We made a Hawaiian style gingerbread house this year! It was a lot of fun. We started with a Wilton gingerbread house kit. If you decide to try this yourself, don't use the frosting that comes with the kit, it doesn't dry firm enough.  We learned the hard way when my little one's gingerbread house collapsed! For this house I made a traditional Royal Icing...it works so well that we jokingly call it concrete! The roof is crumbled Frosted Mini Wheats cereal. The sand is brown sugar. The ocean is clear blue frosting.  The palm tree was borrowed from my kids' Playmobil toys.  Add a little Hawaii Christmas cheer to your home by making your own gingerbread grass shack! If you have any questions or comments about our gingerbread hale feel free to ask. Mele Kalikimaka!

Happy Aloha Friday! 
Here's a great spot to celebrate the start of a wonderful weekend-- Hukilau Lanai!
It's one of our favorite restaurants on the Island.  The food, drinks and pupus (Hawaiian for appetizers)  are delicious. The chef uses a lot of local ingredients and creates all the food from scratch!  We love to start with Adam's Poke Nachos made with ahi poke, local tomatoes, avocado, tobiko,  inamona, wasabi cream over crisp wonton chips. Yum! Then for dinner we usually order Hukilau Mixed Grill, it's a sampling of island grilled seafood and sugar cane skewered shrimp. It Includes your choice of several salads.
And the view...so beautiful! Palm trees with the ocean beyond! We like to end our evening with a slow walk along the beach, back to our condo.
You'll find a nice mix of locals and tourists alike here. The atmosphere is casually elegant with friendly service.
Prices are $9-$13 for Pupus, $18 - $28 for Entrees.
Try the Hukilau Lanai for your next special dinner out...you won't be disappointed! 
http://www.hukilaukauai.com/

Just a few minutes walk from the condo is a great Farmers Market. It's held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 12 pm at the Coconut Marketplace. I love Farmers' Markets! They offer a wonderful variety of fresh island produce.  Plus, they can save you a lot of money over grocery store prices. At this particular farmer's market you can also buy fresh flowers , baked goods, honey, beautiful leis and coffee.  We purchased mangoes, papayas, a pineapple, green beans, lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, star fruit, basil, green onions, avocados, and bananas. You have to try Kauai bananas! They're fresh and have a creamy sweet flavor.  They are so much better than the bananas that have flown from 3,000 miles away to get to the grocery stores back on the mainland! 

Black Friday sales are now starting earlier and earlier (Thursday even!), I thought I better get this post out quick! Here are  some fun holiday shopping options for you!

• Spam Musubi Pillow- How cool is that?! These pillows are handmade by Hawaii Girls Scouts.  Not only could you have this fun pillow, but you'd also be supporting a great organization!  http://shop.girlscouts-hawaii.org/store/product/1817/Spam-Musubi-Pillow-Large/
  
• Kauai Kookies- We LOVE Kauai Kookies! Baked on Kauai--they're delicious! We actually leave extra space in our luggage just to bring home plenty of these! Our favorites are the Chocolate Chip Macadamia  Cookies and Guava Macadamia Cookies (they're pink!) http://www.kauaikookie.com/
• Coconut Cards- Why send a letter when you could send a ...Coconut? How awesome would it be to send a Christmas Coconut?! Personalized coconuts grown/made on Kauai! http://coconutmessages.com/
• We support Kauai Made businesses, for over 100 more made in Kauai products please check out : http://kauaimade.net/

This was our complimentary meal flying back to the mainland on Hawaiian Airlines. Yes, that's real food--in coach! The island style meal included: Teriyaki Chicken; carrots and broccoli over rice; a green salad with balsamic dressing; and for dessert, mango cake.  The  glass to the right side of the photo is filled with Cabernet  wine-- also complimentary!  The chicken was tender. The rice was fluffy.  The broccoli was slightly overcooked, but I still ate my veggies.  The salad was fresh and crunchy. The mango cake was moist and lightly sweet.  All surprisingly tasty. 

Hawaiian Air is the last domestic airline to offer free meals in coach.  One more reason to love Hawaiian Airlines!