Edible Fashion *snap!

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A couple days ago I saw a re-run of Top Chef Just Desserts - Episode 5, the episode I fondly refer to as the "Shoe Episode."  The challenge was to design an edible outfit as well as accessories, in the form of petits fours, based on a pair of fabulous inspiration SHOES.

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Some of the creations were total messes and looked more like a cheap salad bar gone wrong than dessert couture - but who am I kidding, didn't really care about the forms, I was paying more attention to the petits fours (I love mini foods) and the inspiration shoes... (OMG the only thing more fascinating than the shoes being brought into the challenge was seeing Zac's reaction!!)

Cupcake Break!

I'm a sucker for sweets, especially cupcakes and so when a co-worker mentioned he was going to Cake Couture to get his wife some birthday cupcakes I quickly volunteered to "go with." Cake Couture's delicious cupcakes are are the perfect snack for cupcake lovers or anyone needing a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the work day.   I wasn't exactly planning to buy any cupcakes, but when I saw their seasonal pumpkin cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting and carmel drizzle, I just couldn't resist!  

I'm sure glad I bought myself a pumpkin cupcake! It was moist and tasty, and the frosting was very complementary: sweet but definitely not overpowering.   Yummmm!
PS. Happy Birthday Mrs I!

Headed to Hana

As soon as we got our rental car we took off on the road to Hana.  Hana is only 53 miles from the Kahului Airport, but due to more than 600 curves and 54 one-lane bridges on the way there, it can take up to 3 hours each way.

When we finally got to Hana we stopped at a hotel, quite appropriately named the "Hotel Hana Maui." The hotel is nice, and the rooms (very spendy - $557-$788/night) are set up cottage-style spread out semi-attached to each other around the property.  We were really hungry but after looking at the menu at a restaurant in the Hana Hotel, and being less than impressed with a $17 burger, we drove elsewhere.

We couldn't drive very far because there was a parade and the road (yup, one road in and one road out) was closed so we followed the local signs to a little hole in the wall called Tutu's.  Tutu's is literally a hole in the wall, right near the water, and serves burgers, plate lunches, ice cream and other snackie food; we shared a BBQ pulled pork sandwich.

There wasn't much pork in the sandwich had way too much BBQ sauce, I suppose the best part of the sandwich was the toasted bread.

As we were leaving Hana we stopped for a couple of souvenir pictures!

After a 35 minute drive from Hana we arrived at Oheo Gulch, known for the Seven Sacred Pools.  This area is part of the Haleakala National Park and requires each car pay $10 upon entry for a park pass (good for 3 days) -definitely worth every penny.  After a short and mild "hike" we ended up at a beautiful area just below a waterfall.

The Mister and I sat for a while (he went in for a quick swim) and just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery.  Sunshine, a waterfall, and the love of my life - it just doesn't get any better than this!

Wowie for Maui!

This past weekend was the much anticipated weekend on Maui! We flew over on Saturday morning and departed on Sunday night.  In 36 hours we managed to drive around the island, hike a little bit, walk along the beach, and eat at seven restaurants. My posts this week will be dedicated to our Maui adventure!  

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Kaanapali is pretty much a community of hotels, resort shops, and time shares located about 5 minutes from the restaurants and shops of Lahaina's Front Street.  Because of a great deal on Orbitz we stayed at the Westin Maui Resort and Spa in Kaanapali.  When you walk into the Westin you are greeted with a shell lei and the sound of the gushing waterfall in the center of the lobby.  Aside from one grouchy and impersonal woman at the front desk, the rest of the hotel staff was very cheerful and polite. 

{The Mister lounging in front of the waterfall}

Our room was definitely on the small side and our partial ocean view was definitely "partial," but overall the room was nice, clean, and modern.  

{This is a partial barely ocean view room}

There is a nice walking path at the edge of the hotel's property that passes all the Kaanapali properties.  We woke up early on Sunday morning and took a nice walk along the beach.  We saw a lot of people walking, running, and even a few people doing yoga on the (larger) grassy areas.  

A couple of other hotel perks are the the restaurants: Tropica and Ono.  Tropica is an upsacale restaurant just steps from the beach that features a PacRim menu while Ono has a walk up bar a definitely a more relaxed atmosphere, and on Sundays it is the place you will find all football junkies because they show "all games all day!"

{Tropica}

Also at the hotel is an amazing water slide! Unfortunately we didn't have time to go down the water slide but it sure looks (and sounds) like fun!

The Luxe Treatment

In preparation for Maui I scheduled my toes-ies a much needed pedicure at Luxe, a relatively new nail salon.  A couple weeks ago while at the mall I was intrigued by the Luxe's chic, garden vibe facade and grabbed a service menu.  The prices are quite reasonable and I booked a "pedi-on-the-go"($25).

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The polish selection included OPI, Zoya, and Essie.  I opted for a nude colored OPI called "sweet memories." Yes, I chose the color because of the name!! I couldn't resisit, after all, it is the perfect polish name for a person heading on a Maui vaca!


The interior was as nice as the exterior.  I sat on a massage chair and had a flat screen TV right in front of me and another massage chair.  The service was great and I loved how my toes look.

In the rear of the salon there is a section designed for private parties that has 3 single chairs (shown above) and 2 doubles, loveseat style.  Unfortunately, it doesn't look like any of these chairs are massage chairs (*squishy face*).  On the positive side, the set up looks like the perfect place for my bridesmaids and me to get mani/pedis before the wedding, albeit next year, so I inquired about hosting a private party at Luxe.  According to the manager, you can have private parties but prices for groups are not discounted.  She also mentined that you can bring in champagne or wine, for a $10 corkage fee.   The Big Day is still more than a year before so I will continue to scope nail salons.

Freebies at Snapfish

I love a great deal, especially freebies!  Retailmenot.com is one of a few favorite sources for online coupons and discount codes.  While recently perusing the section of online discount codes I found that snapfish.com has a lot of great promotions going on (via online discount codes).  The freebies I plan to capitalize on are:

100 free* prints, for new customers (code: OCT10PRNT)
A free 5x7 picture book (code: BABYBOOK)
30 free 4x6 prints (code: TRAVEL30PRINTS)
*does not include shipping 

I haven't tried any of these discount codes yet, but I'm thinking these freebies will be perfect for our upcoming trip to MAUI!

I'm Ready for Halloween!

I have been a bit of a procrastinator this year, but with a couple of weeks to spare I got my Halloween decorations out! There are some spiders, a crazy web, some glass/mirror jells, some pumpkins banners...

The Mister and I haven't yet decided what we will be for Halloween this year.  We have a few ideas but we are finding that it is really hard to top Mickie and Minnie!