Guess who's Excited!?

This girl!
New Nike Free 4.0 v2

Yes! SO incredibly excited i can't wait to go run tomorrow (probably before the sun makes an appearance because it's 90* right now and the thought of running in the heat makes me swooozy. The Free 4.0 is actually more of the "cross-trainer" version of the other Free options. To me they are substantially lighter in weight and offer the wider support needed for lateral steps and other work out type movements as opposed to just support for serious running mileage (which i have yet to do.) i've been eyeing these for so long and can't believe these beauties are actually in my closet! i'm hoping the black stays looking nice and new, but honestly who cares? i'll let you know how these work out! (Oh yeah - pun intended) 

Also while i was at the mall i walked into MAC (i can count on 1 hand the times i've been into a MAC store in my life, but unfortunately the Sephora here is awful and i thought i would give it a try. So glad i did!) Since berry/wine/oxblood/burgundy colors are all the rage this fall i really wanted to see what lip color options i could wear. This is Rebel stain with Vino lip pencil. Love them both!)

island Slaw

Now before you go judging me give this a fair chance. i wasn't so sold on this recipe either when i first saw it in class (-Oh yeah. Forgot to mention i started the Culinary program at the community college where i went before Matty and i moved- it's awesome! Many future recipes will be coming from here i'm sure)

We were put in groups of 3 and each of us had to make a salad Island Slaw, Market Vegetable, and Warm New Potato & Herb Salad. i knew i didn't want to mess with the blanching of the Market Veggie nor did i want to over cook the potatoes and have our teacher come unglued so i opted for the slaw.

For starts i made the dressing and let that sit covered in the fridge till i needed it.

Dressing:
6 oz Mayonnaise
4 oz Sour Cream
1 C Orange Juice
4 T Rice Wine Vinegar
4 T Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice (we used lemon) - if you so choose to use concentrate that is entirely up to you, but i take no responsibility for the flat flavor.
2 T Black Sesame Seeds
To taste salt & fresh black pepper

Toss everything into a bowl and whisk that stuff up till it's all smooth. it's really thin so if you want it thicker i'd hold off on some of the OJ, or play around with it as much as you want and let me know how it goes!

Salad:
1 Head  Green cabbage, finely shaved like angel hair (by hand for this lab. it took me a half hour! So if you have a mandoline slicer you better bust that thing out! Good heavens don't chop if you don't have to)
1 Red bell pepper, small diced
1 Yellow bell pepper, small diced
1 Green bell pepper, small diced
1 Scotch bonnet (habañero) seeded and minced (please wear gloves if you want to live)
2 Mangos, Medium diced
2 Bunch  Green onions, bias cut (sharp angled edges) - i used 1
3/4 Cup  Cilantro, Chopped

 For mine i decided it would look a whole lot better with all the colors on top. So i mounded high half the cabbage and then mixed the remaining half with the pepper mixture and piled it on top. As you can see the presentation looks much more vibrant compared to the ones behind.

All together for "Show Time"

As a class we loved how the minced pepper leaves the mouth nice and warm for about 5 minutes after you finish eating.

Enjoy!

It's too hot..

We moved away from our beloved first home together in Hawaii back to California.. i'm still having a hard time with it, particularly on days like this

That's right. triple digits.  

Matty and i are going to jump in the pool now and i'm going to pretend i see this

(Our last few days in Hawaii)

Yes, i took these pictures. i did not steal them (and neither should you).

Just in case you haven't had the joy of being in this position.. This is the back side of a wave at one of our favorite beaches. After the wave crashes a whole heck of a lot of sand gets thrown back (and in your face) and temporarily you can't see anything else. This is right before that happens.

And this is when you're too close to the tube and it starts sucking you in.

We love our GoPro

Pearl Harbor

This past week we went on a couple of outings since Matty didn't have his Tues/Thrs class! On Thursday we made it down to town and got to visit Pearl Harbor. We got a later start than we wanted to but got there just the same and snagged the last two tickets for the 1:30 boat! We had some time to kill and thanks to Yelp that made it easy. We decided on a crepe place not too far away and enjoyed the Alfredo Pizza and Aloha (strawberry/chocolate/cream) crepes

i will always love whip cream

They were both wonderful and hit the spot. We headed back a little early for parking and got to go through the little mini museums they have there before the movie and boat ride.

So glad we had clear skies for our outing

It was rather windy and i was unimpressed with the lack of reverence from the tourists that afternoon.. Even though the park rangers try to explain this place is actually a tomb for over 1,000 soldiers and should be respected as such i still heard people yelling for their family to get over here or there for the picture or to stay close (Seriously over protective mother? Your child is not going anywhere. in case you didn't notice the BOAT you came on is the only way on or off the 200ft long memorial. And one only comes every 15 minutes. So fat chance of a kidnapping. Unless your child is...   -my imagination is running wild with sarcastic reasons right now-  so be quiet mom and let your child drink up the history they are standing over) it was also really windy but the park ranger gave a good little talk to us (some of the info can be found here like how many sets of brothers were on the ship, how it still leaks oil, and that the men who were able to escape are given the option of being cremated after they die and placed back in the ship with their crew members.) 

i cry every time i think about how scary it must have been for those men to be caught off guard and trapped as the ship went down. In a way i feel like they gave their lives for the moral of our country. They were a motivation for other service men to fight, and endure what they did to win the war. Which makes me think of this book i read while taking the bus to work last year. Such a good read and i highly recommend it. They sacrificed something my generation will never understand, for the freedoms we now take for granted. 

May we always honor and respect you and remember the price you paid. 

We had a good afternoon shower on our way back home and a little stop at Whole Foods for a snack and some goooood tea! Pineapple+Coconut and wonderful granola

The in-between Season

Matty and i are preping to leave Hawaii and it is so bitter sweet for us! Here's something that i find comforting when i think of leaving this beautiful place.

Pants! Sweaters! Scarfs!

i love this outfit! But would not dream of wearing it here! Not only would i sweat till i fell over, the saying "it's better to be over dressed.." doesn't seem to apply here. On many levels. i'm excited to have a dress standard for "going out" or for church or just day to day wear again. Baggy gym shorts are the norm and it drives me crazy. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with comfy clothing (when you stay inside your house) and when i'm a mom i'm sure i'll have different expectations of myself but as for here and now..

My exception is i would switch out those sandals for my charcoal Toms that Matty got me for Christmas our first year of dating.

And this watch. (i would not be complaining if i had a Nixon! Just like this style a bit better. More feminine you know:)

On the flip side it is kind of refreshing that no one takes fashion seriously here. Very "necessity only" way of life in most regards which is humbling and a great example. However i think Matty and i are too materialistic and will welcome the change. Are we too stuck up? Possibly, but i do look forward to the extra push to dress cute when we get back. Wearing heels to church is pushing the limit and wearing red or bright lipstick is out of the question. Wouldn't surprise me if when i get back i'll end up wanting what i can't have and miss this little back country life style here. We shall see..

A little humor for your day

There are so many of these that bother me i just thought i'd share one that caught my fancy

i was laughing for a long time

and by "these" i mean:

Check it out here

Blueberry Breakfast!

During my childhood summers i loved Sunday afternoons after church. Everyone got real lazy and i usually walked my dog Cinnamon. After i would come home and watch my mom make Sunday dinner. When i was really young and not helping her yet i would sit at the kitchen table and eat a snack. With her as my witness i can tell you that in one sitting (probably less than an hour) i could put down over a pound of blueberries. Yes, the whole clear box could be gone in one afternoon. The only reason in my mind not to do this was if my mom said she was going to make this heavenly thing. I know for sure i'm the third generation to make this and wouldn't be surprised if i'm the fourth or fifth. (i'll check and get back to you. If not Grammie knows who she got it from and probably the date)

This breakfast, along with corn on the cob, lemonade, BBQs, beach days, camping, strawberries, peaches, running through the sprinklers, sleep overs, library trips, and so many other things mean it's summer to me. So for heavens sake! it's the end of July and i hadn't eaten it yet! Matty was smart and got me a 2lb box at Costco so i could use half and eat half :) Thanks Matty!

Saturday breakfast went like this:

Cake: Mix 3/4 C sugar, 2 eggs, and 1/2 C milk; blend well. Sift in 1 1/2 C flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 nutmeg.  --(we live in Hawaii, there's no way i stocked up on all the spices.. i have cinnamon and pumpkin spice mix. So the mix went in. it was wonderful)--

Gently fold in 2 C washed blueberries. Spread in a greased 8x8 pan. --Mom would you have to double it?--

Top: Combine 1/2 C sugar, 1/3 C sifted flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 4TBS softened butter; mix with a fork till it's like wet crumbly sand and layer that goodness on top

Bake @ 375F for 40-45 minutes

Sauce: Combine in a medium sauce pan 1/2 C sugar, 2 tsp corn starch; stir in 1/2 C water, slowly add 2 C washed blueberries. Bring to a light boil; simmer until thickened (4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in 1 TBS lemon juice and 1.5 tsp grated lemon rind

Matty and i did some serious damage before sharing it with our neighbors.

-Something note worthy-

The sauce is so good we plan on dousing cheesecake with it, covering vanilla ice cream in it, and i will figure out how to mix it into a cookie.

Enjoy!