pineapple painting tours

 

two local artists have a novel approach to bringing back a souvenir to remember your holiday . . . create it yourself. pineapple painting tours offers the chance to tap into your inner gauguin and take home a piece of art made by you. yes, you could just head over to the weekend art mart at the honolulu zoo and buy something but this sounds like a lovely diversion for those who have an artsy side and are looking to do something other than the typical tourist activities.

the tour specializes in the plein air style which means you will be painting on location at scenic spots around oahu. transportation from waikiki hotels is included as are art supplies and, most important, instruction from professional artists so chances are good that your creation will be worthy enough to add to your personal art collection when you get home.

{update | jan 2010: pineapple painting tours seems to be no more}

introducing punk-n-pie

grease monkey + sakura sundress

liana from on a friday & mixed plate dropped me a note with exciting news of the launch of punk-n-pie, her new online baby boutique. this is definitely the place to shop if you want the little ones in your life to stand out from the crowd.

in addition to the adorable clothing, punk-n-pie has a nice mix of modern goodies for the entire family like all natural bath products from little twig, kid-friendly wall art (take a peek at tokidoki's playful skull & crossbones design) & timbuk2 bags to keep mom & dad organized when they're on the go with (or without) kids in tow.

and, to celebrate the grand opening, punk-n-pie is offering free shipping on all orders!

• secret code: grandfreeship
• expires: mon, feb 19th

this is not your parents' prefab home

sunset breezehouse

our little family of two can definitely be described as nice modernists and we have been keeping tabs on the blossoming modern prefab movement for quite some time. this afternoon i learned that michelle kaufmann designs recently built a factory in washington and one of their service areas is hawaii (currently, there are three savvy folks building a mkd home in the islands - lucky, lucky)!

this is so exciting. it's pretty easy to spot a typical prefab home in hawaii (in fact, my fella grew up in a hicks home) but if you are not familiar with modern prefab design you should definitely take a look and see what has changed in the past 30 years (fab prefab is an excellent resource). the mkd houses have been designed with the environment in mind and feature sustainable materials like bamboo floors, on demand water heaters & non-toxic paints as well as eco-friendly options like recycled glass tiles & solar power.

unless you have been living under a rock you know that the housing crunch has forced island families who can afford it to raze & rebuild or add an extension to their existing home to house multiple generations so this is definitely an alternative to consider if your budget allows it. i can count three families in my own circle who have either built a new home, are in the process of adding an extension, or are seriously considering going down that road since home ownership costs are so out of reach for many twenty & thirtysomethings.

as for us, this gives us a little more hope that one day we will be able to build an eco-friendly modern dwelling when we finally move back home. of course, it will be a challenge to find a fee simple lot that we can afford but a girl can dream.

{mahalo jetson green!}

maui culinary academy

 

in anticipation of the "top chef" finale tonight (sam was my man and since he was knocked out last week all i have to say is go ilan!), today's post is all about the culinary scene in the islands which we all know is foodie nirvana. the maui culinary academy is just one of hawaii's top notch cooking schools and straight out of their test kitchen is a gourmet product line developed by the students.

the line ranges from raspberry wine jelly (made from tedeschi vineyards' raspberry remnants that would have otherwise been scrapped) to mango sugar & thai basil sea salt. you can find the line around the islands (i've spotted it at na mea hawaii at ward warehouse) or click over to tedeschi's website to shop online.

class act

also, an off the beaten path lunch idea is the school's pa'ina food court where you can taste what the students have been cooking in class that day. there are six choices including farm to table's locally grown menu, sushi at raw fish camp, and freshly baked pastries at the patisserie. for those who prefer to indulge in a fine dining experience, the class act serves a four course prix fixe lunch menu every wed & fri for $25 (reservations required).

anyhoo, back to "top chef" . . . the finale was filmed on the big island and last week's episode featured the contestants putting their spin on the traditional luau for chef alan wong's birthday bash. if you want to whip up sam's ono sounding haupia, click over to bravo's website which has just posted the recipes online.

honolulu chocolate company

chocolate truffles

hopefully, your love connection is as steadfast and true as the combination of valentine's day and a box of chocolates. if you really want to splurge, stop by the honolulu chocolate company at ward center and worship at the altar that is their chocolate filled glass case. their specialty is artisanal chocolates with everything from decadent truffles (on the last trip home, i sampled one with li hing powder) to chocolate dipped strawberries made just for valentine's to tempt your tastebuds.

if you can't get to their shop, an edited selection of goodies are available on their website however ordering is a bit old school since you have to either fax or call in your order. and remember that valentine's is the shop's second biggest day of the year so don't procrastinate if you want to treat your sweet.