Katherine Chloé Cahoon

With holiday decorations emerging, parades gracing city streets, and carolers starting their serenades, it’s no secret that the magical season is here! For me, one of the highlights of the Thanksgiving weekend was seeing beautifully-decorated trees about to be auctioned off for Children’s Hospital…

…and another was shopping. I had so much fun joining the happy crowds converging on Main Street, but what I enjoyed most was bonding with an antique bookstore. For a fan of classic literature, that was nirvana―complete with first-editions and signed copies.

This song is begging you to dance along. The beat is contagious and the lyrics catchy. So here, I’m teaching the choreography from Justin’s live performance on Jimmy Fallon.

The link to that performance is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbBzK7OXE4A

I taught the section from 2:27-2:47. To see me dancing the choreography to music, check out these links on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/-mdEjPifPQ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/-mvQCmCfFq/

As the official day of gratitude draws near, I share the sentiment of Henry David Thoreau, “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”

Top by Current/Elliott from Nordstrom.

With Thanksgiving approaching, I’ve been thinking about all the things I’m thankful for. One of them is, of course, all of you and the other is those who have so graciously jumped in to help me with this blog. Since it is what I call “homegrown,” my “photographers” are always those close to me who so graciously offer to take pictures. My mom has taken many. I remember the days when we were both searching for the “on” button on the camera. We’ve come a long ways!

I was going through pictures and found this one left over from a shoot last year that was never posted. My friend, Kylee, took it. We had so much fun together, and with the friendly people who stopped to chat. Kylee said that the whole experience felt like happy hour!

Here I’m teaching dance moves to the second chorus of Ariana’s new music video, Focus.

If you missed my first video teaching steps to Focus… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nObty8WQDiQ

I wonder how many couples have passed over this bridge. Before I started dating Tom, we went on a walk and magically happened upon this romantic spot.

So for my photo shoot in this Alice + Olivia dress, I went straight to the Love Bridge. What’s your favorite romantic spot?

When I taught some of the dance choreography to Ariana’s music video, Focus, I couldn’t resist the urge to recreate her hair and makeup. Then some of you wanted to learn how to do that too. It’s easy…

Volume is the key to this half-up/half-down do. First, backcomb your hair. Then pull the top half into a ponytail. Smooth the part up to the tail, secure your tail with a hair band, and backcomb it, again, to get Ariana’s height. Take a thick strand of hair from underneath the tail, twist it, wrap it around the band, and pin it in place.

As for Ariana’s famous cat eye, here’s a step-by-step cat-eye tutorial that I did with a celebrity makeup artist. And since celebrities trust her, you can too. https://katherinechloecahoon.com/master-the-cat-eye/ The only difference between the basic cat eye and Ariana’s is that she tends to make hers more dramatic.

To do that, just make the line thicker, particularly where it wings out. The degree of thickness that looks best for you depends on your eye shape—so experiment, click some pictures with your eyes opened and closed, lay them out on your dressing table, and decide which bombshell you want to be.

Her newest music video, Focus, is too fun not to dance to. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial so you can learn her moves. But be careful…when you do them to her tune at a club or party, the focus in the room will probably be on you.

In this how-to video, I teach the choreography from 2:16-2:28 and 2:59-3:08 in Ariana’s official music video.

Just thinking about this deliciousness has me wanting to take a break and whip-up Tom’s Great-Grandma McLaughlin’s Apple Crumble. In today’s pictures, I’m wearing a party dress by Alice and Olivia, so I thought including this recipe was perfect. That way if you need to bring a dessert to an event you’re attending, you’ve got ideas for both your dress and your recipe.

https://instagram.com/p/9mVsx3CfER/

We used Tom’s great-grandma’s handwritten recipe to create our crumble. I’m sure she’s looking down on us smiling at the fun we had making and devouring it:) Here’s how you can make this beyond-scrumptious dessert…

Shopping List: 1) apples, 2) white sugar, 3) butter, 4) almond flour, 5) “minute” oatmeal, 6) brown sugar, 7) baking soda, 9) salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Core and slice 4 cups of apples (we used 6 small Granny Smiths). Stir them together with ½ cup white sugar, 1 tbs melted butter, and 1 tbs flour until evenly coated. Place them in a pie-plate or pan. [Tip: Tom uses a Kyocera Knife for slicing and coring. It’s ultra-sharp, and reasonably priced.]

Blend together 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1/8 cup baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. [We used a KitchenAid to speed-up the process. The preparation time was only 15 minutes.]

Pour the crumble over the apples and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy.

If you can stop at only one serving, then you have some crazy kind of willpower!

This is one of my favorite holidays. When I was little I’d start choosing my costume months in advance. I was the first to start trick-or-treating and the last to be hauled in. As you can see, I’m a devoted Halloween fanatic! I love everything about it from the decorations on my front door…

…to the carved pumpkins. Here are two Tom and I did up. Can you guess which one is mine?! I’ll give you a hint… It starts with a k and ends in a y:) This was the perfect way to get in the Halloween spirit. We even baked Tom’s Great-Grandma McLaughlin’s apple crumble while we carved. It was the definition of delicious. And we couldn’t stop at just one serving. I’ll share the recipe with you all next week.

In the meantime, Happy Halloween!

Oh, and I can’t sign off without saying how excited I am that Tom and I filmed another video. I just need to have the time open up to edit it. If you missed our last one, here it is.

Is romantic love really something a person can look for? Love is one of my favorite topics and so I like to read about it. But according to experts, finding love is a highly debated subject. Does love find you? Do you find it? Or, does love appear when you aren’t looking for it? I was thinking about all this as I went about enjoying fall. Here’s my take on the topic. I always like hearing yours.

Some have said that the best way to find love is to not look for it. I can see the wisdom in going about your life, following your dreams, and letting love come naturally. But I believe that the best way for love to find you is to have an open heart, full of kindness.

I used to think that my life had to be in perfect order and problem-free before I found the right person. But I’ve learned that only happens in fairytales. Sometimes we can achieve balance by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and let love in.

Dress by Milly from Nordstrom.  

This sassy singer is one of the most-requested when it comes to dance tutorials. So many of you have asked me to teach choreography from her music videos that when her latest one came out, I headed right to the studio and filmed it. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown.

At dinner, I was laughing with a friend about the mishaps that can occur when a girl is in a rush.

I recalled an evening when I had to leave a business dinner and go directly to a party. While waiting on the sidewalk for my ride, I leaned in to use the window of what I thought was a vacant building to apply lipstick. When I finished and leaned back, I was stunned to see that the window was tinted, and there were people dining at a table just inches from me!

My friend and I decided that no matter what mishaps occur this weekend, it won’t matter. What will is that we’ll enjoy life, look out for others, and include them in the fun.

Dress by Kate Spade from Nordstrom.

Do you want to break a sweat, or what?! Here, I’m giving a step-by-step dance tutorial to the choreography from Becky G’s latest music video, Break a Sweat. I’ve been receiving so many dance-tutorial requests lately, and I love it!

…from an owner of Wells Medina Nursery, who is known for her artistic outdoor décor. When you enter her nursery this time of year, you feel like you’re stepping into Halloween’s backyard.

Lisa was willing to share her decorating known-how for all of you who want to have a spooktacular landscape. She describes the key to creating any theme garden as picking one element and building upon it. For example, she started the display above by hanging shiny black balls. Then she brought in white obelisks and ghosts, tying them into the balls with black detailing. She completed the scene with fall foliage.

After Lisa clued me in on how to become the decorating Halloween queen, I couldn’t resist perusing the pumpkins. And then she showed me the trash cans she decorated with stencils and turned into pots.

Some say that the excitement of Halloween ends with childhood, but I say this holiday is for those at every age…so long as they have a slight mischievous streak.

Plus, I’ve never let an age-limit stop me from enjoying something like a holiday!!

So Happy Almost-Halloween one and all.

Sweater by Burberry.