lovely and amazing

just popping in with the happy news that rachel from lovely clusters invited me to guest post on her dreamy blog while she enjoys a little off-island holiday. since i am savoring every moment of my own abbreviated getaway (this morning's fun: playing in the sand at makaha), please click over to lovely clusters to discover which island lovelies are being introduced to rachel's online 'ohana.

p.s. hello hello and many mahalos to everyone visiting h|h for the first time!

and the winner is . . .

jana from honolulu who will have to make space on her bookshelf for her copy of wedding belles!

mahalo to everyone who entered! remember h|h readers can save 30% off the list price when they order the book directly from the official website:

• secret code: hapahale

congratulations, jana!

wedding belles book giveaway

the first day of june rings in the official start of wedding season so it seems like the perfect time to part with my review copy of wedding belles, the first book penned by tanna dang, the popular proprietor of the wedding café. although the book was published earlier this year and, i must confess, arrived in my mailbox quite some time ago, i finally had a moment to take a peek inside and discovered a breezy read filled with stories and sage advice shared by island brides and grooms.

page after page is filled with a kama'aina take on everything from proposals to planning to big day bloopers plus the inside scoop on the reality of incorporating the many, many island wedding customs without going mad or alienating the more traditional branch of your 'ohana. tanna also pops in throughout the book with a host of helpful tips acquired since she and her husband, bryson, took over twc a few years ago.

it's definitely a fun read which i suspect will become a popular engagement gift for island lovebirds taking their first steps together on their wedding day adventure.

here's the scoop on how to enter:

• email your name & current hometown to: aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by thu, june 4th
• please put wedding belles giveaway in the subject
• one entry per person/household

click back on friday to find out if you are the lucky winner.

{update: winner list posted}

and the winner is . . .

katherine of houston who will be adding the lovely naupaka to her bookshelf soon!

many mahalos to all who entered . . . it seems caren's lovely block prints have found fans from all over. you can scoop up a copy of naupaka at island bookshops and online at amazon.

congratulations, katherine!

p.s. clf's gorgeous artwork can be found in her etsy shop.

{mahalo caren!}

naupaka book giveaway

big island artist caren loebel-fried kindly sent along a review copy of her new book, naupaka, penned by the late aunty nona beamer and i finally had a chance sit down and savor page after beautiful page.

it's a beautiful retelling of a hawaiian folk story describing why the naupaka flower blooms in perfect halves despite different growing conditions down by the sea and up in the mountains. the illustrations are gorgeous bringing old hawaii to life with the technicolor beauty of caren's block prints which complement the
bittersweet tale of two star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the ahupua'a kept apart by their different ranks in life.

one lucky reader has a chance to score a copy for storytime and introduce her/his little one(s) to the world of hawaiian mythology. the book is told in both english and hawaiian and includes an audio cd narrated by aunty nona with music by her son, keola beamer.

here's the scoop on how to enter:

• email your name & current hometown to: aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by thu, mar 26th
• please put naupaka giveaway in the subject
• one entry per person/household

click back on friday to find out if you are the lucky winner.

{update: winner list posted}

p.s. email subscribers - simply hit reply and follow the instructions above for a chance to win.