Lantern Floating Ceremony

Today we went to the Lantern Floating Ceremony at Ala Moana Beach Park. It was beautiful and calming--something I feel like I've been missing recently. For those who aren't familiar with this Hawaii Memorial Day tradition, it's one that began about 13 years ago by a Buddhist priest (?). Traditionally, it's done during Obon in August but it's been adapted to take place during Memorial Day here. One thing I enjoy most about the ceremony is that people of every faith and cultural heritage join together for a day of peace.

Name tags

Salena is on a roll....

Meanwhile...

Brent and his dad, Uncle Bryon, made delicious dessert. Uncle Bryon made blueberry scones and Brent made cinnamon and honey topped waffles with ice cream...I haven't gotten to the scone yet but I've never been disappointed ever.

Arts & Crafts with Grandma Ibe

Salena is definitely enjoying quality time With Brent's family. She made beaded name tags!

Happy birthday, Grandpa Gerald!

We celebrated Brent's grandpa's birthday today (it was actually a week ago) at Tony Roma's. Salena came along with me because my parents went to the 2011 Na Hoku HanoHano Awards show (*proud moment: Junior won an award tonight! *gloating~**). Anyway, dinner was delicious (I got the Ultimate Combo--sounds ultimate, right?) and we succeeded in singing a little birthday song before heading back to his grandparent's place for dessert. Salena gets along very well with Brent's family and for that I'm very glad.

HASR Wine Co.

Who knew? There's a cite little wine boutique shop on Pauahi Street. Our last stop was here and I must say, I am impressed. This place is definitely a wino heaven, hands down. They do free wine tasting every Tuesday and Friday from 5-7p. I'm currently sipping on the owner's favorite--J. Moss Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm not a reds person but this might become a favorite.

Tales of the Mango Giant

Don't be fooled by the beauty of this scene. Behind the statue is a man of terrible tantrum--the Mango Giant. A burly, hairy man of about 9' 5" (or less...I wasn't looking carefully). Anyway, he was huge and scary. While Zack was innocently shooting this very scene, the Mango Giant came roaring out from nowhere, yelling at Zack to "get that f***ing camera out of my face! It's like you're pointing a gun!!" Zack tries to explain that the man wasn't even in the shot but to no avail...he got a mango thrown at him. So beware when you walk that statue...you might get a mango thrown at you.

Brasserie du Vin

My favorite place in chinatown...they have a new pastry chef. I think I'm in love with her food.

Mauna Kea Marketplace

OMG people eat bullfrogs!!!! Even worse, they're available fresh!!!! Wow, only in Chinatown...

Montage!

Fighting Eel HQ

Ran into Jace! I love their new headquarter in downtown...so fun! I also get to do an outfit montage!!!

Chinatown!

Meet Zack (left) and Gary--the film crew for today's awesome adventure. We began at Otto Cake but I didn't get a chance to take any pics (oops sorry!). Cute little hole-in-the-wall with the best cheesecakes ever.

Next we shot our opening scene in front of the famous Wo Fat Chop Sui Building.

As promised...

Hello World,

  I've missed you as always. Blame Foursquare for my lack of my usual "check-in" binges; i can not just check-in on an app and let that by that. Plus I can add friends so.....if you like being on a hunt for special discounts and discovering hidden gems whilst informing your friends of your current location then I highly suggest you sign up today. Currently, I'm the major of "my mind" because, welp, some mornings, I'll check-in there. If there was a check-out section, I'd probably be checking-out more often than I check in but they haven't quite gotten to that point yet. 

  Anyway, my point is that I've missed you, even if you don't believe it. I love to talk--erm--write and play catch up and I feel like I've been slacking on that.

  So quick summary of my past month...and a half:

-Had a great trip: Brent and his group (The Hype--you can see Brent in the very beginning, he's on the left side of the guy in the middle) won the World of Dance LA competition with the highest score ever (they got a 99.6 out of 100)! I've decided that Disneyland is the best!...At least, that's what I'll claim until I get a chance to go to  Disney World, and even then, I'll probably think that Harry Potter Land topped them all. I'm already planning my next trip. I'm stuck deciding on where to go though....and raising the money for it. *Sigh...* I can always dream. I'm doing good so far on my New Year's Resolution.

- Made a new friend, Brittany. She's our new employee and she's awesome! She's not Seychelle, but we do get along on a different level and I'm still in contact with Sey (she's doing just fine). So...you'll hear about Brittany a lot more now. Britt is also getting married in July! She's invited me to go but since my finances are a bit depleted, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it. I am living vicariously through her while she plans for her last minute big wedding (head count went from 50 people to about 150 people...yikes!) so I get my girly planning fix from Britt since Vicki hasn't mentioned if she's starting to plan yet (*eh-hem* ).

-Brent injured his back. He's got a herniated disc which probably occurred during our trip to Cali (he was complaining about his lower back then) and as a result, I've had about 109 heart attacks over the course of the past two weeks. He's recovering but he was on crutches for a while because he couldn't walk. I'm getting anxious just thinking about it again!

-Our Anniversary was last weekend. We got to hang out and spend quality time together all weekend (I wasn't about to let him out of his house with his back injury) but I know he was a bit bummed about not going anywhere so we decided to postpone our anniversary outing until he's fully recovered and I'm not drowning in work.

-...which is what I will be doing this weekend and all next week. It's fashion magazine week which means you will all be getting a Fall Trend report Sasch-Style very soon. I can update you now if you'd like but this is becoming an awfully loooooooong post so I'll spare you.

-This past week, I got braces again....well, sorta. I have an Invisalign tray for my bottom teeth because my permanent retainer popped off a few months ago and my teeth are starting to shift again after years of braces (uh-uh...not cool). So now I talk with a slight lisp and my gums are uncomfortable but at least it'll only be for 6 months...at least that's what my dentist says.

-Tomorrow, will be a very busy day and I'm going to take you along with me. I'll be hosting a program for our shopping channel (in hotels) as the fashion editor and tomorrow, I'm going to be covering Chinatown/ Downtown. I'm really excited. I won't give away all the stops because it'll ruin the fun but I know it's going to be awesome. Wish me luck!

Oh, and as promised....PICTURES FROM CALI!!!...enjoy!

California dusk.

Our train station was in the middle of a HUGE parking lot, behind this concert hall.

We missed the first train but finally managed to get on the next one...an hour and a half later.

I felt right at home in this expect, the Japanese metro's are wayyy cleaner. Go figure.

No underground shopping mall like in Japan....America needs to get it together.

On Hollywood Blvd.

Met with Haines who took us to his favorite wine spot...the Chateau Marmont. I LOVED it.

Chateau Marmont and all it's fabulousness.

Need I say more?

In the super van....

Brent's version of heaven. Well, if it was heaven, they'd be serving him malasadas there too.

We didn't get a chance to go to In-n-Out Burger (I know!) but there was a Johnny Rocket's

Saw the largest dog ever.

Met up with Trina!

Hawaii Pride! Everyone was going crazy when they announced The Hype as the winner.

Proud gf.

Paparazzi Mom mode.

I'm not really into zoos because I think they're cruel but I've gotta admit, once I looked past the fact that the cages were so small, it was cool to see all the animals....refused to see a show though.

Inside the entrance to San Diego Zoo.

Brent wore his "Safari" dunks for the occasion.

I made friends with a gargantuan turtle.

They had antlers in the petting zoo. How insensitive to the goats.

DISNEYLAND~!!!!!!! Waiting in line for space mountain with The Hype.

Buzz Lightyear ride. I totally almost beat Brent. Totally.

We got stuck on the Space Mountain Ride at the highest peak. We got to go behind the scenes but they we pretty strict about me being a paparazzi.

We got fast passes as a reward for our troubles.

Disneyland-style "bentos." Note: NEVER order the Asian version. I almost took it back but I was too hungry to complain.

Our friend, Lawerence as Woody. Brent and I were too chicken to get on the Tower of Terror with everyone else so we waited outside.

Paradise Pier in California Adventureland.

They had a Tron dance party. It was kinda cool.

I recorded the majority of the watershow before realizing that I should probably take a few pics too.

Lego Vader.

Slight Obsession. You don't know what you'll get and then you feel the need to collect them all...

I got Peter Pan.

Brent flatly refused to buy Mickey ears. I forced these goofy ears on him. Notice the earrings at the bottom of the ears.

So magical!

Even more magical! Yes, those are ears on my head.

Met up with Sarah on our last day. We also saw Brent's friend, KJ, but forgot to take a picture with him :(

At LAX. We waited for 12 hours because we didn't realize that our flight left at 630p...not am. Still, it was all worth it and we had a great time in Cali!