I Carried the Cake

My mother agreed to bake the cake and 150 cupcakes for a wedding with 300 guests on the day after our arrival, so when we first got into town she was already stressing. We went out to dinner the night before, and when we came home, one of the layers had disappeared.

This is the culprit:

Nala let herself into the house and dragged a 10 inch layer of cake off of the dining room table and out into the yard. She then continued to destroy any edible evidence there was. But she didn't shut the door behind her, and she left the cake paper in the driveway.

So, morning of the wedding, Mariah had to whip up another batch of batter, bake it, and let it cool before she could ice it. We were running a little behind.

I sat in the car with the largest layer of cake on my lap, air conditioning blasting to keep it from melting.

Then we got lost. We drove around and around, looking for street signs, none of them marked, and I was shivering uncontrollably. It felt like torture. An hour and a half later, we found the wedding location. And it was beautiful.

It took place on this resort property/lychee orchard, and it was a perfect day. It was good we hadn't gotten there on time because they didn't even need the cake in the reception area for another four hours. So we explored.

A few hours and a 100-foot slip and slide, a stroll through the lychee orchard, and an impossible match of horseshoes later, we assembled the layers and decorated the cake. The frosting was warm and oozing out of the piping bag. I helped with quality control: less is more. By that time the boys were drunk and I didn't trust anyone else to carry the cake. So I did it, I carried the cake.

Isn't it beautiful? Inside the layers is homegrown lilikoi butter filling and it is decorated with gardenias from our garden. The bride was happy and everyone oohed and awed and gathered around to take photos. When the happy couple cut the cake they got into a cake fight and almost crashed into the table and sent it flying. But disaster was averted once again.

 Good job mom!

From the Garden

As soon as we arrived at my parents' house I was blown away by how much everything had grown in two years. It had rained most of the day, but it was just clearing up and the light was really good, so I unpacked my camera first thing. The entire garden was glistening with water droplets.

It's perpetually spring here. Everything is in bloom and there is a freshness in the air and in the ground. The plants are spry. Everything lives in an ebb and flow of rain and sunshine, sleep and awake. The cycles are so much faster here than they are further from the equator. Instead of living in terms of seasons and waiting all winter for warmth and growth and spring all you have to wait for is tomorrow or the afternoon for the sky to clear and the sun to shine. It allows people to move slower because they're not always waiting for change. They live in the moment and life is good.

Instagram from the Air

We're here! And we were greeted by happy pets, shoyu ahi poke, a garden paradise bursting with life, a soccer pickup game in a remarkable setting, and dinner out in Pahoa, where we were serenaded by a local musician and beautiful hula dancers while we ate. My mother has been busy making hundreds of cupcakes and a cake for a large wedding we are attending this evening, I plan on taking notes. I am up with the roosters and still on California time, so I wanted to share with you some Instagram photos I took from the plane. Jeffery surrendered the window seat for the first time in a decade, so you have him to thank.

Leaving Oahu

More Oahu

More Oahu

Flying over Molokai

Maui

I couldn't get any of the Big Island because we were one the wrong side of the plane. But there are some close ups coming. ALOHA!

Orchid and Teacup Succulents

Our orchid has been teasing us for weeks, and it finally bloomed! And it's incredible. We thought it would wait until we left for Hawai'i to bloom. But it didn't. :)

I'm still amazed at the quality of the iphone camera.

Taken with our Cannon EOS

We also finally got around to planting succulents in the teacups Marina brought us. I've been wanting to ever sine I saw

this

at Shotwell.

Three days until Hawai'i!

SF MOMA

On Saturday Marina and I ventured to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to see the Stein's Collection. Gertrude Stein and Family "were among the first to recognize the talents of avant-garde painters like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Through their friendship and patronage, they helped spark an artistic revolution."

These are my favorites.

Henri Matisse, Canal du Midi, 1898, Oil on cardboard

Henri Matisse, Flowers, 1907, Oil on cardboard

Hans Purrmann, Still Life with Vases, Oranges, and Lemons, 1908, Oil on canvas.

That day I wore my hair in Heidi braids and after the museum we came home to drink tea, eat blueberries, and play Scrabble (of course).

Source: here

35 mm, Hawaii '09

The last time I visited my parents was two years ago. 

These are my favorite photos from the trip.

Mom's basil and fuchsia

Me and Nala

Dad's '68 BMW

Jeffery and Mochi

Mom mowing the front lawn

My brother, Austin

My father, Douglas

It was back when my hair was short and the pets were little. It was before I moved abroad and before Jeffery and I spent seven months apart and before we started planning the wedding. It was before we had been to London or Milan or Dublin or Edinburgh or Amsterdam or Montpellier. It was before we moved back to San Francisco and before I started working in the Castro. It was before I finished my degree and it was before Jeff decided to go back to school.

We have 8 rolls of film packed and ready to go. This time next week we'll be waking up to roosters crowing. And the sun will rise up over the ocean and we'll have omelets for breakfast. 

Pieces of Tuesday

Jeffery and I were both off today, and despite the rain we got out of the house and ventured out into the Sunset to get Batman his specialty urinary cat food. On the way there we wandered upon an open house.

For half a million, it wasn't really our style. Too many rooms. Who needs all those rooms?

We picked up the cat food and walked through the park to Clement Street, where at Green Apple Books Jeffery finally found a used copy of this:

I love it when he gets excited about food and wants to try new recipes. We headed to the restaurant supply store in search of mini tart pans, and they didn't have them. But we did find cherries for 99 cents a pound at the produce market across the street.

Ten days until Jeffery and I leave for Hawaii! I talked to my mom this morning. The first set of laying hens she got two and a half years ago have all stopped laying. It's amazing how fast time flies. I remember when they were this size:

I am looking forward to family time and sunshine and lilikoi margaritas and fresh eggs and relaxation and wedding planning and snorkeling and playing soccer with my dad and bbqs and hanging out in my new bikini and picking vegetables from the yard and playing with the pets and looking through old photo albums and reading and taking lots of pictures!

Tomorrow I attend a Leadership Meeting with representatives from all of the other stores at a hotel in Union Square. In the afternoon we're heading to the De Young Museum see the Balenciaga and Spain fashion exhibition. Should be a fun day at the office!