Gumushkey Fest

Every Labor Day weekend my family gets together. My aunt, cousins, cousin-in-laws & their adorable babies drive down to Atlanta. My parents, sister and I then show them the best the city has to offer, which usually involves a lot of food! Several years ago we dubbed the weekend "Gumushkey Fest", a mashup of all our names. 

This year I couldn't join in on the festivities. I had to live vicariously through #flatpenny, pictures, texts and phone updates from sister. I then tried to stay extra busy & make some new Labor Day traditions in Honolulu. 

From all the reports I learned that this years Gumushkey Fest involved a trip to the aquarium, a stop at the Varsity, shopping at Marietta Square, dinner at a taqueria and a feast at the Gumbel House. Whew!

Check out #flatpenny rocking a hat at the Varsity. I told her to order an FO, but I don't think she was very hungry ;-)

My weekend started with brinner (that's breakfast for dinner) at Eat the Streets, a monthly food truck event. I met up with friends and ate my fill of food and drank my fill of mimosas. 

What goes with a mimosa... Why a fried wonton filled with lobster mac and cheese of course! Paul's Poppers are some of the best pupus on the island. 

Then came the mini chicken and waffle, it tasted like home. Thanks Soul truck for making some southern food. 

Finally came the crab cake benny from All Kine Grindz. It was oh-so-Hawaiian on a bed of rice. It also came with a side of mac salad, the best I've tried so far! 

Saturday night I went to a cougar themed birthday party. I promised to leave the pictures off my blog, but let's just say it was the best "25th" b-day party I've ever been to. 

Here's some tot-chos from the b-day party. Imagine all the goodness of nachos on top of tator tots. And then because it's Hawaii, I ate this mess with chopsticks. 

Even though it was a holiday weekend, I couldn't go without a workout (or three). Plus I had to keep moving to work off all that delicious food. 

They finally put a picture of me on the Fitness Ranes FB page and now I know why Coach Jesse is always telling me to straighten my back!

To end the weekend I spent some time in the sun. Now looking at my red arms, chest and cheeks perhaps I spent a little too much time in the sun. 

My friends' pool is a total urban oasis. It's in the middle of the hub bub of Waikiki but we were still able to have a peaceful afternoon. 

And because this post is basically food porn, I should end with my poke bowl from Ono Seafood... By far my favorite!

So even though I missed out on Gumushkey Fest I was able to celebrate Labor Day weekend with lots of food and friends... Success. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Morning rainbow on my way to work. 

Mahalo!

Penny Hungry!

This weekend I found myself wandering the streets of Chinatown (don't worry Mom I wasn't alone). 

Yet again I started the evening off with an old fashioned at The Manifest. I've decided these are the perfect happy hour drink because they encourage slow sipping, but still put the happy in happy hour. 

As the night went on I started to feel HANGRY & that's when the wandering began. . . 

I found a restaurant featuring French Latin fusion on Yelp. Someone had recommended Grondin to me before so I wanted to check the menu out. With three different menu items containing duck I knew I would've found something I liked. But with dinner prices > $20 it seems like it would be better for a fancy date night. Scratch that idea & time to start walking. 

First we stopped by Downbeat Lounge. It's half bar and half restaurant. The best way to describe it: Hipster Diner. The menu looked good, but the tables were way too small to accommodate our group. Looks like a great spot for four or less. 

Then we made a quick pass by Lucky Belly, an Asian fusion restaurant featuring oxtail soup.  A quick look at the menu looked alright, though probably more meat than I like. But we kept walking because of the line at the door. 

Next our wandering took us to The Pig and The Lady. This cute little restaurant features Vietnamese fusion with a lot of pork (if you couldn't guess from their name). Thank goodness they have options for those of us who don't eat quadrupeds.  I've tried their food before at the KCC Farmers Market and was excited to check out the full menu. However, the hostess said it would be a one hour wait and that was not going to work. The hunger in my belly was now similar to the Hulk smashing his fists ("Penny Hungry!"). 

Check out the tofu bun I had at the L&TP tent. You could see why I would want to try more!

Finally we ended up at the perfect spot. Only a few blocks away the Little Village Noodle House had 4.5 stars on Yelp. And most importantly they were able to sit my group in <5 mins. The food came fast, was hot & delicious... Yum-o!

Chinese food in Chinatown... Seems appropriate. 

Tofu potstickers. As the healthy one at the table I got mine steamed (or maybe I just like them better that way). 

Garlic rice. OMG. I could barely talk during dinner. I was so busy eating this deliciousness! 

See I told you I was hangry, very little left behind!

After this weekend I feel like I could host a walking tour of the restaurants of Chinatown. Now I just need to eat at more of them so I decide which ones are the best. Maybe next time when I'm not so hangry. 

And now for the pic of the week:

The big cloud was a storm that rolled in and out in <10 mins. It brought rain and humidity, but also brought the temperature down. 

Mahalo!

Long weekends

Did you enjoy a long weekend last week? I did! What no three day weekend on the mainland?!? Well this little bonus day was thanks to the Hawaiian state holiday, "Admissions Day". 

This is the day Hawiians celebrate (or for some protest) becoming the 50th state. In 1959 after a public vote Dwight D Eisenhower signed all the official paperwork to make Hawaii a legit US state. 

In remembeance of this historic event there's a state holiday on the third Friday of August each year. Ya-hoo!! During the hurricane I was considered essential staff and had to come in to the hospital; however, one week later I'm no longer essential and I got the day off. I wasn't free of responsibilities, I did have to carry the on call pager.  No complaints here though. I enjoyed the weekend by spending time with friends, enjoying the sunshine & getting in a workout or two ;-)

And now for the pic of the week:

I didn't even realize it was a double rainbow until after I took the picture. And check out the flag... The state flag in honor of the holiday!

Mahalo!

Into the Storm

Last Friday a new movie hit the big screen, "Into the Storm". From what I've heard the movie is about a larger than life superstorm. There was no need for me to go to the theaters because I was able to watch Hawaii prepare for their own superstorm. 

If you read last week's post you know all about my preparedness ... This is the story of my survival (spoiler alert: no ones gonna make a movie about this). 

In preparation for the storm my hospital called a "code black". They called off all non-essential staff. Critical staff, like myself, were required to report early in order to arrive before Iselle hit. 

I tried to keep my whining to a minimum. At least the hospital management sees me as essential & had my safety in mind. But it's hard not to whine at 4:30 am when you haven't yet had any coffee. 

To help brighten my mood I wore my polka dot rain boots. If nothing else my feet were flash flood ready!

My island, Oahu, saw limited impact from Iselle. She spent most of her energy hitting the windward coast of the Big Island. The National Gaurd and Red Cross are still helping the residents clean up and put their lives back together. 

This was what is was like in Honolulu. These pictures were taken 30 minutes apart. The whole morning the rain/wind would start and stop. 

Once we got the all clear I headed home and celebrated after confirming my apartment was still in one piece. The next piece of good news: Hurricane Julio path was now headed into the ocean north of the islands.  What better way to celebrate...

Than voting! Saturday was the HI primary. 

Cause as they say in Hawaii:

And now for the pic of the week:

I was feeling a little foodie-homesick. To make myself feel better I recreated Momma Goldberg's nachos (just steam nacho cheese Doritos with pepper jack cheese on top). If I closed my eyes I felt like I was back in the South. Yum-o. 

Mahalo!

Disaster Proof

Remember the ice storm of 2011? Remember the Tropical Storm that knocked down a tree branch in my yard back when I lived in SC in 2003? Remember the Blizzard of 19-something-or-other? These are my previous experiences with natural disasters. Overall, pretty uneventful (and apparently not super memorable). 

At the start of hurricane/typhoon season I was to be prepared. I started by watching TV specials. I read articles. I learned everything you needed to learn about storm preparation in HI. 

And then I did... absolutely nothing. 

Now fast forward a couple of weeks and the possibility for disaster is real. Hurricane Iselle and Hurricane Julio are all anyone can talk about. The news reports are basically weather updates with occasional news stories sprinkled in.

So I won't earn any Girl Scout badges for my preparation, but I think I'm ready. 

- I got my version of a disaster kit.  

- I have a couple of options for getting into work on Friday morning. 

- And I've read up on my hospital's code black (severe weather policy). 

So if I can make it trough this weekend then I will have survived my first disaster in paradise. And hopefully it will have been as uneventful as my previous brushes with disaster. 

Storm #1, Hurriane Iselle, should be a tropical storm by the time she hits Honolulu on Friday. 

Storm #2, Hurricane Julio, which is following a couple of days later is what makes this a "Double Whammy". 

Going to the store last night was a bad idea. No water, batteries or toilet paper. The highlight of the trip was landing a great parking spot. I was in and out in < 30 mins. 

Thank goodness I had most of what I needed because this is all I walked out with. Call it my version if essentials ;-)

And now for the pic of the week:

Sorry for all the food porn, but this dip was muy bueno! After months without Mexican food this 5-layer dip hit the spot. 

Mahalo!