En Route

We are on route to Oklahoma! I'm so excited about taking a vacation and seeing BOTH Kits family and mine. Who would have thought two kids from Hawaii would get married and both end up having roots in OK and Arkansas? Anyways. 

We are on a layover in Portland and I just went to this store that sold "made in Oregon" products. I loved everything in there! This was my fave: 

A reusable snack bag! Such a cute print. I've been himming and hawing as to how to make these for a while. They used Velcro. 

Another cute print inside!

I also picked these up:

Retro pens!

I'm kind of in love with foxes right now. Just bought ivy adorable little flats from Old Navy with fox faces on the front. 

Well, the Portland airport is pretty cool! I'd live here if it wasn't 30 degrees. :)

Aloha, Becca

Are you still using Cool Whip?

Ok, so I have nothing against Cool Whip. I mean, personally I think it tastes a little like plastic when eaten alone, but other than that, I wish them the best as a brand and business. People love that stuff, and that's great!

On the other hand, there are certain things you can do during the holidays and for special occasions that put a personal touch on your eating experience. One of the things I like to do is make my own whipped cream. It's something my mom always did. I LOVE the taste of home-made whipped cream, and it's so easy to "whip" up!

It takes just a few simple ingredients:

Ingredients:

Heavy Whipping Cream (I like to use Organic)

White Sugar (again, I like Organic)

That's all!

You'll also need an electric mixer and a bowl. I've read that if you chill the beaters and the metal bowl before you begin (about 15 minutes or longer) the cream will thicken faster. 

Many recipes say to use 1 cup of the cream, with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. I disagree. I feel like I use more in the vicinity of 1 cup of sugar by the time I'm done. Here's my process:

1. Pour the Heavy Whipping Cream into a chilled bowl (all of it)

2. Pour some sugar in the Cream (maybe 1/4 cup?)

3. Mix on high

4. After a minute or two, stop the beaters and take a lick. Is it sweet enough? No? Add another 1/4 cup of sugar!

5. Keep whipping on high for about a total of 5 minutes, doing the taste test in between. Add sugar to your liking.

6. It is essential for you to keep a close eye on the last 30-45 seconds of your whipping. It will go from whipped cream to butter very quickly, and you don't want butter! 

7. Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. 

Where do you like to use your whipped cream?

My #1 is coffee. It makes my morning caffeine fix that much more enjoyable.

#2 - desserts. I love putting it on my chocolate chip pumpkin bread I wrote about a while back.

#3 - mix it in a smoothie for added sweetness

#4 - the most obvious - PIE!

Now, if this seems overwhelming to add to your holiday preparations, DON'T DO IT. There are some things I you would never catch me doing (home made cranberry sauce, cupcakes from scratch, any type of baked bird with bones still inside... belch). We all have our gifts and tips. Home made whipped cream just happens to be mine! If you venture into this recipe, let me know!

Also, if you're really daring, check out my Pumpkin Whipped Cream!

Aloha, Rebecca

Thoughts from the Waiting Room

Is it crazy that I love this "love seat" and it's matching chair friend? Ok, so it's not exactly a love seat, since no one should be getting cozy with their significant other in the radiology waiting room... But still. It's a great color combo of nice brown leather and retro green arm rests! 

Just here for a CT Scan on my sinuses... AGAIN. Apparently my sinuses look worse now than they did pre-surgery 3 years ago. Nice. 

If you're local, check out this gift fair this weekend in Kihei at the Maui Lu. 2-7pm. 

I would be selling at it but I've already commuted to directing and performing Inside Ampersand. Two great things to do this weekend! 

Come see my show! Go buy some gifts! And check out some waiting room furniture while you're at it.

Aloha, Becca

Home Tour - The OTHER Hawaiian Plantation House

You may remember my post from a little over a year ago showing off my brother-and-sister-in-law's plantation house here in Hawaii... (click here to read that post and see pics of their gorgeous home.) Well last weekend I flew over to their neck of the woods and participated in a trunk show, hosted by my amazing sister-in-law. It was my first trunk show ever, and the environment was awesome. It was mostly ladies I know who are just so creative and sweet and sell the coolest products. Everyone basically invited people they knew, so the clientele was friendly and fun. I made more $$ than I anticipated and just had a good time all around. 

The trunk show was actually held in their OTHER plantation house a few minutes from where they live. It's a 3 bedroom 3 bath vacation rental, and they blocked it off for the weekend of the trunk show. Like the house from my other post, my sis has decorated this house in her flawless, effortless style. The pictures do all the talking. So without further ado, enjoy this Hawaiian Plantation House Home Tour. 

Sailboat photograph by Bobby Schutz Photography

 Who still uses these? There are two in this house!

Kilauea Lighthouse artwork by Nick Kuchar of "Everything Is Jake."

I just checked out his Etsy Shop, and he's got some great prints in there!!!

That adorable little table isn't normally in front of the armoire, but we were already in Trunk Show remodel mode when I started taking pics. Haha-- I just noticed a gecko on the wall in upper center of the next pic. Welcome to Hawaii!

Here's where we got to stay for one of the nights we were there:

 Isn't this house amazing? The front of the house has a great "parlor" area, with this swing. That was my section for the trunk show. My 50" bunting fit perfectly across it. 

Here's some more of my booth:

 I'm so glad I went over for this and am also glad I got to share these shots of their house. If you're interested in renting this house out for your next Hawaiian vacation, or just want to see some professional photos, visit their website: www.naholokai.com. If you want to see more shots from the Trunk Show, head over to Ivy & Co on Facebook, or click this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.737482286267290.1073741837.718771341471718&type=1&l=72e2c77929

Have a great weekend!

Aloha, Rebecca