Louis Vuitton Ala Moana Reopening

This is definitely a much belated post, as I attended this occasion a few weeks ago, but I also recently visited the newly renovated Louis Vuitton at Ala Moana Center to make a small purchase for my birthday...which I'll discuss a bit more in an upcoming post.  I only bought something small, so don't get too excited for a reveal.

From what I was told, the renovation that took place at the Louis Vuitton store at Ala Moana Center was one that spanned a total of 2 years.  Having been to this store on several occasions over the past couple of years, it didn't occur to me until recent months that a renovation was taking place.  They managed to keep the store fully functioning and as open to walk around as possible, while parts of the store were closed off from entry, and modifications took place.  I knew that majority of the work being done dealt with the staircase, since access to it was no longer permitted, and the elevators were the only way to travel to and from floors.

All in all, the renovation was completed, and the grand reopening of the Louis Vuitton store at Ala Moana Center took place on April 19, 2014.  I wasn't there for all the festivities I was told happened first thing in the morning of the reopening, but I was able to make it there by that afternoon.  By then, it was much less chaotic, and seemed like just an ordinary day in the store.  I took the time to stroll along, and see the store in its entirety.  Sure enough, the staircase was the highlight of the renovation, as it went from being made of glass to a wooden staircase, one that featured tremendous detail consisting of what looked like metal facets that ran along the walls around it in a wavy texture.  

I was particularly fixated on getting something whilst there that day, but the specific items I inquired about were unavailable.  Part of the reason for wanting to get something that day, was because I noticed that some people coming out of the store held special Louis Vuitton shopping bags that I suspected were made for the reopening.  Unfortunately, the things I was after weren't available to purchase at the time, and I was in no position to spontaneously buy another bag, just because I wanted the special shopping bag. 

Even so, upon returning a couple weeks later, I made a purchase, and my amazing SA (sales associate) was able to get my item placed into one of their few remaining special bags from the reopening.  Pictures of the item I ended up getting, and pictures of the special shopping bag will all be featured in a blog post and unboxing video fairly soon.  Below are pictures from the reopening of the Louis Vuitton store at Ala Moana Center, all of which were taken by me, aside from the one I'm in (of course).  =]

Spam Jam 2014

'Twas yet another fun filled weekend for me.  There always seems to be tons of things to do every weekend here, and I'm now realizing I want to document my experiences at these events as I experience them.  There was a bit of debate as to what I was gonna be doing this past weekend, being that a few different options were presented to me.  Ultimately, I ended up attending the 12th annual Spam Jam held in Waikiki with my sister, Reisha, and my cousin, Rowena.  This event was a fantastic representation of Hawaii's love of Spam, and consisted of many great food establishments that had their own booths.  Many of these food vendors sold a combination of regular items from their menu, along with dishes specially created for the event.  There was quite a range of food to try, so we had to be a bit selective as to where we spent our money.  The food we did end up getting, however, were a Spam pizza, Spam lettuce wraps & fried noodles from PF Chang, and the Kanak Attack (consisting of a loco moco, with Spam fried rice, and Spam katsu) from Duke's Canoe Club.  Spam desserts were also in the mix at the Spam Jam, but we passed on those, although the Spam sundae did sound enticing.  I would probably attend this event again, as it was a delicious time, but I need to make a mental note to wear a crossbody bag instead of my Louis Vuitton Speedy 30, so I can have a better "hands free" experience.  Below are pictures of the various sights from that night, most of which were taken by me, aside the ones I'm in (of course).  =]

Spam Jam poster I saw in the lobby of the parking garage where we parked.

Overview of the event...there were definitely lots of people in attendance.

A few of the booths present at the Spam Jam.  I unfortunately passed on taking photos with the Spam wave (the line was ridiculous).

I think these were supposed to be characters from a children's story book, but we just wanted to take pictures with them.

Spam pizza.

Spam lettuce wraps from PF Chang.

The Kanak Attack from Duke's Canoe Club.

Rowena with food from PF Chang.

Arial view of the event from the Royal Hawaiian Center's bridge.

HNL Night Market - April 19, 2014

It has surely been a while since I've attended a Honolulu Night Market, an event held monthly in the Kakaako area of downtown Honolulu.  I managed to make my way there this month, however, to see what there was to see.  As usual, there were lots of great local food trucks that represented an array of diverse foods, both sweet and savory.  Entertainment was also in abundance, with live musical performances, and a fashion show in the lineup.  But being the shopaholic I am, I of course had to check out the Pinch of Salt featuring local vendors that had clothes & accessories, artwork, and other nifty things for sale.  I did end up picking something out while browsing through these vendors, that I'll share either in a future post here, or on my Instagram account.  Below are some photos I took while attending Honolulu Night Market.  All photos taken by me, aside from the one taken by Ericka Bueno (the one I'm in).  =]

Too bad someone smudged the chalkboard. Haha.

Walking in New Shoes

I think it's safe to say that we all make it a point to set goals and areas for improvement as we embark on a new year...and consequently 99.9% of the time our plans and good intentions fall through the cracks.  Now I know it's a bit presumptuous for me to mention, but I'm gonna try damn hard to ensure that none, and I sincerely mean NONE of the goals I set for the year go unnoticed or pushed aside.  That being said, I wanted to take some time to revamp this blog.  I'll be changing things up a bit in terms of general appearance, and referring back to the posting schedule I had devised (which can be seen here), to be consistent in putting out a variety of content that I am passionate about expressing.  It pains me that putting posts up on this blog has been something that I have failed to accomplish on a frequent basis, especially when I thoroughly enjoy writing and putting together these posts.  I want to be more actively engaged in taking my ideas, and putting them out there for you all to see, rather than have them remain in my thoughts.  This blog, as I mentioned once or twice before, is an outlet of my expression, and I wish to be as expressive as I can with what I put out there.

On another note, there a few posts that I intended to post a while back, though somehow ended up on the back burner and are pretty irrelevant at this point in time, since they refer to things either no longer available, or just out of season.  Even though they may no longer be prevalent in things on a current scale, I will start the year off by sharing those with you all.  These posts include photos of the looks from the FirstLady The Movement fashion show I helped to produce and style, which took place during their 4th annual expo in July.  Another post consists of the items I picked up from the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection, that launched in September.  Finally, I wanted to share with you all my review of the Alexander Wang Rocco bag, to which I also filmed a corresponding video to accompany it on my YouTube channel that will be uploaded at the same time I get that post up.  Expect to see these much belated posts go up, along with other aesthetic changes to this blog over the course of the next week or so...I promise.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the title of this post, I based it off the song "New Shoes (Postcard)" by Beyonce (that I have embedded at the bottom of this post).  It's kind of an older song, and let's just say it was one of the stand out songs that graced my MySpace page back in the day.  Looking at it generally, it's a break up song...not to say it's any representation as to how my relationship with my boyfriend is going.  We're doing just fine, if anyone cares to know.  Anyway, the message I take away from the song is that you shouldn't let people restrict you from accomplishing anything in life, and that you're far better off ridding your life of toxic people who ultimately cause you to be unhappy.  I find it fitting that starting off a new year is like slipping on a pair of new shoes, ones that can take you anywhere you want to go, depending on whether or not you decide to take the right path.  The shoes I'm wearing in the picture above are new by the way...they're by Cole Haan, and I scored a great deal on them at the Saks 5th Avenue Outlet (Off 5th) after Christmas sale.  Now that I've gone on rambling long enough, I'll shut up and get to work on all those posts I mentioned.  Hope you all have had a spectacular holiday season, and are starting off the new year on the right foot.

=]

One Fresh Night

Happy Sunday everyone.  I can't tell you all how much I looked forward to the weekend after a pretty hectic, grueling, and stressful week.  I think I may or may not share weekend endeavors on these "Say Something Sunday" posts, but it'll all depend on if there was anything of interest that I did over the weekend.  Anyway, back to this post...yesterday (Saturday) was a pretty fun filled and eventful day, as I planned it out from morning to night.  The day started off pretty dull, in that I just laid around for majority of the morning contemplating my day's activities.  My day didn't really carry on into action until mid afternoon, when I went to stop by the iKandy flagship store, and to Target to kill time before my evening plans (there will definitely be a Target haul sometime soon). Started the night off stopping by the Fresh event hosted by the Valerie Joseph Boutique, which benefits Community Helping Schools, a non-profit organization that gives back to public schools in need.  It was definitely a lively environment that carried a very positive vibe in support of a worthy cause, particularly since it was hosted at a night club (The M at restaurant row to be specific).  After the festivities there, I went to the 1 year anniversary of Honolulu Night Market in Kaka'ako, where it was a bit rainy, which made it unfortunate as it is mostly an outdoor event.  Despite the rain, however, it was still a good time.  I was able to see some wonderful home decor and furnishings by Pad Hawaii, stop by Kira Hawaii, who makes amazing jewelry, and visited Paiko to see some lovely plants and things of that nature. All in all, I'd say it was a good day to night well spent.  Pictures below depict some of the highlights of my Saturday, feel free to leave me comments on how you spent your weekend, and if you have any questions regarding mine.  All photos (except the first one) were taken by me, other photo taken by Ericka Nicole Bueno.