FaBuLoUs Farm Fresh to You

Essentials in my house are always fruits and veggies...I have an addiction to them. And as far as food addictions go, I guess fruits and veggies aren't the worst addictions to have.

That said, I make weekly trips to Sprouts or a local Farmer's Market if I happen to pass by one to stock up on the week's fresh fruits and veggies. Bananas, apples, spinach, strawberries, cucumber, carrots (oh if you could only imagine the amount of carrots in my fridge!), lettuce, kale, and so much more are usually on my list. But, in doing this I found that I fall into a rut of buying the same ol' thing and never trying new stuff. I love the stuff I buy and not a lot of it usually goes to waste thanks to freezing items, making smoothies, juicing, cooking, and snacking, but I wanted to try stuff I wouldn't normally always buy but never know where to start. 

Alas! Farm Fresh to You to the rescue! This service is amazing! I can spend anywhere from $40-$60 a week on fresh produce at the store (only some of which is actually organic because that can get expensive!) BUT...with my Farm Fresh to You service I spend the same amount each week (or bi-weekly or however often YOU decide you want deliveries!) and get great quality, organic produce and a decent variety...as well as a lot of new things I'd never think of buying and some things I'd never even heard of! The best thing about the new items is that the Farm Fresh to You website has a Recipes section specifically searchable for recipes for the produce they provide you! For example, I've never used leeks before...I went to the Recipes section on the FFTY website and typed in "Leeks" and it comes up with a huge list of recipes to use leeks with! 

Another great quality of this service is that it is completely customizable to suit you and your family's needs. You can get deliveries however often you want - weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc...and you can cancel your service at any time or change delivery weeks if, for example, you are going on vacation on a week that would usually be a delivery week. Also, if you have a food allergy in the family, or just a produce that absolutely horrifies you, you can go into your options and select items to add to your "Exclusions List" of items you'd prefer not to receive and they will exclude those from the order and add something else instead. (for example, I'd prefer not to receive collard or dandelion greens, chard, apricots, prunes and a few other things so if that's due to be delivered they send me something else that's not on my exclusions list)

Now...a picture of my very first box I got when I first subscribed: 

I pay $33.50 per delivery for the No Cooking Box.

2 bunches of celery

2 Meyer lemons

1 bunch of Nantes carrots

4 Yakima apples

1 head of cauliflower

4 Bosc pears

2 heads of bok choy

1 grapefruit

2 Navel oranges

It was all delicious! And I learned ways to use bok choy and don't even panic when I see it in my box when it does come! =) 

I highly recommend this service to anyone and everyone who loves produce as much as I do, or for anyone looking for a little variety in their produce department of their own house! 

If you're interested click here to check it out and if you decide to sign-up, let me know and I'll share my referral code with you so you can get $10.00 off your first box!!

Waves and Whales - Kauai, Day 3

Yesterday was fabulous Day 3 in Kauai and we didn't do nearly as much driving as Days 1 an 2. 

I wanted to go and spend more time at the beach where we saw the whales on Day 2 since we didn't get to stay long so we packed up a picnic lunch and headed down the highway back to the beach. We saw lots of whales and we decided to go down the cliffside to the water to do some more exploring and we got even luckier and saw a sea turtle! He hung around for quite a while so I got a few pictures (one I posted below) and then we just roamed around the beach for a while checking out the tidepools and crevices in the lava rocks. So much fun. The excitement I get from being at the beach and all the creatures there sometimes makes me wish I had gone with Marine Biology instead of Child Development, but eh...ohhh wellll! =)

{^^Sea Turtle!!^^}

 {^^Coral wedged between some lava rock^^}

 {^^Whales!^^}

{^^Coconut^^}

{^^Kilauea Lighthouse lookout^^}

{^^Kilauea Lighthouse lookout^^}

{^^Anini Beach^^}

{^^Anini Beach^^}

After our beach adventures we went to the market to get some stuff I forgot the other day, then we got some Shaved Ice (of course), then home and relaxed for a while before I made tacos for dinner, complete with all the fixin's! =)

On tap for today, hubby is currently watching the 49er game while I sit on the balcony writing this, then we are going back to Anini Beach to do some snorkeling out on the reef and who knows what else we'll venture out to do! <3

Aloha, from Kauai!

Hubby and I are on Day 3 of our vacation/2nd Honeymoon in Kauai and loving every minute of it!

So, for this entry: a re-cap of our first two days then a delicious Hawaiian-inspired recipe! =)

First off, technology never ceases to amaze me...we flew (no pun intended) through the whole airport thing thanks to Online Check-In and Baggage Payment. We checked in BEFORE we even left grandparents' house for the airport on Thursday morning and paid for our checked baggage, too...so when we got to the airport we went to the check-in counters, showed our boarding passes and receipt that we had printed before we left the house, the guy took our bags, gave us stickers for our boarding passes and off we went to Security...we flew through that too. So, we had 2 hours to kill until our flight so we grabbed a Jamba Juice and relaxed for an hour and a half until they started boarding. 

 The flight was fine. But I hate flying. Especially over nothing but water. I played some games and read a book on my iPad, did some sleeping, hubby read on his Kindle and slept...and we got complementary Mai Tai's on the flight so that made it a little more bearable. It was delish. 5 hours and 20 minutes later we were in Kauai where our baggage came onto the carousel super-quick! Within an hour and a half of landing we had gotten our baggage and our rental car (which, might I add, was a BRAND NEW Ford Focus and we were the lucky first drivers of it; we have definitely already broken it in well for the next drivers) and we had made it to our first stop...Hee Fat General Store in Kapaa for what I had read to be "the best Shaved Ice on the island" (thanks to some wonderful Yelp.com reviews!). We shared a "Lava Flow" (macadamia nut ice cream on bottom with banana, coconut and strawberry flavored shaved ice with a Snow Cap on top) and it was pretty dang delicious! So good, in fact, that we had it again on Day 2. =) It's not a Hawaii trip without Shaved Ice!

We couldn't check-in to our condo until 4pm and we landed a little after noon so we had some time to kill so after our shaved ice we drove around and got familiar with part of the island for a while, then finally checked in. 

 Our condo is super-cute. Hubby is in love and convinced we need to move here...party because we are minutes from a few golf courses and there is a putting green behind our condo. I don't completely object. This island is so pretty gorgeous. And compared to prices of houses back home, there are some reasonable deals here...and the landscaping, and the beaches, and the people, I could go on forever...I love this place. 

The rest of our first day after we finally checked in we just relaxed. We went to the grocery store to grab some dinner because I am determined to use the full kitchen that our unit has as much as I can, rather than spending a ton of money on eating at restaurants for every meal. We had a rotisserie chicken and chef salad for our first meal here. =) Then...it was time to SLEEP. 

 

Day 2 we were quite adventurous and put some serious miles on the rental car...but most importantly, the local Starbucks was discovered. <3

Waimea Canyon was at the top of my to-do list, after whale watching but we've got that booked for next week. The canyon is nicknamed "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific"...it was breathtaking and the drive up was so much fun. It was a little foggy/cloudy at the lookout point because we went later in the day so our pics didn't come out the best but we might go back earlier on a clearer day. 

 

We stopped at Spouting Horn in Poipu on the South Shore after Waimea Canyon. It was pretty neat. It's basically a beached area lined with lava rock that is corroded away by the crashing waves & it leaves narrow openings in the rock; one of the opening is on top of the rocks so when the waves crash in from underneath it forces the water up through the narrow opening creating a big or small spout of water, depending on the size of the wave. 

We had lunch at Beach House Restaurant because we had heard such great things about it...it definitely lived up to expectations. Hubby had a huge burger and fries and I had Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice. And our drinks came with pretty orchids in them. <3

On our way back to the condo we stopped to stock up on groceries for the week and, yes, for Shaved Ice at Hee Fat General Store again. =) I got the Lava Flow again but hubby tried the POG (Passion Fruit, Orange and Guava shaved ice with coconut ice cream and a Snow Cap)/ Just as delicious as the first time. 

As we were driving I noticed some whale blows (at least 3 different whales together) off in the distance so we pulled off at one of the stops and whale-watched from shore for a while but didn't stay as long as I would have liked since we had groceries in the car and it was warm out! But, it was fun, nonetheless and makes me look even more forward to our Sunset Dinner Cruise/Whale Watch next week when we're even closer to the amazing mammals! 

{^whale blows!^}

We ended our day with a late dinner in Hanalei at Kalypso, a local favorite. 

Overall an amazing time so far...and we still have so much time left! =) Can't wait for our next adventures...keeeeppppp checking back! Uploading pics now from today, Day 3, so that entry will be up later tonight. Now...for a recipe

<3 <3 <3

Two more weeks...Kauai-bound!

Aloha! As a wedding gift and a second "honeymoon" (although we are calling it more of a birthday celebration since we both have birthdays coming up soon) we are heading to the fabulous Hawaiian island of Kauai for A WEEK! We are so incredibly thankful to my wonderful Aunt and Uncle for this amazing, undoubtedly unforgettable trip we will be taking in just TWO MORE WEEKS! We will be leaving Wednesday the 16th for hubby's grandparents' house where we will stay the night before getting up for them to drive us to the airport to catch our early flight. We will arrive to Kauai around noon (their time) and will enjoy a week of umbrella-clad drinks, basking on the sandy beaches, snorkling and other adventures, but I am mostly looking forward to just doing some serious overall relaxing!

What we've got on tap, so far...

*Catamaran Sunset Dinner Tour - whale watching (among other marine life- sea turtles, dolphins, fish, etc.), a delicious dinner and a gorgeous sunset along the infamous, tropical Na Pali Coastline. SO excited for this! 

* Kilauea Lighthouse (N. Shore)

* Hanalei Town (N. Shore)

* Hee Fat General Store for some of "the best shaved ice on the island!" per fellow yelp.com-ers! I looooove me some good shaved ice! (Coconut Coast)

* Wailua Falls (Coconut Coast)


* Visiting Waimea and Waimea Canyon (S/W side of island) nicknamed "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific"...it's supposed to be GORGEOUS...and a lot more green than the actual Grand Canyon

* Hanapepe Town & Hanapepe Valley Lookout  (S. Shore)

* The Beach House restaurant (S. Shore) 

* Poipu Town - great restaurants and beaches, I hear! 

Any other suggestions or things we should do/see/eat while we're there? This is our third time going to Hawaii but first time on this island...we're sooooo excited! 

2012 Reflection

Merry Christmas (Eve!)! Thought I'd start my new blog out with a bang and post my first entry here on Christmas Eve, reflecting quickly on the year of all years...2012. 

It's been a busy year in the now-Berger household. Cody's been busy with work (earning his 5-year plaque at the company party this year) and school where he is on track to graduate this coming Spring 2013 - yay! I've started a new job after working at my previous job since right after I graduated high school. As much as I loved my years of teaching Preschool, I am so in love with my current work. I work as an Infant/Toddler teacher, mainly with the infant age group of 12 weeks to 12 months. They keep me on my toes, work me to the bone and steal my heart and wrap me around their little fingers every single day. Each of them is such an amazing little blessing and they never cease to amaze me with their growth and learning and they make me look more and more forward to starting a family of our own in the future. In addition to working full time I continue to work running my Pampered Chef business on the side, and though not as thriving as I'd like it to be it definitely helps bring in a little extra cash! 

Obviously the event of the year was our well-planned, much-awaited Wedding.   Before the wedding I got to celebrate with two great bridal showers, one hosted by my mom and one by Cody's grandma, and also a fun weekend in San Francisco with my best friend, my soon-to-be-sister-in-law and her best friend. Finally, August 4, 2012 we were so blessed with an absolutely perfect day and evening with the best friends and family we could ever imagine. Everyone warned to "expect the unexpected" and "not everything goes perfectly", well our wedding was definitely an exception to typical wedding expectations then because everything we had planned and prepped was absolutely PERFECT. The weather was amazing (slightly overcast allowing for gorgeous lighting for pictures, followed by an amazingly beautiful sunset), food was good (at least the few bites I ate were), flowers and decor were perfect, the company was the best, our bridal party looked GREAT in their "sand", "tangelo" and "fuchsia" attire and everyone had a blast!

A few weeks later we enjoyed a week-long honeymoon to sunny Southern California where we spent a few days in LA/Anaheim visiting Disneyland and CA Adventure and Universal Studios, followed by a few days lounging on beaches in San Diego, visiting the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld  It was a nice getaway and we were so thankful to receive such great wedding gifts that contributed to each of our adventures. 

Everything from then to now is kind of a blur - we have been so busy! I feel like we just unpacked from our honeymoon and now Christmas is here and 2013 is right around the corner!

We are spending our first married Christmas Eve in Half Moon Bay this year; we've been down here since Friday and will head back home tomorrow (Christmas) morning, get cleaned up, organized and then head up the hill to spend Christmas afternoon/evening with my family. It's our second year with this arrangement and it seems to work pretty well - it's kind of a bummer not getting to see ALL of Cody's family for Christmas, but we see who we can while we're down here. We got to visit yesterday with his cousin Sherry, her husband Phil and their new adorable baby, Luke, who has grown SO much since we saw him in October right after he was born. Cody's parents and sisters came down tonight and will be here until Wednesday after some day-after-Christmas-shopping madness. We had a delicious dinner of salad, bread and oil-garlic-lemon marinated crab. Yummmm! 

We have been so blessed with an amazing 2012 and can't wait to see what 2013 holds for us! We wish our friends and family a wonderful end to the Holiday season and a happy, healthy 2013!