Dreaming of...Peru?

So this idea all started about a month and a half ago.  I was on my lunch break at work and saw a blog post linked on Facebook about hiking the Inca Trail.  I really wish I could find the blog, because it was really well written, but I can't seem to be able to find the link again.  Anyway, we had been debating for quite a while as to where we should go for our "honeymoon", and we were pretty set on going back to Europe.  However, after reading this blog, I was inspired to do something different.  I've always wanted to see Machu Picchu, and since we've already been to Europe I thought going to Peru would be a nice change of pace.
We had been looking at airfare for the last month or so trying to set a date to go.  I was debating for a long time whether I should use my miles or just pay full price for the round-trip ticket.  Luckily the ticket prices have slowly been dropping the past month, and the price just dropped $250 yesterday so we took a big leap of faith, and bought our tickets!  We leave May 9, 2013 for 18 days in Peru!  I'm excited, but scared at the same time.  If anyone has been to Peru or hiked the Inca Trail before, please let me know if you have any advice!
We still have to book our flight from Lima to Cuzco, as well as out 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.  We are probably going to go with Peru Treks after hearing a lot of good recommendations from different blogs, and on Tripadvisor.  I will update on how the booking process goes, as well as how we will be training for the hike. 
As far as the actual wedding planning goes, we have secured a flower, invitation and cake vendor and well as the valet parking that is required at our venue.  My wedding dress should also be coming in sometime in December, so I'm really excited for that!  It's really nice to see things finally coming together.  I can't believe we only have 6 more months! 

The Color Run: My Experience

The Color Run Hawaii

This past Saturday we did our second 5k run this year: The Color Run!  Claiming it's "the happiest 5k on the planet" it was so much fun! 
We actually stayed up really late the night before making our crayon inspired "District L" shirts.  We go there early, a little after 8:00 so we got to run in the first wave.  There were 8,000 participants and they were releasing the waves every 5-10 minutes.  I was happy to be in the first wave because at the starting line they were handing out free color run merchandise and extra color packets.  Unfortunately we didn't get anything because we weren't standing close enough to the front.
Overall the run itself was pretty easy.  The whole course ran through a residential area so it was paved the whole way.  There were 4 places on the course where the color zones were where volunteers throw color on you.  The actual color is in powder form so it does get in your eyes and mouth.  After the race was over, they had a color throw for all the finishers.  This was definitely a great finish to the race and it looked pretty cool watching it from afar (there are a bunch of pictures on the color run website). 

The only gripe I had about The Color Run was the parking and the traffic.  From the time we got off the freeway in Kapolei it took us about 40 minutes to actually park the car.  Traffic was so bad!  No one was there to direct cars and people were just parking anywhere, so it felt really disorganized.  A lot of people I knew actually had to park really far and walk a long way just to get to the start line.  Even though they have us a map of places to park, I felt like with 8,000 runners, it wasn't nearly enough.  The parking was free which was nice, but hopefully if they do it again next year, it will be better.
The color actually washes out pretty easily.  You can pretty much dust it off since it's powder.  Before I showered, I took a lot of it off with makeup remover and it came right off.  
Overall, it was a really fun experience and I highly recommend doing it!  I would definitely do it again next year!

Pinterest Test # 2: Baked Chicken Taquitos

Baked Chicken Taquitos
I made these for dinner last night after seeing rave reviews on Pinterest.  These came out amazing, and they were so easy to make!
I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except for the garlic.  I used about 2 teaspoons of garlic powder instead of the fresh garlic it called for, and 4oz of cream cheese instead of 3oz. After baking for 20 minutes at 425F they came out prefect.  Brown on the edges and very crispy!  They were also very flavorful and they tasted great dipped with salsa.  I would probably add a little more cheese next time, even though it calls for 1 cup.  But I really love cheese, so that's why I would have liked a little more.  Overall, these came out so good!  It's quick and easy for a weeknight meal.  Definitely something I would remake!

Engagement Photos

Yay!  We finally got our engagement photos in!  I was so excited when we got the CD in the mail.  Our photographer Shannon Sasaki was amazing and did such an awesome job!
We took our engagement photos at Hawaii Loa Ridge a few weeks ago.  We were both pretty nervous before the shoot and didn't know what to expect.  She did a great job making us feel comfortable and we actually had a lot of fun.  The photos were uploaded for us to view online by the next day.  After choosing which photos to edit we got the pictures on a disc a few weeks later. 
The pictures turned out amazing, and the best part was they were free!  They were actually included in the 6 hour package we purchased, so it was a really good deal.  I highly recommend her!  I can't wait until she does our wedding!

Pinterest Test #1: Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
I found this recipe on Pinterest through a friends post, and I knew I had to make it right away.  We bought a bag of whole wheat flour and had been looking for recopies to make with it (other than muffins).  After looking through all the reviews, I decided to give it a try the other night.  I think most people are really intimidated by making bread, but this recipe was so easy!  It really helps that there are step-by-step directions with pictures on the site. 

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, but instead of using a stand-mixer I did it by hand.  I think it might have been easier to mix the dough with a stand-mixer, but it's not impossible by hand.  It just requires a little more work.  The directions say to mix until it doesn't stick to your fingers, but even after adding a little more flour, it was still sticky.  So we just covered it and let it rest.  After the hour, it wasn't as sticky and it was easy to form the dough into rolls. The recipe also calls for 2T of yeast, but I used just under 2T, because after opening 2 packets of yeast, it still didn't equal that amount.

Al together it took about 2 1/2 hours or so, most of the time the dough it rising.  The wait time is definitely worth it, because these taste amazing!!  I brushed the tops with butter like the blog recommended, and I think they turned out great.  They are light and fluffy, and slightly sweet because of the honey in them.  We got 24 rolls out of this batch and had a lot of leftovers.  They keep really well in an airtight container.  We just reheat them in the microwave and it tastes just as good.
I highly recommend trying this!  Really easy to make, and it tastes amazing!  I think I will make this for thanksgiving this year.  Great find on Pinterest! 

September Update: In Photos

Avington Coffee Table from Target

Our brand new Avington coffee table from Target!  Bought after a crazy drive, getting lost in Kapolei one night.  We actually intended to get a coffee table over a year ago, after we moved into our new place, so it was was about time.  It was really easy to assemble, and great quality.  It was about $140, but it's very nice and made from real wood. 

 One day a couple of months back, I saw a puzzle while shopping at Barnes and Nobel.  It was a scene from a town in Cinque Terre, Italy, and it immediately brought me back to last spring when we were there.  Although I've never done a 2000 piece puzzle before, I knew I had to buy it. Another reason we bought the coffee table was so we could do the puzzle on it, but as you can see, the puzzle is clearly too big, so we had to move it to the floor. 

 The above picture is after our first night of working on the puzzle.  It took about 4 1/2 hours to get this far. 

And this is the most recent shot, from a couple days ago.  It's been about 2 weeks since we've been working on it, and I've lost count of how many hours we've put into it.  We are planning to frame it after it's done, but I think that in itself will be a big challenge. 

Awesome lemon raspberry muffins!!  Made from a recipe I found on Pinterest made with whole wheat flour: http://www.faithfitnessfun.com/8420/healthy-muffin-recipe/
I'm thinking about doing a few blog posts reviewing recipes I've tried on Pinterest.  I've tried several others that have come out amazing, and they've become staple dinners in our house :)

Kainoa getting ready for a trip to the store!  We took him out to Petco last week.  I don't know if he enjoyed it too much, because he seemed more scared than anything, but he definitely enjoyed the car ride!

As far as wedding planning goes, we met with our florist last week.  We had a consultation with her, and hopefully will get an estimate by the end of the week.  We had out engagement photos done yesterday!  We had our engagement session at Hawaii Loa Ridge, and it was so much fun!  Our photographer Shannon Sasaki was amazing!  Even though we were both nervous at first, she was super easy to work with and so much fun!  We had a great time and I can't wait to see the pictures!
Work has been crazy lately.  I finished my training, and have been on my own for the past week.  Even though it's been super busy and stressful, I do like my job, and I'm learning a lot. 
Hope everyone is doing well!  Sorry for the lack of posts...my life lately has consisted of work and puzzle time.  Btw isn't it crazy that it's almost October??  I can't believe how fast this year is going!

The Hunt For The Prefect Dress: Bijou Bridal

I first found out about Bijou Bridal a couple of weeks ago on Wedding Wire.  I was looking at different bridal salons in Honolulu and came across this one, which had just opened.  It was brand new (opened just a month or two ago) and I only saw one review on Yelp, which was 5 stars.  I decided to give this place a try, so I called to schedule an appointment for Saturday at 11:30.  Unlike Davids Bridal, I had no problem contacting them, and they were very friendly on the phone.
I arrived a few minutes late for my appointment, and we were greeted by a couple of ladies at the reception desk who were very friendly and energetic.  My consultant was Brenda and she was really nice.  She asked what kind of style we were looking for, what our budget was, and let us look through the racks to see if anything caught our eye.  We actually pulled 7 dresses to try on and she got me started in a fitting room.  The first dress I tried on was one I saw an a mannequin in the front of the store.  As soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it on, and I loved it!  Since it was the first dress I tried on, we went through the other 6 dresses but I didn't find anything I liked better than the first one.  A couple I really loved, but once I tried on the 1st one on again, I knew it was the prefect dress.  My mom and sister also loved the first dress too, so even better!
The customer service was great.  Brenda was really knowledgeable about the dresses, and gave a lot of helpful suggestions.  She wasn't pushy at all, and helped me find a great dress.  The showroom is actually pretty big, and I like that they allow customers to browse the racks freely.  We were the only people in the store, so everyone was attentive, but not overbearing.  As you can see in the pictures, the mirrors were huge and allowed you to see the dress really well.  The dressing rooms were also quite spacious.  They had a good selection of designers, but the dresses are definitely more expensive, compared to Davids Bridal.  I'm not sure what the range was, but the dress I chose was $1500.  They had a 10% off opening sale going on (until August 12), so I saved $150!  They didn't seem to have a huge selection of bridesmaids dresses (only one rack), but if you purchase a dress with them, you get 15% off bridesmaids dresses too. They are located in Honolulu, around Kakaako (600 Queen Street) right near the Bridal Boutique.  There is free parking in the building and appointments are recommended.
Overall, I had a great experience here!  I highly recommend this place!  I will make an update when the dress comes in.
Here are a couple of the dresses I tried on.  The one I chose is the last one:

David Tutera for Mon Cheri Solange #112209