Meet Me In St Louis: Moving to the Lou

Hello everyone. We are Missourans! Is that a word? It seemed like it was a word. Anyway, I finally feel like we settled into the house and everything is going smoothly. It's a brand new chapter in our lives and I can't wait to get started.

Missouri is home to many thing that I can't wait to sink my teeth into, sometimes literally. Of course being in St. Louis, we are in barbecue country, but there's wine country, hiking, caves, and lots of history to soak in. But first thing's first, we had to furnish the house.

Bryan and I came to St. Louis with not a lot of stuff. And by not a lot of stuff, I mean a lot of little things, but not a whole bunch of big things. So we went to Ikea and  spent more than a person probably should spend in a trip. Okay, it was two. Alright three! But now we have a comfy cozy home to call our own. 

Here's a little picture tour, mini Goofy for perspective.

Bryan relaxing on our couch...

...watching the new TV

Our dining room, complete with board game collection

Dining room again, but with a view of Bryan's office

Guest room for our visitors

Master bedroom

Bryan's handmade closet

Kitchen

Art Studio- kitchen adjacent

Thank you everyone for your love and support during our move. And a big thank you to our former roomie/landlord for taking care of us all those years. Missouri, we're here!

-Akemi-chan

Hawaii April 2016

This was my first trip home since quitting the airline industry. It's an oddly soothing to know you can catch a flight without fear of being stranded at the airport. We even took a later flight for that reason. Weird huh?

Anyway, we drove from Illinois to Indianapolis, flew to Phoenix and overnighted before flying to Honolulu the next day. Yeah, four time zones in 24 hours. Anyway, here's a photo summary of our week in Hawaii. 

Got spoiled on our Hawaiian airlines flight. I always look forward to the juice.

Landed in Honolulu. Time to eat! Lunch with the family at The Pig and the Lady.

P&L Pho

Catfish, green papaya salad, chicken banh mi and french dip. Amazing!

Chocolate mind ice cream swirl and begneits

Hawaiian style buffet, with the green bottle :-P

Mom's kimchi soup

Unlce Bryan and Aunty Carly with the Bobo

Bryan's favorite: mochi ice cream

Breakfast by Mom: Apple pancakes with Portuguese sausage and bacon

Poke feast at home

Hanging out at Uncle Bo's in Haleiwa with Roann

Kalua pork wonton nachos with POG belini

Li Hing martini, oh yeah

Hanging out on the North Shore with my boy

We found a turtle right at sunset

Brunch at Koko Head Cafe with the fam and bestie. French toast and Coffee & Doughnuts

Elvis's Revenge: Peanut butter and fried banana with bacon

Bi bim bap and Koko moco skillets

Don buri chen

Waikiki time with bestie

Sunning ourselves with this view

Of course I got some Coconut Mocha Starbucks in Waikiki

It would not be right if we didn't go to Mai Tai's

Lychee martini with calamari

Seafood buffet. YES!!!

Dessert part 1

Thanks for dinner bestie!

Breakfast of champions: papaya, cream puff and coconut water

Dinner with old college buddies

Hiking Pillbox with Dad

We made it!

View of Lanikai

Shave ice time!

Cheers to our last night in Honolulu at Gyu Kaku

All the meat!

Gelato at Ala Moana

Aloha Hawaii

We were so happy to be able to come home for some family time. Nothing makes me feel more like myself than spending time with my family. The island breeze and Hawaiian sun don't hurt either. 

This will probably be our last trip home as Illinoians. Soon we'll be heading down to Missouri and heading onto our newest adventures.

Akemi-chan