red eye essentials.

redeyeessentials2

i’ve flown quite a bit in the past year…i think since last may, i’ve been to california on average once a month!  i mostly flew the red eye because when i was still working at my corporate job, i had to catch the friday night flight out to LA and make it back to hawaii by sunday night for work on monday.  (yet another reason why working for myself is AWESOME).  these were my essential pieces for those late-night-to-morning flights but definitely work for any-time-of-day-flying as well.

1) a large bag / i love using a big bag for a carryon because i stuff it with my laptop, camera, wallet, a book, some snacks, and other random in-flight necessities.  i’m really loving this one from cuyana.

2) a long + cozy sweater / without fail, i get super cold on the red eye.  i find blanket-like sweaters get the job done in keeping me warm through the night. (i saved this pic so long ago and have no idea where i saved it from!  i’m wishing i knew because that sweater is so cute!)

3) boots / i always wear my heaviest and largest shoes on the plane so they don’t take up precious room inside my suitcase.  (they also keep my toes warm on freezing flights!)  i currently have a huge crush on these ones from madewell and am saving my pennies for them because i love them so much!

4) leggings / the comfier the pants, the better.

i love when friends visit.

lauravisit2lauravisit3lauravisit4one of my best friends laura and her boyfriend peter came to visit reis and me for the week and it’s been SO much fun having them here!!  we had a great weekend touring them around the island which included good food (+ plenty of dessert), good conversation, beach time, stops at our favorite coffee shops, our weekly trek to the north shore, and movie-watching.

*laura is actually the matchmaker who introduced me to my lover man reis in santa barbara 5 years ago!  she was friends with him long before i knew him, and then i practically BEGGED her to set me up with him once i met him.  i’m really glad my begging paid off.

diy acai bowl.

acaibowl7acaibowl5acaibowl6acaibowl3acai bowls are really, really good.  they are my favorite thing to eat for lunch and i always eat them the same: strawberries, bananas, and granola on top, no honey, hold the berries.  but ya know what else?  they are so expensive!  especially in hawaii.  with my recent shift to freelance life, we’ve had to adjust our monthly spending habits and a $10 bowl just isn’t in the everyday budget.  so now we make our own.  and they are just as tasty!  here’s how i make mine:

1 // blend 1 sambazon acai packet + handful of frozen strawberries + 1 frozen banana (makes it super thick!)
2 // top with granola + fresh fruit

*i highly recommend using a vitamix or some other decent blender.  we don’t have one but it’s at the top of my wishlist.  i think i got our current blender for a dollar at a garage sale and it majorly struggles when trying to puree all that frozen fruit.  i swear the motor is just going to blow up one of these days.

WORK IT OUT | turbo kickboxing + body pump.

TKBBODYPUMPturbo kick boxing is probably my #1 favorite work out.  i mean, i love zumba, but TKB makes me feel like i’m getting SUPER fit.  lots of upbeat music, cross-jab-hook-uppercut sequences, kicking, and jumping equate to me working up a major sweat in every class i take!  i’ve been doing it since high school (so almost 11 years! gah i feel old!) and i still really enjoy it.  i actually was certified to teach in college, but then never had time to actually teach so it expired…boo hoo.  if you take the class for your first time, it’s easy to get overwhelmed because there is a lot of choreography — but after a few times, it’s easy to pick up!

body pump is a class i recently started going to because i wanted to do some strength training and i am way too lazy to push myself on my own (and i’m intimidated by all of the meatheads in the weight section at the gym).  this class burns, but in the best way possible.  ya know, the good kind of hurt after you’ve been lifting barbells, free weights, using bands, and doing lots of push ups.

for both of these classes, i wear something similar to the outfit above.  i don’t like loose tops or pants for these classes cause it’s easier to move in more fitted gear.  i highly recommend those nike capris – i have a similar pair that janelle gave me my junior year of college for my birthday.  even after wearing them about 2x per week (and obvs washing them after every wear) since 2008, they are STILL going strong.

headband/tank top/capris/shoes

a day at the spa.

relax7relax3relax1relax5relax7last friday was an exciting day.  i FINALLY finished my new site/portfolio/blog design and sent it off to my developer!  i was honestly getting sick of working on it and could not have been more happy to pass it off.  now i can’t wait to see it live…hopefully in a few weeks!  back in october at my bridal shower, one of my very best friends heather and her mom gifted me a luxurious spa day at the moana surfrider in waikiki.  and it could not have been a more perfect day to indulge!  after an all-nighter and sending the files off to get coded, i high-tailed it to waikiki, enjoyed an afternoon at the spa, and then laid out at the pool with an acai bowl.  not gonna lie, it was prettttty amazing.  i’m so thankful for such a relaxing (and indulgent) afternoon! thanks so much heath!!