to the waterfall.

this past weekend, we headed north to waimea valley.

it's been years since my last visit to waimea valley, so this was all new to me. upon entering the grounds, you experience a lush botanical garden with a pathway that leads to the waterfall. i wanted to introduce mini-he to hiking, and this short (3/4 mile each way), paved, and relatively level hike was a nice start. they do offer cart rides, which was my backup plan in case he got tired and fussy, but we didn't need it. there was so much to see while enjoying the company of our friends.

come on, i'll show you what we saw and heard!

see the stream.
hear the stream.

see the waterfall.

hear the waterfall.

stopped for ono pops, shave ice, and fresh coconut water on the way down. this kula strawberry and maui goat cheese ono pop was so. good.

later, when i got home, i cracked open the coconut and

scooped out the meat!

ended the day with a late lunch...

li hing mui margaritas + enchiladas.

(last photo by mini-he)

have a great weekend!

*     *     *

last weekend to enter - ends 6/30

enter the coach bag giveaway here

blue lace.

hello.

(express shorts; JustFab bag c/o; libi & lola bracelet c/o; sunglasses via amazon) 

you might like these:

east vs west [coast] style. metallics.

it's already week three of east vs west style, and we're back showing you how we rock metallics. while normally loud and shiny come to mind, these ladies prove there are lots of subtle ways to incorporate metallics into your outfits with accessories and shoes. visit them to see full details of their outfits.

here's the crew:

east

Jackie / Living After Midnite / New York

Jessica / My Style Vita / Georgia

Tracy / TheRightShoes / New York

west

Ashley / Golden Divine / Arizona

Ashley / Pursuit of Shoes / California

Becks / oomph. / Hawaii

other than my gold zara jeans, i really didn't have anything metallic in my wardrobe. so when this top from persun arrived,

i was ecstatic to find that it had metallic embroidery.

i knew it would be perfect for this week's theme, but i

had to wait three weeks to wear it!

(peplum top, persun c/o; guess denim, justfab bag c/o; claw bracelet, eFoxCity c/o)

in case you missed it:

east vs west style . denim shorts

east vs west style . nautical stripes

here are some of my metallic picks:

*     *     *

enter the coach bag giveaway here

[oomph] eats. grilled romaine.

as someone who loves and consumes a lot of salads, i know how i like them...cold and crisp. but i changed my mind after trying the signature salad (grilled romaine) at a fairly new restaurant, grylt. while the overall restaurant experience was just ok and the food a bit salty, i did like the idea of grilled romaine. romaine lettuce is hearty enough to withstand heat, and done right, it's still crispy and even sweet. you can find a bunch of recipes on the internet, each with its own twist,

but here's the basics:

romaine hearts, halved lengthwise

olive oil

coarse salt and pepper

shredded parmesan cheese

brush hearts with olive oil, salt and pepper,

grill until slightly charred, top with cheese and serve.

signature salad + steak add-on from grylt restaurant.

beef barley soup & acai bowl.

*     *     *

week #3 of east vs. west [coast] style coming up tomorrow!

so far we've rocked denim shorts and nautical stripes.

can you guess what's next? stay tuned.

*     *     *

last week to enter!

enter the coach bag giveaway here

twinkle toes + top sunscreens.

tgif.

i'm ecstatic about these longer days...the idea of having an extra hour of daylight just excites me. i'm hoping that the weather holds up as we plan to head out to waimea valley tomorrow to stroll through their botanical gardens and take the short hike to the waterfall. i haven't been there in ages, so i'm looking forward to it. and while i'm on the north shore, i'm hoping to make a stop at ted's bakery for bread pudding and maybe the general store for shave ice. my mouth is watering already.

since we use a lot of sunscreen, i browsed EWG's list of best sunscreens for ones that had high ratings for uva protection, uva/uvb balance, and sunscreen stability and low health concerns (least amount of harmful chemicals). out of the 184 that made their list, here's a few i want to try:

eco logical skin care body all natural sunscreen, spf 30

thinksport livestrong sunscreen, spf 50

la roche-posay anthelios 15 sunscreen cream

thinkbaby sunscreen, spf 50

green babies zinc oxide sunscreen

what's on your agenda this weekend?

(JustFab New Orleans in nude c/o)

who doesn't love a little bling on their feet?

i've nicknamed these twinkle toes.

hooked on these granola bars...all of them were good.

(ON shirt; guess shorts; ray-bay arista sunglasses)

shop the look:

*     *     *

enter the coach bag giveaway here

chambray + summer fruits.

today is summer solstice here in honolulu, and we'll be experiencing the longest days of the year with the sun rising at around 5:50 am (although, i can't confirm this as i'm still sleeping) and setting around 7:18 pm. i'm not sure how this will actually affect our routine, but it just excites me. alaska will have sunrises at 4:20 am and sunsets at 11:42 pm...nineteen hours. can you imagine?! for all of us who complain about not having enough hours in the day...we need to get there.

what i do know is that i love lazy summer days and all the fruits that are available at this time. scroll down to see what we've been enjoying. and speaking of fruits, you might be surprised to find that some of your favorites are the most harmful in terms of chemicals and pesticides. you can see a list of the "dirty dozen" at my other blog, mobile morsels. one of our favorites was at the top of the list.

what are you enjoying this summer?

(and summer kick-off giveaway winner announced. did you win?)

a lightweight chambray is a summer essential.

i love wearing it with white denim and a hint of leopard. 

 fruits are always readily available at home for the minis,

but they will go untouched in the refrigerator drawers.

plate it and they will come!

can't tell you how many times this plate was

replenished last weekend.

lemons and orange slices for a refreshing citrus-flavored water.

fresh mango isn't my favorite...but pickled? i love!

thanks to my neighbor, S, for this yummy batch.

a cherries-pineapple-lychee fruit platter for the office. 

(ON chambray; express shorts; ray-ban arista in green)

shop the look: