Oh Happy Day!

A year ago today Mike proposed! The wedding is quickly approaching and we're both really excited about it. Here are some of our favorite pics from almost 4 years together!

At Logan's at the beginning

Hawaii

California

Out with our great friends after announcing we were engaged

Last wedding before our own!

Aloha Pumehana!

Banana and Cinnamon Muffins

What to do with two over-ripe bananas? Use them in these muffins of course!

This recipe gave me 16 muffins (cups filled about 90% of the way). The muffins are moist with a crunchy sugar top and the apartment smells of yummy cinnamon right now :) These are going to make really easy on-the-go breakfasts for Mike and I this week.

dry ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 to 3 ripe bananas, mashed

raw sugar

Preheat oven to 325 and prepare a muffin tin with liners and non-stick cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl until well combined. Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated. Pour the melted butter into the mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined.

Spoon the batter into the lined and sprayed muffin tin (an ice cream scoop works well to make all the muffins the same size) and sprinkle some raw sugar on top of each muffin to create a crunchy sugar topping. Bake 20-30 minutes until the sugar is golden and a toothpick stuck in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes then remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

Bridal Shower & Brunch

Thanks to all the great girls who threw Mike and I a shower this weekend! Brunch at the Old Orange Cafe was delicious and we received lots of great things.

homemade pound cake & pan for hostess gifts

Thanks and Mahalo to everyone for coming to the shower!

Things I'm Enjoying Today...

1. This video is sort of humorous. Its a girl who has found a "USA" section on the ethnic food aisle in Berlin. What is considered American might make you laugh!
2. The Italian Dish post on Raspberry Chambord Ice Cream
3. Homemade Foccacia at Alexandra Cooks
4. Looking at this (yes, not all practical but still fun!) beverage bucket (hopefully it come with a back porch), ebelskiver pancake pan and zoku quick pop maker from Williams-Sonoma.
5. Eat Pray Love section at World Market
6. Movies... this summer's movies haven't all been great (case in point, Sex and the City 2) but my movie going spirits have been lifted by seeing Despicable Me over the weekend. Mike and I also watched Law Abiding Citizen and It Might Get Loud recently on Instant Netflix. And I've been re-watching 500 Days of Summer on my touch while I work out. Love that movie! AND, I recently saw the preview for Step Up 3D (go ahead and chuckle... its a dance movie, the acting doesn't have to be great) plus Mike and I spotted both Twitch and Joshua from So You Think You Can Dance in the cast). I've gotten really excited about seeing that and Eat Pray Love in August.
7. Beauty and the Beast tonight!
8. Bridal Brunch & Shower in Orange this weekend with travel buddy Shellie :)

Ribs, Cornbread & Cake

I saw this awesome recipe on the Alexandra's Kitchen website and have been saving it for the 4th of July weekend. It really couldn't be easier and is so YUMMY. The claim of best and easiest ribs is totally appropriate. Even though they are cooked in the oven, they still come out smokey, tender and delicious. And the cornbread... thick and light. Just a hint of sweetness.

We had Nick & Erica over for dinner and made this recipe for ribs and cornbread as well as a salad and this brown sugar pound cake with maple and peach syrup from Martha Stewart (I omitted the walnuts from the recipe).






You should definitely make this next time you are in the mood for some bbq!

Michael Hardisty Photography - Recent Posts

Mike's posted a couple of sessions on his blog: michaelhardisty.blogspot.com

• Stephanie, Shane & Grace (family)
• Justin & Nizy (engagement ceremony)

Check out the posts, leave a comment or email Mike at michaelhardisty[at]yahoo[dot]com. You can also see photos on Mike's Flickr page.

Coming soon... JB Barnett & Doug Adams shows at Mokah and Nick & Erica's engagement!

Looking forward to the LONG weekend!

So many things I'm looking forward to this weekend... note... most of these are dreams and not what actual life may reflect. But hey, I can dream!

aaaa

1. RELAXING

2. Doing a little reading (probably re-reading Eat, Pray, Love in anticipation of the movie!) on my new favorite thing, curled up watching the rain:

3. Spending some time in the kitchen testing recipes like "best-ever" ribs and brown sugar-walnut pound cake with maple-peach syrup:

4. And, if the weather cooperates... some pool time!

Happy 4th of July!