A Celebration of Christmas

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!

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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

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

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.

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

Courtney

Kupu Maui Feast

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

Ginger lemongrass mousse in a lilikoi.
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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

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

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

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!