A little DIY and goings on...

Well hi there and hello. Good things have been goin down round here I must say.

1) I am working on a pt basis and have the fortune of working as part of a visual display team a couple days a week. Literally....it's arts and crafts and power tools for 8 hours. It's magical. If I could do this full time....well....that'd be alright. I sanded, stained, sawed, hot glued and poked and pricked my fingers more times than I'd care to mention. It was all worth it.

2) My dear friend's son had his first birthday. I've never attended someone's first birthday before. Aside from my sisters....which at that point in time I was 3 yrs and 11 months old sooooo I can't say I remember a single thing. I probably tortured her in some way or another. ;) It was so hilarious watching him delve into his massive pumpkin birthday cake that he had all to himself....until (being the sweet boy that he is) decided he wanted to share with all the kids surrounding his highchair. He would take a handful of cake and reach his hands out to all the kids and try feeding them. I bout died. SO cute.

3) it's getting colder which means it's homemade soup time. Friends are coming to visit from out of state...and camping trips are on the horizon. 

Until next time, stay toasty my friends and have a proper brew. 

PB: TOMS fairtrade coffee, Peru single origin. 

XxRyn 

 

 

My Breaking Bad moment. Safety first then teamwork.

 

 

Guilding birch.  

 

 

 

In case you can't see this clearly, their shirts read : "Fake or real, I'll motorboat THEM ALL"

Glorious. (Context: This was at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer Awareness month)

 

 

Reps.

 

 

 

                                 I mean, how adorbs is this. SO adorbs. Love you lil man.

 

Pumpkin here pumpkin there

This is the second year that I have went to the EXTREME and straight up made the first pie of the season...."from scratch pumpkin pie". So if any of ya'll are feelin  ambitious this fall and ate pretty solid spending about 3 hours in the kitchen....this is the recipe for YOU. 

Now by recipe, I should point out I don't exactly follow a recipe for this thing. I do remember everything I did however. I have searched and searched for homemade pumpkin pie recipes online and have yet to find one that really tickles my pie. (That sounds kinda dirty. It was unintentional. Or was it)? 

Howeeeeeever, we are going to be posting a recipe soon once we finish filming. Yes, #thesteamingpot is still happening. So until then, I have a few photos of the process and finished product. It also happened to be National Coffee Day when I did this, which couldn't have come on a better time yo. So I was pretty hyped up and bug eyed to say the least. 

Note: free coffee was EVERYWHERE. I literally finished one cup and went to another shop and was like......well........frick....it's free and it's delicious. As my heart fluttered and hands shook and threw caution to the wind and was all over that coffee. Like white on rice. Needless to say, I crashed hard later. 

But I digress. 

Enjoy the night loves and honestly, this pie was flippin delicious. Fair warning, when you make this from a REAL pumpkin there's no going back. Your tongue will be able to tell if it's that canned shat.  

X Ryn 

PB: Robert Mondavi Pino Grigio. 

Proper tunage: 90.7 KFSR full spectrum radio, Evening Eclectic

Mmmmmmshshsuwuejdbanaoqoeidnsn

Thanks to: Whole Foods, The Grind and Trader Joes for da caffeine hookup. 

Blogger fail

Yikes. How long has it been since my last post.....let's see......too long. For whatever reason since I've been home I haven't felt compelled to write anything. Mostly because nothing tooooo exciting is goin down at present. But let's stay positive Keryn. Okay. 

I have been able to spend a lot of time with the fam which has been....wait for it......really nice. No, seriously I dig my fam. It's funny...they've all said "yeah, I don't really feel like you were gone that long. Feels like it was a month..." I'm not sure if that's like....good? I know it felt like a ga-gillion years for me considering I was by myself (well, along with 10million other Londoners). Geez, is this like a down-er post? No, no I refuse it to be. Moving forward...

I have yet to land my dream job but noooo worries. I know God is giving me a lesson in patience. I accept said challege and embrace my free time and freedom (which I know will be far and few between when I do start a full schedule). Having said that, has anyone else found it difficult to kill time when in job limbo? That's kind of a silly question I realize. I think it's imperative to keep yourself as busy as possible. There is always a charity that needs assistance and countless volunteer opportunities if one is willing and able. I have found a number of them which has been a huge blessing. Keep active and make daily lists of to-dos. Even if there's not much to fill the list, make one anyways. I'm a huge list person. I get a strange satisfaction checking something off a list. Plus I have a pretty serious obsession with post-its. As many of my friends and former co-workers are well aware of. 

Switching gears....

I am sooo stoked that fall is HERE. The nights are getting cooler, leaves are turning those golden shades and pumpkin patches are poppin up on every corner. Good things. Something rather excting is in the works....a side project if you will. A cooking/outdoor youtube channel will be coming to you very soon. All I shall say now is wait for the announcement of #thesteamingpot brought to you by yours truly, the Nicholson siblings. 

Till then, here are a few snipets or snapshots of goings on lately. Stay well my friends and I will do my utmost to not let so much time pass between our meetings. 

Much love,

Rynny xxx

What was your proper brew today? I'm jammin on some french press right now. It does a body good.

P.s. Check out Feed Our Future. It's a new non-profit I am starting to work with. Wonderful group of ladies and they're addressing a need that sometimes flies under the radar in this town. 

Ok, so apparently I'm not done talking. Just a little FYI, these photos are all sorts of random. There's not exactly a theme here, exept for randomness. I know, blogger fail. I never said I was good at this. Enjoy! 

Climbing selfie? Don't try it. 

Yes, this is a snapshot of an IG. Good times and good friends. It had been way too long. 

I house sat for a dear friend. This gorgeous gem was y roomie for a few days and it was glorious. Mr. Lincoln.

Pops thoroughly enjoying his first South Indian flavour experience. Wait........I just spelled it flavour. Look what you did England. I'm spelling things all weird. 

Yet another house sitting sitch. I spent all my time in this kitchen. It just proves that I am never as happy as when I am in a kitchen. I feel weird calling myself a "foodie". I mean, everyone is a foodie nowadays. Culinary enthusiast? 

A mini strawberry meringue. That was fun to make.   

This girl. 

Makes a collect call a little more fancy I suppose. 

And as the finale....Momo's surprise 90th birthday extravaganza! Sorry I cut out a lot of people in this photo as it wouldn't fit in an IG. Plus, I was selfish and wanted myself in it. It was Momo's first surprise party and well, she glowed. 

Oh, hey USA...it's me again

This is a weird post. Sorry to my loyal readers (pshhhh ha) for my month long absence. Yet again, I have made the long journey back across the pond to the great US of A. I seem to always be heading over to the right side of the atlas. My homecoming was what I thought it would be. It was long, happy, sad, confusing and HOT. I mean...I know it sounds weird. I have lived in California for like 10 years...yet I was NOT used to heat right away. I'm still not. Not that I ever loooooved 107degree heat anyways...but I landed and was like...ummmmmmm, can you keep that gate open please...I might want to re-board.

 

Had my favorite home cooked meal (which is my mom's linguine and clams....that is like....out of this world craycray ridick good), drove a car again (which made me feel oddly powerful), gave my babies big hugs and kisses to which they immediately squirmed and meowed to get down and was finally re-united with my other half. I came home and friends had gotten married, had babies, got divorced, having more babies, etc. Things inevitably change when you're away. It's funny how you leave and have all these experiences and selfishly expect home to stay exactly the same. Ce la via oui?

 

I have surprisingly kept busy since I've returned and until my next move is made apparent to me, I am training for my first triathlon (no, I haven't picked one out yet) since a year of eating all that food y'all have seen on this blog rudely decided to come along for the ride and stay with me positioned right on my ass (and other inconvenient places I never knew were possible). So, needless to say...."Operation Shrink A Booty" is in FULL swing. I've been taking spin classes 3-4 days per week and kickboxing with my pops. Good things. Good things. I was invited to give a "Wellness at Work" talk at a really cool marketing company (which I was paid for......yeah......pretty rad) and I swear......I felt like such a grown up. It made me feel like a straight up #GIRLBOSS (refer to photo below).

 

I have NO clue what my future holds at this point. I literally have no idea where I am going end up. Could be any state or country. Yet I love that. I know that God has a plan for me and even though it scares me at least once a day....I remind myself that He will guide me, because I am asking Him to.

 

Thank you to all my readers who followed my London journey. I am so grateful to be back at home with my family and close friends. I love my country and can also say that I view it in a different way every time I come back home after being abroad. Some things good, some things bad. I feel able to make a significant contribution to conversations now that I couldn't before. I see how parts of the world view the US and I can understand their viewpoint more and more. Certain things are pretty eye opening to say the least. It's not that I love the US less, I just am more aware of things every time.  

 

This blogging thing is funny. I am so grateful for the blogs that I follow. I have learned so much from you ladies and many of my choices spurred from your trailblazing guidance.

 

 

Till then, have a proper brew. Mine right now is hot mate with milk and honey. Friggin bomb.com.

It's gonna be harder to stay proper here...but I'll do my best ;)

 

Cheers!

(bwah haha)

 

 

x0

Rynny

 

 

 

I know. #ifeltlikesuchabiggirl

San Fran trippy with the pops, sis, aunty and coolest. cousin. ever. in. life. 

 

The good ol' red, white and blue.

Golden Gate Park, SF

Notre Dame, Paris? I wish.

Oh and if anyone in London is reading this and you feel like indulging my addiction to these jelly snakes .........PM me and I swear I will owe you. Like a massive favor. (or favour if you're in the UK). You can find them at Sainsbury's in the candy aisle. Oh, and the Propercorn (red bag) Firey Worchester Sun Dried Tomato flavor popcorn. They don't have these things here, and it makes me sad daily. Many thanks.

 

Baby #2

A delectable summer farmers market peach treat with hand whipped cream. Ah, peach season.

Instag-ryn: My Instagram Favs

So before I took the giant leap across that big blue wet thing, a friend of mine introduced/convinced me to join instagram. I was like "Nahhhhh, come on, I already have FB and I have already lost too many hours of my life to pinterest". I must say, instagram is da bomb. I have come across a number of developing non-profits (which I probably would have never found otherwise, decorating tips, links to some incredible blogs and let's be honest...I really joined for the food. Here are some of my absolute insta-favs all to do with: Good eats, beauty, travel and ethically sourced goods.

Oh and for you loyal readers (yes, I am making assumptions) follow my oh-so-inspiring instagrammies @kerynny

San Fran based gal, photos of all things lovely @ohhappyday

California girl living in Uganda. Co-founder of Rose & Fitzgerald...unbelievable hand crafted artisan goods from Uganda @courtneypoole @roseandfitzgerald

 

I mean, we knew this was gonna happen @bonappetitmag

Full of delictable recipes. So fresh and so clean clean @edibleliving

 

This woman's blog is just...tremendous. It is one of the first blogs I started following. This woman can COOK @happyolks, Happy Yolks Blog

I hope to work with these ladies one day. Little Market is an online marketplace of ethically sourced handmade goods from around the world. Oh and it was founded by Hannah Skvarla and Lauren Conrad (you know, LC) @thelittlemarket Shop Little Market Here

English Countryside

As we are closing in on my final days in this country, I thought I would recap some scenes from our lovely and quintessentially English vacay up to the country (Norwich area). It was a trip filled with: playful dogs, amazing traditional English food, the North Sea aka BEACH, the cosiest country home ever filled with great company from world travelers and rides in a convertable. Basically, a dream.

I have actually done a pretty darn great job of exploring this city I'd say. But literally it's so big there are still plenty of boroughs I have yet to venture to. Perhaps my next trip up to this island...

Oh and a couple of friends and myself went to see "The Chef" last night and I gotta say, it was superb! A feel good movie. Fair warning:

DO NOT GO HUNGRY. Unless you have Cuban food near you then....just eat before hand. I wanna start a food truck. 

PB: Fair Trade Java

Proper tunage: "Your Song" -Sir Elton John

Xxx Rynny

15th century church

This kitchen....this kitchen made me cry happy coffee tears

Ah, the English Elderflower

Built 1077. (Yeah, as in the year) Destroyed Built by William the Conqueror. (minor historical oversight;)

These ruins were just off the side of a road on our way to the beach. I was like...........?!!!.!$:$:$::!!/&/82&

Sure. 

Said traditional English cuisine....i tried my first blood pudding. I dare say...not bad. 

Back yard of le country abode. And Humbug the dog. 

Fab. 

North Sea Yoga

Razor fish

Cuban food after "The Chef". I told you. I don't joke when it comes to food.