Katherine Chloé Cahoon

Here you can learn the steps from Sofia’s music video…

To see her doing the moves… Visit here…  (:40-1:00)

To practice with me and the music, head on over to Instagram…

I’m the kind of girl who just has to leap across the grass when I see an open field filled with daisies and I’m wearing a new dress! Hope you’re all having a terrific day.

Checkout Dress by Kate Spade.

If you’d like to learn the moves Jennifer does while she’s belting out the lyrics to Ain’t Your Mama, watch my dance tutorial here.

But beware, this song is catchy. I found myself singing it out loud—which is scary considering my lack of singing skills. They should strictly be reserved for the shower!

You can watch Jennifer dancing the choreography…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgmx7z49OEk (4:12-4:44)

To do her moves to the music along with me on Instagram…

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGFnFfhCfMX/

I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t take much for me to have an excuse to get dressed-up! So when I went to a 1920’s party, I was decked-out in the era from head-to-toe…including my nails.

This art deco-inspired polish is a twist on the traditional French nail. Julie, my favorite manicurist, taught me how to create it. First, paint your nails in one color. I went for a light lavender. Second, choose a contrasting but complimentary hue to draw two diagonal streaks ending in a point in the middle of each nail. Third, add a clear top coat. Apply a few more coats before your next manicure to maintain a high polish and protect the underlying color.

Lavender and Silver Polish from OPI…

Checkout Latest Products:

Here’s a step-by-step dance tutorial, plus a makeup tutorial, to Meghan’s latest hit.

To see her performing the choreography… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDRORgoZxZU (2:10-2:44) And to dance along with me to her music… https://www.instagram.com/p/BF-b4oPifHL/

If you’d like to recreate Meghan’s makeup from her music video, the products are featured on https://www.hotdot.tv

If you’re not on Snapchat, you may not be familiar with my photo-taking shenanigans (katherinechloe). I’m definitely not one of those bloggers supported by a professional, four-person team. It’s often just me, my camera, and a tripod. You snapchatters have witnessed my whole juggling act of setting up my equipment, dashing in front of my camera just as the automatic timer goes off, and then snap-chatting while racing back to my car, hoping to make it before the time expires on my parking meter!

So that’s one of the reasons why I especially love the times when my friend, Kylee, takes the pictures, like today. The other reason is that we always have a ton of fun…chatting about our love lives, the week’s highpoints and mishaps, and laughing. I don’t know why it is, but whenever we embark on a shooting spree, someone seems to be hosting an event at our venue, and that makes the whole process even more enjoyable.

Dress by Milly.

Lately, I’ve been doing a blog series on Travel Talk for the Seattle area. If you’d like to see the other posts, here they are. Today, I’m featuring what many have considered the #1 Seattle restaurant for decades…and it still lives up to that reputation.

My mom has lived in Seattle for 28 years and wanted to have a Canlis experience the entire time. We were seated with a gorgeous view of Lake Union, our friendly server provided detailed, mouth-watering descriptions of each dish, and the pianist rolled out one jazzy tune after another, from classics to current hits.

When dinner was served, I was in cuisine heaven. As the last course arrived, Mr. Canlis personally greeted us. We had noticed some men had tied swing ropes to a tree outside our window, and were sitting in them, shooting pictures of the festivities going on inside. I was so intrigued that I took a picture of them. Later, I learned that they were members of the Canlis clan. One of them had climbed the tree and taken pictures as a child. He was recreating the experience.

There’s sunshine in the heart of me, My blood sings in the breeze; The mountains are a part of me, I’m fellow to the trees. ~Robert W. Service (1874–1958), “A Rolling Stone,” 1912

Halter top by Guess from Macy’s.

There is magic in creating something wonderful from nothing. A book comes from a blank piece of paper. A sculpture comes from a lump of clay. And a garden comes from a patch of dirt. When, as a child, I had to let go of my trampoline due to a crippling back condition, I decided to turn the space where it had sat into a secret garden.

I immersed myself in horticulture books, landscaping seminars, and volunteer projects at the Seattle Arboretum Foundation. Then, I patterned this little plot of ground after a poem I’d written as an escape from my childhood nightmare of scoliosis and all the painful treatments I endured to overcome it. The garden took years to create.

I called the poem Rainbow Ranch, and even included a section with flowers in arching rows signifying the seven colors of the rainbow.

In the center of the garden, I placed a child-sized bed made from second-hand pieces of rusted iron, and planted with flowers representing the dust ruffle, quilt, and pillow. In my imagination, this was the place where my dream of a better life occurred.

There was a gazebo for al fresco dining, and a walkway between it and a potting shed that was created by mixing childhood mementos and crushed up blue dishes to represent a stream.

When it was finished, my little garden won the Golden Scoop award at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

Sometimes in life, I have to remind myself of the nine-year-old girl who headed out to the library to get her first horticulture book after looking up the definition of the word, “horticulture” in the dictionary. I love taking on challenges, and I hope you all do too.

I was delighted to win an award for my garden, but as I look back on this experience, I realize that winning is not what is important. It’s that we pick ourselves up from setbacks, push ourselves out of our comfort zones, try, have fun, and learn.

Last week, I shared my experiences on a weekend getaway to the tiny town of La Conner—a no-miss for anyone interested in visiting the Emerald State. Today, I’m continuing my Washington travel theme. That way, you’ll be covered when planning your trip. This post focuses on Kirkland, a waterfront town only 20 minutes from Seattle.Kirkland has everything a traveler could want. You can stroll down docks filled with sail boats, motor boats, and friendly Mariners. You can get world class ice cream cones or macaroons, and sit on the beach enjoying them while watching the parade of boats cruising by.
You can add to the foot traffic on the art walk through the several fine galleries, find unique pieces in the home furnishing shops, and stroll the delightful Corridor Trail, with a view of the water and a feel of the country.

When it comes to dining, you can choose from an array of restaurants, but I’d suggest Watercress. The food is delicious, the cost is reasonable, and since it is yet to be discovered, you’ll have no problem finding a table. But I don’t expect that to last for long!
So you can see why Kirkland is a place to love.

Online dating can be fun and one hundred percent safe, or it can put the un-savvy in an unsafe situation. When you’re about to meet in the flesh that stranger who has been typing you messages while hiding behind the computer screen, safety precautions must be put into play. The gorgeous girl next to me in this picture is so adept at sidestepping shady romantic encounters that she could be considered an online dating expert. Today, I’m sharing some safety tips so that all of you can search for romance without the worry of a dicey situation. 

Be Upfront. “That whole idea of shopping for humans means you treat people not like humans, but like things,” observed Seattle’s Susie Lee, the founder of the female-friendly dating app, Siren. Because of this, singles often spend their time trying to score a date, rather than making a good match. They don’t specify their boundaries up front for fear of being rejected as high-maintenance.

Don’t Fall Into This Trap. Meet a first date in public, establish a definite start and stop time, and don’t deviate from the plan. No matter how charming this so-called catch seems, never find yourself alone with him. You don’t know him well enough yet to decipher if he is well-intentioned.

Do Your Research. Before connecting in person with someone you met online, sleuth around on the web. Look on LinkedIn. Has this person hopped from job-to-job? That could be a bad sign. You can also use public record search tools to check out someone’s background.

Be Prepared. No situation is ever for sure…in dating and in life…so it’s important to be empowered. Take some self-defense courses. Here are some tips… https://katherinechloecahoon.com/self-defense-tips/

With the recent Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, there has been a bevy of buzz about Washington state. When most people think of Washington, their minds go to the Seattle waterfront, Pike Place Market, and the Space Needle. And those are definitely must-sees…especially Pike Place’s Turkish Delight and their famous dessert…but I’d like to introduce you to a not-so-known destination. That would be La Conner.

Voted the “Most Perfect Washington State Weekend Getaway,” this enclave is home to a quaint marina close to the San Juan Islands, charming restaurants featuring fresh local cuisine, small town romanticism, and friendly people.

In fact, the people are so friendly that when I eyed the ice cream stand and was sad to see that it had just closed, the proprietor ̶ who was cleaning up ̶ offered me a double-scoop cone on the house!

Here, I’m teaching choreography from Iggy’s music video.

To see her dancing it… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVGRN7Z7T1A (2:09-2:29) And you can do her steps to the music with me on Instagram…

Part 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/BE6vAnYCfKK/

Part 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/BE7Mz6bifIB/

Just one spring flower post…like just one macaroon…isn’t enough for me. And I couldn’t think of a better dress to wear amongst the blooms than one with flowers painted on it.

Dress by Ted Baker from Nordstrom.

A highlight of my excursion to Washington’s Tulip Valley was seeing all the families. I loved watching the little girls whose moms had dressed them in matching dresses and hats. Naturally, there was always one mischievous spirit in each group who decided to yank off her hat right when it was time to click the pic!

Okay, all of you who like to get your dance on, in this video I’m teaching choreography from Laura Marano’s new song!

To dance along with her… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdFIKU53KEU (3:33-3:51) And if you’d like to practice with me and the music…

Part 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/BEfbM6WCfE7/
Part 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/BEjjY7MifDg/