Maui Gold

On this day, I truly wish it was still 2009. After a post-wedding brunch at my parents' house, we drove to Detroit where we eventually caught a flight to Maui. After nine months of wedding planning, paradise sounded perfect. And it was.

We saw beautiful beaches, pretty palm trees, stunning sunsets—and we ate our way through what might have been an entire pineapple plantation. Oh my, we loved the pineapples! And really, you can't go to Hawaii and NOT fall in love with the pineapples. We found pineapple salsa at an open market and devoured it with gusto. We drank pineapple wine, which was incredibly sweet but not nearly as refreshing as the pineapple-passion fruit juice we drank almost daily. But of course, we also ate it raw. The freshly cut kind...the kind that comes on the side of any tropical drink you order. Mai Tai? Yes, please. More than one, thank you. (When in Rome, er...Maui.)

And so we were quite pleased to find this little gem of a shop in Lahaina:

Take Home Maui, "offering you fresh and delicious island grown treats including superior, top grade Maui Gold pineapple." Hoping for samples, we went inside—and we were not disappointed.

I'm fairly certain we overate our fair share of samples. You just can't stop, this pineapple is that good! We even sent some home to our parents as yet another thank-you for giving us the wedding of our dreams.

And so why am I telling you all of this?
Because my wonderful husband came home with a box of Maui Gold pineapples for me on Friday! And seriously, you could smell them perfectly through all that box and newspaper and packing tape. Just like a pineapple candle, only better. Much better. In fact, I couldn't keep my nose off the box.


Needless to say, it was a great Year One.