Aloha Oahu

Where to start...I am absolutely in love with Hawaii. 

We decided to go to Hawaii because 

a. it was Spring Break

b. lyle killed it in Texas & we could

c. we were pale & wanted a third honeymoon

d. all of the above

This blog is lotsa pictures & my random Hawaii observations

Waikiki/Honolulu is the WORST. if you go to Oahu do not stay there. The North Shore was absolutely perfect and not crowded at all. We LOVED where we stayed. Honolulu and Waikiki are fun to explore but the hotels are overpriced and you will probably have to pay for parking on top.

 Lolani Palace

 my stud husband

Homeless guys in Hawaii are less scarier than homeless guys anywhere else. They wanted me to take a picture of them

Dukes Statue. Other tourists aren't that good at taking centered pictures

 Some cool/weird tree in Kapiolani Park

And of course we went to the beach. below is Waimea Beach

Waimea Falls. This was supposed to be with a self timer but lyle didnt get to me in time...

One of the beautiful lookout points. We couldn't live in Hawaii because my hair was just the worst thing ever. As seen in the following pictures... 

Nuanna Pali Lookout. We were sad because it was foggy! The weather in Hawaii reminds me a lot of Florida- it will rain while its sunny and it will be gross one second and fine the next so we just waited until it went away (it did!)

A tripod is THE BEST thing we have ever bought. Especially if you love to travel. Get one.

Hahaha Lyles pose...

 We wanted to live like locals so we a teeny place that was a couple feet from the beach and went to the grocery store and guys everything in Hawaii is EXPENSIVE. Cereal is like $6.00 and they don't have a huge huge selection and all the food is way pricey. However they do have unique fruits and candies that are AMAZING. Hence we didn't feel the need to buy razors (we only did carry ons) which equals super sexy for Lyle (see below) and not so sexy for me.... 

 Lyle was very persuasive in Hawaii. Hence my participation in these photos....Lyle obviously posed me too because I have no clue what I'm doing in the first photo.

 We were never lacking in PDA. Sorry to the other tourists, but vacation is fun for that kind of stuff. We were asked if we were on our honeymoon a couple times...sure, our third honeymoon. 

More from Waimea Falls!

 I LOVE this!

Hawaii is not lacking in chickens or cats... the cats were more in the Waikiki area while the chickens were on the North Shore. Everyone owns them

 Lyle found this an appropriate time to ask why the chicken crossed the road...

 But it was so cute because they all had BABIES!

We explored many different beaches! Lanikai, a Waikiki Beach, Bonzai pipeline, Waimea, Sunset, Hukilau, etc. Below are pictures from Lanikai one of Lyles favorites. The sand was soft and white and it was so beautiful!

Then one day we went to the Latter Day Saint Laie temple! It is STUNNING. Lyle and i have now through 5 different temples together! Our goal is to hit go through everyone of them as we travel to many different places

The views are amazing!

We also went to the Polynesian Cultural Center- PCC. They had tons of different shows about different cultures along with lots of hands on things such as lei making, throwing spears etc. We then went to the luau there and saw the HA Breath of Life Show which had guys throwing fire and it was so cool

We just bought this hut in case anyone wants to visit us!

One day we went to China Mans hat! So then obviously we took a photo shoot. IT IS THAT STUNNING- i only edited two of these pictures and that was to make them lighter, the rest are what it really looks like!

All my swimsuits are from Amazon by the way for like $15! They are great when you eat Hawaiian french toast and feel fat haha

One day we went to Valley of the temples! It is stunning! I did not touch a single photo. I felt like I was in China sometimes...also because seriously everyone was Asian

 This whole pond behind us was filled with these huge Koi fish

freaking babe.

My top 5 favorite parts of the trip: (in no order)

1. Hawaiian Sweet bread french toast from Papa Ole's

2. the helicopter ride over Oahu

3. Our snorkeling excursion where wild dolphins swam all around us

4. laying out & getting sun

5. the amazing beauty everywhere we went

 this waterfall was amazing! our helicopter had no doors and he basically would flip the helicopter to the side so we could get different views and it was so scary! Its actually illegal to hike to this waterfall so it was cool we got to see it since its not visible

Lookin rough on my part- I lost a whole lotta hair in this event haha

Our pilot flew over this whale that was breaching! SO COOL

The snorkeling adventure was so sick besides the fact that we got up at 4:30 am...

we got on this boat and rode out and saw some bottle nose dolphins which is surprising because usually its just the spinner dolphins and he started speeding and the dolphins started swimming alongside and jumping in the waves. it was amazing. then we went snorkeling in an area where we saw 4 huge konas! (turtles) and a bunch of fish. The next snorkeling area i saw a reef shark RIGHT UNDER ME and I started swimming to the boat and freaking out. Lyle decided to get a picture of it (we haven't gotten our underwater camera developed yet!) The guy in charge said reef sharks wont bug you but hmm funny, on yahoo yesterday i saw an article where a man was attacked by a reef shark...it wasn't exactly tiny. The boat then got a call about a bunch of spinner dolphins spotted so he slowly dropped us in the water and told us not to move. Then all the sudden 55+ spinner dolphins started to swim under us. They all had little babies and it was phenomenal. They were completely surrounding us. They just swam around us several times. I have never had a cooler experience in my life. Then they fed us an amazing lunch! Ko Olina Ocean adventures was amazing! We had the best time!

I loved Haleiwa! It was the perfect little beach town with a cute bakery, little shops and amazing homemade icecream!

 We watched a Sunset on Sunset beach

We got to hike Manoa Falls and the Kokohead Crater Hike

please ignore the terrible shoes below...

More Pictures!

Halona Blowhole

 Get a picture of the sign! Thanks lyle...haha

 An amazing steak house where we ate with a beautiful view of the beach!

the reason I probably gained 20 lbs haha and for some reason lyle adores this picture...

RIP white wedge shoe. 

We had an amazing time to say the least. We ate lots of amazing food. Hawaii seems to be big on breakfast food and so am I. If we lived there I would be so obese. We ate from the food trucks and had shaved ice and at night we would fall asleep to movies that take place in Hawaii such as 50 first dates or Just Go With It.  We crossed things off bucket lists. We stopped at local little fruit stands and had the best time. We have already decided we have to go back next spring break for a couple days to finish up the rest of the things we wanna do then explore the big island!! The amount of photos i took is ridiculous, i have zillions more but these are some of the favorites! aloha

xoxo Cait xoxo

Hand Me Downs

Do you know whats better than a pair of Frye boots? A pair of FREE Frye boots. These babies were my dads and when I went home at Christmas I told him about how I was looking at a few pairs. One day he came downstairs all excited and showed me these. He was so nice and cute about it and told me they just needed a good cleaning and I could have them. In all honesty I wasn't too thrilled about them at first. But after a couple wears they fit perfect and started to grow on me and I knew I could make them work. They were pretty unique in color and I loved that they were 30 or so years old. Sometimes its fun to have a statement piece and plan the rest of your outfit around it. I tend to do this a lot with shoes and I did that with these boots. I love vintage hand me down clothes. My grandmother has given me some old belts and costume jewelry and its so fun to wear. Just because something is old doesn't mean you can't give it new life! It inspired me to look through some of my old things and if you live near your parents, grandparents, etc maybe they have some old things they don't wear anymore and they wouldn't mind parting with. Even if initially you don't like it you would be surprised with what you can do with something. Don't let the fact that it belonged to a guy stop you either. Have an open mind here! I bet you guys will come up with some awesome ways to wear old pieces. Clothes and pieces from the past usually come back into style anyway. 

Oh also, this jacket is the best thing ever. I got it at Forever 21 for 40% off! All their outerwear is on sale right now and they have some way cute stuff. Its super comfy and I love the way I feel in it. 

Jacket: Forever 21 in select stores similar here Jeans: Abercrombie and Fitch Oxford shirt: J. Crew Factory Chain Link Necklace: Forever 21 you can barely see similar here or for something cheaper maybe check your local H&M as well Gold Paved Bracelet: similar here and it comes in many colors OR you could type in gold paved bracelet in on Ebay and get it for $20 like I did! Frye Boots: Old similar was hard to find but heres one based off color not style here

If you all find anything cool going through some old stuff I would love to hear about it! Or you could try some thrift stores or flea markets, they actually have some cool pieces! I wish we had some good ones out here, Maryland has a lot of good ones!

xoxo Cait xoxo

All J.Crew All The Time

I love classic pieces and maybe that's why I love J.Crew and J. Crew Factory so much. You may spend a little more on the pieces but they don't really go out of style. I love the quality of the materials as well, they last forever. Let me add I seriously only go to J.Crew when they have their amazing sales, these pieces were all 50% off! This outfit is kind of preppy but I love it. This white oxford is one of my favorite pieces because you can use it as a layering piece and basically wear it with anything and have tons of different looks. 

This vest is the newest gift from my very amazing and attentive husband! I have constantly been watching one at all times on Ebay but never asked for one or thought of purchasing one but he surprised me and bid on it without me knowing since he was gone for so long. I love it and have lusted after it for so long! I have tried it on with so many things and it is seriously perfect. Just FYI they run a little bit big so if you're a small you'd probably need an extra small and so on. Its so soft and very comfy! This skirt is so comfy and has an elastic band so you can tuck your shirt into which ives you a couple different looks as well. The bright green is perfect for spring and summer but could easily be paired with tights and a sweater for winter weather. Thats another reason I LOVE J.Crew, you can wear so many of their pieces all year round. I am so ready for ready for Spring guys and I have started picking out things that have bright colors and patterns! If you all subscribe to their emails you will find out about their amazing deals and thats when you can snag what you like- just for those who think its out of your budget, because it can be affordable! I cant wait for next week when I get to post all my Hawaii outfits! 

Herringbone vest: J.Crew originally- now available on Ebay (just type it in and your size) Skirt: J.Crew Factory in 3 colors White Oxford: J.Crew Factory have it at J.Crew as well Statement Necklace: similar here mine is silver not gold Sparkly Flats: old from Aeropostale? similar here 

I am embracing these random summer type days we are getting and cant wait until they are an everyday kinda thing. Thanks for stopping by! Oh and also ignore the gross bruises on my knees from snowboarding...

xoxo CAIT xoxo