LOCAL SUGAR HAWAII

A SATURDAY IN THE SUN

2013-05-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

The boys and I slipped on our good and worn walking shoes, rubber slippers, and committed ourselves to the task of a slow sort of making our way along the streets of Lahaina. Once upon a Saturday in the sun.

We stood under the famous banyan tree in Lahaina park and imagined just what it is to stretch a good long groan of a stretch. That Banyan grows itself with a sort of slow determined reach in one direction and then a rushed letting down of bits of itself; straining towards the fertile soil below, trusting it will catch those lines of knotted roots anchoring it again to the earth. Have you seen a banyan tree grow? It's a slow process of reaching out, believing, falling... hard. Rinse. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It's worth spending a bit of a life standing there under those massive wooden arms looking up. But not too long, you know, for sake of your own stretching and such.

Lahaina is an old whaling village, leftover from days when ships went out to sea carrying souls carrying their whole wide worlds on themselves, a knapsack of hard earned truths. Souls looking to find a sort of grog induced living; tethered to the end of a bloodied harpoon. Plunged deep into the fat of life. No longer certain just who it is that is holding whom; that little knot of a strand of a life twisting madly into that glorious feast of a purpose.

When lives stretched out over the pacific waters in search of salty ports of fertile soil. When living was a banyan tree. A slow sort of a process of reaching out, believing, falling... hard. Growing.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

____________________________________

Please forgive me the long upload for this post. I wanted to share this video in full here, not just as a link. I hope you won't mind.

Some images are graphic and the emotions are raw, as things of beauty often are. If you'd like to stretch your own arms out to share this story, please do. If you find your own story falling fast down, know you will find a safe landing spot here. We can grow our own banyan tree together by sharing our stories, our choices, our courageous living and by being the fertile soil too, where a dear story might gently fall, take root and grow.

Sue Bryce's site, here.

A little about Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy, here.

A resource here.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW #Digin

2013-05-17T07:43:00.001-07:00

The Home Depot Kahului.
Which, strange but refreshing, looks exactly like every one I've ever been in. Ever.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot. Also, turns out they want this to be our story, really truly, so of course the thoughts and quirkiness are all my own.

The boys and I are going to be getting outside this summer. It's true, I've decided, (see entirely unrelated post with small if not minuscule reference to my intended summer love affair with the outdoors here). See? Totally official. Actually, the truth of the the matter? Well, the truth of the matter is we live in Hawaii so inside, outside, right side, left side, it's all the same what with balmy tropical breezes and sunshiny days and all.

But this summer, this summer we're really getting out there where the sun don't do nothing but shine. And we're starting with a wee little bit of backyard organic container gardening.

Organic gardening because, well, you know right? It just makes sense to grow organically especially if, like us, your backyard is the setting for two little boys and their everyday adventures. I like knowing that the food we eat and the dirt we track in are free from chemical fertilizers and such. Although I suspect free from critters, hmm... not so much. And really, I'm hoping that by growing some of our own vegetables and herbs we will be able to eat more of the organic foods I often avoid buying at the grocery store for cost reasons.

Container garden because, we're renting here, you know and so I'd like to plant in such a way that allows us the option of taking the little buggers with us if we, well, get attached, which I so easily do. All. The. Time. Just the other day we almost brought a furry little guy home from Whole Foods where the no-kill shelter had strategically placed the very cutest of puppies and dogs as "ambassadors", read as: completely adorable balls of fur designed for the sole purpose of pulling, hard, at the heart strings of one struggling with attachmentism-- It's a thing if we say it's a thing. But I digress.

And with that in mind, and our new little puppy in tow, kidding Charlie, kidding, the boys and I began our organic gardening adventure at The Home Depot in Kahului.

First things first. One totally rad car of a shopping cart... check. A quick run through all of the pretty shiny things in the garden center, think big manly stainless steel outdoor grills and chaise lounges with brightly colored throw pillows galore, and we're off to find our organic gardening supplies...

I kind of figured I'd do okay with this project just on my own, because, well, I do love The Home Depot, sponsored post or not. Really, truly. (Charlie and I used to go on dates to The Home Depot when we were bright eyed newlyweds renovating our first home. Sad, but true.) And I do like to think of myself as, well, a jack of all trades... master of none? But I had no idea just how helpful and knowledgeable the folks there would be, I mean really. I had one question about organic vegetable gardening and was walked from potted plants to computer monitors back to potted plants until I was satisfactorily satisfied with the flood of organic gardening tips shared and the knowledge that the plants at my local Home Depot are supplied by local farms and farmers.

A garden department bursting at the seams with get out and do it supplies coupled with seriously knowledgeable staff and it didn't take long to start believing that this summer, this summer, will be the very one to turn our brown thumbs green. I'm hopeful.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

The Garden Club, here.

The Apron Blog, here.

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

A HANDMADE MOTHER'S DAY

2013-05-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day. What a beautiful way to lift up those female sources of love in our lives.

I was thinking hard on Mother's Day and thought it would be the perfect time to try out an idea I had toyed with for a while.

To make a completely stylish and functional clutch out of place mats from Pier 1. Have you seen the place mats at Pier 1 lately? Those little buggers are right on trend as prints and patterns go. You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Turns out it isn't so uniquely original, the whole "making a clutch from a place mat idea". Like so many things nowadays it's, well, been done before. But this clutch is all sorts of easy and stylish and inexpensive and most importantly, handmade with lots and lots of love. And I'm thinking it might just make the perfect gift for Mother's Day, or any day really; an easy way to update an outfit as trends change and such, you know, without breaking the bank?

A Stylish DIY Clutch

//Made from placemats//

Supplies

2 rectangular placemats

(1 for the exterior and 1 for a liner)

1 magnetic closure set

scissors

sewing machine

(or needle and thread or craft glue)

First fold the place mat that will be the exterior of the clutch into thirds, (note: I made my top flap a little shorter than the other two "thirds"). Fold the bottom third up onto the center third, once sewn these two will make the pocket for your clutch. Fold down the top flap. You should already be able to see how your finished clutch will open and close once sewn.

Working from the two sides find the center of the "pocket" and affix the female end of the magnetic closure by pressing the pokey parts through the fabric, (you can use scissors to cut small slits on heavier fabric or to protect more delicate fabric). Slip the washer on from the back side and press the "pokey parts" flat to secure.

Lay the liner fabric against the exterior fabric and sew the liner place in place on three of the four sides, leaving one side open.

I like using two finished place mats as they are already sewn on the edges and have a more tailored look and added weight to the clutch once done, you could of course use any fabric to line your clutch.

Fold the top flap of your clutch over to get a sense of where you'll need to place the male part of the magnetic closure. This part is pretty critical as you'll want the two parts to meet in the center of each flap. (You may want to fold the clutch closed and press firmly with your hand or a warm iron to mark the spot.)

Affix the male part of the closure following as the female part and then stitch the last side of the two place mats together.

Finally fold the bottom part up against the middle to form a pocket and stitch along each side to secure. And... ta da.

Like a well spun tale, this clutch is ripe for all sorts of embellishment. I'm thinking I may find just the right shell to affix to it, or maybe just a little fringe in the form of a tassel, before sending it off in the mail, stuffed with all our aloha.

What are your plans for Mother's Day this year?

I'm hoping these boys of mine will pick a few of those big gardenias blooming right outside our front door, stick them in a mason jar, do a big little whoop dee do about the whole thing and then join me for a good long drive along the Maui coast this Sunday morning. I'm thinking there just might not be any sweeter way to spend the day, you know?

Be Well.

Live Sweet,

A helpful bit on attaching those magnetic closures, here.

THE BOYS AND I

2013-05-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

A few things in life lately have given us the slow the hey down and enjoy these moments smack up side the head that only the universe can deliver. You know, when you've gone and wound life up good and tight with plans and schedules and ideas of what it should be. When surely you need it least. A real good jolt of a smack right up side the head. Not always the most appreciated sort of sign from heaven above, but much needed. Still?

I find myself lately, glancing over, usually with elbows buried in dirty dishes or some other domestic duty, at these two little boys and that big Charlie too and can almost hear a future version of myself sighing deeply, some years ahead of this time here, "Those days on Maui. Those were important".

So I'm doing my best to listen good. To press my ear hard against the surface of this living here. To slow way down. You may have noticed it. The quiet of a good long slow down. The posts here have become more occasional, I know. But the living surrounding each post. Oh the living.

The boys and I embarked on our first brave attempts at homeschooling. Well, more so Ty and I. Sean just sort of wonders at the fact that his big brother is around ALL the time and then toddles off with his toys, checking in every so often to confirm, that yes, Ty is still home. And also, no, we aren't doing anything too cool without him.

Homeschooling means we have a little more time for breakfast in the mornings. We have a little more time for everything really. To talk and connect. And I've started to serve it up, those slow morning meals, like a cheese board from one of those highfalutin dining establishments. I love a good cheese board, because for all of its smallness in bites there's such opportunity for flavorful exploration, you know? A few favorites mixed in with some new things I'd like to introduce the boys to and a no rules sort of mixing of flavors and textures on a large platter and breakfast becomes a one dish to clean up sort of ode to variety. A key component in a healthy diet? A healthy Life?

A variety of fruits with organic peanut butter, Nutella, and Greek yogurt for dipping.

It's a novel idea, that breakfast board. We'll do it so long as it works and then, well, we won't. Kind of like homeschooling and most everything else in life. We definitely still have those more hurried mornings. The ones that start with a sprinting through a rushed routine of bowls of cereal and tooth brushing and such. They all have their place in this full life of ours, I suppose. And I think that's a good thing, you know?

Do you have a favorite breakfast routine?

Be well.

Live Sweet,

SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THESE

2013-04-30T12:20:00.001-07:00

The boys and I will be outside all the time this summer, I've decided. We'll be exploring this little Maui of ours and on more lazy afternoons we'll be daydreaming the hours away in that big little teepee we made, exclusively from hardware store finds.

It was one of those gifts you give to someone but are actually giving right back to yourself. Aren't those the best? I had been itching to make the boys a teepee, those Nebraska days of my early childhood may have been tugging at my heart strings just a bit. Okay, a whole heck of a lot. And so, for Ty's tenth birthday, well, we spent a bit of the day at The Home Depot picking up supplies and dreaming little boy dreams of days and nights lived on the wide open range, our backyard. Turns out that, other than the awkward sort of pulling at poles and such, it really doesn't require much at all. You know, if you wanna build one, just for fun.

_________________________________

Supplies

5 (6-8 feet long) dowels

1 10 foot length of rope

1 large canvas painter's drop cloth

Additional Tools

scissors

sewing machine

(optional if you want to cut and customize canvas)

additional rope or clamps

(optional as a no sew means to secure canvas)

an extra set of hands

(always helpful in awkwardly large pole handling situations, right?)

Lay 5 6-8 foot long dowels down on a level surface. Gather the dowels and loosely lash all together about a foot from one end. Tie securely with a knot, or two.

Stand up dowels and moving quickly begin to open up the teepee frame by pulling the dowels away from the center. It's okay if the rope slips slightly at first, once the poles are out a bit this will no longer be possible and you can adjust the rope as needed. Continue working the poles out until you've reached the desired size and the teepee frame is stable.

Drape the canvas around the poles and either cut to size and sew for a custom fit, or, using additional rope or clamps secure loosely around frame, keeping in mind you'll need to be able to open a flap for entry.

This month started out as a sweet sort of stringing along of days, just a slow turning of morning minutes into afternoon hours slipped too easily into evening stillness. It was one of those months, for me, that too willing serves up a false sense of, you've got all the time in this silly little world. I know this because, suddenly, like tomorrow, it'll be May here. And, May, sweet unexpected, here too entirely soon May, I sure am committed to making the most of you, you first month of summer you.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

2013-04-24T13:49:00.001-07:00

The boys and I did a quick weekend trip back to O'ahu. It was a planned sort of a get away, and we had been looking forward to it, really, from the minute we first landed here on Maui. My little cousin, and by little I mean sixteen, which is all too entirely big if you ask me, was confirmed in our church. It's a rite of passage into adulthood and a sending off of sorts as one embarks on a closer walk with God. Since he asked that Charlie of ours to be his sponsor, to stand beside him at his confirmation and to pray for him as he makes his way through this life, well, of course we were there. We are so proud of our little cousin. We always are.

And while this weekend was filled with family and friends and very little sleep, like a good catch up with loved ones often is, well, it also lent itself to just the teensiest of self reflection. This weekend confirmed two things for my ever searching soul. One, O'ahu is the island we love most, just don't tell Maui, 'kay. We just really do love that busy isle with it's capital city. It has it all from the hustle and bustle to the ability to lose yourself on a mountain hike or more secluded bit of beach. O'ahu, if you can see past the traffic, has everything. And, two, my family really does love Charlie and would trade me in for their own version of him without pause. And yes, that stinker of a Charlie knows it. Stinker.

Somewhat on accident we found ourselves staying at The Moana for the weekend. It's the oldest hotel in Waikiki and is an amazing little gem in a place now saturated with hotels of all shapes and sizes. A quick climb up the short flight of stairs to the main hall and one is instantly transported to a place in time far simpler than these. It's as if you can feel the ghosts of surfers and royalty and romantics lingering there still.

We loved being there, although, Charlie and I both agreed that it is a place to go for drinks under the banyan tree and a short sit in the old rocking chairs looking out at Kalakaua Avenue, and not as much as a place to stay the night. Spa resort prices and all, you know? And truth be told, some parts, the en suites, just felt old and not at all in the historic sense.

But darn it if those old bones don't get me every time. And if I wasn't just saying, as we were checking out from our room, that I could so easily spend another day and night snooping around those old halls, studying the kaleidoscope of trim and molding there.

We're settling back into life on Maui these days. Turns out even twenty minute flights carry the potential for chapped lips and scratchy throats, although I suspect we're suffering a bit more from homesickness than anything; Tyty especially.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

The Moana Surfrider, here.

DEAR BOSTON

2013-04-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Boston,

I thought I'd write my heart to you today. I know these words are more for me than you. But if you'll bear with me, well, my thoughts they've turned towards you in the strangest and saddest of ways as of late. And, well, I guess I just thought you should know...

You are that place in old photo albums where two little girls sit propped on little brick walls with little hand sewn dresses falling off their narrow shoulders, new little legs, hardly begun on the marathon of this living here, dangling against the stolid old stone there. You are the summer of my earliest memory.

And it seemed to matter not to you that we spoke little, if any English, foreign and different in our smallness. It was enough that we were there, weaving our living into the grit of your worn cobblestone streets. And time became our common language then. Each turn of a city block a reflection of age giving way to age. You are my fall.

I can find you there, in memories tucked away. I've taught my mind to turn towards you when the blustery storms of this living here seem so mean and cruel. I see the ice skaters on the Commons carving beautiful afternoons into the unforgiving cold. And the joy of mother's tromping hand in hand with their whole little worlds, bundled in scarves and mittens and such, across the freshly fallen snow there. You are the wonder of my winter.

And when that weather changes, in time, and forgiveness comes, and winter gives way to kinder gentler things, I see you there especially. And still, you are my spring.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

For those who have asked, our Boston family members are all safe and sound. Thank you, always, for all your aloha.

We're headed to O'ahu this weekend to spend some time with family and friends there. It just seems the thing to do, you know?

___________________________________

A few links to keep you.

A song, here.

If you read just one thing... The People Who Watch Marathons, here.

If you're struggling with depression and the "s" word doesn't offend you, 21 tips here.

"If we stop running they win", here.

Something beautiful, here.

SUNDAY IN HONOLUA BAY

2013-04-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

The day found us bouncing along dusty country roads as we searched out hidden surf spots in west Maui and lazy afternoon swims in Honolua Bay.

I was a reluctant adventurer, poor Charlie practically dragged me out the screen door as, too happily, it smacked itself shut behind us with a "this'll be good for you" sort of good riddance.

Funny thing of it is I'm the get out there and see the world girl. The eat the fruits of the season, take long satisfying drinks of its wine, and then drink some more, life is entirely too short, girl. But a combination of PMS, which really is that intense PMDD version for me, thank you very much, and the weekend flying by in some sort of unseen hurry and I would have traded just about any adventure for a nap. A Sunday afternoon nap. Is there really any sweeter sort of time to lay your head on a pillow, mid day?

But, that Sunday had other plans. And, also, these three boys, stained with sunblock and armed with a bag full of beach towels, met my suggestions of a nap with a we shall overcome sort of marching on. And the afternoon and the miles of road laid out between here and Lahaina, and beyond, unfolded themselves before us. A gift. Like, as if, that weekend offered up the late Sunday hours, nice and slow. An almost apology for that Saturday that spent itself too quickly.

Sunday in Honolua Bay and the living is easy.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

SHARED HERE: Nap Time Reviews Dawn's Disaster

THE DEFINITION OF TEN

2013-04-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Turns out ten is a number meant to break my ever motherin' heart. Tyty turned it yesterday with a little boy sort of eagerness. I could almost hear him flipping that page in this book of his life. An awkward sort of running his fingers along the top corner of nine, a smudged stain of ink and sweat and living left where they pressed hard against the paper there, and page gives way to page, and one year to the next, and suddenly there is ten; a brand new chapter in a little boy's life.

He's so my little baby and so very much not. You know? He gravitates towards his Dad more these days, that little boy who would pull my arm around himself refusing to fall asleep in the dark of that sweet Hawaiian night without me. He seems to be watching Charlie with the eyes of a boy wondering at the man he will become. And, I've got my eye on them both, from a safe distance, this mama's heart can only take so much of this growing up business, right? Only. So. Much. And ten, it seems is the absolute limit.

Until next year.

Dear Ty,

We love you bigger than space and more. My goodness the you you are becoming... it's amazing to watch you grow. Happy birthday little dude.

Also, I will be curled up in your teepee of a birthday present until further notice. This growing up is so very hard to do.

Happy Weekend.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

A tattoo I'd actually let you get, Ty, here.

You're Aunt gave you this sweet book on the day you were born, here.

(And then the dog chewed it to bits, but oh the aloha in those pages there)

I suppose it all looked a little something like this, here, when we weren't looking.

SHARED HERE: Saturday Show & Tell

MEANWHILE ON MAUI

2013-04-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

That one day, when we set out to see whales in the waters between Maui and well, those other islands out there, (Moloka'i, Lana'i and Kaho'olawe?) we also set out to snorkel Molokini Island. I'd seen it in the pictures, that little crescent moon shaped gem of a spot and we were oh so excited to plunge down deep in its waters. Turns out conditions have to be just so for boats to safely, and with out the spillage of the entire insides of passengers and crew, make it to the famous snorkeling spot. The winds were not in our favor and we ended up at Coral Gardens.

Coral Gardens, guys. The exact spot I'd just said early to Charlie that "we'd better not be going to, uh-uh-uh". We had the better part of an hour to kill before we set sail and we spent it driving along the bit of coast that leads to Lahaina when we turned a corner and found ourselves looking down upon a vast catamaran surrounded by silly little tourists bobbing up and down in the water, like, as if, we weren't just right there on the cliff looking down on them from that coastal highway.

And then an hour or so later and we were those tourists, you guys. Happy little tourists. Back floating, bubble blowing, oblivious little tourists in our little tourist world.

Well played universe. Well played.

And if it wasn't just the sweetest spending of a day. Wouldn't you know I don't think any one of us paid those cars up there on that cliff any sort of mind. It's one of those things that being in a moment, living it from the inside gains you it seems. A wonderfully oblivious sort of partaking in the goodness right before you. And my over critical mind has a lot to learn.

A whole lot. To learn.

Sean found the photographer swimming on the other side of his underwater room with a view all kinds of fascinating. You could just see him filing "underwater camera guy" away in his little brain space reserved for: all things awesome. That's pretty much all there is too it, this life, as far as Sean goes, just one full to bursting file of awesomeness.

That Charlie is just such an easy stoic sort of soul. The boys leaned hard against him, at first, while they took their time finding their sea legs.

Sea legs, it seems, are easier found with flippers on. And also by following your bravest of big brothers around with total believer like devotion. That Sean is so very committed to his self appointed position as Tyty's shadow. They are a sweet little duo. Those two.

The boys and I have been curating an almost respectable list of things to do while in Maui, but I know our finite days here already mean we won't get to all of them. We'll just have to pick a handful and hope for the best.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

P.S. What would you do with six months worth of days in Maui?

Molokini, the place where we weren't, here.

THE BONES OF THIS PLACE

2013-04-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

I'm falling hard for the bones of this Old Wailuku Town. Is that just the weirdest? To have a city full of new just down the street and to find myself, still, poking around under steel grates at river rock supports set in place a century ago? Wondering at life through chipped window panes misshapen by the settling of time? It's all just so old and dusty and, also, so very me.

I could easily lose a day, or a happy sort of lifetime, wondering at the peoples who have gone before, and the bits left behind in the bones of a good old city? What living they must have done, what hopes and fears and burdens borne there as they set in place stone by stone the plane of our living here?

Be well.

Live Sweet,

Remember when this space was opened up and shared once in a while? I took a bit of a hiatus as we moved our lives and settled in here just a bit, but I'd love it if you'd share your story by linking up below. I hope you will.

SHARED HERE:

The Life of a Not So Ordinary Housewife

Katherine's Korner

LIVING IN BLACK AND WHITE

2013-04-09T19:34:00.001-07:00

Lunch, today, was a picnic in the park. A stretching ourselves out long and slow on an old quilt turned picnic blanket with daddy. There were no pretenses just a sort of slowing down, in a one hour lunch break sort of a hurry, and seeing each other in the light of that Maui sun filtered through the branches of an old tree.

Each of the boys had their own little brown paper bag to rummage through. There were cheese quesadilla, an easy crowd pleaser with three and nine year olds, and because mommy's laziness sometimes, often times, knows no sort of bounds, well, there was an unpeeled tangerine and uncut apple in each. The tangerines peeled easily enough, but the apple. That Sean had a little mousey nibble here and a quick half-hearted bite there before deciding he couldn't be bothered with the effort of of it all.

So naturally, as no one else was finding the remains of Sean's apple overly appealing (we just weren't that hungry, you know), we took the apple home and cut it into a sweet little block of a stamp.

One plain white tee, a little black fabric paint and a sunny afternoon later and that sweet silly Sean is ready to rock his own petite version of right off the runways black and white fashion. Also, he's elevating the timeless trend of preschoolers wearing their lunch? Maybe?

A DIY Hand Stamped Geometric Tee

1 apple (slightly nibbled, okay)

1 plain white t shirt

1 piece of cardboard

Black fabric paint

A knife for cutting apple

Stretch t shirt out on a covered work surface and slip a sheet of cardboard inside the shirt to prevent paint from bleeding through. Carefully cut away the sides of the apple so that the shape you would like to stamp protrudes from the body of the apple and so that the face of the shape is flat and free of skin.

Dip your apple stamp in your paint. Test out your stamp a few times before using it on your shirt. I found that pressing the stamp on a sheet of paper and cleaning up the edges before pressing it on the t shirt helped to remove excess paint.

Let dry completely, remove cardboard and rock those leftovers like nobody's business.

I have this thought that we should, maybe, come up with a way to stamp an arrow, a whole entire arrow, shaft fletching and all, out of one little 'ole apple. It's a bit ambitious, I know, but I'm thinking with just a little more practice I could really set Sean to work nibbling apples into stamps, like full time or something.

Do you have a closet full of trendy keiki, (kiddo), items for your littles? Truth: we're lucky if most days we can get Sean out of his Spiderman pajama bottoms. They coordinate with nothing and that suits Sean just fine.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

P.S. Just how big of an apple would you say we'd need to stamp this here?

I'd like to get Sean started on the nibbling away at it and all.

Aren't these little leggings, here, just so lovable?

Pricey. But, lovable?

SHARED HERE: Setting For Four

That DIY Party
Knock Our Socks Off
Savvy Southern Style

A MAXI SORT OF LOVE...

2013-04-08T18:02:00.000-07:00

Long story short, I'm in love with this season's maxi skirt and I think our love affair is one that's gonna last, you know? For a good long while.

I just love the way they hug, without apology, real women curves. Squeeze? And if ever, in the land of never, there were a truly, no lie, sort of effortless way to elevate an impromptu lunch or quick run to the grocery store, well a cascading maxi skirt would likely be it.

Lately I've been loving the Bobeau line. It's like they get that women are most beautiful when our circulation isn't being cut off by unforgiving waist lines. It's almost, like they actually don't hate us; maybe even love us? Genius. I kiss your face Bobeau.

Do you live your days and nights in a maxi? Skirt or dress? Day or night?

Be well.

Live Sweet,

A drool worthy contender, here.

this girl's night in...

2013-04-07T00:40:00.003-07:00

The boys packed a blanket and are off to watch monster truck races from the back of Daddy's truck, it's all so very big boy...

It's also such a perfectly beautiful opportunity to make a decadent mommy treat and settle in for a good long sit in this little space we're creating here. The perfect end to a Saturday in the Maui sun? It just might be.

A Simple Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse with Spiced Oranges and a Sea Salt and Chocolate Shard

2-3 tablespoons of Nutella

1-2 cups of whipped cream (from the can)

semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

sea salt

1 small orange or tangerine

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp powdered sugar

a dash of cinnamon

orange zest

For the mousse:

Fold in 3 tablespoons of Nutella into 1 cup of whipped cream, the cream will deflate quite a bit as you blend the two. Once the cream and chocolate hazelnut spread are well blended gently fold in an additional cup of whipped cream, or as needed. Place in a ramekin (or 2) and refrigerate, the longer the better.

For the sea salt and chocolate shard:

In a small microwave safe bowl melt 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate on medium, stirring every minute until smooth. Do not over heat. If necessary use additional chocolate chips to temper melted chocolate. Spray a sheet of waxed paper with non stick cooking spray. Spread chocolate on waxed paper in a thin layer. Place in freezer for a few minutes, remove and sprinkle with sea salt. Keep in freezer until firm or until ready to use. Break into large pieces.

For spiced oranges:

Segment a small orange. In a small bowl coat oranges with lemon juice, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

To assemble:

Garnish the mousse with additional whipped cream, the sea salt chocolate chard, spiced orange and orange zest (if desired).

This week I'll be participating in the Ultimate Blog Party, an annual event hosted by Susan and Janice, the sister team behind Five Minutes for Mom. If you aren't already a part of the festivities you can join the fun here and if you're here from the event, well, welcome, of course. Truly, welcome.

A little about Local Sugar Hawaii, you know, if you were wondering...

I'm Nicole, just a girl living local in Hawaii. I spend my days learning to be a mom and a wife and a flawed, but comitted, sort of human being.

We are writing a wonderful story here. A story about those exhilarating ups, challenging downs and all of those beautiful moments in between as we ride the wave of life, together.

I hope you'll join us and enrich this space with the wonderful living you are doing, wherever your local may be.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

If you're new here, a few favorite posts to get you started:

Shades of Blue

On Being a Full-time Dreamer

Bonging The Captain

Sometimes When I Slip, I Fall

happy, happy hour...

2013-04-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

A recipe.

There were a good two weeks there when it seemed we were eating out, these boys and I, for every real sort of meal we had.

Between the getting in those sweet last meals with friends and family and the cleaning out of the fridge, well, it just sort of worked out that we were memorizing the backs of color your own place mat keiki meals at our favorite restaurants. All in a good moves work, it seems.

And along with that came a new found love for mozarella sticks, which although usually an appetizer, split two ways with a side of the best parts of Daddy's salad, sorry Charlie, made for a decent meal for the two boys. Although not nearly healthy enough for a daily dish, this homemade version thrown together from a combination of a few different recipes and a little common sense, works quite wonderfully for a quick economical version.

Mozarella Sticks with a Marinara Dipping Sauce

6 string cheese sticks

1 egg

1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup vegetable oil

For the sauce

2 1/2 cups marinara sauce

1 can tomato paste

1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper for easy clean up. Using a fork beat the egg slightly in a small bowl. In a separate bowl mix the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Working with one at a time dip the cheese stick in the egg and then press it into the Parmesan and breadcrumb mixture. ( For better coverage and more crust go ahead and double dip repeating the steps, this may require more egg/ crumb mixture)

Place coated Mozzarella sticks in a baking sheet lined with wax paper and freeze for 2 hours or overnight.

When you're ready to serve, heat up oil and brown cheese sticks, turning once.

(I'm working on a baked version of this for obvious caloric reasons. It's not quite there yet.)

For the sauce

In a small pot heat the marinara and tomato paste, stirring until blended and sauce is thickened. Season with Parmesan as desired.

The thing of it is, all of the prep work can be done in advance and if sealed in an airtight container, days in advance. So that just before that happiest of hours you can brown your cheese sticks, heat up your sauce and get on with that lovin' Aloha Friday feeling. Goodness that is the very sweetest of feelings.

The boys and I are so looking forward to exploring Wailuku's First Friday tonight. It's seems THE monthly local event, this side of Maui, for food and music and such. Thanks Kendra Kay Pahukoa for the insider tip. Any plans for the weekend wherever your local maybe?

About that weekend... We should get on with it, don't ya think?...

Happy, Happy Hour.

Happy Weekend too.

Be well.

Live Sweet,

If, like myself, when you hear "two thumbs up" you naturally assume one of those upturned indexes is his, well you may just love this list of Roger Ebert's 20 best movie reviews, here.

And a heartfelt essay , here.

If we celebrated Holi, well I think we'd fill that Indian sky with colors and all the while we'd dance, to this song, here.

Oh the places we will go, just as soon as we figure out just where it is we want to be, right? A giant wall map I could so lose myself in, here.

feeling turquoise...

2013-04-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

With spring in the air and summer just a stone's throw of a season away, well, I've been feeling all sorts of blue. Turquoise, actually. Turns out moving out of our home has me all sorts of interior decorator dreaming, who'd a thunk it? And, lately, when I dream of color, I dream of that green laden shade of blue.

Here are a few favorites I found while searching for pops of turquoise, you know, for when we're back in our little beachy home.

//source//

I'm loving the geometric mount these vintage antlers sit on. Although, that little patch of fur there does make it all a bit too real for me, I mean I might feel like I should give it a good scratch right there between the horns and then I'd start thinking of the deer who surely misses this pair and well, you know... it'd be Bambi all over again.

//source//

Someday I will have, like a gazillion dollars and I'll say to myself, self we should so blow it all on a light bulb, don't ya think? And this here will be the very one. Someday?

//source//

Really truly, is there anything more at home in the islands than a water color print of a big branched out bit of coral. I love.

//source//

I could get lost in the lines of this piece with it's frantically hurried movement and total stillness, all at once. I worked in an art gallery, for a great long while, under an amazing soul of a gallery director who was fascinated by the power of color and its ability to draw us in and affect us. I wish I knew now what it says about a person to be obsessed with all things turquoise. Or perhaps, better not to know.

//source//

This vase from Ikea, so completely doable. It's like, as if, it was made just for that single stem of orchids here.

//source//

That fabric there on those upholstered headboards, it's possible Charlie would come home and find me curled up against one of them lovingly stroking the contours. Entirely possible. Also, slightly scary.

What colors speak to you? Are you a brave soul when it comes to color? Did you know emerald is, apparently there are experts who apply their expertise to this, THE color for 2013 and way more importantly it's a color derived from... turquoise? It's true, the color for the whole entire year, see here, here and here. Are you sold on all of this? Do you wanna, you know, curl up in that other bed over there and talk all about the silliness of choosing colors for the year sometime the year before while we lovingly stroke the contours of those gorgeous turquoise headboards there? That would be all kinds of weird, right? Right. But, fun?

Be well.

live sweet,

Miss Turquoise? I think ... yes.

Her turquoise obsession, here, makes mine look all amateurish.

Also, I'm pretty sure we'd be the very best of friends, you know?

flip flops and little coffee talks...

2013-04-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

I've been flip flopping an awful lot lately. Wondering a bit about this little space here... Questioning that bigger meaning out there... All the while grasping at those little bits too easily lost in the spaces in between. And I was thinking maybe, you and I, we could have one of our little talks over coffee?...

If we met for coffee, here today in this Starbucks in Queen Kaahumanu Center, we'd kiss our hellos, island style, and likely gaze through these floor to ceiling panes of glass that, in this fading sunlight, reflect ourselves looking out as much as they allow us to peek lazily at the passersby. I see you there. Can you see me here?...

Charlie came home the other day for lunch, it's a luxury that Maui affords us, it's one of the dearest reasons we are here. Time. Sweet sweet time. What will we ever do when the commute is once again anything more than three maybe four minutes? And as soon as he walked in, that poor sweet Charlie, I flipped when really I had no intention of even just the itty bittiest of flops. And before I knew it I was crying big fat sloppy tears right into our impromptu lunch. And I love my children... drop. And I love my life... drop, drop, drop. Oh our poor beautiful lunch. Turkey and spinach wraps served with a thick spread of fresh pesto and a side of whine. But I needed that cry as much as Charlie needed to see it, that softening, that needing of him, that "everything is sometimes not so very okay and that's okay" moment, you know? It was a good for nothing sort of cry, and somehow it was everything, laid out there before the altar of our marriage. And that Charlie, he folded me into his arms and asked me just what I needed, you know, to be happy.

And you know, if I knew, well...

Have you ever felt that way? Like, as if, you've walked into a well stocked grocery store of a life with aisle upon aisle of shelves filled with anything you could possibly want and you, all the while, armed with the knowledge that you can have whatever you might need if you could just remember what that was exactly. If you only knew.

Remind me what we're looking for here, would ya?

And what if we just started aimlessly down each aisle counting every blessing on the shelf, pulling them down, holding them in our two hands, reading the ingredients listed there, things like "pure joy" and "one hundred percent natural kindness" and "organically grown love" and such? I suspect it wouldn't take long before we'd find that hole filled to overflowing. Or, at the very least, we'd happen upon a suitable substitute of some kind. And we could, you know, get on with cooking up this beautiful sort of life we're making here.

But enough about me and this strangely beautiful time in our lives here. How are you? And, also, what is up with that girl outside the glass there with the bedazzled tiara on her head and the cutoff shorts, and the slippers? What a curiously wonderful world. I'm so very glad we're in it together, you know?

Be well.

live sweet,

A theme song, of sorts, for these days here.

a spring fling...

2013-04-03T11:33:00.003-07:00

When I was in my freshman year of college, in snowy Colorado, there was this campus wide student event held when that thick blanket of snow finally gave way to just the most determined of blossoms. They called it, "Spring fling-a-ding dong"? I know, right?

It was a frisbee wielding celebration of sorts as we brought out our picnic blankets and stretched them taut, defiantly sitting, again, in that warm sun. Ignoring the little piles of icy snow, still holding on in the shadier spots, we showed our solidarity with those determined blades of green who would be the very first to poke their heads out from the cold and call it spring at last. Spring. At. Last.

Turns out it was also a really good excuse to say "ding dong" and wholly expect to be taken seriously. We were young coeds, it was the nineties.

//Orchids blossoming in the backyard, Maui//

And, while spring in Hawaii and spring in Colorado are quite entirely different things, well, they still both awaken a sort of need to stretch out again after a long winter's nap. The sun itself starts to linger on it's way across the sky. The earth seems determined to warm itself, to let the chill of a long winter melt away. In Hawaii the ocean loses its fight, just a bit, and the epic waves of winter give way to calmer, more peaceful, movements.

And, while I still giggle at the very thought of that event of my early college years, more so the silliness of it's name, and it's ability to pop back into my mind, unfailingly, that little blossom of a spring memory; well, these boys and I will be immersing ourselves in a spring fling of our own this year with the help of The Home Depot Garden Club.

We'll plan out a handful of projects to get us out into that Spring sun and The Home Depot Garden Club, with it's regional to-do list will help us get them all done, Hawaii style. Wherever you may be when that spring sun starts to shine down on you, you can find a whole heap of ideas and resources as well as a community of lovers of all things beautifully spring, here.

Here's to a good long spring fling.

Be well.

live sweet,

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need for spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, The Home Depot has you covered and can help you #DigIn to Spring.

Spring is the perfect time for all your outdoor home renovations. Shop The Home Depot for terrific values on new patio furniture, landscape supplies such as fertilizer and potting soil and outdoor grills. Keep your lawn and garden looking great, too, with the huge selection of lawn mowers, edgers and trimmers, and garden tools.

Visit The Home Depot Garden Club for product ideas from kick-starting your Spring with seed starter kits to building a window birdfeeder.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

joy is...

2013-04-01T03:59:00.001-07:00

Joy is waking up at three thirty in the morn because the one you love made it their ever loving mission to watch the Easter morning sunrise from the summit of Haleakala, the house of the sun.

Joy is telling that someone you love that it's all too much, too early and that, as this was all their idea, well, you'll no longer be talking to them, for. like. ever., and then, of course, quickly laughing at the silliness, together, as you load two sleeping boys and a thermos of hot cocoa into a car headed ten thousand feet above sea level.

Joy is making it to the top and finding you are not alone.

Joy is knowing that there are other travelers aplenty, standing on that dark cold summit; kindred spirits, chasing that same, fleeting, moment in the sun.

Joy is going out to meet the new day, face to face.

(Even if it was oh so stinkin' cold up there that you found yourself snuggling awkwardly close to perfectly good strangers, you know, for body heat and such.)

Happy Easter to You and Yours.

Thank you for the sweet joy you share with this little family of ours and for the going on this silly little journey with me here. It means the whole wide world, it just really truly does.

Here's to another beautiful go 'round the sun.

Be well.

live sweet,

P.S.

Proof, in photos, of that cold up there.

An iced over puddle on the side of the road... in March, in Hawaii guys.

meanwhile, on maui...

2013-03-26T16:02:00.001-07:00

The whales, they play and poke their whole wide whale-ness out of the blue Pacific ocean.

We sort of came to an agreement, that Charlie and I. A pinky swear, cross your heart hope to die, clearly, a real life and death, sort of pact. We decided before we left O'ahu that we wouldn't let ourselves dilly dally too long with the details before plunging into life here on Maui. It happens, you know? That sort of too easily slipping in to the business of the everyday and somehow altogether forgetting to partake in the sacred that surrounds. We gave ourselves a whole week to sort out whose toothbrush should go where and just where each towel should be hung, should anyone bother to actually hang a towel in this little family of ours. And then we made the beds, sort of, slipped on our slippers, sloppily, and hurriedly boarded a boat bound for whale watching.

//This sweet little babe of a whale. Sigh//

We watched in awe as a mama whale taught her newborn to breathe and play and wield its big beautiful self round like the vessel of sacredness it so obviously is. And all the while I could almost hear the mama whale wondering if she'd remembered to pack her toothbrush on that long trip down from Alaska. And also if putting it in the cup holder to the left of the sink made sense. Or, maybe it'd be better on the right.

Be well.

live sweet,

maui, i'm in love...

2013-03-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Or at least I'm in the early days of a good, long, spring through summer sort of fling.

We've been on Maui a week now. Goodness gracious, a whole week?

It seems so very like just yesterday we landed in Kahului and did the "you stay with the kids, I'll get the bags" shuffle which always elicits a sort of stare down as I insist I should get the bags whilst Charlie watches the kiddos, score one for women's lib?. It's an old drama I insist we reenact every time we are faced with traditional male/ female roles, I'm still not sure why Charlie continues to indulge me, like as if I ever had any real desire to lift our filled to maximum weight capacity bags and lay them at his feet like the fresh kill they are, recently wrangled from the belly of a fierce 767 aircraft. It ended, without incident, that beginning to our Maui adventure, as it always does, with a sort of "every man to their bags" humping it to the curb where Charlie, that sweet Charlie, insists we wait while he fetches the car. It's all so chivalrous in a silly National Lampoons sort of way. The kids and I curbside sitting on, literally our little tooshes squished-ed atop, bags and bags of all our worldly possessions.

The truth is we've never really moved before, other than down the street, and as soon as we got to the airport I realized I'd over packed. But, also, that I'd forgotten, in my haste, a few of the more critical things I'd wished I'd remembered. A toothbrush. A left side to my favorite pair of slippers. These things they happen?

But we are here. And here is good.

Already I can feel a sense of calm, of being just so thoroughly committed to living this very moment. And after a crazy sort of whirlwind move these things remain... These boys and I and Maui. A sort of troupe of performers ready for the next act. Cue the lights.

And, also, the ukuleles. Ukuleles would be good.

Be well.

live sweet,

n

Here's to the possibilities. To the oh so many acts, the still interludes, the fierce climaxes we'll live out a thousand splendid times before this beautifully long life is played out. To the finding just where we're meant to be. And to the being, all the while, just so wonderfully right where we are.

craigslist: a home tour...

2013-03-19T12:25:00.001-07:00

I feel a bit rusty here. It's been a while. But here goes; a little bit about the story of us, lately...

Charlie in his infinite, and sometimes "so not really wrong, ever" wisdom-- which is a lovable and also so completely gag worthy quality, resolved that the very thing to do before we jumped that little puddle of ocean between us and sweet Maui, well, the thing to do would be to rent out our house on O'ahu. And all the while, in my mind, I had every intention of locking the doors on our clutter and calling it a day. A pretty darn good day, if I do say so myself.

After much pouting and also curiously curling up in corners with my beloved dust bunnies, weird, but true-ish, and the clutter I'd lovingly curated, well, I conceded that Charlie was right. A good purge was just the thing we needed before our next sweet adventure.

It resulted in my first Craigslist listing and this little sort of island home tour, just for you.

I give you a sweet peek into our little housey, all cleaned up and sterile and such. Turns out renters are all kinds of in to that sort of thing, but not so much the dust bunnies. Odd.

It's the place we first brought Sean home to in his earliest days in this little world of ours and tucked him, safely, in next to his eagerly awaiting big brother. It's the home where, if you listen just so, you can hear that Pacific ocean on a quiet Hawaiian night. And where on sunny summer days you can follow the stream bed to mountain waterfalls and panoramic views. It's where we first saw the possibilities of this little Maui adventure. And while I find it just a tad bit odd that someone else is doing all sorts of living there now, I am all sorts of grateful too.

Grateful for sweet friends and family who have helped us fill our home with beautiful memories and who have so easily laughed right along with us at the silliness of this little life and, also, my collection of dust bunnies. Grateful to all of you who through email and comments and your sweet patience have shared so much sweet aloha with our little family as we've gone through these crazy days of learning just what it means to move. To let go. To jump.

For all of you. For everything. We are grateful. Just truly grateful.

Be well.

live sweet,

The winner of our West Elm Giveaway, here.

A little bit of Maui, here.

Because fresh coconuts sipped through straws make this island girl giggle. They just do.

this little light...

2013-02-21T10:23:00.000-08:00

and a whole lot of West Elm.

This one's for you. 'Just totally and utterly yours.

You know, just because...

Because, Michelle who writes at This Little Light, here, is just the very sweetest of dear souls. And because, when she said giveaway I knew we should share something beautiful to illuminate these last dreary days of winter.

Because, my beautiful sister and I found ourselves, one wintry eve, wondering about the spaces of a West Elm store in the heart of Salt Lake City. And somewhere, in that sweet design clutter, I learned a little something more of her and her light.

And also, of her love for those rustic French rolling pins. Oh those French and their pins. Is there any more sensual way to set about rolling out a great mass of dough than with a French rolling pin? It's just all so... French?

Because, I'd thought I'd died and gone to heaven there, under those designer lights.

Because, everyone should feel, sometime on their walk across this earth, as if they'd just died and gone to heaven. You know? Just because.

Something about the winter winds blowing outside and the warmth and stillness within that space. Because, when you're surrounded by thoughtfully selected pieces and good company isn't it really just such a dream of a moment to be in?

Even if every dear piece has a price tag stubbornly affixed to it's bottom or dangling it's little tongue out at you, mockingly. And even still, despite those quizzical glances from behind the cash register that insist this is just a store in an upscale shopping mall.

I could have stayed, right there, in that divine little gem of a store for far longer than any reasonable person should, really.

For. Like. Ever.

You should have a little moment of your own. I'm convinced.

So, Michelle and I are giving away a forty dollar gift card to West Elm. To add a little light to these last bits of winter. You know, just because.

You can get to know Michelle better here. Do all sorts of West Elm dreaming here. And, enter to win below.

Be well.

live sweet,

To Enter:

Share your light.

What brightens your long days of winter?

//Leave a comment below; daily if you'd like.//

Follow This Little Light on

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Facebook

little coffee talks...

2013-02-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

If we met today for coffee, here in this old Hawaii beach town, I'd say...

You have to try the latte, really.

The sweet owner of the shop is a little head scarf wearing Japanese woman who seems to so vehemently believe every latte order an invitation to make art. She's such a contrast to her towering Texan of a husband whose heavy hand thrusts pounds of meat on the rusty smoker out back for the pulled pork sandwiches. Oh go for the pulled pork too, although, maybe not in the same sitting?

I'd ask if you'd seen any whales yet, this season. It is whale season now, you know? Although the waters have been mostly rough these past months and so, despite their giant presence, even the whales seem lost in all of the white caps churning off shore.

And then we'd both likely look out across the two lane country highway and out at the sea and wonder about that churning out there, and about those whales, just beneath the surface, who have come to birth their young in these warmer winter waters.

There's a lesson there, perhaps, a deeper meaning, but we'd probably move on too quickly to find it just yet, you know?

And we'd talk on.

About Maui and the move our little family will make in just a few short weeks. And I'll admit it hasn't really sunk in. It's a twenty minute flight from here, and I know I should be packing, but I can't help but feel as though we're just going down the street and can run home to pick up those forgotten things. I'll tell you I can feel Charlie watching me, these days, as one baffled by a strangely odd creature, from behind his list of "to do's". We are so very different in that way.

How are you? This winter is such a silly little beast of a season isn't it?

And we'd pull our sweaters more tightly around ourselves dismissing our legs as they stretch out, exposed, from our board shorts and the little ties of our bathing suits poking out at the back of our shirt collars. And we'd go on and on about how cold it was last night. Like, pull a blanket up to our chins cold. Like, actually snuggle up next to the other body in the bed cold. Like, we KNOW cold, cold.

But it's Hawaii and also, it's seventy one degrees and we'll giggle at this winter, like you can, while having coffee with a dear friend, by the beach, in Hawaii.

Be well.

live sweet,

Sweet tunes... It's Valentine's Day!

Love by localsugarhawaii on Grooveshark

it's not so much that it was fat...

2013-02-12T22:51:00.000-08:00

It's that it was the sweetest little salt sprayed chubber of a Tuesday.

'Just all sorts of squishable, that Fat Tuesday afternoon, you know? Stuffed with moments filled with little King's cake like gems of smiles and giggles, of "cut me another slice would ya" goodness.

The boys had swim lessons after school and then the boys had an extra long session on the slides and swings with the very sweetest of friends and then the boys had the sea.

The beautiful north shore of O'ahu sea.

Friends and the sea, all in one fat slice of a Hawaiian afternoon.

We're looking forward to a quiet sort of Ash Wednesday, okay, at least I am. A mama can dream of quiet days can't she?

'Hope your Tuesday was fat in all the juiciest sort of plump little ways.

Be well.

live sweet,