Yokohama Bay & Kaena Point

Posted on July 4, 2020 by sandersnm

We took advantage of the long holiday weekend and drove out to Yokohama Bay and Kaena Point. Lucky for us, the beach was empty and the hike wasn’t crowded at all. Highlights from the hike (besides the unreal views) include a Hawaiian Monk Seal swimming up on us as we dangled our feet in the water completely oblivious, the baby albatrosses, spotting a baby needle fish and a sea cucumber. Quite the wildlife adventure! We rewarded ourselves with some fantastic Puerto Rican food!

Empty beach!

Such a stunning view.

Baby albatrosses!

Sea cucumber

Baby needle fish

Yay friends!

Favorite view from the day.

Hawaiian Monk Seal!

Mofongo with garlic shrimp. So good!

Safer-at-Home & A Little Outdoors

Posted on July 3, 2020 by sandersnm

Josh and I spent most of March, April, and May staying inside and distancing ourselves in this crazy world. We finally started getting out a bit more at the end of May and beginning of June with socially distanced hiking and beach days. It’s been kind of nice to explore the island without the crowds! #luckywelivehawaii

Double rainbow from our lanai.

Kailua Beach

Birthday sangria on the beach!

Kualoa Ranch

Kailua Beach

Pu’u Ma’eli’eli Trail

Red Fish Poke

Supporting BGCH!

Posted on April 6, 2020 by sandersnm

In the beginning of March, we had an event at Mid-Pac Country Club to support the Windward Clubhouse. It was a beautiful night with great music and delicious food from restaurants in Kailua! So thankful for this organization and my amazing friends!

PAI Honolulu

Posted on April 4, 2020 by sandersnm

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at PAI Honolulu with friends and my mom as well during her visit. The service and food were great!

Hemingway’s Muse: Koloa White Rum, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Lime, Grapefruit

Risotto: Poached egg, roasted carrots, mushrooms

Shitake Mushroom Lasagna: Kombu mornay, pecorino, white cheddar, gruyere

Curry Bolognese: Handmade pappardelle, curry leaf, madras curry

Sourdough Focaccia with Smoke Salmon Mousse & Ikura

Buttermilk Fried Mushrooms with black pepper créme fraîche

Ricotta Fritters

Ricotta Fritters and assorted gelato and sorbet

Josh & Andy Go Gliding

Posted on February 14, 2020 by sandersnm

For Josh and Andy’s birthday this year, Anna had the great idea of getting them a ride together in a glider. We were able to completely surprise them a couple weekends ago with a glider ride on the North Shore with Honolulu Soaring.

My favorite picture from the day!

So excited after their flight!

After gliding, we spent some time on the beach enjoying the view and the waves.

After our time on the North Shore, we were able to surprise them once more with a cake and friends at Paradise Ciders. Successful day!

BGCH friends!

Danielle & Brick Visit!

Posted on February 7, 2020 by sandersnm

Josh and I kicked off 2020 with our lovely friends visiting. Unfortunately, our weather wasn’t exactly cooperating for their trip. However, we were able to squeeze in a beach walk, lots of good food, Pearl Harbor, and a couple hikes. Ready for them to come back!

Started the New Year off with a walk on Kailua beach.

Delicious fish tacos thanks to Brick.

Waiting out the rain at Pearl Harbor.

Starting our hike around Hanauma Bay.

The waves were insane!

❤

So windy!

The most delicious acai bowl on the island.

The Big Island: Trip 6

Posted on October 31, 2019 by sandersnm

In September, our friends Andy and Anna got married on The Big Island! My immediate family all came so we spent some quality time exploring new parts of the island along with celebrating our friends!

We arrived to Kona early on Thursday. We stopped at Daylight Minds for some coffee before heading to Da Poke Shack for some delicious poke. We checked in to our hotel and relaxed for a bit. Then headed to the coffee farm where they were getting married for a BBQ.

The next day, we got up early to hike to Papakōlea Beach (also known as Green Sand Beach). This had been on our list for years and we were so excited to finally get to see it! The hike was beautiful and even though it was completely exposed to the sun, it was such a windy day that it was pretty comfortable. The downside is that we were totally covered in dust/sand from head to toe because of the wind.

We encountered some friends on the way to the hike.

The waves were beautiful on our entire hike.

Getting closer!

Picture does not do this massive cliff justice.

So beautiful!

Tom taking his panos from every angle possible.

Holding on to dear life while we got pelted with sand.

Josh wayyyyy up there.

Checking out the view.

After we hiked back, we were all very ready for lunch. We stopped at Punalu’u Bake Shop for lunch and some malasadas (which were amazing). We then continued on to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park since Linda and Tom had never been there. We saw the steam vents and the caldera (but couldn’t see the green lake that’s forming).

So amazing!

We arrived back at the hotel and took much needed showers. We then decided to go to dinner and enjoy the sunset along the coast at the Four Seasons. We were all really excited to go back as we were fortunate enough to have dinner there two years earlier. Such a beautiful sunset!

Just stunning!

On Saturday, we decided to relax at the hotel before the big celebration that night! We arrived at the coffee farm in time for cocktails with a side of misty rain and a beautiful sunset. The weather cleared up and we had an AMAZING time! So much fun eating, drinking, and dancing!

Yay!

Fam!

Sibling love.

Congratulations!

On Sunday, we spent some time enjoying the lovely view before heading to the airport to part ways. Such a fun, packed weekend! ❤

Soaking in the last few minutes with the view.

O’Kims

Posted on October 29, 2019 by sandersnm

A few months ago we tried O’Kims, a new Korean restaurant in Chinatown, with some of our friends. It was a great experience and we really enjoyed everything we ordered. It was a beautiful night and we sat out back in their patio/courtyard area.

Truffle Mandoo: Dumpling stuffed with mushrooms (king oyster, button, earwood and enoki), yellow squash, zucchini and black and white truffle paste, shoyu jelly, pickled daikon.

Korean Chicken & Gnocchi: Deep fried chicken with gochujang sauce, house made gnocchi nuts, purple rice, green salad & kimchi.

Confited Pork Belly Brulee: Confited pork belly with miso sauce, apple ginger jam, seasame leaves, purple rice, green salad & kimchi.

Ton Katsu King: Pork cutlet with home made demi-glace sauce, fresh corn chowder, green salad, purple rice, and kimchi.

Pecan pie with vanilla ice cream.

Maui: Trip 4

Posted on January 11, 2019 by sandersnm

To ring in 2019 we headed to Maui to celebrate our friends getting married! We had a beautiful sunrise and some great views of Molokai and Lanai on our flight over.

Lanai

Windmills on West Maui.

We arrived on Saturday morning and had breakfast in Paia at Paia Inn Café.

Pineapple mint jalapeño juice. Delicious but so spicy!

Huevos Rancheros Verde: cumin black beans, two eggs, salsa verde, lime crema, queso fresco, with corn tortillas, and cilantro

After breakfast, we drove around and then headed to Lahaina to check in and get ready for dinner. We made reservations to visit our favorite restaurant, Mama’s Fish House, for dinner.

Crispy Mahi-Mahi Rolls with poha berry and Hamakua mushroom brandy sauce

Seared ahi special

Mama’s Stuffed Fish: Stuffed with lobster and crab, baked with a Macadamia nut crust

On Sunday, we walked around Lahaina and then met at Hale Pa’ahao Prison for the rehearsal before the rehearsal dinner at Old Lahaina Luau.

Hanging out at the prison!

Monday was the big day! The girls started their day at the Royal Hawaiian getting ready for the ceremony. We all got to wear the most incredible flowers in our hair! Caitlin was just stunning and we had a blast getting beautiful!

Beautiful rainbow to start our morning!

Getting beautiful!

Can’t get over how beautiful the flowers were!

Just stunning!

Next stop, the prison! It was a beautiful ceremony with more unbelievable flowers. After the ceremony, we boarded a whale watching boat to cruise around Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. We saw whales and an incredibly sunset.