Aulani: a Tropical Wonderland

September 25, 2015 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Going though all the snapshots I took while in Hawaii, I realized that I failed to take pictures of my hotel room. EPIC FAIL because that place was sooo nice. Auntie Nelly booked a villa for us that could fit a total of 9 people, but really there were only 6 of us: Auntie Nelly, myself, my sister, her boyfriend, my cousin Brian and his wife. Originally, I had booked us (myself, Auntie Nelly, sister, and Ryan) to stay at the Courtyard Marriott, but Auntie was like, “Babe, there’s no pool. It’s not a resort! I want to be able to relax on my vacation.” She mentioned how she wanted to stay at Aulani for at least 2 or 3 days, and my sister and I were foaming at the mouth about it. We knew that we at least wanted to book a spa appointment and go to a character breakfast if we weren’t going to stay there.

But then bippity-boppity-boo, we were suddenly booked to stay at Aulani for a whole week!!! I couldn’t stop smiling and my sister and I kept texting back and forth about how excited we were! Real talk, Auntie Nelly is my fairy godmother. I wouldn’t have more than half of the things I own, or be able to experience more than half of the things I do without her guidance and support. And my love of Disney comes from Auntie Nelly too. I am so beyond grateful for her (#blesses). I aspire to be an independent baller like her one day, but I’m still trying to figure out how to do that.

Anyhow… upon arrival to Aulani we were greeted with a warm “Aloha” and given leis. Not fake flower ones that you can pick up at any ‘ol gift shop on the island, but a legit one made out of real orchids. I later learned that men were given black kukui nut leis. Fancy schmancy stuff, but I expect no less from Disney. They’re always on their A-game!

Our room was MASSIVE. Here’s a layout of what it looked like:

I shared the master suite with Auntie Nelly and the bed was SO huge that the middle section of it always looked immaculate and untouched every morning. We also had a shower with an enormous shower head that just rains on you, and huge bathtub with jets!! I was determined to find a Lush store to buy a bubble bar to make use of the bathtub. We also had a nice kitchen and a washer and dryer. It was like living in a super swanky condo for a whole week.

Aulani has a fantastic pool area with a lazy river, a coral reef snorkeling area, pools designated for guests 18+, and a private beach where you can paddle board. I only went to the lazy river and beach, but Auntie Nelly rented a cabana for a day and a bunch of my family just hung out there. There’s also a few food places around the pool area including a place where you can get Dole Whip for $4. For one thing, that’s the price of a churro at Disneyland, but the kicker is that you get a cup and you can fill it up with as much Dole Whip as your heart desires. AND they have a swirl option so you can have a Dole Whip creamsicle.

WHY ISN’T THIS AT DISNEYLAND?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Aulani also has a gym that’s open 24/7. I only got to use it twice, but I mean… twice is pretty good considering that I was on vacation. And their spa, Laniwai, was probably my favorite part of the resort! They have you show up an hour before your appointment so you can enjoy the amenities such as their outdoor hot tubs (there’s one specifically for women, one that has jets, and one that’s just just a small pool filled with water at 105°), multiple shower heads (that poor hot water all over you), and a little pool filled water at 45°… apparently that’s good for circulation and recommended to take a dip in before a massage. I just had a facial done because I’m too ticklish for a full body massage.

The facial was FANTASTIC. The woman was like, “If you put your hair down, I can massage your scalp” and I like, “Awwww yiisssss, mother flippin’ scalp massage!” I didn’t say that out loud, but I think my noggin is the only place where I enjoy getting massaged. She also massaged my shoulders which felt nice too, so I guess I don’t mind that either. For the facial, she asked if I had any concerns with my skin and I mentioned the pesky blackheads on my nose. So she shined a bright light on my face to examine it and proceeded to do an extraction. Have any of you ever had an extraction done? If you haven’t, it feels like someone is digging their fingernail into your skin really, really, hard. That was the least relaxing bit, but I loved everything else about it. Like, getting your face and chest wrapped in a hot towel felt soooo good and my face felt so fresh and so clean. Afterwards, I just hung around until the place closed to get more use of the amenities, like the steam room and sauna. Hanging out in a steam room with a cold towel on your face is something I highly recommend.

I WANT TO GO BACK. Stick around the blog, because I’m not done talking about Hawaii yet!

Foodies, ASSEMBLE!

June 27, 2015 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Hey ponies! I’m a hella late with this, buuuut as I promised I’m back with a post about some of the decadent treats I was able to devour while I was at Disneyland. 😀

Better late than never, right?

But first I just wanted to say thank you to Kelsey, Cara, and Celina for sharing their awful break-up tales in the über personal post I put up earlier this month, and for being so kind and supportive. And also to Kristin for offering words of encouragement too! I was wary of what would happen after I clicked “publish” on that post, but I’m feeling the love. And while I’m very sorry that some of you were able to relate to it, it feels good to know that I’m not alone. Thank you, ladies!

Okay, let’s talk about food now…

Avengers inspired om noms were added to Red Rockett’s Pizza Port last month which include a Black Widow parfait, Mach V red velvet waffle, and a Captain America cookie. As much as I love Cap, his cookie looked kind of lame — it’s just a regular round sugar cookie with his shield on it — but we tried the other two treats while we were there for the 24 Hour event. Lemme tell you, that Mach V red velvet waffle is the most epic looking thing I have ever consumed. It has gold glitter on it for f*ck’s sake with cream cheese frost oozing from every edible orifice. It definitely tasted more cake-ish, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unless you have a huge appetite, I’d suggest sharing it with someone because it’s HUGE!

[photo taken from my sister’s Instagram 🙂]

The Black Widow parfait is filled with layers upon layers of chocolate cake, chocolate syrup, strawberry filling, white and chocolate mousse, and has little crunchy chocolates sprinkled on top and a white chocolate Black Widow logo. SO MUCH. CHOCOLATE. If we can’t have tons of Black Widow merch (get with it, yo!), at least there’s a dessert that was created in her honor! And it’s tasty to boot. 😀

Hopefully Disneyland will add Hulk, Hawkeye, and Thor om noms to their menu too. They could totally have a green slushy for Hulk, or even a salad if they want to take the healthy route. Or a pizza with broccoli and spinach? Don’t say eww, I’d totally eat it!

5 fandom friday · tasty travels

5 Fandom Friday: My Favorite Disneyland Snacks

March 6, 2015 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

I’m feeling very homesick for Disneyland. I often refer to it as my second home, because that’s really how I feel about it! This week’s 5 Fandom Friday is supposed to be about our favorite snacks to eat while we blog, but umm… I don’t really snack when I blog. Is that weird? I mean, sometimes I do, but not enough to warrant a blog post dedicated to it.

Instead, I’m going to share my 5 favorite Disneyland snacks. One of the things I love (and miss) most about Disneyland are the delicious treats they have to offer! I’m omitting a couple of my absolute favorites though, which would be Pineapple Dole Whip and Churros, just because they get enough attention from everyone else. I mean, we all know how great they are!

Anyhow, here are some of my other favorite snacks from Disneyland:

1. Deep Fried Pickles from Carnation Cafe

I’m not a fan of regular ‘ol pickles, but the deep fried ones from Carnation Cafe on Main Street are soooo good!

2. Fruit tart from Jolly Holiday Cafe

Jolly Holiday Cafe is my favorite place grab lunch and sweet treats. They have the selection of baked goods too, but my favorite is the fruit tart. The chocolate tart is perfection too, and it’s shaped like Mickey’s head to boot! 🙂

3. Pretzels

Honestly, anything that looks like Mickey Mouse tastes 10 times better! Now if only they’d make the cream cheese pretzels like this too…

4. Corn Dogs

I haven’t eaten anything deep fried since I completed my Whole30, and quite frankly I’m frightened to find out how my body would react to it. But corn dogs from the Disneyland Resort are deloycious! I love how they’re freshly made and not frozen garbage you can easily get at the grocery store.

5. Chocolate Mickey Mouse Cookie

I like to call these the “Rick Ross” cookies because the large chocolate portion resembles Rick Ross’ beard. 😀

What are your favorite Disney snacks? Let me know in the comments!

cheers

To find out the origins of 5 Fandom Friday, go here. And check out The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick to catch up with the latest prompts!

geek style · tasty travels

Crown & Crumpet

January 14, 2015 Nina Penalosa8 Comments

Hey my little ponies! On Monday I headed to San Francisco with a few of my friends to celebrate my birthday at Crown & Crumpet. It’s an adorable little tea spot in Japantown that’s a definite must for any tea lover to go to! I passed by their original location a few years ago when they were still in Ghirardelli Square and made a mental note to eventually go there.

When making plans for my birthday, I decided early on that I wanted to have afternoon tea in the city with my girlfriends and dress up like Disney princesses a la Disneybound! How else would one go about celebrating the last year of their twenties? I ended up not wearing a princessesy outfit, but I still felt pretty damn fancy in my navy doe dress from ModCloth and t-strap heels.

As I looked up different places that served afternoon tea, I remembered Crown & Crumpet and promptly Googled it. Their menu seemed less pricier than most places, and their tea menu had a bunch of delightful sounding blends. I nearly ordered Alice’s “Drink Me” tea — a black tea with champagne and sugar crystals — but was told it had caffeine, so I opted for the fruity Snow White tea. 🙂

Crown & Crumpet has the most adorable decor too! The tables are lined with cheery floral table cloth and with little pictures of angels, Union Jacks, and tea cups. The walls were adorned with the cutest art, and there’s a large clock on the wall with antique tea cups and saucers instead of numbers. It says, “It’s Time for Tea” underneath it. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the clock though. Sorry!

Crown & Crumpet had some delicious food and treats as well. Jen ordered a slice of berry cake that came with jam and clotted cream, and now I want jam on all the cakes I eat from now on. No more frosting, just jam! Caitlin and I ordered scones to go with our tea, and they came with lemon curd, clotted cream, and raspberry jam (I think it was raspberry anyway) which I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since then. Why aren’t there any places closer to me that serve afternoon tea with all the English accoutrements like Crown & Crumpet?! WHY?!

Shanice, Jen, and myself all ordered the tricolore sandwich and they were really nice about letting us add on chicken and substituting cheddar for mozzarella. Caitlin got the chicken pot pie and Jen damn near stole it from her because she thought it was amazing! Our waitress also overheard us saying it was someone’s birthday and brought a little cookie dough flavored cupcake with a candle, and had my friends sing happy birthday to me. 😀

Afterwards, I asked the manager (or perhaps she was the owner…?) if I could take some pictures inside their private party room for the blog and she was more than accommodating! I mentioned to her that I had heard about Crown & Crumpet from passing by their old location a few years ago, and she talked to me a bit about how they ended up in Japantown and that they hope to open another location in downtown San Francisco.

I’d definitely love to go back to Crown & Crumpet and try a different tea and get more scones (and a slice of cake)! You guys don’t understand, those scones were SO. TASTY. And that jam! Oh my goodness.

dress: ModCloth (no longer available) // cardigan & hair pin: H&M
shoes: American Rag // necklace: c/o oNecklace (buy here)
glasses: Derek Cardigan (buy similar here)

out & about · tasty travels

Tasty Travels: PDX Eats – Part 2

May 16, 2014 Nina Penalosa1 Comment

Sooo, I was supposed to post the second half of my PDX Eats series like a month and a half ago or something like that. My bad. It’s been so hard trying to write little blurbs about these places without getting hangry and homesick for a place I’ve only visited once. UGH! Anyhow, I finally powered my way through it just for you, my little ponies.

Without further ado, here are some of the other tasty places I got to visit while I was in Portland…

Voodoo Doughnut: 22 SW 3rd Ave

Like many, I first heard of Voodoo Doughnut through the Travel Channel (or was it the Food Network? I don’t remember), and I desperately wanted to try one of their quirky sweet concoctions SO BADLY. But over time I kept hearing that it was extremely overrated, and my interest waned. But with it being a 20 minute walk away from our hotel, Caitlin and I decided to try it for ourselves so we could form our own opinion. I tried the Captain My Captain, which consisted of Cap’n Crunch Berries sprinkled over vanilla frosting. The verdict? I thought it was yummy, but not life changing.

Pro-tip: Go on a weekday early in the morning. During the weekend the line went for miles — okay, not really, but it was crazy, stupid long enough to make me not want to join the queue. We went on a Monday morning around 8ish and there was no line! You might also want to visit the website before your journey so you don’t stand there looking at the menu like, “What the hell is the Memphis Mafia?” and order “the one with the Cap’n Crunch Berries.” <– yeah, I did that.

Bijou Cafe: 132 SW 3rd Ave

Jen and I went to Bijou Cafe for breakfast before we headed to Saturday Market on a Sunday morning. I usually don’t eat chorizo which dumbfounds me, because it’s tasty as hell, so I opted for the chorizo with eggs and potatoes for breakfast because you can never go wrong with potatoes for breakfast (second breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Plus I recall it being the yummiest looking item on their menu (in my mind’s eye, anyhow). It was nice and hearty, which is just what I needed that day since we were walking all over the place, searching for fun knickknacks and whatnot at Saturday Market.

Lardo: 1205 SW Washington St.

The name of the restaurant sounds a bit unappetizing, but good grief did I enjoy my meal ever so much! And I left not feeling like Jabba the Hut, so that’s always a good thing, right? Lardo’s menu mostly consisted of pork, but the special of the day was a sandwich with fried chicken which I believe just got added to their menu (Fried Chicken & Tasso Bacon), and chicken is my favorite kind of meat, so I immediately went for that. That doesn’t sound very adventurous, sticking with things I like, BUT it also had slaw and relish which are ingredients I normally stay away from. So I’d like to think I made a bold choice. And their fries. Oh. My. Gawd. THEIR FRIES HAD PARMESAN AND FRIED HERBS SPRINKLED ON TOP OF THEM. ALL CAPS NECESSARY BECAUSE IT WAS SO GOOD. If you are not a vegetarian and find yourself in Portland, you should go there and thank me later.

Ahi Sushi: 2038 SE Clinton St

We stumbled upon Ahi Sushi while trying to find a place to eat dinner before having cocktails at Fifty Licks. The ambiance gives off a bit of an “expensive sushi bistro” vibe, but my Salmon Butteryaki dish was only $11, including tip. I was totally astonished by how affordable it was. And look at the fancy presentation! The portion was just right and the salmon was perfectly flaky too. Why can’t my town have a place like Ahi Sushi where I don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a delicious salmon meal?

Jake’s Grill: 611 SW 10th Ave

We ate at Jake’s Grill for our last meal in Portland. Jen’s guild buddy met up with us and we walked around trying to find a place to eat breakfast. I was at the point of hunger where I felt like I was going to punch someone in the face, and we FINALLY came across Jake’s Grill. I felt positively fancy dining there as they served fresh baked biscuits with jam and freshly squeezed orange juice. The restaurant also used to be part of a hotel, and I know you can’t tell by the picture I took, but it was chez fancy pants. And my omelet was nice and cheesy and full of ham and mushrooms. I’m not crazy about mushrooms, but I’ve grown accustom to them. Oh, and the potatoes had a nice little crisp to them. Breakfast food is the best food. 🙂

Maybe it was the taxidermy animal heads mounted above the bar and the fact that I was eating meat and eggs, but Jake’s Grill seems like a place Ron Swanson would eat a nice and hearty meal at. And by hearty I mean meaty.

Pix Patisserie: 2225 E Burnside St.

Pix Patisserie has deep fried macarons, so it was a no brainer to put it on the places-we-must-eat-at list. The decor at Pix was so charming — the walls were covered in deep red damask, tables were decorated with vintage French art, and the bar table was full of bottle caps underneath plexiglass. I tried the Jane Avril (named after a famous can-can dancer) which was a little piece of heaven on a sponge cake with raspberries, pistachios, and raspberry mousse, and also a deep fried raspberry macaron. It was good, but I think it would’ve been better if I had a chocolatey deep fried macaron rather than a fruity one. Jen and Caitlin both got the Amelie (named after the film’s titular character), and I’m all kinds of forlorn that I didn’t take one to go because it was –insert another phrase for amazingly delicious because I can’t think of anything else-, but I put in an order of 5 maracons to go and there were other foods that needed to be eaten. I got the fleur de sel, spumoni (pictured above), annnd I can’t remember the other flavors I got since it’s been like a month and half since my trip. I really should’ve written this thing as soon as I got home. slaps self

I do recall thoroughly enjoying every piece I ate though, if that says anything.

Alright, that concludes all the tasty places I had to pleasure of eating at in Portland! I can’t wait to go back… I have no idea when my booty will make its way there again, but hopefully it won’t be too far off in the future. And next time I’m going to hit the food trucks! 🙂

Cheers,
Nina

out & about · tasty travels

Tasty Travels: PDX Eats & Treats – Part 1

March 29, 2014 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Fifty Licks: 2021 SE Clinton St.

Jen and I saw Fifty Licks on the Food Network or Travel Channel around Christmas time during a round of Cards Against Humanity. We had to stop the game momentarily in order to watch them make delicious looking cocktails with sorbet. It was a no-brainer that we had to visit when we went to Portland. And it was so delicious, we went twice! I had the Nordic Palmer sorbet cocktail with sparkling iced tea mead and lemon sorbet, and took an ice cream sandwich with Stumptown flavored ice cream on a gluten free cookie to go during our first visit . So divine! I got another ice cream sandwich with toasted milk ice cream the second time around. My taste buds miss it so much!

The Waffle Window: 3610 SE Hawthorne Blvd. & 2624 NE Alberta St.

Caitlin suggested The Waffle Window for our first breakfast in Portland so we could get our Leslie Knope on. I opted to get the savory special called Spring Forward which had asparagus and peppered bacon on it. I’d like to think that Ron Swanson would approve of my choice. It was the perfect combination of sweet and savory and I was crestfallen after I ate the last bite because it meant I was done with my waffle and that there wasn’t any more of it to put in my mouth. I also had a green tea mint lemonade that was super refreshing (I guess I was too thirsty to take a picture of it)! THIS DRINK. I LIKE IT. ANOTHER. *throws cup fervently down on the ground*

The Press Club: 2621 SE Clinton St.

We ate at The Press Club a few hours after we checked into our hotel the first night. The plan was to eat dinner, have sorbet cocktails at Fifty Licks, then watch Muppets Most Wanted. I Googled restaurants nearby Fifty Licks and came across this particular one because it said it served sandwiches and crepes, and I am all about a good sammich! When we got there I noticed that everything on the menu was named after a famous author or book, so my inner book nerd was totally fangasming! We all ended up ordering the Ernest Hemingway (it said turkey and pesto, so if anything has those two ingredients I. Am. Down). We were hangry as hell, and though it did take awhile for our order to come out, it was ever so satisfying.

Hot Lips Pizza: 2211 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd.

I suggested to Jen that we should order pizza from our hotel room one night and she thought it was a brilliant idea (she literally gasped after I said it, so I’m assuming that means she thought it was brilliant). We decided it would be best to order local since we didn’t drive 12 hours out of California to have a pizza from Domino’s, y’know? It took awhile to pick what toppings we all agreed on, but we ended up with the ABC – Artichoke Bacon & Chicken pizza. ERMERGERD. SO TASTY. I love, love, looove, artichoke and chicken as pizza toppings, and the bacon just made it that much better (because bacon).

Moonstruck Cafe: NW 23rd Ave. (Pioneer Place)

Is this horse truffle not the most adorable truffle you have ever laid your eyes on?! It was almost too cute to eat. Almost. It was also super scrumptious with rich chocolate on the inside. Best $3.50 I ever spent. Caitlin’s friend suggested we visit Moonstruck (it has several locations throughout the city, but we went to the one at the mall). It’s kind of like Godiva, but better. Yeah, I said it. They’re better than Godiva! I think I dropped over $35 buying chocolate bars and whatnot to bring back home to friends and family, but it’s just so damn good. My only regret is not trying their hot chocolate, or at least buying the mix for it. My mom and aunt still have yet to eat the treats I brought back for them and it’s kind of driving me crazy because I want to eat them, but know that I shouldn’t because that would be a horrible thing to do. 😦

—

I’ll be posting the last half of my PDX Eats & Treats series in a few days! I don’t want to bombard you guys with all this food porn, and I also don’t want to make myself hungry and sad because these food places are so far away from me and there really isn’t anything that’s nearly as great in my hometown. *cries over first world problems*

Cheers,
Nina