She Sells Sea Shells

I love working with natural materials and these shells I collected on my trip to Hawaii back in January make me dream tropical dreams...

Some are from a Kumu (teacher) who taught us about the local history, nature, and lei making. And some are direct from the ocean to me.

I can't wait to wear them while daydreaming of sea turtles and waves..

Kisses,

K

(All images created and owned by Krista Carson.)

 

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Postcard From Paradise...

Today is our final day in Hawaii, we fly out late tonight at 11pm from Kona.

So we are carrying I our tradition of mailing each other a postcard from our anniversary trip.

Every year, no matter where we are, we decided we would mail each other a note telling the other one why we love them for our anniversary. Our hope is to have a lovely tradition and mementos to pass down to our family someday.

Our anniversary trip was a bit early this year because we planned it to coincide with our Hawaii trip for my sisters wedding (After of course. When in paradise...) but we decided to mail them out on our last day here anyway.

Here's mine for the Husband. (There's two tiny people in that outrigger.)

Can't wait to see which one he chose for me and read what he wrote!

I'll be sure to share more once we've returned home. (Although I still have our Christmas decorations waiting to be put away, ugh...)

So, A Hui Hou (until we meet again) Hawaii and friends.

Tropical Kisses,

K

(Photos created and owned by Krista Carson.)

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First Day in Maui So Far!

So after this...

We landed last night to this...

Then today we woke up to this...

The condo we're staying in has an amazing view!

We even had the special treat of a rainbow while enjoying our morning cup of joe.

Then we headed over to the Ritz Carlton to see my sisters wedding site.

I loved this beautiful altar.

And the view there is stunning!

The beach is stunning.

And the ocean is so many gorgeous shades of blue...

Me, my sister the bride, and the husband.

A bit wind blown.

On the walk up off the beach we stopped at the Jean Michell Cousteau Ambassador Conservation Center where they had Loco and Moco the pigs.

Of course I had to stop and say hello!

They were the cutest! Such little sweeties!

Then we headed over to Star Noodle for lunch. It's supposed to be some of the best noodles on the island and is where Sheldon from Top Chef cooked for a while (not sure if he's still there...).

Any rate... It was sooo yummy!

We started with the Ahi Avo, a seasoned raw ahi and avocado dish that was superb.

Next we indulged in some steamy deliciousness.

These steamed pork buns were so good with the hoisin sauce and spicy mustard they came with.

I'm really loving the steamed bun combo these days.

I had the the Fried Saimin noodles minus the egg, cause I'm allergic. It had kamaboko (the pink and white fish pieces), spam, bean sprouts, and scallions. I wasn't so sure about the spam cause it was my first time trying it... It wasn't bad but it was the dish as a whole that was super good.

The husband had the Lahaina Fried Soup which consists of Fat Chow Funn, ground pork, and bean sprouts. It was yummy too but mine was better.

I washed it all down with some Teazu: iced tea, yuzu, and simple syrup. Definitely something to try to replicate later!

Next we headed back to the condo my parents rented where my sister is staying. Tristan was watching for humpback whales and enjoying the waves and kit boarders.

The view is gorgeous!

So right now we're just chilling out and enjoying all of this!

Maui Kisses,

K

(All photos created and owned by Krista Carson.)

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Hawaii

Been on the plane at the gate for over an hour but this pic makes me think of what's ahead!

It's from Instagram and I'm trying to find the where I saved the photo credits. I will post them once I find them but will hopefully be flying by them!

Hopeful Aloha Kisses,

K

(Photo via Instagram.)

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Hawaii Day Two: The Fish & The Hog

By the time we got up into Waimea the music store was closed and we were haungry! We wanted to find someplace good to eat so we popped in the Starbucks (They truly are everywhere! Waimea is a small country town.) to ask the locals for tips. The consensus was that we should go to the Fish and the Hog for some real Hawaiin barbecue. We had passed by it not long before, it looked like a hole in the wall but sometimes aren't those the best places? So off we went.

In true island fashion it took forever to get our food so by the time it came we just dug in. Which means no pictures, sorry (that's been happening a lot lately actually...). We had a gumbo made with the Fish & Hog's own housemate chorizo to start. It was spicy but so so good!

Next came our barbecue plate, we shared everything. It was brimming full of meat (vegetarians this not for you... Sorry...) and actually consisted of two plates full. There was mouthwatering fall apart brisket, delicious ribs (I even ate them and bones really freak me out), awesome pulled pork, housemade andouille sausage, and of course house spiced fries. We couldn't decide what barbecue sauce to try with them, havering never have either... So the waitress brought us both.

After trying both sauces we still couldn't decide which we preferred. The poniolo sauce was less sweet and a little more traditional. The crackseed (Yes, crackseed. Apparently it's some sort of Asian fruit... Who knew?) was sweeter and smoker and super tasty too!

It was all super delicious!

(Husband patiently waiting for our food. It was c c c cold in up there in Waimea and inside was no exception. We ended up cuddled next to each other on a bench seat instead.)

(Paying for dinner with the day's specials behind.)

(Crackseed! Anyone who knows me well knows why this was specifically super funny to me... Crack chicken anyone?)

(Even though it wasn't that late it was über dark in the little mountain town, between the time of year, volcanic fog, and sparse population there was a dearth of light pretty early on. Kind of eerie.)

After stuffing ourselves silly we started the long drive home to the resort. Our adventure left us sleepy but being foodies, before foodies were the cool thing to be, it was well worth it. If you ever find yourself up that way and get a hankering for some local grub you should definitely check it out. Best barbecue I've had in a long time!

Absurd more amounts of Hawaii yet to come. (Sorry non family peoples but with our cams so spread out and very far away this is the best way for us to share. Also, I take way too many photos.)

Kisses,

K

(All images created and owned by Krista Carson, Please ask permission prior to use.)

 

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Hawaii Day Two: Hapuna Beach State Park

After our morning ukelele lessons we decided to drive up into the mountains and check out the poniolo (cowboy) town of Waimea where Barni had recommended a music store. On the way we stopped at Hapuna Beach State Park to check it out and watch the sunset. It came highly recommended by one of Tristan's co-workers.

We could see why.

The soft ivory sand was a welcome change for our feet from the harsh lava outcroppings and the lack of reefs made it a popular, and easier, surf spot. Lots of local families were enjoying a day at the beach, cooking out, and being active. Between the views, waves, and handy facilities it was clearly a great spot.

(Tristan was all smiles and romance.)

(I was all my usual "Tada! Yay beachy time!")

(You can't quite tell from the photos but Hapuna Beach is in a little cove like spot and the black outcropping to the left of the sun in the photos are actually cliffs that are quite large.)

(We took a moment to document the anniversary part of our trip by writing the date in the sand.)

(We had done the same thing last year on our first anniversary in México but we wrote the wedding date, 01/23/11, instead. This year we figured it made more sense to do the current year for future photo perusal purposes...)

It was a perfect place to kick back and watch a magical sunset. Colors splashed across the sky as waves splashed on the shore. The horizon looked as though a conch shell had opened up its colorful secret interior to you, giving you just a peek, amidst the blues of the ocean and sky.

Azure waves rolled and crashed inland then tumbled to shore criss-crossing over each other as they went. We stayed until all that was left of the sun was an evening's glow and no more. Then we drove off towards the dark and towards a little night's adventure.

Kisses,

K

(All images created and owned by Krista Carson, please ask permission prior to use.)

 

Posted with love, please credit when re-posting.