Category Archives: california

day trip to santa barbara: part I.

oh hey remember when reis and i went to california over new years?  yeah, let’s rewind a week or so.  i’m a littleeee behind on my photo posting.

on new year’s eve, my whole family took a trip up to santa barbara for the day.  i’ve said it before, but i L-O-V-E santa barbara.  like, LOVEEEE it.  it’s so quaint and charming and beachy and perfect.  reis and i met going to school there so it was so fun to be back there together!  we ate lunch at paradise cafe (the restaurant i used to work at in college!) and roamed state street for some shopping.  and since in the few hours we were there i managed to take a billion photos, part II to come tomorrow!

late to the party.

oh dang.  its been a whirlwind of a week.  of a month, actually!  with all of my visitors and travels, i have been a busy bee but loving every minute.  reis and i had the best time in california with all of my favorite people and i have a whole slew of posts for next week showing you guys all of the photos from our trip!  for now, it’s back to the grind.  back to work.  back to the gym.  back to eating healthy.  and i know i’m 5 days late to the party (better late than never, right?), but here are my 2012 resolutions.

oh and see that pic above?  that’s an instagram.  i’ve had one for months but decided to join yet ANOTHER form of social media and go public with it in 2012.  so if you want to see random pics of my daily life (as if you don’t get your fill from my photo-heavy blog), you can follow me at there @ jayadores!

beach day.

(reis’ deaf dalmation — and the sweetest dog ever — simon!)

we hung out at the beach the day after christmas — the boys surfed, and i read/napped.  my mother, on the other hand, isn’t the greatest “relaxer” (and isn’t exactly a beach person either, i mean, check out what she wears to the beach!) and brought paperwork to do!  my family caught the red-eye out of honolulu on monday and reis and i will be joining them in LA this morning!  my dad surprised us a few weeks ago with tickets to LA for new year’s!  my sister and brother-in-law are flying in from Texas so we will finally ALL be together again (reis hasn’t been to california in over a year)!  we’ve got lots planned for this weekend (including celebrating christmas #2) and i am so so excited.  i hope you all have a wonderful and safe new year’s eve!  see you in 2012!

it’s a tradition.

every year for the past 6 years, it has become a tradition that my high school girlfriends and I go to starbucks the day after thanksgiving.  i looveee this tradition because 1) my best friends are involved and 2) coffee is involved.  and what’s not to love about that combo?  this year after we got our peppermint mochas we took the party to heather’s house so we could play with baby logan!  heather & janelle made us a really good breakfast too.  it is quite a perk when your friends can bake really good food and then they let you reap the benefits. (thanks guys!)  i really hope this tradition continues until we are really old cause it is definitely one of my faves.

[ann-marie]

[heather m.]

[janelle]

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??)

currently missing: california.

i can honestly say for the past 2 1/2 years i have lived here, i have never been homesick.  of course i miss my family and friends, but i have never actually missed the place because i love hawaii so much.  but this week — oh heck — i have been missing california like crazy!  good thing i am going home for thanksgiving for a quick trip because this girl needs it.  bring on the cooler temps, drinking hot chocolate without sweating, cozying up in sweatpants and sweatshirts, boots, uggs, scarves, the whole bit!  plus i am so stoked that i won’t be missing my high school girlfriends’ annual black friday starbucks get-together!!  wahooo!  let the countdown begin!

(p.s. this post may have something to do with the 3 geckos that are currently taking up precious real estate IN MY KITCHEN.  they run so fast they are impossible to catch.  believe me, i’ve tried.  did i mention that geckos play dead??  i seriously wish i was kidding you.  it is just ridiculous.  oh, and the 2 cockroaches that have joined the crew.  i mean, come on gecks, if you are at least gonna invade my space, do your dang job and eat the roaches!  thanks.  and if you are a HI resident, yes, i am a complete wuss and hate those foul creatures.  they literally cause me to lose sleep because i’m afraid i am going to wake up to one staring at me.  oh man california, i really miss you and your non-bugginess).

woo. rant ovaaa.  happy friday ya’ll.  have a great weekend!