my life in hawaii

July 26, 2010

Something fabulous happened this last thursday.

I was signed to write a new book deal.

My life in Hawaii.

kind of like the book…my life in france…except…i’m not in france…i’m in hawaii.

It’s not really a cook book life story either…unless you want to know how to boil elbow macaroni…

and then pour powdered cheese on.

nope.

this book is going to be all about my life here…surviving on wine…and macadamia nuts.

oh…

and kona coffee.

seriously…..if you really want to know about the rest of my life in hawaii…

it’s going to have to have some girls to help me out here.

Do you want to know who the girls are?

I will only tell you if you promise not to go crazy on me.

okay.

a deal is a deal.

okay…since you promised….i will tell you.

my babysitter arrived here…with her friend in tow.

That’s right….the babysitter.

babysitter: noun. person who watches children for a living…or person who watches

children in exchange for room and board in a tropical location.

……….

Bryan and i had two GREAT date nights….and a trip out on a catamaran with the older

two kids while “the girls”….watched Fin.

The babysitter has a name…it’s Whitney.

Babysitter brought a friend…her name is Kristen.

and now bryan is headed home….

and i am here with the kids….and “the girls”.

The girls are only here till wedensday…but i feel SO OLD.

They are drinking bacardi and coke….i’m drinking wine.

They are getting ready to head out the door at 10 pm…i’m getting ready to hit the sack at 10pm.

They wear bikini’s….i wear a tankini.

They are ready to get a tattoo with some hawaiian meaning….

i’m ready to sit them down and tell them that it’s not such a great idea.

on the flip side though….

they have met all the “local” boys…who work at the “local” hotel pools….

so we spend each afternoon getting to know each of the hotels.

Did you know Colbie Callet is a local girl here.

yup….i’m in the know.

Did you know that Julia Roberts has a home right up the street….

uh huh….yes she does…and she has a little boy named Finn also.

I’ll let you know as soon as i hook up a play date between the two Fin’s.

I know you are wondering how the heck i scored a three week stint over here in the land of

avocado’s the size of small babies…..

well….

my parents bought a place here…after spending years thinking about it.

sheesh….where was i…..

i must have a lot on my mind…and feel the need to get it all out.

Lover boy left today…..after 8 days here….we dropped him off at the airport this afternoon.

Now i’m stuck with bacardi drinking..tattoo wanting…girls.

Funny thing is….there is a condo full of 20 something boys living next door.

good thing Whitney’s friend is getting her masters degree in divinity.

hooyaw.

I have a good girl here…who’s the bf to my babysitter…and talks to my kids about bible verses.

I might just pour myself a bacardi and coke.

be right back….

yuck.

I’m not a bacardi and coke type of girl.

pour me another glass of pinot grigio….please.

hold up…..

okay…glass is poured…and kids tucked nicely in bed.


just so you know….

since i have been on vacation….i have gained 15 pounds.

I had to pay someone to zip up my dress today.

it wasn’t pretty.

Best part about gaining weight is my once non existent ta-ta’s….now seem to spill over the top

of my new dress.

That made for some interesting chit chat on my date.

Did i mention i had a $6 date last night.

First of all…no need to pay the babysitter.

Second…babysitter bought us a bottle of wine…so we packed up that bottle…and drove a few miles

to a sheeee sheeee hotel. The kind of hotel where they valet park your car.

Except our car was a Ford Focus.

nice.

I hopped out of the Ford Focus…..with my bottle of wine nicely packaged in a plastic bag

from the grocery store…and a few plastic glasses.

good thing i didn’t have my jean shorts on.

not.that.it.would.have.mattered.

Bryan and i walked thru the SWANKY decent hotel to sit and watch the sunset

from the beach.

As we were sitting on OUR log…another couple came walking by…and the man said…..

‘we’ve been coming here for 15 years…this is our log’…

to which bryan said….

‘have a seat….you are more then welcome to share it with us’….

and you know what….they did.

We watched the sunset together….all squashed upon this log.

Bryan whispered to me as we were sitting there…

‘do you think that’s his daughter’?…

to which i replied…..

um…i don’t think so.

Dad’s don’t bring a bottle of champagne to a secluded log in order to share it with their daughter.

At least my dad never did that.

Maybe yours did…and i am WAY.OUT.OF LINE.HERE.SUGGESTING.THAT.

So here we are….beginning of week two….

glass of pinot in hand….macaroni dinner made and eaten…..

hotel pools have been swam in…..

and let me tell you….i have swam in the ocean….in the deep end…

and i mean….DEEP END….as in…out in the ocean…where there are SHARKS…

and i lived to tell about it.

Speaking of sharks……..

i don’t know how this picture got here….it must be the wine.

ummmm.

actually…it must be the bacardi and coke.

………….

p.s. if you are mandies mumblings…email me…you just won an Anthro gift card.

Tagged family Filed Under Uncategorized 38 Comments

the art of friendship

July 25, 2010


Well hello there! My name is Kim and I write
a little blog called Mimi Charmante .When Kasey was
planning her trip to the tropics, she asked me if I would be
interested in writing a guest post while she is off enjoying the sand
and surf of Hawaii. I, OF COURSE, jumped at the chance. I mean, we
did just spend a week traveling through France together - I do now
refer to her as Chicago-bestie when talking about her to my husband,
and I truly miss her, terribly sometimes, when I think of our time
spent together in Paris and the south of France.

So while Kasey is enjoying her time lounging
on white sand beaches, drinking fruity drinks with little umbrellas
and slices of pineapple, and working on her tan, I thought I would
share a bit about how Kasey became my world-traveling bestie.
You see, Kasey was, for me, the perfect travel
partner. She was Louise to my Thelma - if Louise was calm, cool, and
collected (not to mention witty, adventurous, fearless, and
hysterical) and Thelma was a type-A, cautious, uppity, control-freak
(who was also hysterical). She encouraged me to do all sorts of
things that I would have NEVER done on my own, such as breaking into
someone’s perfectly private French courtyard to sit on their doorstep
taking photos as if it were our own, even though they could arrive
home at any god-forsaken moment and yell at us in beautiful yet
profane French… or there was the evening that we sat by the Seine
in a little French cafe with Simone, smoking French ciggies, drinking
French wine, and realizing that honestly, we *should* be living in a
French apartment of our own, in Paris, living the life of French
girls. Because, really, we blended so well…



When we were planning our trip, Kasey
suggested we rent Vespas to tour the French countryside. Really,
Vespas. On the French back roads? With French {crazy} drivers?
Really? But, you see, she rolls like that. She really does~




Kasey was also the perfect photography
partner. She too wanted to stop every. five. feet. and shoot EVERY
single window, door, and roofline. She climbed over 300 steps up the
absolutely tiniest, narrowest, miniscule stairwell to get the best
view of Paris - and then had to climb back down all 300+ stairs…
She was also willing to jump in a taxi 20 minutes before the cemetery
that we wanted to take photos of was closing. We raced over and spent
time shooting beautiful old gravestones as the sun began to set, and
then walked ALL the way back to our hotel, just to experience
everything we possibly could while we were there. And we appreciated
every moment we had - even if there simply weren’t enough moments. I
think we could have filled a month together, traveling around that
beautiful country. Granted, next time we go, I will be packing a bit
lighter. Who knew that the trains from the airport to the center of
Paris would be so difficult to navigate with the excess baggage? I
mean, we were in Paris - I NEEDED those outfits! Somehow I had
forgotten how many stairs there were in the metro… lots and lots of
stairs…
Our time in the south was amazing
- zipping around those round-abouts in our tiny French car, shopping
the brocante in the *cutest* little French town on a beautiful river,
enjoying foods we would have never tried here, and staying at a
fabulous French farmhouse. It was heaven, it really was~





I wish we lived closer.
The amazing thing about blogging is that you meet some incredible
people - some of whom become your dearest friends. The bad thing is
that sometimes, the ones you love the most live so far away….

I hope you are having a
fabulous time Chicago-bestie. Enjoy that beach - maybe our next trip
together needs some sand and fabulous turquoise water…?


xx

all photos found here
…………………….
*winner of Antrho giveaway will be up on next post!


Tagged life, travel Filed Under Uncategorized 15 Comments

I might move here

July 23, 2010

We have had some very busy days here in Kauai.

Day two started off with a hike down a hill…past a waterfall…and ending up at a

place called Queens bath.

We all thought we could do the hike in our flip flops…..

errrr…

actually….all we had were our flip flops….so no choice but to hike down the ravine..

in the mud….

two miles each way….

up hill…

in the snow.

Alright….so i might have exaggerated a teeeeeeny tiiiiny bit.

There is no snow here….but there is a lot of red mud..especially after it rains.

We survived though….and that little place called Walmart came in real handy

when i had to go buy cheap beach shoes…so that we could do some more

out.of.our.element. hiking.

Luckily….no one fell on our hike down in the mud….but we came across a great waterfall…

and the end result was unbelievable.

Queens bath is this large pool of ocean water carved into a lava shelf with an inlet

from the ocean that seawater flows into.

I’m not going to lie…i was a little nervous with the kids…

thinking that they would be swept out to sea…

but luckily Bryan is A LITTLE LOT more adventurous than i am.

If it was just me….we would all be sitting on a little beach with NO ONE swimming in the

DANGEROUS ocean.

I mean really….do you realize how many people get attacked by sharks?

hundreds…..thousands maybe.

{bryan made me check …and there have only been 14 here in the last 25 years}

damn….i guess i will have to go swimming more.


day three had us feeling like we needed to take advantage of some scenery from

high up in the hills. We started the morning off early….

and since we are five hours earlier here then in chicago…we have not had a problem

with sleeping in.

We drove over to Waimea….for the drive up the canyon.

Bryan was feeling like papa smurf on the drive up.

How much longer dad….are we there yet dad….dad..i need to pee…honey..i need to take a photo.


Once we got back down….we headed into the sweet old town of Hanapepe.

There was only one place to eat…and if you like stricktly vegetarian…then this is the place for you.

The desserts were amazing….but i was in the mood for something with pork…

i was feeling hawaiian and all.


Every day we are trying new beaches. Our favorites so far is Po’ipu beach park…

because they have a calm little bay for snorkelling and a small island that houses some

endangered monk seals. Our other favorite is right next to us…Hanalei Bay…because of great sand..

nice waves for boogy boarding…and this is where mason will be taking his surfing lesson

next week. I’m still trying to talk lola into it.

Lola said she will THINK about it.

which means…..i doubt it.

Have you ever had shave ice?

If you have not…then don’t read this when i tell you…

it.is.amazing.

We had ours with a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream underneath the flavored shave ice.

Of course…no one wanted to share…so we all had to get our own.




tomorrow we are waking up early….and hopping on a catamaran boat for a snorkel and sail

up the Na Pali coast. We are just taking the big kids….leaving the white haired boy behind.

It’s a good thing…because….white haired boy doesn’t fear much these days…and i could

see him tossing himself off the side of the boat the minute he saw a sea turtle.

p.s. i will show you my new fav WALMART shorts soon.

p.s.s. i will also introduce you to my new best friend soon.

p.p.s.s. there is a Coffee Bean very close by….{if you live in cali..you know this place} i heart it more than starbucks.

p.p Fin has definately Pee’d more than his fair share in the bushes at the beach.

p.p.s. over and out…i’ll be back soon.

Tagged life, travel Filed Under Uncategorized 34 Comments
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