Friday, July 31, 2009

hawaii shops

The weather has been miserably humid the past couple of days. Probably to remind me of the weather I will be greeted by when I return to Japan. Hope the tradewinds pick up before I leave for one last cool blast!

Needed a pair of slippers...these were the best ones I found. Not like the stiff ones you find at Longs (which are now owned by CVS but scared to change their name for fear of losing business), nor rock hard like the ones I tried at K-mart which ripped part of my toe nail off as I tried them on (OW!)

These are made by a Brazilian company, and were apparently inspired by the Japanese zori.

Man are they soft, really soft...chocolate brown and a little blingy gold paint on them too, and costed a nice pretty penny (or two)!

I am pretty sure they won't cause my feet any woes, but with all the other foodie stuffs I'm bringing home, they barely squeezed into my 22" suitcase.

You should have seen the huge-mongous suitcase I used to come home with (I think it was a 29-inch or something like that)...it would be filled to the gills going back to Japan, plus I would need a box to pack more stuff!

This trip, I tried to keep my "stuff" down to this 22-incher (ahem!)...hopefully TSA won't open it...and if they do...please put everything back in there nicely! (thank you!)

Hope you all had a nice vacation with me, it is back to the heat and humidity of Japan and back into the kitchen.

I had a great time (though it was a shorter trip than my usual 2 months)...got to watch some Food Network and Travel Channel (Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations"). Am bummed that I will miss the Final "Next Food Network Star" episode.

I didn't get to see some of my friends (next time for sure!) and am bummed about that. I was able to check out some new places to eat as well as re-visit some favorites and the best part was being able to spend a LOT of time with family. (Thanks Satoshi for letting me stay a little over a month!)

11 comments:

  1. Hi Kat - You know....I guess I wasn't paying attention. When I went to our local Long's it had all these CVS signs, which had me going "What the?????"......

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  2. It looks like you had a great time back home in Hawaii. You're so lucky you were able to spend one month there!
    I'm on my third pair of havianas. i love them! they now sell them at gap. but i had a friend who was from brazil who bought me a couple of pairs (they are half the price over there).

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  3. Remember the slippers that Longs used to sell from Scotts? Those were my favorite. The Scotts in the stores now just aren't the same.

    Sorry to see you go. I really enjoy your HI posts and have gotten a few new places to try.

    Have a safe journey.

    Alan from Makiki

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  4. Kirk, When I came back my mom told me they were bought out by CVS but not gonna change their name for fear of losing the local market.

    That is so cool you got them directly from Brazil, Genki :) and at half price too.

    Thanks Alan,yes I remember those Scotts, too bad the quality isn't the same. Glad you enjoyed the posts.

    Take care everyone.
    Kat

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  5. I loved tailing you around your vacation. If I can't be there, this was the next best thing! I lived in Longs slippers growing up but I always managed to blow them out at the worst times. I'll have to keep an eye out for those Havianas.

    Heehee, whenever we visit, I always bring an extra luggage for those "extras" that I bring back. Can't help myself. Have a good flight back!

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  6. Those are cute slippers, I may have to copy you and get a pair myself!

    I'm already disappointed by CVS's takeover of Longs for a number of reasons, including increased prices and changes in policy which I think will lead to more people using Walmart or Target in the near future.

    Have a safe trip home and I look forward to reading more of your entries, especially about your travels within Japan.

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  7. Hi Kat!!

    I loved reading your Hawaii posts. Sounds like you had a great time with family and friends. I wish I could stay in Hawaii for a month. I'm sure the time just flew by. I can totally understand the whole luggage situation. You should see the stuff my husband and I bring back to American Samoa. My family is always laughing at us. Have a safe trip back!!

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  8. Fancy slippers! ;-)

    So glad we got to hang out while you were here. Safe flights and safe trip back and I hope to see you on your next visit.

    Aloha,

    Deb

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  9. I was on vacation last week to Chicago. There's a really nice Japanese Supermarket there. I stocked up on bottles of sauces, 2 tubs of miso paste, and bottled drinks. I carefully wrapped each bottle and tub of miso with dirty laundry and tied them again in plastic shopping bags in case it leaked in my suitcase. TSA RIPPED EVERYTHING apart and tossed the items haphazardly back on top of my clothes. Luckily nothing broke or leaked. I guess through the X-ray, a tub of miso paste looks like a bomb.

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  10. Hope you can find them Cabcooks :)

    Googled and CVS stands for Consumer Value Store Rowena :)

    Hope you like them Anon..my grandma agrees that the prices of things have gone up at Longs/CVS.

    If the airlines wasn't so strict with weight limits and baggage amounts I'm sure I would bring back more islandgirl1223. :)

    See you next year too Debinhawaii :) I had fun!

    That is awful Pocky! glad everything was intact though.

    Take care everyone.
    Kat

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