Date Night in Waikiki

Now that I've been so busy with work and that the chilly fall weather sets in, I'm longing for the warmth of home even more. Even though it's great to spend time with family when I'm home it was fun to have a night on the town with my guy. 

I decided to try out a restaurant that has been around pretty much forever but that I had never tried. The Top of Waikiki is a revolving restaurant that was built sometime in the 1960s, I believe. Grandma used to go there back in the day and it's still spinning.  It's a great place for a date or some drinks! Although it no longer sites atop the tallest building in Waikiki and is today dwarfed by the city's high rises, it doesn't seems like much has changed inside.

Yummy tropical drinks!

After a delicious surf 'n turf dinner, we strolled over to another Waikiki institution - the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It is one of the oldest hotels in Waikiki and is absolutely gorgeous! Had we been there in the daytime it would have been much easier to take a ton of photos of this beautiful hotel.

Then we cruised down Kalakaua Avenue, the main street of Waikiki. We stopped to take photos with the Duke Kahanamoku statue. He is considered the father of modern surfing and was the first Native Hawaiian olympian and medalist.

And of course I had the perfect dress for the occasion. Right before I arrived I bought a new-to-me vintage aloha dress made by Andrade sportswear. I bought it on Etsy from the amazing seller Traven7 who has some pretty unreal dresses. Andrade used to sell aloha wear in its Waikiki shops from the 1950's to 1970's.

The colors are so warm and happy. And my photographer tried out some crazy angles.

And I was pretty warm and happy myself...it was a lovely night in the city by the sea!

Kailua Beach

Sometimes it's just best to stay at home. Luckily for me my hometown is Kailua, known for having one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. And it's all only a 10 minute bike ride away from my family's house.

View of Kailua Bay with Popoia island in the bay.

We celebrated the Fourth of July at Kailua beach, as many Kailua families do. All day long people picnic and play in the ocean until night falls and we are treated to a fireworks show.

I got to break out my new two piece bathing suit from Sugar Doll and head straight for the water right away because we already had a good spot. We had already set up our party tent the night before. It's what you gotta do if you want a prime beachfront tent spot! 

Later on, we cleaned up and got ready for the evening part of our beach day.

He's wistfully taking in Kailua's beauty...or maybe just wondering if there are any more Negra Modelos in the cooler.

We came for the fireworks, but Kailua sunsets are a show all their own.

My pal Danielle snapped some shots of me before the sun sank down behind the mountains but I managed to get a picture with her too.

Night is falling. Time for fireworks!

Most of us gathered up on the shore to watch but others stayed in their bathing suits and enjoyed the fireworks from the water - the water's still plenty warm at night!

Such a fun night with family and friends. I love Kailua!

Surf 'n Sand and a tourist luau

Once back on Oʻahu, Nils and I got the chance to have dinner at a typical touristy lū'au. My aunt won tickets to a lū'au and never used them, so we (along with tourists arriving by the busload) went to Germaines Luau out on the west side of Oʻahu.

I decided this would be the best opportunity to break out one of my newest vintage dresses: an early 1950's Surf n Sand (an earlier label by Hawaii designer Alfred Shaheen). This dress even has a tag with the name of the original owner on it: a C.J. Reynolds.

My lauhala (woven pandanus leaf) bag that I got way back when I was 11 was perfect with this dress!

Many people love Shaheen's prints for the dazzling colours and prints, and I do too. But they speak to me in a different way. Shaheen used Hawaii as an inspiration in his designs. He didn't just draw just any flowers, he featured hibiscus, plumeria, pikake. The fish weren't just any old fish shape, there were ahi, mahimahi, humuhumunukunukuapuaa. These are the flora and fauna I grew up with and so to me, these dresses are truly special and not just an outfit to match some exoticised, primitive tiki kitsch fantasy. Yup, I just went there.

What home looks like to me: This dress in particular includes lei of pikake (hawaiian jasmine), red hibiscus, starfish, and scallop shells.

The shells on the dress perfectly matched my sunrise shell earrings. These are rare shells that sometimes wash up on the shore and are popular as jewellery. The shell lei I was presented with when we arrived at the lū'au.

Playing tourist!

The lū'au included drinks, dinner, and entertainment. After the dinner, which was a combination of Hawaiian and American food, they began the Polynesian dance revue. These tourist lū'aus usually showcase the traditional dances (though perhaps not entirely authentic) of many different Polynesian countries, not just Hawaii's hula, seen below.

While I'm not the biggest fan of super touristy stuff, it was fun to do something different and watch some hula!