lobster red.

Holy sunburn.

I'm sitting in my hotel room wincing with every slight movement. 

Long post short...I didn't put sunscreen on my back during my few hours at beach and I'm regretting it 10000000%

When I am being responsible in the sun I have a few products that I use so I don't cook in nature's tanning bed:
(All opinions on these products are my own. I was not paid for this advertisement.)

This is what I used on the front of my body....and I'm burn-free. It's rewarding to re-apply cause it's cold when it goes on.
( yea I'm a sucker for advertising like this)

great facial sunblock, very light weight.

All this stuff is super cheap and you can find it at any store. I'm not sure of any "fancy" sunscreen. But if it does the job, it's good enough.



Stay smart ya'll and hope it's sunny where you are =)

pre burn. happy girl on the beach.

wakiki weekend shenannies.

This weekend was definitely eventful and calorie-filled and just what I needed after looking at ugly old apartments all week.

friday. Was non-pictured (I apologize). Woody and I went out downtown with some of his coworkers who are leaving the island. I'm so sad that they are leaving us so soon, cause they all were hilarious and outrageous, just how we like it. I was DD and I started getting a little grandma near the 2am mark. But lots of fun nonetheless, found a nice local bar called Irish Rose; crazy people, music, and smoke-filled... It's not a good night unless you wake up smelling like an ashtray.

saturday. The day I have embarrassingly anticipated since my arrival here in Hawaii: SPAM JAM! It was packed of course, being right on the Wakiki Strip, but it was worth all the traffic! We had some time to kill before the event and tried some to-die-for Hawaiian made coffee and cookies. I love trying local eats (and drinks), so it was a great find for us. Finally ...Spam eats:  Woody had to have his Loco Moco burger ( aburger with a fried egg, all the regular fixins', and brown gravy) complete with spam strips on top. I had the Spam Lo Mein and some Spam Katsu(fried spam with some BBQ sauce). But the highlight of our night was not the spam, but the HULA PIE. heaven on earth. Fudgey-ice cream-oreo crust goodness with some infamous macadamia nuts on top. My fat azz is still dreaming of it. We ended this spam night with some mai tais and beers with a friend.

sunday. A bit more relaxing, we had one house to see in the afternoon so we took a  quick hike back to the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail. It's really is a great trail to get quick workout in with a rewarding view. After the house and trail adventure, we accidentally found ourselves at a great festival right near base in Kailua and stumbled across an even greater joint called Teddy's Bigger Burgers. And while I said I had had my last burger last week,  I got the Hawaiian style cheeseburger with some garlic fries. #yum #sorrynotsorry

So now I'm going to run off my weekend!

Hope yours was amazing =)

sweetly,

backing that azz up friday

Since I'm currently in-between jobs (aka...unemployed), I no longer know what day of the week it is, so I'm thanking the famous Whitney for making this link up so I can keep track.

and I'm constantly backing my azz up to:

Icona Pop- I Don't Care

Cause I don't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually I do, I care about everything. BUT it's Friday, I can make an exception!

Have a great weekend ya'll,

hot pot horror.

Remember how I said I needed to expand my palette and try new things? 

Well I did, and I didn't like it.

Woody and I were headed out to eat (yet again) and he suggested something called Ramen. It's not the soup that we admired in our college days, it's something else. And while I never, like never agree with Woody's restaurant choices, I thought I'd be a nice wife this day and try this so-called-ramen that he has raved about (but,I'm not exactly sure he's had it either).

Well our GPS ended up taking us all the way to Wakiki which is not where we planned to go so we just  decided to wing it.

When you don't know where you are or where you really live exactly...don't wing it. Just a quick tip.

Anyways, we ended up on this semi sketchy street with lots of little cafes and restaurants andwe came across a place that was written in Japanese (or Chinese I don't know), it wasn't ramen but we still creeped in window and saw people enjoying their meal that they were cooking themselves at their tables. Woody and I said, "Oh that looks like fun, let's eat that!"

First off, we were the only people not of pure Asian descent( initiate intimidation factor).... And when you can't understand the waiter, it's was making me a little sweaty. But we still let on and ordered whatever picture looked "good" 

So they come out with the pot....

(uh what is that) 

and the vegetables...

(ok really, what is that urchin doing on the plate?)

We asked the waiter, "So, what do we do with this?" and he said, pointing to the pot, "Put in der!"

So we did as told and it wasn't looking good, but we got ourselves in this mess. I hadn't tried it at this point, maybe it'll taste like that miso soup or something...

Um no. 

I barely could muster eating what I had in front of me.

Then we saw this...

I couldn't do it, not only did we have a pot full of weird tasting soup, we had apparently ordered the buffet type meal so it was like even more then a normal plate(whatever a normal plate looks like). I really tried to eat what I could. My husband pulled through and ate as much as he could (he actually did like it, just didn't know what we were doing!) We spoke to the waiter/manager and he said since it was our first time, he wouldn't charge us for the leftovers. 

Definitely a bust. BTW, if you don't know what this is called we found out later that  this type of meal is called Hot Pot (makes sense now). Very popular for the true Asian kinds. I'm sorry to have shamed you.

I enjoy spontaneity from time to time. This time just happened to be a miss, but I can say that I've tried something once and that it's definitely a taste I don't want to try again.  

So I went back to something I do know.

And that was my last cheeseburger, cause I ran the next day and about died. 

Sorry heart. 

xo,

is that an otter?

So, today was the day it hit me that I live on an island...not a swamp...or a desert. I'm driving down the road waiting for a deer to jump across the road at any minute when I'm swiftly reminded that um, Dana, there aren't deer in Hawaii.

(please watch for J-trotting on the Kalanianaole Hwy though)

Otters are also non-existent, but that didn't stop me from shaming all those years of science or geography or whatever class you learn about animals and habitats by incorrectly naming this unknown creature that passed my way during my hike.

No, that's a mongoose...which I've never heard of, but it was definitely not an otter, which was my guess second to squirrel.

you are so dumb, you are really dumb. FO' REAL.

Anywho, that's a quick look into my severely severed brain for you right there. We all have our days, but like I said, it's definitely a "not in Kansas anymore" moment for myself.


Here's some cool pictures from the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail I did with some of the spouses today. It's definitely one of the easier hikes( well I've done two...) of course the amazing view of the coastline is worth the trek, and on a clear day you can see some neighboring islands! I had a picture of myself but I look extremely scary, secondary to the mongoose picture I'm about to show you.

 Don't mess with the goose..mon

I'm sorry otter, you are not a squirrel.

eat your Wheaties ya'll,

hawaii makes me hungry.

I never thought I'd say I'm tired of eating out, but I kind of am!

And it's not like eating out and trying new things out, but stuck in our hotel, so we have to have delivery.

Luckily, Oahu has this amazing delivery service called Room Service in Paradise (clever huh?)

It's a fairly large company established in 1996, delivering to the residents of Kailua & Marine Corps Base Hawaii and expanded to Central Oahu and Honolulu later on.

It's helped make things not too monotonous for us until we can find a place off base (I miss my kitchen!)

Yesterday we were bored with the usual and got take out from a fancyyyy restaurant called The Grove.

This is when Woody and I decided that we are not so fancy.

celebrating Earth Day with some woodsy rosemary on some chicken.

That's some thirty-three dollar steak right thurr. and a pine tree leaf on top.

Actually our meal was delicious and I exaggerate a lot. I do realize I need to expand my palette a little more because there were like maybe 15 items total on the menu and it took me an hour to decide what I wanted (guest judging for Iron Chef or Chopped is out). 

The Grove looks like they have amazing Happy Hour specials and I'm dying for a yum cocktail right now so I'll hit that up and I'll get back to ya'll. 

Speaking of drinking I leave you with a drink recipe I'm eager to make.

Must be 21 or older to sip on this! ;)

pineapple sangria.

3 cups pineapple juice
1 bottle dry white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
1 cup brandy (pear brandy or apricot brandy will work)
1 ripe pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup pineapple soda
1 bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 orange, sliced

In a pitcher, combine the juice, wine, brandy, pineapple, and soda with ice and stir. Pour into large wineglasses and garnish with the mint and orange.

                                                                                                    bottoms up!

Weather Man Says...

Rain here in Hawaii lasts for about ten minutes. So it can make planning your day kind of odd. Right now, I'm sitting outside waiting for our laundry to be done even though the weekend forecast said rain all weekend.

(we don't have much of a view but you can see the Ko'olau Mountains in the distance!)

Yesterday, it was a bit gloomy so Woody and I got out of the hotel for a little bit and went shopping on base

(We were planning a future beach day. Hats are a must! Woody look's like Kangaroo Jack in this hat though haha)

The truth is the way the island is laid out it's very possible that it can be raining in one region of the island and not in another. The region that we live in, the "Windward Side" gets a lot of the rain on the island of Oahu, but the Big Island (Hawai'i Island) receives the most annual rainfall.

(it was actually raining on our way to dinner the other night! I was so excited to sport our new rain coats... but then as soon as these pictures were taken, the rain stopped and we felt dumb lol)

While it has been off and on here...on a true rainy day I have some go-to items that I wear if I have to trek it outside.

JCrew is a new found love I have thanks to one of my friends and fellow blogger Nicole at Sweet Tea & Sunday Mornings and she got me hooked on these factory Ponte Pants.  They are seriously some great quality leggings and they're nice enough to wear out. Hunter Rain-boots are super trendy, they can run you up to about $135 for their original pairs, but don't fret! They always have amazing sales on these boots! And a good quality rain jacket like this North Face Venture jacket makes facing the rain a little more tolerable. I actually had a Columbia jacket prior to this one and it made me unnecessarily sweaty (ew).

So, I spoke too soon and it's starting get super cloudy over here.

That's all I got, now back to you...How's the weather looking in your neck of the woods?

Sweetly,

sweetMusic

So finally after a week of being here and making excuses not to exercise, I'm getting back to my groove. I'm signing up for my first 5K that's here in Hawaii around November. So, one of the things I need to get me pumped to run a long distance is some GOOD music.

(if you have a picture of you running and you look cute. please send it my way. I won't believe it until I see it.)

Here's a few of my favorite songs that get me moving:

My Body- Young the Giant

The Man Who Never Lied- Maroon 5

Little Talks- Of Monsters and Men

One Works Better Than Two- Nashville Cast

So with all that being said (or sung) what songs motivate you to get moving? 

Sweetly,

what i'm loving.

Today has been our first truly gloomy day in paradise so I'm already day dreaming about the sunny days ahead. 

Here's some pieces that I'm lalaloving for this month.

Zara Printed Strappy Dress; Michael Kors Horn/Tortoise Watch; Stella&Dot Foundation Bracelet; Tory Burch Miller Sandal

I just got my first Michael Kors watch as a special Valentine's Day present from the hubs and I wear it almost everyday. So, I'm looking forward to purchasing a few of these pieces for Summer!

Downtown Honolulu has a lot of events coming up in the next few months which I'm totally excited about.

Next week, is Hawaii's 11th Annual SPAM JAM in Wakiki

It's pretty much a known fact that Hawaiians love their Spam!

As I'm not new to traditional spam, eggs, and rice (thanks mama), I look forward to trying a few of the vendor's creative take on this staple of the Islands. 

Until next time,

tea time in honolulu.

So my short time being here in Hawaii has oddly enough been boring!

Our cars are in the middle of being shipped and we are living in a temporary lodging facility until we either find a house off base or on. So, without a car or permanent address it's hard to get around and do all the exciting things I have planned for our life here on the island.

So I jumped at the opportunity to join some of the marine wives for a lunch at The Wai'oli (why-o-lee) Tea Room.

I unfortunately didn't get any live shots of the place so I got this from the restaurant website

It was such a cute and dainty place! You walk right into a precious gift shop with lots of Hawaiian trinkets and gorgeous china. Lots of outdoor seating was available but when we got there it was raining, so we sat in a covered section of the restaurant that was full of vintage decor.

Not only was the vibe of the Wai'oli Tea Room incredible, so was the food! I was a bit uncomfortable taking a picture of my food in front of people I haven't met haha, but I did snag one of my extremely decadent butterscotch brownie with vanilla bean gelato. AH-MAZING.

I was sure I was going to go into a diabetic coma after this treat

The Tea Rooms "Famous" Salad; Manoa Curry Chicken Salad

For lunch I got the Manoa Chicken Salad sandwich on Ilioki Bread(sweet type of bread). 

Everything looked so good so it was hard to decide at first!

The Wai'oli Tea Room has been around since 1922! It's full of history and such a great place to take your girlfriend's for some afternoon tea. It was such a great experience for me and I was so glad to get out of our stuffy hotel room and get to know some fabulous ladies!

Sweetly,