1
00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,160
Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. I'm Kelsey Nixon and this is Kitchen Prescription,

2
00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:10,440
Speaker 1: the podcast you listen to and you don't know what

3
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,400
Speaker 1: to make for dinner. Today is episode one hundred and seven,

4
00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,759
Speaker 1: How to be a guest at Thanksgiving. I hope you've

5
00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:20,200
Speaker 1: had a great week. I have been deep in thoughts

6
00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,920
Speaker 1: about Thanksgiving. I actually made an entire Thanksgiving dinner this

7
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,160
Speaker 1: past weekend by myself. But one of the reasons I

8
00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,000
Speaker 1: did it is I wanted to prep for how I

9
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,120
Speaker 1: could be most helpful to you in the coming weeks,

10
00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,559
Speaker 1: because this is the thing, if we're being honest, we

11
00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,080
Speaker 1: really only make Thanksgiving once a year, and I think

12
00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,240
Speaker 1: that's one of the reasons that can feel so overwhelming,

13
00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,519
Speaker 1: is that it's not something we do all the time,

14
00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:45,000
Speaker 1: and it's a lot, and so I wanted to do

15
00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,840
Speaker 1: it to really identify, Oh yeah, these are the pain points,

16
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,560
Speaker 1: these are the things that people forget to talk about,

17
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,160
Speaker 1: These are the shortcuts worth taking, and so forth. So

18
00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,360
Speaker 1: I am glad I did it. We have so many leftovers,

19
00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,080
Speaker 1: we have so much food. But it was good and

20
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,760
Speaker 1: I really did learn some really good things I can't

21
00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,120
Speaker 1: wait to share with you in the coming weeks. But

22
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,640
Speaker 1: let's be honest. Like one of the thoughts they keep

23
00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,920
Speaker 1: returning to is that most of the messaging surrounding Thanksgiving

24
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,640
Speaker 1: is all about how to host Thanksgiving. But I'm convinced

25
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,240
Speaker 1: that far more people are guests at Thanksgiving than are

26
00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:24,080
Speaker 1: actually hosting. And with that said, I think it's just

27
00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,080
Speaker 1: as important to be a good guest as it is

28
00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,679
Speaker 1: to be a good host. So I wanted to break

29
00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,440
Speaker 1: down some dos and don'ts when it comes to being

30
00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,280
Speaker 1: a guest at Thanksgiving this year. But before we do that,

31
00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 1: let's discuss a few recipes you can throw on your

32
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,560
Speaker 1: meal plan this week. I'm looking at this as kind

33
00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,279
Speaker 1: of the calm before the storm. Our family arrives next week,

34
00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:49,600
Speaker 1: and our schedule will feel very crazy, with a birthday,

35
00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:55,120
Speaker 1: a baptism, a day at Disneyland, hosting family before actually

36
00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,480
Speaker 1: hosting Thanksgiving. And because of that, not to mention, I'm

37
00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,080
Speaker 1: a small business on a running Black Friday, which is

38
00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,000
Speaker 1: a whole additional thing. But because of that, I really

39
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,239
Speaker 1: want to prioritize getting in a few family dinners where

40
00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,560
Speaker 1: we sit down at the table and we look at

41
00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:15,639
Speaker 1: each other and we converse this week. So here's what's

42
00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,240
Speaker 1: on our meal plan for the week. First up, our

43
00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:21,760
Speaker 1: chicken parm meatballs. These are super simple. They come together

44
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,480
Speaker 1: in a skillet. It's like if you can make spaghetti

45
00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,480
Speaker 1: and you've got ten percent more effort to put towards dinner,

46
00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,240
Speaker 1: you can make the chicken palm meatballs and you might

47
00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,280
Speaker 1: as well boil some spaghetti to go with them. Super simple,

48
00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,080
Speaker 1: really like comforting flavors. I use REOs MARINAIIR sauce in this,

49
00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:45,079
Speaker 1: so I use kind of a shortcut ingredient. Cheesy, hearty, delicious,

50
00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,600
Speaker 1: easy to freeze, so good. My kids always like it.

51
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,000
Speaker 1: So we'll have that Tai coconut ramen for a soupy night,

52
00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,680
Speaker 1: which is you know, I use because I tend to

53
00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,120
Speaker 1: have on hand just the traditional ramen noodles without the

54
00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,480
Speaker 1: flavor packet. And then I make a really delicious broth

55
00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,200
Speaker 1: with coconut milk and chicken broth, and we add in

56
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,320
Speaker 1: some onions and some red peppers and some HALLOWPENI for

57
00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:13,239
Speaker 1: a little bit of spice, and it's just, oh, it's

58
00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,600
Speaker 1: so good, you guys. It's one of our more popular sps.

59
00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:19,079
Speaker 1: And then finally, it is Nora's birthday this coming week.

60
00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,800
Speaker 1: She turns eight, and we have a family food tradition

61
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,960
Speaker 1: that started way back, right before she was born. My

62
00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,600
Speaker 1: sister in law, Betsy actually carried Nora, and if you're

63
00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,360
Speaker 1: not familiar with that story, it's amazing. I was not

64
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,960
Speaker 1: able to carry children after my first two babies safely,

65
00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,080
Speaker 1: and so my sister in law, Betsy carried Nora. And

66
00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,280
Speaker 1: she has a son who actually shares the same birthday

67
00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,760
Speaker 1: as Nora, so she delivered my child on the same

68
00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,760
Speaker 1: day as her youngest birthday. And when we were all

69
00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,200
Speaker 1: there right before the birth, Betsy had this tradition with

70
00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,280
Speaker 1: her son Max where they'd always make chicken pop pie,

71
00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,000
Speaker 1: and while we were there, we decided to cut up

72
00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,120
Speaker 1: Max's name in pie crust and put the letters on

73
00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,040
Speaker 1: top of a pie. And it was so fun. It

74
00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,120
Speaker 1: was such a crazy night, her ovens wouldn't work. It

75
00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,280
Speaker 1: just was a very memorable moment. And so we have

76
00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,240
Speaker 1: continued that tradition in our family of making chicken pot

77
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,840
Speaker 1: pie for Nora's birthday, but putting Nora's name on the

78
00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,520
Speaker 1: pop pie with the pie letters. So we will do that.

79
00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,599
Speaker 1: And I realized that I don't have a traditional chicken

80
00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,640
Speaker 1: pot pie in recipee club. I have a skillet chicken

81
00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,560
Speaker 1: pot pie that's really popular, but not a classic recipe.

82
00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,240
Speaker 1: So this year I went to work to developing a

83
00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,200
Speaker 1: really classic one that's so delicious. Tested it a few

84
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:35,120
Speaker 1: times last month, huge hit, two thumbs up from the family.

85
00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,719
Speaker 1: So that is what we're going to have this week,

86
00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:39,960
Speaker 1: and it's just a good one. It's you should just

87
00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,160
Speaker 1: have a chicken pot pie in your back pocket somewhere.

88
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,720
Speaker 1: So I'm excited. That's what we've got going on this week.

89
00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,080
Speaker 1: You can find and print all of these recipes in

90
00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,760
Speaker 1: Recipee Club individually or in our weekly meal plan where

91
00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:53,919
Speaker 1: we have an easy to follow shopping list that's broken

92
00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:56,640
Speaker 1: down by recipe. You guys know that recipeak Club is

93
00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,600
Speaker 1: an amazing, ad free resource with hundreds of recipes that

94
00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:04,159
Speaker 1: have been developed specifically for busy families on weeknights. Although

95
00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,240
Speaker 1: the real magic really is in the simple dinner system

96
00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:11,000
Speaker 1: that we provide. We have weekly meal planning emails, we

97
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,039
Speaker 1: have a site designed to help you with dinner time

98
00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,279
Speaker 1: decision fatigue, recipes that are family tested, clearly written. It's

99
00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,000
Speaker 1: an incredible resource that helps thousands of families get dinner

100
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,800
Speaker 1: on the table. And if you are looking for something

101
00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,240
Speaker 1: like this to help make your life a little easier.

102
00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,039
Speaker 1: Now is the time because our Black Friday sale is live.

103
00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,360
Speaker 1: It will go now through Cyber Monday, and it is

104
00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,039
Speaker 1: thirty percent off site wide and forty percent off bundles.

105
00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,080
Speaker 1: And what a bundle is is it's that complete system.

106
00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,960
Speaker 1: It is your Recipe Binder plus an annual membership to

107
00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,120
Speaker 1: Recipe Club. We also have a bundle plus. We call

108
00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,719
Speaker 1: it the everything but the Kitchen Sink Bundle, and it

109
00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,080
Speaker 1: also comes with a binder stand, and that is probably

110
00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,600
Speaker 1: our most popular product so far on Black Friday, So

111
00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:56,720
Speaker 1: be sure to check those out if you're looking to

112
00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,360
Speaker 1: set up your own dinner system. Also, all of our

113
00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,719
Speaker 1: products are giftable and all of those discounts apply for

114
00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:04,800
Speaker 1: that as well. So if you're already a Recipee Club member,

115
00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:06,160
Speaker 1: you've already got a binder and you love it and

116
00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,680
Speaker 1: you want to gift it to someone this year, now

117
00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,840
Speaker 1: is the time to do it so that you can

118
00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,480
Speaker 1: get that awesome discount. All right, let's jump into the

119
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,560
Speaker 1: back half of the podcast and chat about being a

120
00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:25,480
Speaker 1: guest at Thanksgiving. So listen, Being a guest at Thanksgiving

121
00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,640
Speaker 1: goes beyond showing up with your assigned dish. You really

122
00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,640
Speaker 1: should always offer to contribute in some way. Now, obviously

123
00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:36,720
Speaker 1: that's going to be complicated if you are traveling, maybe

124
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,000
Speaker 1: on an airplane from out of town or something like that.

125
00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,839
Speaker 1: But everyone can contribute in some way, and it doesn't

126
00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,320
Speaker 1: always have to be in the form of green bean

127
00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,440
Speaker 1: cast role. But it's important to contribute. It's important to say, hey,

128
00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,640
Speaker 1: how can I help. It's obviously not as complicated to

129
00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:54,000
Speaker 1: be a guest as it is to actually host, but

130
00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,480
Speaker 1: I wanted to run through a few ideas to consider.

131
00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,360
Speaker 1: So if you are finding yourself as a guest of

132
00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:05,279
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving this year, think about these things. If you have offered,

133
00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,880
Speaker 1: and you have signed up to bring something to eat,

134
00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,480
Speaker 1: bring food that is ready to eat, show up with

135
00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:17,480
Speaker 1: your assigned dish that it's ready to go. And if

136
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,240
Speaker 1: you're like, that makes me nervous because I always bring

137
00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:21,640
Speaker 1: the mashed potatoes and I don't know how to bring

138
00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,200
Speaker 1: them warm, then you have got a couple weeks to

139
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,320
Speaker 1: figure out how to keep those mashed potatoes warm. Whether

140
00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,240
Speaker 1: it's in a cooler, or it is in a crock pot,

141
00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,640
Speaker 1: or it is in an instant pot, you can figure

142
00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,240
Speaker 1: it out. But what that host doesn't need is for

143
00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,120
Speaker 1: you to walk through the door and say, can I

144
00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,040
Speaker 1: just stick these in the oven? Oh? Is it okay?

145
00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,920
Speaker 1: If I just put this on stovetop. She's gonna be overwhelmed.

146
00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:48,280
Speaker 1: He's gonna be overwhelmed. So bring your food ready to eat.

147
00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,760
Speaker 1: And if you know you're gonna bring something, but you

148
00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:52,520
Speaker 1: haven't decided what you're gonna bring yet and you don't

149
00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,640
Speaker 1: want to worry about whether it needs to be warmer cold,

150
00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,240
Speaker 1: then offer to bring something like a salad where you

151
00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,440
Speaker 1: don't have to worry about that. In addition to the

152
00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,360
Speaker 1: temperature of the dish you're bringing, bring everything you need

153
00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:09,880
Speaker 1: to serve your dish. Think about serving spoons, tongs, spatula, garnish,

154
00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,760
Speaker 1: because same thing you walk in at the eleventh hour

155
00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:15,480
Speaker 1: and you're like, oh, do you have you have like

156
00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,000
Speaker 1: a spoon that we can serve this with. She's flustered.

157
00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,040
Speaker 1: Even I'm flustered, and I'm a Thanksgiving enthusiast. So bring

158
00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,960
Speaker 1: a spoon, bring it, label it if you need to,

159
00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,240
Speaker 1: but just bring everything you need so that all you

160
00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,480
Speaker 1: have to do is set it down and it's ready.

161
00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:36,040
Speaker 1: All right. Find a way to help, Well, that's obvious.

162
00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,080
Speaker 1: But what I'm trying to say is don't ask, just

163
00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:44,680
Speaker 1: do be proactive and find a way to help do something.

164
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,040
Speaker 1: The host will likely tell you, Oh, don't worry about it,

165
00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,800
Speaker 1: just enjoy yourself. Oh I got it, I got it.

166
00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,880
Speaker 1: But help anyways. And I'm saying this as someone who's

167
00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,439
Speaker 1: a host that says, don't worry about it, I got it.

168
00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,360
Speaker 1: There's always something that you can do to help, and honestly,

169
00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,120
Speaker 1: now is a great time to think about it. In fact,

170
00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:10,040
Speaker 1: you could even say to your host ask beforehand, is

171
00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,320
Speaker 1: there anything I can just own for Thanksgiving so that

172
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,439
Speaker 1: I can just take it off your plate? Like do

173
00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,160
Speaker 1: you just want me to be in charge of setting

174
00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,480
Speaker 1: the table? Or you know what, consider me ceo of

175
00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,960
Speaker 1: postmeal cleanup I'm going to do. I'm gonna handle all

176
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,320
Speaker 1: the dishes so that once the meal's done, you're done.

177
00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:33,280
Speaker 1: So I'm in charge of dishes, Or what if I

178
00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,360
Speaker 1: make sure that I handle the kids before the meal,

179
00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:37,880
Speaker 1: I'm gonna come with an activity do with all the kids.

180
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,120
Speaker 1: Do you see how there's all these different ways that

181
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,880
Speaker 1: you could help your host, Or maybe your host doesn't

182
00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:45,600
Speaker 1: need a ton of help and maybe you just want

183
00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,920
Speaker 1: to add something to the to the affair or the

184
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,680
Speaker 1: event and you say, hey, I said, okay, if I

185
00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:54,600
Speaker 1: bring Thanksgiving bingo this year, I think it'd be really

186
00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:56,360
Speaker 1: fun to do that. Then you don't have to worry

187
00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:01,240
Speaker 1: about entertaining us or just think of something a way

188
00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,000
Speaker 1: to be helpful. But I can guarantee you this. There

189
00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,000
Speaker 1: will always be garbage that needs to be taken out,

190
00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,120
Speaker 1: There will always be counters that need to be wiped down,

191
00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,160
Speaker 1: the table will need to be cleared, the kids will

192
00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:18,080
Speaker 1: need to be engaged. Help is always appreciated. Just don't

193
00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:22,120
Speaker 1: put it on the host to tell you what to do.

194
00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,320
Speaker 1: And if the conversation was flipped and we were talking

195
00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,520
Speaker 1: about hosting, I would encourage you, as a host to

196
00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,680
Speaker 1: literally have some things written down so that when someone

197
00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:34,840
Speaker 1: says what can I do to help, you already know

198
00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,200
Speaker 1: what to say. Because it's that decision fatigue in the

199
00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,400
Speaker 1: moment of like, I don't know, I don't know, I

200
00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:42,240
Speaker 1: don't know, I don't think the turkey's done, I don't know.

201
00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:43,719
Speaker 1: Am I gonna have time to do the gravy? But

202
00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,640
Speaker 1: you can't. You don't want to fall apart. So either,

203
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,240
Speaker 1: just if you're a guest, decide in advance what you're

204
00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,520
Speaker 1: going to own, or just be proactive and help without

205
00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,720
Speaker 1: asking what they need you to do. And if you're

206
00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:00,200
Speaker 1: a host, make a little list of things you know

207
00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,640
Speaker 1: you can ask people to do. So okay, next, express gratitude.

208
00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,480
Speaker 1: If you like to show your gratitude by bringing a

209
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,400
Speaker 1: hostess gift, that's great, but make sure it's easy to receive.

210
00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,280
Speaker 1: And I certainly don't think this is necessary, but some

211
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,640
Speaker 1: people love to show gratitude in this way. But if

212
00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,880
Speaker 1: you're gonna bring flowers, maybe bring a vase so that

213
00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,360
Speaker 1: when you get there with the flowers, you don't have

214
00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,400
Speaker 1: to say, oh, you have a vase, I can stick

215
00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,640
Speaker 1: these in. Just bring them in a vase. Just bring

216
00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:34,160
Speaker 1: them in a vase. If you're bringing something like wine

217
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,719
Speaker 1: or a drink that's got a quarkscrew, just bring the

218
00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:40,440
Speaker 1: quarkscrew so you don't have to worry about asking where

219
00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,680
Speaker 1: the quarkscrew is. And really don't forget that a heartfelt

220
00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,720
Speaker 1: note is beyond sufficient and sometimes many times that is

221
00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:50,480
Speaker 1: just the kindest thing you can do. And if you're

222
00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,320
Speaker 1: an overwhelmed mom and even that feels hard, send a

223
00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:57,880
Speaker 1: heartfelt text that can go a long way. Other ideas

224
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,320
Speaker 1: are bringing a candle, vanilla be paste. That's one of

225
00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,560
Speaker 1: my favorites. It's just a fun little kitchen me something

226
00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,120
Speaker 1: an ornament is nice as you kick off the holiday season,

227
00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:11,960
Speaker 1: your favorite holiday, send a dish, soap or hand lotion,

228
00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,680
Speaker 1: or many times I'll bring like a set of geometry

229
00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:19,200
Speaker 1: hand towels. There's lots of things you could do. Membership

230
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,240
Speaker 1: to Recipe Club. You could buy a Recipe Club membership

231
00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,360
Speaker 1: and gift a year of easy, breezy cooking for your family.

232
00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:31,240
Speaker 1: But do find a way and prioritize expressing some sort

233
00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,880
Speaker 1: of gratitude. So, in short, three things, Three things you

234
00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,240
Speaker 1: want to think about as a guest. If you're bringing food,

235
00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,960
Speaker 1: bring it ready to eat. That means you're in charge

236
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:42,800
Speaker 1: of figuring out how it's going to stay warmer cold,

237
00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:44,760
Speaker 1: and you're in charge of the utensil to serve it.

238
00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:47,520
Speaker 1: Number two, you're gonna find a way to help. Whether

239
00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,440
Speaker 1: you decide now and you say I'm going to own

240
00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:53,280
Speaker 1: this part of the meal, or you just show up

241
00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:55,760
Speaker 1: and you look for things to do rather than asking

242
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:57,520
Speaker 1: to be told what to do. You're gonna find a

243
00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:01,120
Speaker 1: way to help, and finally you're gonna express gratitude, whether

244
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,720
Speaker 1: that's through a gift or a heartfelt note. You're gonna

245
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,360
Speaker 1: commit to saying thank you for hosting this lovely but

246
00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,960
Speaker 1: oftentimes overwhelming meal. All right, let's finish how we always finish,

247
00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,080
Speaker 1: with my weekly gimme five. Five things that made my

248
00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,319
Speaker 1: life easier are more enjoyable this week, And you guys

249
00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,160
Speaker 1: are gonna have to be a little patient. We're going

250
00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,320
Speaker 1: off script a bit. We are going to make our

251
00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:27,160
Speaker 1: gimme five this week, the five gift guides that I

252
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,040
Speaker 1: have been working on for you. So it is gift

253
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:33,080
Speaker 1: guide season, and I've heard from a lot of people,

254
00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,880
Speaker 1: My goodness, these gift guides are coming out early this year.

255
00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,480
Speaker 1: And I have a theory that it's because Thanksgiving is

256
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:43,280
Speaker 1: technically as late as it ever is this year. Cyber

257
00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:47,160
Speaker 1: Monday is in December. It's December second, and so all

258
00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:51,560
Speaker 1: of these retailers and even these influencers who make a

259
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,400
Speaker 1: substantial amount of income through holiday sales, they lose a week,

260
00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,720
Speaker 1: and so you started hearing about it a week earlier.

261
00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,120
Speaker 1: But I do think that gift guides are helpful, especially

262
00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:05,640
Speaker 1: when you know the person that you're taking advice from

263
00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:08,200
Speaker 1: happens to have some expertise in the type of gift

264
00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,840
Speaker 1: you're looking for, so I am keeping it simple. I

265
00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,000
Speaker 1: am focusing only on five gift guides this year for her,

266
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,720
Speaker 1: for him, for kids, for tweens, and for the food lover,

267
00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:22,560
Speaker 1: which is basically representative of my life. So those will

268
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,160
Speaker 1: go out and we will be sure you have those

269
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,480
Speaker 1: through Instagram, through our newsletter or give me five newsletter

270
00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,840
Speaker 1: that we send every Friday. But I did want to

271
00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:35,040
Speaker 1: highlight one product, maybe two. Nope, I'll try and just

272
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:36,960
Speaker 1: do one from each of the gift guides that I

273
00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,240
Speaker 1: am really excited about to be personally gifting this year,

274
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,880
Speaker 1: So I might have to do to you guys. We'll see,

275
00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:46,240
Speaker 1: we'll see, Okay, So we're going to start for her.

276
00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,280
Speaker 1: This gift is so special. It's actually something I bought from.

277
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,000
Speaker 1: I found this seller on Etsy years ago. She made

278
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:58,200
Speaker 1: beautiful mother's rings out of natural stones, raw stones, and

279
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,240
Speaker 1: I ordered myself a mother's ring and it was so beautiful.

280
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,640
Speaker 1: Her shop is called Little Sycamore and she just launched

281
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:12,160
Speaker 1: a new product this year, a Lockett. Think like Annie's style, right,

282
00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,120
Speaker 1: It opens up and she has this incredible process where

283
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,480
Speaker 1: she takes personalized photos and she actually etches them into

284
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,080
Speaker 1: the interior of the locket. It is so classy, so chic,

285
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,520
Speaker 1: and so special. So if you have a sentimental lady

286
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,280
Speaker 1: in your life, whether it's a mom or a sister,

287
00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,200
Speaker 1: or it is you, to me, this is such a

288
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:39,480
Speaker 1: special gift. And the shop owner at Little Sycamore, her

289
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,960
Speaker 1: name also happens to be Kelsey, is wonderful and I

290
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,200
Speaker 1: can't think of a better person to support this holiday season. So, okay,

291
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:49,440
Speaker 1: we might have to go too for each Okay, So

292
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:54,000
Speaker 1: I love the Little Sycamore lockett. And another thing that

293
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,240
Speaker 1: is far less sentimental but incredibly practical, and it is

294
00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,320
Speaker 1: the number one item on my wish list, my personal

295
00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,720
Speaker 1: wish list this year is a Skylight calendar. So it

296
00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,360
Speaker 1: is a digital calendar that can live Mine's gonna live

297
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,640
Speaker 1: my kitchen. It can rotate between seeing stuff with your

298
00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,440
Speaker 1: Google calendar You've likely seen them, but it also rotates

299
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,560
Speaker 1: to photos with their family, and I just think it's

300
00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,240
Speaker 1: gonna be so great to be a home base for

301
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:23,400
Speaker 1: my family. Now, this does not mean I'm giving up

302
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,680
Speaker 1: my paper calendars. I just like scheduling so much. I

303
00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,160
Speaker 1: want digital and paper everything. But this Skylight calendar. I've

304
00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:33,040
Speaker 1: had my eye on for a long time and I'm

305
00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,480
Speaker 1: excited to hopefully get it this year. Okay for him,

306
00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,760
Speaker 1: let's talk about a heated stadium seat. You guys know,

307
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,120
Speaker 1: I'm a baseball mom. I spend a lot of time

308
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,840
Speaker 1: at a baseball park. And even though I live in California,

309
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:52,680
Speaker 1: which means I cannot complain about gold baseball games, it

310
00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,400
Speaker 1: still gets kind of cold, especially when you have a

311
00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:57,920
Speaker 1: seven and thirty star time like we do every single

312
00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:04,119
Speaker 1: Wednesday night. And these heated stadium seats are awesome. It's

313
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,639
Speaker 1: like taking your heated seat in your car to the

314
00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:12,879
Speaker 1: ball field with you. So anyways, they fold up, they're great.

315
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,159
Speaker 1: They're under one hundred dollars, and I think that is

316
00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,520
Speaker 1: an amazing gift, especially for the sportsman in your life.

317
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:22,680
Speaker 1: And then the other thing that's on my gift guide

318
00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:27,040
Speaker 1: and I'm planning to gift is a solo stove. So

319
00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:32,560
Speaker 1: this is a smokeless fire pit essentially, and I love

320
00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:38,240
Speaker 1: the ambiance of being around the campfire. But the older

321
00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,200
Speaker 1: I get, the more I cannot stand the smell of smoke,

322
00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:42,639
Speaker 1: and I hate that I have to come on and

323
00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,720
Speaker 1: wash my hair and that everyone's clothes smell like smoke.

324
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,440
Speaker 1: And so because we live by the beach and there's

325
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:50,880
Speaker 1: a lot of campfire by the beach situation, these solo

326
00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,240
Speaker 1: stoves are so awesome with their smokeless fire. So I

327
00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,720
Speaker 1: think that's gonna be a great gift for my man

328
00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:01,960
Speaker 1: this year. Okay, for my kids, I mostly we're talking

329
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:03,680
Speaker 1: to my girls. So my girls are my kids. We're

330
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,640
Speaker 1: gonna talk about tweens next. But for my girls, there

331
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,840
Speaker 1: are two things in particular that I'm excited to gift them.

332
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,000
Speaker 1: They are both art enthusiasts, and as I give gifts,

333
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,439
Speaker 1: I really I don't want to gift junk and I

334
00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,640
Speaker 1: want to gift stuff that it is going to consume

335
00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,640
Speaker 1: time that they're gonna be away from a screen and

336
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:27,520
Speaker 1: it's gonna take them some time to play with it.

337
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,679
Speaker 1: And so the first one is this Flycatcher drawing projector.

338
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,439
Speaker 1: I saw this last year. I almost got it and

339
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:38,240
Speaker 1: then I did. But my girls like they love to draw,

340
00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,199
Speaker 1: they love art, and this is super highly rated. But

341
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:45,359
Speaker 1: it's a drawing projector, so you can essentially, it's got

342
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,479
Speaker 1: an app you program in different things, whether it's a

343
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,880
Speaker 1: dog or cat, or you can even put your own

344
00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:53,720
Speaker 1: family photos in there and then it projects it down

345
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,199
Speaker 1: onto the table so that your kids can trace it.

346
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,720
Speaker 1: And I just think my girls are gonna go nuts

347
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,760
Speaker 1: for this. I'm debating right now whether I need to

348
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,040
Speaker 1: get one or two, because I could just see my

349
00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:06,960
Speaker 1: girls fighting over it. But isn't that always the case.

350
00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:10,800
Speaker 1: I'll probably just get one, but super cool excited to

351
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:16,520
Speaker 1: be giving it's called the Flycatcher Drawing projector super cool Gift.

352
00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:21,479
Speaker 1: And then another one from like a small shop is

353
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,120
Speaker 1: I got served a good old fashioned Instagram ad and

354
00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,520
Speaker 1: I was like, yep, I need that. This is exactly

355
00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:34,520
Speaker 1: what I need to gift my girls. So the company

356
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:40,000
Speaker 1: is the paper in plan Co and under Kids Playtime,

357
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:46,480
Speaker 1: they have made the cutest kids playtime pads. So think

358
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:52,320
Speaker 1: a guest check from a restaurant, a medical appointment notepad,

359
00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,800
Speaker 1: a student report card, a pet clinic exam, a library card,

360
00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,600
Speaker 1: a dental exam, a ticket from like a police officer.

361
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,320
Speaker 1: My girls love pretend play. They have always loved costumes,

362
00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,960
Speaker 1: and I just love that these are perfect for kind

363
00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:13,639
Speaker 1: of igniting the imagination to help them role play. I

364
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:15,480
Speaker 1: love it. I love it, so I can't wait for

365
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,639
Speaker 1: the girls to get those. Maybe I'll give one those

366
00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,480
Speaker 1: and the other one a projector remember how I was

367
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,639
Speaker 1: going to try and do one each. Sorry you guys too,

368
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:27,240
Speaker 1: it is okay. Next, let's talk about tweens. Okay, So

369
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:31,040
Speaker 1: one thing I'm recommending I have given my tween, and

370
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:36,119
Speaker 1: another thing I have not given him yet, but I

371
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,520
Speaker 1: am looking forward to giving him. So the first one

372
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,480
Speaker 1: is a silhouette cameo. So I gave this to Ali

373
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,800
Speaker 1: for his twelfth birthday, and I think we actually talked

374
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:50,520
Speaker 1: about it on here. I cannot overemphasize just how many

375
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:55,639
Speaker 1: hours that kid has logged playing with that silly not

376
00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:58,800
Speaker 1: playing but like he makes stickers, he makes t shirts.

377
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,320
Speaker 1: He the funniest part is he watches all of these

378
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,840
Speaker 1: like ladies in their sixties on YouTube doing tutorials about

379
00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,000
Speaker 1: like the crafting corner. But he has learned the ins

380
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,000
Speaker 1: and outs of that machine and it is so cool.

381
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,920
Speaker 1: So anyways, I and it's kind of ignited this little

382
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,160
Speaker 1: entrepreneurial spirit in him. He's been selling stickers at school,

383
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:28,840
Speaker 1: He's he has become quite the little entrepreneur. So super fun.

384
00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,399
Speaker 1: If you are looking for a gift for your wedding

385
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:37,080
Speaker 1: entrepreneur that I think would be awesome. Okay, Next, we

386
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:40,160
Speaker 1: are big spike ball fans in our house, we played

387
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,359
Speaker 1: at the beach all of the time. But I think

388
00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:48,000
Speaker 1: the new darling in town is it's like spike ball,

389
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,040
Speaker 1: but it's pickleball, and so the net comes up a

390
00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:54,919
Speaker 1: little higher and you use pickleball paddles, and to me,

391
00:21:55,119 --> 00:22:00,280
Speaker 1: it's even easier to play than spike ball. But I

392
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,520
Speaker 1: think he's going to love it because we will have times,

393
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:05,080
Speaker 1: especially in the summer, where we go and we just

394
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,879
Speaker 1: spend hours and hours and hours at the beach, and

395
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,880
Speaker 1: you want to have a couple of different activities even

396
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,440
Speaker 1: outside of the water, and so this like pickle three

397
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,639
Speaker 1: sixty paddleball game is super cool and I think always

398
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,560
Speaker 1: gonna love it all right. And then finally the last

399
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,919
Speaker 1: category is form of foodies. I know that there's a

400
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:26,960
Speaker 1: good chance that if you're listening to this podcast, you

401
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,120
Speaker 1: would consider yourself a food lover. So the first thing

402
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,600
Speaker 1: I want to recommend is something I gifted my mom

403
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 1: last year, and it's from the beautiful online retailer food

404
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,600
Speaker 1: fifty two. It's an exclusive product of THEIRS with a

405
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,000
Speaker 1: classic brand called Emil Henry and what it is is

406
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,159
Speaker 1: it's a French ceramic fruit storage bowl. So it's a

407
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,840
Speaker 1: big ceramic bowl on bottom, but then there is a

408
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:57,400
Speaker 1: it's almost like a cork lid that's got that's shallow.

409
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 1: And the way it works, you guys, is you on

410
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,480
Speaker 1: bottom you store your onions, your garlic, things like that,

411
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 1: and then on top you store your fruit. And it's

412
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,760
Speaker 1: just super it's beautiful. It's big enough, it's a great

413
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,400
Speaker 1: thing to like stick right in the corner of your kitchen.

414
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:19,919
Speaker 1: But my mom's loved hers, and it just feels like

415
00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,480
Speaker 1: a classic piece that you'll have forever. And then my

416
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 1: second thing for foodies has to do with the dinner table.

417
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:31,639
Speaker 1: So whether you have young kids and you are in

418
00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:35,240
Speaker 1: the phase of just holding your breath to get through dinner,

419
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:40,400
Speaker 1: or you're an empty nester, I cannot emphasize enough how

420
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,480
Speaker 1: much I love having lit candles at dinner. Yes, even

421
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,399
Speaker 1: on a Tuesday night. Yes, even when my kids are

422
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,240
Speaker 1: screaming and refuse to sit down. There is something about

423
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,719
Speaker 1: setting the mood. And we don't always do it, but

424
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,199
Speaker 1: we do it a lot more than we used to.

425
00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,119
Speaker 1: And I think it's such a nice gift. So to

426
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:01,960
Speaker 1: gift some candle holder that hold taper candles, or you

427
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,760
Speaker 1: could even select something like has a rechargeable flame or something.

428
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 1: I've decided I want to be the lady who collects

429
00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,639
Speaker 1: candle holders, Like that's just going to be what I

430
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,199
Speaker 1: collect and it's going to help set the ambiance. But

431
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:20,000
Speaker 1: I will link in our newsletter and in Instagram to

432
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,119
Speaker 1: my favorite candle holders that I just think are so beautiful.

433
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:28,240
Speaker 1: But if you have got a food lover, food enthusiast,

434
00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,400
Speaker 1: or someone who loves to host, I think a set

435
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 1: of candle holders with beautiful taper candles would be such

436
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,720
Speaker 1: an elegant gift. All right, that's it for today. You guys,

437
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:38,520
Speaker 1: make sure you're subscribe to the podcast so that you

438
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,120
Speaker 1: never miss an episode. Remember I created this entire podcast

439
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:42,680
Speaker 1: so that you could have a quick twenty minute listen

440
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,359
Speaker 1: while you map out your own meals for the week.

441
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,120
Speaker 1: Listening to a podcast while I personally meal plan has

442
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,400
Speaker 1: been part of my own simple dinner system for as

443
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 1: long as I can remember, so I try and put

444
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,639
Speaker 1: out a really good fit for that each week. I

445
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,280
Speaker 1: really appreciate you listening today. I'm so glad you're here.

446
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,239
Speaker 1: Until next time, Happy cooking, Happy holidays, I don't think

447
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,800
Speaker 1: it's two d to day that I'm Kelsey and look

448
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:08,440
Speaker 1: forward to chatting with you all next time. Mm hmm