Happy summer and welcome to this special bonus episode of For Real! Today we are chatting about the glories of summer, most notably the State Fair! The Fair is a big deal around here, and it’s been that way for 170 years. Whether you are a Fair person or an air-conditioning-and-please-don’t-make-me-go-to-the-Fair person, I think you’ll love this behind-the scenes conversation about food competitions at the Fair. Let me just say I am not meant to be a judge in the tofu division. Carol McGarvey and Kay Fenton Smith have gathered history, human interest stories, and a treasure trove of blue ribbon recipes, and I had a blast hearing about their passion in this delightful, sunny conversation.

Kay Fenton Smith has been winning ribbons and learning the Iowa State Fair Food Competitions since 2007. She learned from her mom in upstate New York where she and her siblings also loved going to the State Fair in Syracuse.

A native of Boone and Perry, Iowa, Carol McGarvey is a proud graduate of Iowa State University with a B.S. in home economics journalism. She started as a food judge as part of her job as a features reporter for The Des Moines Register.

Learn more about their book, Baking Blue Ribbons, here.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.

The perfect guest joins us for this final episode of the season. Myquillyn Smith, also known as the Cozy Minimalist, is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcaster, and interior design mentor to millions. Myquillyn and I got to chat about her new book, House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget. If you have always wondered if making your home the place you love has to cost a billion dollars and involve a team of experts, this conversation is for you! Myquillyn dispels that myth and instead arms us with the rules that make sense of design. Myquillan says to think of her approach as a fun decorating school you didn’t have to leave your house for and where your best friend is the professor. Bring in the fun and the friend professor! And bring in practical ways to help us bring beauty to the places where we live!

For the past ten years, Myquillyn Smith, also known as “The Nester,” has been encouraging women to embrace their homes—imperfections and all. Her lived-in, loved-on home has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and Cottages & Bungalows. Myquillyn is the author of The Nesting Place and Cozy Minimalist Home and was chosen by Christianity Today as one of the top twenty creatives in 2016. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three boys. Find her online @thenester.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.

For this episode I have two lovely guests in the studio with me. Laura Klynstra and Mumtaz Mustafa join me to talk about their very odd jobs as creative directors and book designers and to chat about their new beautiful cookbook, Gather and Graze: Globally Inspired Small Bites and Gorgeous Tablescapes For Every Occasion. These two have a combined four decades or so of experience in the publishing industry, so I found it fascinating to peek behind the curtain of their work. In addition to that shared work, they also share a heart for both excellence in design and photography and for bringing people together around delicious food. I think you’ll leave our conversation feeling inspired and hungry, two of my favorite states of being.

Mumtaz Mustafa is an award-winning graphic designer working in branding, digital marketing, and focusing on book cover design. She is Senior Art Director at HarperCollins Publishers in charge of the lifestyle imprint Harvest Books. A native of Karachi, Pakistan, Mumtaz currently lives and works in New York City

Laura Klynstra is senior art director for Revell Books and a freelance graphic designer and photographer. Previously she worked as art director at Hyperion Books and at HarperCollins Publishers in New York City. She is the co-author and photographer of Christmas Baking and lives in Michigan with her family and a menagerie of dogs, cats, chickens, and ducks.

Find them on Instagram @spiceandsugartable, @mumtazmustafadesigns, and @lauraklyn

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.