caught the love bug!

in honor of love day this video will surely show you that sometimes love never dies, even 62 years later.....





happy valentines day to you and your lovahhhh!
go catch the bug!

friday i'm in love

i'm pretty sure this shirt was literally made for me.
just me.

oh of course they made tons and sell them to anyone but i'm sure i was their muse.

well, friday shirt designer wherever you may be, i gladly accept the honor and will wear this shirt proud-probably every friday from now until it falls off my body. 

that will be a sad day but we wont worry about that right now coz we gots that whole aloha friday thing to celebrate!!

girl loves her some friday!
howbout you??
oh, and because i loves ya thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much (big wide-spread arms) if you look below you can link up with an aloha affair!!
yay right?
be sure and follow your hosts and share the love back so then we can share it back again and then you can and then we can, well, ya get the pic right?!!

Hosted by: 

Local Sugar Hawaii

&

An Aloha Affair's Amazing November Team

Kendra * Aleksandra * Raven *  Anna  * Harmony

Each week we'll highlight two team members' responses to our conversation starter so that you can get to know them better. 

This month's conversation starter:

What Are You Thankful For?

I hope you'll enjoy getting to know these sweet souls.

For more info on joining future An Aloha Affair teams please email:

localsugarhawaii@gmail.com

silent sunday

 

shhhh.....

let there be fireworks

initially my family was gonna have a very quiet stay at home 4th of july this year. this would be very different from any 4th we have ever celebrated but after coming home from a big vacation we welcomed the thought of lounging around the house, eating whenever and whatever with the possibility of maybe napping here or there.

everything changed when my good friend erin said, "hey, come over, let's swim, let's bbq, let's have fun."

she had me at 'hey'.

i'm easy.

so as i am generally crowned the 'dessert girl' (and i wear a crown well) i went to work making 4 dozen of the famous mini s'mores that always make their appearance right around this time of year.

i could probably just eat these all day.

i have been known.

i don't even feel shameful.

they are that good. <shrug>

as we celebrate with friends, eat, drink, swim, dance in a parking lot with strangers (it was maybe once or twice!) get sunburned, laugh, hug, love and cheer remember the true meaning of the day (oh no, here she goes, getting all 'mom" on us, trying to teach us again) and what it means to our great country.

the 4th of july is a celebration of our independence-the day the 13 colonies took legal separation from the kingdom of great britain.

well, actually that occurred on the 2nd and a team of 5 (john adams, thomas jefferson, benjamin frankin, roger sherman, and robert livingston) revised, approved and signed the declaration of independence on the 4th of july.

many historians believed it was signed almost a month later in august but what do they know?

i'm goin with what those 5 guys said. i think at this point-that's the safe bet.

okay, so a few cool facts then i'm out:

-adams and jefferson the only 2 other signers of the declaration of independence that went on to be presidents both died on the same day- july 4th, 1926. that was the 50th anniversary of the declaration. strange huh?

-i will be dancing in a parking lot later with fireworks over my head most likely to the tune of "baby you're a firework",by katy perry.

now go on with yo bad selves and 4th it up!

wait, take one of these with you too!

love/hate

today i am linking up with a really fun girl noel (don't know how to add the umlaut over her "e") on her love/hate link up!

as a new blogger i have been hopping around exploring other fun blogs and noel's got my attention right away.
maybe it was these cool pink glasses she wears in one of her pics, or the fact that she married her high school crush (that's my girl!!) actually it could be that she has 4 kids (i feel like such a quitter with only 3) and they live in an 800 square foot cabin and they are all still alive and seem to like each other?? oh, i bet it's that she can grab buttons for her blog and i can't-really, i am that lame. i can't figure it out. yes, i have watched tutorials and read instructions but it never works for me!

i dunno. i do know she has a supa' fun blog and i am inspired by her. you will be too! soooooo, once you are done reading my fabulous love/hates hop on over to read hers, see her fun pics and check out her corner of the world today.


i love diet coke
i hate that its not spinach giving me nutrients so i can drink 5 a day

i love road trips
i hate that my husband doesn't like being in cars for hours upon hours upon hours...??

i love my bestie
i hate that she lives too far away

i love summer with my kids
i hate to give them back to the schools

i love teen mom on mtv
i hate farrahs rude teen mouth

i love reading
i hate that i can't get the time back that i wasted on 7 chapters of "50 shades of grey"

i love my grandparents
i hate that they are gone


 now go checkie noel out!
http://noelsbeautifulife.blogspot.com/

aloha friday weekly wrap up

so i missed last week coz i was in palm springs (oh, you didn't know-i didn't facebook, instagram it and shout about it enough????) with the bestie so lets just make that #1 this week!

-picked up julie from the airport and drove right to p.s. and we didnt get lost-not once. queen of the road!

-went hiking in indian canyon. although we were pretty sure we were being lured into a 'hills have eyes' type situation we made it out and saw a pretty cool part of the world.

-got 4 blissful days off. in a row. much needed and much loved.

-spent saturday at glen ivy hot springs spa with two of my fav brunettes. it was awesome-there was mud involved.....

-woke up sunday to 4 people that love me more than i probably deserve. julie and i were spoiled with the best mommas day breakfast followed up with a trip to the rose bowl flea market. julie found a cool iron 's' that was once part of the gates at knots berry farm.

-julie brought me 7 packs of uncle dans dressing from back home. oh, and they are double packs! yessssss!

-started my big brother countdown this week. i know, there is still 63 days left but im obsessed so i countdown. hey, i could be obsessed with robert pattinson and have to go put my hands in his hand print at manns chinese theater.....oh.....

-took julie to manns chinese theater coz she needed to touch where robert pattinson had touched. the ground was dirty. she still touched. she paid $20 for parking. this was all her awesome-not mine.

-got a new tan cream from julie (man she is all over this week in my awesomeness) it really works. i suggest the sundeck in marysville if you need to get yo tan on coz my legs look sun-kissed and not orange or streaky.

-saw a neighbor had a saints flag out in their front yard- never knew they were so cool. like them so much more now....

-the bachelorette started this week. i love emily and love watching reality tv.

-my love affair with coco cafe has begun and you are all here to witness this aloha. coconut water with a shot of espresso. yea. it's real. real awesome. i will just leave you with that aloha......

what my phone saw this week

as long as i have fun pics-i will share....

traylor was having a hat party. i suggested the african beaded tribal hat.
it seemed like a good idea at the time???

     i may have to rename myself soon. lady bug lady

sometimes in life you are lucky to meet genuine people.
you love them, they love you. dig?

this is what happens when you have awesome neighbors that think of you and buy you mini cupcakes.

uh, why is shit in quotes. are we talking about hypothetical shit? i gots all kinds of questions here!!

we love the part where they wash our car with rainbow water...

"you're really awesome-thanks for all your help today siri"

bringin it

coconut candy

if you've ever been to maui and been brave enough to drive the road to hana (i lovingly call this trek puke path) then you have probably had the luxury of eating some of the best coconut candy eva' and it was probably made by shane's auntie pearl (we LOVES pearl!). i don't like coconut however, i will throw punches in order to get the last bag of this coconut candy. i'm not proud of that but the bag is mine!

i have been playing with making this candy and i think i am getting better. there are varying levels of toastiness and sugary goodness so you can sort of add as much as you'd like and keep it slow baking as long as you'd like-whateva' ya flava!

here is what i use:

2 coconuts- don't even do it with just 1 it isn't worth it

natural cane sugar (i use turbinado sugar)

natural dark brown sugar

hammer and nail to crack the coconut (i just use a real hawaiian-much more effective)

true story:

1st time i made this i told my hawaiian that i needed his help in the cracking of the coconut. i left hawaiian in the kitchen with coconut and went to the garage to get a hammer and nail. i couldn't find a nail so i went back to the kitchen to ask hawaiian where he keeps the nails. hawaiian was already draining the coconut juice and drinking it. i still have no idea what hawaiian used to crack open coconut and i am good with not having to know. (swoon)

-be sure your hawaiian has cracked the coconut in many smaller pieces so you can start to peel or cut away the outer brown shell. it's okay if the thin layer of brown shell is left on the meat.

-once you have all the chunks of meat you can either take a vegetable peeler and shave off pieces or you can cut them. i like to cut them because i like when some of the pieces have thicker edges. thicker edges just make the candy a little chewier in the end and that's how my family likes it.

-put the shavings in a zip-lock back with about 1/2 cup of the turbinado sugar and a sprinkle of the brown sugar. put this bag in the fridge for about 20 minutes so the sugar can melt. don't leave it much longer or it will get soggy and won't turn out.

-layer the shavings on a baking sheet and sprinkle with more brown sugar if you'd like. i do coz we are super good friends with sugar in my family.

-bake at lowest temp (i did 170) for about 6-8 hours. every hour you will turn the coconut over and you sprinkle it with a little more sugar. take it out when you feel it is as toasty as you want it. the last 3-5 minutes i pump that oven up to 350 to give it a last toast- but watch it if you do this- it can burn quick.

taaaa-daaaa!!!!

feel that inner aloha? good stuff brah!

my husband is not my best friend

disclaimer: don't be offended if your spouse is your bff- this is simply my opinion which isn't worth crap anyway....

today is my 18 year anniversary. wow. hitting numbers like a boss!!

i have known my husband well over half of my life. we met in high school to be exact. ahhhh, cute right?? i have literally grown up with this man. he is my friend. he is not my best friend. this isn't because i don't find him worthy or don't like him as much as someone else but for me i don't want him to have to carry that title. i need him to be all kinds of other things to me and the pressure of having to be a best friend? to a girl? your wife? nah, i will find a chick for that.

i don't like to bother shane with certain things like asking if my butt looks big in jeans. a best friend will answer truthfully saying, "hmmmm.....ya know what? it does look kinda big - i don't like them on you" then they will shop for 6 hours and help you find a better pair. my husband on the other hand will tell me no, (because he damn better) then proceed to attack said butt mostly to get out of the impending 6 hour shopping trip.

there are all kinds of best friend jobs that shane would simply hate. like first of all he would have to hear me rave about my latest cookie recipe-he wants to eat the cookie not hear how i put in a secret ingredient that really made them super moist this time.

he doesn't want to sit on the phone with me during my drive home and hear all about the jack-hole that just cut me off and how i could have had a kid in the car and how dare this ass put me and my family in jeopardy! i can get all road rage crazy and that's probably not the cutest look.

he doesn't want to help me figure out what to wear to an important meeting and he truly has no opinion if the light nail polish looks better than the dark. he doesn't have a cute shirt i can borrow and he certainly doesn't care to hear about how this latest form of birth control is making me crabby. if it has to do with my lady town he would rather live in the world that says this is the best run town around and all systems are in check.

i just can't put this guy through all that knowing that he'd honestly rather not.

friendship is definitely one of the key ingredients in our marriage. we have a great time together he just isn't my bestie. besides i wouldn't make out with my bestie- that's just weird........

oh man, ya know what? i think i married my best friend.....

happy anniversary to the BEST husband and friend ever!!

what my phone saw this last week

 i pulled some photos off my phone that made me laugh or made me smile-i'm  passing the smile on to you...happy saturday!

whoever said nothing in life is free is 

welcome to this clearly free hamburger.

hi little ladybug girl

     in other words, huh?

 just today? i might want a half juicy maneater tomorrow too.....wait, are y'all leaving these for free on parking meters???

Look who popped up on aol today! meet my sister tory. she's kinda a big deal.

apparently i said something funny. 

it was the first time i wasn't gripping the door  and praying so i thought it deserved a photo.

 i don't know them but i want to