hawaii was pretty unreal yesterday. the weather was absolutely perfect and the water was perfectly teal blue. for mother’s day, we took reis’ mom out in his parents’ little boat and cruised to goat island. we had so much fun! i forgot my bathing suit so i wore my running shorts, a sports bra, and my pajama top. classy. i can’t wait to get out there again and spend all day just lounging around and exploring! i love weekends. and i really love hawaii.
first things first — how awesome is that mango tree that is in my backyard?? i’m pretty excited to reap the benefits of those babies, namely in the form of mango smoothies. YUM. i’m ridiculously excited that summer is fast approaching (even though it feels like summer in hawaii 90% of the year) because work gets a little bit more mellow (or at least i hope it will) and the days are longer and sunnier. i’m especially looking forward to spending the weekends at the beach, riding our bikes to nearby eateries for dinner, and having friends over for barbecues at my place!
side story: see that bike in the picture above? we call her melon. reis bought that for me when i graduated from college and hand painted the whole thing in my favorite colors! i moved to hawaii two weeks after graduation and he surprised me with it so we could go exploring together! he’s not the most romantic of guys so i was super impressed and thought it was the cutest thing in the world.
a few instagrams from the weekend: a yummy post work out smoothie. a lovely hike with with friends up makapu’u to whale watch and see insanely awesome views. starbucks for sunday breakfast. and watching the rachel zoe project dvds (love).
i mean, seriously, how cute is this little breakfast cottage?? on saturday morning we went out for a girl’s breakfast at the cream pot for my friend ashley’s birthday. oh my goodness, this place is hands down the cutest place i’ve ever been to and the food was amazing! i love discovering new gems in the town i live. i got the strawberry belgian waffle and it was out. of. control. oh, and their coffee was bomb too. and the decor of the place was so cozy and homey with long farmwood tables, a big wooden door to the kitchen, and old copper pots and pans on the walls. will be taking reis back here ASAP.
(new sunglasses i got for reis!)
this year was the first christmas EVER that i wasn’t home in southern california. i was sad to miss out on traditions with friends and family on the mainland and it did feel a little weird to be at the beach on christmas eve (not that socal screams winter wonderland exactly…), but i am so glad my family was able to come here to spend the holiday with me. we stayed in a condo at turtle bay all weekend and it was so nice to get out of honolulu and bum around with no work! i am even more grateful for the true meaning of Christmas and the reason we celebrate it at all: Christ! christmas day we went to church in the morning, spent the entire day relaxing and watching christmas movies, had a delicious turkey dinner at reis’ parent’s house, ate dessert around a bonfire, and ended the night watching Elf.
notes from the week:
+time with my family has been fun. i wish i could have seen them more, but i’ve had to work all week so thank goodness for getting to join them at night for lots of good dinners, christmas shopping, and movies.
+we drove to makaha, the WESTERN-most point on the island of oahu on saturday. it was quite a drive, but the gorgeous views kinda made up for it. (see pics above)
+it’s been raining a TON here in honolulu. and i love it. it pretty much rains everyday in hawaii — but for 15 minutes at a time and only a light tropical drizzle. this winter, however, we have gotten lots of rainstorms and cooler temps which has been making it really hard for me to get out of bed in the morning.
+after work today i am heading to the north shore to join my family who rented a condo up there for the week! i am looking forward to getting away from town and spending quality time with my family and reis!
oh, and can you believe christmas is in TWO days?? that came so dang fast! merry christmas, everyone!
