Easter 2014

Last Easter, Matt and I were celebrating in Hawaii. We had Easter brunch and dinner with our friends and family and had a wonderful time. We dyed Easter eggs and chatted with our friends for brunch before church, and then had dinner with more friends and a game of Jelly Bean Uno. 

That Easter, even though we were far away from Georgia, we had people to get together with. It was so nice to be surrounded by friends and cousins. It was wonderful to know that we were not alone. 

This year was a different story. We really didn't know what we were going to do in terms of celebrating Easter. I knew I wanted to color eggs. I knew I wanted to have a dinner, but I really didn't have the energy to fix a large Easter dinner for just the two of us. 

Honestly, I was really missing home. I know Matt and I chose this life of travel. And most days I am excited by the adventures we have. But sometimes I just want to take part in the family activities that are going on back in Georgia. Even though I was having a nice little pity party, our Easter turned out quite nice. 

Before church, Matt and I had a nice breakfast of eggs and American style bacon. (Yes- it's hard to find American bacon here.) Luckily, our church was having a Easter potluck after services so we were able to have that Easter dinner without having to cook a huge meal for ourselves. The ward provided American style ham (again- something we wouldn't be able to find). Because most of our ward members are military families there was a lot of food that you can only buy on military bases. Since Matt and I aren't in the military- we were pretty lucky to get these treats. American style ham- dinner rolls- jello- green bean casserole- brownies- root beer! It was pretty exciting. We had a great time eating and visiting with people from our church. I'm glad we decided to stay and participate in the potluck. 

After the potluck, we decided to color Easter eggs. This year I really wanted to try my hand at the nail polish marbling technique. So we got some nail polish and I gave it a try. We also painted eggs with paints we had laying around. We chose this because I really didn't feel like searching for food coloring in Korean stores. I wasn't too impressed with the marbling, but by the end I was getting the hang of it. 

{Eggs- Nail polish- room temperature water- gloves (to stop polish from getting all over your hands)- toothpick} 

I used the tutorial from Henry Happened for my egg marbling adventure. None of my eggs looked like hers, but again I think if I had experimented more I would have gotten it. I just was tired of wasting eggs. And our apartment was really starting to reek of nail polish, so I knew I needed to stop. 

Even though the eggs didn't turn out perfect, I still liked how they ended up. 

And those are our 2014 Easter eggs. I can't believe Matt and I didn't snap one picture of the two of us. I got 50 million of the flipping eggs, but not one of us. Does this ever happen you guys? 

Overall, our Easter was great. I think by the end of Korea I'll be ready to start celebrating holidays with my family back in Georgia. But regardless of where we are- Matt and I seem to always have fun. 

I hope you guys had a wonderful Easter. 

Happy New Year's Eve

Bye bye 2013... Hello 2014 

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Have a safe night! 

Thanksgiving in Korea

Let me start by reminding everyone of one thing: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. My absolute favorite holiday. So much in fact, I made sure Matt and I were married the day after Thanksgiving so our rehearsal dinner could be a big Thanksgiving dinner. 

I am also very picky when it comes to what is served at Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving for me was always spent at my Abuela and Papa's house and they always had the best dinners. So whenever I spend Thanksgiving away from my family I try to make sure all my favorite dishes are in attendance.

 {Note: I didn't do this at the first Thanksgiving that Matt and I were married and ended up in a bathroom crying because Matt's grandma was serving Sushi and Rice. There were no mashed potatoes and I was traumatized. Yes, I know, I'm a freak.} 

This year was the first year that Matt and I were responsible for a whole Thanksgiving dinner. {Last year, Matt was in charge of the Turkey and I was in control of some sides, but not the whole dinner.}  It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I think it turned out well. I know most of the pressure I felt was just coming from my need to have a good Thanksgiving, but it didn't make it any less stressful. Luckily, Matt is awesome and pretty much took control of most of the dishes. I did the sweet potatoes because I'm very particular about there taste... and the only one that likes them. 

Here is what was on the menu: 

{Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Corn, Stuffing, Rolls, Deviled Eggs, Veggies, and Fried Chicken Fingers...} 

Everything was really delicious. My mom sent us boxed Stove Top stuffing, and a few other ingredients to make our Thanksgiving more like I am used to. So, many thanks to her! 

Now on to explain the chicken. For the last couple of months, Matt and I have been trying to find a toaster oven big enough to cook a small chicken. We picked chicken because I really haven't seen turkey here and we knew a turkey would be way to big for us. But we couldn't find a oven that was the size we wanted for the price we wanted. Then one day we were eating at a chicken restaurant by our house and saw that they served rotisserie chickens- perfect! We confirmed what time they opened and then get ready to pick up our chicken the night of our dinner. On Saturday, we went to the restaurant and tried to order the chicken... and they didn't have any! What!?! So we were stuck with getting fried chicken strips, or no chicken. We chose fried chicken strips... just like the Pilgrims had on the first Thanksgiving. Hahaha. 

Now, the food was great, but the best part about Thanksgiving dinner was meeting Matt's cousin Alohi. I guess it's true what they say- there are Hos everywhere. :) Haha. Alohi is also teaching English here in Korea and on Saturday she made the journey to our house to eat Thanksgiving with us. We had the best time visiting and getting to know each other. There were no awkward moments; it was all just perfect. 

For dessert, Alohi brought the ingredients to make chocolate trifle. It was so good. It was just pound cake, chocolate pudding (that her parents sent), whipped cream, and strawberries. 

 I also bought a cake from Paris Baguette, but there was no way we were eating that day. My mom had sent us a can of Pumpkin, but I was under the impression you just put the can of pumpkin in a pie tin and called it a day, but apparently there is more to it. We might save the can for Christmas when we are more prepared to make a pie. And when we can actually find a pie tin. 

While it was bit sad being away from home this Thanksgiving, I'm happy we had the chance to meet Alohi and have a Thanksgiving here in Korea. We had way too much food left over, but it was all worth it. 

See Ya Later October: This Month's Little Moments

Happy Halloween Everyone! 

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I hope you have some exciting plans for the night. I for one can't wait to see the pictures of my family back home in all their costumes. Each year my family always goes over to my Abuela and Papa's house for Chili and Trick or Treating. One of the things I hate the most about living abroad is not being home for these holidays. 

Although Matt and I are in a foreign country this year for Halloween, we have had a blast trying to bring as much Halloween spirit into our Korean lives as possible. 

This month has really been a good month. Matt and I had a lot of fun times and I thought today would be a good day to share a recap of all the little things that happened to us. 

1. We watch October's General Conference for our church. 2. I got so many wonderful care packages this month. 3. We visited an amazing temple. 4. Ate at the new McDonalds by our house. 

5. Experimented with Korean Facial Masks. 6. Watched Hocus Pocus and painted the pumpkin we got. Pumpkins are so hard to find here, and they are all short and bumpy so carving was impossible. 7. I think our pumpkin turned out great. 8. Matt and I took advantage of the Fall weather and put on our jackets and scarves. 

9. Caught up on SNL and drank Hot Coco in bed for FHE 10. Found the Bean Game here and Korea and had tons of fun playing it. 11. Went to our ward Halloween Party. The older ladies at church stuck this jacket and hat on me and made me pose on a broom. It was the funniest thing. 12. My co-workers decorated for Halloween. 

13. My mom sent my blanket and some candy corn 14. MMMM glass bottled Coke 15. I watched Ghost Busters for the first time 16. Played a lot of Skip Bo. 

And that was pretty much our month in a picture collage. It was pretty fun, but I got to say I am excited for November to be here! 

How was your October? 

Happy Thursday Y'all! 

Happy October

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I am so ready for the days of Hot Chocolate, Scarves, Carving Pumpkins, Candy Corn, and Cool Weather.

Happy October Friends. 

Happy 4th of July

I hope you all have a great 4th of July. 

{How cute is this cake?!? via Glorious Treats} 

Happy Mother's Day

Seriously, where would I be without my momma? 

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers, both new and experienced, in my life. 

And a special shout out to my own mom. 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is May 12-  Just 11 days away! 

So I thought I would make a list of gifts to give to the mommas in your life! 

{Painted Photo Bottles from eighteen25}

{Balloon Pocket Card from Pretty DIYs.} 

{Memory Jars from Front & Main. I did this for my mom a couple years ago. I added to it by writing notes on why I love my mom and filling the jar. You could also fill it with your mom's favorite candy or treat.} 

{DIY Monogramed Mug from Design Mom. If you didn't want to make a monogramed mug you could buy cute ones from Anthropologie} 

{Curvy Vase from Anthropolgie} 

{Georgetown Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes! And don't worry they ship!} 

{Mom and Me journal from the one and only Gadanke} 

{Less Dishes to Do from Capital B} 

{Best Mom Ever wall hanging from Lisa Leonard Designs}

{Mother Daughter Letter Book from Amazon} 

{And just for the Grandma/ Abuela/ Nana/ Obachan in your life from This Etsy shop.}

What are you going to get your mom for Mother's Day? 

Happy May Day

Happy First of May! 

And May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii. 

Last month I only wrote 5 blog posts! My goal is to make May better! 

Catching Up: Easter

I have definitely been MIA the last couple of weeks, but I promise Matt and I have been beyond busy! 

Here is what we have been up to: celebrating Easter, coaching lacrosse, finishing up an internship and final paperwork, teaching like always, moving out of our TVA apartment, shipping some of our stuff home, planning a graduation party, having family in town, throwing a graduation party, graduation, moving into a new apartment, trying to figure out where we are going to be next year and much much more! 

It has been a crazy/ fun month, but I am ready to take it easy for the next couple of weeks and get caught up with all the stuff I have ignored, including this blog! 

So here's the first update: Easter Day

I need to start this by saying I am so grateful to have such great friends here in Hawaii. I often get  a little down thinking about all my friends on the mainland and think that I have no one out here. But looking at these pictures and thinking of our Hawaii experience I can truly say that is not the case! 

On Easter we were lucky enough to host both Easter brunch and Easter dinner! 

For brunch we had Arianna & Josh and Kea & Kaianui Graham over for great food and Easter egg dying! 

{Treats we made for our Home Teachers}

{My beautiful eggs.} 

We tried to tie-dye some of the eggs this year. I think they turned out good, but at some point we just rolled our eggs on the paper towel with the dye and got a cool marble effect. I think these are the best eggs I have ever done. Matt completed the blue, orange, and yellow eggs. 

{These treats were the only Easter treats we had this year.}

Brunch was awesome and I loved the wonderful company. It is so nice to know that we have people to lean on during holidays away from our families. 

After brunch, we went to church. This was the last Sunday we were spending in the BYU Hawaii Married 2nd Ward, so they sang Aloha 'Oi and gave leis to us as a way of saying goodbye. I must admit there were some tears while they were singing to us. While we aren't leaving Hawaii for a while, it was still somewhat sad that we were leaving the ward we have been in since June of 2011. 

After church, we skyped with Matt's parents for a bit, then got ready for dinner. 

We had dinner with Jane and Tyler Gifford. I don't have any pictures of the four of us, but I can tell you that we had a great time. The food was great and the company was even better! We ended the night by playing Jelly Bean Uno- which was a little bizarre, but fun. 

It was a really great Easter Sunday. I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends here, and a wonderful and supportive husband! I can't believe that this is our fourth Easter together! 

Happy Easter

I hope you have a wonderful Easter. 

I encourage you to read one of my favorite talks from President Monson (the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints). The talk is entitled He Is Risen! and you can click here to read it. 

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