stargazing in Hawaii + weekending v.14

Last Sunday we took a tour bus up Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak (much of the mountain is under sea level). It's also one of the best places on Earth to stargaze. At the peak of the mountain are thirteen huge telescopes that we could see from the resort we stayed at. I loved looking up at those tiny specks at the top of the mountain and thinking, "I get to go up there!"

if you look closely you can see the telescopes

using my zoom lens to get a better view

We're on top of the world! 

The top of Mauna Kea is home to the world's largest astronomical observatory. The telescopes aren't open to the public in the evening, but it was still amazing to be up above the clouds and walk around knowing that we were standing among insanely expensive equipment!

The view of the sunset wasn't bad either. :)

Once the sun set our tour guide drove us slightly down the mountain and from there we were able to look through his telescope. It was pitch black and the night sky was absolutely dazzling - shooting stars everywhere! I've seen clear night skies in dark environments, but this was a view like no other. The tour guide pointed out constellations and stars using a strong laser pointer, and he positioned his telescope to show us different sights. My favorite thing we saw through the telescope was Saturn. I'm no sky nerd, but I thought it was thrilling. Maybe I'll become a sky nerd.

The whole time we were on this excursion I had a verse from "How Great Thou Art" in my head.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the roaring thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

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It's hard to believe we've been home from Hawaii for a whole week. I was out of commission for several days after the trip. I blame my lack of Hawaii blog posting on that nasty bug I had. It really took a lot out of me! I feel much better now, and I had a great weekend. Yesterday Andy tackled some projects outside. Poor guy made two trips to Home Depot and still didn't have enough mulch to cover up the old stuff! Our front and back yards already look much better, though. I stayed inside and put away a shocking amount of laundry, unpacked boxes and cleared out some closets that I had shoved misc. items into. I'm a bit discouraged by how much stuff we own. I thought I had done a great job of getting rid of stuff when we moved, but it just never ends! Gah. #firstworldproblems, I know.

We now have a room that I call "the craigslist room." Anyone in the market for barstools, televisions, a vanity, a tiered bathroom organizer or a shower curtain and liner? Yes, I realize this is a bizarre assortment of items.

After all that hard work we treated ourselves to dinner out and a Redbox. We went to Il Forno and shared the buffalo chicken strips and the cold cut pizza. I had tried their four cheese pizza and loooved it, but I liked the cold cut pizza even better. All I could think about while we were eating was I have GOT to try to make this so we can eat it all the time! After dinner we watched "Jeff Who Lives At Home." Jason Segel was fantastic from the get-go. I figured from the trailer that the movie would have an indie feel to it, so I wasn't expecting it to be a hilarious fast-paced comedy. It did make us laugh, though. And.... I cried.

Andy headed to Philadelphia this morning to catch a baseball game with some friends from Harrisonburg, so I spent the morning listening to this sermon and painting my nails bright green. Then I picked up my awesomeblossom friend Kristen who is visiting from Florida and we had lunch at my favorite coffee shop. It's been a weekend of great food - my french toast sandwich (stuffed with scrambled eggs and sausage) was outta control. Another one to try at home! We spent the afternoon at Cunningham Falls State Park exploring the waterfall and swimming in the lake. Is there anything better than catching up with a dear friend? Now that we live in a different state than all of our friends I've realized how special it is to simply spend time with my favorite people. 

OH. I don't know why I'm blogging about this, but I was at the coffee shop a month or so ago and saw I guy that I swear went to my high school. I didn't say hello b/c Andy think that's pretty much the most awkward thing ever, but I've been racking my brain ever since to try and remember his name. I saw him again at the coffee shop today, and I still can't remember! Any Lee people interested in helping me figure it out? Guy at the coffee shop - if we're Facebook friends and you're somehow reading this, say hi next time you see me!

clothes for hawaii

This summer I'll be posting different "looks for less" each Friday. (Click here to see last week's, and here for the week before). I've been too busy recovering from a bug I got in Hawaii (blah) and starting a new nannying job to put together an outfit, so I thought I'd share with ya'll a few of the items I took with me on my trip.

I normally lean more towards function than fashion when I'm packing for a long trip, but I wanted to look fresh and summer-y in Hawaii. I made the last minute decision to not check any bags, so everything we brought had to fit in two carry-ons and two backpacks. I took one pair of jeans, one pair of capris, three pairs of shorts, two thin sweaters, eight or nine shirts and two dresses. We had a washing machine, so I could've gotten by fine with two pairs of shorts and five or so tops. Everything fit, though!

details here

I wore the striped tee shirt from LOFT on the airplane and then again halfway through the trip. The chambray shirt and  drawstring capris are Old Navy (my capris looked slightly different, but close enough). The striped shirt is Target, and the shoes are Bare Naked sandals that I picked up at Ross. The most expensive item was the chambray shirt, but it's now on sale. Darn

I have so much to tell ya'll about Hawaii. We had the BEST time!

covers

on repeat, all day long.

date on the Big Island

Top down, shirts off.
Map casually glanced at.
You drive there, I drive back.

Zooming in on the Pololu Valley.

Unless you want to get the most disgusted and disappointed look ever, don't tell Gill you didn't hike down to the beach. Also, you probably shouldn't mention that the reason is because you are short for time. He'll take forever to make your tacos (on purpose, methinks).

"Koreafornian" tacos - worth the wait.

Holly bakes orange dreamsicle pull-apart bread

I guarantee today's post will make your mouth water. I don't even like orange dreamsicles but this bread looks and sounds mind-blowingly delish! I met Holly on a blind date (true story) in Harrisonburg. We were set up by our mutual friend Amber, who you "met" on Wednesday's guest post. Holly is one of my new favorite people. We are one big laugh fest when we're together and I HATE that our friendship started right before I moved to another state! Come visit girlfran!

Holly and her husband Arthur. this is my favorite "Holly face."

My name is Holly and I love to bake. I'm talking ooey, gooey, full fat butter, real sugar, whole milk, high quality chocolate goodness. I like the preciseness of baking. You can't just estimate your measurements or throw things together in a bowl and hope it works out. It takes time and it takes being exact. I love the way my whole house fills up with the smell of melting butter, bubbling sugar, sickeningly sweet ingredients. But you see, lately I have realized the magic that is bread making. Yeast is amazing, kneading dough is relaxing and the accomplishment I feel every time my dough rises appropriately makes me high five myself. But I don't seem to get that same sugar rush with a loaf of bread. Sure. Fresh baked bread makes my house smell fabulous, but in a different way. A less buttery, sugary way. Well friends, I've found a way to have the best of both worlds. A completely transcendent concoction I'm calling orange dreamsicle pull-apart bread. It starts out as a mildly sweet, tender yeast dough and ends up being a slightly citrused, cream cheesed, confectioners sugared, vanilla scented sweet bread that dreams are made of. Oh. And your house will smell like you’re working in an Orange Julius shop. And anyone can do it! Bread seems to intimidate people, but it's just science! Yeast does the work, you just need the patience and a couple of hours for rise time…and voila!

Orange dreamsicle pull-apart bread

And here's how you make it step-by-step. Please ignore my stellar photography skills. I claim to bake, not to photograph.  

First, we throw some flour, a bit of granulated sugar, your magical yeast and some salt into a large bowl of a stand mixer and stir it around.

Then we heat up a little whole milk and some butter in a small saucepan until warm and melted.

Let it cool for a minute or two so we don't kill our happy yeasts and add a bit of real vanilla.

Once your milk/butter/vanilla mixture is just slightly cooled - we still want it warm, just not hot - pour it over your flour mixture and stir it up with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until evenly mixed. It will seem dry and a little crumbly. That's ok!

Next, we mix. Using your paddle attachment on your mixer, mix up the dough with two eggs added one at a time at a low speed. Make sure you mix well and scrape down the sides after each addition.

Add a bit more flour and start mixing again until the dough is smooth and a little bit sticky. You made bread dough!

Now, dump it on your floured surface and knead it for just a minute or two until very smooth and no longer sticky. Throw the dough into a large bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, place it in a warm and draft free place and twiddle your thumbs. You want to let this beautiful dough rise until it's pretty much doubled in size. If your kitchen runs warm, this may only take 45 minutes but I find for me this takes closer to an hour. Know how to tell if your bread has had enough time to rise? Stick your finger in it! If the indention stays, it's done! If it bounces back, give it another 15 minutes and try again.

While you're waiting on your dough to rise, make up your tasty, crunchy, sugary filling. Get to zesting. I find that the zest of two medium oranges and one lemon works perfectly. Mix up your zest with some sugar and it will turn into more of a paste as the sugar pulls the oils from the zest.

Dough is done? Dump it out on your floured surface and gently deflate, or punch it down (that always sounds too violent for me), with the palm of your hand and get ready to roll. You're going to want to use a rolling pin and get this dough as close to a 20x12 inch rectangle as you can. It's basically impossible to roll anything into a perfect rectangle, but I find that it doesn't matter all that much for this recipe since I always end up with more of a giant oval anyway.

Now for the healthy part. Melt down a bunch of butter and brush (or pour) every last drop onto your rolled dough. It may seem like too much, but when it comes to baked goods, there's never too much butter. Once you've sufficiently lathered up your dough grab a pizza cutter or a good knife and cut it into 5 even strips

And now comes the filling! Evenly sprinkle a bit of your sugar and zest paste onto one end piece of dough. Stack your next piece of dough on top and sprinkle that one. Repeat until you have your stack of 5 dough slices all sugared up. Now, take your same knife and cut the stack crosswise into 6 equal blocks.

Now, I should have told you earlier, but at this point you should have a prepared loaf pan buttered or sprayed. Start stacking your dough cut sides up in your pan. Cover this up again for your second rise until nearly doubled in size.

Now you're ready to bake! Pop this tasty treat into your preheated 350 degree oven for around 30 minutes until golden on top. Let it cool on a wire rack for a bit, then turn your pan out onto a second cooling rack and flip it back over so it's right side up again.

Now for the glaze. This bread is every bit tasty on its own…but when has a sugary cream cheese icing not upped the ante? Take some softened cream cheese, powered sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice and a bit of milk and stir furiously until smooth. Brush on top of your still warm bread and CONSUME. If you're anything like me you won't be able to stop consuming. 

If I have convinced you of this cake's power and you're ready to try your hand at it, you can find the recipe from Flo Baker at http://leitesculinaria.com/535/recipes-lemon-scented-pull-apart-coffee-cake.html. All I have changed is replacing lemon for orange and vice versa. Instead of her zest of 3 lemons and a bit of orange zest in the filling, I used the zest of only one lemon and two oranges. And in the cream cheese glaze I replaced the lemon juice with orange juice. I promise. You won't regret these minor changes. Enjoy!