Grilling Pizza Tutorial

We have become Pizza Grilling obsessed. Every Saturday night, for the last 6 weeks, we have been trying new recipes and pizza combos to find our ultimate favorite. Here is the problem.. We like them all! I am telling you, grilling pizza is super easy, much healthier, and more cost efficient than ordering take out! If I have not convinced you enough.. hopefully some of these combos will win you over.

At first when I heard about grilling pizza, I was a bit intimated. Don't be! To start out you need...
1. A Pizza Stone (We had a cheaper one from Amazon that is already showing lots of love!)
2. Cookie Sheet
3. Cornmeal (we learned through the expert- Remi- this is a necessity!)
4. Fast Rising Yeast

If you Google Pizza Dough there are millions of recipes. Sweeter versions, Saltier, Simple, Complex, Gluten Free, Whole Wheat etc. Now I am not the pizza dough expert... but this recipe seems to work for us. Oddly any recipe that I tried with sugar just seemed too sweet.

R.R.'s Pizza Dough 

(this recipe was given to us by one of our best friends and I just changed one thing!)

1. 3 cups of all purpose flour
2. 1 packet of Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast (or any yeast, I just prefer this!)
3. 1 5/8 cup of warm water
4. 1 tbs. of Salt

Here is the Yeast I use.

Okay so combined all of the ingredients with your hands. You will need to work them together but don't over knead. (Warning- your hands will be messy... a perfect "toddler helper" activity!) Cover with Saran wrap and let rise.

This is key- The pizza dough needs to rise for at least 8 (plus) hours. Ideal is 12 hours. So the biggest issue with Grilling Pizza is you need to plan ahead enough to make the dough!

Now fast forward 8 hours... 

1. Put Pizza Stone on the grill and start the grill (Warning- Never put a cold pizza stone on a hot grill.. it will crack!)
2. Sprinkle Cornmeal on a cookie sheet so the pizza can easy slide onto the Pizza Stone.
3. Spread out your dough into a "pizza shape" on the cookie sheet.
4. Put on your toppings!!!
5. Slide the Pizza from the cookie sheet to the pizza stone on the grill. The sliding should be easy if you used enough corn meal.
6. Cook for 10-15 Minutes and Voila!

Some of our favorites so far are..

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Greek Pizza (Feta, Tomatoes, Olives)
BBQ Pizza
Meat Lovers (Will's fav)
Spinach Apple Sausage

We have many more ideas. Hopefully I can put some of them up here (eventually!)

 

And done!

Easy and delicious. 

xoxo,

allie

P.S. When did this lady get so big?

 

Swim School

Well... we (literally) took the plunge and started "aid supported swim school". It was wonderful and I am so happy we decided to add it to our summer activity list. Will and I feel like it is a super important skill set (and necessity) for all of our kids to learn how to swim. We also spend tons of time and the beach/pool, since we live in Hawaii, so H lady is around the water a lot. She is also an extreme daredevil and has no fear of the water. We think this streak of daredevil is great.. but we want her to channel her energy into safe swimming. Luckily we live about 20 minutes away from Leahi Swim School! Today was our first day and I was impressed! The pool is great and super warm, the teachers friendly, and the lesson is perfect for an almost two year old.  We signed up for twice a week in June. I'll keep you updated on the progress.. but our two main goals are blowing bubbles and kicking our legs. Ha, simple stuff.

I didn't get any pictures of us in the pool.. since I was with her... but hopefully, at some point, during the next couple of weeks we can get someone to snap a couple of us!

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo
allie

Quick Dresser Update!

Since it was a long weekend, I decided it was necessary for a bit of a furniture flip.

We are so lucky to have housing provided for us through the Army.... but with this housing comes lots of white walls, tan cabinets, and bland light fixtures. It is great because your furniture and wall art always matches... but boring, boring, boring. You can never leave your mark on a property.t I would love to redo the kitchen but it would break the rules and be a waste of money since we don't own it!  Eventually we will be moving from Hawaii and I will have a new house to put my touch on or at least move furniture around. Anyway.. for now we will be doing smaller furniture updates!

Since all of our furniture journeyed across the ocean in giant crates... some of it got beat up! Another common theme in the military... Anyway, we are lucky to have a decent sized kitchen that has the perfect wall for a little cabinet which our microwave sits on.

I decided the black was boring. It would be fine if we had tons of color on the wall, etc; it also was starting to show some serious wear and tear. So...

We painted it green. I love how it turned out. Super easy weekend project and it adds a perfect pop of color in a neutral kitchen. I picked Meadow Green by some Hawaiian Paint company in the Satin finish. I wanted an Olive Greenish and I think this color combo perfectly achieves this! 

Happy Tuesday!

xoxo,

allie

Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail

We spent Memorial Day (morning) hiking up Makapu'u Point Lighthouse trail... Beautiful, beautiful views and a must do for all visitors and locals... (too bad we just discovered it for all of our past visitors!). Here are my hiking tips and observations for Makapu'u Point Light Trail.

1. Let's be honest here.. it is an easy hike and therefore a great hike for all! It is super toddler/kid friendly because you can push a stroller the whole way on a paved pathway.
2. I would recommend going during Whale Season. We missed it by a month or two, but apparently you can see tons up there.
3. Wear sunscreen.
4. If you are coming from the North Shore area be prepared for a longer hour drive. (Ha an hour seems long when you live on an island).
5. We realized, at the peak, it is only 5 miles from Bellows Airforce Beach so you should just make a day of it!
6. The top is very windy so be prepared for that! We had a run-away stroller with the brakes and all.. (don't worry H was not in it at the time!)

(This last photo features the beautiful yet intense cliffs!)

 

We are planning on spending the rest of Memorial Day with some friends for an evening BBQ. There is an amazing Lateran Lightening Ceremony in Honolulu for Memorial Day... We are definitely planning on attending next year!

xoxo,

allie

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Doesn't running in the sprinkle seem like the perfect Memorial Day activity? We think so too...

 

We are spending our long weekend going to the beach, doing some house projects, celebrating some birthdays, and enjoying the beautiful Hawaiian sunshine. We are also remembering that (as cliche as it sounds) "freedom isn't free"; we are continually reminded of this in the military community. 

Happy Memorial Day!

xoxo,
allie

Random Ramblings

Well.. I meant to post about our crazy weekend but life got in the way. Anyway here are some random ramblings from our weekend and week.

1. Aren't these the cutest toddler shoes? We got these as a gift before H lady was born... and I ADORE them. So so adorable! Thanks Gigi!

2. I randomly walked into a store a week ago and saw these shorts. I bought them on an impulse and love them. They are sorta a ikat chevron combo... don't worry you will be seeing a lot of them this summer.

3. I realized I rarely blog about my LOVE for running. Will and I are both runners at heart (Ha it is were our relationship began... back in high school!). We decided it was necessary to do a "family" run and push H. There was a local 10k which was the perfect distance for an antsy tot; she did wonderful and we had an amazing time. We are looking forward to many more "family runs". And yes, our prize for finishing was pineapples... (only in Hawaii!).

4. It is officially the "summer" session here in Hawaii and our local baby pool is open. Even though it is always pool season here the on post pools follow the school calendar. Annoying but logical.

5. This is H at a birthday party. She was really focused on mowing the lawn!

 6. Popsicles and Teething (Two year molars) are the perfect combination. And that belly is totally
 a Will stomach. In all of his baby photos he has this stomach. We love it (and Will loves that they are twins).

 7. These trucks travel all around our house (all the time!). H says "vroom, vroom" as she pushes them up and down the hallways.

8. This is us before the pool today. We are in the midst of the terrible two stage! I originally took it to send to Will at work but.. I thought I should post it here to prove she does have tantrums. I usually emphasis all of our "good" moments on our blog but we do have plenty of these moments too!

Sorry for the randomness! More blog posts to come soon!

xoxo,
allie

Oh "Lei"!

As I am sure all of you know... Lei's are a big Hawaii tradition. I was recently part of a ceremony on post and received all of these Lei's sweet baby H is wearing below! Five in just a matter of minutes. The Lei tradition is really engrained in military life here! People love to give and receive leis; what a great way to say "Aloha"!

I have learned so much about this cultural gesture in the last 1.5 years. We were welcomed in the airport with a beautiful traditional Hibiscus flower lei but (as I learned being a Hawaii resident) the lei options are endless. Some of the types of leis I have seen- are flowers, Macadamia Nuts, Seeds, all types of ribbons, candy... even alcohol leis!. So why bring this up? Well first- who doesn't love a little Hawaiian culture? And second- May is a big "Lei time" in Hawaii. May 1st is a Hawaiian holiday known as "Lei Day" and Lei supplies are literally being sold everywhere (like Walgreens, grocery stores, etc) for graduation season. It is traditional for Graduates (from both High School and College) to "Lei" their friends... Most graduates end up with Leis all the way up to their nose. I have been to a couple of "Lei" classes... So if anyone needs some help with Ribbon Lei making or Flower Lei making- I am your gal... Jk, there are experts here but I do know the basics!

 

Oh Lei!

xoxo,

allie

What is H reading?

I am sure I have mentioned this before... but our H lady is obsessed with books! She spends hours a day flipping through her storybooks and baby board books; now obviously Harps can't read.. but she adores looking and absorbing the illustrations. My husband and I love that she is passionate about "reading" and we try to encourage it as much as possible! Children's books are so simple, yet hold so much basic meaning about life. Sharing, Religion, Friendship, Love, Family... The categories are endless! In some small way our childhood is shaped by the books we grow up with; my sisters and I adored Fernande the Bull and the Betsy Tracy chapter book series... We than moved onto the Babysitter's Club. All classic girl books. My husband vividly remembers being read Lord of the Rings and Babar the Elephant. Since H is getting a bit older (and can actually sit through a story), I have been trying to rotate our nighttime books each month. So what is H reading? Here are our May picks!

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
 is an adorable story about each vehicle going to bed. H loves looking at the pictures. This book/plot will grow with H as she gets older. I know some little boy who adore cars/trucks and I sure they would love this story. 

 

Bear Snores On. 

This board book is prefect for 1-3 age bracket. It is about a hibernating bear whose friends throw a little party in his cave while he is off sleeping... I won't ruin the end.. 

but the author does a wonderful job incorporating animal names into the plot. 

H loves pointing to each animal as I say their name. 

Pat the Bunny. A classic. I have decided every household with toddlers needs this book. It is the perfect "touch and feel" storybook. H loves, loves, loves it! 

 

 Noah's Ark retold and illustrated by Lucy Cousins. Okay, so I love Lucy Cousins; she is famous for her Maisy books and awesome illustrations. I love this classic story of Noah's Ark told through her images. And it is perfect for H lady since she is obsessed with animals. 

 

What is your family reading? What are your childhood favorites? We are always looking for new books and stories; I feel like a child can never have enough books. I'll post our June books next month!

xoxo,

allie 

P.S. Some of these books above were gifts to Harps. She is very lucky to have lots of relatives and friends who love her enough to share some book love.

A Momo Day and Mother's Day!

A Very Happy Birthday to Aunt Momo and a Happy Mother's Day to all! We so wish we could have spend the day celebrating Momo's birthday and Mother's Day with both our moms, but we are miles away on this island... One of the only downsides to living in Hawaii. Anyway, we are sending lots of love to Connecticut tonight!

Aunt Momo is so special to both Will and I. She is seriously one of the sweetest souls I know, and we just can't believe she is growing up so quickly! She is Will's baby sister (and really my sister too... I have been dating Will since Momo was six!) and we just love watching her turn into a teenager. Harper also adores her...  We know Aunt Momo is always going to be a role model to H and we couldn't be happier about that. We tried to get H lady to say Happy Birthday, but no dice, so we had to settle for this...

 

The sign is suppose to say Happy Birthday Aunt Momo but the little lady wasn't very cooperative! 

and H and I on Mother's Day

We had a wonderful casual day! It was perfect. I am beyond blessed to have Harper as my daughter and I look forward to many more years celebrating being her mom. 

Love, love, love (can I say it more?) this adorable tot.

xoxo,
allie

Happy Birthday Will!!

Yesterday was Will/Daddy's birthday! We were so thrilled we were able to spend the day with him; last year he was literally across the world! We love low key birthdays or rather family style birthdays; we define a family style birthday as cooking your favorite dinner, eating cake, and presents. It is simple and perfect! Of course our kids will have parties, etc. but their actual birthday will be very similar (and of course some class cupcakes!). Harps and I worked on this sign...

She was very diligent coloring each square and adding stickers (although it is hard to tell in this picture).

I made one of Will's favorite dishes... Tamale Pie. Will's mom always made this for growing up so we had to continue the tradition. I also made Key Lime Cheesecake- the perfect combo of tangy and sweet.

I tried to get some pictures of H with the birthday daddy! I love this montage of pictures. She is so wiggly it is nearly impossible to get a good picture. Ha, she has places to be!

Happy Birthday Will! We adore/love you and we are so excited to see what the next year has in store for you!

xoxo,
allie

Spring Semester Study!

This Spring I have spent every Tuesday morning co-facilitating a young mom's bible study at our church, on Post, through a ladies group PWOC (if you are a military wife, seriously check out PWOC... I love it)... I was SO nervous when they asked me to do it..  I always think of bible study leaders as such mature and knowledgeable ladies... Needless to say it was out of my comfort zone, but I have been SO glad that I had this opportunity. I co-facilitated with a lady whose youngest child just graduated from high school, so we were the perfect combo on opposite sides of the "mom" spectrum. We seriously have the best group of ladies who are so open about sharing their concerns, trials, hopes and dreams about parenting little ones and raising them to be strong believers in God; they have made the class and I have just helped organize. I totally recommend new moms getting connected like this... It makes some of the small struggles of parenting reassuring... Like your kid throws huge tantrums at the PX when you cart gets even remotely close to the toy aisle (a new caff house struggle!)! Ha, we also discuss wayyy bigger issues about raising kids in this world. I loved hearing everyone's different opinions. We read a chapter each week from "A Mom After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George. She is amazing and lives in Oahu (funny right!); she has tons of different books/studies for women. Totally recommend her.

Anyway, I am sad to see the class come to end but can't wait to schedule some summer play dates with all of these mamas!

And I had to post some pictures of the sweetest tot.. I just adore this bubble she was wearing yesterday. And I adore her even more!

xoxo,
allie