Tag Archives: fall

Sunday night dinner

29 Sep

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As I mentioned in a previous post I want to get back into kitchen this fall. We fell into a bad habit this summer of eating out or every single night. Seriously…every single night. We had four restaurants in our neighborhood on rotation…Thai, Mexican, Greek & Italian. I knew it had gone too far when the lovely lady who works at the Thai restaurant down the street knew my name and order without any direction- I guess it’s my fault for ordering spicy eggplant with chicken every single time.

Originally I wanted to make a savory fall recipe in the slow cooker this Sunday but the weather in Los Angeles has been SO hot (over it) and it just didn’t seem fitting. I would’ve had to draw all the curtains and blast the AC to make it feel cozy and fall like in our place.  So I switched gears and settled on a lighter chicken dish instead- roasted chicken with potatoes, arugula and garlic yogurt.

I forgot how much I love cooking on a lazy Sunday. The light is always so pretty that time of day in our home. We put on music…Brian cracks a cold beer and chats with me as I chop (he’s also kind enough to document the cooking session for my blog- thanks love!)…Frank plays with his toys by my feet.

It’s one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

The dish was an absolute success- such an interesting mix of flavors with the sriracha, cumin & garlic yogurt!

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Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, Arugula and Garlic Yogurt. 

ingredients-

1 1/2 pounds chicken things and drumsticks

1 1/4 pounds of small Yukon gold potatoes, halved and cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

2 tablespoons of sriracha

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white and green parts only, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/3 cup of plain yogurt (do not use greek)

1 garlic clove

2 ounces of baby arugula

chopped fresh dill

lemon juice

directions-

  • combine chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together sriracha, cumin and 3 tablespoons of oil. Pour over chicken and potatoes and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.
  • meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine leeks, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil.
  • heat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange chicken and potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes. Toss potatoes lightly. Scatter leeks over pan. Roast until chicken and potatoes are cooked through and everything is golden, 30 minutes longer,
  • While chicken cooks, place yogurt in a small bowl. Grate garlic over yogurt and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • To serve, spoon yogurt over chicken and vegetables. Scatter arugula and dill over mixture. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice and serve.
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fall / winter 2015

9 Sep

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(image found via pinterest)

With 2015 nearing to a close…I know, I know, we still have four full months, but once September hits I can’t help but reflect on how I want the year to wrap up. September – December always seems to fly by and I find myself surprised every year on January 1st- it almost seems impossible that we are there again. The next four months also happen to be my absolute favorite time of year- I find myself most creatively alive during this time. I also love everything to do with the holidays and what they represent- family dinners, our wedding anniversary, carving pumpkins, dressing Frankie up for Halloween, cooking, warmth, bundling up, decorating trees, cuddling & new beginnings.

The last eight months have been an introspective time for me. Rather than exploring the world around me, as I usually do, I have been instead making the journey within. I knew at the start of 2015 that something was off.  I had baggage that I still hadn’t worked through and I was dragging it around with me. I couldn’t hide from it anymore. It was time to do the hard work, even if that meant that other things had to be put on the back burner. Something very hard for a person who desires immediate results like me to come to terms with. Instead I had to trust the process. It reminded me of that quote by Zora Neale Hurston –  “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” Thus far this year has most definitely been asking me some questions. Ones that needed answering and ones that positively shifted something in me once I did. I feel empowered and for that I am incredibly grateful.

Life man, such a wild ride sometimes, right?

When reflecting about how I want the next few months to unfold, it was clear to me that I want them to feed my soul, creative mind, relationships, home & belly. I want to soak in every bit of goodness that 2015 has left to offer me. I have a feeling the next four months will bring an entirely different energy than the first eight did and I am ready for that new energy.

Some of the ways I would like to spend the next few months…

Deepening my meditation practice. I know I have only been scratching at the surface and I am feeling a pull towards more. In addition to developing a stronger home practice I want to explore Unplug Meditation, Against The Stream & Shambhala Center.

Reading! There are fifteen (I might be setting myself up for failure on this one) books I would love to read before the end of the year. I’ll share them in a later post.

Cooking- I plan on spending some quality time in the kitchen! Again, there is something about fall and winter that inspire me to want to cook. I love hearty recipes and the feeling of warmth that comes from the kitchen this time of year.

I would love to put a small dinner party together in our home each month to bring our family and friends together. I want to make a point to enjoy the ones that matter most in my life. I also love to entertain.

I want to finish a few work projects that have been on the back burner for many many many months. As I mentioned previously, I put some things on the back burner to focus on me and it’s time to dust them off. They involve getting two book proposals finished and ready to submit in the new year and revamping my personal website which has been in purgatory for the last six months.

Practicing yoga. I want to make my yoga practice more of a priority over the next few months. My love for it has been renewed recently and I would love to keep the love affair going. My body just feels so much more balanced when I am practicing regularly.

I would love to finally find a property for the business Brian and I have been building with a few partners this past year. I can’t wait to share about it in the new year! Granted we find a property and the ball gets moving.

My home life- one of the most important aspects of my life. It has been in an incredibly solid and fulfilling place and I want to continue to watch it grow.

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There are years that ask questions and years that answer,

Years that

fall apart

and years that come together…

There are years that cry and years that laugh,

Years that wonder

And years that strike and clap and thunder.

. . .

Your job isn’t to know — not right now, not quite yet.

Your job is simply

to breathe,

to trust,

to rest

To know that it is all a part of the path —

The mystery and the clarity

The hardship and delight

The darkness and the light alike.

. . .

Dear One,

Haven’t you heard?

“This place where you are right now

God circled on a map for you.”

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happy post

4 Sep

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-It’s September! I know it’s not officially fall just yet but once the month of September hits I start my transition into my favorite time of year.

– Bringing out my fall wardrobe…Hello!…boots, sweaters, scarfs and leather jackets!

– A date with my girlfriend Ali, her husband David & little boy Charlie who were visiting from New York. I hadn’t met Charlie yet and he is so damn cute! I’ve said it before and I will say it again…seeing your closest friends become mothers is the sweetest.

– Being invited into two book clubs this month. Clearly, I’ve got some reading to do. The books on the line-up…”Everything I Never Told You” & “The Luckiest Girl Alive”

– Our newly painted bedroom accent wall. It’s love

– Planning a trip in November to visit my step father Irv in Kansas City and my girlfriend Chantal and her family in Atlanta. It will be so funny to travel without Brian- I haven’t done it in years!

– The green monkey smoothie…kale, coconut water, almond milk, dates, cinnamon, bananas & coconut meat. OMG

– Maha Yoga

– One of Brian’s projects, Pershing Square Renew, launched on Tuesday. I decided to go to the launch of it which was held downtown at City Hall (I’ve never been there- such a beautiful building). It’s always so fun to see him in action and support his passions. Here’s a write-up about it complete with a quote from Bri!

– Red toes and nude nails

– The way Frank cuddles into my legs in the morning when Brian delivers both him and coffee to bed.

– This note from the Universe I received yesterday…

Start it; you don’t have to be fancy.

Keep moving; you don’t have to go crazy.

Visualize; you don’t have to admit it.

See the end result; it doesn’t have to be material.

Expect miracles; they don’t have to be huge.

Pretend you’ve arrived; you don’t have to dance on tables.

And above all else, Kate, have fun.

This is why you started it, right?

Life, what a trip –
The Universe

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So…what’s been making you guys happy recently??

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boo!

31 Oct

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Happy Halloween!!

It’s going to be a rather quiet Halloween at the Glodney residence tonight. We will most likely be staying in with takeout, wine & a movie- ideally a scary movie but that’s up in the air. Every time I tell Brian I want to watch a scary movie he says he doesn’t see the point considering I always make him turn it off twenty minutes in. I am way more of a badass in my mind than I am in reality. We did celebrate Halloween a few nights ago by carving our first pumpkin together. I can’t even remember the last time I carved a pumpkin. I’m sure I must have carved one as a kid but I honestly can’t recall. So carving a pumpkin has been a HUGE thing on my holiday to do list.

On Sunday afternoon we brought Frankie to our local pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect one (complete with a large stem per Brian’s request. I couldn’t tell you why). Once we settled on one we hurried home to create our masterpiece. I have to say I am actually rather impressed with our pumpkin carving abilities. Look how scary that thing turned out! It was creepy.

Sadly, our creepy pumpkin only lasted a few days. Is that normal? This being my first pumpkin carving rodeo and all, I assumed it was going to last at least a week? But after three measly days our pumpkin had a bunch of fury mold coming out of all the open crevasses’. GROSS! In an attempt to make him last until at least Halloween I cleaned him up with a paper towel and moved him from our kitchen island to the front doorstep. The next day I came home to a huge stream of liquid coming out of its base. SO GROSS. Considering we share a landing with three other units I knew I couldn’t wait until Brian got home later that evening and had to discard of it myself.

So, I put my big girl pants on, grabbed a pair of yellow kitchen gloves and handled the situation. I carefully picked the pumpkin up and made the journey to the outside trash shoot. Once I made it there I thought…well, now what? So, I set the oozing pumpkin down for a minute to think about my options. How I was supposed to pick up the thirty pound oozing pumpkin and hold the trash shoot open with only two hands? After a few minutes I decided I would use my foot to hold open the trash shoot door while bending down and picking up the pumpkin (thanks yoga for making this an option!). Best laid plans, eh? Thankfully there are no photos of what happened next. With my leg stretched and raised above my head holding the trash shoot open I reached down and made my move. I got as far as my waist before the pumpkin literally disintegrated all over me…covering me with mold, smelly liquid and chunks of pumpkin matter in the process.

This is when I began to dry heave.

I’m pretty sure I can handle any horror film that Bri puts on tonight because that shit was the most disturbing thing I have ever experienced.

My pumpkin carving days may have been short-lived.

 

 

 

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dinner club – moroccan food!

28 Oct

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The dinner club that we have with two other couples has been very neglected in the past few months. Originally it was supposed to be a once a month occurrence and a fun way to try a new restaurant. But between work, honeymoons & a baby the six of us have been busy and we went many many many many months without doing it. But we resurrected it!!

Instead of going out and trying a new restaurant, we decided to do a Moroccan themed pot luck dinner at our house. Why Moroccan? I don’t know…why not, right??

It was decided that the Glodney’s would take the main course, The Garahan’s would take the salad & The Rocciho’s would take the side dish & dessert, with each couple also agreeing to bring an alcoholic beverage. Good plan, huh? Brian and I settled on a Moroccan chicken dish and a Moroccan kefta Tagine with lemon and saffron butter sauce (aka fancy meatballs). Preparing these two dishes took all afternoon between the shopping and preparation but it was totally worth it because both turned out delicious. Also, I have said this before but I will say it again- I love cooking with my husband. It’s such a fun way to spend time with him. We both assume our roles in the kitchen- Brian the executive chef and me the always happy to help sous chef. Brian is just more confident at tackling big recipes than I am. Let’s be honest if I was alone I would have most likely panicked half way through the tagine dish and opened a bottle of chardonnay while dialing the nearest chinese restaurant.

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Where I do shine though is setting the dining table. I went with a fall theme (it’s my favorite time of year after all!!) complete with tiny pumpkins, flint corn & gourds, oh and two tiny gold camels, which were party favors from The Garahan’s wedding in May. If I told you how much joy setting the table brought me you would probably laugh. It’s the little things in life, right?

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The evening was perfection…oh and the food was AH-mazing. Rachel and PJ brought a beet (that was prepared with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, garlic & red onion), arugula, goat cheese & pistachios salad with a reduced balsamic salad dressing that knocked my socks off. Such simple ingredients but so flavorful. Loni & Mike brought a Moroccan carrot and quinoa salad that was not only beautiful to look at but so damn tasty- I devoured my plate of it (recipe found here) and for dessert they brought Moroccan date truffles which were tiny pieces of heaven!

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Do any of you guys do a dinner club?? It’s such a fun way to get together with friends as well as EAT!

 

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happy list

6 Oct

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things that have been making me happy recently…

– My husband always makes my happy list. He’s my other. My rock. My best friend. My inspiration. My biggest supporter. Our marriage has been in a really solid place recently and it brings me such joy. There’s really nothing better than feeling connected to your partner.

– Pumpkin candles. I’m obsessed with pumpkin candles. OBSESSED. I light one the minute I walk through the door and it doesn’t get blown out until I go to bed.

– Movie dates with my momma. We saw “The Good Lie” and we both loved it. Such an incredibly moving film. I was blown away with the performances. See it!

– Yoga dates with my neighbor Eric. He just cracks me up.

– Long bubble baths with a stack of magazines and an iced coffee.

– Peanut butter frozen yogurt with almonds on top.

– My favorite tv shows are back (silly but true!). I love cuddling up on the couch for a good laugh or a good cry.

– We got a new car this past weekend! I’m in love and I am not even a car girl. But really is there anything better than the smell of a new car?

– The “Map My Walk” application on my phone. I use it every morning on my walk with Frankie. The handy-dandy app keeps track of all my stats. Frank and I average 2.5 miles a day. He’s a trooper that little guy.

– A travel essay that I wrote (and Brian shot all the photos for!!) is being published on one of my favorite sites. So excited to share it with you all…soon!

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“The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.”

Audrey Hepburn

 

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inspiration, gratitude & surprises

26 Sep

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I have been a tad absent on the blog recently. I had big plans for the content I wanted to put up (seriously, I had the calendar all planned out) but instead daily life kept getting in the way and I had a hard time sitting down at my computer for a solid block of time. Luckily, I had a bunch of fabulous project 30 interviews lined up- did you read them? They were all fabulous! (Chelsea, Katie, Tobi & Amy Nicole).

The past few days have been full…we had friends staying with us, my momma’s birthday & Rosh Hashanah. In addition I have been under the weather the last two days. It’s just your run of the mill sore throat, headache & body aches but it’s knocked me on my ass. I just want to sleep all day. Sadly, Frank thinks sleeping all day is stupid. He’d much rather torture me with his tennis ball. Seriously, what do people do when they are sick and have small kids at home??? If a puppy is driving me nuts I can’t imagine a baby.

I’m planning on taking it pretty easy this weekend. The only thing I have on the books is a date with my little sister Briana. We are going to Aquarium Of The Pacific! I’m not sure who is more excited about this outing!

What inspired me this week?

30 things to start doing for yourself 

All the beautiful and moving essays that have been posted on the Manifest-Station recently

This quote…”The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling.“- Fabienne Fredrickson

What am I grateful for this week?

Long visits with Taline and baby Liam

A beautiful Rosh Hashanah dinner with family. It was such a warm evening filled with love and laughter…Shana Tova!!

Lunch with my brother and my momma to celebrate her birthday at a restaurant on the sand

My family for offering to take Frankie out on dates these last two days to give me a break while sick in bed

A margarita date with my friend Jen Pastiloff 

It’s officially fall…bring out the pumpkins and pumpkin candles!

My dear friend Ali had a healthy & beautiful baby boy

My husband…always my husband

What surprised me this week?

My experience at the DMV…story coming Monday!

Lastly, have you seen this video yet? I’m obsessed

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Don’t let the door hit you on the way out summer.

5 Sep

In case you didn’t gather from the title of this blog, post summer isn’t my favorite season. This admission probably just garnered me some hate mail, but it’s the truth. When I told my mom and Brian my feelings about summer, they both looked at me as if I had just said something personally offensive to them. I guess people feel pretty strongly about summer. I’m not saying summer is all bad. I, too, enjoy long days, afternoon BBQ’s and the beach, but I find that I get tired of it all rather quickly and then I’m just hot…hot, drained and unfocused.

I much prefer the fall and winter months. I love fog. I love rain. I love bundling up in cozy sweaters. I love spending grey afternoons writing. I love the holidays. I love wearing boots. I love wearing leather jackets and scarves. I love crisp air. I love Christmas lights. I love fall movies. I love pumpkin spice lattes and gingerbread cookies. I love all things cozy. I do cozy really well. I also find that I feel more creative and alive in the fall and winter months and, well, I would welcome that feeling right about now.

While I know it’s not officially fall just yet, I have decided that now that it’s September, I’m going to act like it is. I’ve picked out soup recipes to make, changed my closet over to sweaters and boots, painted my nails grey, my toes blood-red and I even…dyed my hair brown! For some reason that felt like the biggest F-U to summer.

Kate McClafferty has brown hair now, Summer!

Not only do I love fall and winter but they are shaping up to be a pretty fun travel filled few months. We are heading to North Carolina at the end of September with Brian’s family for a wedding. While I have never met the people getting married, I do love a good wedding, enjoy traveling with Brian’s parents and I’ve never been to North Carolina before! Win, win, win. Then in October, I head to Ojai for a yoga retreat with my favorite yoga teacher and sweet friend Jennifer Pastiloff. Her “manifestation retreats” are known to be life-changing, amazing and FUN. I mean there is even going to be Karaoke yoga! Oh and wine. So again this is a win. Then, on November 2nd, Brian and I take off on our adventure to Nepal…with a stop in Hong Kong first! Hong Kong was a recent addition and I am excited about it. We have to stop there anyway on a layover and have decided to make a trip out of it. Why land in Hong Kong, and not see it right?? When we get back from our trip,(if I survive the 10 day trek) the craziness of the holidays begin- my absolute favorite time of year! Then, somehow, it will be 2013? WHAAAAAT?

Are you guys as excited for the change of seasons as I am???

Signed,

your brown-haired blogger friend Kate

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16 Nov
20 things that have been making me happy
recently: 1st edition 
1. Pumpkin anything…especially candles and frozen yogurt
2. The hint of Christmas in the air…my favorite time of year is around the corner!
3. This show at the Groundlings Theatre. It cracked me up! A must see if you live in LA
4. Making a plan with my dear friend Rick to learn how to cook his amazing Thai fish dish
5. Cuddling on the couch under blankets
6. Cold nights
7. Leather jackets
8. Scarves
9. Boots
10. The love of a wonderful man
11. Daydreaming about travel ideas/goals that I would LOVE to complete this year…
my 30th birthday in Paris ( I have stolen this idea from my best girlfriend Ali who is spending her 30th birthday in Paris. GENIUS IDEA)…
February trip with Brian to Yosemite for his birthday…
March trip across the country….
oh yeah and I would DIE to continue my tango lessons in Argentina for a week or two…am I asking too much???
12. Receiving a post card in the mail from my friend Chantal! I can’t remember the last time I got a postcard!
14. Watching French Bulldogs walk down the street. The way they wiggle when they walk kills me
15. Fall tv programs…I am loving “Up All Night”
16. How do you know when you’re almost 30? When you are thrilled to have a girls night out on the town…with your mom. We stayed out till 11:30 on MONDAY night. Crazy I tell you. Crazy
17. Pinot Noir
18. Rilke poems
19. Morning beach walks
20. The new Marcel video. He’s BACK! My favorite line from the new video –
“guess why I smile a lot? uh. cause it’s worth it.”

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