Hau’oli Makahiki Hou, Happy New Year & Godt Nyttår from Hawai’i! ?

Spent the early hours of the day relaxing by the pool, before collapsing on the bed around noon and staying there. Dreamed of big waves and hard falls, woke up and watched the replay of Day 3 at the Billabong Pipe Masters while eating dinner and am now getting ready to return to slumberland. Tomorrow we’re changing rooms, view and sleeping arrangements as we move out of the hotel and into one of the ocean villas, and truth be told I can’t wait. Hotel rooms can be quite claustrophobic at times, no matter what physical size they are.

Tanning at Lanikai, watching the windsurfers play outside Kailua Beach, reading a couple of chapters of Shantaram, listening to  Jonathan Johansson (as I’ve been doing for weeks), eating fresh fruit for breakfast & fresh fish for dinner (mahi mahi), singing Mele Kalikimaka, making plans for next semester and taking pictures of surfers. That is my life at the moment. And I couldn’t be more pleased. This feels like a good way to end the year, and start refreshed come 2012. Considering it might end with the end of the world I am thinking 2012 might be a busy one. Hopefully.

img src_private

I think I’ve told you all about my previous attempts at surfing (which ended in disaster in a manner of speaking), and how I postponed any further attempts until my family showed up so we could attend some sort of beginner’s course. Well, today we drove out to Malaekahana to give it another try, this time with the guys from Hans Hedemann Surf. And may I say score, high five and mahalo. I really had a blast, even though my arms were swearing at me after the first 10 minutes of paddling (I really don’t have paddling muscles, or arm muscles for that matter). I also dived head first into the waves a couple of times, but that’s to be expected. By this time next year, I’ll be a pro. For sure.

Have you ever tried surfing?

img src_my mom

Location: Turtle Bay, North Shore. Bit windy, but the sun is shining and the beach is calling.

img src_private

More photos of Gingerbread House 2.0. We are a family of Starbucks addicts (got a $100 gift certificate at Starbucks as Christmas present), so it was only fair and square that we built a little Starbucks coffee shop as the family gingerbread house. A Christmas-y Starbucks with a touch of Hawaii by adding a small fruit market outside. I am quite pleased with the result (and yeah, we totally cheated on the whole logo-thing, looks a lot better this way I think).

NOW, it is time for breakfast and then we’re moving locations from Honolulu to Oahu’s North Shore and Turtle Bay Resort. The next week will be all beaches, scuba diving and surfing. A *real* vacation in other words.

photos_private

I’ve wished for a drawing tablet for at least 5 years now, but it has never entered the wish list, primarily because I didn’t know where to get one, until I moved to Hawaii and found this at the Apple store. I made sure every member of the family knew that I wanted this more than anything (except for a pony), and while I could have bought it myself, it is a lot more fun to get it as a Christmas present. So now I can finally draw (and write) anything I want – just the way I want it – on the macbook. High five*5.

Did you get something you really wished for this year?

img src_private

Last nights Christmas celebrations started with turkey, mashed sweet potatoes (from a recipe containing maple syrup), mushrooms & onions and cranberry sauce. And while I do love my Christmas cod (a tradition in our family), the turkey was all kinds of delicious. For the gift ceremony, lol, I put on the item in the first present I opened and suddenly it felt like Christmas. The first gift was from my grandmother, and it contained woolen socks. And while warm socks might not be what I use the most in Honolulu, it can get quite chilly here on the 34th floor when the door to the lanai is open.

How was your Christmas Eve?

img src_private

.. and since I like this picture of our newly decorated Starbucks coffee shop, I felt like wishing you all a Merry Christmas here at the end of Christmas Eve. I got everything I really wished for, the hint to one of those things are in this picture actually. But more on that later, it’s still Christmas Eve here which means coffee and music and playing with all the new toys.

img src_private

TOP brandy melville SHORTS gt BAG chanel SHOES converse SCARF hermès  WATCH triwa COFFEE starbucks

Stopped by the apartment to pick up some dresses and then by Starbucks for a morning coffee before returning to the hotel. We have decorated a gingerbread house (second one this season), been informed that the Obama family are celebrating Christmas on Oahu (they have a vacation house in Kailua), the turkey is in the oven, I’ve watched Mickey’s Christmas Carroll on TV and am now feeling as Christmas spirit-y as I wanted to be.

The rest of the family are on the sun deck, but I think I am actually going to go for a walk on the treadmill while watching some more Christmas cartoons. Work up an appetite for the turkey and mashed potatoes.

It feels weird that most of the people back home are done with Christmas Eve celebrations already, while we haven’t even started yet. Can’t wait for New Year’s Eve though, when for one hour we will be the last people on earth still left in 2011 while everyone else has moved into 2012.

I’m going out to get some sun and maybe take a swim in the ocean before turkey and presents awaits us later tonight. Hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve wherever you are. and that you got just about everything you wished for (personally I want a pony).

Coldplay – Christmas Lights

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

…  And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

Well, except in Hawaii, where we’ve got fireworks every Friday, so the night was far from silent in about fifteen minutes of fireworks magic. Back in Norway people are waking up right now, ready to celebrate Christmas, so to all of you (and the rest of you) I want to say; GOD JUL, Mele Kalikamaka & Merry Christmas.

After breakfast at Duke’s this morning we travelled over to the west side of Honolulu to find a beach free of tourists.

img src_private

New bikini from Victoria’s Secret and sailor shoes from Sperry Top-Sider bought at Nordstrom. Never thought I’d see the day where I willingly picked out – not one but – two pink things to wear. The shoes are UGGs in sailor shoe format though, so soft ! And to match all this pink I stopped by Apple and bought a pair of purple headphones as a Xmas gift from my grandmother to me. Thank you, mormor !

And I had to slip in another picture of the Chanel. ‘is too pretty not to.

img src_private

BAG chanel NAILPOLISH deborah lippmann

My family has finally arrived, and my address has been changed to floor 34 at the Trump Tower in Waikiki. We’ve decorated for Christmas and Frank Sinatra’s voice is singing Christmas songs while my dad is making dinner. Today was spent at Ala Moana for the mandatory trip to Abercrombie&Fitch (my sisters collect half of their wardrobe from that store), and some holiday shopping. Bought a red glitter nail polish from Deborah Lippmann at Nordstrom to make my nails match the season, because this year the Christmas spirit will only arrive if I make it so.

And yeah, I forgot to mention that I inherited this beautiful Chanel bag from my mum. It is indeed beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

img src_private