I’ve always been a fan of a great at-home bar. I strongly believe it’s a must-learn life skill to mix up classic cocktails, and as an avid host, it’s important to provide an array...
Looking back on Easter as a child, I remember how excited I was to dig through my Easter basket. Full of chocolate bunnies, malt ball Easter eggs, Peeps, golden coins, and my favorite Cadbury...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
I think you’ll agree that MKR’s excitement for fall and all it entails that we’ve all seen on Instagram is contagious (SEC tailgating, sweater season, festive new arrivals in the Shop, apple cider, fall fashion). I used to find it bittersweet to see summer fade into fall, but I’ve got to admit: this year I’m ready to dress for the harvest season.
It’ll come to no surprise to you that my personal fashion game has grown exponentially since working under MKR. Think of it as my own little fashion guru, inspiring me to take a few risks with new fashion trends and teaching me when to invest in quality items that I’ll have forever.
So when MKR shared her list of fall fashion must haves with me, I took lots of notes. From penny loafers to sweater vests to flattering flares, I’m eager to strap up in style for the lowering temps this year. Now I’ve just got to work on my skills in the kitchen to whip up all those hearty fall pies and tasty libations, but hey one step at a time. Click on the image above to scroll through the slideshow of fall fashion must haves. Cheers, Kat
P.S. For more fashion inspiration, check out our pin boards (we’re updating on the reg).
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COLORED LEATHER
A MOTO LEATHER JACKET IN AN UNEXPECTED COLOR INSTANTLY CREATES A COOLER-THAN-COOL LOOK. WE'VE GOT OUR EYES ON GREEN, MERLOT
AND NAVY THIS SEASON.
THIS SEASON'S HOTTEST SILHOUETTE MAKES FOR THE MOST FLATTERING, YET OH-SO-COMFORTABLE LOOK.
STOCKPILE THE FLARES BECAUSE THIS FALL TREND WON'T BE GOING OUT OF STYLE ANY TIME SOON.
TRANSITION SEASONS SEAMLESSLY WITH A COZY SWEATER VEST...TURTLENECK TO BE EXACT. THE ADDED WARMTH AND EASY COMFORT WILL EFFORTLESSLY PULL YOUR FALL LOOK TOGETHER.
THIS FALL, YOU'LL WANT TO STAY COZY AND WARM ALL DAY LONG, AND WRAPPING YOURSELF IN WHAT SEEMS LIKE A BLANKET (AKA A LONG CARDIGAN) TO DO SO IS A-OKAY IN OUR BOOK.
When it comes to nachos, lets just say I take my nachos very seriously (you may remember my queso drenched vegetarian nachos, an ultimate lesson in layering and loading). They’re simply the easiest food to dress up, get creative with and full-out nosh on. So in the spirit of mixing it up, today I give you my latest nacho creation: warm and cozy fall nachos (because you know I love all things fall).
Spicy sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, cremini mushrooms and Great Northern beans come together on top of hearty, whole-grain chips for a simple, yet incredibly satisfying crunch in every bite. A perfect blend of savory, salty and a hint of sweetness make these sweet potato nachos a true crowd-pleaser—and needless to say—an elevated take on your run-of-the-mill chips and cheese. Plus you can prep the majority of the ingredients up to two days before, so when you go to actually build the nachos and bake them, it should only take about 20 minutes.
I have a few tricks up my sleeve, however, when it comes to these fall sweet potato nachos. See, the secret is in blending your sweet potatoes in a blender for a mashed potato consistency. I also douse the sweet potatoes with cayenne to give them a subtle heat, blending and seasoning with cayenne, salt and pepper as I go. Once blended, I use a spatula and spread the spicy mashed sweet potatoes onto every few chips (I like to use the really intense, thick 12-seed kind of chips to hold the weight of the toppings), along with a layer of Great Northern white beans, cremini mushrooms (always wiped clean with a dish rag, never rinsed with water), caramelized onions and a MIX of shredded Monterrey Jack and cheddar cheese. Lastly, while the cheese is melting, I flash fry sage (it takes about 30 seconds!) for a delightful addition with the fresh arugula to top it all off.
While I’m pretty set on this winning combo for fall, I do love that the beauty of nachos is the opportunity to switch it up and choose whatever toppings you desire. So try these fall sweet potato nachos as is but, then go ahead and have a little fun with your own renditions too. Enjoy! Truly, MKR
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Fall Nachos with Sweet Potatoes, Great Northern Beans, Cremini Mushrooms & Caramelized Onions with Fried Sage & Fresh Arugula
1 cup cremini mushrooms, roughly cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 block white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 block Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Hearty chips (look for thick, heavy and whole grain)
cayenne, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh arugula, to garnish
fresh sage, to fry and garnish
For the caramelized onions
6 giant onions, chopped into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
salt, to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large pot, boil sweet potatoes until tender.
Blend sweet potatoes in a blender to create a mashed potato consistency.
Place chips onto baking sheet, spreading with sweet potatoes, a layer of beans, caramelized onions* and mushrooms.
Cook nachos without cheese for 10 minutes.
Take nachos out, sprinkle shredded cheeses on top, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until melted.
While the cheese is melting, fry the fresh sage in about an inch of oil in a small saute pan. Be sure to wait until the oil is hot before flash-frying the sage. It will take only about 30 seconds to fry.
Top nachos with fried sage and fresh arugula, and serve!
For the caramelized onions
Remove skins of onions and slice them into 1/4 inch slices.
Melt the butter in your skillet on medium heat.
Add onions to your pan and stir them, making sure to coat them with butter.
Stir onions and scrape the skillet every 5-10 minutes.
After about an hour of cooking, your onions will be properly caramelized.
Once cooked through, pour the water into the pan, scraping all of the bits. Season the onions with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
To cut down on prep time, you can make your sweet potato mash and caramelized onions the night before. When blending the sweet potatoes, add a tiny bit of water to the bender if it seems too dry. Season and taste as you go, adding more water if need be.
I usually put half to 3/4 of my caramelized onions on my nachos, and save the rest. They keep well up to 2-3 days.
By Mandy Kellogg Rye @ Waiting on Martha
Welcome by Waiting on Martha https://waitingonmartha.com/
I’ve always been a fan of the daybed, and as of late daybeds are showing up everywhere in the home. Outdoor space, add a daybed. Nursery, add a daybed. Breakfast nook, add a daybed. Plus they’re chicer than ever. Take for example this Avalon rattan daybed from Serena and Lily. When I first spied it I knew I had to find a space for it. That space turned out to be my sitting room in my bedroom.
Let’s pause right here to discuss something for perspectives sake. When you read the sentence above you probably thought, if I have a sitting room in my bedroom then my home must be quite spacious. Not exactly. My home is great, but it’s not a McMansion by any stretch of the imagination. For some reason when they built our home they added a sitting room to the master making it larger than our family room and dining room combined. However, because we don’t have a basement and only a family room, I was committed to making the sitting area an actual space that was used and not just a pretty room to look at.
Since my husband and his abnormally large television took over the family room, I naturally retreated to our bedroom. Which was fine by me because the bedroom is, and always has been, my favorite room in every home I’ve ever lived in. I know most sleep experts would warn against it, but there’s nothing I look forward to more than cozying up in my bed with a stack of magazines, a great glass of wine, and the apple tv fired up and ready. It’s like that Drake song; “I only love my bed and my momma.” Preach Drake, preach.
Anyway, I’ve gotten off track, back to the Avalon rattan daybed. Before the daybed entered our life I had a whole sitting area set up with two very large chairs, a coffee table and ottomans. That worked, but over the years how I’ve used the space has changed. Before I really only used it to watch a movie. Now I was craving a new space I could spend my morning quiet time, work, and watch a movie when the mood hit. And the daybed was the perfect way to make this new vision become a reality.
The chairs and coffee table went bye-bye, and the whole room shifted. I put the Avalon rattan daybed against the wall and loaded it down with my favorite gingham sheet set and quilt from Serena and Lily plus a few throws, and a good amount of pillows. This created the perfect, and most cozy spot, to spend quiet time in the morning and movie time at night. Because there wasn’t room for a coffee table I added an end table that can easily move around to where it’s needed most. And lastly, I brought a small white desk up and placed it opposite the daybed. By positioning the furniture like this I maintained the square shape which helps it feel like a separate space rather than just an extension of the bedroom.
I’ve been living with this new set up for a few weeks now and I’m loving it. And I’m not the only one, you can see that Addison has really taken to the daybed as well! Truly, MKR
Photography, Rustic White Interiors | This post was in collaboration with Serena & Lily. A brand I love and adore. Opinions are 100% my own.