Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Vacation in Hawaii & Sweet Fall Scans

♥♥...Super SUPER pic heavy...♥♥

It has been awhile...again. I know what my New Year's Resolution is going to be! Better blogging habits, that's for sure. -_-

I took some time off from the world to reunite with my wonderful sisters on the beautiful island of Hawaii! For those of you who live in Hawaii - Ooooh how I envy you! Even the rain is beautiful there - and the sales tax rocks though I'm not so sure about the "Asian Pacific Pricing" on luxury items. So much for my dream Chanel purse...It must have been over $1000+ more than what it goes for on the Mainland!

We visited Oahu, stayed at the Hotel Renew, sampled the North Shore, swam, tanned, and ate ourselves up to our eyeballs in pineapple.

*A few select favorites from the trip*

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My sister in the sand & Me

Location: Lanikai beach

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Hotel Renew - the pumpkin adds a seasonal touch

Location: Waikiki beach, Honolulu

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Haleiwa Taro Festival - eating a sample of Taro the size of a ping-pong ball. Some of the best finds in Hawaii are things you stumble upon along the way!

Location: Haleiwa, North Shore Farmer's Market

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Pink pineapple - the South Americans are on to something! :D


Location: Dole Pinepaple Plantation

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Giovanni's Shrimp truck - The most mouth watering shrimp scampi in the world!


Location: Giovanni's shrimp truck, North Shore

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Getting ready to snorkel - I was using the snorkel incorrectly for the first 10 minutes! I forgot I had to bite down on the little bite piece inside of the mouthpiece thus
leading to massive salt water intake and gargling. X_x


Location: Shark's Cove, North Shore

Side story: While watching my 2 sisters go out after my turn, I heard a huge commotion and people screaming with excitement - I thought they had spotted something cool like an eel or a sea turtle...turns out the tide was coming in and tossing everybody in the water around like a washing machine! :P

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The majestic green sea turtle, or "honu" basking in the sun!


Location: Laniakea beach, North Shore

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Kotteri Ramen - the house specialty! Tasty & salty


Location: Tenkaippin Ramen, Honolulu

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Arguably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Location: Lanikai Beach

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I lucked out and booked a flight for just a little over $400 - I guess travel during the low season is cheapest? I think the Fall is a lovely time to visit though with less crowds and the same gorgeous weather.

One of my biggest budget tips - FOOD TRUCKS! Omg, are they good here. If you love seafood, Giovanni's had some of the most delicious shrimp scampi around. The other food truck that receives a 5-heart rating is Opal Thai. Tasty thai food and just about the friendliest guy on the island. :)

Shopping

88 tees - super cute clothes and a big hit with Japanese tourists

Loco Boutique - for their crazy cute heart shaped floaties

(I got the small and large pink hearted shaped floatie though they also come in turqoise, white, etc. ALL with pink print!)

As seen here:

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Lastly, I have been meaning to post these scans since August - I guess they still might be relevant as they showcase a few of the Fall fashion/makeup trends. :) More to come from a more recent time!

Still seeing a lot of florals & cute chunky jewelry!

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Don't forget to enter the Misikko Hair Straightener Giveaway!!! I am extending the deadline to THIS SUNDAY 11-14-10 at midnight (central time)!

Winner will be announced the following week!

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More blogging to come!

18 comments:

Unknown said...

That looks like the perfect-est vacation ever. omg im so jealouss!! I have wanted to go to hawaii all my life! the ocean, the scenary, the food.. everything just look soooo good! I will definitely refer back to your post when I have a chance to go. It looks like you had a lot of fun!! Thanks for the scans too I really like the makeup ones :)

♥ Starryxuan said...

wow! awesome vacation! now i feel like going to hawaii! the ocean, beach look so pretty! :)

Linh N.L. said...

Hawaii looks beautiful, must've been ton of fun =D

Susie said...

You lucky girl! I want to go to Hawaii :( It looks so beautiful! Ahh, warm weather sounds so good right now! Hope you had an amazing time! <3

s said...

Irene!! LOVE this post!! And how amazing that you went to HI!! Looks like soo much fun.. beautiful beach, food, shopping, R&R time! My parents are actually in HI right now hehe. I recognize 88 Tees-they give super cute shopping bags!

Can't wait to catch up. ♥ you!

Kileen said...

i just found this blog thanks to kechiko! so happy to see another TX gal!

looks like you had so much fun in Hawaii. i'm in love with taro and to find a taro the size of a ping-pong ball...well, i'd be in love. :)

kileen
cuteandlittle.com

Elle said...

I also got the link off sophia. HI looks amazing...I feel like I have been working hard lately so maybe I should pamper myself and get a ticket to paradise

fell in love with this dress http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkheartedprincess/4870578470/

it doesn't look to be spring 2011 or fall 2010...i am crossing my fingers and hoping it's not a regional collection because i am officially obsessed with it.

Anonymous said...

it looked like you had a fantastic time in Hawaii and im soooooo jealous! i dream of going to hawaii one day..

thanks for the scans too:)

Dana Yoshimizu said...

Oh I'm so JEALOUS of you right now!! I LOVE Hawaii, but haven't been able to go back since summer of 2008 :( I guess it's only like two years ago, but seems like forever when you're away from your most favorite place in the world <3 And because being in college is not cheap, I doubt I'll be returning anytime soon, grrr I'm just so jealous of you!! XD hahah, but thanks for sharing pictures with us hun! ;D

loveamoretto said...

Poor Mani, the only one who didn't go! X_x the vacay looks awesome. Beautiful pics you took and I am jealous... that shrimp looks so delicious!

Shop N' Chomp said...

Oh what I'd give to be in Hawaii right now....*sigh*...

Welcome back, sweetie!! So glad to hear you had a super fun time. =D You are always so sweet to post mag scans...big thank you!

Shop N' Chomp said...

Irene, you are SO sweet! *^_^* Your posts never fail to put a big smile on my face too. Hehe...it doesn't rain that often but I thought they were cute...shh...

N said...

OMG! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lanikai beach. As soon as I saw the first photo and your title, I was like: Lanikai...

*sigh* it's SO beautiful there and you got a fantastic price!! *whistles* I wish I could score flights that cheap but flying from where I am, the lowest is usually 600$ :(

Yumiko said...

Irene!

where have you been hun? I miss you in the blog world. Your hawaii trip is so cool. I want to go there one day. The food pics are also amazing. It's making me drool =_='

Thanks for the upload scans.

Shop N' Chomp said...

Angelina Jolie...YES! I don't condone her man-stealing either but her humanitarian work and being gorgeous tips the scale in her favor. Have you seen her new Vogue cover (Dec 2010)? Very nice!

Hope your weekend is going good! =D

Anonymous said...

amazing!!

me and my husband are thinking to have our wedding there is march.. but yeah we will have to see!!

serenadeveryday said...

IRENEE!!
I totally didn't notice you updated you blog. >.< So bad! I haven't been blog active much either. I just post really fast then read blogs during the day. Only thing is, it's hard to comment via phone. {*BLEH}

SoOoO.. I didn't realize someone was buried in the sand until the second time I looked at the photo. {*LOL} Is that you? or your sister? I'm thinking sister because of your caption. {*haha} Looks like so much fun. I think the first photo is my fave. So artistic.

The grub sounds amazing. I've yet to get food from a truck yet... other than tacos. {*BOO} I want truck food. The ramen looks SOOO good. I haven't had dinner and now my tummy rumbling.

SWEET! That's actually one of my new favorite magazines next to JJ. Thanks for sharing scans! I missed this edition.


<3s Serena.

FarmingforTruth said...

So happy for you that you got to enjoy a relaxing time in Hawaii :)....I know as I've gotten older and my sister and I have our own families it is harder and harder to do "just us" stuff. Glad to see you are enjoying this time of your life. :)