Tea Time!

A little over a week ago I was able to join two of my favorite ladies for tea! Danita and her little girl Evy invited me to tea down in Honolulu and I just had to say yes! Danita had found a wonderful little cafe at the Mission House Museum.

Once we were seated the fun began!

There was just so many different types of tea to chose from, it was hard to make a decision as to which one we should try. We went with the orange jasmine white tea and it was fabulous! With our tea we ordered the sandwich of the day which was roast beef. They also serve a classic tea and we decided we would have to come back and try that another time.

Each person had a different and unique cup and saucer. They were just so cute!

Mine

Danita's

Evy was being so wonderful! She is so much fun to go out with! It amazes me how fast she is growing up...

When lunch arrived we chowed down! This had to be one of the best roast beef sandwiches I have ever had at a restaurant! It was topped off with a wonderful BBQ sauce that really gave it a kick.

While we ate we were able to look around the outside of the Mission House Museum. Right in front of where we were sitting was the mission house and a cute well out in front.

I always have such a wonderful time when I am out with Danita and Evy. I am so blessed to have met both of these ladies when I lived back in Monterey and I am even more blessed to have them here with me in Hawaii. I can't wait till I see these two amazing ladies again!

Beach Blanket Bingo!

I just love days spent at the beach! Unfortunately Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello couldn't join us (that ones for you dad!) but we still had a blast! I was able to join my ladies (Shelly and Candace) and the the new love of my life (DJ, Candace's 2 year old) for a trip to one of the the many beaches here on Oahu down in Kailua.

Lanikai Beach is not too far outside the back gate of base off of Mokapu. It was such a nice beach! We were able to get into the nice warm water and go for a little swim!

After we set up shop with DJ's wagon and umbrella we headed out into the warm water for a dip!

DJ was just so much fun to play with in the water...he is quite the fish! He had all us ladies taking turns twirling him around in the water and splashing around (after I gained his trust though). But by the end of our first swim I had him making waves with me! We headed back to the shade for a little rest and for some fun in the sand. After DJ was done chasing the birds that is!

Ever time Shelly built a little sand castle you could count down the seconds till DJ would come over and smack it down for her. After a juice box and some hugs and kisses from mom (Candace) it was time to head back in the water for round two!

After all the fun in the water DJ never wanted to leave (Shelly practically had to drag the kid from the water)! And I didn't either, it just such a beautiful day! We topped off our afternoon with a quick trip to Starbucks to power back up! DJ and I shared some of my whipped cream while watching Toy Story 3 in the back seat!
I am so blessed to have met these two wonderful ladies, and little man, who keep me laughing and smiling! Thank you ladies, and little man, for a wonderful afternoon!

"Chicks dig it!"

This past evening I went to the Chris Cagle concert which was held on Pearl Harbor with two lovely ladies, Candace and Shelly! We had a blast! Candace and Shelly are both marine wives stationed here on Marine Coprs Base Hawaii.

We started our evening off going to the NEX to get some things to eat and drink before the concert (there was no outside food aloud in). After we finished our shopping at the NEX we....got lost. Instead of following our gut on where we should be headed we followed our GPS. And the GPS got us oh so very lost! I look us about 30-45 minutes out of the way! When all we had to do was just go down the street about 2 blocks from where we started and we would have been there! But we made the most of getting lost and hand fun along the way.

Shelly, our fearless driver!

Once we finally got to base and found a parking spot we just hung out in the car chatting and getting to know one another. I am so glad I met these two wonderful ladies! Once the gates were open and the line to get in had died down we made our way inside. We had brought lawn chairs to sit in during the concert but we decided to suck it up and go stand by the stage and we were so glad we did!

Chris Cagle is amazing in concert! I had already seen him once before at the Rose in Denver but I just had to see him again. And when he sang "Chicks Dig It" I just had to call Alex and let him hear one of his favorite songs.

To wrap up the evening we went back to Candace's house and played Apples to Apples. I was a wonderful evening spent with two wonderful ladies. And I can't wait for our next girl's night out!

Pizza Party!

For my birthday I got a bread machine from my mother.

I bake about a loaf of bread a week and I just love it! This past weekend I decided to try my hand at pizza, I had read in my bread machine hand book that it can also make dough. And Alex had been asking me if we could make pizza for dinner one of these days so I thought, "Why not give it a try?" I found a pretty simple recipe in my More Bread Machine Magic cook book my mom sent with the bread machine. Now, what I love about this cook book is that it has a wide range of recipes and it gives you little tips and hints on how to spice up a more simple recipe.

Ingredients: (for a medium size dough)
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of all purpose or unbleached flour (I used unbleached)
2 teaspoons of dry active yeast

Now all you have to do is add your ingredients into the bread pan inside the machine and select the dough and pizza setting. It takes about 45 minutes for the dough to rise in the machine. Once the dough is ready you lay it out on a lightly floured counter or cutting board and role it out to fit your pizza pan. You want it to fit the pan with about and inch to spare for when it expands when it cooks. And make sure to oil your pan so the dough doesn't stick.

Now I made my dough the size of the pan so I could role the sides in to make a thicker crust. After you have rolled out your dough let it sit (covered) to rise a little more for 20-30 minutes. After you let it rise you can start to add your toppings! I used Prego marinara for my pizza sauce (I have yet to learn how to make the sauce...that's on my list of things to do!) and mozzarella for my cheese (grated by hand - I used just about a pound of it) and good old fashion pepperoni!

You bake it at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes and then you serve it warm!

It was so yummy! Alex has asked that I make it more often and I sure will. It was a lot more filling than the frozen pizzas we usually have and so much better! I hope y'all try out this simple and tasty new recipe!