Category Archives: hawaii

CIRCLE ISLAND no. 02 | leonard’s bakery.

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whenever people visit us here on oahu, we usually take them to leonard’s bakery during their stay.  i might be one of the few people on this planet that actually doesn’t care for malasadas (those sugary fried dough balls pictured above)…only because i’m more of a chocolate-with-rainbow-sprinkles-donut kind of girl.  however, that doesn’t stop me from introducing our guests to this bakery since 99% of the population really love these glorified donuts.  (i personally take more interest in their cute pink boxes for their good design!)  a few things to note: you may wait in a pretty long line if you come here because tour buses drop people off here in loads throughout the day.  but if you go early in the morning, you might have a better chance of avoiding the crowds and getting a super fresh (and super hot!) malasada.  enjoy!

the [unflattering] jumpsuit.

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first off – thank you all so much for your kind response to my new site!  it really means a lot, so THANKS!

now…can we just talk about how i chose to wear the most unflattering and shapeless piece of clothing this weekend when i was taking pics for my new site?!?  woops.  i got this jumpsuit a few weeks ago and it is by far one of my favorite articles of clothing.  but i definitely feel like an oompa loompa when i wear it, especially when it’s windy and fabric is billowing all over the place.  so i’m still not too sure what i was thinking to wear it for such an occasion, but i was pretty comfy and that is #1 in my book…even if my hips do look double their size.

playing tourist.

lauravisit1 lauravisit8laura2laura5laura3laura1reis and i had such a fun time with laura and peter during their visit last week.  laura and i also spent some quality girl time together getting fried at the beach (i’m still waiting for my rudolph of a nose to turn into a tan).  i love playing tourist when visitors are in town and going places i wouldn’t normally go if they weren’t here.  but i equally love nights in where we cook dinner and it feels like our visitors live here.  one night she dyed my hair while we watched the season finale of the bachelor and ate ice cream.  it felt like we were right back in college when we were housemates and that kind of thing was the norm.  miss those days!  i’m so excited they will only be a drive away in a few months!

i love when friends visit.

lauravisit2lauravisit3lauravisit4one of my best friends laura and her boyfriend peter came to visit reis and me for the week and it’s been SO much fun having them here!!  we had a great weekend touring them around the island which included good food (+ plenty of dessert), good conversation, beach time, stops at our favorite coffee shops, our weekly trek to the north shore, and movie-watching.

*laura is actually the matchmaker who introduced me to my lover man reis in santa barbara 5 years ago!  she was friends with him long before i knew him, and then i practically BEGGED her to set me up with him once i met him.  i’m really glad my begging paid off.

diy acai bowl.

acaibowl7acaibowl5acaibowl6acaibowl3acai bowls are really, really good.  they are my favorite thing to eat for lunch and i always eat them the same: strawberries, bananas, and granola on top, no honey, hold the berries.  but ya know what else?  they are so expensive!  especially in hawaii.  with my recent shift to freelance life, we’ve had to adjust our monthly spending habits and a $10 bowl just isn’t in the everyday budget.  so now we make our own.  and they are just as tasty!  here’s how i make mine:

1 // blend 1 sambazon acai packet + handful of frozen strawberries + 1 frozen banana (makes it super thick!)
2 // top with granola + fresh fruit

*i highly recommend using a vitamix or some other decent blender.  we don’t have one but it’s at the top of my wishlist.  i think i got our current blender for a dollar at a garage sale and it majorly struggles when trying to puree all that frozen fruit.  i swear the motor is just going to blow up one of these days.

a day at the spa.

relax7relax3relax1relax5relax7last friday was an exciting day.  i FINALLY finished my new site/portfolio/blog design and sent it off to my developer!  i was honestly getting sick of working on it and could not have been more happy to pass it off.  now i can’t wait to see it live…hopefully in a few weeks!  back in october at my bridal shower, one of my very best friends heather and her mom gifted me a luxurious spa day at the moana surfrider in waikiki.  and it could not have been a more perfect day to indulge!  after an all-nighter and sending the files off to get coded, i high-tailed it to waikiki, enjoyed an afternoon at the spa, and then laid out at the pool with an acai bowl.  not gonna lie, it was prettttty amazing.  i’m so thankful for such a relaxing (and indulgent) afternoon! thanks so much heath!!

CIRCLE ISLAND no. 01 | makapu’u.

makapuu10makapuu9makapuu4makapuu1i present to you yet another new column here on jayAdores!  this one is called CIRCLE ISLAND and i will be showcasing things to do around oahu for any of you who plan on coming to visit this pretty little island.

first up: makapu’u point lighthouse trail.  these photos were taken back in november when my family came out for our hawaii wedding reception.  this day was particularly beautiful with an amazing sunset (but to be honest, we are blessed with many of those here in hawaii).  it’s a short walk/hike – definitely more of a walk than a hike and not strenuous at all – and when you reach the top, the views are incredible!   sometimes you can even see whales!  it’s a short drive from hawaii kai on the east side of the island and if you aren’t into real hiking, i would for sure take a trip here!

a morning in waikiki.

waikiki1waikiki3waikiki5last week on reis’ day off, we had a morning date in waikiki that involved iced coffee and a beach walk.  i love morning outings on weekdays because everywhere is more quiet and less crowded.  you won’t find us in waikiki very often, but this day was particularly beautiful and it’s a close drive from our house.  i also carried my new samudra x ladyslider clutch that reis got me for christmas!  our friend tara makes them and i dig her whole collection.  but this one is my favorite!  it’s perfectly fashionable and super functional.  i use it whenever i go out for errands or coffee runs and it fits my phone, wallet, keys, and even my big dslr (though i don’t recommend lugging one of those around in a clutch)!  check out her shop HERE. and her blog HERE.   it’s pretty great and will probably make you want to pack up your stuff and move to hawaii.