Tomato and Avocado Cuban Salad

At first glance this looks like a classic salsa fresca right? Chunky tomatoes, cilantro, red onions...Yep, pretty much standard fare for the classic Mexican condiment.

Now take a bite...

Wait? What's this? Smoky cumin? A little sweetness? No heat? Whaaaa....

What I've made for you today is not a salsa but a delicious sweet and savory Cuban salad. I found this recipe many many years ago on the food network and I still make it all the time! Check out the recipe here!

Avocado season just started out here in the islands. Not surprisingly it's one of my favorite times of the year! I have bags of them on hand so expect some more avocado related dishes in the near future!

Enjoy!

{ the ripest tomatoes you can find }

{ organic cilantro }

{ look for Hass avocados }

{ super juicy Tahitian limes }

{ diced red onion }

{ toss with toasted cumin and lime vinaigrette }

{ I ate this with some warm corn tortillas and Cuban black beans. Yum. }

- Beautiful glass serving ware by Bali artist, Seiki Torige. Purchased at Banana Wind in Lahaina -



Aloha Friday

{ colorful juice truck 4 miles south of Lahaina }

{ mangoes at the peak of the season }

{ 3 ft off Hwy 30 }

{ banana grove at Launiupoko }

{ apple bananas still on the stock }

{ Prison St. Lahaina }

{ lone Stand - Up paddler fighting the tradewinds }

{ for rent }

{ our most famous export...}

{ secret black sand beach on the westside }

{ cure for Lahaina's muggy heat }

{ Ulu in a Lahaina parking lot }

{ incase you're interested...}

{ lone palm }

Just a few shots I took while running errands today in town. Happy Aloha Friday everyone! See you next week!



I Want...

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{ Sandra's shoe collection spotted on 5 Inch and Up. }

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{ The outdoor dining space at India Hick's Bahamanian home. }

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{ A holiday on an island in the Indian Ocean...Zanzibar will do. }

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{ The Cambridge Satchel Company tote spotted on Cupcakes and Cashmere .}

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 { The Spicy Cucumber Margarita I found on the blog Santa Barbara Chic }

Charred Corn Tacos with Slaw

I found this incredible ( and a bit different ) veggie taco recipe on the blog Smitten Kitchen this week!

BTW- "Smitten Kitchen" is unbelievable! Everything this chick makes is INCREDIBLE! One of my favorites for sure! If you are not familiar with "Smitten Kitchen" ( like you've been hiding under a rock or something ) I urge you to check it out! NOW!

This taco can be made vegan very easily by omitting the cheese ( I used feta ) and butter ( I used olive oil ). I was able to throw it together pretty quickly and made very little alterations to her original recipe. I know...so unlike me.

Anyway...

The only issue was I don't have a gas grill. So instead, I used a grill pan to blacken the corn. 

I would assume this would be fantastic with a side of black beans but honestly I was pretty stuffed with just two of these tacos.

Let me know what y'all think!! 

{ I peeled up the zuke with this thingy...Then I cut it into matchsticks. }

{ I cut up the radishes like the zuke but this time with a knife. }

{ Then I mixed them together and added some lime juice and salt. }

{ I then blacken the corn before adding it to the sauteed onions and garlic. }

{ Don't forget your greens! }

{ Add your choice of cheese, a squeeze of lime, some hot sauce! }

I love!!

I Love

{ The delicate little nest I found on my lawn. Hope they made it!! }

{ my stalker }

{ This fantastic paper thin sweater I found at F21 for $10! }

{  My clutch collection. Totally necessary. } 

{ Baby Pugs hanging out at coffee shops. OMG! }

Obsessed: Part II

 The thought of wearing anything on my face sort of made me nauseous after moving to a humid climate in my early 20s. Products like moisturizer, concealer, and foundation were completely out of the question. Honestly, beauty products always intimidated the hell out of me. I think I was traumatized in my teens with all the goopy stage make-up I wore for dance and cheerleading competitions. I didn't know that beauty products were not suppose to feel or look like that!

My beauty products over the last 15 years have been narrowed down to a few basic MAC products. "Studio Fix" face powder, 2 neutral shadows, 1 lip liner, one shade of lipstick, bronzer, and a very black mascara. 15 whole years, the same look and colors, I'm not kidding you.

Recently I started noticing that my skin was looking a bit dry and dull so I decided I needed a change.

 I started asking around...my girlfriends, co-workers, Sephora, The Cos Bar, beauty blogs, and most of all my product savvy sister. What I discovered was shocking!

 I've been totally missing out!!

Wow what a difference! Foundation doesn't have to feel like Vaseline! Concealer can hide my pesky dark circles and sun spots! Illuminizers, I love you! Sheer glossy lips, I say yes!

This has been fun! And now I'm totally addicted! But don't worry....I know my limits. I'm very careful about over doing it. Carlos has been a great temperature gage for me. He's not a big make-up fan and he'd be the first person to tell me if I looked a bit over done. Instead, I've been hearing, "Wow, you look really pretty" a little more often these days. Can't say I don't like that!

So, here are the products I've been using. No, I don't wear them all at once. Some days I like different looks and my make-up will vary whether I'm going to work, spending the day in Paia or going out for cocktails.

 I plan on posting about new products I find in the future too. Hope you don't mind!

*Basics*

1. Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation in "BR50 Sienna". I've tried several samples from different brands before going with this one. It's oil-free and incredibly sheer. I love that it has the slightest hint iridescence for a "dewy" look. Perfect for Hawaii!

2. YSL Radiant Touch  in "3". Great concealer for under the eyes. 

3. Time Balm Concealer in "medium". Great over all concealer. Fantastic for break outs! I also use this on my lips under gloss when I want a "nude" look which I've been loving lately.

4. MAC's Studio Fix in "C4".  My old trusty stand by.

5. Nars Illuminator in "Laguna". Great sheer bronzer for a dewy beachy look.

*Bronzer and more Illuminators*

1. Benefit's "High Beam". I sometimes use this on the bridge of my nose or on my upper cheek bones.

2. Benefit's "Hoola". Another old stand by bronzer that I've been using since my SDSU days. I think I originally purchased it because it was called "Hoola" 

*Blush*

1. MAC's "Blushbaby"

2. Tarte's "Natural Beauty" Cheek Stain. These are cool! They create a sheer dewy finish. I think I'd like to experiment with deeper shades.

*Shadows*

MAC

I've always thought that MAC had the most fantastic pigments and I rarely stray from their collections. I found that the guys and girls that work at the MAC counters to be extremely knowledgeable and very helpful too! 

My current shades: "Mulch", "Fresh Daisy" ( limited ) "Patina", "Shale", and "Black Tied" ( used as a liner )

*More Eyes*

1. Bobbi Brown: Limited Edition "Sand Tortoise Shell Eye Palette". I love this because it's so easy to travel with and so nice to have 8 beachy shades is one compact case!

2. Benefit's "They're Real" mascara. This is a sample size and I'm in love. I'll be using this brand of mascara for a long time I think!

*Lips*

I've shied away from lipsticks when I discovered these great sheer glosses. I love these with or without liners...

1. Lancome's Juicy Tubes Jelly in "Raspberry Ice" and "Bolole"

2. Bobbi Brown's "Beach"

3. Clinique's "Black Honey" Beautifully sheer!

4. MAC's lip liner in "Hodgepodge"

5. Bobbi Brown's lip liner in "Cocoa"

And just in case...

Urban Decay's "All Nighter"

A light spray to keep everything in place during long humid work days. It totally works too...Amazing!

*Nails*

I've always loved a good professional pedicure but these days I save the $40 and do them myself. I'm obsessed with having perfectly polished toes partly because in Hawaii there's very little wearing of "closed toed" shoes ( even in the work place ). I love that, but if you're in the water as much as I am, maintence becomes an almost daily routine....

I recently started painting my short nails as well. I used to wear only pale pinks or clear polish on my nails but lately I've been having a lot of fun with corals and and bright pinks. These shades look amazing with a tan. I've yet to embrace the pastel blue, purple, and green trend but I'll never say never...

 My favorite brand of all time: Essie. Second runner up: OPI

That was fun!

Check out these great tutorials by "Pixiwoo" on You Tube. I've learned so much about product application from these two cute British girls. My sister and I are totally obsessed!

Aloha!!

Obsessed: Part 1

I've never thought twice about my skin when I was young. I was a very lucky acne-free teenager, I never burned and I constantly looked as if I just got back from a Caribbean vacation even in the dead of winter. Don't hate me...I promise I had plenty of other issues but for some crazy stroke of luck my skin was not one of them. Thanks to this phenomenon, I terribly abused it.

{ Reckless in French Polynesia circa 2005}

Tanning beds were pretty big in the early 90's, so was baby oil on the beach, and the extreme avoidance of skin healthy fats like avocados and nuts. I even went through a period where I actually thought a "peeling" nose or shoulders was cool....You know, the sign of a real surfer girl. The fact that I lived in coastal southern California in my early 20s during the first "Baywatch" years probably didn't help matters either. 

I was warned...

"Wear sunscreen, wear a hat, wear a rash guard, buy good sunglasses!" My 40 looking 69 year old mother brags about how she avoided the sun after the age of 27 and how I'll someday pay for my ignorance but I still didn't listen. After all, I was the genetic freak in my light eyed, blond, fair skinned family. Surely my naturally deep olive toned skin would survive any sort of onslaught.

I was wrong.

 Fast forward a good 15 years of surfing under a tropical sun and I'm seeing fine lines, dark spots, and childhood facial scars growing deeper and darker.

 At 35 I'm suddenly obsessed with my skin and as vain as that might sound it's honestly and painfully true.  

I guess it's better late than never and I'm on a serious mission....

 I've been making some internal changes for my skin this year like drinking way more water. I'm really bad about this one because I hate it ( weird, I know... ) I'm taking vitamin E supplements and eating loads of avocados when I can. Externally, I'm dry brushing once a day,  I finally settled on a facial moisturizer and I'm actually using it daily ( big step! ) I even picked one with SPF and I actually like it.

{ image link }

 I'm exfoliating my face and neck 3 times a week, I'm removing my mascara with an actual cotton ball and an intended removing solution (  instead of roughly rubbing my eyes with a chaffing washcloth and water ) and I've found a fantastic gentle face wash that actually removes my heavy surfing sunscreen and make-up!

{ image link }

 Major improvements!

* HOWEVER *

With all this attention to skin care a new unexpected addiction has surfaced....I'll be back with this one next post!

(  to be continued )