Weekend Update

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? I feel like things flew by at warp speed over here and to be quite honest, I have no idea what we really even did, HA! I know we did a lot of prep work for our trip to Italy this week including a boat load of laundry (does it ever end – how do we wear that much clothing?!), some last minute itinerary details and deciding on suitcases, but other than that – WHERE DID MY WEEKEND GO? HOW IS IT ALREADY MONDAY?! It zipped by in a flash and that makes me so sad. Anyway – Let’s take a peek at what the photos on my phone say we did…
We started off with a date night on Friday at 53 By The Sea. We had been given a gift card there and were waiting to use it for a Friday night. We picked Friday, because the restaurant overlooks Waikiki and is in a perfect spot to watch the weekly Friday night fireworks that are put off. We had been before and had great food and cocktails, but something must have changed in the two or so years it’s been since we went. The food was still pretty good, but the service and atmosphere left a lot to be desired. Within a few minutes of sitting down, a kid at the adjacent table threw a wine glass and it shattered everywhere right in front of our table. It only went downhill from there. We did get to see the fireworks, which were beautiful, but we won’t be going back. Sad since it’s such a pretty spot!

On Saturday we woke up early and both got our workouts in. I completed the first full week of Glow Body Fitness’ 21 Day Challenge (read more about my introduction to it here) and while I can’t tell any visual differences, I feel SO MUCH STRONGER, which I love. I’ll definitely be keeping up with the program through the rest of the 21 days (yes – even on our trip as best I can!) and probably even once it’s done. Ashley’s 8 minute workouts seriously smoke me and I love it!

The sun was peeking out just a tiny little bit, which was all the incentive Dane and I needed to hit the beach right near our house. I swear to you – the lack of sunlight here is playing games with my mind. I know that sounds crazy, but I seriously believe that when it’s sunny out, I’m a happier person. All the clouds and rain and “cold” (by Hawaii standards) can leave now! The sun felt glorious for about an hour or so before it got cloudy and rainy again. Sidenote – Kona Red is so delicious! Have you tried it?

We made tacos for dinner with my fave Siete tortillas and watched an interesting documentary on sharks (can you tell we are hooked?) while I ordered some stuff from the Sephora sale. I did a quick little roundup of what I ordered (view it here), even though I’m probably the farthest thing from a beauty expert. I was totally inspired by my recent trip there and picked up a few items that had been recommended to me, but I didn’t buy initially. I also snagged a few new hair products to test out. They were both slightly more expensive than I would normally spend, but since I was getting 10% off, I figured…why not?

Sunday we wanted to take advantage of being outside for Earth Day and the sun was FINALLY shining, so we decided to head out on a hike, enjoy the fresh air and the beauty of Honolulu from above! I think everyone else in the state was feeling the same way so we saw nearly everyone who lives here at the top. Oh well – the views were absolutely beautiful and it was a great way to start our day.

After our hike we swung by Costco for a bag of salad to eat for the last couple meals we have before we go and then headed home. We have been wanting to get the dogs harnesses for the longest time, because walking them with two leashes, one dog who pulls (Bill), another who goes at her own pace and stops to sniff everything (Judy) and it’s kind of a big tangled fiasco. The PetSafe Easy Walk harnesses came highly recommended to us by a local trainer, so we went to get them fitted. While we were there, we let them each pick out a new toy and we made our way home. Not wanting to waste a single second, I immediately tore open those harnesses, strapped them on (there’s a bit of a learning curve) and took them on their inaugural walk. We also bought a clip that latches the two dogs together so we really only need one leash. So far – so good. I was really impressed, but we will see how things go over the next month. The dogs were also really tired from accosting every single person they saw at Petsmart, so they weren’t in prime walking mode.

Last week while I was trying to clean up around the house, I realized that when I plugged my vacuum in, it began sparking. YIKES! I thought that maybe it was the plug or the outlet, so I flipped our breaker and tried again in a different outlet – even bigger sparks. GULP. So I checked in with the warranty team at Dyson and they had me drop it off at the local vacuum repair shop (yep, those things exist) since it was still under the original warranty and after talking with the guy who owns the place…I don’t even want that thing back! He explained to me how those types of machines are basically the worst types on the market and that even though they may work really well, they are the #1 worst type of vacuum you can buy if you have pets or allergies. Why? Because while they have a cyclonic canister, it’s not entirely contained, so if you’ve ever removed your canister to empty it and noticed dust on the handle – that’s why! When the dust and fur is sucked up, it doesn’t always go into the canister. It’s kind of hard to explain without showing you a visual, but needless to say – it explains a lot! Now let me be perfectly honest – I was a Dyson loyalist before this all began and recommended it to all my friends. Sorry Dyson – not anymore! My machine still has 1 full year left on the warranty, so I’ll probably ride out that year, but after that I’ll be upgrading to something new!

Whew – looking back, it appears we covered a lot more ground this weekend than I originally thought. How was your weekend? What kind of vacuum do you have? Have you ever tried a pet harness? Give me all the details!