Winter blah blah's....

Unfortunately Mama has been suffering from my annual bout with "The Winter Blah Blah's", also know as "I hate you January" and "winter can suck it."  I certainly don't have Seasonal Affective Disorder but the combo of super cold weather, minimal sunny days and months before spring arrives makes me want to act like a grizzly bear and hibernate. No jokes. I'd like to fast forward through this bunk time of the year and jump directly into spring.  I've upped my vitamin D intake, increased my workouts at the gym and tried to stay active. But all I really want to do is not much of anything. I went to the mall for the first time in weeks (which is total craziness) because normally it's my home away from home. 

 I really haven't had much desire to shop lately. Shock and horror.

{Though on Friday I did manage to grab these cute nude Nine West pumps. Someday when I can pry the snow covered UGGS off of my feet I'll be able to wear them. Someday...}

 I go to bed at a decent hour and I'm still tired when I wake up which is super annoying. Where has my energy gone? It's obviously time to start drinking double Red-bulls in the morning because coffee is no longer cutting it.

This time last year we were packing our bags for Hawaii but sadly it's not in the cards this winter. Boo.

 I seriously think that winter vay-cays to sunny destinations should be MANDATORY for people living this far north. Mandatory and Government subsidized.  Sounds like a brilliant idea to me.

January, I'm sooo over you. 

Par-tay!

It was Kid #1's 5th Birthday on Saturday and I decided a while back that it would be a good idea to have a simple, old school style birthday party at our house and invite all his friends from school.  (Does no one have simple kids birthday parties anymore??, there's always clowns, magicians, exotic or expensive locations and apparently you have to drop at least $500 bucks. I say no, this kid is ONLY 5.)  If I'm going to pay through the nose for a party I'll at least do it when he's old enough to remember it!!

We I chose to invite boys only to keep the numbers down...it's not like I'm encouraging gender segregation at an early age, just trying to make things manageable. And believe me 12  five year old boys was MORE then enough for Mama to handle. Fortunately my two besties were able to help out with the pandemonium party fun!

{Kid #1 is five today, whaaat!?!?!)

We had a Sponge Bob/Hawaiian party theme (since Kid is still in love with Hawaii after our holiday in Oahu this winter). The kids ate pizza, plenty of candy and chips, we had a limbo-stick game and a pinata to attack for prizes inside. Good times right?,,,if you're five I guess!

Later that night since my friends were in town to celebrate my birthday too and we really needed to drink have some fun, we went out for dinner to a cute little Italian place downtown, had a couple bottles of red and continued on for drinks at a place called Mercury. 

How do you spell post kids-party relief?!  W-i-n-e.

{Wine = self portrait time}

{ Toothy-grin shot} 

The nice "gentlemen" behind us were kind enough to buy a round of vino...thanks boys, laterz!  Use them then lose them I say!!

It's Mardi Gras... time for the Hawaiian Shoppin' 411

As promised, I'm dedicating a post to my shopping adventures in Honolulu. I swear this will be the last time I talk about Hawaii because there's more to life then tropical islands- unfortunately!

Seriously there are some high-end stores in Honolulu...they've got the Japanese tourist covered head to toe -with Gucci and LV Speedy's of course.  I was shocked at how many designer shops there were in the Ala Moana Center (one of the main malls in Honolulu). Right beside ordinary stores like Ann Taylor and Vic's Secret there was Dior, Harry Winston, Jimmy Choo, Bvlgari, Hermes.... in a MALL!  

And was Mama shopping in any of those stores? Hellz no! But I did pick up some great finds... let's review.

{ From the Ugg Store, new for spring, Bailey Button Uggs in 'Dusty Wysteria'

and sooo much cheaper then they are in Canada. Why must we always be price gouged so badly?}

{From Kate Spade, the Fiona Ballet slippers in green, and a green corsage silk top in Peridot green. Top was regularly $275US, on for $90. I absolutely lurve peridot green, vibrant and bold!}

*Kate Spade isn't really my style, but her clean lines and classic look are sometimes so appealing.  And the Fiona slippers honestly do not look silly with the present-stylez-bow on them. Super cute I swear!

From my new fave store, Macy*s,  I picked up a swack-load of INC shirts, a dress and even shorts. All on sale, some items were as much as 75% off.  ...Yes Macy*s, we ARE speaking the same language.... the language of I LOVE shopping!

{ Joe's Jeans, Muse,dark Caitlin wash (with a 9" rise, that's right, no more muffin top for mama!),  and this INC dress in black}

{From Aeropostale- shirt and fleece pants, $9 each.  Whatevs, they were practically free.}

{Army hat, Pau vertical design from Crazy Shirt, great for the beach with my brown and pink bikini...if I ever get up the nerve to wear it!}

{From Sephora I picked up the much hyped- by Brooke at Oofa , Blu-Ray pressed powder and a bronzer by Cargo. I'm hoping this powder works face fixin' miracles, Mama's fingers are crossed!  I also grabbed the Lash stash mascara deluxe sampler- a great deal b/c you can sample so many brands without committing to a whole tube of product. All for $39.... holla!

This concludes our shopping highlight tour of Honolulu. 

Note to shoppers: buying fall/winter clothing in Hawaii is awesooome because so much is on sale and the selection is huge. Not a lot of Hawaiian's are walking around in black, grey and brown knits and sweaters (obviously). Just one more reason to head over to the middle of the pacific in the middle of the winter! 

P.S. A big shout out to my fave new Greek little lady, Irene at Lovely Violet  for the Premio Fashion Superficiales Award. My first European award. Lurve it!! I'll be passing it on in the future... 

Sooo I'm back

Alohaaaaaaaaa Mama's back!!!
Wow-za, what an amazing holiday we had, Hawaii is beautiful!! It's not my first time there, but I was younger on my last trip and def. didn't appreciate it like I did this time.  We stayed in Honolulu at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach...totally gorgeous!

{Koi pond at the hotel}

Hawaii is seriously a little gem that barely feels like it's part of the U.S..  It has all the benefits of being part of the states, but definitely has it's own Hawaiian culture that is a big mix of native Hawaiians, Japanese, Filipinos, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Hawaiians are totally laid back and friendly...not really moving any faster than they need to, but it's a hot climate right?  But not too hot, perfect actually. Why the freak do I live in a place with snow? I absolutely LURVE the sun...let's just say that Mama's Vitamin D levels are allll topped up.
And of course we lurved the food, Poke (raw Ahi Tuna marinated in soya sauce), Kalua Pork (like BBQ pulled pork) and Lomilomi salmon (raw chopped salmon mixed with tomatoes, onions and seasoning) mixed with Poi (boiled taro root). Honestly it's all way more yummy then it sounds. We chowed down at a Luau...Hawaiian stylezzz!

Waikiki is a great beach,  you can swim safely (sans sharks and killa waves) and you can still look for Nemo while you snorkel along the reefs.

We did a dive in a submarine off shore from Waikiki...saw tonnes of underwater sea-life. Sea turtles, white tipped sharks, rays, Nemo.

 We rented a car and drove around the island, stopping at the Dole Pineapple Plantation, and of course headed to the North Shore and Sunset beach to check out the massive waves.  Can't actually swim there...the thrill is in letting the waves reach you while you're standing on the beach.  They'll knock u down!!

{Ser-i-ously, no swimming allowed. But surfing is ok?!}

Just got home but I'm wanting to go back...home is where the heart is, yeah, blah blah blah. Hawaii is where the fun in the sun is!  If it weren't for the painful 7 hour flight to get there (traveling with young kids blows, FYI), I'd probably go every winter. It's also tres expensive. Obviously b/c it's an island in the middle of the South Pacific. Everything has to be flown in... $5 for a quart of milk?!!  Yeah, it's basically a Volcano-made-chunk-of-earth in the middle of nowhere. But it has palm trees...and I LURVE palm trees!! And the sunsets are krazy!

{Hawaiian sunsets are A-mazing}

{Mama VS. the Volcano}

We swam, we ate amazing food (I even had some Pineapple my least fave food in the world, strange, I know), we drank (soooo many Mai Tai's, Daiquiri's and Blue Hawaiians), we tanned, we luau-ed, we explored, we dove, we relaxed. Fabulous! 

Oh, and I shopped. But's that's a whole other post....

Aloha Bitches!

We're off for 11 days of FUN-IN-THE-SUN!   There will be multiple fruity drinks consumed and plenty of seafood and fruit. Bring it on Hawaii! 

I'll be bloggin' as soon as we're back.... 
Miss me!

 

To B-ikini or Not to B-ikini...???

So, the countdown to Hawaii is on like Donkey Kong... 

Husband, kid # 1, 2 and Mama are flying off  to the middle of the pacific for some serious it's February so winter-can-suck-it escapism.

We're staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki Beach for 12 sun-filled days. Cool yeah?

Sorta. What's not cool is that we're leaving in 11 days and I am still fat-ish and pastey-white.

Massive Weight Loss 2010 (continuation of 2008, 2009) is in full effect and believe-you-me, Mama is workin' extra hard to try and fit into pre-baby #2 summer clothes.

My "Hawaiian Action Plan 2010", henceforth to be called HAP 2010 (abbreviations are a way of life for me)... is as follows:

 "Beatings beating beatings"...  in front of the T.V. with Jillain every nite.

+

A spray tan.    WTF??!.... ok there's always a first for everything.

=

Wearing a bikini....maybe-possibly-perhaps??? 

 ( the one I have is very similar to this,,,nothing krazy, modest, mom-appropriate fo-sho!)

Sooo, my issue is that I'm not sure if I have ANY business whatsoever wearing a bikini at this stage in the game. I've worked hard to get most of my kid #2 pregancy fat off. (Still have 10lbs to go, but I'm tall, 5'10 and can carry a surprising amount of poundage on this frame).

But I'm still not sure I can pull off the big "B".  This body has definately got some 'battle scars' from two babies... mummy tummy, etc.

I just don't like tankini's that much. They are definately a wonderful invention, and they are SOOOO much better than a one-piece (ick) but I do think that sometimes they can be a bit matronly and make you look even bigger because there is so much fabric to them! (as pointed out by my sister-in-law,,,in a loving way of course).  Sometimes less is more...strictly talking numbers on the scale and swimwear here!

Mama's torn....not sure what to do??

Um-hum yeah, I know what y'all are thinking. If I'm questioning it, then I already know the answer. It's a big fat NO. (no puns here)...

*sigh*

Tankini it is....

We're coming to America!

That's right, in the words of the great Neil Diamond (err, maybe "great" is too bold)...in the words of Neil Diamond, husband and I are "coming to America". We've got two trips planned in January to head down to see our patriotic neighbors to the south.  We're off to Vegas on January 7th for 4 days and then to Hawaii on the 31st for 12 days.  That's right 12 glorious, sun-filled days. Can you say Aloha?   ALOHA BITCHES!   I'm excited.

As for Las Vegas,  well it's nothing more than a self-indulgent, commercialized, hedonistic mecca for consumerism, vice and debauchery. 
And I'm Soooooo looking forward!   One word. Shopping.  
Screw the gambling, it's all about shopping. That is ALL that matters.

Now in Canada we are fortunate enough to have been invaded  graced by many of America's bountiful retail chains.
(Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware, and most major clothing stores etc.) but there are some unfortunate omissions to the Canadian retail landscape.

Target- or as we always call it in Canada (Tar-jay). Don't laugh. Sure it's a discount department store...but it has soo many deals. LURVE it!

Macy's- A department store with so much MORE.

Las Vegas Premium outlets- GAHHHH. 'nough said.

Las Vegas Fashion Show Mall.   (  ~True Nirvana~)

Dillards, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Ave,  Neiman Marcus, White House/Black Market, Victoria's Secret ....the list goes on!

Honestly, I'm most excited about the large department stores. So much under one roof.  The brands we don't have in Canada at slightly lower prices. Hopefully there'll be some kick-ass post-Christmas sales.

* Question, why is there no name for the day after Christmas in the U.S.?    

It's called Boxing Day.  There, adopt that America. 

We have Boxing Day sales, in fact,  Boxing "week" sales that go on for weeks and weeks. Gotta blow out all the Christmas stock.

There must be a name to describe the incredible deals available after Christmas.  TELL me you actually have fabulous sales America!??? 

Like these girls,(on Boxing Day) cleaning up on bags!