Catching Up

I know, I know... it's been a while. Well, we have been going going going. I think we have slept in 10 beds in the past 6 weeks. We have been blessed by so many people it would take much too long to mention everyone,

but I'll try...

(in no particular order):
The Coetzee Ohana, Kristy & Jonathan LaBarge, My Aunt Lisa, My fabulous sister-in-law Jana, all of our wonderful Maui Ohana, Adam and Ellie Gribas, the Deetjen Family, and last but BY NO MEANS LEAST... big mahalos to the McAndrew Family.

A Quick Catch-up:
We are currently house/car sitting for John and Angie (Maui friends who split their time in Austin and Maui). Clint has gone to a few interviews, but no offers yet. We are searching for a used car to buy, a place to rent, winter clothes to wear and a job for Clint. To say things are a bit crazy, is a slight understatement. God is so faithful though, and this thought has been a huge comfort to us during this transition. He has provided us a place to stay, a temporary vehicle, friends, and a mild fall (so far). We are getting to know the area a little and are going to start looking at some rentals with an "apartment locater" as soon as tomorrow.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... let's start from the beginning.

We left Maui at 2:15pm on November and landed in Los Angeles at 9:30 pm... the adventure had officially begun.

Clint and I at LAX

My friend Kristy picked us up and guess where our first stop was...

If you don't know where this is... write in the comments and I'll tell you (p.s. shame on you if not)

It was awesome to spend some time with Kristy and Jonathan. The last time we saw eachother it was at mine and Clint's wedding!

After our LA excursion we headed to Ventura (my hometown). I got to see many dear friends including my little niece (not my niece by blood, but truly in my heart) for her birthday. In fact she didn't know I was coming! Here is a fun little video filmed by the 9yr old herself. She had just gotten an ipod touch for her birthday and she was filming her sister and cousins playing when she turned around and saw me.

My oldest good friend Monique, Meriah (the bday girl) Auntie Tay Tay and little Marlee

Then that very same night we headed to downtown Ventura for dinner and got to meet up with my cousins Katie and Norm!

Okay... it's after midnight and I am pooped... Don't worry, I have lots and lots more pictures ans stories to come :) TO BE CONTINUED!

P.S. Is anyone reading these blog posts? If so, let me know in the comments

Coconut Cups and Contact Paper

To Purpose or not to Re-purpose... that is the question.

As we start the journey of selling and organizing our stuff in anticipation of the big move in November I have been noticing things about my home that I had been previously unaware of.

One thing I have noticed is that I re-purpose things... A lot! Usually in an organizational kinda way. Not sure what I mean? Well let me show you...

This is a 2 tiered serving platter that I picked up at a garage sale last year. Perfect for displaying jewelry! I'm thinking of painting it some bold color when we get to Austin so stay tuned for a DIY blog post in the future!

No, I don't usually have price tags on my belongings... this pic was from my "moving sale" post on FB. At the far right you can see a 3 compartment candle holder that I used as a cosmetic organizer. Because it was glass it was easy to to see what was in each compartment. In the background you can see a basket with handles that I re-purposed to hold my brushes and combs. I just hung it on the towel rack by using an "S" hook. At left is a mason jar that I applied some spray chalk to and wrote "Q-tip" on.

This net material worked perfectly to display earrings. I affixed it onto the wall by clear push pins.

Here is a close up of the clear push pins (I glued buttons onto the end of the push pins to make them fancier)

Various sized wine bottles used to hold bracelets. Don't you just love the brown leather cuff my cousin Roby made me? (It's made of a guitar strap... so there is another example of re-purposing!)

Here is a Christmas decoration re-purposing idea. Folded magazine pages = Christmas tree decor

Medicine cabinet re-purposed organization. This is a jelly jar with contact paper wrapped around it.

Here I took the same contact paper as seen in the previous picture and used it to decorate my very ugly fridge. I removed the hardware, because it was broken (and gross looking) and covered the holes from the screws that held the handle in place with pretty contact paper. I wanted to cover the whole side of the fridge with the contact paper, but didn't have enough... so I made a checkerboard pattern instead and placed my magnetic spice jars as "pawns" on my faux game board.

Another re-purposing example that I found in the kitchen... this is a coconut cup that I got at my dear friend Beth's bachelorette party years ago that I use as a sponge caddy next to my sink. I'm sure it came with a yummy tropical drink of some sort in it.

 I love all my one of a kind re-purposed things... even if I have sold some of them since these pictures were taken. I also love that we aren't rich, so instead of going out and buying a fancy jewelry box or a crate and barrel sponge caddy, I had to use my God given creativity to make something unique for my home.

Do you have any re-purposed treasures around your house? Share in the comments!

Coconut Cups and Contact Paper,
Taylor

p.s. We booked our tickets for the move! It's official!

Posing on Lava Rock

Our gifted friend Nate Strubhar is getting into photography (his wife has an existing photography business) and we gladly modeled for him the other week.

Nate had the great idea to shoot at La Perouse Bay. Which is the site of the last lava flow on Maui back in the 18th century.  The stuff that looks like wet tilled up dirt in the background of the pictures is actually really sharp, pumice like lava rock.

The bay is named after Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, a French Navy officer, who was the first European to set foot on the island of Maui.

Here are some of Nate's shots... enjoy!

If you are in Oregon or Maui and want to hire Jenna and/or Nate... you will NOT BE SORRY YOU DID! Here is a link to Jenna's Photography website!

Posing on Lava Rock,
Taylor

Enchiladas & Shakesphere in the Park

Well folks, it's official... we're moving to Austin! I figured I could write this long eloquent blog post about the whole process it took to get us to this decision, but I feel like I have been telling everyone the story for the past week and I thought I'd let some pictures tell the story this time. 

So get ready to learn a lot of Austin facts and a lot of cool reasons we are stoked to be moving there!  

Above is the beautiful city of Austin. Not a lot of people realize that there is a lot of water in and around Austin... and that yes, even though it is Texas... Austin in green!

 This is Barton Springs, those blog readers who lived in Chico with me will find this picture above reminiscent of Bidwell Park... which was a favorite spot of mine during the summer months of my college years. Barton Springs is a set of four natural water springs located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin. The largest spring, Main Barton Spring supplies water to Barton Springs Pool, a popular recreational destination in Austin. The smaller springs are located nearby, two with man-made structures built to contain and direct their flow. The springs are the only known habitat of the Barton Springs Salamander, an endangered species.

 

 Not everybody knows this, but I love the theater and I especially love outdoor theater. I have fond memories of going to Shakespeare in the Park with my mom at a very young age, like around 3 or 4 and loving the story, the costumes, the characters, the sets, even the props... It really made an impression on my little mind and perhaps spurred on my dramatic side. Later in life I remember my mom taking me to plays in Ojai (California) and watching James and the Giant Peach. We would pack a picnic and bring a blanket... I really treasure those memories. 

 Austin is chock full of walking and bike trails, Clint and I much prefer taking a scenic walk than running for 2 hours on a treadmill!

According to the Austin Parks and Rec dept... "The City of Austin has developed one of the finest trail systems in the nation. Currently, over 193 miles of well-surfaced scenic paths follow natural greenbelts into all areas of the city, making an excellent trail accessible to all.  A host of joggers are regulars on the Town Lake Trail because of its visual beauty. Some prefer paths that follow picturesque creeks; others seek the serenity of primitive trails in undeveloped areas. Because sunny skies and mild climate make it possible to jog year-round in Austin, citizens have ample occasion to experience the diverse trail system. 

A huge reason that we picked Austin is for a very grown up reason, and no I'm not talking about that fact that there is an Ikea and a Target! (Although this Maui girl is very much looking forward to those two stores!) The main reason we are leaving paradise is because God has blessed me with a high tech man and Austin is a tech city if I have ever seen one!  

We are both very excited about all the occupational opportunities Clint will have in Austin.

Mmmmm and now onto food glorious food!  

As almost anyone who has ever met Clint and I know... WE LOVE GOOD FOOD! If you were to ask Clint his favorite food he would almost certainly say "BBQ" and I would answer "Mexican" Well guess what two types of food Austin is famous for folks......

 I can almost smell the brisket and enchilada sauce now! 

I could get into all the many other reasons we are moving, like suuuuper affordable cost of living, being on the same land mass as our families, Sonic cheeseburgers, arts and culture, road tripping, live music, Sonic cherry lime aids, travel opportunities, having the financial freedom to give more to missionaries and other charities, saving for the future, etc... but if you know us, that stuff should really go without saying :)

On the other hand we are of course sad to leave our friends that have become family and the wonderful, loving, giving, supportive, god-loving church and community that we have been blessed with for all these years. We know that the bonds we have made here on Maui in our combined 17 years of living on this rock will not be going anywhere though. The Lord has blessed us with soooo soooooo soooo many awesome friends here and we are forever grateful to Him for that. 

We truly have the bestest friends here and all over the globe, and we are grateful that they are so supportive of this next chapter of our lives. 

The Smith Ohana are goin' on an adventure ya'll... and we are stoked to see what the Lord has for us.

The Blazing Center

The following is a re-post from a great blog that I follow:

Read and enjoy :)

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We Don't Know What We Have

Believers in Jesus Christ are the richest people on earth.

We have every reason to be cheerful, optimistic, glad-hearted, generous servants, because we have been immeasurably blessed. In Jesus we lack nothing. Though we may lack material goods and suffer affliction in this world, we look forward to an eternity of Christmas mornings where God will continually unwrap for us new riches in Christ, our Treasure. 

As Paul worshiped God for our blessings in Christ, so should we:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 1:3)

Paul regularly prayed for those he served to be able to grasp more of their riches in Christ. He prayed because they needed God himself to reveal his riches to them.

“Our problem is not lack of blessings, but lack of insight and wisdom to understand and use them properly and faithfully. Our blessings are so vast that the human mind cannot comprehend them. In our own minds we cannot fathom the riches we have in our position in Jesus Christ. Such things are totally beyond the human mind to grasp. Only the Holy Spirit himself can search the deep things of the mind of God, and only the Spirit can bring them to our understanding.” –John MacArthur, Ephesians

MacArthur recounts a Warren Wiersbe illustration:

William Randolph Hearst once read of an extremely valuable piece of art, which he decided he must add to his extensive collection. He instructed his agent to scour the galleries of the world to find a masterpiece he was determined to have any price. After many months of painstaking search, the agent reported that the piece already belonged to Mr. Hearst and had been stored in one of his warehouses for many years. –John MacArthur, Ephesians

How can I be discontented when I’m rich in Christ?

How can I be selfish when God has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in his Son?

How can I grumble when I know the Treasure of Treasures?

How can I be unhappy when I’m a joint-heir with Jesus?

How can I not want to serve others when God has been so lavish toward me?

How can I not praise God for his steadfast love and goodness to me in Christ?

How can I not marvel that he saved me?

Heavenly Father, thank you for your lavish, incomprehensible grace toward us in Jesus.
Thank you Jesus, for living, dying and rising again to make us joint-heirs with you.
Holy Spirit, thank you for opening our eyes to see the glory of Jesus. Please show us more today.

-From The Blazing Center

Stuffing on the Run

Clint has been mentioning that he'd really like fried chicken for dinner for some time now. Since my mamma isn't coming for a visit anytime soon (probably his favorite thing she makes). I came up with my own little "down home" meal. As usual I didn't really measure anything... but I say with some certainty that this is easy to make even if you are just wing'in it ;)

Here was the finished product:

The fried Chicken actually turned out to be the supporting actor to real star of the show... the Rosemary Almond Stuffing!!!

As a disclaimer... I had never made stuffing from scratch before. I thought it was one of those things that are so complicated that you only go to all the trouble and toil once a year... for thanksgiving or maybe Christmas... well boy was I wrong. Stuffing, or "dressing" rather... since I didn't "stuff" the mixture into a bird... is super easy to make and can be seasoned and flavored any number of ways!

I need to get going so I'm going to fly through this.

Here is my not-so-exact recipe for Rosemary Almond Stuffing

Saute 1/2 cup chopped onion and bout 1cup chopped celery and 2-3 cloves garlic in bout 2 tbs of olive oil

Add bout 1-2c chicken stock and let lightly boil for 3-5 minutes (I thought the broth would get more infused with the onion/celery/garlic mixture)

In a separate (oven safe) bowl I tore up pieces of dried bread. I recommend ciabatta bread from whole foods. I had a loaf that was going to go stale so I put it in the oven at 200 for bout 30 minutes and it was nice and dry.

In the bowl with the bread I added one egg, salt, pepper, chopped rosemary, and some marcona almonds (thanks for sending them Jana) and mixed the ingredients altogether.

I then poured the hot broth mixture into the bowl with the bread until moist, but not mushy.

I then put some butter pats on the top of the stuffing and baked it at 350 for 10 minutes.

Ok, I hope that was understandable. Gotta Run!
Leave comments if you want me to clarify anything.

Stuffing on the Run,
Taylor

BBQ Brisket & Brews

Ok,
It's been a month to the day that I last posted a blog entry. I have been somewhat scattered about what to write or post. I have a few videos that I have filmed, but still need editing. So I will simply post some fun pics from today...

Clint's Bday isn't until August 16th... but since it falls on a Tuesday this year, we decided to celebrate last night.

We went over to the Westside of the island to "play tourist" a little bit. First, we met our friends Jeremy and Beth and ventured together out to a natural geologic formation called "Dragon's Teeth" and then we enjoyed a seaside picnic in Kapalua.

This formation was created by a lave flow from the now extinct West Maui volcano. The pounding ocean surf met up with the flowing hot lava and created the upturned shape. Throughout the last hundreds of years of salt spray and constant Maui sunshine has whitened the lava.

I remember coming here 5+ years ago, before I moved to Maui. I was in my last semester of college and I talked my geology teacher into letting me miss a class because I was going to Hawaii and I promised an awesome "field experiment" in Hawaiian geology. If I remember correctly I got an A :)

Anyways, back to Clint's celebration.

Our next stop was Maui Brewing Company. Our friends Kyle, Monica and Akasia met up with us and the boys enjoyed a few local brews before we headed to our third stop.

I love this 3rd picture of Clint. He had ordered a "select" microbrew that they serve in a brandy glass.

Our third and final stop was Famous Dave's BBQ in Lahaina. There was no shortage of food or friends as about 6 more of our friends joined us to celebrate Clint!

Not pictured above: Andy, Jes, Akasia

Even though Clint's birthday isn't until August 16th, I appreciate everyone for coming out and celebrating the wonderful man I married!

BBQ Brisket and Brews,

Taylor