I know, it's long overdue but I'm finally back on the blog after taking some time to enjoy the early months in marriage and readjust my life now that I'm a wife. I'm so blessed beyond measure to have found my husband Andrew. He started as my best friend that I met through church and it grew into a love deeper than anything I could even imagine. I used to call myself "the least likely girl" and here I am... married and starting a new chapter in my life. Alaka'i is thrilled to have Andrew as his dad. I'm so thankful that he embraced Andrew so well and considers him his father because as Alaka'i told me, "God gave Andrew to me as a dad so heck yeah he's MY dad!".
We got married on January 5, 2014 at Sea Life Park on O'ahu, Hawai'i. It was a small but beautiful wedding. We were kind of worried because it was storming the day before our wedding and the sun came out and it cleared up just before our wedding occurred. Though it was windy, the weather stayed perfect and as we left after our reception, lightning filled the sky and the sound of thunder grew closer and closer as we drove away. God is so good. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our day.
There are a ton of pictures after the "Read More" link below. Be patient if it doesn't all load immediately.. it's a picture heavy post.
I have been really busy guys...like super busy.... getting married! Yeah. The last couple of months have been crazy hectic not only because of the holidays but because I was putting in the final last minute plans for my wedding. On January 5, 2014 I married my best friend Andrew who is now my husband. Eek! I'm so excited.
Life is finally getting back to normal now so I'm catching up with posts and have tons of new pictures to share. I pray you all are having a wonderful 2014. Cheers to new beginnings in the new year!
Xo,
Jean
This devotional spoke to my soul this morning as I got ready for church. I just wanted to share it with you all.
 Courtesy of Truth For Life |  |
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| December 22, 2013 | |||||||||||
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| How Can He Fail You? | |||||||||||
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God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this responsibility, for He is able to do everything. Believer, until you can drain the ocean dry of omnipotence, until you can break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, you never need to fear.
Do not think that the strength of man will ever be able to overcome the power of God. While the earth's huge pillars stand, you have enough reason to live firm in your faith.
The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven has promised to supply you with daily strength. While He is able to uphold the universe, do not dream that He will prove unable to fulfill His own promises.
Remember what He did in the past, in the former generations. Remember how He spoke and it was done, how He commanded and it stood firm. Will He who created the world grow weary? He hangs the world upon nothing; will He who does this be unable to support His children? Will He be unfaithful to His word for lack of power?
Who is it that restrains the tempest? Does He not ride upon the wings of the wind and make the clouds His chariots and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand? How can He fail you? When He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, will you for a moment indulge the thought that He has outpromised Himself or gone beyond His power to fulfill? No! You can doubt no longer.
My God, You who are my strength, I believe that this promise will be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of Your grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of Your strength can never be emptied by Your friends or plundered by Your enemies.
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Every year since my son was born, he's taken a Christmas photo. When my brother Peter started having kids, they started taking photos together. This year Alaka'i told me he felt "too old" to take a Christmas photo even though he believes in Santa. However, he said he would "graciously accompany" his younger cousins while they take photos with Santa. So cute.
Though I will surely write several times before Christmas is actually here, I just wanted to share some Friday Christmas cheer from our family to yours. (Kaliko [my niece on the far left], Alohilani [niece in the middle] and my son Alaka'i [right])
xo,
Jean
Top your holiday desserts with this bit of sweet enchantment: Candy Cane Whipped Cream.
Candy Cane Whipped Cream
You’ll need…
- 2: 6-inch candy canes (you’ll need ⅓ cup finely crushed candy cane)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Place the candy canes in a gallon size Ziploc® Freezer Bag. Place a kitchen towel over the Ziploc® bag. With a heavy skillet, meat pounder or a heavy can, pound the candy canes until completely pulverized with no sharp shards remaining; set aside.
- Pour the cream into a large mixing bowl. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds.
- Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high for 20 seconds or until soft peaks form and the volume has doubled. If you like stiffer peaks, beat for another 10 seconds (be careful not to overbeat or you’ll make butter!).
- Fold crushed candy canes into whipped cream. Serve immediately or store for up to 8 hours. tip: if you have leftover crushed candy canes, sprinkle on top of the dessert!
Hi, I’m Mama… and I’m high strung. Sounds like an AA meeting. I guess I’ve always been a little neurotic, but it got worse when these same six people kept showing up in the evening expecting to get fed. I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road and follow my passion for cooking. This blog is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips.
I love the wide variety of Christmas and holiday decor that I've seen this year whether it's at the mall or in my neighborhood. I've been noticing a lot of sparkle and a surprisingly large amount of retro style trees out there. The other night I was shopping for makeup for my mom at Neiman Marcus and fell in love with quite a few of their lovely twinkling Christmas displays like the ones above. Nothing puts me in the holiday spirit more than a chilly winter night (which in Hawai'i is like 69 degrees) and the sparkling lights on a Christmas tree. It's such a lovely sight to behold. Then I can sit and reflect on how truly blessed I am and how thankful I am for everything God has given me.
This slightly over decorated tree above is mine. My mom is eclectic and loves a tree full of ornaments, lights and sparkles. It's not the simplest of trees, but it's lovely nonetheless. Maybe next year she should get two so we can have a more cohesive theme. (Yeah... I still live with my parents and will be living here with my son and hubby-to-be for at least another year while we save money. - If you knew how expensive it was to live in Hawai'i, you'd understand why this isn't a weird or abnormal thing).
Anyway, there's a shop here at Kahala Mall called SoHa Living that has some truly beautiful and unique decorations for any season. They kind of have the niche in beachy decor here (at least in my opinion) and are very much a chic boutique of decorating and gifting ideas. While I was browsing the mall, I went in their store and found a few unique and adorable decorations that I just had to share. Mele Kalikimaka is "Merry Christmas" in Hawaiian. I love the sign they made with the lit border. It's even prettier in person and my phone couldn't catch the entire photo without some kind of obstruction so that's why it's cut off. Cute right? Other than the holiday decor, there have been many other cute and creative decoration and design ideas that I've come across like this cool, artsy light decoration that looks like an intricate spider web and it casts the most amazing shadows in the building that I saw it in. So cool.
And I couldn't close this without sharing a cute sign I saw that gave me a chuckle as I'm soon to be a wife. (It's coming so quickly guys! January 5th!)
Have any of you seen any fabulous holiday decorations while you're out and about? (Or maybe at home for some of you Martha Stewart-esque decorating divas)? Please share any of the posts or pictures of decorations that you've seen that have left you in awe in the comments below!
Merry Christmas my lovelies!
xo,
Jean
