Spring Flowers and Gardens
Spring in Santa Barbara always feels slightly unreal to me. The gardens begin to loosen and spill into themselves — roses climbing where they please, citrus trees heavy with scent, long stretches of green that seem almost too bright in the late afternoon light.
Recently, I hosted a small gathering here in Montecito centered around flowers, scent, and painting. We spent the afternoon moving between the garden and the table, beginning with botanical fragrance and then translating those notes into watercolor studies inspired by what surrounded us.
There’s something interesting that happens when people begin with scent first. Color becomes less literal. The paintings loosen. Guests stop trying to “paint a flower” and instead respond to atmosphere, memory, texture, or light. Every piece became completely different, even though we were all working from the same environment.
I selected a palette that reflected the season around us — blooming succulents, pansies, peonies, lilacs, Iris and sweet peas — and paired it with a small collection of botanical perfume materials chosen for their clarity and character.
Throughout the afternoon, small dishes prepared by our chef Aspyn were passed quietly through the garden while guests painted wherever they felt most comfortable — at the table, beside the pool, or tucked into a corner of the landscape with paper balanced on their lap.
We ended the day together around the table for a late meal as the light shifted and the garden began to cool.
What I continue to love most about these gatherings is not perfection or outcome, but the way people begin to notice things differently when good materials, conversation, nature, and a little bit of time come together in the same place.
— Kim Hauck
The Sovereign Table
Day 1
Visit to Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito- Lotusland always feels slightly suspended in time to me — somewhere between garden and dream. The scale of the plants, the unexpected textures, the stillness of the water gardens — everything slows your attention in the best possible way. It’s impossible to walk through it without noticing color differently afterward. Wanting to paint every detail. Capture every scent. Here are a few scent recipes to create, imagine or acquire.
These pair especially well together: Cypress + Lotus clean watery architectural / Peony + Orris-soft refined floral without heaviness / Lilac + Sweet Pea- spring garden, airy and nostalgic / Cypress + Galbanum - sharp green structure. / Lotus + Succulent Accord - modern, airy, unusual
Scent Palette Recipes
Succulent
This isn’t a true perfumery note, so you recreate it through green/watery/mineral accords Impression
Cool stone, damp garden paths, watered succulents in evening light, slightly wild
(green / watery / soft floral)
Structure
Base notes- Cypress, Cedarwood, Soft musk (optional)
Heart- Lotus, Sweet pea
Top- Green mandarin, Violet leaf
Spring Flowers
Impression
Floral Farmers market, wild fields
(airy floral / soft sunlight)
Base notes- Orris root, Blonde woods, Hint of cypress
Heart notes- Peony, Lilac
Top notes- Bergamot, Verbena
Lotusland
Impression
Still water, pale flowers, shaded terraces, calm but luminous.
(quiet / watery / elegant)
Base- Sandalwood, Cypress, Ambrette seed
Heart- Lotus, White peony
Top- Neroli, Fresh green fig leaf Impression
Sovereign K
Springtime Fantasy
Base -Cypress + Cedarwood + Orris
Heart - Lotus + Peony
Top- Verbena + Bergamot + Green Stem Accord
──────────────────────
A Beginners Dream
Composition
9 ml
Base
12 drops Cedarwood
3 drops Orris
Heart
Choose One
8 Neroli
or
8 Rose
Top (7 drops total)
Bergamot
Verbena
Galbanum
────────────────────────────────────────────────
The base begins with cedarwood,
chosen for its steadiness and
ability to hold the blend together
without overpowering it.
A small amount of orris root is
added for softness and refinement,
giving the fragrance a more
finished depth.
From there, build slowly and
adjust as you go.
────────────────────────
L’Essence de l’Aquarelle
The Sovereign Table
Montecito, California
Gathering & Abundance
May Sovereign Table
Gathering & Abundance
Dear friends,
I have been thinking lately about how differently I understand abundance than I once did.
When I was younger, I probably associated abundance with more. More accomplishment. More beauty. More certainty. More arriving. More, More, More!
Gatherings have also changed the way I move through my ordinary days. They remind me to notice what is already here instead of always thinking about what is missing or what comes next.
Increasingly, I find myself paying attention to small things that once felt forgettable — opening the windows in the morning, preparing dinner instead of rushing through it, fresh flowers on the counter, calling a friend back instead of waiting for the “right time.”
Some days it is as simple as lighting a candle before dinner, sitting outside for a few quiet minutes at the end of the day, or thanking God for one good thing before falling asleep. Small practices, really. But they have a way of returning me to myself again.
Maybe abundance begins there. Enoughness.
I notice the same thing during these evenings. At first everyone arrives carrying the outside world with them a little. Then gradually the room changes. Wine is poured. Someone reaches for another slice of tart. Paint begins to spread across the paper. Conversation deepens without trying to.
By the time we begin watercolor, people are no longer thinking so much about whether they are doing it correctly, they play with movement of water and how quickly something comes alive once it is no longer forced, the feeling of content.
I have learned that gratitude grows through attention. Through noticing. Through pausing long enough to recognize that much of life is already happening around us while we are busy waiting for something bigger. I explain in my art classes that you will start to notice tiny things like the shadows you didn’t see before at first it becomes distracting, then it becomes part of your everyday abundant beauty, just generous and glorious.
xo
Kim
For this gathering, I wanted the meal to feel seasonal, unfussy, and generous in the quiet ways that matter most.
Heirloom tomatoes with burrata
Shaved fennel and apple salad
Simple lemon herb chicken
Lemon olive oil cake with berries to finish
Shaved fennel and apple salad
Shaved fennel and crisp apple make a strikingly beautiful pairing, their delicate anise and bright sweetness balanced by a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. Topped with shaved Parmesan. it's an effortlessly elegant salad that comes together in minutes.
Ingredients
- • 2 fennel bulbs, fronds reserved
- • 2 crisp apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith)
- • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- • 1 teaspoons honey
- • 0.5 teaspoons flaky sea salt
- • 0.3 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked
- • 2 ounces Parmesan Shaved
- STEPS
Instructions
- Make the dressing: Whisk together 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoons honey in a small bowl. Season with 0.5 teaspoons flaky sea salt and 0.3 teaspoons black pepper, freshly cracked. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Shave the fennel and apple: Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, shave 2 fennel bulbs, fronds reserved as thinly as possible, discarding the tough core. Core 2 crisp apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith) and slice equally thin. Place both in a large bowl and toss immediately with the dressing to prevent the apple from browning.
- Assemble and serve: Arrange the dressed fennel and apple on a platter or individual plates. Scatter 2 ounces Parmesan shaved over the top, Finish with an extra pinch of flaky salt and serve immediately.
- NOTES
- Use a mandoline for the thinnest, most elegant slices — it makes a real difference in texture. Granny Smith apples give a tarter result; Honeycrisp is sweeter and juicier. The salad is best eaten right away, as the apple will soften over time. For a heartier version, toss through some peppery arugula.
Simple Lemon Herbed Chicken
Bright lemon zest, fragrant garlic, and a generous handful of fresh herbs perfume every bite, while a hot oven does all the heavy lifting. It's the dish that fills your kitchen with the most incredible smell and lands on the table looking like you've been cooking all day — even though you barely have.
Ingredients
- 4 (5 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 medium lemon, juiced, divided
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place chicken in a bowl; pour 1/2 of the lemon juice over chicken and season with salt and herbs.
- Place chicken on a baking sheet pour olive oil randomly over chicken- throw a few fresh herbs and lemon slices scattered about the pan. Cook until inner temperature reaches 165 degrees- Immediately remove from oven and cover with foil until ready to serve.
- Garnish chicken with parsley to serve.
- If your chicken breasts are very thick, slice horizontally through the middle to create two thinner cutlets so they cook evenly and quickly.vEditor's Note:
Lemon olive oil cake with berries to finish
Fragrant with fresh lemon and rich with good olive oil, this cake is tender, moist, and just the right kind of simple — topped with jewel-bright berries that make it look as stunning as it tastes.
Ingredients
- ½cup/105 grams extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- 4 ounces/115 grams white chocolate, chopped or broken into small pieces
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup/190 grams granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup/145 grams full-fat plain yogurt (not Greek; see Tip)
- Zest of 2 medium lemons, preferably organic
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from one of the zested lemons)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup/100 grams almond flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup/140 grams all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)/ or to make Icing
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch round metal cake pan with olive oil and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
- Add the white chocolate to a large, oven-safe mixing bowl (or metal stand-mixer bowl, if you’ll use a stand mixer), place it in the oven and set the oven to 325 degrees (the gradually warming oven will gently melt the chocolate). Check on the white chocolate every 1 to 2 minutes, prodding it with a whisk to determine whether it has melted; it should take 3 to 5 minutes in total. (Alternatively, microwave the white chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl at 50 percent power, stirring at 15-second intervals, until melted. Heat the oven to 325 degrees for use in Step 6.)
- As soon as the chocolate is completely melted, remove it from the oven (the bowl will be hot!) and whisk it gently to make sure it’s perfectly smooth (If it’s not, let the residual heat of the melted chocolate melt any tiny solid bits, or briefly return the bowl to the oven to finish the job).
- Let the bowl cool until just warm. Add the olive oil to the white chocolate and whisk until well combined. (An electric hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment will also work.) Add the eggs and mix well. Whisk in the sugar, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla until well combined. Add the almond flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg to the bowl. Give it a good whisking to make it very smooth.
- Finally, add the all-purpose flour and gently whisk just until the batter is evenly mixed with no lumps remaining. Use a flexible spatula to give it a final gentle mix, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Tap the bowl a few times on the countertop to eliminate large air bubbles.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and tap the pan on the countertop to force out more air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes.
- Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then run a table knife around the edge of the cake pan to loosen the cake. Invert the cake onto a large plate, remove the pan and invert the bare cake back onto the cooling rack to cool at least 30 minutes more. When ready to serve, use a sieve to dust it lightly with powdered sugar, if you wish. Serve warm or at room temperature. When completely cooled, store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- TIPIf you already have Greek yogurt, combine ½ cup (115 grams) of it with 2 tablespoons of water in place of the unstrained yogurt.
February Sovereign Table Devotion & the Heart
Dear friends,
I’ve been holding February’s table gently in my thoughts.
When I began shaping the theme — Devotion & the Heart — I knew I wanted it to feel steady. Not dramatic. Not performative. Just attentive. Like the quiet ways we care for what matters.
The evening began simply: French charcuterie layered with slightly cooked greens and rose petal jam, Esterlin Champagne from Épernay poured into waiting glasses. There is always that moment when everyone arrives and the energy shifts — when the noise of the day softens and shoulders lower. I treasure that transition.
The meal unfolded slowly — creamy white chicken chili, filet medallions finished with rose balsamic reduction. We poured Château Bel Air Gloria from Haut-Médoc and Joseph Mellot’s Sincérité Sauvignon Blanc. A special tasting of La Croix Gratiot Picpoul de Pinet felt like a small offering tucked into the night. Dessert lingered — rose pistachio ice cream and flourless chocolate cake dusted with petals.
But what stays with me most is not the menu.
It is the feeling of attention in the room.
We spoke about devotion not as striving, but as staying. As the willingness to tend to the heart gently. I shared how my faith steadies me — how remembering I am loved without condition allows me to soften and care for myself without guilt. And from that place, to love others more freely.
When we moved into watercolor, something beautiful shifted.
Rather than teaching technique first, I invite guests to establish a relationship with the flower. To look before painting. To notice shape, shadow, movement, and emotion. To ask — what is this bloom saying?
We do not paint flowers to copy them.
We paint to connect with them.
One by one, the women allowed their brush to soften. Edges unfolded. Colors bled into one another. There was laughter, quiet concentration, and that gentle surprise when something begins to feel alive on the page.
The enjoyment was not in perfection — it was in connection. In realizing that when you slow down and truly look, beauty reveals itself.
We reflected on Georgia O’Keeffe — how she returned to flowers again and again, not to decorate, but to know them. She painted the inside of a bloom as if it were a cathedral.
Devotion, I’m learning, is simply that.
Looking.
Staying.
Letting one bloom be enough.
February’s table felt like a small cathedral made of food, conversation, and petals. Nothing extravagant. Just care practiced steadily.
With gratitude for the women who gathered — and for those who feel called to the next table.
With love,
Kim
“A New Beginning at The Sovereign Table: Preparing for Our First Gathering”
There’s a special kind of anticipation that comes with creating something new — especially something rooted in beauty, connection, and the soft return to creativity.
As I prepare for our very first evening at The Sovereign Table on January 2nd, I can already feel the energy of it. The quiet hum of brushes being set out. The palette of warm colors waiting on each table. The simple, seasonal meal simmering in the kitchen. The gentle unfolding of women arriving after long days, curious and a little tender.
Many of the women joining have already shared the same thing:
“I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in years.”
Which is exactly why these gatherings were born.
This is not a space for perfection. It’s a space for presence — for connection, for play, for remembering the joy of making something with your hands. The kind of creativity that asks nothing of you except to show up as you are.
I imagine the room softening as watercolor blooms across paper, conversation opening slowly like a flower, shoulders dropping as the pace of the day falls away. I imagine supper shared around a warm table — simple, nourishing, grounding. A moment where strangers become familiar, where creativity becomes accessible again.
January 2nd marks the beginning of a six-month journey — one evening each month to gather, create, and be nourished together.
If you’ve been craving something slower, softer, and more soulful…
a chair is here waiting for you at The Sovereign Table. Join us here