Life Lately + Best Of The Internet

Our life recently has been a total whirlwind. My parents were in town and Dane had some time off, so we were able to do a good bit of exploring and showing them some of our favorite spots on Oahu. Let me just say that having family in town is one of my favorite things EVER. Just having them here makes my heart feel whole.

 My parents have a beautiful black Lab puppy who they picked up a few “aloha” items for, so it only made sense to have Bill & Judy try them on ahead of time. You know, for sizing 😉

 We also enjoyed a crawfish boil while they were in town. I had never experienced this before, but my Southern-born husband was in HEAVEN. I have seriously never seen him so excited. I’m still torn on how I feel about my dinner staring back at me…

 One of the coolest things we did (in my opinion) was share our favorite hike with my parents. Dane and I love Koko Head Crater, because it’s a great workout with fantastic views as a reward. I think my parents might have cursed us up all 1,065 steps, but once they saw the views, they couldn’t protest too much. I’m SO PROUD of them for conquering this! 

 One of the last mornings they were in town, we grabbed brunch at The Proud Peacock, a restaurant tucked into Waimea Falls. It’s a little known spot that offers great views of the valley and the most darling brunch guests! 

 Don’t be fooled, apparently they are huge assholes if provoked.

The best part of the entire dining experience was, hands down, the sweet potato waffles. Yes it sounds absolutely weird, but Okinawan purple sweet potatoes are SO GOOD. And in waffle form? Be still my inner fat kid.

And if you’re still reading — bless you. It seems like we have done SO MUCH in the past couple weeks, that I wanted to be sure and catalog it here so I have a place to look back on it all down the road 🙂

And now…the best of what’s around. If you started singing Dave Matthew’s, cheers to YOU….

If you’re an Alaskan blogger, then this event hosted by my internet-friend-turned-real-life-friend Kelsey is for you. She’s hosting a fashionable Mother’s Day Tea at Nordstrom at the 5th Avenue Mall. Get all the details here. Believe me, if it was even reasonable for me to go — I would be there!

Domino Mag wins again with these Mother’s Day gift ideas for the haute hostess. I know my mom would absolutely love each one!

Apparently the latest Japanese trend is trying to decipher if it’s bread or a baby. Weird, I know. But this article is so oddly intriguing to me. 

9 ways to save money on beauty products from Glamour is a must-read for anyone who wants to try the latest trends without busting their bank accounts. Though, I have to admit that buying a dupe is not always the way to go, especially in the beauty dept.

Loved this piece from Alyssa about the most important thing she learned from one month of unemployment!

And finally, I haven’t been able to put this book down. It’s chock full of mostly wholesome recipes that pack a TON of flavor! I have already made the salmon with avovado crema and am dying to test out the peanut butter mousse pie with marshmallow whipped cream. Seriously, does life get sweeter?

So tell me, what are you loving lately? What have you been up to?