Exciting things at my job

We've been working hard lately, Natalie and I. And yesterday it all paid off. We launched Natalie's new blog! It was so exciting and it felt so good to finally have it up. Natalie is a talented photographer, mother, and business woman. I am very blessed to work with her.
So cheers to the new blog.
Go check it out here.

New Hair Cut

My man got a new hair cut. What do you think?
The inspiration? GQ magazine.
So if you are thinking, "Wow, that is so GQ!"
You are right, it absolutely is.

Beach Day

Recipe for good beach day: delicious Thai food, cookies, sunny day, perfect waves, the man I love.

Chocolate Stack Loaf

picture and recipe found here

I have never liked working out. I believe in being healthy and active, I'm just not always the best at it. However, I recently discovered a little secret that gets me to the gym. They have stacks upon stacks of magazines, including my favorite... Better Homes and Gardens. I have loved this magazine since I was probably 16. I never was a normal teenage girl, sigh. Anyway, one morning at the gym I cam across this recipe and I snatched it up! (I actually tore it out of the magazine... I feel slightly bad about it but I just had to try it!). I found the perfect occasion for the cake... Curry night with our friends the Bridges (which was SO tasty btw). Ok, so chocolate and curry.... not exactly perfect but it was good enough. The cake came out a little dry because my oven got turned down half way through but besides that and my horrible cutting skills it was perfect. Our favorite part.... heating up the leftover frosting and using it as fudge on our ice-cream. Talk about out of this world, I'm not even kidding you. Delish! If you don't make the cake at least make the frosting. Its like a hot fudge ganche and I love it. One thing to note about the recipe if you do make the cake, you actually make it in a cake pan... not a loaf pan. Brilliant! No wonder I love the gym now. Gym=chocolate cake :)

Understanding Hawaii lingo 101

Now you know! :)

Little Blue and Sewing 101

I don't know if its a chemical or a mental change that takes place when us woman get married but I think its fair to say that something changes alright. The urge to sew has been racing through my veins ever since that ring graced my left finger. I have a whole google document dedicated to "future projects"... just in case one day I got a sewing machine. Well kids the day has come! And so much sooner than I thought. Here is our $20 purchase from Savers, I call him Little Blue. And yes, he is a he.

Don't mind that this picture is backwards. I took it with my photo booth camera on my computer :)
And here is my first project. A skirt! Pretty simple to make and I didn't do too bad. So my hands can't fit in the pockets..... An easy fix for next time. Sorry this is a crummy picture as well. Go here for the tutorial on how to make your own skirt! Yay!

Basil Butter

Thank you Farmers market for having a whole bunch of fresh basil for 50 cents. And thank you Paula Dean for this awesome recipe. I now have a stick of basil butter in my fridge that I pull out and use for steak, chicken, bread, pasta or whatever I feel like.

What we've been reading

For Christmas Alden's parents gave us, Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. Alden and I have been reading it off and on since we've been here in Hawaii and last week we finally finished it. Not only has it been amazing to spend time reading with my husband but it is also an amazing story about a truly amazing man.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

There are many lessons we have taken from this book and I encourage all who are interested to read it. Nelson Mandela is a man of forgiveness, hope, and peace. I hope to start a Christmas tradition of buying an autobiography/biography to read throughout the coming year. Anyone have any good suggestions for this Christmas? I am thinking C.S. Lewis or Abraham Lincoln.