{ gobble gobble! }

THANKSGIVING is my favorite holiday...

there is nothing better than sitting around a dinner table in the perfect setting
with people you love and amazing food

throw a beach in there and I'm in heaven, seriously...this THANKSGIVING was perfect.

macy's parade

thanks to some friends who got up at 5am, I got to show up right before the parade for front row seats!
and always my favorite, nautical mickey! 

indian feather place settings

my favorite new THANKSGIVING tradition

all the fixings

H even baked homemade bread for her stuffing, who does that???
and A's cranberry sauce was the best EVER

hosting with my NYC besties

love you H & A...Martha, we're your new competition!

fancy indian names & edible turkeys

we gave everyone a special indian name for the evening that we had to address each other by

the guys were chiefs and the ladies, princesses obviously

chief balding eagle was present, and chief loose arrow, and chief clowning face, 
and doctor quinn medicine whoa-man and princess singing turkey hawk and princess she plays
all the time and princess salmon swimming up a rippling stream, and princess tiger lily, 
and princess dancing snowgoose, and princess white rice, and princess butterfly sitting on a flower. 

all the beautiful people were there 
 but sadly, we forgot to take a group photo, I was too busy eating...
so was chief doctor quinn medicine whoa-man
who devoured an entire edible turkey in one bite...impressive!

food comas

enough said but it was well worth it

gratitude
I'm so very lucky & I'm so very thankful
I have the best friends in the world
more than a roof over my head
and I live in one of the greatest cities on this planet. 
words cannot express how grateful I am for my life
and all the beautiful people that I'm proud to call family.

{ pie revival }

Yesterday, A told me a dream she had about our Thanksgiving dinner

she dreamed that H made the entire meal by herself and that she was so exhausted 

that she fell over and died!
but not to worry, we were able to revive her by feeding her pie.
This will not be a true story, but it is a true dream. 

Is there anything pie can't do?

Well, it won't make you skinny but it can pretty much do everything else.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving this year and yes, I'm in charge of the pie.

{ image courtesy of recipecurio }

{ aloha andy }

I miss saying aloha on a daily basis.

Thoughts of Hawaii have been on my mind a lot lately after hearing about the death of Andy Irons

I've been recalling many days spent on the beach watching him at Pipe.

I didn't know Andy personally but  have always been in awe of the awesomeness of the surf
and his surfing prowess.
I never was great at surfing, but I'm obsessed with watching.
Taking pictures of the waves is actually what got me back into photography again. 

Walking down the crowded, billboard invested streets of Times Square every day,
Hawaii seems like a dream, but it's not.
Once upon a time, the first thing I saw each and every morning was the ocean
and I got to breathe in the sweet plumeria air. 

Hawaii is too much a part of who I am to ever forget. 

 the spirit of aloha is real 

and those of you who know what I'm talking about, know how very real it is.
It sounds cheesy, but it's not cheesy at all. 

as I watched flowers showering down on thousands in the water who came
to pay their respects for Andy,
I was pulled back to my aloha days and the spirit I felt there.  

I have a hard time relaxing but take me to the beach and I could sit for hours, just staring at the waves.
As I watched everyone pounding the water in memory of Andy, I was overwhelmed

overwhelmed by the death of such a great athlete not much older than me
and overwhelmed with the spirit of the islands
and the great community there that I used to be a part of.
life was so much simpler there
we never watched tv and the tallest buildings around were not more than 2 stories
life revolved around the ocean and enjoying the islands to the fullest
and that we did.
we spent time talking instead of trying to find the next big thing
and more time listening...to each other and to the waves crash against the shore
and late at night when the lights went out and the moon was full,
we were out enjoying the warm hawaiian waters.
The moment I'm around anyone from Hawaii, it's all we can talk about
and I know it will always be that way.
Once Hawaii gets to you, you'll never be able to really let it go.
aloha a hui hou

{ photos courtesy of Jack English & Transworld Surf, & this video of the memorial }

{ apples }

{ thanks a! }

{ urban body }

living in a big city means living in small spaces, well, unless you've got millions to spare

so we make due with what we have

it's a new goal of ours to workout every morning and what better voice
to wake up to than P90x's very own Tony Horton.

Our first attempt was made in the living room, until our angry neighbors started banging on the ceiling

Seriously?  I've lived here for almost 3+ years now and with all the parties and late

nights and friends and midnight dance fests, we've never had one complaint.
Until, we try to workout in the morning...argh! I guess our dear neighbor is out of a coma now. 

So, day two, we took it to the roof...literally. 

{ the perfect urban body workout } 

It was really, until another angry neighbor let us know that we had woken him up. 

Woops! Sorry neighbor!

Tomorrow we'll just have to take it to the VIP roof,
the one above my bedroom that we have to climb up a ladder to get to.

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do with the space that you have

and I'm okay with that, because it makes for a good story
and working out amongst the buildings of the NYC skyline is a cool way to start our day.

{ halloweeeen! }

I LOVE holidays but Halloween night has never been a favorite

mostly because I am never in love with my costume

I'm creative and am always coming up with ideas for everyone else

but unfortunately I'm the queen of procrastination and leave mine until the last minute

thus, the reason I'm never that thrilled with my Halloween night attire. 

I'm always just throwing something together at the last minute,

which for my everyday life is perfectly acceptable, but Halloween, 

is time for face paint and wigs and spandex and vintage tennis racquets.

I really wanted to buy these vintage his and hers tennis racquets on etsy, so I did

and we planned our costumes around them...nothing too fancy but I was in costume

and I was comfortable for a night of party hopping and dancing and Halloween cheer

and an impromptu tennis match up on 110th at two in the morning. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

{ SF 13.2 }

13.2 miles really isn't that far

but when you've been sick and didn't have time to train

it's a bit daunting, but I did it, for the third time. 

I was anything but speedy but it was my favorite run ever.

I was so happy to be in San Francisco with friends I don't see enough of

and in true me fashion, I ran into a friend from the islands I hadn't seen in almost 10 years. 

The course couldn't have been more perfect. 

Thru the city streets, past the piers, roundabout in the presidio 

and downhill past the cliff house...my favorite spot in the city 

with views of the Golden Gate most of the way. 

There will definitely be a next year, because I've got a time to improve 

and anything that gets me back to San Francisco is a very good thing. 

THANKS to all my favorite San Franciscans for the perfect weekend away. 

I'll be back soon, I promise.