The Magic of Lana'i

My birthday was thirteen days ago, but I'm still milking the day because every girl knows that her birthday requires a month-long celebration, right?

In truth, it's been a whirlwind month and Phil and I kinda feel like we've been going non-stop since coming back from Lanai. With the Thanksgiving holiday and family and friends in town visiting, it has been a hectic couple of weeks. I've barely had any time to spend in front of the computer and I've fallen behind in the blog world!

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I finally uploaded our photos from Lanai; for it being such a quick trip, it was also one of the most memorable...and I'm still coming down from it all. You know that feeling you get when you drink spiked punch? You know, that we're-on-our-second-honeymoon-and-we-are-crazy-drunk-on-love feeling? Yeah. Our trip kinda felt like that.

Official relaxation kicked in on the forty minute ferry ride over from Lahaina, where we sat on the upper deck taking in the gorgeous views of pristine islands.

{Sweetheart Rock in the distance}

We gave ourselves a reprieve from our Clean Diets and indulged ourselves in impeccable menus that would please even the most inexperienced of palates (my favorite meal of the trip was the tiger prawns over a bed of Israeli couscous - I want to CRY, it was so good)...but being a creature of habit, each morning, I still gravitated to my breakfast of choice:

I am proud to say that I didn't forget to bring the vitamins (more important, I've got The Hubs on a vitamin plan, too!):

We logged in copious hours poolside and on the golden sand, soaking up some Vitamin D and feeling borderline uncomfortable (and unworthy) of the Five Star treatment. The man who came by to spritz us with Evian and fill up our cups of ice water, the man who came by offering to polish our sunglasses, the man who brought over trays of skewered fruit and the woman who offered us ice cold washcloths to wipe on our brows? Uncomfortable, yes...but I am quite certain I could grow to love living a lifestyle like this!

We took an exorbitant number of self-portraits which I am sure led people to believe we were actually on our honeymoon:

{this photo was courtesy of a resort employee who saw us struggling to take a self-portrait while holding the DSLR}

...and just for kicks, we even got a photo of us in the California King. It was like sleeping on a cloud!

We explored the grounds (we stayed at the Four Seasons Koele Lodge but bounced between both resorts), marveling at the peace and quiet; we could not have picked a better time to go!

We took in an offensive amount of calories in the form of cocktails in the hotel and by the pool, wine on the lanai and birthday cake in bed:

{On my phone while on vacation? Guilty. But I do believe I was sending out a Tweet in this photo!}

We swam with wild dolphins in Hulopo'e Bay, I relished a 50-minute Lomi Lomi massage which left me feeling jello-ish and relaxed, and I enjoyed being spoiled by The Hubs. My new birthday lens - woot woot!

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We didn't get to do or see everything on Lanai we'd hoped for, but the good thing is it's only a ferry ride away. And with Kama'aina rates as fantastic as they are, we'll definitely be heading back to Lana'i again soon.