A picture is worth a thousand words..

I forgot to add this picture from our Hawaii vacation and it's possible this picture might be worth even more than a thousand words..

Aloha!

Jared and I have been back for almost three weeks now, and really, I have no good excuse for why I haven't blogged about this sooner. I mean, how could I not be excited to share the fun we had in Hawaii!?

I suppose the truth is, I still want to be on vacation! I know Jared thinks much differently.. He was excited to come home and get back to work! (is it just me, or does everyone agree that's insanity?) 

I'm going to try to make this brief, because part of me is still on island time. Which means I'm basically too lazy. 

Our trip started out at 3:30 am. I think I literally got 3 hours of sleep. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve again.. When you wake up and it's finally time to open presents, you're so tired you don't remember everything you got in an hour. Did that ever happen to anyone?

Our flight was long.. I mean- 7 hours cramped in a tiny plane with a wall behind you so you can't recline your seat but the people in front of you are leaned all the way back-long. I'm just glad I'm not as tall as Jared.. His poor legs were stuck wedged in between the side of the plane and the seat in front of him to get that extra inch of leg room. 

But it was all worth it when we arrived. The moist air welcomed us, and my skin instantly soaked it up- like it had been dying of thirst for a decade.

I honestly was worried our first day at the beach, my white legs looked like they'd never seen sun before, but within just a few days I was darker then ever before. Darker than spending an entire summer in the sun.

Kauai being the wettest island, and January being the rainy season, had me thinking we might be spending more time inside than anticipated.. But out of 14 days, we had only 3 days of rain!

I can't imagine visiting Kauai and not exploring the island. Yes, there is more to this lush isle than gorgeous beaches. We spent an entire day hiking through just a piece of Waimea Canyon.

 The canyon measures 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and more than 3,500-feet deep. The pictures we took don't even begin to do this canyon justice. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled at the beginning of this hike. I mean why weren't we on the beach!? My mind was quickly changed as we came through the trees to a cliff. Nothing but the air to hold us back from the giant canyon that appeared before us.

Many days were spent at the beaches in Poipu. But we couldn't skip the waves in Hanelei. No trip would be complete without it. Jared brushed up on surfing while I enjoyed the rays of the warm Hawaii sun. (although in hindsight we both realized a day where the waves weren't 12ft wouldn've been a better day for J to brush up on surfing..)

Oh! And I can't forget to mention Shipwreck beach. Our favorite spot. This beach nestled in a quiet corner of Poipu offered privacy, sun and waves. And a giant cliff.

You're probably wondering who that crazy person up there about to jump is? Yes, it is Jared. And yes, I feared for his life. It might not look that far, but trust me, I went up there and it was terrifying. 

A couple days before we left we decided we needed to squeeze in one more hike. As warm as the air was, clouds covered the sky and we made our way to the Napali Coast. The most beautiful place in the world -not even joking.

The sprawling empty beaches were to die for. I could have sat there for the rest of my life. But the real beauty began on our hike. I wish we would have spent a whole weekend here.

Once again, the pictures don't do the views justice.

Although we only got a taste of the Napali Coast it was definitely enough to make me hungry for more.

On what was supposed to be our second to last night of the trip (I'll get to that later...) Jared and I went to this super classy restaurant at the Hyatt called Tidepools. It was incredibly fancy. You know how you can tell when a restaurant is incredibly fancy? When the bring you complementary gluten free bread.

Im not sure if I can't even explain my excitement. For those of you that don't know.. I found out about two years ago that I shouldn't eat gluten. This was devastating. As a child, whenever we'd go out to eat, I'd always fill up in the bread before the meal came. Bread is my favorite! So going to restaurants and being deprived of this bread has been quite a trying feat. So you can imagine my astonishment when the brought out this bread, that not only was gluten free, but also FREE! 

I didn't even need the prime rib I'd just ordered. 

As we made our way to the airport, I was sad to be leaving this beautiful oasis and already anxious for our return. We arrived almost two hours early for our flight- only to find out, we didn't have tickets!? Cheaptickets.com reserved our seats- but didn't pay the airline for our return flight. Disaster. Stranded at the airport at 10 o'clock pm. We spent three hours on the phone trying to get them to fix our reservation with no luck. We missed our flight and were "stuck" in Hawaii another day. Bittersweet I guess you could say. (sweet for me and bitter for Jared..) However, it was just about a monsoon that extra day in Paradise, so we spent it snuggled up and my Grandparents house watching movies and playing cards.

And lastly, no trip to Kauai could be complete without beautiful sunsets, coconuts, and exotic fruits.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... NOT

Am I the only on who thinks it feels nothing like Christmas? I guess you could say as I've gotten older I've become more of a Grinch. But is it just my age? Or perhaps my pending Hawaiian vacation in just a couple short weeks that has me rushing through the holidays. 

Here in Reno we've gotten no snow- I think that is adding to the increasing lack of Christmas spirit, felt not only by me, but by many people. 

Or maybe, its all the penny pinching (or is that just us?) But then again, maybe it's just the absence of the crisp white snow falling from a grey sky. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of snow, nor am I an advocate for it.. But Christmas in Reno without snow?! It's preposterous! 

Although there is one thing this Christmas hasn't left behind...

Baking, what else?! 

No Christmas could be called complete without sugar cookies, 

Warms stacks of snicker-doodles,

And of course each Christmas must gain a new treat tradition,

Reindeer cookies,

But that's not all. There have been many adventures in my kitchen this Christmas and I can guarantee they are not over yet. 

Hope you all are having a wonderful Holiday season, and a very Merry Christmas!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is quite possibly the only day of the year where I actually have a good excuse to spend all day in the kitchen- and for me, that is like being a kid on Christmas morning.

But as much as I love cooking, that's not why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday... 

It’s no surprise that family takes first place for why I love Thanksgiving.. As if my family wasn't already fabulous enough, I married into an incredibly awesome family! Lucky? I'd say so.. This year was my sides turn. So Jared and I ventured up North-our longest road trip yet- to see my mom and baby sis. (okay, so I guess at 12 she's not a baby anymore..)

Nothing puts me into a better slumber than a smooth ride in a warm car, so of course on a ten hour trip I was bound to fall asleep... Only to wake up to Jared shaking my shoulder as we arrived in Portland- It was definitely love at first sight. The bright lights of the city shining on the river and the tall buildings towering endlessly into the dark night sky was enough for Jared to be sure we needed to live there. I however, could pass.. As beautiful as Portland is, my hair would not make friendly the constant moist air.

For the longest time I missed out on the true meaning of Thanksgiving. It's the one day a year (although I personally think every day should be like this...) that we show gratitude. I love Thanksgiving because I get to spend it surrounded by people that I love- my family. I am so grateful for my family and the support they give to me.

My mom and I braved the black Friday midnight rush but by three o'clock and only TWO stores later we called it quits vowing to wake up in a couple hours to continue the madness. We quickly realized beauty sleep was much more important..

Jared and I were sure our trip would be isolated to indoors. But to our sweet surprise we had two full days of sunshine (by sunshine I mean overcast, but at least it wasn't raining).

We discovered Saturday Market in downtown Portland and of course the infamous Voodoo Donuts. The line was outrageous! Needless to say, by this time, we were so over lines and skipped that venue. But I'm not sorry- I spotted a couple doughnuts on our way out and they didn't any more delicious than the doughnuts at Smiths.

Jared was more interested in the bridges than the crafts the tent held, so we all indulged him and walked across two of the bridges.

All in all, Thanksgiving weekend was a success, and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!

The Spookiest Day of the Year

Well, I supposed we didn't exactly have "spooky" costumes...

but it was still fun to dress up and hang out with some of our old friends.

Happy Halloween!

Apple Love

It’s no myth that fall brings such beauty. Along with the beauty, come apples. A whole other beauty in itself.

Apple season is by far my favorite- it goes hand in hand with baking season, because really, there is no better fruit to bake with.

If I didn’t have work, I very well could have spent each entire day in my kitchen. This is the first year that I have my own kitchen that I know how to use. Last year, after just getting married everything was too new and was not confident in the kitchen to say the least.  

After much experimentation this year, we decided a trip to Apple Hill was in order. And last weekend we got the perfect opportunity when my Dad invited us to go. It was such a beautiful drive, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. October is the perfect time to go, apple season is at its peak and it’s completely beautiful.  

We camped at Sly Park not far from Apple Hill and enjoyed our last camping trip of the year.

With the apples we bought from Apple Hill (which are quite possibly the best apples you will ever eat in your whole life) I’ve been taking advantage of my somewhat recent boost of confidence in the kitchen.

Apple Sauce

Caramel Apple Jam

Apple Pie Filling

And this is only the beginning of my apple-ing. I guarantee there will be many more treats to come.. This is just a few that I have in mind… 

Happy Fall Apple Season!

Falling for Fall

The days are getting shorter and the air is suddenly more crisp. And I am loving it because it means that the long awaited and much anticipated Fall season is arriving! 

And this fall, I am loving all things apple. I don't know what it is about this delicious red-or green or whatever color they decide to be- juicy fruit that appeals to me so much at this time of year, but it has taken over my baking. 

And its only the third day of Autumn.

caramel-apple crisp

Caramel-apple

Crock-pot apple dish

Caramel-glazed apple bread

I'm going to need to use my gym membership this year....

Although the goodies claim the number one spot on my Fall Favorites, there are some close runner-ups.

Pumpkins

Warm Apple Cider

 and of course the Changing Leaves.

I don't know about you guys, but for me, it's no competition. Fall is my favorite.