All Things Amai

Wow guys.

It's been how long?
3 months?

I'll never be on top of this shit. Please forgive me (that possibly one follower).

THERE'S BEEN LIKE SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED

WHERE TO START

Let's see. Well I want to say the least recent was me and the hubs took a short trip to South Carolina to see some friends get married.

We spent a little time in our hometown first. Of course we had to make the typical family member visitations.

So I drive an old ass camry. It's not like 90's old but it's early 2000s. I rarely ever get into more modern vehicle models so when I rented a car for our trip this tripped me out. It was one of those self starting cars and you did the whole park and drive thing with a dial.
It made me feel so old. It took a bit for me to totally figure that car out lol.

We had some time to kill the first day we arrived so we spent time walking around Swan Lake. I hadn't been there in what felt like a millenia. Still so much bird poop everywhere. It was such a nice day for a walk outside.

That night we drove to Charleston so we wouldn't have to rush to get to the wedding the next day.
Funny enough it was about the same area we had ours last year. And another fun fact, it was like exactly one week before our one year anniversary lol.
I feel like they got the idea for the beach wedding from us.
But it's cool. Definitely one of the better ways to have a wedding in SC.

I'll say the main difference in our wedding locations is they actually had it on the beach. They didn't even bother with seating too which was a good idea. That's a definite money saver. It was also so stupid windy and cold (surprisingly) so chairs might have been a disaster.

This cake was magical! Too bad I didn't get to eat any lol. I don't think most people did.

I want to say another congrats shout out to the happy couple. I'm happy I got the chance to make it to their wedding since they were kind enough to attend ours last year. I didn't realize it's a bit awkward to attend a wedding where you don't know most of the people there. I did know a handful but Dustin knew even less. I hope he didn't feel even more awkward than I did.

It was good to catch up with the few people I was on chatting terms with though.
It had been years.

After the wedding we spent another back in our hometown.

I finally got to meet my sister's boyfriend. He couldn't make our wedding last year unfortunately so it was nice to be formally introduced.

My parent's cat Xena. She's such a stupid cutie.

One of the many meals my mom tried to force down my gullet. I was so full that entire trip.
Good shit though.

Oh, I was looking through some shit stored in my parent's garage and found these! I thought they were one of the many comics that are probably lost forever. I've legit bought Z? like three times. But now I've got two copies! The blue original and a lovely black hardcover.

The Nightmares and Fairy Tales series was the shit. I had so many of them. I loved the stories and illustrations. They were the inspiring source of numerous illustrations and ideas back in the day.

Moving out of the south is no big regret for me. One of the things I miss is finding this grits flavor.
If you've never had it, you're missing out.
Literally the best one out there. I should have stashed like 6 more boxes in my suitcase.

I had mentioned earlier that our SC wedding trip was a week before our official one year wedding anniversary. Of course I have to make a shout out about that. This man is my whole life. Supporting me in every goddamn endeavor and my rock when I need it.
Love the fuck out of him.

So since my last post we had been looking into real estate. I seriously thought there was no way we would qualify for a house loan. A friend of ours mentioned a type of loan they do here outside of the city where you put nothing down and sure enough, we talk to a loan processor and we qualify for WAY MORE than what we actually went for.
I'm glad though. I'm so fucking happy with the house we found.

I was hesitant to move outside of the city due to work but even though my commute is garbage, the house makes up for it almost ten fold. We were so tired of living in tiny shitty apartments with rude loud neighbors.

LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS HOUSE IS
Our actual house hunt was very short. We checked out a few in Anchorage first but were pretty disappointed at what we could afford in the city.
As soon as you step outside town the amount of house you get for your money is exponentially different. We spent about one day checking out several in another city and loved most of what we saw but this one just caught my eye the most. The outside and inside layout were just so cute. Not to mention it came FULLY APPLIANCED.
LIKE HELLLOOOOOO

I was happy to finally hang this up! <3 you Katie. Constant daily reminder of how much I miss you.

Our guest bathroom is the shit.
I debated on what shower curtain to purchase for a couple of days lol. Since our master had a silly themed curtain I thought I would go with something more girly.
LOVE the outcome.

So check it, our house is big enough to where the hubs has his own work office and I can have my own sewing room. PLUS we have a separate guest bedroom and there's even a laundry room!

Jesus christ we love this place. We still smile and gloat to each other about how awesome it is to be homeowners a few times a week.

Shit's magical.

Since moving outside of the city I was going to quit my job and find something closer to home. Lo and behold everybody starts to quit and I was confronted with pleas to take a promotion again. I had fought it off before but the money they offered was worth the responsibility headache.

Honestly it hasn't been too terrible. But next year I will probably be looking into something closer. I told them a year lol I'll try to stick to that.

I'll miss being more hands on with all the animals though.

We hatched another lizard baby! It was bahaman anole this time. Not sure if it's still alive since another coworker took it home.

Oh, before I forget I adopted my own fur baby!

I'm going to be brutally honest here.

I've never really cared for guinea pigs. The ones we received at work were pretty cute. Mostly because we get them super young and they can fit in one hand.

But as far as enjoying them as a pet I never really experienced that.

I adopted her from the cat rescue. Her name is Chestnut, she's about 1 1/2 years old, and she's such a happy piggy. I'm actually trying to adopt another one this weekend. They're actually a fun and super easy pet. I've also been browsing the internets and have plans to make a larger cage and have plans to sew some more sleeping hideaways.

I might turn into the crazy guinea pig lady.

The only downside is they are always skittish and hate being picked up. But if you can get over that hurdle they can enjoy some pets and quality time with you.

They also have voracious appetites and you guys know how I love to feed.

So we had some people finally come to visit us! We had literally no one but my sister come to see us while we lived in Idaho lol. I'll say one of the main reasons we bought a house so fast was because our Canadian friend was going to visit and told us he was bringing his girlfriend, which we were excited to hear.

We had only been living in our new home for like three weeks before they arrived.

My husband called their visit operation freedom.

He packed so many things into one week it was exhausting. We did a lot of shit though.

Our first trip was to Fairbanks to check out the hot springs.

It was the longest drive ever.

This was a viewing stop to see the majestic Mt. Denali range. We also did a couple of food stops while driving through Denali Park. Ate at the same restaurant twice on different days because we were doing things still in the off season lol.

No actual pictures of the springs themselves. It was like one big hot spring connected to the back of an indoor pool/ hot tub area. It was an interesting experience. I just wish I wasn't have a shitty eczema break out at the time. The hot water really fucked up my arms for a few weeks.

It also smelled pretty farty. Not as farty as you would think though.

We stayed at the actual resort for the night. They had a reindeer pen and a separate pen for goats and chickens. Of course I had to take pictures of the animals. Seeing a baby reindeer up close was a plus.

It was just a one night trip. We made it back and the next day we went out to do a fishing charter out of Whittier. Jesus christ we were exhausted.

This should have been the last picture lol This is all our fish! Between all four of us we caught 15 fish. Our freezer is so full. It's amazing.

Look at me lookin' all proud and shit of something I barely did on my own lololol
I did technically catch the first fish. I also caught the most of fish out of everyone on the boat.
Go me.

Dustin reeled in this giant stingray. Poor thing had to be let go.

Overall it was a fun experience. I had cold wet feet all day due to poor planning and communication BUT it was still enjoyable. And we caught like, all the fish.

I had to ditch the next plans for the trip. I worked an overnight shift and they went out to do a glacier tour while I was getting lots of zzz's to prepare.

I'm okay with missing out on that though. My feet were giving me a hard time from work and shitty shoes so I think I would have been a debbie downer had I gone.

Our last trip was down the peninsula to Seward. We had yurts rented out on an island about a half hour off the coast.

Jesus christ it was so beautiful. I'm not a huge nature person. Like, as far as being outside I can do without but I can certainly appreciate when something has gorgeous eye-pleasing aesthetics.

You feel me?

So fun fact! We took this last trip on my birthday and ended it on Canadian friend's girl friend's birthday. Same day as Lindsay's. So weird lol

Check how fucking serene this is! Dude these yurts were also supplied with every damn thing you'll ever need. They had a fully stocked kitchen, a bathroom/shower, and temperature controlled wood stove. Like c'mon. Tell me that's not living the good life outdoors. There was no fridge, but it was cool enough that if you brought ice, most would keep frozen the whole trip.

This tide pool was so neat. There were tiny little hermit crabs and fish. They were so fun to catch.

The facility was also chock full of outdoor activity paraphernalia. First day we all went paddle-boarding. In wet suits duh.
I'm so fucking glad I was wearing that shit because I was the first to fall in. Omg I've never felt water so cold and deep.
We also went kayaking and fishing. Oh and grilling. Lots of grilling.

View from inside the yurt.

So I got some goodies from the trip!

Our friends treated us to thank you bags full of Canadian things! It was so awesome.

I bought this moose cup after we landed back in Seward. It was too good to pass up.

But yeah. That thing I was talking about. Canadian goods.
From Canada.
Brought by Canadians.
IT WAS GREAT. I ate like all the candies they brought lol. These ketchup chips were so weird. Why is ketchup so beloved in america's hat.

THEY ALSO BROUGHT KDDDDDDD.
TERRANCE AND PHILLIP WOULD BE SO PROUD.
I still have two boxes motha fucka.

I was pretty adamant about what I wanted for my birthday from my husband. I still gave him some choices to pick from as far as design but I needed a cool duvet cover from redbubble. It was all my soul wanted.

I can say it has been appeased.

Until it once again becomes insatiable.

Hey, there's xmas right?

lol

So yeah, the canadians had fun (we hope lol) and we were exhausted and really enjoyed having visitors for a change.

Since our in town friends weren't around on my actual birthday, my bestie decided to host a party for me at her place and even bake me a cake!

Oops forgot a couple of things! Of course I got some gifts from my other bday bestie. Lots of penis shaped things plus a cupcake bath bomb!

Oh, I also made my own birthday cake again this year lol. This wasn't a cake so much as a tiramisu.
Actually, come to think of it. It was a tiramisu.
It was so fucking good though. 10/10 would make and be fat on again.
I tried to do a whipped cream transfer instead of a buttercream transfer to keep all the flavor profiles the same you know? Unfortunately, it came out a little shoddier than expected.
Still pretty pleased with the outcome though.

Poor Julia thought she ruined the cake because she forgot to grease the pans. lol but it was no big! The cake tasted fan-fucking-tastic! She's the only one who has made me a birthday cake that I would actually request another cake from. She didn't fully decorate it. This was more my doing. It's a neckbeard dick cake.

I bet this cake is gonna get so much pussaaay.

The fedora makes all the ladies wet.

Okay enough of that.

I know I do a recipe thing but jesus this post is so long and I'm just really stoned and a little tired.

I'll show a little of what I've been up to.

Spicy salmon onigiri topped with furikake.
No recipe, just something I whipped up. The filling was canned salmon, mayo, and sriracha. It was actually good af.

I do smoothies so often. I love having a blender.

We've been eating a lot of new meats lately. The grocery store nearest to the house has an interesting array of shit we've never tried. Like, frog's legs for example.
They were weird.

This curried chicken soup was the shit.

I made some chowder using some of the cod we caught.
This recipe was not the greatest so I won't bother your time with the link.

Now this dish was the motherfucking tits man. For something so easy and plain-sounding it tasted amazing. Click here for the recipe!

The store also had rabbit....>.>
I had to try it. It was so cheap and I was like well it's fucking dead anyway.
So I made stew! Stew is pretty foolproof. It turned out awesome. I would totes enjoy some bugs bunny again.

Now this last dish was SO GOOD. If you like easy slow cooker meals this one is fucking for you dawg. The list of of ingredients was relatively short and the cooking process was very low maintenance. The flavor was pretty damn delish. Even my husband gave a "pretty good" instead of his usual "it's decent" when he likes something lol.

Well I guess that's it for now!

Snap chat time?

Yes, it's time.