logically, E decided a latrine was essential to the well being of the girls in this village.

Amazing. For some reason, she’s taken me under her wing and invites me to fancy luncheons, introduces me to her friends and sends me books I must read for “my profession.” Her mother recently passed away and although I was more than 2 hours late to the funeral (poor communication and long story later), I could tell she was touched I’d come. I introduced myself to her siblings, said hello to a few of the familiar faces I’ve met during the last year and watched as this strong woman wrangled with grief. Even in mourning, she somehow seemed entirely put together.

Another woman, D, also recently reached out to help me learn some much needed nonprofit skills. A revolutionary in fundraising, she has a cleverness that impresses me. She’s spent several hours with me in the last month carefully explaining charts, formulas of sorts and methods of raising more money regardless of the economy. D is a Disney nut, and I mean nut. She’s got a year-long pass and she and her husband regularly drive to Anaheim to visit their favorite rodent. She wears Disney diamond earrings, has mouse ears on her car and will talk about the Magical Kingdom whenever appropriate.

As a thank you for her recent mentorship, I sewed up a mousy pouch. I’ve yet to figure out what I can do to thank E, but I’m working on it.

Both of these relatively new friendships have reminded me of the importance of patience. These women are so very patient with me and truly want me to become stronger, smarter and better. They are willing to put in the time necessary to teach me skills that I need to be all those things. I’ve truly enjoyed the time I’ve spent with girls I’ve mentored and frankly it is so luxurious to be on the receiving end at this stage in life.

Brava to strong women who make time to help others!

~K

A couple friends asked me to take photos for them this weekend. Baby Mya was born just more a week ago. I don’t have permission to post any additional photos, but I think you can see how tiny and sweet she is from this shot.

I love taking photos for friends, but I have to be very honest. I have no idea what I’m doing. I put my camera in automatic, shoot like mad and hope for something to come out that they can work with. My friend Amanda has taken photography classes, has a small country’s economy’s worth of fancy gear, and takes photos that turn heads. We had lunch yesterday and it was quite apparent I have absolutely no business ever making this an actual business.

Which was quite alright for Elaina and Nick. They are getting married next summer and wanted engagement photos. It was such fun to get them to goof around and didn’t take any work to make them look at each other lovey-dovey.

Beautiful, right? I am lucky that the models are so easy to work with! (and that I have another job)

~K