Emily and Scott Get Mauiied

After weeks of kitchen renovations taking over our lives and sanity, we were due for a vacation. Using my US Airways miles and Starwood points from travelling to Charlotte, we booked a room at the Westin Maui from October 13^th to the 20^th. We didn’t have enough points so Andrew opened up a SPGCredit Card and I opened up the Barclays Arrival MasterCard. Thanks to the extra points we received from opening the cards, we were able to do most of the trip for free (click here for Mr. Money Mustache’s point of view on credit card churning...If you pay off in full every month, it’s a really great way to maximize your travel).

View from our room

The trip was planned around my coworker’s wedding in Maui on October 18^th and she did an amazing job planning events throughout the week. On Tuesday morning we were up super early due to jet lag so we went for a run on the beach before heading out for a snorkeling trip. We booked the trip months ago through the Pacific Whale Foundation and it was an amazing trip.

We did a snorkeling trip in Kauai on our honeymoon but we were really impressed by the day we had with the Pacific Whale Foundation. We were served breakfast on the way to Molokini Crater and had an hour of snorkeling around the island. We were then served lunch on the way to Lanai where we had another hour of snorkeling and fun. It was a long day (8:30am – 3pm), but worth every penny. That night we laid down to take a nap at 5pm and woke up at 5am the next morning – apparently we needed some sleep!

Momma and baby dolphin off the front of the boat!

On Wednesday we had no events plan until the evening, so we took advantage of the free day and went for a hike on the Waikee Ridge Trail with Accenture friends of mine from previous clients. The drive to the trail head was one of the craziest I have ever experienced, with single lane roads around hairpin bends. The actual hike itself took about three hours, with amazing views at the top.

On the ride back to Kaanapali, we stopped at the OlivinePools for swimming and cliff diving. The “cliff” was only about 10 feet but it was good enough for me! I was shaking so hard after jumping; it was time for a Mai Tai!

That night we went to the Old Lahaina Luau with everyone on the island for the wedding. It was so nice to share the experience with Accenture friends I don’t see as often as I would like.

On Thursday morning Emily arranged for a Pure Barre instructor to come to her family’s rented house to give us a private lesson. We ran to the house (about 2 miles) and then had a painful Pure Barre work out. I have done PB a few times in the past and wasn’t too impressed but I really liked it this time. After marathon training ends, I really want to look into doing more classes!

After Pure Barre we headed home to quickly get ready for the welcome lunch hosted by Emily and Scott’s families. It was a beautiful and hot day and the lunch venue, Pacifico, was the perfect location for lunch on the ocean. We drank way too many Mai Tais and were in bed early to get ready for Friday’s events.

One of the “must dos” in Maui is a drive along the Road to Hana. We spent most of the week with my friend Laura and her husband Dan and had a blast, so we made plans to do the drive with them in their convertible rental car. Our friends Seema and Randy also joined us for the trip so we had our own little Hana Highway caravan.

Laura bought a Maui guidebook and read it before coming so she had a plan for the day, which was amazing. We did the drive in reserve of the typical drive and, with Laura’s guidance, stopped at mile marker destinations along the way to swim and take pictures.

The stops we made throughout the day were really unbelievable. Our favorites were swimming under the waterfalls and taking a dip in the ocean after lunch. If you are ever in Maui, make sure to take the day to do the Road to Hana, but have a plan before you go!

Unfortunately, Hurricane Ana was on its way and on track to hit Maui so the rain started on Friday. There was concern that the wedding wouldn’t be able to happen if the wind and rain got too bad, so we all crossed our fingers that the weather would cooperate. We spent a rainy Friday night having a fabulous homemade dinner with our favorite boys at the wedding. It was the perfect night before the “big day.”

We woke up Saturday to clouds and light rain but no hurricane conditions! The wedding was on and the crew cleaned up for a day of love. We all had a glass of Prosecco at the Westin lobby before getting off the bus for the wedding.

The wedding was at Sugar Beach, a beautiful venue in southern Maui. Due to the rain, the ceremony was indoors but, with the windows open to the beach, beyond beautiful. The bride and groom looked amazing, there was so much love at the ceremony, and the guests were ready to party.

The week of activities as a group in Maui made the wedding experience really great for Andrew and I. I have never been to a wedding where people danced as hard as they did, including us! 

My fav gay boys showing off our temporary tattoos

The Accenture crew!

Happy boys.

Turnt up.

The Maui crew

After the wedding we headed to the after party, which was equally as crazy and fun. It was a small group of us at a little dive bar where the ceiling was leaking from the hurricane rains and it was an epic dance party.

Our final wedding activity was a happy hour at Emily's parent's house in Lahaina. We spent Sunday afternoon drinking Prosecco, watching the turtles, and reminiscing about the awesome trip.

View from the house!

The sun finally came out on Monday, just as we were headed home. We took a quick swim in the ocean and made our way to OGG for the long travel back to Philadelphia. It's time to eat clean and save money for our next adventure!

Mrs. H. Finishes the Kitchen and Throws a Partay

We deliberately scheduled the party for this weekend so we would have a deadline for finishing the kitchen, so I got home Thursday night and we got straight to work with the final updates. Andrew worked hard all week on the bigger chores so all we had left to do was grouting. We bought white, pre-mixed grouting from Lowe's but the grout lines are so detailed it took nearly three hours to complete.

We were really happy with how the white grout turned out so we celebrated with a glass of wine in our newly renovated yard. While I was gone this week, Andrew ripped out all the chain link fence and cut down the poles. It feels like a whole new yard and we didn't spend a dime on it!

On Friday morning Andrew woke me up super early to tell me that the grout dried and it looked terrible. Again, the pre-mixed grout screwed us over and we were devastated. 

Not good...

I called my mom super early and she suggested we try grouting over it lightly to cover the holes. I had some leftover grout from Thursday night and tested out a patch. The instructions said this was a possibility, which is just such b.s. 

Check out #5

It looked great so we decided to try it on the rest of the backsplash before going to the extreme, ripping out the backsplash entirely. It was just really frustrating having to spend more money and time on more grout.

While at Lowe's, I also bought a lucky bamboo tree to put in the kitchen. If this grout fix didn't work, I was ready to cancel the party and just be sad over the kitchen - we needed some luck.

The grouting worked (thank goodness) so the party was on! Our kitchen was finally complete so I spent Saturday cleaning the house and putting all the tools away. My mom and sister came early to help so we hung out in the kitchen and cooked appetizers for the party.

The mirky birda

The first time the house has been clean in months!

Every Saturday Rittenhouse Square has a farmer's market so I went for the first time to buy flowers for the kitchen. I decided on hydrangeas and cockscomb, which I thought were a nice finishing touch for the kitchen!

We had friends stop by all through the night and it was so nice to have everyone over. Andrew's old roommate, Bruno, bought a "selfie stick," so we used that all night and it was a huge hit!

We can't play games in the kitchen anymore so we took the games to the new and improved back yard. It was a late night but so much fun, so I'm happy our grouting catastrophe wasn't as bad as it could have been!

We were in rough shape on Sunday, we really can't party like we used to. There was some McDonald's involved in the road to recovery and lots of time on the couch.

We did manage to take a walk to the new boardwalk that was just put in on South Street. The city did an awesome job and it was a beautiful walk to end the weekend.

Now that the kitchen is complete, we are focusing on enjoying Philadelphia and saving money for awhile! No more big projects but I know this house will always be a work in progress :)