Monday, September 30, 2013

Kinfolk Gathering






Have you heard of Kinfolk?
Kinfolk magazine is a quarterly, 144-page, ad-free print magazine that collects ideas from a growing international community of artists, writers, designers, photographers, cooks and others who are interested in creating small gatherings and finding new things to make and do. 
In 2013, the Kinfolk team has hosted between 12–30 dinners and workshops every month with a shared theme across multiple cities around the world (examples include the Flower Potlucks, Campfire Cooking and Butcher Block Parties) selling limited reservations to guests who would like to be a part of the experience.
I was lucky enough to score a reservation to the Santa Barbara Kinfolk gathering which included a lesson regarding preserving fruits and vegetables of the season. In our case it was Meyer lemons but it could be any number of fruits or vegetables depending on what area you are taking the class. 
It was a lovely day and a delicious lunch ended the three hour workshop. If you would like to know more please check out the Kinfolk website here.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

me again

We are on the move again! This will be our third move in less than two years (crazy!) so we should be getting pretty good at it. Chances are we'll be moving once more in the next two years; but that story can be saved for another day. 
Here's the history in a nutshell: 
We moved to Santa Barbara from Arizona to be closer to our daughter's family which includes granddaughters, Miss RubyBird (three years old) and Miss EllaBella (one year old). The idea was for Audrey's fam to save some $$ from daycare and to be able to slap a deposit down on a house . 
Audrey was lucky enough to find us a pint sized cottage two doors down from where she, her husband, and the two girls live. Both homes were owned by the same landlord and it was easier than snapping your fingers to rent and move in. 
Fast forward six months later and we all realize that more $$$ is needed to be found for a deposit in the Santa Barbara housing market so we put our thinking caps on. Our rent ($2000 a month) plus Audrey's rent ($2700 a month) was a hefty chunk to be going out each month (and in the SB housing...these prices were considered average to below average for the size of houses we were renting). Creative thoughts began to perk and what if...what if we pulled our resources and found a BIGGER home for LESS money that we could ALL live in for the next year or two. Could it be done? 
We did it! Found a much bigger home, bigger yard, and better neighborhood for about a $1000 less than both our rents combined and we signed the dotted line to rent for a year. It's 5 bedrooms and space for everyone to have a bit of privacy when needed and the most important detail: Audrey and Josh can sock away some major $$$ for that future home. 
I might be the lucky one who gets to enjoy the home each and every day while taking care of the girls when they are not at preschool or other activities. Pictures will follow but for now consider us the trendsetters...the multgenerational family home.