Back to Healthy Living

Now that Whole Foods Market is in town and I’m back to practicing yoga on a weekly basis, Hawaii is starting to feel a bit more like home. I do wonder if I’ll return to being vegetarian again. My vegetarian kick ended the day James took me to eat at Rainbows as a “welcome” to the island. Yup, I learned that two scoops of rice is too much carbs for one meal and that panko fried chicken steaks and beef patties with a sunny side egg on top (Loco Moco’s) are no way to stay healthy in Hawaii.

A couple weeks ago I was getting dressed to go to the Pearl Ultra Lounge for a birthday party. The scary thing is that I couldn’t button my blouse…nor could I fit into any of my pants--any. I'm not exaggerating--I spent 40 minutes going through several creative outfits and finally had to settle on wearing a black dress..because it was the only thing that could fit my waistline. “What the heck happened?!,” I wondered to myself. Hawaii happened…and for me that meant too much ono food here and a lack of nice planned-community-walking trails for daily exercise. The great thing about living in Irvine is 1) Trader Joe's was ½ a block away 2) my yoga class was a 2 block away 3) Irvine hosts the second largest Whole Foods in the nation after New York 4) there are grass lined cement walking paths and biking paths everywhere in the city and 5) the feeling of open space, green scape, pink sunsets, happy people, and safety abound. It’s a great “quality of life” type of city to live in.

But back to Hawaii. It’s nice out here but for different reasons. The people are great and the pace of life is slow. People aren’t materialistic here and it lends to a much more simplified style of living. It’s refreshing to live this way and I’m glad that I’m here.

A Carrie Bradshaw Martini, please

In honor of this weekend's "Sex and the City, The Movie" release, the Pearl Ultra Lounge at the Ala Moana Center, in conjunction with Skyy Vodka, threw a series of hot pink themed parties complete with a special martini list named after each of the 4 leading ladies (and a high ball drink named "Mr. Big"), foam coasters in the shape of hot pink slippers, drawings for free shoes and gift certificates, and a grand finale shoe contest with a grand prize trip to NYC. Hot pink balloons, hosts in fashionable wear, and SATC episodes playing on the television screens helped the lounge feel oh-so-New York!

Pearl Ultra Lounge |1450 Alamoana Blvd., Honolulu | 808. 944.8000

Monolos and 'Pearls' - My Stint as a Shoe Model

Strutting across the bar top in 4 inch heels at the Pearl Ultra Lounge, I found myself a contestant for Honolulu’s “Sex and the City - Shoe Contest.” Placing one foot in front of the other, I balanced my way across the long curvy and slippery counter with a hot pink umbrella in hand, did a few pivots and turns and hoped for the best. Although I didn’t win the grand prize—a trip to New York City for the SATC movie premiere—I did walk away with some nice parting gifts. To celebrate the movie's $55 million weekend opening, I thought I’d pay homage to the show’s favorite shoe designer: Monolo Blahnik.

(left, Monolo shoe horn) (right, the heel-less “Aquarium”, $3,145) )