#ThisDiva in NYC

So this last week has pretty much looked like this picture. After my cowgirl weekend in Kohala, I jumped on a plane to L.A. Unfortunately, I was there on a very gloomy Tuesday and never left the airport so there went that blog post and my first trip to L.A. After a 12-hour turnaround, I was back in the air heading to NYC. 

 

It's amazing how after 3 months of having a complete lifestyle change in Hawai'i being back in the city felt like I had been gone for only a few days. Despite how much constantly changes in this crazy town, it always feels so familiar...and a bit like coming home. I guess #ThisDivaWillAlwaysHaveAPieceOfNYCInHerHeart

I didn't miss the weather, but I do miss the energy, the friends and the shopping!...did I mention that practically no stores ship to Hawai'i?! I visited some of my favorite restaurants like Balthazaar in SoHo, did some damage at Ikea in Brooklyn and had a list of item requests I had to pick up from Trader Joe's...yeah...we don't have that either.

But mostly, I was just able to stroll the streets of NYC and enjoy the people, the architecture, the hustle and bustle of it all and remember how exciting and colorful life here can be. It's still hard to believe that my life is now tucked away on a small island in the middle of the Pacific, but after a week of marathon traveling and 10-hour flights I can come back to this...

...then I realize all is right in the world and I'm happy to be home! 

A hui hou!

#ThisDiva Celebrates Paniolo Style

To celebrate my cousin Jessi's birthday this weekend, we decided to head out to Kohala on the Big Island to have a "Cowgirl" bash! Normally, I would just throw on some overly bedazzled boots, a fringed jacket, a pink hat and call it a day (because after living in NYC I do own these things!), but we wanted to spend this weekend with the real deal. A weekend with bonafide Paniolos - Hawaiian cowboys - riding horses, roping cattle and everything that comes with the territory.

Just about everyone I told about my plan laughed hysterically because #ThisDivaIsAnAbsoluteCityGirl and they were convinced I wouldn't last 2 hours let alone 2 days...considering the term "roughing it" actually doesn't exist in my vocabulary. But not only did I prove them wrong, I also had the most amazing experience learning about the land and the lives of such incredible people. 

And what also made this trip wonderful was being able to see and explore some of the most beautiful land in Hawai'i. Once you venture outside of Kona and start heading up to the mountains, you get to see miles upon miles of untouched coastlines and land. Roads are lined with mounds of lava rock, guava trees or turkeys! It was a great weekend of adventure, fun, laughter and mud...lots and lots of mud! And just what I needed before heading out to Los Angeles for the first time ever...but I'll save that for next time...A Hui Hou!

#ThisDiva in Hilo!

So the pictures in this post aren't of Hilo, but of the islands Moloka'i and O'ahu taken as I was coming back from The Big Island of Hawai'i. I took a short day trip out there to get my driver's license of all things. Living in NYC for nearly 4 years, I was able to let my license expire beyond the point of acceptable and had to revisit my teen years by going through this process. In Honolulu, it takes around 3-4 months to get a scheduled driving test - so when I discovered that I could take the test on another island I decided...let's go to Hilo! 

Hilo is a small town on The Big Island which is actually where my family "Kalaukoa" is originally from. Beaches are gorgeous, people are so "Aloha" here and local "grindz" aka food - will "broke you in da mouth"..,which is local for "it tastes really REALLY good"! 

Surprisingly, I didn't find time to shop (very surprising), but I will leave that for another day and another trip - but it was a wonderful day away from the hustle and bustle of O'ahu and to see the heart of Hawaiiana in a little place called Hilo.

A hui hou!