woodland creatures giveaway

it may only be the opening week of august but the sound of school bells can already be heard around the islands. enter toast who has a sweet & savory way to make the transition back to school a bit more pleasant with their adorable woodland creatures heart stump favors.

a complete limited edition set featuring all four cuddly creatures will delight one lucky reader, but only if you follow the scoop on how to enter:

• email your name & current hometown to: aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by thu, aug 6th
• please put woodland creatures giveaway in the subject
• one entry per person/household

click back on friday to find out if you are the lucky winner!

{update: winner list has been posted}

and the winner is . . .

amber from kaimuki who really gets to keep it local when picking up toast's mantastic king soda snack 4-pack.

thank you to all the oahu peeps who sent in their entries (especially the lovely little notes which brighten my day!). console yourself with a visit to the official toast shop (alternatives: the wedding café and the menehune mac factory store) while off-island peeps can scoop up the special edition set in the online shop.

• where: 3434 waialae avenue, suite 3, kaimuki
• shop hours: m / w / f / sat - 12p to 6p

congratulations, amber!

{mahalo jeremy & michelle for another fabulous giveaway!}

toast father's day giveaway

it's a sunday surprise for readers visiting h|h today! you get first dibs on toast's brand new king edition of their delightful soda snacks filled with island style munchies specially made for your pops. even better, our friends at toast offered to treat one lucky reader to a father's day 4-pack (retail: $25)!

the catch - you must call oahu home since pickup at the toast shop in kaimuki is part of the deal.

here's the scoop on how to enter:

• email your name & current hometown to: aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by tue, jun 16th
• please put toast father's day giveaway in the subject
• one entry per person/household
• fyi: oahu peeps only, please

winner will be announced on wednesday.

{update: winner list posted}

new peeks: forest treasures by toast

the official arrival of graduation season is here and with it a summer filled with celebrations. the toast team just released the woodland creatures edition of their popular heart stumps favor line which are a sweet surprise for newly minted graduates who have a soft spot for the cute and cuddly.

the wooden tube is filled with a savory mix of nuts and once empty will make a charming repository to stash desktop necessities in those notoriously tiny dorm rooms.

order one of four limited edition designs (squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, owl) in the online shop or stop by toast's showroom to say hello:

• where: 3434 waialae avenue, suite 3, kaimuki
• shop hours: m / w / f / sat - 12p to 6p

tex message

i promised to share a few favorite finds from my last trip home and realized that a month has whizzed by with nary a mention. like any good local girl, many happy moments have been spent waiting in line for freshly fried malasadas with most of my sugar rolled moments (hold the cinnamon and fancy fillings, please) compliments of leonard's which is, imho, the gold standard.

it was only on a trip to the big island a few years ago that my fella and i discovered the delicious dough fried up at the tex drive-in. where leonard's version is light and airy (making it easy to justify many, many bites), tex offers up a denser delight sturdy enough that any leftovers will miraculously hold up until the next day (although you may want to warm it up and sprinkle a little sugar on top).

a piping hot tex malasada is one of the perks of kicking it on the hamakua coast which is home to tex's only outpost (in honoka'a off hwy 19). we typically take our order to go and savor the sugary treats while soaking up the breathtaking views from our rustic rental cottage overlooking the waipio valley.

next time you find yourself on the big island make your way to tex's and sample the sugar rush for yourself.

• where: 45-690 pakalana street, honoka'a

bon appétit!