dinner & a movie.

our whole family hasn’t all been together since bradley & taylor got engaged a few months ago (we do live in 3 different states so sadly, it is a rarity that we can all be together).  as a little celebratory family night, we all went out for dinner and a movie.  we ate a BJs — complete with a brownie pizookie…as if we didn’t eat enough dessert on thanksgiving — and then went to this teeny tiny theater in westlake and saw the descendants.  the movie was filmed partly in oahu so it was super cool to see all of the shots of honolulu that i see on a daily basis!  it was a big bummer reis had to work all weekend cause we sure missed him.

thanksgiving weekend.

my thanksgiving weekend was pretty much the best ever and reminded me how insanely blessed i truly am.

it was a quick 4 day trip but it felt so nice to be in california enjoying my mama’s cooking, the cooler weather, staying up til the wee hours of the morning and sleeping in until 10 AM (plus taking lots of naps), watching movies, going black friday shopping, seeing all of my high school girlfriends and LOGAN(!), eating SO. MUCH. FOOD. (including chipotle!  hawaii doesn’t have one!), and spending time with family.

i kinda went overboard on taking pictures this weekend…uhhh i’m pretty sure this always happens…so this week will pretty much be photo recaps.  hope ya’ll are okay with that.
hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving break spent with loved ones and eating delicious food!

LAX, here i come.

tonight i’m catching the red-eye to LAX and i could not be more excited to see my family and friends for a quick 4 days.

see ya from the west coast!

(there is a chance i will be running the turkey trot 10K in burbank early thursday morning when i’m on my way home from the airport.  is anyone else running that race??)

val nolasco half marathon.

sunday i ran my 8th half marathon in honolulu with my good friends aimee and natalie.  (note to you mainlanders:  if you decide to run race in hawaii and are going to spend the money on flights, hotels, etc., no offense to oahu, but i would definitely recommend going to maui or kauai for their races.  honolulu races are not scenic like you would imagine and if you are going to suffer from the humidity, you might as well have some nice ocean views along the course.  big island might be nice, but it’s HOT.  think lots and lots of black lava surrounding you.)

my recap of the race:

cheap race ($30 race fee, holla) with about 1,000 runners and well organized by 808 race hawaii.  the honolulu marathon is in december and they have a training series of 5 races that starts in september and this was the last race in the series.
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start was at 5:30 AM.  yes, 5 freakin 30.  i wanted to chuck my alarm clock out the window when it went off at 3:45 but i was actually super glad it started so early because running in the hot and humid sun is death.  it was pitch black for the first 6 miles but relatively cool and nice and great for running.
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the course was okay — nothing too exciting especially since most of the races in honolulu are on the SAME course through residential areas and a main highway.  and since i’ve run the majority of races this island has to offer, it’s getting a teensy bit boring.  great course support though!  lots of water and gatorade stations and super awesome volunteers.  there was a steady climb (ever heard of that famous landmark called diamond head??) about a mile long i think from miles 10-11.
i felt pretty good for most of the time and kept a steady pace.  after the hill though, my legs were DEAD.  they felt like lead which has never happened before and i was not a fan.  each leg felt like it weighed 100 pounds.  i turned up my music and trucked through the last mile and finished in 1:50:37, average pace of 8:27.  3 minutes from a PR but i’m still happy with my time!  plus it was super fun to have friends who ran too!  and our fan club who consisted of our significant others.

so supportive they are.

i did get a free 10 minute massage after and it was super painful but amazing…the good kind of hurt.  the masseuse lady told me that i need to stretch and my muscles were so insanely tight.  it’s true.  i never stretch.  foam roller? it collects dust in my closet.  an ice bath?  not convenient.  it’s horrible i know and i need to make the time, but i am always in a rush and if i can run one extra mile or stretch, i choose running.  i really don’t want to get injured so i’m going to try my hardest to stretch more.  overall, this race was awesome.  races are not as plentiful in hawaii as they are on the mainland, so when a half mary comes up, i jump all over it!

happy birthday to reis.

today is this creeps mcgee’s birthday!  he is growing out his mustache for “mustache movember” with some other med students to raise money for prostate cancer, so i’m glad it’s for a good cause, but i think it is the MOST FOUL looking thing.  it is so disgusting and since he is currently in pediatrics, i keep telling him that he is probably giving the little kiddies nightmares and giving them even more reason to hate the hospital.  oh well.  all in the name of charity…
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saturday night we went to one of our favorite places, shokudo, for dinner to celebrate with our friends.  sunday afternoon we had lunch with his parents on the north shore.  and tonight i am taking the creeper out on a hot dinner date!
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dang, he sure knows how to milk his birthday to last 3 days.  he’s a pretty decent guy though, i guess he deserves it :)

(not only is this guy one of the coolest people we know and a very good friend, he is also one of the creators of this RAD company.)

dining room: complete.

(i know i already shared some pics of my dining room table a while back, but now the look i was going for is complete!)  this weekend i FINALLY bought 2 more chairs (so now i actually have 4!).  i got the table and the 2 wooden chairs on craigslist and have been on the hunt for 2 more chairs for quite some time…i’m talking months.  i saw these two white chairs at ross for $60 bucks each and basically fell in love with the stud detail.  now my house just feels more cozy and complete (its a wonder what 2 chairs can do) and i have just been loving sitting at my dining room table while burning my pumpkin spice candle and doing design work.  i’m pretty sure i have done that every night since i got them, by the way.

now who wants to come over for dinner?  you can sit in my new chairs.  and i’ll even make you pasta.  (because thats pretty much the only thing i know how to make.)