ma honolulu

one of my favorite stops on this last visit was to ma honolulu which carries a nice mix of clothing and accessories from emerging designers from hawaii and around the world. there is a lot of cool stuff stocked (like modern amusement with its ubiquitous birdie logo) that you don't typically find in the islands, and, after leisurely wandering around the shop, i succumbed to temptation and snapped up the super cute and very versatile chemise tank by wings hawaii.

hopefully, you are lucky enough to visit while the owner tomoko is at the store since she is one of the nicest shopkeepers around. in fact, i spent almost as much time chatting with tomoko and enjoying her gracious offers of refreshments as i did checking out the goods.

ma is located on kapahulu (adjacent to hee hing) so stop by if you are in the neighborhood and in need of some retail therapy.

{update | jan 2010: ma honolulu is no more}

lucky number 31

this is so much better than cheapie candy being tossed into your treat bag on halloween. the interisland airfare war is back with $31 o/w fares but, procrastinators beware, you must book your tix by the end of the day.

details:

• book it: tue, oct 31st
• fly: now to sun, nov 5th
• cities: honolulu to hilo *or* kahalui *or* kona *or* lihue

go!'s deal ended last night but you still have plenty of time to book a seat on your favorite jet setting ride:

• aloha airlines | hawaiian airlines

hawaiian time

100 fathom

despite all the rushing around whenever i visit home, it always seems like time passes by more slowly in the islands. if you don't have the luxury of letting hawaiian time rule your schedule, click over to bathys hawaii to check out a recent find which has been hitting the wish list of watch aficionados everywhere who require a tough but stylish time piece to accompany them on their adventures.

bathys' watches are designed on kauai and engineered in switzerland to keep on ticking whether you are on an ocean dive or hiking up the mountaintops of mauna kea. the back even has a a nice map of the hawaiian islands that is sure to come in handy for ocean warriors.

if you have been searching for a really serious watch, bathys just released an automatic style which is available for pre-order for the holidays at a special ohana rate for today only. the product line is made in small batches and has been known to sell out quickly so your best bet to score one is to order online.

local customs

one of the items on my shopping list this time around was a replacement "mahalo for removing your shoes" ceramic tile for a friend's new home. while this is an unspoken custom in the islands, the tile is a polite reminder for mainland guests that your home is still hawaiian style even though it is across the pacific.

the tiles are handmade at the banana patch studio in kauai and are available in two sizes and a variety of island inspired designs. they can also be found over at native books/na mea hawaii at ward warehouse.

typepad hearts h|h

the excitement of being typepad's featured blog today is helping to shake off what remains of my jet lag after flying across the pacific yesterday. just wanted to wave hello to everyone stopping by and, of course, send big mahalos to typepad for plucking l'il h|h out from obscurity!