The Thing I Almost Gave Away

I practically gave away our kitchen aid mixer five years ago. It’s a heavy piece of machinery and it’s sometimes hard to justify its kitchen real estate (especially when we were moving around a lot in our early marriage!). Someone told me to hold onto it because I’d bake more when I had kids. At that time I wasn’t even sure kids were in the future but I listened to their advice. And lo and behold, now that I have kids, spending a quiet nap time alone in the kitchen baking actually is pretty great.

Last weekend I walked over to the apple tree in the yard and picked a few and tried @onceuponachef’s apple cake recipe and DAMN. The scent of baked apple wafted up the stairs and drew my family down where we devoured half of it before it even cooled.

Here is the recipe. (Note I subbed whole milk for dark rum and was very happy with the results!)

red apples and apple cake with a slice cut out on a blue towel
red and green apples in a bowl lined with a blue striped tea towel

The Coziest Mt. Rainier A-Frame 90 Minutes from Seattle | Seattle Airbnb Photographer

A few days before my 33rd birthday, my friend Katherine and I took to the mountains for a quick girlfriend’s getway weekend to a super cozy cabin near Mt. Rainier. When the owners reached out for new listing photos I jumped at the chance to get out into the fresh air and get in some quality time with my friend (which can be so hard when you have a young family at home!). Along with photos, I like to offer lifestyle photos of short term rental properties. It really helps to bring the space to life and the creative opportunities are endless. It ends up being a ton of work (thinking of making each moment a beautiful photo) but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s rare that I can stay in that level of artistic flow for such an amount of time. Luckily, my friend Katherine is a producer and enjoyed helping and generously doing more than just keeping me company!

I loved having a few different outdoor “zones” to hang out and work in. The grill/picnic area is on one side of the house, and the fire pit and chairs are on another. Behind the chairs is just… wilderness! We even had a little family of curious raccoons peep their heads out of the bushes, but quickly lost interest when they found no chance of being fed s’mores from our stash.

Katherine and I also relaxed and caught up a ton during this trip which I really treasure. After I put my camera gear away we sat in the chairs and talked for HOURS until the mosquitoes made feast of us. You know those great late night looooong conversations with a good friend? GOLDEN — especially in my 30s when life is super busy with family and work. It was a great reminder that your friends see you through so much life and so many changes, and that they’re worth their weight in gold and more.

If you’d like to take a trip yourself you can find the Airbnb listing here!

Your Fall Everlane Capsule

Something happened yesterday, and all of a sudden I felt like a little fish that was scooped up from one tank and dropped into another. I checked my horoscope to make sure Mercury wasn’t in retrograde (which LOL it begins today), so there’s that. But isn’t it always in retrograde? Aren’t we all always struggling a little in one way or another, even amidst thriving? Fall presents an opportunity to dig into our goals and passions a bit and to redirect the energy we’re spending if needed. A fresh few core wardrobe pieces always helps act as a physical reminder that we are evolving beings and that we can layer on or off elements of ourselves as they’re serving us (or not).

So take a look at this roundup of fall capsule pieces that I think you’ll love, and that I will be styling in a million ways nonstop this fall. Tell me which is your favorite in the comments!

Clicking the photos will take you directly to the Everlane product page for each item. Thanks to Everlane for our ongoing sponsorship.

Trying The New Jeans Everyone Has

Trying my very first Amo denim that I picked up from Evereve last night. I spent years working with Evereve so it’s fun to go back now as a customer and see what the amazing buying team rounds up.

These are miracle jeans, to put it shortly. Soft and structured, stretch and hold. I’ve been wanting to add some kick flares to my rotation and I think the little front pockets are so cute.

I actually loved this with the silk tank alone, which I’ll remember for our next date night. But today I’m styling it for errands and work, so this Sezane sweatshirt is the perfect thing. I’ve also been wearing my white Everlane loafers nonstop and love them both with the black tank look alone or as a full styled look.

I’ve never felt more ready for fall fashion and I have tons of ideas coming your way!

Clicking the photo will take you directly to the shop page!

Use EMILYKGIFT20 for $20 off a purchase of $100