My family has always viewed the New Year with more enthusiasm than Christmas. It's a good fucking…read morething we're not TERRORISTS SET ON ZERO BOMBING A BATTLESHIP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN or anything because I'm sure we set off enough fireworks on NYE to raise red flags at the NSA. And to start the year off right, we ALWAYS host a New Year's Day house party that basically involves eating a shit ton of food, BCS Bowl viewing, and the conspicuous consumption of Coors Light. And no, it's not JUST because we're a bunch of blood-related atheists who don't give a fuck about being saved and will therefore BURN IN HELL; New Year is a more important holiday for our culture! Yeah, that's right bitch: CULTURE. Lest you think we're Western through and through, we also do traditional Japanese things to usher in every new year such as: eating ozoni (traditional soup of miso, kamaboko, gobo and kuromame), pounding kagami mochi, and making kadomatsus. Kadomatsus are New Year decorations placed at the entrances to homes as a way to welcome our ancestral kamis (spirits). Comprised of bamboo stalks, pine brushes, and ume blossoms, kadomatsus bring prosperity and come in a variety of different sizes. And okay, I'm kidding, we don't actually MAKE our kadomatsus, even though TECHINALLY you're supposed to. So what? TECHNICALLY you're supposed to use Prepatation H for ass lumps, but I FIND it works WONDERS for the bags under my eyes. So give me a fucking break. Oh, we also don't pound our own fucking mochi, either -- do I LOOK LIKE someone who would or even could pick up a mallet?!? I mean, aside from the time I tried to BASH YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN WHILE JONESING FOR A CIGARETTE?!? We're just a huge fucking family of FOBs (Faux Oriental Bitches) so judge us if you must but before you do that let me ask what connections YOU maintain to your mother culture, Mr. Whitey McWhitester-Fucktard?!? ANYWAY, we've been BUYING our kadomatsus from Mikis for the last couple of years and have been VERY HAPPY with them. See, Miki's -- a family-run florist located in a small, nondescript storefront -- not only makes excellent leis and other floral arrangements, they also assemble Kadomatus. This year, our 2-foot tall kadomatsu (http://static.px.yelp.com/photo/0CO9CBoVinRBAMiVo_9wUw/l) was rather expensive -- $100 -- but it was still a small price to pay for maintaining a tie to tradition. So if you want to be stylin' like The Family I, head to Miki's and get one.

I have been coming here for the last four years and I'm just ecstatically impressed with the…read moredesigns of flowers that the owner makes for me. Great family owned shop!

Referred by my usual florist as they were going on vacation. I spoke with Pat who was very…read morehelpful and provided excellent suggestions. She assured me that she would take the utmost care in creating a wreath for my deceased father in-law and have it delivered as promised. She texted me my order with minutes of ending our call. The week of the funeral I paid for the wreath in full and it was delivered on the day as agreed. Pat iVolcano Orchids did not disappoint. Definitely will keep her in my contacts for future business. Mahalo Pat!

I live in San Diego, CA and I ordered a funeral floral arrangement after being referred by another…read moreflorist shop- Waipahu Florist. Pat was soo nice, friendly, helpful and made it easy to order over the phone. I also text her a picture of what I wanted and gave her my payment info over the phone. She sent me a confirmation by texting me a picture of my receipt. My uncle sent me a picture of the cross she made and it came out beautiful!! And we loved the banner too! Thank you soo much! Excellent service.

Florist Grand provided beautiful bouquets and centerpieces for our wedding. They were very easy to…read morework with leading up to the day as well!

Working with Jasmine and the entire Florist Grand team was such a pleasure. I'm so appreciative of…read moretheir patience and flexibility as they managed my ever-changing mind! They were responsive and thorough throughout the process and made my life so much easier which is very much appreciated during the wedding planning season! I could not be prepared for how absolutely SHOOK I was with how everything turned out. To see my grainy, little screenshots turned into beautiful arrangements in real life brought tears to my eyes. I was in awe! My bouquet, all the leis, and the ALTAR... could not have been more perfect. THANK YOU! You all are amazing.

AMAZING EXPERIENCE…read more We recently did a Lei making party at my home for my brothers paddle out celebration of life. Gina came over for our connivence and set up a beautiful selection of flowers. Ginas knowledge and ability to bring everyone together before opening up the room to pure creativity was outstanding. Highly recommend!

JUST WOW!! Ordered a large lei with no specifications and it turned out PERFECT! The colors and…read morequality of the flowers are phenomenal. The fact that she grew a lot of them in her garden is just on another level amazing. Down to every dainty detail Gina surpassed all expectation. We so appreciated how the lei came wrapped in a leaf to avoid any waste.

Blooming with creativity…read more.. That's one thing that does excite me whenever there's a market and this one does branch out a bit differently as it does includes various plants for sale as well. Though I'm not much of a green thumb having folks who know how to care for them does make a difference and who wouldn't want to take home something that brighten up your space. Speaking of it's not just plants but various pottery from the Hawaii Potters Guild which was very nice as each table is from a different member was so impressive to see so many creative items. What I also love is that you find various treats from My Sweet World with lots of munchies and of course matcha...I was so surprised to see Walking Bean Cafe was there and got a cup of Iced Honey Yuzu Matcha a favorite refresher of mine that really helped cool me down. Aloha Drapery and Kreative Kama'aina was there to see something new they have and it's pillows with two types of filling and got one specifically difficult to find the uniqueness of this market really surprised me and learned a lot from various vendors was so cool. Keeping it local and supporting these various artists is great at this spot as it's free to the public and with that savings I put it towards my purchase. Thank you!

Christine and Created For You Wedding Flowers did an AMAZING job for our wedding earlier this…read moremonth. We spoke to several flower companies and none seemed as detailed or responded back as quick as Christine did. We had never met in person but she is very efficient through email. She does get very busy so there were a few times where I had to follow up on a request made but it was not a big deal. She took care of all the boutonnieres for the groom, groomsmen, father of the couple, ushers, and even made mini ones for our tiny ring beareres! For my side she made my bouquet (which I wanted to have our wedding colors in my bouquet of navy blue and gray) and my bridesmaids bouquets which were all white. She also made baby's breath flower crowns for my two flower girls who were different sizes and made the size accordingly. She did the lei for our moms and also for all 25 of our out of town guests. I had wanted more color in my bouquet but I can understand how hard that would be to find navy blue and gray flowers and incorporate them, especially being in Hawaii. But I could tell that she did the best she could. Because our reception was outdoors, we opted not to have any flower decorations. Instead, we wanted to decorate the church aisle. I had asked her for baby's breath posy bouquets on every other row and then ribbon bows on the alternating rows. I sent her a picture of something that I pictured in my head which was very simple. But the bows that she created were BEAUTIFUL. They were wide material and draped beautifully. We ended up using them to redecorate our sweetheart table with them at the reception! I'll try to add some photos for reference. Christine answered all of my questions and was very patient with me in updating our flower plan as I did notice some errors throughout while editing. I highly recommend Christine M. and Created For You Flowers for any kind of floral (or ribbon!) arrangement needs!!

After searching and contacting many florists, I decided to go with Created for You Flowers. I am so…read moreglad I did! Christine was very easy to work with. She was prompt to answer any questions and went above and beyond for me. When I first approached her, I told her my vision for my wedding was clean, sophisticated, all white with touches of tropical greenery. She translated my vision so well! The wedding florals turned out so beautiful and everyone was impressed! It made my wedding look so spectacular! Christine was very reasonably priced and for what she did, I would have paid more but of course I didn't tell her that lol. If you ever need a florist for your wedding, Christine and her team is amazing, you will be so impressed with your florals!

Refreshing beverage at the Kailua Farmers' Market in Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i…read more.. We were strolling around the covered part of this Farmers' Market when I saw Pacifikool. I thought: that's clever to use fresh ginger in soft drinks... let's try one! The Ginger Colada was one of the most popular drinks with Coconut Milk and Pineapple Juice as a base. The hint of Hawaiian Ginger Syrup was subtle and not overpowering. Thank you for the friendly, efficient service and creative refreshment!

Was strolling through Royal Hawaiian Center and I stumbled upon a sign that says "island crafts and…read morefairs" on the 4th floor. Decided to check it out and saw this cake in a see- through soda can. So many options but I purchased one with Dubai chocolate for $16. The cake was moist and I can truly taste the pistachios. Brilliant idea! And it was yummy!!! Give them a try! It's worth it.

Canned cake... I do…read moreadmit that I love to see my food and drinks like the glorious level of matcha before I stir or that plate lunch I'm ready to demolish and here's Waikiki Cake a catering biz that makes these cute and very portable treats for any occasion as it's sealed tightly until you're ready to treat yourself. Very fun concept as the weather can play a horrible roll in bringing something sweet outdoors or just the humid hot weather makes it melt before your eyes these cuties can do need to be chilled but are very more sturdy than your usual slice. They're made in various flavors and the price is quite up there but for the look and convenience is what it's all about along with personalization which they're also able to do is nice for any occasion though this one was for me to treat myself and I found this place at the Ono Grindz and Makeke at Wai Kai. I just couldn't resist the Strawberry Matcha Shortcake as it has all the loves I have in treats but wanted to enjoy it fully chilled at home later and it was days later until I was able to o so it was just as I expected with the cake being quite dense as it needed it to be to hold up the look and build of the whole dessert but was it delicious despite it all yes but at $15 it was up there for me though will probably get it for special occasions as I check out their Instagram for locations to find them as who wouldn't want something like this to celebrate with...cheers! Thank you!