Long Neck Sally

In honor of the upcoming Throwback Thursday (#tbt) tomorrow, which only happens once every seven days, I thought would pay tribute to this rare occurence by re-posting the very first photo I ever posted on this 'ol bloggity blog (I say old because this photo was "posted" just shy of 4 months ago... Can you believe it?!  That's over 2 yrs old in dog years... And probably like 14 in blog years (if you take into account how long the internet and blogs have been around)... but, I digress...  Moving back to our topic of the day:  The TBT photo in question:

This photo has garnered quite the commotion since its "release" and this time, instead of just teasing you with the story possibilities of how this fictitious seeming backdrop came to be, like last time, today I am going to give you the full deets.  I want to just clear up any notions you might have before we go any further about me holding out on the full scoop for malicious motives.  If you have been following my blog since its inception, you will know that, I began divulging personally-related matters on a public forum (see: The Keeley Kraft blog) just after returning from Africa, where I had been living for four months.. Specifically Uganda (I know, I know.. Africa is a whole continent!), with a healthy dose of exquisite traveling afterwards, to... completely contradict my living situation in from the three months prior, among other things.  To explain my holding out, I have been struggling with how to discuss the earlier parts of my "Africa" journey on this blog in an upbeat and relevant way... But since I still haven't figured out how to do that.. the broad topic will remain tabled.  However, there's no good reason not to just focus on the "pretty" for now...

So, grab your popcorn or tea (I like to imagine my readers as tea-drinkers.. it just seems so civilized and sophisticated.. not to mention fitting for this post in particular :).   

As I mentioned in my first post (read it here), it had been a "half-a-lifetime" dream of mine to stay at Giraffe Manor at one point in my life.  In all honesty, I expected it to probably happen on my honeymoon but was naturally, over-the-'moon" (literally and figuratively ;) when the fortuitous opportunity presented itself earlier than expected.  I personally love giraffes A LOT.  Out of all exotic animals, especially those with fake-looking coats (as I like to refer to them), giraffes seem to be the most elegant and unique, in my opinion.  Aside from looking ridic-ly stunning, their necks are out-of-this-world... well almost :).  And, they can be extremely friendly when placated with food.  (And a bit aggressive when merely teased with food, FYI) .  

To give you a brief synopsis on the "manor"it currently serves as a home to a fluctuating number of endangered Rothschild giraffes and operates a breeding program to reintroduce breeding pairs back into the wild in an effort to secure the future of the subspecies.  Yep, awesome.  In 1974, Betty Leslie-Melville, along with her husband Jock (of course that's his name) purchased the manor and 15 surrounding acres of the plot.  

Shortly after purchasing the Manor, the Leslie-Melvilles learned that the only remaining Rothschild giraffes in Kenya were in danger due to a compulsory purchase by the Kenyan government of an 18,000-acre, which was their sole habitat. Inevitably the purchase would result in the land being sub-divided into smallholdings, and the giraffes being slaughtered.

Since the Manor was already home to three wild bull giraffes (nicknamed Tom, Dick and Harry - ADORBS), the Leslie-Melvilles agreed to "re-home" one of the giraffes, and soon the clan began to grow.  In 1983 Rick Anderson, Betty's son from her first marriage, and his wife Bryony, moved into the Manor, and a year later opened the Manor as a small, privately hosted hotel where guests could feed the giraffes.  I am immensely grateful for their ingenuity.

I stayed there with my parents and my sister during which time we were celebrating my dad's birthday and also my parents' 30 year anniversary (SNAPS)... The "manor staff" were as professional and polite as you would expect at a "maaaanor" and went all out to help my family experience the stay of a lifetime.  

We were invited to pre-dinner cocktails in the parlor where we were able to mingle with the several other guests that were also staying at the manor that evening, of which, there were four, in addition to my family.  All together we occupied the six available guest rooms at the manor.  Once dinner was served, we proceeded to the dining room which was candlelit and frankly, breathtaking.  Of course, all of the other dinner guests where interesting (I mean, would you expect anything less based on the way this story is headed) and after lively conversation and a truly phenomenal meal (which was served through a secret pullout window in the dining room where the server retrieved the dishes directly from the kitchen so as not to let them even spare a second to get cold), we were served an incredible carrot cake (my dad's favorite) in honor of his birthday... When I say no detail was spared, I mean, no detail was spared.  Following dinner, we retreated back into the parlor for coffee, tea and cookies (oh yeah)... In order to continue enduring conversations from dinner with the other guests, what else??

Our rooms were decadent but cozy with a fireplace in each room that the staff got going just before we "retired to our rooms."  Obviously there was a bubble bath to be had... and it was.  But the BEST... the absolute BEST PART EVER was that all of the guest rooms are set up to "receive visitors (giraffes)" in the morning as a wake up call... Have. You. Ever. Heard. Of a more amazing wake up call?!  I, have not.  The giraffes did not disappoint.  They roam free on the property so their visit was completely of their own volition.  It was akin to Christmas morning... When I woke up I saw them just upon the outskirts of our room milling about. I ran to the window, thrust it open and stuck my arm out, replete with a handful of "giraffe food" pellets.  In a matter of seconds, they sensed what was up and sauntered as fast as their bowing legs could take them to my window and gobbled the food right up with one slobbery swoop.  

After we had fed the giraffes about 90 times, we were invited down to breakfast to feed the giraffes in a more "intimate setting."  Intimate is merely open to your interpretation.. You can get as close as you want, but only at your own risk! I mean, T.I.A. (This Is Africa) we're talking about, after all.  In the parlor/dining area, the giraffes "stick their necks out" (classic giraffe pun) and in any open window surveying the surrounding area for food.  If you don't have food and you "summon them" by putting your hand out, close to their face, you WILL get bit (I did).  But the euphoria of the circumstance will prevent you from feeling pain in the moment, so really, you can do no wrong. 

My beautiful mother.

ACTUALLY, you are encouraged by the staff/handlers to place a pellet between your lips, stick your butt out, and let the giraffe take the pellet from your mouth.  Yes, it is gross.  But, the adage, "when in Rome" seriously, never felt so appropriate.. So, yes, you get over it.  We were also enjoying mimosas with this experience which helped with any "giraffe jitters" you might find yourself prone to.  

And now, for the true treat of this post... I am going to share with you the most hilarious video my family has ever produced.  (Spoiler alert: My dad gets whiplash from being slapped in the face TWICE by a giraffe while going in for the lip-feed maneuver).  You really only need to watch the first 17 seconds (actually the very first second of the video is the most important) but since I am a YouTube uploader novice, I didn't really know how to cut out the rest of the chatter/laughing that goes on for another minute.  

One more photo gem: the one where one particularly friendly giraffe can't stop photo-bombing our breakfast photo, geez! 

Moral of the story:  Stick your neck out for a friend, you might be pleasantly surprised :).

Risott-O-Lantern

I want to preface this post by stating the fact that this is my first recipe post in which I have actually made the meal, took pictures and then posted it about it.  All of my other recipe posts have merely been a recipe I have made at some point but with photos found online so, please excuse an amateurish photos and/or an excessive of photos used to explain steps.  I know not anything about photographing food... Or cooking food, really, for that matter.  I have a few go-to showstoppers (this recipe being one of them) but Taco Bell is probably the biggest staple of my diet... And that, is closely followed by Chipotle.  Chicken taco - what is up?!  So.. now that we've gotten that messy little admission out of the way, I want to share with you one of my favorite dishes (of my 10 dish repertoire) to make...  Mostly because I am vain and I love the accolades I receive when I make it :).  The best part: The end result makes the dish look harder to make than it is... Win-win.

So, without further ado, let's get started:  

*Probably the most difficult piece of this recipe is gathering your ingredients.  The entire recipe hinges on you finding pumpkins, which pretty much precludes the likelihood of you making it anytime other than October.  It can also be a bit of a challenge to find the mini pumpkins if you're wanting to do the whole mini pumpkin "individual serving" thing.  You can also apply this dish to a larger format by making a serving dish out of a larger pumpkin... Which I'm sure you could have extrapolated on your own :).   Obviously, you can tell what my preference is... Girls always love all things "mini" though, so go figure.  

INGREDIENTS: 

• 5-8 mini pumpkins (proportions depend on what size pumpkins you get.. I got ones that we about 2.5" in height - they had faces painted on them.. so naturally, I scrubbed that biznaz CLEAN off!)  
• 2 Tbsps salted butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1.5 cups Arborio rice
• 4.5 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:  

1. Steam pumpkins for about 20-30 min or until tender enough to easily pierce the pumpkin's top (if you don't have a steamer, you can place the pumpkins in a bowl filled halfway with water inside a larger pot filled about a quarter full with water and place a plate over the inner bowl.  Place the pot on high heat and then put the top on the pot when the bottom layer of water begins to boil).  See photos below.

 *TBH, I got a bit impatient with the whole "steaming" thing and eventually just added the pumpkins to the boiling water directly and let them boil for about 5 min which made them just soft enough to easily cut into and scoop out the contents of the pumpkin.  It seemed to work pretty well, but it could have just been luck ;) 

2. While the pumpkins are doing their thing, in a separate pot, stir butter and chopped onion at med-high heat for approx. 4-5 min till the onions are limp.  

3. Add rice and stir until it turns opaque (after about 3 min). 

4. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil at high heat, stirring often.  Once the mixture reaches a boil, reduce the heat and simmer rice stirring often until tender for about 15-20 min.  

5.  Once the pumpkins are soft enough to pierce, take them out of the water, and cut a holes around the tops to remove them (as you would for a jack-o-lantern :). Then scoop out the contents of the pumpkins to create a clean bowls for your risotto!  See photos below.  *Make sure you save the tops and cut them into a clean circle to make a little "hat" for each pumpkin.  "They can leave their hat on." LOL.

6. Add a little more broth to the rice if you want a creamier texture for your risotto.  Then stir in the cheese until it melts. 

7.  Salt and pepper the risotto to taste and then scoop it into the pumpkin bowls and add their hat.   

8. BASK IN YOUR PRAISE.

And.... pat 'yoself on the back for being "krafty!" 

SuSPYcious Behavior

Before I tell you this, you have to promise not judge:   

Promise? Pinkie promise? Do you swear it? 

OK: Last night I watched Harriet the Spy, the movie... in full.  I never really intended to watch it in full but before I knew it, the credits were rolling.  You see, I found it on On Demand (are you getting sense of what an On Demand proponent I am?), and I just wanted to see if it was even as close to as cool as I thought it was when I was younger.  And surprisingly, it was still kinda cool and OMG so nostalgic.  Classic 90's in every sense.  It was also a bit weird to see Rosie O'Donnell fully doing the acting thing because.. it's been a while since I've seen that.  

When I was younger, I definitely had a backpack that I "hid" under my bed that contained composition notebooks, binos, even walkie talkies and when my friends would come over, we would "SPY" on various people in the house (mostly my sister) and make comments in our books....  Ok, maybe you can judge me on that.  

So whatevs... I created a round-up of "modernized" Harriet the Spy inspired items.  I challenge you to not find even one of these items cool.  In fact, I double dog dare ya! 

Clockwise from left to right:  Great Gatsby Sunglasses | Rockland Backpack | Kate Spade 2014 Monthly Agenda | Opera Glasses Binoculars with Handle | Yellow Raincoat | Twisted Horn Handle Magnifying Glass | White Converse High Tops | Kate Spade Whistle Keychain | ASOS Denim Overalls Pants | Olivetti Valentine Red Typewriter | Matte Blue Nail Polish | Kate Spade Blue Pencil Necklace | Red Hunter Rainboots Ackley | Mini Gold Camera Minox

Oh yeah, git it gurl: 

I hope you all caught Monday by surprise, and not the other way around because, as you should know: A good spy never gets caught.

Now Hiring: One Sexy Manservant

I don't know if I'm just getting older or I'm just getting lamer (maybe both?!) but the one thing I'm looking forward to most, on this Friday night, is being able to sleep in tomorrow.. BUT, do you know what's even better than being able to sleep in???

Sleeping in and THEN getting breakfast in bed. FACT.  Unfortunately, I can say with 110% certainty however, that B.I.B. is definitely not in the cards for me tomorrow morning... In all reality, it's probably not in the cards for me at all in the near future, unless I find myself a manservant, that is... So, I'm putting out the feelers to my readership (networking).  Here goes: Can anyone help a girl out and let me know where I can get myself one of "those?" (Preferably a sexy one, please...?)  One that looks like this would suffice:

Once I get my manservant, this is what I would hope he would deliver to my bedside at around say, 11:00 AM?

This breakfast:  (Um... Yes, those are Funfetti pancakes!! Those of you who know me, even barely, know that I would have no qualms about crushing that entire plate in a heartbeat, as I do not believe in the concept of "too much sugar"). 

 Quick and durty recipe: 1.5 cups Funfetti cake mix, 2 tbsp. oil, 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg. (Makes about 6-8 pancakes).

Continuing on... that deliciousness, on this tray:

I regret to announce that I do not know where one might purchase a tray like this.. I scoured the internets and my favorite (above) was no where to be bought from.

With this syrup dispenser:

Purchase this bad boy here.  It also comes with a glass stand to rest on when not in use.  Tight. 

And this snazzy butter dish:

Grab one here.

Plus this classy toast rack:

Snag your's here.

And this fancy egg cup stand: 

Procure one here.

And OBVIOUSLY one of these:

Blueberry Mimosa: Say. No. More.

I would probably be wearing these pajamas.. aptly named the "Breakfast in Bed Romper" 

Buy this romper here.

And while I'm in the midst of this pre-dormant dream... Hopefully, I would be served in a bed like this: 

Or this (minus all of the stuffed animals, of course): 

Combined, I would hope it would come together to look something like one of the following:

This next one may be be too over-the-top... but maybe not.  

Bottom Line: Staying in bed is all about being fabulous, which I am all about... Just ask Miss Scarlett: 

Now, you can just about bet your bottom dolla' that I'll be dreaming of sugar plums tonight!

Hence... Farewell, and Good Night.

Weird For The Win

If this post makes no sense, I apologize.  I'm going to level with you all, I am outright spent and my mind is straight fried.  I feel like I can't trust the connection between my thoughts and what comes out of my mouth (or fingertips, rather).  It all comes down to the fact that, manual labor is a whole 'nother animal than what I am used to for a day job.  And now, I'm at a point where a fog of exhaustion is wafting over my entire brain and is clouding my ability to articulate and even focus.  So please, bear that qualifier in mind as you read on.   

I recently started following The Great Kelly Wearstler on Pinterest, which is peculiar because she definitely checks the "all of the above" box on a choice between interior designer idol, girl crush, and all around impressive human being, so I don't know why it took me so long to jump aboard her Pinterest train.  As a designer, she knocks the ball out of the park with a style that is uniquely her own, truly eclectic, cultural and classy.  One day I will write a true tribute post to her.. but today is not that day.  On the contrary, I was a little thrown off by some of the photos she was "pinning," as they were a bit... Bizarre (with a capital "B!").

Initially, I thought: "Has she lost it?!"  but then I realized: "Maybe this is where she gets her genius...?"  Maybe her sources of inspiration are much broader and abstract than a lay, designer-wannabe like myself.  It would explain a lot and also help me comprehend the difference between the so-called "greats" and the "lemmings" (ie: me).  Allow me to share some of the aforementioned weird and cryptic photos to illustrate my point: 

KW Pinterest Description: "Old and Young"

KW Pinterest Description: "Seeing eye"

KW Pinterest Description: "Stoner"

KW Pinterest Description: "Musical magic."

KW Pinterest Description: "Spellbound."

KW Pinterest Description: "Odds and ends."

KW Pinterest Description: "Organic and arresting."
Photo by Sean Munson

KW Pinterest Description: "A magical space."

No discernable description from KW... I think it should be "Clown face model"

KW Pinterest Description: "Decorate the body."

Not like the rest of the Pinterest regurgitation you're probably used to though, amirite?  Regardless, I still love ya Kelly, even if I don't understand you... Let your freak flag fly, girl!

(I hope you have the same loyalty to me in the event that you don't understand me or what the heck I'm trying to say in this scattered post :).   

XOXO