HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

All photos in this post by Coco of COCOCOZY

Cut and peeled Granny Smith apples coated in cinnamon and sugar - pie filling in the works on Thanksgiving Day! (above)

It is Thanksgiving morning and I am running behind.  I was supposed to be in my car going to my mother's house for a big family dinner...but I am still baking my pies!  I am making 1 lumpy rustic apple pie and 1 sweet potato pie (a tradition from Grandmother). I'm running a few hours behind. At least I'll be there I hope before all of the extended family arrives. We're having our Thanksgiving with about 9-10 family members.

As I just finished one pie, I am taking a moment to reflect on how thankful I am for everyone in my life.

I am so thankful for my sweet family (mom, sis DS, aunts, uncles and cousins). Am also thankful for my dear dear friends (AM, FF, JH, NS, AT, JD, AG, ALG, A.Ro., JE, JLF, RRM, BN, SN to mention just a few of the many many good friends I am so lucky to have) and more (TE).  Then there is the gratitude I feel towards those who have become my extended COCOCOZY family (CM, KS, JF, HJ, HH, PR, JW, LH and more) - the people who have been so amazing in helping me with COCOCOZY this year at any given point.

And then of course there is you...you readers who check in on a regular basis...I am so so very thankful for you my dear COCOCOZY readers...you inspire me, you motivate me, and I am so thankful that you take the time to learn about design and decor with me on a day to day basis.

Anyhooo...here is how my lumpy rustic apple pie unfolded this morning!  Smells so delicious.  I love the warm sweet smells that permeate the house when I bake pies.  So wonderful.

My rustic looking apple pie! (above)

Hope you have a wonderful day however you are spending it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

xo
Coco

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AN apple, apple pie, bake, eat, family, food, holiday, recipe, Thanksgiving

DESIGNING A COLORFUL SUMMER STONE FRUIT SALAD IN 5 MINUTES!

All photos in this post by Coco of Nbaynadamas

A design non sequitur this Sunday. I put the word design in the title so I could feel like I was staying "on brand" and bringing you only design and style posts. But for those of you who think that an off brand post is just fine then don't read this admission that I purposefully went off brand this Sunday morning...please just enjoy the story. For those of you who are decor purists, I know this is not a focused decor post, but I hope you in enjoy nonetheless...(sorry?!??!...tee hee)!

So was at one of my favorite food places the other day...Joan's on Third. For years, Joan's has catered many a party for me and my sis (note to self...need to have a party in September and have Joan's come up with some food) and is a great place for a gourmet bite to eat. I love it there. The food is delicious and the ambiance is wonderful...kind of a gourmet food marketplace really.

The other day, I was at Joan's picking up some food and I saw a wonderful summer fruit salad in the case...I ordered a side...when I got home I tasted it and all that came to mind was how fresh and sweet the salad was. The second thing that came to mind was how simple it looked to make.

Yesterday, I went to Whole Foods (oh have you guys seen that hilarious online spoof music video about the Whole Foods called Whole Food Parking Lot? It is so true about the Whole Foods experience here in Los Angeles!) and bought what I thought I might need to duplicate the Joan's on Third fruit salad. It was pretty simple...

Ingredients -
Pluots
Nectarines
White Nectarines
Blueberries

I noticed that there was nothing delicate about the way the fruit was cut up in the Joan's salad and it really was just about large chunky rustic pieces of fruit ... all stone fruit except the blueberries...cut up and mixed together.

I got home from the market and immediately began chopping...the whole thing took me about 5 minutes to wash the fruit and slice it into large pieces, throw it into a bowl and toss. The only thing I might add next time is a bit of mint...but in 5 minutes or less I had a wonderful summer stone fruit salad!

Started out by washing all of the fruit and tossing the blueberries into a medium bowl - 1 minute (above)

Cut the pluots first wth their beautiful succulent red flesh and I used 3 or 4 of them - 1 minute. (above)

Then it was onto chopping up oh maybe 4 nectarines both regular and white - 2 minutes (above and below)

Then I gave the fruit salad a good toss, stared at it a bit, and plucked out a pluot piece to taste and then was good to go - less than 1 minute. (above)

There..a quick summer stone fruit salad designed...and nibbled at ever since. The salad was so pretty that I thought it could be a great addition to summer brunch array or refreshing after dinner palette cleanser. Love this.

What is your favorite quick summer salad recipe?

Happy Sunday!

xo
Coco

P.S.  Went to a fabulous dinner last night at the Petit Ermitage here in Los Angeles.  It is a quirky hotel secreted away on a small street in West Hollywood.  The roof  top private club is amazing...pool, dining, fire pit and lounge area - all with fantastic views of the city...spectacular!  Thank you KD for inviting us!

All photos in this post by Coco of Nbaynadamas

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AN entertaining/tableware, food, recipe