Oh, the bad choices we've made

By April 7, 2011 Musings, The Daily Dish

There’s really no one to blame by ourselves.

Well, unless you want to blame the media for hyping all the things we ended up buying, sharing, quoting, storing, flaunting and raving about a decade (or more) ago.

I was having lunch the other day with Danielle Scherman, founder and president of Social Wahines — about a more serious subject, of course — when the topic of bodysuits came up.

Oh, you remember those. They were such the thing back in the ’90s, when we were all sporting high-waisted pants that required tucked-in shirts.

Well, someone — some genius, to be honest — invented the bodysuit, a form-fitting garment similar to leotards except there were snaps or hooks at the crotch. Meaning, easy bathroom breaks.

The beauty of the body suit was that it didn’t ever get un-tucked or look disheveled. It was awesome — back then. Now, I don’t think anyone would be admit to owning one.

While we had a good laugh about this brief fashion trend, it did make me think of all the bad, bad choices we’ve made in our youth, from perming our hair at home to buying Milli Vanilli’s album.

Then, it didn’t seem so bad. Everyone else was doing it, so how bad could it be?

But in hindsight — and you know how clear that can be — these look like bad choices.

Made me think about the choices I’m making right now — and how bad they’ll seem later. Like spending more hours than I’d like to admit watching marathons of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” or wolfing acai bowls because they’re supposed to be healthy.

I remember when eggs were good, then bad, then good for you. I remember when jelly sandals were all the rage. I remember parachute pants and crop tops (which are making a comeback, by the way).

Anyone got a faux pax you’d like to admit?

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Eat, drink, help Japan

By April 6, 2011 #CatTravels, Food, Musings, The Daily Dish

There’s nothing better than spending money on both good food and a good cause.

That’s what the annual Taste of Marukai is all about.

The event, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Marukai Wholesale Mart, will collect donations for the Aloha For Japan campaign to help victims of tsunami and earthquake in Japan.

But more than that, the event, in its sixth year, has donated more than $135,000 to support local community groups that perpetuate the Japanese heritage in the Islands, including the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

Not to mention the food and sake.

Highlights this year include innovative dishes prepared on-site by Nobu Waikīkī’s chef Robin Lee, more than 50 sakes to sample — including a brew from the 340-year-old Otokoyama Brewery in Asahikawa, Hokkaido — and the ever-popular traditional sake barrel-breaking (called kagami biraki) ceremony.

Marukai chefs will also be preparing Japanese and Okinawan dishes that include Alaskan king crab legs, Kona abalone and fresh-cut sashimi.

And, if this is any incentive, the newly crowned 59th Cherry Blossom Festival court will be there, too.

Cost is $95. For more information, visit www.marukaihawaii.com
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Cat Chat 18: Have wine, will eat

By April 6, 2011 Food, Musings, The Daily Dish, Videos

You put a glass of wine and a plate of braised lamb shank in front of me, well, neither will last very long.

So when Hoku’s, the award-winning restaurant at The Kahala Hotel and Resort, invited me to sample its wine dinner menu — sans the wine, though — I was there. And I would have probably brought my own fork.

The hotel is hosting two big food-related events this month: the Peay Vineyards Wine Dinner on April 13 at Hoku’s and the Kahala Wine & Food Classic 2011 on April 22 and 23.

The first event will feature a dinner with paired wines from Peay Vineyards, a 53-acre estate vineyard located on the “true” Sonoma Coast in Northern California. This first-generation organic winery — which earned such accolades as the 2009 Winery of the Year from Wine & Spirits Magazine — specializes in Pinot Noir, Syrah and Chardonnay. (Cost is $120.)

The second is one of the hotel’s signature food events. Headlining will be culinary icon and innovator, James Beard Award-winning author, and BRAVO TV personality Chef Cindy Pawlcyn paired with Napa Valley vintners Suzanne Pride Bryan and Stuart Bryan, known for their Wine Spectator “Top 100” recognized wines from Pride Mountain Vineyards. (Cost varies per event. But check out the dinner menu.)

We were lucky enough to have some of the dishes served at both events — and from last month’s wine dinner — prepared for us by executive chef Wayne Hirabayashi.

Here’s what you could be eating, too:

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ASK DR. DISH: Royal advice

By April 5, 2011 Musings, The Daily Dish

Question: I am totally obsessed with the Royal Wedding!!! I am so glad you asked yesterday (in Monday’s blog)!!! I have a question for everyone else who is just as obsessed as me — or not: What is your marriage advice for Prince William and Kate Middleton? I say sign don’t sign the prenup!!!

Answer: Thanks for the question! I love your enthusiasm!

I don’t think Kate will have much of a choice about signing the prenup before the April 29 nuptials. Britain’s royal family doesn’t have the best marriage record; three of Queen Elizabeth II’s four children have been divorced.

But that’s not really the point of today’s blog!

It’s hard for me to dispense marriage advice since I’ve never been married. And I hate to sound cliche — communicate, be honest and open, schedule date nights — but I don’t know anything else.

For me, being in a relationship takes work. I mean, a lot of it should come easily. You should want to spend time together, you should truly enjoy the other person’s company, and it shouldn’t be a burden to help each other. But everything else — carving out quality time, being patient, learning that what’s important to him is important even if it’s not important to you — takes effort. But if you love each other, you’ll want to do it — it’s not a problem.

Anyone got some advice for the royal couple? Hey, they might be Dr. Dish fans! You never know!

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Here’s more advice: “The Best Marriage Advice I Ever Got” in Redbook.

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Got a question? Email me at [email protected].

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The Royal Wedding obsession

By April 4, 2011 Musings, The Daily Dish

Get this: For $4,000, you can send your 8-year-old daughter to a princess boot camp — one of many that have sprung up prior to the April 29 nuptials of Prince Edward and Kate Middleton.

One in particular gathers wannabe princesses at a posh London hotel to teach them how to curtsy properly and what to say to the Queen, should these taffeta-wearing tweens ever cross her path in the buffet line.

We are obsessed with the Royal Wedding. Obsessed! You can’t turn on the TV without getting an update about William and Kate, where they’re planning to get hitched, who’s in her bridal party, what will she be wearing? We just can’t stop!

The royal couple is so lucrative, for example, Lifetime is airing a docuseries on them. Newspapers and TV stations have created special blogs centered around the wedding. And there’s even a “For Dummies” edition about the Royal Wedding. I’m not kidding.

More than 2 billion — BILLION — people are expected to watch the event live. It’s said to be more anticipated than Princess Diana’s fateful marriage in 1981 to Prince Charles, which was watched by about the same number of people.

But why?

Is it because we love a good romance? Are we just fascinated with royalty? Or are we desperate — after last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, among other awful things going on in the world — for some good, uplifting news?

What do you think?

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