LANIKAI PILLBOX TRAIL

in Kailua is an absolute must-do if you are heading to Oahu.  It is a short, but steep, hike to two World War II bunkers.  The hike is about a mile up and the view is unbelievably amazing.

Most of the hike you have the ocean breeze to cool you off but don't let that fool you - make sure take sunscreen and water.  And, I would recommend wearing shoes, not sandals.

I give an enthusiastic two thumbs up for this hike.

OUR FATE LIES WITHIN US, WE JUST HAVE TO BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO SEE IT

I took the wee ones on a mommy-son date to see BRAVE.  We loved it,with a capital L!

If you haven't seen it yet, go - it's wonderful!

THIS MAY NOT BE NEW TO YOU, BUT IT'S NEW TO ME AND I'M HOOKED

Larry took me to the movie tonight at Salem Cinema.  I usually don't get popcorn because of my ridiculous food allergy situation, so imagine my surprise when Larry came back informing me that this movie joint uses canola oil and they had a brewers yeast option for a topping.  I've never had brewers yeast, and man, have I been missing out.  It tasted similar to Parmesan cheese.

Do you know how long it's been since I've had Parmesan cheese?!  Brewers yeast is at the top of my grocery list now.

This popcorn was heavenly - my taste buds were singing in my mouth.  I'm one happy girl.  Happy, happy birthday to me.

IMAGINE DRAGONS CONCERT

I know you think I'm going to say, Imagine Dragons were AWESOME!  Well, you're wrong.  They were BEYOND AWESOME!  It was amazeballs - they killed it.  They play with SO much energy and passion,  They are super fun to watch and we were bummed when their segment of concert time was over.  We could have listened to them all night.

We were right up front for the concert.  The stage is really small at Mississippi Studios and so with the setup, we could see Wayne and Dan perfectly, part of Daniel but could only see the top of Ben's head.

The photos were taken with my small pocket camera, no flash and dim lights.  I don't even care that they are blurry.  Even if the lighting was brighter, they'd still be blurry because I couldn't hold still the whole time they played.  

Benjamin Francis Leftwich opened first.  His songs were mellow and some of the lyrics were interesting, not sure what inspired some of the songs, but overall we liked him.  He was really funny.
The Jezabels were the headliners.  They were good, but to be honest, they should have been opening up for Imagine Dragons.  No joke.

Local friends, you are going to have two chances to see Imagine Dragons this month with just a smidge of drive time:
Friday, May 25 they will be playing in Auburn, Washington.
Sunday, May 27 they will be playing at Waterfront Park in Portland.

Get your tickets right now.  You're welcome.

HOTEL MONACO IN PORTLAND

For Larry's birthday weekend, I booked us a room at Hotel Monaco in downtown Portland.  I was so impressed with the customer service from the get go, if I ran a hotel, I would book a room and implement their procedures.  Besides this being a stunningly beautiful hotel, it has amazing staff with excellent communication.

Here is the lobby.  Although very large, it was welcoming, comfortable and had a coziness about it.  In the evenings, the hotel provides drinks and music in there you could come down an mingle if you'd like.

Before I tell you about our room, let me tell you about the valet service.  From the street, you drive down to the parking structure under the hotel.  When I think of parking structures I don't think pretty or classy, but this one is.  They have large green canvas curtains hanging from the pillars, which also have decorative lattice on them and the floor is polished pavers in an overlapping arch pattern.  The valet personnel is very friendly, nice and helpful.  From there, you take an elevator up to the lobby.

When we checked in, the front desk told us we had received a complementary upgrade to a king premier suite on the top floor.  When we walked into the room, we had to pick our chins off the ground.  We had a foyer, a huge bathroom, living room, and the bedroom.  It was so beautiful, fun, unique and eclectic.  Hands down, the coolest hotel room we have ever stayed at!

When we returned to our room later that night, we had sparkling cider on ice waiting for us and Larry had a handwritten birthday card from the front desk.

Isn't this hotel rad?  I know where I'm staying next time we have a weekend getaway in Portland!

T-BALL

Landon had a t-ball game today.  His team was playing an undefeated team but his team won - yay Braves!

It was one of the funniest games I've ever seen.  Four children on the opposing team repeatedly fighting over the ball,  young athletes contagious enthusiasm and a hilarious young player named Dwight who was, according to him, "on fire!" being the highlights.  It just might go down as one of the cutest games in t-ball history.

WHO PUT THEIR CHOCOLATE IN MY COOKIE BUTTER?

Who put their cookie butter on my chocolate?
Oh wait, I did! And, it's delicious!

Next time you are at Trader Joe's, put this in your cart. It's heaven in your mouth.

TASTE TEST

I was at World Market yesterday and got the munchies, so I picked up two bags of Danielle Fruit Chips - mango and pineapple. I opened them in the car, took a bite of each and immediately went back in the store to purchase one of each for a family taste test. They were SO good!Our store only has four of the flavors, but there are eleven flavors on their website.

They have all natural ingredients, free of preservatives, trans fat and low in calories.

The man clan and I are all in agreement on this taste test. Pineapple, mango and coconut were the winners in a three way tie. We couldn't decide which one we liked best. And although the website states that pumpkin is their most popular, we didn't like that one at all, which was surprising because we are pumpkin fans.

Lily liked the pumpkin, so that bag is hers.

We are gaga over these fruit chips, so when you see them at the store, don't even hesitate to add them to your cart. Our taste buds screamed AMAZEBALLS with every bite. And, don't listen to us about the pumpkin chips, you might like them.

HOTEL REVIEW

We stayed at the Red Lion Hotel in Bend.Pros:

1. Very clean.

2. Comfortable beds and comfortable pillows.

3. Easy to find. It's on the main road, so you can't miss it. Although it is on the main road, it is very quiet.

4. The staff were very nice.

5. They have Bath and Body Works shampoo and conditioner.

Cons:

1. Looks like a motel. Nothing wrong with that, but I was surprised. But, looking back at their reservation home page, it shows it is set up like a motel. I just wasn't paying attention to that fact. It was the first Red Lion I've stayed at that looks like a motel.

2. The flow of our room didn't work due to the placement of the desk and office chair. You had to keep your shoes on, or you'd stub your toes. It would be a nit-picky con if there was a way around the toe stubbing situation, but in our room there wasn't.

3. Although the front desk staff were super nice, they couldn't recommend a vegan restaurant.

We would stay there again. The price was very reasonable, it was clean, comfortable, quiet and located only six minutes away from Cafe Yumm!, which serves vegan dishes.

Our rating 3 out of 5 stars.

TASTE TEST

I was thrilled to find Rising Moon Organics had some vegan ravioli. It's been a year since I've had a ravioli and I was excited to find them! The hunt was on. I found four at LifeSource and couldn't decide which one to try, so I decided to get them all and do a taste test for dinner. I made some homemade marinara sauce (btw, it's ah-mazing!) and got the water boiling. Here's how we scored the tasty morsels.

1. Garlic and Basil Gnocchi - 5 out of 5 stars. Delicious! You would never know it was vegan.

2. Butternut Squash Ravioli - 5 out of 5 stars. Wonderful! Although, my marinara sauce was too much for it. I would serve it with a simple garlic sauce. Do you have any other ideas for sauces that would complement butternut squash?

3. Spinach Florentine Ravioli - 5 out of 5 stars. Fantastic! Loved the flavor.

4. Creamy Artichoke and Olive - 0 out of 5 stars. I thought this would be my favorite. I even saved it for last so I could savor it. I hated it. I took one bite and gave the rest to Larry. It doesn't specify on the list of ingredients, but I think the olives were kalamata and I don't like those. Larry gave it a 3 out of 5. He'd eat it if it was served to him and enjoy it, but he wouldn't go out and buy it.

3 out of 4 hit the jackpot and I'm thrilled to add them to my 'go to' grocery arsenal for those days I need something yummy, nutritious and quick.

FINDING A VEGAN RESTAURANT IN GRANTS PASS WAS A CHALLENGE,

until we found Orchid Grill. They are not a vegan restaurant but they were so nice to accommodate my crazy food allergies, double check ingredients and their food is delicious!
My clan loved every bite of their food. You should have heard the mmmm, mmmm's at our table.

Between the kalua pig, banzai burger, pupu platter, sweet potato fries, passion fruit lemonade and mango lemonade, and for me, the teriyaki veggie stir-fry with yakisoba noodles, we all left with full bellies and happy taste-buds.

Next time we are in Southern Oregon, we will definitely be stopping here again.

MOVIE REVIEW, ACCORDING TO US

They are beautiful but some of them have ulterior motives...
We saw Kung Fu Panda 2 last week, we give it two family fun thumbs up and now we want a peacock.
If only our yard was bigger and our puppy would leave it alone. If you get one, let us know so we can visit.

PS - We heart Jack Black!

MOVIE REVIEW, ACCORDING TO ME

Bright Star is a beautiful romantic love story that I didn't want to end.

Ben Whishaw is an adorable John Keats - I wanted to know him more. I was swooning...

MOVIE REVIEW, ACCORDING TO ME

I watched Forever Strong via Netflix instant queue with my oldest this afternoon and we LOVED it.
It's a wonderful, inspiring, feel good, based on a true story, movie that we'll be watching again as a family.
We give it two enthusiastic thumbs up....

I saw a late night showing of Eat, Pray, Love last night with my sis.
I liked it! I found myself smiling and giggling a lot and wiping my eyes here and there.
The scenery is gorgeous and I want to purchase tickets for me and my man clan for Italy and Bali....

SAN FRANCISCO

We stayed at the Crescent Hotel just outside of Union Square...
Our view cracked me up and the elevator was a bit hilarious, but we loved it...

The staff was super friendly and I loved the hotel's modern touches mixed with old and new.
There were a few quirks but I think they added to the charm of the hotel.
BUT there was one thing......

Dear Crescent Hotel,

I love and appreciate art but the painting you have in the entry way by the front desk is inappropriate and made me uncomfortable. Art has it's place and the front desk is not the place for that piece. Please keep it away from children's eyes. Maybe you could put it in the lounge or in your office.

Sincerely,
I hope I don't see it when I come back.

Our rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

A FRIEND OF MY BROTHER'S HAD

a nine hour layover at the airport, so I picked her up and showed her a few of my favorite Portland places....
We ate lunch at Old Town Pizza and I told her about their haunted past - we even ate in the elevator shaft....

We went to Voodoo Donut and stood in this crazy but SO worth it line....

And we went to Multnomah Falls....

All my men (who were frying all day) were thrilled when I came home with left over pizza and a sampling of donuts for a taste test....

The winning donut was tied between the blue raspberry donut and the maple bacon donut...