Life of Larisa or LOL

Bad hair, late hour, obnoxious hecklers, snoring seat mate aside... "Eclipse" was worth it. I was happy I sat in the theater from 5 p.m.ish til 2 a.m.ish. Many expressed skepticism on whether or not over six hours of movie- ing could be handled. Last night I found my true calling---professional seat sitter. I even amazed myself. The third installment of the Twilight Saga opened to a round of applause (myself NOT included...unless RPatz and Kristen Stewart are in the theater with me, I just don't see the point). Eclipse the movie started differently than Eclipse the book (which I recently re-read). Several elements from the book were incorporated, as well as elements from the Eclipse spin off-- "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" , but the flow of events was a little lacking (but maybe I'm being overly critical due to the circumstance of my viewing). Director number three did an interesting job in terms of cinematography (playing with color and ...

...now that's a mouthful of "C". These cookies are intended for the mainland...but it's quite hard to resist the smell and the taste (I can't very well mail these across country without having taken a bite to be sure they are edible!). Although Gabe's winning response "they're okay momma" (while licking every crumby morsel off his plate) didn't inspire thoughts of greatness with regards to these cookies---I know that they are better than the last batch (remember the butterscotch pancakes?) of cookies I baked. This is your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, no frills, and added to it---some shredded coconut. I love coconut so this is genius and delicious. A harmony of flavor. The marriage of the two is more classic than peanut butter and chocolate. The previous version of this cookie included an exchange of chocolate for butterscotch and an addition of rum (these were not the pancakes...they turned out delish). Today, I kept it simple...

...we are not. We were desperate to see a movie, so we took Gabe to see this one. Honestly, it was nothing he hadn't heard before...let's just hope he doesn't repeat it at the wrong place and wrong time...with me, in front of people who can't appreciate my sense of humor...or Adam Sandler's for that matter. We all had some laughs and I had to satisfy my curiosity---could the comic powerhouses all be in one movie together. Yes and no. I see that they all enjoy each other's company---somethings you can't act away. But, they really are just funnier on their own. And Kevin James should really stick to t.v. I was amused with the few cameo appearances---thanks for keeping with your cameo style Sandler . The idea of the movie has been done before---in a darker comedy they called "The Big Chill". I also found myself disappointed in the music---or lack there of. Any movie that uses nostalgia as it's main selling point really needs to come ...

It really does pay to consistently and obsessively talk, write, Facebook , Yelp---about Starbucks. I'm just waiting for my Keanu prize to arrive now. I talk him up a lot too. The great thing (of many) about Facebook , is reconnecting with random, possibly long forgotten, childhood friends. It is definitely the case for me---I don't really know or hangout with over four hundred people. I do remember them though. There is a story that goes along with all of them (relatives excluded). The trip down memory lane via Facebook is always fun. You never know what to expect. In my case, it has been USPS delivered packages. The first was a package of good old Southern grits. Thanks to a post about, well, grits. I miss them. As if I were rubbing on a genie's lantern, magically a package of grits arrived in the mail for me and the boys to enjoy. Thanks Claire. A week or so ago, another former classmate posted something interesting---"going to the original Starbucks ...

Revisiting an old favorite...the cupcake above and Lena too. Smile. Happy, happy birthday to my dear friend Lena. Mom of three, lover of t.v., inspirer of laughter, cupcaking companion, movie aficionado . If it weren't for the two extra kids, you'd think I was talking about myself. For obvious reasons, she is one of my favorite people. Gabe and I spent her birthday morning with her doing one of our favorite things---baking. We made white chocolate strawberry cupcakes---something else we can agree on---love the white chocolate and the strawberry cream cheese frosting! Winners. A kick back morning since it was dark and gray in our neck of the woods. Lots of light and laughter inside the house however---Gabe took us down memory lane---he was watching the original "Neverending Story" while us girls giggled and...ate cupcakes. Gabe built a fort. We built mini cake masterpieces. Hope her special day got off to a great start. A day that begins in the kitchen is...

Isom and I enjoyed the best lunch! I wish I had known about "the pearl of Pearl City" sooner. As I was telling Lena, this is the poor man's Mariposa (restaurant at Neiman Marcus). The open air restaurant is quaint. It has a beautiful view of the marina in Pearl Harbor and behind that is the Waianae mountain range...it's an angle that I don't think gets seen often. Despite the location of being under the Ford Island Bridge, this mariner inspired restaurant is a great place to spend a few hours. It is kid friendly, the service was wonderful, and our food was fantastic. My pan seared mahi mahi sandwich was super enjoyable. It was accompanied with a side salad and poppy seed dressing. Since we were lucky enough to be enjoying a kid-free lunch, we splurged on dessert. I haven't been baking lately and was needing a sugar fix. We agreed on the cheesecake since neither of us are huge restaurant chocolate cake eaters. We were not disappointed. Picture...

Lovely "sweat" across their faces on the cup...I was midway through my Coke when I snapped the picture. I never go to Burger King...proclaims the vegetarian. BUT, I went last week...in search of Eclipse stuff. They didn't have it...yet. BUT, today when I was at the mall checking out the Dinosaur exhibit with Mia and Gabe, we saw kids walking around with Eclipse Burger King Crowns ! I was jealous. After looking at the two dinos at Downtown Pearlridge , a stop in at the Sanrio store, a monorail ride to Uptown Pearlridge , denied at the Dinosaur Train (but picked up Cold Stone coupons for free kid scoops anyway), and reading kid books at Borders, I felt enough time had lapsed since the Eclipse crown sighting. I mean, we were parked right by Burger King anyway...so we stopped in. I was feeling thirsty. As soon as we walked in I knew we had hit the jackpot. There is even a McDonald's Monopoly type game to be played...I was an instant winner (free Whopper Jr. o...

Not your picnic at the park kind of potato salad, but refreshing nonetheless. Shockingly, this was my first time making any sort of potato salad (unless dipping french fries in ketchup counts...). As with all the recipes in my salad book (thus far anyway), the recipe was relatively short, easy to follow, and included simple ingredients that most folks keep tucked away somewhere. I, of course, had to fetch a few things---like the shallots, chives, potatoes, yogurt... I paired our non lettuce salad with veggie burgers followed by cookie gone bad dessert, better known as the blond brownie. I hated to waste the batter when after twelve cookies turned up looking like butterscotch pancakes instead of thick cookies. So, I panned the batter and voila, we had brownies for dessert and something for Isom to take to his co-workers...it has been quite some time since he has brought anything sweet into the office (other than himself of course).

...for the lovely new hairdo. I feel like a new woman. A dye (the red...not the black...I don't have that many grays...yet), a trim, a head massage, a wash, a blow dry....non of which I could or would ever do for myself. In general, I feel I am low maintenance when it comes to the girly beauty stuff. Sweats, no matter how cute and pink, do not constitute high maintenance. So, you know I appreciate it all the more when I get around to a little pampering. Gabe was extremely well behaved sitting in the chair behind me at the salon for two plus hours. What a trooper. Of course he was thrilled to be playing his DS , eating Arby's , and getting fawned over by the ladies in the salon. Who wouldn't enjoy that? I had no idea that working at Blimpie fifteen years ago could lead to getting my hair done by my then co-sandwich artist Sarah. She is an artist in more ways than one.

...a day late and a dollar short. Here's the brothers on Father's Day. Gabe has been insisting that Isom is his MUCH OLDER brother! This kid obviously gets his sense of humor from me. Isom received the shirt in the picture and a coffee carousel. Gabe picked out the shirt all by himself. Isom promises to wear it...only on Aloha Friday. I picked out the coffee carousel...no coffee in the coffee carousel. I must have been on the same wavelength as our waiter from Breakers. Breakfast out, a morning at the beach (too bad the surf was crazy and we had to pack up early), picking up Isom's repaired bike, drywall (his idea, not mine), frozen burrito lunch (again, his idea not mine), and rounding the day out with dinner at Chili's. So glad this was Father's Day...this sounds like the worst day ever. Isom claims he had fun...he made all the decisions for the day. See what happens when we leave them to their own devices? Bad food day. Despite your terrible fo...

Just because you own the joint, doesn't mean you should be a waiter. When we arrived to this north shore eatery, we were happy to see that despite it being Father's Day, there was no line. No line means no wait, right? Uh, no. We sat ourselves. We received two menus for our party of three . Our waiter brought us our drinks---coffee, hot coco (forgot the key element of whip cream), and two cranberry juices---one that looked like a mixed drink...I know Gabe looks old but...21? Come on. We only ordered one anyway. We were off to a weird start. We placed our order and two phone calls to the mainland later, we still hadn't received our food. I was amused for awhile listening to their cranked up seventies disco music, but I was beginning to get hungry. Our waiter/lounge act emcee brought out my pictured above Huevos Rancheros . Isom received his local style breakfast and Gabe his waffle---but no syrup. I was about half way done with my breakfast (I know I probably sh...

...minus the frisee and minus the bacon. I made my own dressing again, however, and toasted fresh bread...in restaurant terms, a baguette. It was just like CPK. This was all I had for dinner. No snack later either. It is possible to change...for one day anyway. I found it difficult to locate the special hair like looking lettuce known as frisee. And you know I don't eat bacon anymore, so, I substituted the lettuce for pretty, fancy lettuce from Times Supermarket, added my blue cheese crumble, slapped the baguette on the side, sprinkled dressing over the top and called it done. The boys enjoyed it, although not as much as previous, more ingredient rich salads. But in the heat of the summer, there really is nothing like a crisp, light salad. Anyway, today is birthday party Saturday, so we had to eat light as to make up for any fried, cupcake, heart attack inducing foods we may be consuming in large quantities today.

...cupcakes and movie...all in one day. I'm not really the one excited about Toy Story 3 . I watched the other two movies, but only because I have a small child. I do love a theme though, so when Jayme asked if I could bake Toy Story themed cupcakes for her son's third birthday, I immediately agreed. There are two more designs waiting to be unhatched. I made vanilla cupcakes (below) yesterday for him to take to school today. Tomorrow I will be baking more TS3 cupcakes for the actual birthday party. Things were shaping up to be a Toy Story kind of weekend, so I figured I would take Gabe to see the movie. After a fun morning of baking strawberry and white chocolate cupcakes with Lena, we headed out to the theater. I expected there would be a good turnout, but not as good as it was when we arrived. Everyone and their small child from Leeward Oahu were there. It seems like people are taking younger and younger kids to the movies these days too. There were multiple bathroom breaks...

Success! In taste and photo. I think romaine lettuce is heartier and easier to photograph. We enjoyed the best Caesar I've ever had with Salmon for yesterday's "healthy" meal. I made croutons from scratch and my own dressing for the Caesar---Worcestershire, fresh lemon juice, mayonnaise, anchovies and all. I'm sure that most folks would top their Caesar with chicken, but not I. One, I don't eat poultry anymore. And two, this salad stood alone...no meat necessary. The romaine was tossed with a fresh chopped garlic and olive oil "glaze"? Not sure of a good descriptive word for it (but it was definitely delicious). The final touch was grated Parmesan cheese on top. Apparently, I have been depriving Gabe of his most favorite foods this whole time. Who knew? He had two helpings! Of SALAD. The "sour" taste (as only a six year old would describe anchovy infused dressing) was definitely a new one for his young palate, but I was very ...

Technically, this is not a cupcake. It has fruit, no frosting, and is best eaten warm. Too bad it wasn't. I had high hopes when I pulled these out of the oven, despite this being the first fruit muffins I have made from scratch. The 99 cent Jiffy box (usually next to the 99 cent cornbread box) was as close as I got to "baking from scratch" before. The batter seemed good. The blueberries were extra large, so I decided to make extra large muffins (and my regular muffin tin was in the dishwasher). I even baked the muffins a bit longer since they were bigger. And still, when I cut one in half to split with Gabe, it was not completely cooked...baked, whatever. Fine. I'd rather eat a cupcake anyway. I'll leave the big, over sized muffins to Costco and Starbucks.

Until I make a salad that won't look like a pile on a plate, there will be no salad pictures. They just aren't as fun to photograph and aren't cute, sweet, and three dimensional like the cupcakes. Last night I skipped ahead in the salad book. I did not have the proper ingredients for the second salad in the book. Why? I forgot to go to the grocery store after a quick stop at Party City yesterday. I now understand why I see some parents with ten year olds in strollers. It's so they are strapped in and can't touch and paw at everything in the store...the parent has some form of control if the child/ pre -teen is strapped in. I was seriously considering this after yesterday's trip to Party City. In Gabe's defense, it is an extremely fun store. It is sensory overload. I guess for a six year old, seeing every cartoon, t.v. and movie character you could imagine on plates, cups, and candy causes diarrhea of the mouth, temporary Tourette syndrome, and gen...

The shape turned out cute, thanks to my Hello Kitty Cupcake Liners from Japan. The taste of the cupcake and liquor/coffee frosting was good too...the color is blah though. That's what you get with coffee---it only knows how to be brown. Usually a nice color---for furniture, boots, dirt...not cupcakes though. Inquiring minds on Facebook were asking for the recipe. Here it is. For the Cupcakes: 1 cup sweet butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 cups self-rising flour 4 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract (NOT SOY SAUCE) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts For the Frosting: 1 cup sweet butter, softened 3 cups confectioner sugar, sifted 1 tbsp instant coffee (I highly recommend 2 Starbucks Via to go packets) 1 tsp hot coffee (and then you can sip the rest of the cup while enjoying these cupcakes!) 1 tsp coffee liqueur ( Kahlua is my personal favorite...makes for a great nightcap later with milk) 1 tsp vanilla extract (again, not soy sauce) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 Combine all cupcake ingredients th...

...from the week of the party. Catch up with laundry. Catch up with uploading photos (thus this blog post). Catch up with thank you cards (they are coming...I promise!). Catch up on sleep. But, I wanted to share a few more fun photos. Thanks Elana and Kapua for these great pictures. Thanks again to Roland and Elana for making the ceremony happen and to Lehua who produced these picture worthy cupcakes! Thanks to our guests who showed up to watch Isom and I share an awkward public smooch! Maybe this time next month, I'll be all caught up. Or maybe I just won't care anymore... Now, to get caught up on some reading...

No photo...again...I was too busy being impressed with myself because I made my very own pita chips yesterday. It was a step in the process of making a salad---a process that definitely requires a good sharp knife...which we don't own. After almost cutting my fingers off and almost stabbing myself in the belly...a fine product was produced. Click here to read more about fattoush. I was excited to start my salad journey, although not as excited as Isom, but for some reason kept putting it off...and off...and, well, I finally got around to cracking the pages of my 500 Salads recipe book yesterday . I was concerned that consuming a dinner of just veggies was NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH. So, I busted out some of our tortillas (yes, party tortillas), some hummus, and shredded cheese. We added our fattoush to the tortillas with the hummus and cheese (plus hot sauce to spice things up a bit) which made a delicious wrap and something more filling. For once I left the dinner table satisfied ...

Not Pink Floyd. Here's what happens at our house when you decide to rearrange the living room. I just wanted to move the t.v. to a different wall. Something about cable... I got a little more than I bargained for. I'm glad Isom is so accommodating , but... I miss my dining room dry-wall.

Free Friday apparently gets everyone on island out of the house and inside the Bishop Museum. We enjoyed a fun field trip with Lena and her kids, plus my kid and Sarah's kids (minus Sarah) to the Bishop Museum. As the kids get older, it's interesting to see what exhibits peak their interest the most. The Volcano. Gavin is four and Gabe is six...their museum interests? The same. Hmmm , one is advanced? Or one is...not advanced? We survived lack of listening, running, grumpy Auntie (me, not Lena), snack on the lawn, repeating questions, a few "You're not my friend.", and a crowd of folks trying to escape the heat of the summer day. As Lena so eloquently put it: "You get what you pay for." Well, you already know it was free...

...in my opinion, would be---Starbucks. On Friday, I found myself with four kids under ten, suffering from an afternoon caffeine slump, and at Windward Mall. The kids got nice and sweaty playing on the newish play structure inside the mall in front of Borders. Although technically, three of the four kids were probably over the height maximum, everyone was having fun...until mall security came around. I was anxious they were going to kick us out for having exceeded the 3 foot tall requirement. Phew, just trying to evacuate the kids so the play structure could be cleaned. So we headed into Seattle's Best inside Borders...snack time! I was very reluctant to enter unknown coffee territory. Luckily, our friend Malisa (and baby Lucy) were there to provide moral support. I got the kids situated at a table and made my way to the counter where I was completely baffled by the menu. As I tried to figure out what to order, a cupcake caught my eye. A cupcake cookie anyway. How cute!...

Free parking...although the under ground garage was sketchy when it was empty...and dusk. Despite the scene from a bad horror movie, I made it safely inside the elevator that opened up into a very chic and cute wine bar/restaurant. I was the first to arrive and took the opportunity to try three different wines (they call it wine flight)...a 2 ounce pour of three wines of your choosing (or theirs). I decided to let them pilot my flight. I told my server I enjoy red wine and they served me three delicious wines that ended up complimenting our delicious food... which consisted of Gnocchi, risotto, and a mixed green salad with a side of cheese and polenta . These three dishes were really well done. They were small plates so we were able to save room for the second most important part...DESSERT. Pictures of dessert were sabotaged by the lack of flash on my iPhone and the dim lighting that appeared when the sun went down. We shared espresso creme brulee , a banana and chocolate torte, ...

No pictures needed. Just check out their website by clicking here . Nearly a week has passed since our party and I am still thinking about the delicious food we had catered. I figure the best way to keep a great place in business is to talk about it. When you are in town, stop by the fun Waialae location for a burrito, a taco, chips and salsa---or all of the above! The owners Tony and Tara were wonderful to work with and you can tell they love what they do. Added to the fact that Tony is from Albuquerque (a fact my grandma discovered and loved since she too hails from this New Mexico food mecca). If all else had failed on our big day (which it didn't, despite all my stressing and worrying and frenzied behavior), it would have been all good because the food was sensational . I can say this since I didn't prepare it. We are still grinding on a few leftovers... Yesterday's lunch: a bean, cheese, and salsa burrito. Yesterday's dinner: a larger version of lunch, ...

Free concert in the park. Lucky we live Hawaii. Lucky Gabe wears some sort of military garb everyday...so he fit right in as we lazed on the lawn outside the Hale Koa yesterday evening. Hawaii has perfect weather (to me anyway), so I really don't know why there aren't more events like this. As it turns out, we were celebrating the Army's 235 th birthday (way to go at remembering that Isom ...he was only in for like eight years). We enjoyed music from the Navy band, Army 25 th Infantry band, the Royal Hawaiian Band, a Celtic band, and soft string players. Despite no modern pop hits from Gabe's current favorite: Justin Bieber (apparently the little boys love him too), he still managed to be moderately well behaved...he just kept going to the bathroom (for something to do ). Our Kuroda field concert was a lovely way to end our visit with Tutu. That, and a delicious final dinner at Bibas ...Thai shrimp salad... Which brings me to my next online/kitchen adventure...

We've been all over the place this past week. Seeing, eating, doing all sorts of things with our mainland ohana . Not only was it a celebration of ten years of marriage for Isom and I, it was also our nephew's sixteenth birthday---the luckiest kid ever to celebrate the big day in Hawaii. So we took the boys for shave ice (twice). I made mini cheesecakes (and a large one too). The girls went for manicures and pedicures (never have my feet and hands looked so nice). We BBQ'd , beached, and boogie boarded. And a couple of times, Isom and I were able to steal away without Gabe and enjoy a few lone moments...to enjoy other baked goods. The swap meet proved to be the same old hot place but a great photo op for me...and our brother-in-law Bill. It's great having relatives in town but if we ate and toured around like this all the time...well, I'm too scared to think about it. Our first few weeks off from school have been chocked full of fun...hopefully Gabe won'...