Calvin and Bella right after we started the fire- a little skeptical.
Shortly after- she's in puppy heaven. Friday, November 6, 2009
It's fall in Seattle!
It's kind of weird to reminisce about Hawaii when it's currently 100% fall here. Meaning chilly, rainy days, falling colored leaves, barely topping 50 degrees each day. I love it though! We have been bundling up and going on long, chilly fall walks in between rain showers, playing with Bella in the leaves, we've made pumpkin bread and homemade soups, we've been drinking lots of tea and reading/cuddling when it's raining, and best of all- we've started having fall fires! Since we have such an open floor plan, the room doesn't get very hot like it did in our old place so we can just sit by the fire and enjoy it. The below are pictures of the first fire...we pulled out a bed for Bella to see if she would lay by it. She was a little unsure but eventually came around and loved the warmth.
Calvin and Bella right after we started the fire- a little skeptical.
Shortly after- she's in puppy heaven.
Calvin and Bella right after we started the fire- a little skeptical. Shortly after- she's in puppy heaven. 
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Maui, Hawaii Day 2-October 19, 2009
After a great first day on the island, we were up EARLY on the second day. We tried our hardest to stay up late the day before so that we could acclimate to Hawaii time. But getting up at 3am Hawaii time (6am Seattle time) to catch our flight the previous day made it a bit difficult that night. I think we made it till 8pm. Lame. And then when 3am Hawaii time rolled around on our 2nd day, we were both wide awake but made ourselves stay in bed until around 6am. Good old jet lag. Anyway, pictures again tell the best story of our day. Here we go:
After getting up, we went to breakfast and managed to capture a couple of pictures. It's pretty representative of most of our mornings on Hawaii. Breakfast outside, by the pool, views of the ocean, drinking tea, reading the local newspaper- fabulous!
The drinking tea and newspaper part.
Walking around and a quick stroll to the beach after breakfast.
We decided that we were going to drive to Haleakala (the volcano on the east side of the island) on this day since it was something we hadn't done last year. We originally THOUGHT about getting out of bed at 3am and going to see the sunrise up there since so many people recommend it. But, I have done that before and was really not that impressed and just froze my ass off. Plus, the sunset we saw the night before was awesome enough for us. So, we drove up to Haleakala mid-morning. After a stop at Starbucks.
It's about a 1 1/2-2 hour drive with totally crazy scenery. Crazy in that it is so varied. From beachy/tropical, to farmish, to forest, to volcanic. The above picture would be the farm part.
And a sign marking the entrance to the park.
One of the activities that you can do on the island is to bike down the volcano. They restrict where you can actually bike from now because so many people have gotten injured and some even killed (they used to allow it all the way from the top of the summit- now it's about halfway down). My family and I did this back in 2004 when we visited Maui and it was ok (it was also the same time when we saw the sunrise- you got up at 2am to get picked up, taken to the summit, watch the sun rise, then bike down. So yes, we were one of the last groups to bike from the summit). Anyway, it wasn't my absolute favorite activity because they place the bikers in order from lightest to heaviest. I was at the front of the pack and I felt like I was holding everyone up because I didn't have enough weight to go fast. So I PEDALED the whole time. Down a mountain. Doesn't make much sense. And it was exhausting. Plus, there were a few scary people in our group that I swear had NEVER been on a bike and they were biking DOWN a mountain, on a 2 lane curvy road, with cars... easy to see why they now limit how far people can bike and why people have gotten injured doing this activity. Anyway, the above picture was one of the biking groups that we passed- that brought back all the above memories.
And entering the forest part of the road.
More prairie. You can't really tell from this picture but it was crazy seeing all the prairie right by us but then the panoramic view had the volcano in front of us and the coastline/beaches down below. Awesome.
Up at the summit- we finally made it! Man, we are such elevation wimps. We feel it every time... must have something to do with the fact that we live at sea level. The volcano summit was at 14,000 feet. We were going to do a crater hike up there but changed our mind once we started feeling the elevation... and not to mention it was FREEZING and windy. I had a grandma stop me about halfway up when we went to the ranger station to pee to tell me that she was worried about me freezing. Luckily we had planned for it (and had planned to hike) so had all of our winter clothes in the car... we just hadn't changed into them. And really, we only ended up throwing on sweatshirts in the end since our time there was fairly limited. We are not such huge fans of the elevation/cold/windy combinations.
A view out from the summit.
At the summit. FREEZING. About to be blown over.
And T at the summit.
We did have a great sunny day to be there- we had a shot of the big island in view (the lump in the middle of the picture).
And a view of the Maui coastline from above the clouds at 14,000 feet.
On the top are some of the rarest plants in the world. Crazy to me that ANYTHING can grow up there but these things can. They are actually pretty cool looking. I can't remember what they are called other than silver something.... and I'm too lazy to look it up right now.
After visiting Haleakala in the morning, we spent the afternoon in the warm sun at the pool. Loved it.
After hanging at the pool for a few hours, we decided to go on a walk and ended up shopping at the shops at Wailea. There is a boardwalk along the ocean that connects the Fairmont to all of the major hotels along the way. It's probably a mile walk each way to the shops. Tim ended up buying me a couple of presents... a dress and a ring. The dress I was ok with but we were in Tiffany just for fun and I was admiring a ring. As I was walking out of the store, I realized that he was buying it!!! I grumbled a little bit because I did not think it was necessary BUT then again, I can't really grumble too much because I love it (and him for being so nice!)
After we got back from shopping we got dressed and ready for dinner. We went to dinner at Ko, a restaurant on the resort which is kind of an Asian fusion restaurant that is made with all natural, sustainable foods grown on Maui. I say Asian fusion but it's also very specific to foods that are popular in the local Hawaiian culture. It's very delicious!
Tim at dinner... we had a great view and a great sunset- again!
And yours truly. All in all, it was another great day on the island!
After getting up, we went to breakfast and managed to capture a couple of pictures. It's pretty representative of most of our mornings on Hawaii. Breakfast outside, by the pool, views of the ocean, drinking tea, reading the local newspaper- fabulous!
The drinking tea and newspaper part.
Walking around and a quick stroll to the beach after breakfast.
We decided that we were going to drive to Haleakala (the volcano on the east side of the island) on this day since it was something we hadn't done last year. We originally THOUGHT about getting out of bed at 3am and going to see the sunrise up there since so many people recommend it. But, I have done that before and was really not that impressed and just froze my ass off. Plus, the sunset we saw the night before was awesome enough for us. So, we drove up to Haleakala mid-morning. After a stop at Starbucks.
It's about a 1 1/2-2 hour drive with totally crazy scenery. Crazy in that it is so varied. From beachy/tropical, to farmish, to forest, to volcanic. The above picture would be the farm part.
And a sign marking the entrance to the park.
One of the activities that you can do on the island is to bike down the volcano. They restrict where you can actually bike from now because so many people have gotten injured and some even killed (they used to allow it all the way from the top of the summit- now it's about halfway down). My family and I did this back in 2004 when we visited Maui and it was ok (it was also the same time when we saw the sunrise- you got up at 2am to get picked up, taken to the summit, watch the sun rise, then bike down. So yes, we were one of the last groups to bike from the summit). Anyway, it wasn't my absolute favorite activity because they place the bikers in order from lightest to heaviest. I was at the front of the pack and I felt like I was holding everyone up because I didn't have enough weight to go fast. So I PEDALED the whole time. Down a mountain. Doesn't make much sense. And it was exhausting. Plus, there were a few scary people in our group that I swear had NEVER been on a bike and they were biking DOWN a mountain, on a 2 lane curvy road, with cars... easy to see why they now limit how far people can bike and why people have gotten injured doing this activity. Anyway, the above picture was one of the biking groups that we passed- that brought back all the above memories.
And entering the forest part of the road.
More prairie. You can't really tell from this picture but it was crazy seeing all the prairie right by us but then the panoramic view had the volcano in front of us and the coastline/beaches down below. Awesome.
Up at the summit- we finally made it! Man, we are such elevation wimps. We feel it every time... must have something to do with the fact that we live at sea level. The volcano summit was at 14,000 feet. We were going to do a crater hike up there but changed our mind once we started feeling the elevation... and not to mention it was FREEZING and windy. I had a grandma stop me about halfway up when we went to the ranger station to pee to tell me that she was worried about me freezing. Luckily we had planned for it (and had planned to hike) so had all of our winter clothes in the car... we just hadn't changed into them. And really, we only ended up throwing on sweatshirts in the end since our time there was fairly limited. We are not such huge fans of the elevation/cold/windy combinations.
A view out from the summit.
At the summit. FREEZING. About to be blown over.
And T at the summit.
We did have a great sunny day to be there- we had a shot of the big island in view (the lump in the middle of the picture).
And a view of the Maui coastline from above the clouds at 14,000 feet.
On the top are some of the rarest plants in the world. Crazy to me that ANYTHING can grow up there but these things can. They are actually pretty cool looking. I can't remember what they are called other than silver something.... and I'm too lazy to look it up right now.
After visiting Haleakala in the morning, we spent the afternoon in the warm sun at the pool. Loved it.
After hanging at the pool for a few hours, we decided to go on a walk and ended up shopping at the shops at Wailea. There is a boardwalk along the ocean that connects the Fairmont to all of the major hotels along the way. It's probably a mile walk each way to the shops. Tim ended up buying me a couple of presents... a dress and a ring. The dress I was ok with but we were in Tiffany just for fun and I was admiring a ring. As I was walking out of the store, I realized that he was buying it!!! I grumbled a little bit because I did not think it was necessary BUT then again, I can't really grumble too much because I love it (and him for being so nice!)
After we got back from shopping we got dressed and ready for dinner. We went to dinner at Ko, a restaurant on the resort which is kind of an Asian fusion restaurant that is made with all natural, sustainable foods grown on Maui. I say Asian fusion but it's also very specific to foods that are popular in the local Hawaiian culture. It's very delicious!
Tim at dinner... we had a great view and a great sunset- again!
And yours truly. All in all, it was another great day on the island! Monday, November 2, 2009
Maui, Hawaii- Day 1, October 18, 2009
Finally- the start of Hawaii posts! Tim and I left Seattle around 11am on Sunday morning, the 18th and had a direct flight into Maui. It was better than last year because it didn't require getting up at 4am BUT the flight was still direct. We got into Maui at 1pm Hawaii time which was perfect. This really is going to be more of a "picture post" as the pictures can tell the story better than I can so, here we go:
A look down at the beautiful island as we were approaching on the flight in.
And another shot.
And one more of the coastline. I'm always amazed by how clear the water is even from the air- you can see all of the reefs, etc.
The plane ride was FREEZING both ways but once we got into the Maui sun, WOW. HOT. I was all bundled up in sweaters leaving Seattle and on the plane but I striped right down as soon as we were on our way out of the airport. We had one goal in mind: get to the pool (or beach). ASAP.
Tim on the ride to the hotel. We stayed on the Wailea side of Maui again at the Fairmont which is where we stayed last year. Seemed appropriate to celebrate at the same place plus we love it there. The Fairmont is very organic (more so than most hotels) in all of its restaurants and has menu items that are made from organic food or sustainable food that is grown right on Maui. Awesome. All of it's poolside cups, plates, etc. are also all biodegradable. And the hotel is green in other ways too which I won't bore everyone with but we love it for that. Not to mention, it is just so freaking nice and the staff there are awesome to their guests.
When we arrived we got flowers immediately after stepping into our room from my family back in Missouri to wish us a happy 1st anniversary. Love it. They made our room smell awesome all week.
And a shot of the two of us before we changed into our swimsuits.
Shortly after we made it to the pool where we planned to eat, drink and spend the afternoon in the sun. Don't let my Seattle whiteness blind you. I was dark by the end of the week but WOW, I stuck out like a pasty sore thumb that first day.
Mmmmm....my first Maui mojito. So delicious.
Tim lounging with his margarita. It was strong.
A view from where I sat that afternoon. Perfect.
After we left the pool, we walked down to the ocean and got a shot of our resort from the beach in front of it.
We played in the beach for a while and decided to stay down there to watch the sunset. The above is a shot of the east side of Maui from where we were.
And a shot of us on the beach. Sorry about the hair. You would think that I got attacked by a flock of seagulls, juding by how it looks....
Beginnings of the sunset. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves.
Photo shoot by the rocks near the ocean.
And one of Tim.
A shot of the coastline looking to the west. Beautiful.
And taking a picture of Timmy as we were relaxing and watching the sunset. It was a gorgeous night and by far the best sunset we had all week. Perfect ending to our first day back in Maui.
A look down at the beautiful island as we were approaching on the flight in.
And another shot.
And one more of the coastline. I'm always amazed by how clear the water is even from the air- you can see all of the reefs, etc.
The plane ride was FREEZING both ways but once we got into the Maui sun, WOW. HOT. I was all bundled up in sweaters leaving Seattle and on the plane but I striped right down as soon as we were on our way out of the airport. We had one goal in mind: get to the pool (or beach). ASAP.
Tim on the ride to the hotel. We stayed on the Wailea side of Maui again at the Fairmont which is where we stayed last year. Seemed appropriate to celebrate at the same place plus we love it there. The Fairmont is very organic (more so than most hotels) in all of its restaurants and has menu items that are made from organic food or sustainable food that is grown right on Maui. Awesome. All of it's poolside cups, plates, etc. are also all biodegradable. And the hotel is green in other ways too which I won't bore everyone with but we love it for that. Not to mention, it is just so freaking nice and the staff there are awesome to their guests.
When we arrived we got flowers immediately after stepping into our room from my family back in Missouri to wish us a happy 1st anniversary. Love it. They made our room smell awesome all week.
And a shot of the two of us before we changed into our swimsuits.
Shortly after we made it to the pool where we planned to eat, drink and spend the afternoon in the sun. Don't let my Seattle whiteness blind you. I was dark by the end of the week but WOW, I stuck out like a pasty sore thumb that first day.
Mmmmm....my first Maui mojito. So delicious.
Tim lounging with his margarita. It was strong.
A view from where I sat that afternoon. Perfect.
After we left the pool, we walked down to the ocean and got a shot of our resort from the beach in front of it.
We played in the beach for a while and decided to stay down there to watch the sunset. The above is a shot of the east side of Maui from where we were.
And a shot of us on the beach. Sorry about the hair. You would think that I got attacked by a flock of seagulls, juding by how it looks....
Beginnings of the sunset. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves.
Photo shoot by the rocks near the ocean.
And one of Tim.
A shot of the coastline looking to the west. Beautiful.
And taking a picture of Timmy as we were relaxing and watching the sunset. It was a gorgeous night and by far the best sunset we had all week. Perfect ending to our first day back in Maui.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
A note on natural smells
To start-this probably isn't going where you think it's going.
If anyone has been reading this blog for a while or if anyone that's new to it knows me, I'm a bit of a treehugger, admittedly. I go green, I try to be organic- in all aspects of my life. As far as perfumes and deodorants, I've been struggling a bit in this area. I'm not totally natural... and no, even I will not be 100% "natural" body smelling. Ick. I'm not that hardcore. Probably like most ladies out there, I've tried pretty much every perfume on the face of this earth... I mean, I've had my favorites but I like to switch it up depending on seasons, moods, type of events (IE: you can't wear a "work" perfume to a night out or vice versa...) The perfumes I've tried are endless: Chanel No. 5 (who HASN'T bought this at least once), Gucci Flora, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren Romance, Calvin Klein (eternity, mostly- but I've tried several), Armani Code, Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, and on and on. The list really is endless. I wasn't joking.
My whole problem with perfumes is and has always been that I want to smell good (GREAT even) but most perfumes have all of that artificial, unnatural synthetic shit in them (and for those who care about the more technical side of things, that shit in most perfumes (and most makeups- which is why I wear organic mineral based makeups which I won't talk about now because it would be a huge tangent) can be some or all of the following: petrochemicals, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oils, silicone, synthetic dyes, sulfates, parabens, DEA/TEA, PEGs, etc). And since you spray perfumes on your skin (which, by the way is the largest organ on your body), then all of that shit just goes straight into your skin and throughout your whole body. Gross. I've tried and tried to overlook it but can't really anymore. Now, I'm not saying that I won't use any of my favorite brands that I listed above ever again, I'm just saying that I might only use them every once in a great while...for a special occasion or something. I've just been feeling bad about wearing them every. day. Some of them might even be more healthy than others, I don't really know but I do know that none of them purport to be 100% natural.
So.
I was reading in my Natural Health magazine last month about a brand called Lavanila. I'd heard about this brand before and maybe have even seen it at Sephora once or twice but haven't given it much of my time. The article was about healthy deodorants but in this article they went on to talk about the brand Lavanila and the awesomeness of the perfume, too. The brand claims to be 100% natural- natural and organic ingredients, non-toxic, vitamin-rich antioxidants, pure essential oils, safe/effective, eco-friendly, and does not animal test. REALLY. Well, you have my attention now, Natural Health. That sure sounds great and EXACTLY what I've been hoping to find.
Everyone knows that a lot of things "healthy" aren't always the best smelling/tasting, what have you. Even I can attest to that and it's part of the reason that I don't have a natural perfume yet. But, I got brave and looked into it and decided to try it out. I bought a big vanilla/grapefruit perfume (I should add that I was having a VERY brave day because it was a $60 BIG bottle), a roll on vanilla/coconut travel perfume and a vanilla/grapefruit deodorant (more on the deodorant later). I have never been a huge vanilla person so I was a little bit skeptical at whether or not it would be worth it but I was willing to try...and I was feeling brave, as mentioned. They did have a pure vanilla scent but like I said, not so into that.
So, my conclusion? I absolutely LOVE IT. The vanilla/grapefruit perfume smells very light and fresh. I was glad that it's not really TOO much overpowered one way or the other- too vanilla or too grapefruit. And it's not really too citrusy either. It's a really nice balance of smells. The vanilla/coconut is ok...I might wear it every once in a while but I'm not as big of a fan. It smells a bit too much like suncreen or something and I'm not totally sure that I love vanilla/coconut together. So far, I've been wearing the vanilla/grapefruit every day and it's awesome. I've even gotten compliments on how good I smell and people asking what I'm wearing... YES! So I'm being natural AND it's healthy. Nothing makes me happier.
So, as promised, a word on deodorant. I was using Tom's of Maine (apricot), an all natural brand that I've always gotten at Whole Foods (but lately I've seen it at Safeway, Walgreens, etc. as well). I've always been pretty happy with it because it is a healthy deodorant with nothing unnatural at all and most importantly, no aluminum. BUT my complaint with it is that it totally dried out my armpits. Which was annoying. So, I've been using the Lavanila deodorant now for a while since I got brave and tried it, along with everything else. Again, I LOVE IT. It doesn't dry out my armpits and still has a nice smell...it actually kind of smells a bit like baby powder, I think. Doesn't really have the vanilla/grapefruit type of smell that the perfume has. The only problem is that it's $18, which is a bit pricey for deodorant. I think that Tom's is around $6-$7. But I'll probably keep paying for Lavanila if I continue to love it as much as I currently do. I am a happy camper with my new natural smelling finds.
If anyone has been reading this blog for a while or if anyone that's new to it knows me, I'm a bit of a treehugger, admittedly. I go green, I try to be organic- in all aspects of my life. As far as perfumes and deodorants, I've been struggling a bit in this area. I'm not totally natural... and no, even I will not be 100% "natural" body smelling. Ick. I'm not that hardcore. Probably like most ladies out there, I've tried pretty much every perfume on the face of this earth... I mean, I've had my favorites but I like to switch it up depending on seasons, moods, type of events (IE: you can't wear a "work" perfume to a night out or vice versa...) The perfumes I've tried are endless: Chanel No. 5 (who HASN'T bought this at least once), Gucci Flora, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren Romance, Calvin Klein (eternity, mostly- but I've tried several), Armani Code, Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, and on and on. The list really is endless. I wasn't joking.
My whole problem with perfumes is and has always been that I want to smell good (GREAT even) but most perfumes have all of that artificial, unnatural synthetic shit in them (and for those who care about the more technical side of things, that shit in most perfumes (and most makeups- which is why I wear organic mineral based makeups which I won't talk about now because it would be a huge tangent) can be some or all of the following: petrochemicals, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oils, silicone, synthetic dyes, sulfates, parabens, DEA/TEA, PEGs, etc). And since you spray perfumes on your skin (which, by the way is the largest organ on your body), then all of that shit just goes straight into your skin and throughout your whole body. Gross. I've tried and tried to overlook it but can't really anymore. Now, I'm not saying that I won't use any of my favorite brands that I listed above ever again, I'm just saying that I might only use them every once in a great while...for a special occasion or something. I've just been feeling bad about wearing them every. day. Some of them might even be more healthy than others, I don't really know but I do know that none of them purport to be 100% natural.
So.
I was reading in my Natural Health magazine last month about a brand called Lavanila. I'd heard about this brand before and maybe have even seen it at Sephora once or twice but haven't given it much of my time. The article was about healthy deodorants but in this article they went on to talk about the brand Lavanila and the awesomeness of the perfume, too. The brand claims to be 100% natural- natural and organic ingredients, non-toxic, vitamin-rich antioxidants, pure essential oils, safe/effective, eco-friendly, and does not animal test. REALLY. Well, you have my attention now, Natural Health. That sure sounds great and EXACTLY what I've been hoping to find.
Everyone knows that a lot of things "healthy" aren't always the best smelling/tasting, what have you. Even I can attest to that and it's part of the reason that I don't have a natural perfume yet. But, I got brave and looked into it and decided to try it out. I bought a big vanilla/grapefruit perfume (I should add that I was having a VERY brave day because it was a $60 BIG bottle), a roll on vanilla/coconut travel perfume and a vanilla/grapefruit deodorant (more on the deodorant later). I have never been a huge vanilla person so I was a little bit skeptical at whether or not it would be worth it but I was willing to try...and I was feeling brave, as mentioned. They did have a pure vanilla scent but like I said, not so into that.
So, my conclusion? I absolutely LOVE IT. The vanilla/grapefruit perfume smells very light and fresh. I was glad that it's not really TOO much overpowered one way or the other- too vanilla or too grapefruit. And it's not really too citrusy either. It's a really nice balance of smells. The vanilla/coconut is ok...I might wear it every once in a while but I'm not as big of a fan. It smells a bit too much like suncreen or something and I'm not totally sure that I love vanilla/coconut together. So far, I've been wearing the vanilla/grapefruit every day and it's awesome. I've even gotten compliments on how good I smell and people asking what I'm wearing... YES! So I'm being natural AND it's healthy. Nothing makes me happier.
So, as promised, a word on deodorant. I was using Tom's of Maine (apricot), an all natural brand that I've always gotten at Whole Foods (but lately I've seen it at Safeway, Walgreens, etc. as well). I've always been pretty happy with it because it is a healthy deodorant with nothing unnatural at all and most importantly, no aluminum. BUT my complaint with it is that it totally dried out my armpits. Which was annoying. So, I've been using the Lavanila deodorant now for a while since I got brave and tried it, along with everything else. Again, I LOVE IT. It doesn't dry out my armpits and still has a nice smell...it actually kind of smells a bit like baby powder, I think. Doesn't really have the vanilla/grapefruit type of smell that the perfume has. The only problem is that it's $18, which is a bit pricey for deodorant. I think that Tom's is around $6-$7. But I'll probably keep paying for Lavanila if I continue to love it as much as I currently do. I am a happy camper with my new natural smelling finds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
