capturing the aloha spirit

boy with ukulele

the other day i happened across the website of big island artist suzy papanikolas and have fallen in love with her work. suzy's art captures all that is beautiful about the islands and the spirit of the people really comes alive in her paintings.

wahine looking left

we are definitely lucky that suzy's mission is "to record the renaissance of the hawaiian culture". take a peek at original artwork currently for sale or contact suzy to inquire about purchasing prints of pieces that have already found a home.

get away to turtle bay

i have nothing but fond memories of time spent on the north shore when i was growing up. as much as i love the hustle & bustle of waikiki and its mix of people from all over the world it's impossible to resist the soul of the north shore.

if you're looking to escape for a few days, save the plane fare and head up to turtle bay to relax in one of their ocean view rooms:

• rate: from $199 a night (exclusives promotion)
• book it: by thu, nov 16th
• blackout: oct 26th & 27th

for those of you who love the north shore because it is the antithesis of waikiki, you should be aware of the controversy brewing over the new owners' attempts at expanding the property. click over to keep the north shore country to learn more about what's happening and how you can help.

made by pua

floating circle * kukui * puka

one look at pua jewelry and you'll immediately see why the line is "inspired by sun, sea and surf". self taught designer lauren hewett creates each piece of jewelry by hand which would explain why a bit of soul seems to linger on. i love her minimal kukui necklace and modern interpretation of the classic puka shell.

pua jewelry is stocked at a few boutiques in the islands and can also be found on the mainland at ron herman and american rag. you can also order online but just remember this is not instant gratification jewelry since each piece is made to order with a 2-3 week wait before the postman comes a knockin'.

{update | jan 2010: please note that lauren has shuttered the made by pua website, however her designs continue to be offered on seaweed boutique, her new-ish online storefront}

food lover's guide to honolulu

surprise, surprise . . . people from hawaii love to eat. you only need to click on the hawaii blog links over on the left sidebar to confirm that islanders *love* food (even in the ether that is cyberspace). if you ever get stumped by all the choices in town at kaukau time, pick up a copy of food lover's guide to honolulu by island food writer (and one time head foodie at the advertiser) joan namkoong.

this is the ultimate local resource for honolulu-bound foodies detailing everything from fancy eats to hole-in-the-walls. there's even a shopping guide so you always know where to go when it's time to procure those hard to find ingredients before the big family potluck.

paul brown hawaii

my neverending investigation to unearth the perfect conditioner is currently collecting contenders for my next beauty binge. the hapuna line from hawaii's very own paul brown recently caught my eye with ingredients like water filtered through mauna kea's lava tubes (chock full of minerals and other good stuff) and botanicals from the islands. even better, the shampoo is free of sulfates and the volcanic thermal mask sounds like just the thing to grab when your hair needs some intensive lovin'.

beauty junkies on a budget should definitely check out the paul brown institute in town which opened its doors earlier this year. if you don't mind sacrificing some time to be a guinea pig for their students, you can save some big bucks on salon services like haircuts ($15), highlighting ($48) and even full body massages ($35). walk in's are a no no so do call ahead to find out when the next clinic will be open to the public.

the hapuna line can be found at paul brown's eponymous salons around the islands or stop by haircare express which seems to have the best prices online.