We woke up in our own bed this morning, but Aloha seemed to follow us home to Seattle. Our kitty was happy to be cuddling with us again, and the sun was already shining in the windows when we finally got up.
I spent the early hours weed whacking and pruning, so that the back yard looked a little less crazy, while Dan unpacked and tidied up the house. Then, we headed out.
Our first stop was Crate & Barrel, to try to pick up some special dishes for an upcoming potluck. Their computer said they had them in stock, but nobody could find them. Annika, the salesperson who helped us, was incredibly friendly and must've spent a half-hour looking for them (they sometimes use smaller dishes in displays to prop up bowls and things). They were nowhere to be found, but she called around and backordered them for us, so we'd have a couple options to make sure we had them in time for Saturday.
Afterwards, we popped in to visit our friend Jason, who manages the Starbucks right by the Crate & Barrel. He's always a beacon of joy, and makes both Dan & I light up when we see him.
With some iced tea lemonade in our bellies, we drove up 45th to the Hawai`i General Store, and talked story with Alice and her son Geno. Everyone there is so warm and welcoming, and Alice & Geno are no exception. Even when we aren't in the market for anything, Dan & I love to swing by the shop and say hi, breath in the smells of tuberose and plumeria in the air, and get a little dose of Aloha. Today, we picked up a new item for our house and a little plumeria air freshener. And when we went to check out, Alice gave us a couple tuberose & orchid leis as a welcome home present. They smelled wonderful and were such an unexpected treat!
Leis on, we popped into Luau Polynesian Lounge for lunch, up in Greenwood. Karla was working, and although we've been there often and she always says hi when she sees us, we hadn't ever formally met - so I took the chance to introduce myself and chat a bit.
Karla got us started with a couple drinks, and then we dove into a lunch of Huli Huli Chicken sandwich (for Dan) and Mahi-Mahi tacos (for me). We sat at the Elvis shrine table, which reminded me of days with some old friends who both love Elvis.
After lunch, we headed home. I relaxed around the house, catching up on some food TV and doing a little painting, and Dan went for a run.
For dinner, we had nothing in the house, so we ordered some pizza and settled in with DVDs and travel TV before going to bed.
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