hale & 'ilio

A Celebration of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Christmas is just a week away and normally I would be in full holiday mode; holiday shopping, baking, gift wrapping, food planning and preparation, but not so much this year.

It has been completely surreal watching the Christmas season wing into high gear here. It is definitely not how I imagined it! It's hard to describe but I guess to sum it up it's just not very holiday-ish here. And that is not because it is 80 degrees and we are surrounded by palm trees and surf boards. It's just everything...the decor is willy nilly at the mall, few places play holiday music, holiday lights are hung sparingly, traditional Christmas trees are half dead by they time they arrive on the island, and of course your shopping on-island is quite limited. Oh and Santa. Who's Santa? Good luck finding the big guy here. I can say for certain after my time in Maui that I miss the traditional mainland Christmas hoopla!

Since we are not going home for the holidays and we have no plans in Maui, I planned Christmas dinner virtually and delegated the work to my Mom. She is a darn good hostess, so I am sure she will pull the celebration together beautifully!

1/2/3/4/5/6

My family's Christmas Celebration this year will be...

Appetizers:

Stuffed Mushrooms

Cheese board with marinated olives

Main Course:

Honey Glazed Spiral Ham

Balsamic Roasted Red Potatoes

Pomegranate Appeal Pear Salad

Roasted Mushroom Medley

The recipes and sources can be found by clicking on the numbers just underneath the photo spread.

Happy holidays!

Courtney

Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Today I had a rather spirited discussion with my husband about blogging. I recently purchased the book Blog, Inc in hopes it would spark that blogging interest that sits deep within and that I would realize that I do have something slightly different to offer the world than the folks on my current blog roll. Don't get me wrong, I love (and am jealous of) every single person's blog I read; most of them are uber creative, beautiful, have amazing lives and beautiful homes.

As I was explaining to my husband how I am feeling and my observations from all of the blogs I follow, he blurts out of nowhere, mid-conversation that I am not a blogger and that "we", meaning I, can't be something we are not. As offended as I was, I gathered my strength, pushed back the tears of anger and thought to myself that if this little bastard really feels that way, boy am I going to show him...and boy is he going to be sorry. I am weird like that; the more people say I can't do something, the more oomph I have to do see it through.

While I am acutely aware that I have had this blog since 2010 and have started and stopped, and changed directions ten times over, I am committed to letting myself run wild this time. I have tried to keep things light and airy in the past and that really isn't me. I don't live a super duper glamourous life, I like to try new ideas and adventures and 99.9% of the time they epically fail, but I am okay with that because that is my real life. I am that crazy animal lady and my house is constantly in flux. I have an unhealthy relationship with my 9-5 job and Starbucks, too.

So against all of my husbands unsolicited advice today, I am going to let it all hang out. I am going unleash the dogs and to allow this little blog to run free. It's focus will be mostly surrounded by the name, which in Hawaiian means house (hale) and dog (i'lio). Two things I couldn't be more passionate about. I also find that I have a lot of opinions so there will be story time every now and again.

And someday when I become famous (real goal!), even if it is only in my dreams or in the eyes of my Mother, for anything I have written, designed, or achieved, I will thank my husband from the bottom of my heart for not believing in me and thus forcing me to believe in myself.

Courtney

Tidbits

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:54:00 +0000

So this post is going to be a giant mind dump, in no particular order, of what has been going on here. Warning: lots of pictures.

It seems as though the past few weeks have flown by but I can't really recall anything significant that we seem to have accomplished. We are getting a little more comfortable here and starting to finally put our house together. We are also finally starting to establish a daily routine which is good because I am completely lost without some sort of structure in the day.

If you have ever been to Maui you know that shopping is limited, especially in the home goods department. You have every store under the sun that end in "mart"and Pier 1. Everyone told me to scour Craigslist because of the high turn over on the island. I check CL regularly but let me tell you...people want two arms and a leg for JUNK. Stuff that would be on the Spokane CL for $10 pr less, people here want $50++++!! It is absolutely crazy. Needless to say I haven't found much of anything on CL. I guess I will wait for Pier 1 to have their after Thanksgiving and Christmas sales and pick up the remaining items we need.

Found this cool Fox Tail Fern at Home Depot.

Franklin re-injured his the repaired leg about ten days ago. His leg was HUGE and the swelling lasted for about five days. We had our first trip to the vet since being here. I was really hoping to skip the vet for at least a year given all the vet trips we made leading up to the move. The outcome of his eight gazillion dollar trip was that he essentially suffered a partial tear of his hamstring and basically needed a lot of drugs and to lay low. So, that is what we are doing.

Not a good photo but his leg was about three times the size of the of the "good" leg.

Injured dogs only get to hang out at the beach. No play for the big guy.

The rest of the gang is doing great with the exception of Cooper who seemes to have woken up with hot spots. There are a enough home remedies I can try so I think we will be able to avoid a trip to the vet with him. Ellee Mae is still lazy and Paisley is still wild. Not much has changed with those ladies. And for those of you wondering about the cats, well, they love the warm, sunny weather and sleeping on the tile floor in front of the sliders. Milo and Jimmy rarely venture away and always seem to be around. Lilly comes home about once a week to visit us and the rest of the time she spies on us from a secret hiding spot that we have yet to discover.

Her Granny sent her a new toy. She was pretty thrilled about it because it had a squeeker.

Keeper of the ball.

Dog of shame. She rolls in the sand every.single.time. she gets in the water.

Jimmy has settled in nicely. Typical day in this cats life.

I have been slow to getting back into cooking and baking. It seems like more of a hassel here. For one everything is so expensive. Flour is around $6 a pound and eggs are about $5.50 a dozen. Butter runs about the same, so you get the idea. The other hassel is that you have to seal everything up right away or else the bugs come. Perhaps I am just lazy but it takes as much time to drag everything out as it does to make and bake the items. I did make snickerdoodles the other day for my dad and realized that I did not have any mixing bowls and that hand mixers are hunks of junk. Oh, I also made Ron banana bread but had to make it in a pie pan because I realized that I didn't have a bread pan. He doesn't know the difference.

Banana Bread.

Most of the weekends are spent at the beach. We go to the "white people's" beach where all the tourists are at. It feels more like home than the local areas. In the more local areas, we tend to be the only white folks and often get mistaken for lost tourists. That is generally not a good scenario to have happen.

Saw this little guy right at the shoreline last weekend in Napili. He was SO cute. Spent at least 3 hours watching him.

In other interesting news, a paddle boarder was bitten by a tiger shark over the weekend at the beach closest to our house. He didn't die but was injured badly. Don't worry we don't swim in that water anyway---it extremely deep right off the shore with lots of rocks.

Oh and if you want a simple, light dinner or lunch, try this recipe. I make it in large quantities once a week for Ron to nibble on for lunch. He gives it five stars. Luckily for me it is super easy.

via

There you have it. Have a great rest of the week!

Courtney

Kupu Maui Feast

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:52:00 +0000

Over the weekend we had the opportunity and pleasure of attending a Kupu Maui feast. The short of it is, Kupu Maui "pops up" on the third Saturday of the month at a various farm on the island and serves an amazing meal. The seating is limited and the food is served family style, or at least at the meal we attended. The menu is inspired from the crops that the chosen farm grows and the idea is to use only locally sourced ingredients from that farm for the meal.

We attended the last feast for 2012 and it was an unforgettable experience. October's feast was at Kupa'a Organic Farm in Kula. The inspiration for our dinner was: Kohana meaning naked or bare. The food was seasoned lightly. Pono meaning to do the right thing. Akepa meaning to only take what you need--no waste.

Our plates for the evening were bamboo leaves and the beverages were served in a corn based recyclable cup. Everything was composted at the end of the evening.

Menu for the evening:

Pupu (means appetizer in Hawaiian):
Pizza bites by Pulehu Pizza

Beverages:
Ginger and Lemongrass Soda
BYOB

Dinner:
Local Maui Lamb marinated in a ginger sauce and barbecued
Green salads with a ginger dressing, roasted vegetable quinoa
Bread and Naked Cow Dairy butter

Desert:
Ginger lemongrass mousse served in a lilikoi
Shortbread ginger cookies

Kupa'a Farms-Kula, Maui

Dania Katz (creator of Kupu Maui) and one of the owners of Kupa'a Farms

The view from the farm was AMAZING. You could see all of Wailea, Kihei and out towards Lahaina!

Before the dinner started we got a tour of the farm. The farm is situated on 14 acres and they grow approximately 40 different crops, including coffee, ginger and garlic.

We took a walking tour of the farm before we taking our seats at the feasting table.

Our company for the evening.
via

Pupu (appetizer) made with locally forged produce from Kupa'a Farms by Pulehu Pizza.

All of the food is prepared onsite--here the chef is preparing local lamb.

One of the salads. Again, made with all local ingredients from the farm.
via

Maui Preserved provided an assortment of preserves including a mint jelly, hot sauces, and mustards.

Ginger lemongrass mousse in a lilikoi.
via

An amazing sunset. This was the view from my seat.

So friends, if any of you are planning to visit us, plan to being here on or through the third Saturday of the month. We would love to share this wonderful experience with you.

the one time we went to Hana with no food

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:00:00 +0000

While my mom was visiting we decided to take a day and go to the Twin Falls and the Black Sand beach. Neither Ron or my mom had been so we thought there was no better time than that day (Saturday, nonetheless). On a side note, Maui is one of two islands in the Hawaiian islands that has a beach with black sand. Anyway...

We started our day out with a trip to the Swap Meet (basically a HUGE farmers market). We took our time and walked through the entire place hitting some places more than once. It was hot...and humid. So after we basically melted we headed to Starbucks, our daily ritual. The idea was to get a drink and grab some lunch. We grabbed a drink and hit the road. Somehow we skipped the lunch part. We were wingin' the day so I guess it didn't phase us.

We head toward Twin Falls up the Hana Highway. We had not clue where it was other than around a certain mile post. Finally get to a place where we think could be the Twin Falls....or at least a place where a lot of people were pulling off, so we stop and follow the groups of people. Another side note: the signage in Maui is less than superb. There were NO SIGNS saying...why hello you have made it to Twin Falls and the falls are thatta way. Nope. So we head through these tropical, lush forests with a handful of other wide-eyed folks and finally reached the falls. They were amazing and it was a lot of fun--glad we made the trek which is I think was about 1 mile in and 1 mile out. On our way out we bought a bag of fresh sliced pineapple from the beverage truck sitting at the entrance(mind you for the price of two whole pineapples at the store, but it's all about the experience, right??!).

We loaded back in the car and headed towards the Black Sand beach. We had read a lot of reviews and info about it and a few people said it was about 15-20 min past the Twin Falls. We keep heading up the Hana Highway....and we keep going, and going, and going, and going. We get within like 5 MILES of HANA and FINALLY see a small sign that pointed us towards the caves and Black Sand beach. By this time, the bag of pineapple is long gone and we are two hours into the drive and well, you guesses it, we didn't bring any food...or water. We had had nothing to to eat all day long. But, we see the signs so we have to go check it out for gods sake; we driven all this way, none of us were throwing in the towel yet.

View from a park along the Hana Highway.

All of us were happy we found the beach and got to experience it for ourselves. There were caves, trails, and a blow hole. It is totally worth the trip. One bit of advice when heading to Hana, the falls or the beaches along Hana Highway: bring food and water. There are lots of parks and places to stop along highway to have a picnic lunch and take in the sights. Restrooms are plentiful as well.

After a little time is spent exploring Black Sand Beach (Pailoa Bay) we decide we better just hit Hana since we are within sniffing distance. We get to Hana, which is always interesting to see what people think when they get there. It is generally this sigh of disappointment. I am never sure what people are expecting but there isn't much...it is where a lot of locals live and is literally a one horse town. There is a restaurant and a mini-mart with a gas station. Needless to say, everyone was in agreement that we needed to stop and eat. The restaurant, Hana Ranch Restaurant, is actually very nice and serves good food.

This is the sand! It was so neat!

One of a few caves. We could go in because the tide was out.

This is where the blow hole is but because the tide was out nothing was spaying out the top.

We scarfed our food and hit the road. We all wanted out of the car and to get home as fast as we could, of course keeping in mind all of the one lane sections of road and the gazillion foot cliffs that boardered the passenger side of the car.

So, that is our story of the one time we went to Hana without food. It was an adventure to say the least.

We Made It

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:00:00 +0000

So it's been a while since I posted anything on there and I am contemplating continuing on but I think this is the best place to keep record of our adventures in Maui...the next phase of our life and for our friends and family to keep in touch. For now, this is where I will make a better attempt to post the happenings.

This is going to be a long post with a few pictures so I can catch up to where we are at today in a few posts. Just a heads up ;)

We obviously made it through the scary move. The dogs passed all of their various tests and inspections and received their glorious blue papers from the State of Hawaii which allowed them entrance into the State. It was a lot of work but turned out to be much easier than all the mumbo jumbo on the quarantine's website made it out to be. Just follow the directions and you will have no problems getting your pet to Hawaii. Just start saving now...

Ron and I flew over on September 5 with Franklin and the three cats. We drove to Seattle and flew direct from Seattle to Maui. We took a week and got the basics picked up, dog beds, food, furniture, etc. I flew back to Spokane on September 12 to pick up my Mom and the other 3 dogs. We drove to Seattle on September 16 and flew to Maui on September 17. We rented a mini-van to get from Spokane to Seattle. I can promise you that I will not ever own a min-van.

I am not sure Cooper packed enough tennis balls for the trip.
Paisley was a bit too excited for the car ride.

A few tips for any of you considering moving to Maui or any of the Hawaiian islands:

1) work on crate training so they don't panic when you lock them up at the airport;
2) bring treats on the day of your flight, their water bowl, and carry ALL your paperwork on you;
3) exercise the hell of out of them the day before and the day of their flight;
4) it is far more nerve racking for the parents than it is for the animals;
5) fly Alaska Airlines;
6) enlist the Maui Humane Society to handle the direct release your pet(s);
7) start a Pet Quarantine savings account---it worked out to be about $1k per pet when all was said and done. Yowza!

Adjusting to life in Maui has definitely been a change. Not sure what I was expecting but real life followed us here, damn-it! Such a bummer. The upside is that it is beautiful here and the view from our office is amazing, so it makes working a little less painful. Our house doesn't have AC so we depend on the trade winds to keep us cool. The last few days there has been no wind so it has been a wee bit toasty. Most houses don't have AC because the cost of electricity is out of sight. Probably another savings account I needed to start before moving!

We generally spend most of our "free" time at the beach either sitting in our beach chairs catching some rays or playing in the surf with the dogs. The dogs now go to the beach instead of the park to play, which is kind of cool. They loooove the water. It is much different than going to the lake since the waves are much bigger and the water tastes salty. Paisley is still trying to catch onto the whole salty water thing. They get in a good workout and everyone returns home tuckered out--win, win for us all.

That is all for now. I will return with a second part shortly. Aloha!

resolution update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:27:00 +0000

We are three months into the new year and I set some fairly (at least for me) rigorous resolutions for 2012. The resolutions were kicked into high gear when received news of a transfer to Hawaii. Let me just say that being on a budget has been incredibly difficult that at times I thought I might need to be put in restraints. Luckily Spokane doesn't have the best shopping selection and I haven't been traveling for work so my pocket book has been relatively safe.

*My biggest and most intimidating resolution is to pay off our debts. I am beyond thrilled to report that we have 1) paid off the car and I have the title in hand; 2) paid off one credit; 3) paid off our Nordstroms card; 4) and are working on your second credit card now. Our current goal is to have it paid off by May 1. It is honestly the biggest relief but has been incredibly difficult being on such a tight, tight budget.

*The gym. Oh the gym. I have not kept my five day a week schedule down. Right now I am averaging three days a week, four on a spectacular week. I am a little disappointed in myself because I have lost a lot of the progress I initially made. I really need to get back into going in the mornings before I have 500 million excuses of why something else, like Starbucks, is far more important than the gym.

*Etsy shop. I did get my shop up and running. I haven't done much with it since then. I need to get back into and add all the new designs that are sitting in my dinning room (also known as my workroom). I am working on so many different projects right now, plus the move that I don't seem to be able to dedicate 100% of myself to anything which has been extremely frustrating. I need to learn better time management skills and/or how to prioritize my days so I get something done instead of 1/3 of everything on my list!

*I have been playing with my DSLR quite a bit and my husband installed Photoshop for me. The weather has been so gloomy and cold here that I have been mostly shooting the dogs and cats around the house. As spring arrives I plan to get outside more and shoot places and scenery around me. I definitely have a lot to learn still but am happy with my progress thus far.

That is resolution update in a nutshell. I can honestly say that this is the first year I have stuck with one goal for more than 24 hours. Yay for me!! How are your New Year's resolutions going?

Happy Wednesday!

words of wisdom for your monday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:26:00 +0000

via

I needed a little bit of inspiration to kick start my work week. This quote couldn't sum up my philosophy on life any better.

fill in the blank friday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:32:00 +0000

Hello, Friday! You're being welcomed with open arms.

Since it's Friday and I haven't played along in a while, here is today's Fill in the Blank's brought to you by Lauren of The Little Things We Do.

1. The highlight of my week was paying off my credit card!!.

2. If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be coastal, a bit of modern, simple and clean and natural, maybe with a splash of yellow or coral .

3. My first vehicle was a 1991 silver Honda Accord. I still miss that body style, it was cute and got great gas milage! .

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is coffee.

5. My favorite way to waste time is anything on the computer or iPad. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. I am a master FB stalker.

6. Right now I could really go for a Starbucks, which will happen shortly and getting out of the house. The joys of working from home is looking forward to getting out of the house on Friday's! .

7. This weekend I will be looking for housing in Maui, going to a bead show, and watching the WCC Basketball Tourney .

Have a great weekend and see you back here on Monday!

what's cookin'

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:56:00 +0000

It has been a while since I shared a Pinterest inspired dish. Every Sunday my food board and I bond for sometimes an hour while I put together my meals for the week and make my grocery list. It has been such a relief and time saver for me because before Pinterest, I would walk aimlessly through the store tossing items into my cart with no rhyme or reason. Later when I would go to make lunch or dinner, I would find that I had the most random items in the pantry and not enough to make an entire meal. My budget for groceries each week is $100 and I have managed to stay right at my goal by planning ahead and making a detailed list.

Today's What's Cookin' is really a condiment but is so dang good that I couldn't resist sharing it with you. It will become a staple in your house. Before discovering this recipe I would rarely eat salsa. I despise tomatoes and most store bought salsa is super thick and chunky and have sugar added to them. So, without further ado, I present to you the tastiest, easiest homemade salsa in the whole wide world.

via

Chili's Copycat Salsa Recipe:

(Original recipe from Deals to Meals, modified by me)

2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, fire roasted if you can find them
3 medium jalapenos (or less if you don't like a lot of spice)
1/2 of a yellow onion, cut into quarters (you can also use dried minced onion)
1 tsp. garlic salt (generally I add more but I taste along the way to see where I am at)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp. lime juice

Place the jalapeños, tomatoes and onion into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and add garlic salt, garlic powder and lime juice. Taste and dash with extra garlic salt, garlic powder and lime juice as you see fit. Serve with tortilla chips. It saves in a plastic container for about a week.

Enjoy!

and then we lost our minds

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:26:00 +0000

Recently we were presented with a fantastic opportunity to live in Maui for a few years and for my husband to be able to keep his job. Of course we are thrilled, I mean, who wouldn't be. After the excitement settled in, I started doing a little bit of research and planning which turned into the whole, what are we getting ourselves into panic.

Don't get me wrong, we are still over the moon about the opportunity but now that the dust has begun to settle, I am working out the logistics that are required for such a large move. The first hurdle is "shipping" seven animals, ensuring no one dies and successfully making it through the handbook of quarantine requirements. I'm pretty sure we both had sticker shock after we added up all of the various "shipping" and quarantine expenses. Hell, we have $500 worth of dog kennels sitting in our bedroom right now that they won't even enter! Then comes the question of what to do with our house--hold onto it or sell it, the living situation in Maui, our family and aging grandparents, and well the list goes on and on. Some days I am totally on the fence about it but fear that I would regret not jumping on it (which I think would end being the case), while other days I am inspired and ready for the challenge. I suppose these are the realities of someone consumed by wanderlust.

This past week/end we began the first step of the rabies quarantine process (Hawaii is a rabies free state which is why you have go to through this rigamarole). We took the seven animals to the vet in two trips and everyone got their rabies shots. I am pretty sure the vet staff thinks we are nuts. I was only able to snap the few pictures below because the dogs were out.of.control. and they required the use of two hands at all times.

...and we're off...screaming and growling!

Husband providing moral support (I don't "do" shots).

This is seconds before he chomped down on my finger while trying to escape.

Our target move date is September and there is so much to get done between now and then---all very exciting and scary! I'll share details as things move along.

on business and mentors

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:41:00 +0000

I opened my Etsy store at the beginning of January and since I have posted my items, I haven't done much else with it. Quite frankly, I don't know how to market it. Do I just stick to Twitter and my blog, do I create a button and advertise that way, do I do the paid ad stuff on Etsy, I just don't know.

I follow a lot of "successful" entrepreneurs on Twitter in hopes of finding inspiration on how they market themselves and run their business. Turns out that people are pretty tight lipped when it comes to sharing the details of how they "made it" and if you are not already running in their circle or know someone who is running in their circle, don't even bother.

I also recently joined the free version Savor the Success. I was expecting people like me and you who are learning the ropes and looking for a little bit of success. Like real life scenarios of how to's and tips and struggles and do's and dont's...not so much. There are discussion boards but most of them are private and require you to ask for permission to join. I have asked to join a handful of them with no reply. Totally reminds me of high school all over again. There are also featured contributors within the site that blog on various topics. There are a few good ones who provide valuable content but most of the contributors are consultants and coaches so they write a bunch of fluff with no substance. I'm sure they would rather have you pay for their wisdom than share it for free in a blog post.

The interesting part of this scenario is that I own and operate a busy vacation rental company. I get lots and lots of people asking me for advice, tips, tricks, how'd I get going, what have I learned, etc. I find it so inspiring and I answer every single one of their emails. I wish there was someone around when I was starting out to mentor me because I had so many questions and the process of getting started was completely overwhelming.

So if anyone is still with me through this roller coaster diatribe, I guess it boils down to the fact that I am not a sales person. You need to be a sales person, have that drive, personality, and so forth to excel at selling a product. I am not giving up on my jewelry just yet but in my heart of hearts I know I am not a sales lady. It is so far outside of my element that I am not sure I would know where to begin to lasso it in. I guess time will tell.

Do you have a mentor? What have you learned? Where did you go? Share your stories in the comments!

a week in review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:48:00 +0000

The past week has been somewhat of a whirlwind, in a good way of course. I am not on Instagram yet (plan on remedying that today) but I do have an extensive iPhone photo log going.

Here is our week in review.

New surprise kicks from the husband--only been to the gym once since I received them. Wa, wa, wa.

Typical look I get all.day.long = total guilt.

My helper, Milo. Keeps the desk warm.

New design, crap picture. Will be on Etsy soon. It is lovely on (see below).

Date night--V-day surprise to the Brad Paisley Concert! See the necklace?

Brad Paisley--one of the best shows I have been to. Highly recommend.

Vet trip for Ellee Mae (affectionately know as Moo Moo). She had an ear infection and a UTI. Poor girl.

Shopped around for four of these for our upcoming move to Maui.

Husband demonstrating to the dogs how the kennels work. They weren't having it.

And there you have it. Have a great Thursday, everyone!

bringing the table to life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:52:00 +0000

I am a complete sucker for dishes in all shapes and sizes and I don't believe that China is for "special" and others are for everyday use. This probably because I rarely hold special enough events that would warrant bringing out the "special" dishes! Dishes can add that extra bit of life to the dinning table. And since generally, you don't want to have an elaborate display as your centerpiece that blocks the the view of the guests on the other side of the table, dishes are a nice way to keep things interesting.

When I got married about five years ago, I had my heart set on Kate Spade's St. Kitts Dogwood dinner plates. They are still my everyday dish and I love how versatile and timeless.

I currently pair them with a floral accent plate by Kate Spade, which appear to be no longer available on Macy's or on Kate Spade's website. They came in four colors and I love to mix and match them for an added bit of color.

However, I think I am now ready to introduce something new to my collection. A little less matchy, matchy, I think. I have compiled a few accent plates that made it to the top of my must-have list. Now to the hard part is to decide which design to choose or if I should do a compilation of multiple designs.

Kate Spade Sandpiper

Anthropologie

Etsy

awareness to ALS

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:25:00 +0000

Today I am going to share with you something that is totally unrelated to most of the stuff I write about on here but a cause that is very near and dear to my heart. If any of you are Saints fans or happened to catch part of yesterdays pre-game show, you probably saw The Steve Gleason Story. I went to high school with Steve and his brother who were both amazing athletes. Steve's story, although very heartbreaking, is also incredibly inspiring and is helping to bring the much needed awareness to ALS.

"It's not about the blocked punt or the Superbowl ring. It's about the relationships,
love and what you do when you walk out of this room." - Steve Gleason

You can read about Steve's journey and battle with ALS and the mission of the Team Gleason Foundation here. I just hope that one day we find a cure for this harrowing disease.

Take seven minutes and watch this. You will be inspired on this Monday morning.

best of pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:43:00 +0000

I get sucked into Pinterest at least three times a day and what normally starts as a "quick" check of the home page turns into an hour long session. I get totally mesmerized by all the stuff and generally feel like I have been hiding under a rock because 98% of the things I see give me that "ah ha" moment of where the heck have I been the last 30 years!

Since nearly three plus hours of my day is dedicated to pinning, I thought I would begin to share some of my favorite pins in a new "Best of Pinterest" series.

Ready? Alright, here are today's best of's.

Aren't we all pretty darn excited about these?!?

[source]

Just in time for Super Bowl

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no source listed-I think it may be BHG

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My next house :)

[source]

an excuse + baked chicken taquitos

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Yesterday I didn't show up around here to share a super duper yummy recipe. The main reason for my absence was because well, we woke up to a messy leak in our kitchen. Good times indeed.

The cat was supervising the inspection of the sky light and wondering how he was going to get up there to play around. I failed to get a picture of the dogs who proceeded to drink out of the bowl catching the dripping water. Sometimes it's a real zoo around here.

*****

Today I am sharing with you a yummy, yummy baked chicken taquitos recipe that I initially found Pinterest that ultimately led me to The Girl That Ate Everything. I swear 99% of my food pins lead me back to Christy's blog. She shares some good stuff!

I made a few modifications to the recipe mostly because of the husbands allergies. Despite the modifications, the dish received raving reviews and he is still eating leftovers! My substitutions are added to the right.

[source]

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese (substituted 3/4 of a can of vegetarian beans)
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese (sprinkled to our liking, so it was minimal)
about 12 small corn or flour tortillas (we used flour)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir (did the same thing with the bean substitute). Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder and mix well. Add cilantro, green onions, chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

The corn tortillas are harder to roll without cracking. For the corn tortillas: work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Makes around 12 taquitos.

I made spicy salsa for dipping. Will share the recipe soon. Guacamole would have been good too...

I was honestly surprised at how easy these were. I was looking at the ingredients list and all the steps and almost didn't make them. If I would have cooked the chicken ahead of time, this could have easily been a 30 minute meal!

fill in the blank friday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:49:00 +0000

Ft. Lauderdale

It's Friday which means I am Filling in The Blank's over at The Little Things We Do! Come play along...

...here we go!

1. My favorite place i've ever traveled to is the Caribbean. I haven't been outside the US a whole lot, but I generally love every place I go because it is vacation time .

2. Pacific Islands is somewhere I'd love to go someday.

3. I pass the time on a plane (or bus, or car ride or train) by playing on my iPad or reading magazines or looking at all my photos on my phone .

4. My three must-haves when I travel are an iPhone , magazines and sweet snacks .

5. My favorite travel companion is my husband...or just myself .

6. The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is nothing too crazy that I can recall. Generally, if I am not at the airport at least an hour before with bags checked I am confident we are going to miss our flight! I've never been close to missing a flight, however .

7. The most exotic food I've ever tried while traveling is ...nothing. I am a bit boring and tend not to live on the edge with food :) .

8. If I could live anywhere else, I'd live in Hawaii, Maui specifically. I would also take Arizona, Florida or anywhere else it is above 70 year round .

9. I have been to like 15-ish

states in the U.S.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone! See you on Monday.

chair fabric inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Just minutes before the whole family sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, I receive a text message from my globetrotting brother who was somewhere in Europe stating that he and his girlfriend would be getting married while they are home for Christmas. Panic set in and appetite for the feast was lost quite quickly. I mean, really, 30 days to plan a wedding at THE busiest time of year? More on this story and the entire wedding production soon.

Let's fast forward to several conversations and plans later. I would be hosting the following events at my house: Christmas dinner, rehearsal/meet and greet dinner for nearly 50 people, and some of the brides family while in town for the wedding (think bed and breakfast style!). We have been slowly updating our 70's style home room by room and because we worked outside for most of the spring and summer not much was accomplished indoors. We had so much to do around the house that the following three weeks we worked morning, noon and night painting, replacing light fixtures, looking for furniture, artwork, etc.

I had been hoarding all this fugly furniture from my estate sale expeditions and it was temporarily being housed in the living room waiting its turn to be recovered. Well, I knew that wouldn't happen in my three week window so it was time for plan B. I had been eying these chairs from Pottery Barn for like two years. I decided one day on my lunch break to run down to Pottery Barn and see if by any chance they had them in stock because they were no longer on display. The only had two and they happened to be in the Havana Dark color. Lets just say it was a major score and thus very exciting day around here.

The one and only negative thing about these chairs is the light colored cushion and the fact that I have seven furry creatures. The cats are black and after they are done napping on them you can see their black hair from a mile away.

I was given this fabulous gal's card to help me with my sofa (that is another post). Cassi does fantastic work with reasonable pricing and a lightening fast turn around time. She is going to make slipcovers for my seat cushions as soon as I find fabric. Locally it is slims pickin's for quality, stylish fabrics. I am looking for something that is fun and bright that acts as a nice accent piece. My sofa is a blue/grey color.

I am currently gathering some inspiration pieces so I can make a decision sooner rather than later. These pieces caught my eye, but would definitely force me to go out on a limb (in a good way) and get a away from solid neutral colors!

[source]

my absolute favorite

[source]

Now I am off to search for something similar to the cheery floral print above. Wish me luck!

cucumber salad + cute pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is the food section. I pin throughout the week and then on Sunday I go back through my pins and create a menu for the week. It is so fun and gets me out of the rut of the same meals week in and week out. If I were left to my own devices I would eat the same thing every night and be perfectly content.

I made this salad as a side dish last night. It was SO easy and carried a nice light flavor that didn't overpower the rest of the meal. I tweaked the recipe just a bit---I substituted the tomatoes (ick) for red peppers and only added a dash of crumbled feta (I don't eat cheese).

[source]

What You Need 3 cucumbers
4 Roma tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes)
1 medium red onion
Handful fresh oregano
1 lemon
~1 cup Kalamata olives
~8 ounces feta cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
White wine vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper

What To Do

1 Peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, then chop them into bite-sized chunks. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, dice the red onion, and chop the oregano.

2 In a large bowl, mix the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and oregano along with the Kalamata olives. Mix in the 3 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, fresh ground pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add a splash or two of white wine vinegar. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if desired.

3 If possible, let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to allow flavors to meld. Before serving, crumble or cut the feta cheese into chunks, and add it to the salad.

I am pretty excited that there are leftovers because that is my lunch for today!

******************************

And because it has been a few days since I last shared some pictures of my kiddos, here are a few of them playing in the snow. It was the first time Paisley had played in the snow and she LOVED it. She thought it was some neat stuff.

Paisley

Cooper + Ellee Mae

Cooper-you know it's been a good day when you have snowballs on your fur!

tug-o-war

Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone!

a bit of news

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:05:00 +0000

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend. I have some very exciting news to share with you today. Are you ready?

This weekend I finally took the jump (code for getting my rear in gear) and opened my very own Etsy shop! It's something I have always wanted to do but never thought I had the time or energy to see it through. I'll be honest, the other part of this and probably the biggest issue weighing on my mind was that it would require me to self promote my work. I'm a naturally a pretty shy person and I generally don't like to have the spotlight on me in any way, however, I am going to be a big girl and look at this a way to grow personally and professionally. I'm super excited to share my work with you and I hope that you will come on over and take a look and perhaps even help me spread the word.

Right now, I only have a handful designs listed, mostly because it is no small job getting things photographed, edited and listed. I will share additional pieces on the blog and twitter as they are listed. I should also mention that I don't have a professional banner up yet and I am clueless when it comes to this sort of thing. So stay tuned for a shop makeover as well!

You can find me here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaisleyMaeParker

Now for a sneak peak at a few designs currently listed...

So that is what I have been up to. Have a great Monday everyone!

loafers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:20:00 +0000

I've always had a thing for loafers. Even before they were trendy or socially acceptable to wear. Whenever I am shopping I seem to have this magnetic force that always leads me to them to the loafer section. Maybe it's that are classic and timeless, I don't know, I am just drawn to them. Back in the day when I was in 7th or so grade I wore Dexter Penny Loafers WITH pennies in them. I believe I had them in both brown and black. I was totally the coolest kid on the block. Totally.

I recently saw these lovlies in a post on Cocco + Kelly which led me to a new-to-me site ASOS. I guess loafers are making a come back so if I jump on the band wagon I will actually make the trend this time! I love all the fun spring colors. I will take one of each of these. Please.

[here]

weekend + a tasty soup

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:43:00 +0000

Sticking to my goals for 2012, I dusted off the camera and packed it around in my bag this weekend. Friday, I spent part of the day reviewing this tutorial on the basics of understanding your DSLR camera. Amanda, of Kevin & Amanda has put together an easy to use, simple, informative tutorial to help you understand the basics of your camera. I found it incredibly helpful which got me back into the shooting of things! It's not that I don't know how to use the camera, I just needed a quick refresher on what the heck all the buttons do! I can take pretty darn good photos in natural light, but indoors and at night is another story. Every. Single. Photo is blurry.

As usual, I followed the dogs....and cats around the house, the park and outside taking hundreds of photos. I am pretty sure they were annoyed. So, I'll spare you the hundreds of photos and show you just a handful.

Jimmy

Paisley

Milo

Ellee Mae

Franklin

Franklin + Ellee Mae

So that was that. Yes, I am missing a photos of one dog and one cat. The one cat, I am pretty sure has never been on this little blog because she is frightened of her own shadow. The one dog, Cooper, well, he was way, way too busy playing with his ball to hold still and be photographed.

******

Moving right along to this recipe. This is the second time I have made this Ravioli and Vegetable Soup and the husband LOVES it. I made it again last night at his request and apparently while I was sleeping he was up snacking on it at midnight.

I should mention that it is incredibly easy to make and can be made ahead of time and it only uses one pot! It has great flavor with a bit of heat from the tomatoes and crushed red peppers. It doesn't take too tomato-y either (I don't like tomatoes, but I like this soup). If you're making for the kiddos, I would leave out the peppers and use regular tomatoes because I think it is really spicy (in a good way).

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups hot water
1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram
1 6- to 9-ounce package fresh or frozen cheese (or meat) ravioli, preferably whole-wheat
2 cups diced zucchini, (about 2 medium)
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pepper-onion mix, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, broth, water and basil (or marjoram); bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper.

That's all. Happy Martin Luther King day!

fill in the blank friday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:55:00 +0000

It's been a while, but I am linking up over at The Little Things We Do today for Fill in the Blank Friday. Come play along...it's fun!

[Jimmy-catching some rays on my desk]

1. The last thing I ate was Almond Rocca, like 20 pieces of it! Washed them down with some ice cold water .

2. The last song I listened to was Zac Brown's "Martin" .

3. Using the letters in my name I can spell ughh...it is far too early in the morning to use my brain and my long name. We'll just skip this one! .

4. If I had to dress in one color for the rest of my life I would pick black, black and more black. A color (technically not a real color) that I wear almost everyday already, so I guess not much would change .

5. If you were to look in my bag right now you'd find well, lucky for you all, I just cleaned my bag, otherwise this post would have gotten significantly longer. I have my wallet, gift cards/coupons, keys, loose change for parking meters, two cell phones, my husbands chewing tobacco can and come loose beads (random, I know).

6. When I finish filling in the blanks I'm going to shower and go .

7. My all time favorite song to dance to is I don't dance...not my thing! .

2012 resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:27:00 +0000

[Milo-2012 Resolution Supervisor]

Every year I set resolutions/goals for the new year. I love when a new year rolls around and I have any opportunity to reevaluate and start fresh. There is something inspiring about having a fresh start, a clean slate if you will. Keeping the goals on the radar past the first 30 days is usually another story. I am resolving this year to have realistic and attainable goals---I think last year my goals were something like: to save a million dollars, travel the world, get in shape, and become the CEO of Google.

So in an attempt to actually be successful in this little adventure, my goals for 2012 are few and relatively simple.

*My biggest and most important goal this year is to pay off our debts, specifically our car and two credit cards. Once these loose ends are tied up we will have so much more freedom to do things we want when we want. The husband has a sabbatical coming up within the next year and I want to be able to venture around the world and visit some of the places on our lengthy bucket list.

*Continue and maintain my gym routine. I find it incredibly easy to stop for a few days and never go back. Since December, I have been doing pretty darn well at maintaining a five day per week routine. Now to stay inspired and keep it going for the year...

*Get my Etsy storefront up and running. It's just one of those 'just do it' things. I could find a million and one reasons to procrastinate on this but I have been doing that for last 12 months and, well, here we are. Still on the trusty resolution list :)

*Get more comfortable with the DSLR camera. We don't have kids so I have never gotten in the habit of documenting events, parties...life. I rarely think to bring the camera along until it is too late and the event has passed--then I am bummed! I am challenging myself to learn more about the camera, practice, practice, practice, and create a habit of taking the camera with me everywhere.

Those are the big things for 2012. I am determined to muster up the strength, want, need, courage and energy to accomplish these four big monsters. Oh pray for my soul!