Friday, December 31, 2010

Our Palace...


House from Bikini Beach / Front Door
King Size Bed / Ceiling Fan {kind of a big deal on both counts}
Cute Shower Curtain
His & Hers Vanity / Walk-in Closet
Kitchen / where our kitchen table would go if we had one... / REAL Refrigerator

Entry Way
Cute Yellow Chair / My OWN Dresser / Detailed shot of the Lava Rock wall {kinda scary}
The little things that make a house, a home: Christmas Cards, Welcome mat and our small collection of glass bottles. 

We moved on December 17 to our quaint apartment on "The Point." Laie's very own, ritzy part of town, where fishermen fish and tourists tour by day and where drug dealers deal by night. Or so it seems...there's always a cop car up in here! 

All that aside, we are so happy that we were able to find this place! Not only is the rent slightly cheaper, it's about triple the space {if not more!}. Everything is an upgrade to us: huge bed, fan, the entire bathroom, two dressers, a real kitchen sink and refrigerator, a double hot plate, drawers for our dishes, our very own washer/dryer, etc. We love that we do not live under the same roof as our landlord!!!!! Not to mention I am in like flint with our new landlord, Louise. She is ultra chill and is willing to help us with anything! So far, so good {on that note}. 

Our palace sounds too good to be true, right? There is another side to this story...centipedes. We've got 'em. Big ones! 4-6" long. The previous renter thinks they crawl through our lovely lava rock wall. I believe it's possible, centipedes can crawl on ANY surface--even our standard textured white walls. For example, as Tommy was going to lock the front door a tiny little centipede fell from the ceiling and landed on his head! Then we looked up and saw a grip of them just chillin up there. 
On to the termites that are eating my dresser! Every day we see the pile of wood shavings grow bigger and bigger. Now they seemed to have moved locations because a new pile has started to grow. Haha. The ants here are huge, nothing compared to our previous sugar ants. They have even finagled their way into a closed jar of peanut butter! 

On a better note about creeping things...we are frequently visited by "Geck" all of our Gecko friends. We're still trying to figure out if that's good or bad. We like the visits, but then we think they're here to eat their dinner, which means bugs are among us--hidden. They also like to hang outside our front door and scare us! We tend worry if they can get in then so can the BIG centipedes...I try not to think about that too much. 

When we moved in, the previous renter told us to never lock the bottom lock because it's jammed. If by some chance that were to happen, we would have to break-in our own house so we could unlock it from the inside. TWO DAYS LATER...I'm over the ledge crawling through our window! Tommy was able to pull the screen off and slide the window open. While I slid myself to the 2" ledge so I could tip-toe my way to the grand opening. Never again...seriously, never again! 

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Decadence



Entree: Basil & Parmesan Ravioli topped with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese, dressed with a splash of Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil


Dessert: Cheesecake topped with Balsamic Strawberry Sauce


Yes, we documented our first supper in our new home...wouldn't you if the only items on the old menu consisted of quesadillas, pb&j's, frozen burritos, top ramen, chips & cheese, salsa, cereal, oatmeal {AKA anything that could be cooked in the microwave}. We are still relishing in the reality of the extra funds allotted to us via EBT each month and the fact that we have a double hot plate and a real refrigerator! Now we can actually shop at Costco! 


We feel like royalty.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Amplified


If you like The Shins, you may want to hop on this train...

"Broken Bells is an indie rock duo formed last year, consisting of James Mercer and Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse. Mercer is a member of the band The Shins, Burton is a member of Gnarls Barkley and a well-respected producer for such artists as Beck, Gorillaz, MF Doom and The Black Keys."

Tommy recently introduced me to Broken Bells...I was like "Oh is this a new Shins albums?" He was all "No, this is Broken Bells - Danger Mouse and the lead singer from The Shins." Cool.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Mele Kalikimaka














Tommy & I enjoyed our first Hawaiian Christmas! We celebrated Christmas Eve at the ever so swanky Bay Club Lounge at Turtle Bay Resort {aka the only restaurant open on Christmas Eve}. Christmas Day afforded us ample time to soak up the rays at Waimea Bay where we could catch up on our holiday phone calls. When we returned home we made the traditional Curtis Family Christmas brunch, full of Tom's famous scrambled eggs, Cinnamon Rolls, Bacon and fresh fruit! {The only thing we were missing was Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice from The Orange Patch!} We ended our Christmas celebration with a lovely walk down Bikini Beach. Although we wish we could have spent the holidays with our families, we are happy that we were able to have our own little Christmas together. It'll be a Christmas to remember for many years to come...

Thursday, December 23, 2010

26!

We celebrated Tommy's 26th Birthday Tomzie style...AT COSTCO!
Ordered a couple delicious slices and BYOB'd Henry Weinhard's Root Beer, per Tommy's request.  

Cheers to this young chap! I love you!

Earlier that day we enjoyed an amazing breakfast at Hukilau Cafe in Laie {per Zach & Julie's suggestion}, then we collected bottles on Bikini Beach {a tradition introduced to us by Rod & Tanya}, then we soaked up the rays {and sprinkles} at Sunset Beach...all followed by our glorious trip to Costco for a spot of dinner and some light shopping.
It was great to enjoy each other's company, uninterrupted by work or school!

Happy Birthday Tommy! 

Friday, December 10, 2010

Magnifique Find

Ashley Oborn, my friend/neighbor, found this amazing site "The Anthropologist." It's definitely noteworthy...it is full of fabulous photo journals, videos, articles, and the artists behind them all. 
Simply, creativity at its finest. 

This is where I fell in love...


{love this chandelier} 


Thanks Ashley!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Halfsies!!

Christmas came early this year...I am the proud recipient of a Half-Tuition Scholarship
$1082.50 to be exact...
Striving for that Principle's List really paid off! Cha-ching.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Best Wake Up Call Ever...



MY LARRY & THE JUDE ARE GOING HAWAIIAN!! 
May 14-21, 2011


I woke up to 2 voicemails {classic Judy style} from the Jude saying that they are headed our way. Once Larry gets an idea he's gotta follow through...The Jude usually works her magic to make it happen. Viola...a reunion in paradise. 

Take advantage of the $333 roundtrip deal from Hawaiian Airlines. Please!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

'Tis the Season

Fanciful Christmas Cards

Delicious Ginger Cookies

and 

Check it out just in case you want to visit paradise in 2011
{hint hint}

Sunday, December 5, 2010

I'll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams!

If we could go home I would...
enjoy a Denim Girls reunion with Jessbabe & Ashbabe.


meet Navy girl. {for the first time}

attend this amazing boutique sale. {never been but it sounds AMAZING!}

We miss good Mexican: Tia Rosa's,Cafe Rio, Chipotle and others Pei Wei, Pita Jungle, Cheba Hut, In & Out, Nielson's, Mesa FroYo and the list goes on. 

Of course family is first! I could officially congratulate Mr. & Mrs. Danny Curtis and give holiday hugs to all of our nieces & nephews. Enjoy an amazing Christmas Brunch at the Curtis household made by TomKat. 

Tommy and I could actually wear a sweater and drink hot chocolate because it's cold outside. I loved our Christmas last year. I loved our apartment. Our tree {even though it was ornament-less}. I loved having Spence, Kaylea, Dude & Jax over to make Christmas sugar cookies. Actually I just loved having our very own oven and washer/dryer! Our Christmas will be very different this year and so will Tommy's birthday. We loved our Thanksgiving so I'm sure our Christmas will be just as memorable. 

Items on our Christmas List:
1. Surfboard for Tommy
2. Bicycle for Jozie
3. Crock Pot
4. Other Kitchen Items
5. An Infinity Scarf for Jozie
6. Ties & Sunglasses for Tommy
7. A Fedora for Joz
8. Underwater Camera Bag
9. An apartment in TVA
10. Hike the Na Pali Coast in Kauai

Some updates:

*There is a marketing internship opening up at the end of December at the PCC. I have contacted the marketing department and expressed my interest in the position. There is only ONE opening, so fingers crossed that I get it. It would be such a great opportunity and it would really compliment my resume. 

*We are excited to be recently enrolled in Hawaii's EBT {food stamps} program. We need all the help we can get so we are extremely happy that we now have extra grocery money. 

*We are MOVING in 13 days!!!! I am literally counting down the days. We will be celebrating Christmas in our new place. It's seriously the best Christmas present we could ask for this year. We will be living on the point in a landlord free studio. We will finally have a full size refrigerator, a double hotplate, a huge closet, two dressers, double vanity and more! I will def be posting pics.

*I am officially done with my Associate's Degree {as of today}. Hopefully MCC actually gives it to me. Tommy takes his finals in two weeks and then we both have two weeks off before we start Winter semester. 

Friday, December 3, 2010

Curls & Pearls



I got a load of these folks when I surprised Tommy with tickets to see The Album Leaf. They started the show and my longing to become a super chic keyboarder {for Tommy's future band}. We're still trying to decide on a name...
I love the keyboard in this song...it makes me wish I had stuck with my piano lessons. 


p.s. it's turning out to be perfectly normal that my husband and I forego sleep so we can spend some quality time with our laptops.