Jo Jo's Shave Ice

One of my favorite stops while we were in Kauai was Jo Jo's Shave Ice in Waimea. This place came highly recommended from my "Hawaii travel bible", also know as a book called Kauai Revealed. Now, my love for shaved ice runs deep, so I was really excited to check this place out - and it did not disappoint, it was da 'bomb!

I made it one of my missions while on vacation to test several shaved ice stands and none of them even came close to Jo Jo's. What gave it the edge for me was how tightly packed they got that ice. Must have been the old school shaving machine Jo Jo's uses to shave the huge chunk of ice. They also have to sharpen that blade several times a day to keep up with all the people who stand in line for this fun treat. Enjoy the "tour" of this Kauai gem!
There's nothing special about the building, in fact, it looks kinds scary from the outside, but don't let that stop you if you're ever in the area. This place has a crazy amount of syrup flavors, over 60 to be exact and they've also created some specialty combinations. Some of the flavors that caught my eye were: butterscotch, cinnamon, coffee, mai thi, papaya, and root beer.
In the end, JJ and I ended up going with some simple flavors considering all that they offered. I ordered Strawberry and Passion Orange, and JJ decided on Cherry and Grape, a combo Jo Jo's calls, the plain and simple!
The aftermath....That's right, I even drank the syrup once the ice was gone, that's how good this shaved ice was from Jo Jo's! I tried to convince JJ to drive back to Jo Jo's for one more time before we flew out, but it was a little out of the way, so I guess I'll have to wait until we go back to Kauai, and believe me, we're going back, for sure!

Mr. & Mrs.

It's official...we got married...
And then we went to Hawaii...

Updates coming soon!!!

Hair & Make-Up

Last week, I had a day off work and enjoyed a fun day of pampering at the salon & a visit to the make-up artist for a trail run for the wedding day up do and make up color selections.

I was past due on getting the works done on my hair. So, I went for it (all but the cut), full color (dark brown) & partial highlight (red). I've become more of a brunette over the past few years, and this visit's color is da 'bomb - I'm loving it, warm brown base color with shiny copper highlights.

I used to always go with blonde and/or carmel brown highlight, but sometime last year, I opted out of the blonde game and made the commitment to the brunette side of life. (It might have something to do with the fact that blonde highlights grow out quicker, showing your true roots, and I'm cheap and go about 8 weeks in between salon visits - and then usually it's only for a partial highlight!) Anyways, my hair dresser has found a great option for me were the base color holds it's nice warm tones and she mixes two red tones, to make this red she uses for my highlights.

Here's a sneak-peak pic of the up do for the wedding hair! I really like what Amy did with my hair. I wanted the simple front swoop to the side and then something nice in the back. Originally I thought I wanted a simple bun in the back, but I opted for pined up curls and I like the outcome. I'm still on the search for some small jewels to add to the back to punch it up a bit, but this is most likely the look I'll be going for on the big day!

Once the hair was set, it was off to see the make up lady! Most people who know me already know that I'm not much of a "make up wearer", but I did want to have my face done for this special occasion, so I enlisted the help of the make up artist who works at the TV station. Lisa has helped me in the past when I've wanted to brighten up my eyes for a nice dinner out and she's also come to the rescue when I've had some seriously bad breakouts going on and has helped by adding a little extra cover-up here and there.

Knowing that I didn't want to not look like myself on the wedding day, I asked Lisa to build a nice foundation with some color on my cheeks and a neutral toned eye with some depth. She did a fabulous job and below is a preview pic of just how much the right eye make up can really open up your eyes and make them sparkle! (Note - the left side is with no eye make up, the right is the wedding day make up!)

I can't post a full "after" make up photo, because I tried on the look with my veil and I know JJ browses the blog every now and then! But I am very excited about how each trial run turned out and I'm looking forward to getting pampered again as I get ready on the wedding day!