New Year's Eve!

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Twenty10 has been a wonderful year: our dog had puppies, I was a bridesmaid in Queenie's wedding, I found some great friends at work, planned my wedding (with MUCH help and INPUT from the Mister),  traveled to Cali to celebrate my niece's 1st birthday, was asked by Donne to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, had the 1st (of many, hopefully) dinner and a movie nights with my parents, went to Disneyland with the Mister, moved to a new office, went on a vaca to Maui, tried many new recipes, and  started this blog (my gratitude and a special "hello"to you for reading)!  

After such a wonderful and eventful 2010, I am excited to welcome in 2011 and all the fabulousness it has to offer!  As I count down the moments til 2011 I will be wearing this...

{my new J Crew top from the after Christmas sales}

watching this...

sipping on this...

Cheers to everyone and a fabulous 2011! 

The Last Days of Peppermint Season

I love Peppermint! And so, during the month of December when many companies have special edition peppermint products I am a very happy person!  So far, I have enjoyed peppermint mochas from both Starbucks and Coffee Bean, old school candy canes, and Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints! 

This year I haven't been able to bake as much as I would like but I have been busy collecting peppermint recipes to add to my stack of "recipes I'd like to try." Don't these look YUM?!

{peppermint mocha cupcakes via Christine's Cuisine}

{peppermint cookies via taste of home}

{peppermint marshmallows via Ezra Pound Cake}

{via The Baking Pan}

{peppermint ice cream via Williams-Sonoma}

{peppermint snap ice cream sandwiches via Williams-Sonoma}

My Little Patch of Green

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The Mister and I have, on many occasions, discussed creating an herb garden and even mentally selected which herbs we'd like to have, but for one reason or another we never got around to the planting stage. Thankfully, a very thoughtful friend got me an herb garden of thyme, basil, dill, and chives for Christmas.

I thought I would be able to keep the "garden" in the kitchen but unfortunately, the chives and basil seem happiest when they receive more sunlight.  -I want our garden to grow and thrive so have begun looking into different outdoor herb garden options. Here are a few of my favorites:

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It's Raining, It's Pouring!

There may be  a flash flood warning in effect but I won't let that bring me down!  

I put my boots on and went splashing...

Not only was the warm rain was fun to play in, the sound and feel of the droplets was relaxing and rejuvenating, especially perfect after a long day like today. 

Day After Christmas Mall Madness

Just because I was curious to see just how crowded the shopping malls would be, I convinced the Mister to go with me to check out the "After Christmas" sales.. 

It was crazy!  Complete chaos! -Because I finished all of my shopping in the very beginning of December, I hadn't been to the malls during the "Christmas Rush" but if this is any indication of the insanity I missed, boy, am I thankful!  

Despite all of the people and the lines we did manage to come away with some great finds including my WEDDING BAND! (and totally on sale too!)

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas filled with love, happiness, laughter!

Merry Christmas to all!

Rain brings... Waterfalls!

It was raining all day so as we were driving to the M&D's house we were treated to a waterfall show!  I know we won't have a white Christmas but this is quite a beautiful sight! 

Warm Holiday Wishes

{hot cocoa with mint chips}

because i love an excuse to be creative and share some holiday cheer, with some help from the Mister, I made a little something to share with my friends at work

Some sad news...

Please excuse my lack of posting recently, I've had other things on my mind.  Not only have the Mister and I been consumed with holiday events, we just found out that one of the Mister's dogs, Maka, has a very aggressive form of doggie cancer and will have to be put down.  The news was a shock to all of us.  

And so while most people are joyful and celebrating, I am finding comfort spending some quiet time with the Mister remembering all the fun we had with Maka.  

Holiday Tea

The ladies and I got together @ the Kahala for an special afternoon and high tea. We all had a wonderful time catching up and laughing!  

This was our first Holiday Tea; I hope it becomes an annual tradition!

A Gingerbread Palace

While many people are working on constructing a gingerbread house the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel has a gingerbread palace!  -It is a gingerbread replica of Iolani Palace (and some surrounding landmarks) created by Executive Chef Ralf Bauer.  Wow! 

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According to the hotel website, Chef Bauer and the other hotel Chefs will spend over 660 hours designing and constructing.  They anticipate the Gingerbread Village, will stand over 14.5 feet high, and 24 feet wide, and will be constructed with 200 gallons of icing, 100 pounds of dark chocolate, 30 pounds of white chocolate, and 60 sheets of gingerbread!!!

Wreaths @ Punchbowl

Last month I went to Punchbowl for Veterans' Day but recently I went back (with Mother) to put some flowers for my grandfather and was impressed by the sight of hundreds of wreaths in center of the cemetery.  I thought this was a nice holiday gesture for those people who have sacrificed so very much for us.

Holiday Cheer - Celeb Style

HGTV and holiday decorations are a couple of my favorite things, and tonight I was super excited to watch HGTV's Celebrity Holiday Homes 2010.  This years the celebrities were Trisha Yearwood, Sherri Shepherd, and Brooke Burke and husband, David Carvet.  With the help designers each of the celebrities had their homes decorated fabulously, yet in very different styles representing their personalities and geographic locations.

Trisha Yearwood's Tennessee home was decorated with fresh flowers and greenery (from her yard) to give her home a Country Christmas touch. 

Sherri Shepherd's Harlem living room and foyer was decorated in golds and champagnes.  

(The Mister and I love the warmth of the gold and candles!)

Brooke Burke and David Carvet's living room, dining room, and outdoor cabana were fashioned to resemble a winter wonderland - in Malibu.  

Happy Birthday, Sparkle!

Today is a very special day for me... it is Sparkle's First Birthday! 

**Today marks one year since the Mister proposed to me :) **

I love looking at my BEAUTIFUL ring (really, I still catch myself staring at "her" all the time) and I still smile and get a little bit giddy when I look down and think about the special guy who gave it to me.  

340 days til I marry the Mister! 

All Wrapped and Ready to Go!

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Today I had a vacation day scheduled so I spent a leisurely day wrapping gifts and addressing our holiday cards (they came in the mail today!).  Now that everything is wrapped, stamped, and ready to go, the Mister has graciously volunteered to take all gifites to be mailed!  Whoo hoo! 

Now I have time to bake :)

GNO @ BLT

Tonight a couple friends and I had a special Girls Night Out (GNO) at BLT located in The Trump International Hotel.  I was so excited to have a night out with the ladies and also to BLT, Bistro Laurent Tourondel, is a fairly new, non-fussy al fresco steak restaurant.  

BLT serves a few complementary dishes:

Chicken Liver Pate on a toast (the pate was okay although I liked the toast it was served on better)

 Popovers (yum but not quite as good as the popovers from Mariposa @ Neiman Marcus) - BLT gives you the recipe for the popovers - super exciting for someone like me who loves to bake!!! 

Oh! how could I forget, BLT also serves a complimentary order of Espresso Chocolate Brownies (better than the other desserts on the menu).  

all pics via flicker

Rain Rain Stay Away.

After a day and a half of severe weather forecasts and a flash flood warning... 

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it looks like the rain is still off shore.  

*whew*

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the rain, but I just hope it stays away (for a bit tomorrow) for my walk from car to office (and back) and my dinner with the girls tomorrow night.  

PS. How cute are the tights and the boots!

Dear Santa,

While Mother and I were at the mall I took a break to write a letter to Santa.  

As part of its "Believe"campaign, Macy's stores around the nation have desks, stationary, and mailboxes so people can write and mail letters to Santa.  For each letter written, Macy's has pledged to donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1 Million.  *yeah, $1 was donated today* 

Holiday Lights

Because we love the Holidays so much, the Mister took me out for a special date night to look at the holiday lights and displays around town. 

{A pretty pink tree @ the "Pink Hotel"}

{Sand (yes, that's really sand) sculptures @ the Sheaton}

{A beautiful and incredibly tall tree @ the Parc Hotel}

After walking through a few hotels we decided to see the Honolulu City Lights display.  

{The Mister - making sure the Grinch doesn't steal Christmas} 

{getting a scare from an abominable snowman}

{the Mister loved the train, unfortunately it was too late for a ride}

What a great time! I hope everyone else is enjoying the Holiday Season! 

Decorate the House (**check**)

This weekend I spent some quality time watching a few of the Hallmark Channel's Holiday Movies, and decorating the house: I dressed 2 small trees, put out a few of our favorite holiday decorations, and even decorated not one... but TWO wreaths.   

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I am particularly proud of this of this wreath because for a year (maybe even two) it had been sitting bare, still in the a box, and on my craft "to do" list... until yesterday.  

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Armed with my hot glue gun, I used a box of round red ornaments, a bushel of (fake) "holiday flower," and some ribbon from one of the Mister's birthday presents to decorate the (thankfully, pre-lit) wreath.  

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...