bring me back to paradise - hawaii part 2

Here's part two of our Hawaii trip on the beautiful island of Kauai (you can find part one of our Oahu visit here). Now I really see why they call Kauai the "Garden Isle" for how lush it is. I miss the island, but I love looking back at all the photos of the activities we did while on Kauai and I can't wait to return. 

Experiencing the magical Na Pali Coast

On a catamaran seeing the marine life

Kilauea lighthouse and expansive views

Taro fields

Spouting horn on a calm day

Hiking Maha'ulepu trail - amazing coastline hike with gorgeous scenery and lonely beaches

Kauai's coastline

Waimea Canyon

Hawaiian Monk Seals laying out on the beach - they're an endangered species and I'm so honored to have seen them!

Wild chickens on the roads, beaches - everywhere!

Poke bento from Koloa Fish Market

Enjoying really ono (delicious) lilikoi cake on the beach

Found a cool seat on an uncrowded beach

Sunset over Ni'ihau

music mondays

Sorry there's no video for this one, but enjoy the audio. Love this song.

baker beach, san francisco

 Talula top, Jcrew skirt, Cole Haan sunnies

There are a few beaches in San Francisco and Baker Beach is closest to the beautiful historic Golden Gate bridge. This past week it was really warm so we headed to the beach with my binoculars to see if there were any cool marine creatures out and about. I've seen dolphins before out at Land's End and had a friend also see a spouting whale as well. Since we also go back from Hawaii a week ago (see post here), and I've been going through withdrawals, it was nice to get out and enjoy the beach again. While it's not the same since the weather is quite different, it was still really nice. Being by the ocean and on the sand makes me feel like I'm home.

bring me back to paradise - hawaii part 1

I was in paradise for a week and am going through withdrawals. The first few days were spent in Oahu, a very familiar island that I've probably been to almost a dozen times now. The remainder of the time was spent on Kauai, one of the last islands I have yet to explore (last one to go, Lana'i!). We spent a majority of the time eating and going to beaches on Oahu, while Kauai was spent exploring the beautiful "Garden Isle" and really finding out why it's nicknamed that. Pictures tell a story so much better than I could (and are less boring than listening to me ramble on about my love of the islands... trust me, I could go on for days), so enjoy the following part 1 of our Hawaii trip on Oahu (part 2 here).

Our first stop, Zippy's. Oh that famous apple napple and chili over rice

Poke, crabcakes, and onopops at the Farmer's market. I heart you lilikoi 50-50, I heart you

Kamehameha Bakery's taro glazed donuts, one filled with haupia. And yes, it's really that color

Marukame's udon

Okay, I give you something other than food, but just one photo :)

Macky's shrimp truck, best one on the island IMO

Musubi from Mana Bu's. Must go early to get the good stuff

Helena's Hawaiian. Boiled butterfish with watercress, luau squid, and I finally got to try opihi!

Espresso chocolate, lychee, lilikoi (passionfruit), chocolate mint, strawberry chocolate chip, and guava ice cream mochi from Bubbies

Do not be fooled. I may look like any scone, but I'm not. I'm a blueberry cream cheese scone from Diamond Head Market & Deli

If you're heading to the islands for the first time, or your fourteenth, here are a list of other places you might be interested in checking out!

More Eats

Nisshodo Candy Store - Delicious, handmade mochi. Tender and fresh. My favorite is the tsumami (lima bean filled) and their chi chi dango. Get there early, or call in and pre-order.

Alan Wong's - Nice, upscale restaurant, and really good. Every dish is Hawaiian inspired. Great if you're wanting fine dining.

Side Street Inn - Sportsbar feel with really grubbin' food. Very generous portion sizes so try to go with a group so you can try more items on the menu. Kimchi fried rice, pork chops, my mouth is salivating.
Matsumoto's Shave Ice - On the North Shore. Great assortment of flavors. Li hing and lemonade- yumzo.
Shimazu - Really smooth shave ice.

Liliha Bakery - Well known for their coco puffs, but I could just go for their butter rolls. Get it served there, toasted and served with jelly.

Beaches (other than the ever-crowded Waikiki)

Kailua Beach Park

Lanikai - Right next to Kailua

Waimea Bay

Turtle Bay Beach - Turtles galore feeding on seaweed!

Ko'olina Lagoons - very calm lagoons great for kids

Local shopping

Fighting Eel - Women's fashion

Local Motion - Surf and beach fashion

music mondays

Hoping it's sunny where you are, have a good week, and Happy Earth Day! :)

miso glazed cod

Anything miso glazed is delicious, especially when used as a marinade for fish. I had a japanese themed dinner, mainly inspired by a meal I ate while in Japan. The rest of the dinner will come in a later post soon, but in the meantime, check out how to make this delicious broiled fish here! Cheers to a happy, sunny weekend!

homemade pretzels and cheese dip

Making pretzels at home is fun and easy, considering the wonderful payoff you get in the end- delicious, fresh, warm pretzels that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I used this recipe which turned out really great. I rolled out some of the pretzels so they were thinner, resulting in a more defined shape rather than puffy and fat (like the pretzel in the back in the photo above). I also made a dipping sauce since I love to eat my pretzels with cheese, but I must say, yellow mustard is also pretty good too. These would be fun to make for a potluck or party, namely the superbowl. You know what I'll be making next year. :)

Already risen dough

Rolling out the dough

Pretzels with egg wash and salt sprinkled on top

Finished pretzels!

music mondays

I'm currently on a beautiful, tropical island probably listening to something like this...

simple details

Madewell silk top, James Jeans denim, Target wedges, Men's Kenneth Cole watch, David Yurman ring

I'm a big fan of clothing items that are modern, minimalist, have a great or unique fit, and differentiate themselves through small details. This top is one of those items. It's got a great boatneck neckline and a surprise v-neck in the back which makes it very hard to not love. I hardly wear heels of any sort on days where it's not required (which are most of my days), but this day I was just feeling it. These wedges are the most comfortable pair I've ever owned, which made it an easy decision to wear them walking around downtown Petaluma a couple weeks ago (post for that coming soon!).

homemade asian soy milk

Regular soy milk is not my fav, but asian soy milk, well, is a different story. I really like asian soy milk-- the flavor is different from normal soy milk found at grocery stores in the cartons. It's nothing that I can really explain or put into words... if you haven't had it, you definitely have to try it. There's one restaurant in San Francisco that I visit on occasion mainly for their noodle dishes, but I always make sure to get a glass of soy milk too. I decided to try making it on my own, how hard could it be? Turns out it's super easy (I used this recipe) and now I can enjoy it whenever I want. Besides being able to have it whenever I want, there are also a few other perks to making it on your own (as is with making anything homemade, I guess). It's inexpensive, you can control the amount of sweetness you add to it, and control what kind of sweetener you want to add (sugar, honey, rock sugar, etc). I've been enjoying it over the past couple of days both warm and cold and you can guarantee it will not be the last time I make it.

music mondays

This island boy has got some soul. Check out one of his latest featuring Colbie Caillat!

swedish inspired breakfast

This breakfast was inspired by a memorable visit to Cafe Orlin on a trip to New York last year. I had the most delicious meal, yet it was so simple. Smoked salmon, potato patties, a couple of eggs, and some creme fraiche. It reminded me of a swedish style smörgåsbord which I'm totally into; I like my food deconstructed sometimes. Anyhow, I recreated it for breakfast this past week and washed it down with a glass of orange-carrot juice. Yum!

Ingredients:

Your favorite smoked salmon

Potatoes (grated, then put into patties and pan fried)

Poached eggs

Cucumbers (for freshness)

Sour cream mixed with chopped fresh dill

color obsession

Mackage Kenya leather jacket, La Notte Marcello tee, Bebe denim, Tylie Malibu leather backpack, Zoya nail polish in Maura

That perfect leather jacket is hard to come by, so I knew when I came across this one by Mackage, I had to invest in it. The leather is buttery. The cut resembles that of a moto-jacket, yet it's still got feminine shape. There's a slight slouch to the fit. All of the above make this the perfect leather jacket, but there's one thing that puts it over the edge-- it's color. The color is so unique, the picture doesn't quite do it justice. If you ask me to describe it, I'd say it's a dark brownish, olive-y, greyish, taupe-y, I'm-a-one-of-a-kind-nobody-is-like-me shade. Swoon. It's beautiful and I will enjoy wearing it just as much as I enjoy admiring it in my closet. On that same color note, this polish by Zoya is my ultimate favorite-- a little red, some orange, a splash of watermelon and bam! you've got yourself the most amazing red ever. Call me color obsessed, oh, because I am.

music mondays

I heart Frank Ocean, enjoy. Oh, and Happy April Fool's Day!