Official Website of JillandKate

Ahhh it’s 2013. Who the heck can believe that? I can hardly. Moving right along…one of my new years resolutions has been to eat more whole foods (i.e. not processed stuff.) Mainly because I’ve had some stomach issues and so I thought I would give it a whirl. Also, even though I love with all of my heart those overly-processed foods, I don’t think they are necessarily the best for me.

Now, don’t get me wrong–I have not made a total life change. At the end of the year if I am still practicing these things, I will have then made a life change. Right now I am just sharing my new ventures…but with my sharing you cannot judge me if you see me downing a Snickers bar and washing it down by the most ginormous Frappuccino you’ve ever seen. I won’t judge your eating practices if you don’t judge mine. Deal? Deal. Yay!

I have been reading this book, Nourishing Traditions…which is HUGE & full of recipes. Everything takes forever in the book. Like, wow. You always have to be thinking ahead for meal prep which is quite an undertaking for me but I’ve been just kind of mulling through recipes at my own pace.

In this new mindset of cooking more whole foods & getting away from the processed stuff (which my mom & family members have been doing for a while) I found a blog (Heavenly Homemakers…isn’t that just the cutest title ever?) that shares/discusses recipes mostly based on the Nourishing Traditions book. You know how I love blogs & reading people’s personal experiences so this was a great find! Thanks Mom for showing me the website.

Wait, speaking of my mom I need to share something. She is the most wonderful, amazing woman on the planet. I mean it. My mom is a mom. She loves taking care of her family and she does it in the most thoughtful ways. She’d write notes on my napkins in my school lunches. She’d leave a chocolate on my pillowcase when I returned home from college. She wakes up at ‘o dark thirty to prepare the most delicious & wholesome food for us. She really is amazing. And she loves. She is understanding. I am so thankful that I got such a loving mother. She is always a sounding board for me whether it’s about a guy I’m dating, a spiritual conundrum I find myself in or just everyday life…she listens. And my mom believes in me. When Jill and I started playing music together my mom was and I think will continue to be my biggest cheerleader. Ah…okay…I’ve gotten off topic from bread. Anywho. My mom is awesome and she has taught me everything I know in the kitchen.

Back to bread. So I was perusing this website and found this Applesauce Bread recipe. A quick glance at the recipe and the ingredients didn’t freak me out too much and what’s not to love about Applesauce & Bread? Applesauce? Good. Bread? Good. (That was a FRIENDS reference btw).

So, the other day I mixed up all these ingredients, put it in my never-before-used bread pan & stuck it in the oven for 40 minutes. Checked it by sticking a tooth pick in the middle…not quite done…5 more minutes in the oven did the trick & there I had my applesauce loaf of bread!!!

I obviously took pictures…cause that’s what you do these days.

It looks like a real loaf of bread!!!!!

Woohoo! So that was my first Applesauce Bread baking experience. And I’ve got to tell you a secret. It was SO easy. I promise you could do it too. Like, I wish I could say that only those with my level of baking experience could do it…HAHAHAHAAA….but no, it’s really, really, really easy & tastes so yummy. It’s so easy that I woke up this morning and threw another loaf in for my friend.

Okay. So there you have it. Applesauce Bread. Delicious.

Have a really splendid Saturday!

-kate

So the other day I wore this t-shirt. I had actually never worn this shirt before…I had bought it on tour but never wore it for some reason. So this was its maiden voyage. We were flying to Orlando & from the moment that I walked into the airport people started telling me that they liked my shirt. Like, everyone.

Now, you have to realize. Fashion isn’t exactly my strong point. I love clothes & colors but rarely spend much time plotting or planning what I will wear…so all of this extra attention was a little baffling. The woman sitting behind me, the TSA agent…as I walked by people you could see them trying to read every word. It was really funny.

First I tried to take this pic in the mirror…apparently I’m not the brightest crayon in the box cause you couldn’t read it…hahaha…so I tried taking one myself…tricky.

When I landed in Orlando I walked past one of the “airport greeters”…you know the precious older people that volunteer at the airport in their spare time. Precious. Anyway…I walked past her and she stopped me and said that she sings that song to her grandkids…then she actually sang me the song!! It was maybe the cutest thing I’ve seen & heard…ever.

So there you have it…I had no idea a shirt could be such a conversation starter. It’s now been deemed my happy shirt. Do you have a happy shirt?

I know we’ve been kinda MIA on the blogging…we’ve been busy and enjoying time with friends & family since being off the road…you know…taking a wee bit of down time But, we have lots of blogging to catch you guys up on…like the time we got to sing with Keith Urban & Seal, or the epic Coldplay show at the Hollywood Bowl or the fact that our ALBUM is in the final stages of being mixed & mastered. WHAT WHAT!!!!

So many exciting things coming up. Stay tuned.

Hugs. Love. And a sugar rush.

-j&k-

So again…we are borrowing the idea from PEOPLE magazine & their “One Last Thing” fun. Joe Jonas…you and your perfectly manicured eyebrows are just precious…now we will take a stab at your survey. Here it goes.

Last Celebrity Crush….

Jill: Ben Affleck. He’s a Boston boy…need I say more?

Kate: I had a momentary SNL crush on Andy Samberg. All those SNL boys are so nice &  funny. But it would never work out…I think I’d want to one-up him with my jokes…cause I’m very funny. Haha. See?

Last Album I Bought…

Jill: Jack’s Mannequin…I bought a bunch of their older albums on an iTunes shopping spree.

Kate: Ben Howard’s album “Every Kingdom.” He has such a cool voice. “Gracious” and “Promise” are some of my favorites so far.

Last Gift I Gave…

Jill: A massage. No…I didn’t actually “give” someone a massage…I gave my friend a gift certificate “for” a massage.

Kate: My brother’s birthday present…an Xbox game. Some game where I’m sure there is violence and blowing things up…therefore I’m participating in the general chaos of the pre-teen generation.

Last Time I Apologized…

Jill: Two minutes ago. Don’t ask.

Kate: Two minutes ago. Really…don’t ask

(We bicker like sisters, okay? Deal with it.)

Last Coupon I Used…

Jill: A coupon for a free oil change. Boo-yeah!

Kate: Hmmm….coupon…I don’t think I’ve used a coupon since 1998. Haha. I probably have I just can’t remember it. Hahahahha.

Well wasn’t that fun!!!

-j&k-

Friends…thank you for all of your kind and supportive words from my last post. It means the world to me to read all of your comments of encouragement Y’all are the best. Honestly, I was blown away by the number of comments of people having had similar situations or know someone that has had something similar happen. I’m glad I wrote about it–cause I honestly hope that someone reads it and will tell a friend about it. Only together can we help prevent this from becoming an even more common occurrence.

It’s Saturday and we get to head to NYC to perform with Kelly on Saturday Night Live tonight so tune in if you feel so inclined!

Happy Saturday.

kate and jill too

So I had an experience last year that was scary, traumatic & definitely changed my life. It changed my life because it almost took my life. Sounds so dramatic which I hate cause I’m all about no drama in 2012 but it’s true.

So here’s the story. It was late July…super hot & humid in Nashville. Jill and I had worked two days straight shooting a promotional video (which we are releasing soon…YAY!) & I was headed to a show with a friend that evening. It was a celebratory unwinding from two days of exhausting shooting & long hours. I was really looking forward to watching Bon Iver play at the Ryman. I had some drinks at the show and after the show ended (it was a phenomenal show btw) we decided to walk around  the corner to one of the honky tonk bars to have a couple drinks.

The bar was pretty crowded–we got drinks from the bar & pretty quickly found some seats with some guys (all men that were older than me) that offered to share their table. I’m a pretty friendly person by nature, but put a couple drinks in me and I’m even more chatty. The group of guys were funny, making my friend & I laugh a lot…we were having a great time! I clung close to my friend…who was a guy…to make sure the guys knew that I wasn’t interested in any of them…just out to have a good time.

So, in the essence of having fun & a good time…after a little while of hanging with the table of guys, they brought over some drinks…and I took one. We left shortly thereafter…we had already planned to take a cab home & we got right in one, I gave my address & we departed. Roughly ten minutes into the ride I started to feel sick. Not oops I drank too much sick. Like…holy crap…my head is starting to cave in on itself & I started feeling SUPER nauseous. After that, things are completely blurry for me. The last thing I remember saying was “Pull over. I need help.”

The next thing I remember was waking up in the Emergency Room three hours later.

Honestly the next few hours I remember almost nothing. I don’t remember getting to my house, or being driven to the ER. I faintly remember hearing voices but nothing more than that. Jill and some other friends helped me piece back together the hours that I missed. Apparently this is what happened…

I started throwing up…like violently…unfortunately…all over the cab…after a few stops along the way (for me to throw up) we made it back to my house. My friend who was with me (freaking out) called Jill and asked her to meet us at the cab because I was totally unconscious & he couldn’t get me out of the cab. I’ve never so much as fainted before so this behavior was very unusual. Jill especially thought this was really abnormal for me…thinking possibly I’d just drank too much…but when he asked for help she knew something had to be wrong. Once she got to the cab she started to FREAK OUT. They got me out of the cab (which was a difficult task because I was totally DEAD weight) and laid me on the pavement. The cab driver started pouring water on my head…Jill was slapping my face, yelling at me…but I didn’t respond. At all. I faintly remember the sound of panic in Jill’s voice. I guess that’s what happens when you know someone that well…I could hear the nuance of sheer terror in her voice…but I couldn’t respond or process anything at all. She kept yelling and slapping my face…but I couldn’t respond.

This is where the story gets graphic…my apologies for those reading that don’t wanna know but…full disclosure is generally my policy. You’re welcome. I was totally unconscious….but I was still throwing up…and I was flat on my back on the pavement…and because of the vomit…I’d stopped breathing. Jill had to reach into my mouth and scoop the vomit out of my mouth. (I know, I know, super friend award right there.) My other friend was pumping my stomach & another friend was on the phone with 911. They decided to move me to the grass since the pavement was SUPER hot because it was mid-summer and still 80+ degrees out…you get the idea. This was one thing that I remember weirdly…I remember feeling the grass under my arms and remember thinking that it felt funny. But again…it felt like a weird dream. On the grass, my friends continued slapping me trying to just wake me up –making sure I was breathing. Nothing.

At this point the dispatcher from 911 told them it would be faster if they took me to the hospital instead of waiting for the ambulance. Again, they had to transport me (dead weight) to the car and then they drove me to the ER. It took four of them to get me into the car and drive me to the hospital.

Once I was on the table in the ER I vaguely remember them pulling my eyes open asking me if I could say my name, or respond at all…but I couldn’t. I remember wanting to…really trying but I couldn’t get any words out. I remember hearing a ton of beeping and a lot of hustle and bustle…people rushing around but basically felt in a dream-like haze….I felt far away.

Flash forward three hours…I started to wake up. Feeling totally out of it…and like a bus hit me…I was pretty scared…I woke up with all sorts of tubes, IV’s and things that beeped surrounding me. I was relieved to see Jill & my two other friends there. They started filling me in on the details since I had no idea how I’d gotten there or what had happened.

The ER doctors admitted me into the hospital because my levels were so out of whack and they wanted to observe me for the rest of the night. It was around 4am that I was wheeled into the “Special Care Unit.” The first thing the doctor asked my friends and me was what drugs had I taken? My friends kept telling the doctor that that was NOT my style. I’m all about having a good time with some drinks but I don’t do drugs. It’s just not my thing. Once they believed me the next thing they wanted to know is if I took a drink from a stranger? The only reasonable explanation for what happened to me was that something had been slipped in my drink. Within 15 minutes of taking that drink from a stranger I collapsed.

My blood alcohol level was low–so it wasn’t a case of having drank too much. The only other possibility was that I had taken some allergy medicine earlier in the day and that my body didn’t respond well to the mixing of the allergy meds & alcohol. But, after much deliberation with the doctor, he was certain that something had been slipped in my drink.

I never thought that could happen to me. I think of myself as a pretty responsible adult. I like being in control. I don’t consider myself a “partier” and I rarely find myself in a bar–unless it’s in a hotel lobby while on tour. But even then, I’m not one to go crazy…

They released me from the hospital later that afternoon. It took some major recouping to feel back to normal. But the thing that was the hardest to get over was the fact that I felt so shocked that it happened. That I took a drink from a stranger. When I started talking about my experience people all had the same answer…”OH MY GOSH…you took a drink from a stranger?” Most people made me feel kind of like an idiot for doing it–which was embarrassing and hurtful all at the same time. But I began to think…how many of those same people have ever done that? You are out…having a good time…almost everyone I know has taken a drink from a “new friend” they meet in the bar. Most times, people are just being nice when they buy you a drink, but there’s always the chance that there is another motivation.

Not to say that I haven’t learned…because I have…and that’s why I’m writing this post. I’ll never take a drink from a stranger again. Please don’t take drinks from strangers or “new friends.” Please don’t set your drink down and leave it unattended. The statistics on drugs being put into drinks is staggering. It’s happening more and more. It happened to me. It can happen to you.

-I was at a bar 10 minutes from my house

-I was with a guy that I trust

-I was in a “safe” part of town

And it still happened. Some of you reading this might have had something similar happen to you and I’m sorry for that. It’s a horrible feeling to be out of control and so vulnerable. I am so thankful that I wasn’t alone and that I had loving friends surrounding me and caring for me. Seriously…I cannot imagine if I were alone that night.

This was a pic I snapped of my wrist after I got out of the hospital. Life is fragile. And there are bat-shit-crazy people out there.

Please be careful.

Much love.

-kate-

Today I (kate) felt like a magician… because I started with this raw, whole wheat organic grain…straight from the 50lb bag…

And ended with these four loaves of bread…

WOOHOO!!!!

I will blog a step by step picture blog soon

xoxo

-j&k-

This blog is dedicated to the one and only KATE!

Obviously this is Jill writing it because well, that would be weird to dedicate a blog to yourself…or maybe not! But either way, it’s still me, Jill.

Today is Kate’s birthday and I’m so glad she’s alive, aren’t you?

Here are just a few of the reasons why Kate the Great lives up to her name:

She can rock a BK crown like nobody’s business.

She is THE queen of jumping pictures.

Her heart is huge. (Not literally. She has a normal sized heart.) But seriously, her kindness and compassion are off the charts.

She loves Nutella. With a passion.

She cares about everyone. Even giant Elvis pig statues. I told you she had a huge heart.

And of course, the KATE face!!

Happy Birthday Kate!!

-j

I am exhausted. Like…wowza…tired. I spent the week in Chicago hanging with my little brothers and dad while my mom visited my sister overseas. And let me tell you–I am NOT a mother, I do not have my own children but man, I LOVE my little brothers. They are 10 and so funny but man…they are sometimes a handful…and I am exhausted! I played pseudo mom–I made lunches, did carpool, was “cool big sister” at times and grouchy “evil big sister” at others…and bottom line is I am WIPED OUT.

So this is my official ROUND OF APPLAUSE to any and every mother, father, aunt, uncle, friend, sibling, grandparent or godparent that has ever raised a child or children.

Sit down and have a glass of wine on me.

I’m applauding you from my couch.

Below is a picture of me and my two brothers after they WON their football game!!! Woooohoo!!!! Yes, I made a homemade “TEAM RAPIER” shirt for my dad and me…how freakin’ handsome are my brothers?  Sheesh. I love them….a lot.

Hugs & a wee bit of exhaustion

-kate

Well, there are many things I’ve written about on my blog…but one of the things that I generally do not talk much about is my family or personal life. You know, try and keep some things for yourself and not for general public consumption…laa dee da…

But right now I’m going to break my own little rule and talk about my sweet, beautiful, older sister Amy. For the last nine months she has been in a small European country working with children…and I miss her. Even though modern technology has made it SO easy to chat with her frequently–I miss her.

Now, my sister is no average bear. She’s got the most compassionate heart, a gorgeous smile and the family given sense of humor to laugh harder at your own jokes than anyone else in the room. Among her many accomplishments throughout life I would say the biggest is conquering a brain tumor and cancer at age thirteen. Not only did she do that, she did is looking FABULOUS bald…I mean…come on…who can do that?

Amy and I enjoy quoting really unquotable movies and watching the same movies over and over again. We’ve also been known to play a heck of a lot of Scrabble–which she wins most of the time–but I’m getting better and have even beaten her a few times Amy also has this way of remembering the most random things–i.e. she can tell you friends addresses or phone numbers from childhood! It’s so crazy.

Anyway–I can’t say enough good things about her. She is an inspiration and I am so proud of her. Amy if you read this…I love you and can’t wait for you to get back to the good ‘ole USA and eat good Mexican food together

-kate

So it’s Wednesday. Kate and I were running errands…it was ridiculously hot. Kate got an ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins. See exhibit A.

Then she took off her hat…see exhibit B:

And I LAUGHED OUT LOUD!!!

I had to take a picture…

So there…had to share…Kate was a good sport about letting me share her awesome hair with ya’ll.

Stay tuned for more news today…not involving Kate’s hair

-jill-