Schedule for Sunday, Feb. 14
Happy Valentine’s Day!
xoxox
Carly
Happy Valentine’s Day!
xoxox
Carly
Worst. Flight. Ever.
My redeye out of Honolulu to Newark yesterday definitely took the cake in terms of horrible flights. And it was all of my own doing, ironically.
Friday night I boarded the plane, prepared to sleep the whole 9 and a half hours to Newark. I put on my brand-new eyemask, got into my sleepsack, put on my U-pillow, and lastly, took 2 Tylenol Simply Sleep sleeping pills, just as it was written on the bottle. Hub had suggested I take them to sleep the whole flight; as my last trip to New York last year I had taken a dose of Nyquil when I wasn’t sick…and instead of sleeping the whole way ended up jittery and awake the whole way. Never had Nyquil not work for me before, but after that experience I decided I shouldn’t take medicine if I wasn’t sick, and so Hub recommended Tylenol Simply Sleep, which is what he always takes. The last time I had taken any sleeping medication of any sort was more than 2 years ago. But this time I was exhausted from going to the wedding and the long day, and just wanted to sleep.
Well. (Read on for the gruesome details…)
I had taken the medicine on what I guess was an empty stomach. We had had the wedding banquet from noon -3 pm Friday, and I was honestly so stuffed still at 9 pm that I didn’t feel like eating anything. I had just guzzled a whole lotta water too. I felt full!
An hour later the pills didn’t seem to be working. I felt my breathing was depressed – it was difficult to make my lungs inflate; I felt a little short of oxygen. (Sleeping pills/cold medication depress one’s breathing rate in order to force relaxation.) I felt nauseous, and got up to go to the bathroom. I didn’t throw up, but in the bathroom my vision started to get fuzzy; I felt claustrophobic and couldn’t figure out how to open the door. I scrabbled at it, and managed to get out. I was walking back towards my seat when it happened.
I blacked out and fell down the aisle, hitting my face on the carpet when I fell.
At least I think that’s what happened. Nobody I asked saw what had happened; there was no sensation of falling, no feeling of faintness, no warning whasoever – just one minute I was walking down the aisle and the next minute I was conscious of people all around me – “What happened?” “Did she fall?” “Is she okay?” “Is there a doctor on the plane?” I had a glimpse of a white uniform and I thought the pilot had come out (it was one of the stewards). There were voices all around me; I was being pulled by numerous hands, and dragged across the floor to the back empty row, where they stuffed me on the floor in front of the seats. [could they not have lifted me into a seat?] I heard the words “nurse practicioner” and then “I’m a doctor” and an elderly man was looking at me, taking my vitals. I told him I had just taken 2 sleeping pills; I told them where the bottle was. They kept asking me if I was on any other medications or if I had drank any alcohol. I kept saying no; I hate alcohol, but they weren’t listening. I kept falling in and out of consciousness and my head was lolling back. Finally, I threw up. The doctor said now I had thrown up it would be okay, and they took me back to my seat [so I would vacate the 2 seats I had been lying in, which were for the crew to lie down and sleep in], and gave me some juice. The doctor told me to sleep.
Funny thing was, I couldn’t. I was all shaky and nauseous, but kept drinking and eating some crackers. I threw up again, and then felt like I was going to pass out. I called the steward back, and let him know; he brought the doctor who re-checked my vitals. I threw up again, everything I had drank or eaten since boarding the plane. (I was on the aisle side in the middle; the guy next to me must have been loving me by that time.) I kept saying “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I realized I was also wearing two titanium Phiten patch discs on my shoulders where I had some sore muscles; once I removed them I suddenly felt loads better. [Phiten uses magnetic technology to draw blood flow into sore areas, relieving pain.] It shouldn’t have made a difference, but I felt much less woozy; though I insisted they were just magnetic discs the doctor didn’t believe me and told me they had medication in them. Anyway, I thought the ordeal was done.
But per procedures the crew had to call MediLife or something – a ground unit that relays medical advice to crews when flying. They instructed to put me on oxygen for an hour, and then do an IV if I wasn’t responsive. If I further didn’t respond, they would have to land the plane early. I heard them whispering in the back.
Anyway, so I was put on an oxygen tank which ran out after about 25 minutes. I kept breathing in the mask for another 10 minutes before I was feeling faint again and finally told the attendant I couldn’t breathe and was taking it off.
After that, I spent the remainder of the flight shaking and nauseous. Luckily they assumed I was sleeping and did not have to land the plane early. When we got to Newark I was so weak I couldn’t walk, and disembarked the plane on a wheelchair. I was taken to the curb and put in a taxi, and collapsed when I got to the hotel room.
Much fun. Must do it again sometime.
I was too weak to go to the Academy of Arts University show [section G, row 4, seat 4, thank you very much], could not do my backstage interviews, missed going to the HauteLook suite (free pampering! ugh.) and couldn’t go to Irina Shabayeva’s show sponsored by Tupperware [which looked fabulous by the way – will post piccies soon]. I barely was able to make it around the corner from the hotel to get something to eat and check in at BP for my press credentials.
Now today I’ve slept a fair amount since yesterday, and am ready to go. Much better- stomach is still a little tender, so I’m taking it easy.
So. Moral of the story? Don’t take sleeping pills on an empty stomach! [love that it doesn’t say this on the box.]
Maybe this is not normal, even on an empty stomach. Had anyone had any similar experience with Tylenol SimplySleep?
(original img from aol travel)
xoxox
Carly
It’s funny how much and how little of the geography here we recall. How to get from here to there is still a source of contention as Hub refused the map at the rentacar place, insisting he knew Honolulu. But as we pass street after street, things start coming back.
Both yesterday and today were full of visiting the airport. Yesterday, twice to the airport to pick up the inlaws, then to the Children’s Discovery Center where we further psychologically-scarred Lil Tot with the exploding organs doll (an 8-ft tall stuffed doll that’s probably been there since the 60’s, kind of resembling Raggedy Andy with blue hair, with a large zipper in his chest. When you pull open the zipper, the doll’s stuffed organs projectile vomit at you. Nice for little kids.)
Then to Mariposa for lunch, a delicious pan-island restaurant atop the Neiman Marcus at the Ala Moana Shopping Center. (We always get full on the starters that the waiters bring: hot popovers with strawberry butter [used to be papaya butter which I thought was better], and a cup of light consomme soup.) I had a salad with island greens, goat cheese, wasabi-crusted pecans, broiled salmon, and papaya vinaigrette, one of my favorites. I shared the cheesecake with Hub – a whipped cheescake with blood orange gelee, manadarin slices, raspberry coulis, and a coffee crunch crust: I’m not really a cheesecake person but this was pure heaven. They also have a location in Bellevue, WA if you are ever in that neighborhood.
Today we woke up early to got to the wedding that was our primary reason for coming to Hawaii this time.
Hub’s best friend from high school was getting married – and get this, exactly one week before today the travel agent they booked the entire trip and wedding with went bankrupt – and stole their money – $20,000+ of it! (This is a travel agent based in Japan.) Since all their friends and family had given the couple money for their travel accommodations, the couple then felt obligated to pay for everyone’s plane and stay that all had to be rebooked last week. The travel agent had cancelled the wedding plans and reservations and everything – and Hub’s best friend had to rebook everything himself at the last minute. What an awful start to their life together! 🙁
Anyway, the wedding was held on the North Shore where Hub and I got married (his best friend was in attendance then and liked the ceremony so much he decided to get married at the same place now, 5 years later). It was pouring with rain on the way up so the ground was soaked, but everyone put on a happy face and tried to make the best of it. The bride was beautiful, and the groom got all choked up during his speech at the reception where he mentioned the difficulties they’d had in getting to today and all the inconvenience they had caused everyone. They even presented Lil Tot a toy: a Darth Vader with removable helmet and megalomaniac computerized seat hutch (you’ll have to forgive my lack of words; I’m really, really tired at this point) – which I’m sure Hub will place in the location of honor on his Star Wars shelf at home. (Don’t ask.)

I ripped chiffon strips to make this dress – would have added more had I had the time – and was even tacking them down to the bubble hem in the car on the way to the wedding. (I bought the dress below off-the-shelf and added a layer of ripped chiffon to make it look more unique.) Hub calls it my “jellyfish” dress.
The necklace is kind of reminiscent of the $700 Michael Kors Rhodium Bead Necklace from his S/S 2010 collection…just better. (And cheaper.)
Anyway, after a long drive back to the hotel, I got ready to leave, and am now sitting in the airport about to board the redeye flight to New York City in order to cover Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
I’m super-nervous about the plane breaking apart in midair and being engulfed in flames (or being knocked unconscious by a wayward headrest), so if that happens, I told ya so! 😉
See you on the other side (of the country) ~
xo
Carly
Courtesy of Singer22, the Soixante Neuf hammered ring in silver or gold will set you back about $132 or $152, respectively.
I scored my similar ring (without even knowing it had been seen on Vanessa Hudgens and Kim Kardashian), at Forever21, for about $5.80. Though they don’t sell it online anymore you can probably still find it in stores – and here’s some similar ones they have online:
If you like knuckle rings, you can also purchase an eerily-similar-to-that-Robert-Lee-Morris knuckle ring on Etsy for $75 at ashaloo’s shop. (The Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth + James Knuckle Ring goes for $170 and up.)
I will post a piccy soon of the F21 Soixante Neuf doppelganger soon! have posted a photo here.
And Forever21’s version is sparkly, gals. Yeehaw.
-Carly J. Cais
Where have you lived? And what made you decide to move to those places? If you don't mind me asking.
In order: New Jersey; Yokohama, Japan; Virginia Beach, VA; Vermont; Tokyo, Japan; Philadelphia, PA; Honolulu, HI; Portland, OR. I grew up in rural small-town NJ, then my father’s job moved us to Japan when I was 11. We lived there 3 years, moved back to Jersey for a year, than my dad’s job moved us again to Virginia Beach, VA. I finished high school there, then went to college in rural, college town Vermont. Spent a year in Tokyo for a study abroad, finished school and went to 2 years of animation school in Tokyo. Met my future husband while in Japan, moved to Philadelphia PA while he was finishing up school (had to leave Japan since my visa was up), then, when he was done with school, he wanted to move back to where he grew up: Hawaii. So we moved to Honolulu, lived there 4 years until we had a kid and just couldn’t give him the life we wanted to in Hawaii (too isolated, too expensive, housing unaffordable, schools leaving something to be desired), so we moved to outside of Portland, OR, and have been there the past 2 years. Whew! I’m a little sick of all these cross-country and international moves by now.:-) We’ll probably be in Portland for a little while.
Thanks for your question!
Where have you lived before?
xoox
Carly
Lee McQueen, designer and founder of the Alexander McQueen brand, was found dead this morning in his home in London. He was such a visionary and the world of fashion will never be the same.
I am shocked and saddened by this premature loss. May he rest in peace.
(img Style.com)
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Today proved a fruitful day. (It’s funny how much stuff you can actually see and places you can go when you’re like “I only have 30 minutes til I need to be somewhere!” You cram in everything and end up being particularly efficient.)
In the morning we headed over to our favorite spot on the West side of the island.

Through Pearl City, where the Two Towers are… (that’s not really what they’re called; just when we first moved to Hawaii The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had just come to theatres and Hub and I always joked about Saruman standing atop one of them…okay, we’re total geeks)…
As the land turns to dry desert with cacti and the earth stains red… [yes, this is still Hawaii: the only state containing 11 of the 13 different climate zones in the world!]
As the craggy foliage-covered mountains splay to the east and the west…
Past where they’re apparently building a Disney resort scheduled to open in 2011…
Past Maili, where former yokozuna [sumo wrestling champion] Konishiki has his pad (and we’ve seen him driving his little golf cart around on occasion)….
Through Waianae, the most poverty-stricken area of the island, where crystal meth abuse and vandalism run rampant…

Through designated Hawaiian Home Land [land leased to people who have a minimum of 50% native Hawaiian blood from the government] and land seized by the US Army for use for training exercises…[you can probably guess how the native Hawaiians feel about that]…
Past Beach People enclaves [homeless who have elected to live on the beach in tents and hollowed-out cars draped with tarps]….

On top of the mountain to the east is the Coast Guard Satellite Tracking Facility that we just call the Big-A** Golf Ball.
Secluded, rocky, dangerous waves, whales on the horizon, and fabulous, fabulous shells. There are a lot of drupes, tiny nerites, as well as abundant varieties of cone shells – my favorite is the Conus ebraeus with its graphic black-and-white pattern. Cowries that have bleached with time and calcium deposits – it’s almost impossible to find a whole, shiny cowrie out here due to the strength of the waves. And sea urchin skeletons and spines, pulverized. Since I don’t scuba-dive, I can’t collect specimen shells; just do my best at snorkeling depths. My dream is to find a whole Cypraea (Cribrarula) gaskoini someday…
Isn’t it beautiful? (img from marinelifephotography.com)

You can just hear the waves crashing, no?
So we played on the beach and I picked up lots of broken shells since the waves were too rough to dare the waters, and I ended up with a sunburn on my ankles and in an oval on my forearm where apparently I missed putting on my SPF.

Then we headed back to Waikiki, and I stopped in Island Sweetie for a look-see.
It’s a little hole-in-the-wall, but sometimes I can find some fun, trendy things in there. I hemmed and hawed over a cropped black cardigan with a skull-pattern, but the $59 pricetag finally decided things for me. I found tons of studded MMS Design bags (at least I’m pretty sure that’s what the label said, though I’m unfamiliar with the brand), flowing paisley and vintage-flower-print sundresses, a necklace with a cluster of gems like gumdrops, Swarovski-encrusted pens and business card holders, and the owner cutting up printed tees and re-tying the strips he’d just cut, pure 80’s style.
Then to Ward Centre and Warehouse, and while Hub was getting a hair cut (I write it like that because his hairstyle is pretty much unchanged from before going into the salon, hence, my theory is that he only a got a. hair. cut), I took Lil Tot around to some stores.
Misfortune always surprises me in that though they’re small and have comparatively little on the selling floor, I always find something I want.
At many stores in Hawaii you will find pages from Japanese magazines on display – showing the feature or write-up of their store to their Japanese customers. Many Japanese women collect magazine features on shops in Hawaii and visit – specifically to shop at said stores. What I’ve always found interesting is that rarely do U.S.-based magazines mention these stores or “hot” items they’re selling. 😉

This tee with all sorts of extra bits added onto it was especially nice; I’d probably have bought it if it was in a darker color and long-sleeved. Maybe I’ll make one.

I liked the studded bags on the wall, too.
Linea proved slightly interesting but definitely more urban- and club-wear than I could usually pull off.

Second Skin didn’t have much in the way of notable finds, though the graphic print tank in the window I liked (though I could have sworn I’ve seen it in a past issue of Lucky…)
After a dinner of Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter spaghetti and watermelon-sorbet-honeydew-ice-cream-oreo-cookie-crust ice cream cake (yum!) at the Old Spaghetti Factory, we went back to Waikiki and I hit up Pineapple County, where I lingered a whole 25 minutes until Hub hustled me out of there, complaining he had to go to the bathroom.
Ah, Pineapple County. So many lovely things, affordable prices (think Zara on sale, not quite as cheap as Forever21)…


I’m telling ya, adding a bear dangling off your bag is so IN! (Well…maybe in Japan.;-)Beautiful dress with a see-through lace skirt.

Totally DIY-able with a grinder-attachment on your handheld drill.
Love this: a tank that has a foldover ruffle at the bustline with a lacy bra-top inset as straps.
I tried snapping more photos but my camera battery died halfway through.
I ended up with a similar skull-print cardi to the one I saw at Island Sweetie (except a heck of a lot cheaper at $10.99, and one size too small but I can easily fix that once I get to a sewing machine), with tiny little skulls like polka dots. Refined. And a white foldover skull-studded bag, and a sculptural hammered silver ring. I also would have gotten a “Pineapple County” printed tee, had I not been hustled out of there. I’ll def. make do with a free tote bag instead!
Tomorrow: the in-laws arrive, we visit the Hawaii Children’s Museum and further scar Lil Tot for life with the 8-ft tall doll with the exploding organs, and meet up with even more in-laws for lunch at Mariposa. Whew!
I hear New York is practically snowed in – for those of you there, how is it right now?
I’m a little worried my flight will be canceled.
xo
Carly
However, about 2 hours into the flight my son had woken up from his nap and was lying with his head in my lap – and I noticed the guy sitting in front of me was shifting around a bit and suddenly, OUT OF NOWHERE this gigantic, cumbersome, heavy blue thing whizzed up in the air and landed in my lap 3 INCHES FROM MY SON’S FACE. I was staring at it blankly for a few moments, trying to figure out what the hell it was, and the guy in front of my turned around and was staring at me – and I realized that the thing in my lap was the headrest to his seat.
Tights with super-large polka-dots…
They had a few different colors, though I was drawn to the green one. Aren’t the dots like starlight? Lovely.
But I picked up some DIY ideas, even if I wasn’t in the mood to buy…
Add lace to the back of a hoodie to girl it up a little…
Punch a variety of sizes of eyelets into a clutch bag…
Decorate a beret with studs. Oops! Done that already. Turned out pretty cute – have to take a photo to share with you guys.
I left the store somewhat let down, I have to say. 🙁
Me and my newly-bright red hair are hopping on a plane this morning headed to Honolulu for a friend’s wedding. Then Friday I’m heading to New York!
Thank you for all your kind comments – especially about flying – here’s hoping nothing will go wrong! (And if it does, maybe after watching all those crash videos Hub will be able to take the controls if the pilots are rendered unconscious or something. One hopes.)
While I’m in Hawaii I may or may not be able to do some updates, but once in NYC I’ll be trying to give you a play-by-play of the action at Fashion Week! Stay tuned!
I hope you gals all had a fabulous Super Bowl Sunday (not that I even noticed it was Super Bowl Sunday, LOL) and have a great rest of the week!
xoxox
Carly
Image from University of Canberra
Leave CommentI dyed my hair for my upcoming trip. L’Oreal Feria in #74 Copper Shimmer.
I never dyed my hair consistently until last year, when I chopped my waist-length hair off and went short. For 6 months I was having trouble styling it, and finally I found this really awesome stylist last February who suggested coloring my hair, to plump up the hair shaft and damage the follicle a bit. Apparently damaged hair holds style far better than virgin hair – which is what mine was, being that I never dyed it because I liked my natural color so much. But my hair is thin, limp, and has no body or volume – and won’t hold any style (no matter how little or how much) styling products I use…everything would fall flat after about an hour or so. So my stylist gave me the same color as my natural color, just punched up a bit to make it brighter. She also gave me lovely streaky platinum-blond highlights.
This is about $200 and 2 weeks later – after the red faded. Red shades (both natural and from the salon) fade very quickly, so again this time I chose a super-bright shade that will fade to…well, back to my natural color over the course of a few weeks.
I’m also playing around with makeup a little; normally I wouldn’t do such a red lip, but I think I kind of like it with the punchy hair and eyeliner.
In other news, my trip to New York for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (as they require all us journalists to refer to it) is so close I can almost taste it!
Tuesday we head to Hawaii first for a wedding we have to go to, then Friday I hop a plane from Honolulu to New York, leaving my family on vacation in Hawaii! (I’m now super-scared of flying, thanks to Hub who has these past 4 months, been watching every reenactment of every flight crash in the history of aviation, for his pilot training. I wasn’t always jittery about flying, but after months of me sewing away diligently on my machine, with “And the passengers of TSA Flight72 never knew that an even greater nightmare awaited them in the murky waters of the Florida Everglades below, as the plane barrelled into the swamp, the fuselage breaking into strips and the nose of the 747 crumpling upon impact”….and screams and sounds of crashing and burning going on behind me….literally for hours on end as Hub watched successive videos on Youtube and whatnot…I’ve become a little paranoid! At least when I ask, “um, when was that crash?” usually it’s like 1972, 1994, 1989, etc. Apparently the vast majority of air disasters are attributed to human error, and/or mechanical failure. But mostly human error. I’m not sure if that makes me feel any better.:-/
So, switching gears…
Does anyone have any suggestions for great places to shop (cheap, trendy) – yummy cheap places to eat – must-sees in the Big Apple?
On my list of cool spots is Century21, Metalliferous, Albertine, M & J Trimming, Opening Ceremony, Bird, TG-170, Pixie Market, What Goes Around Comes Around, Seven, and Patricia Field. Any place you gals would recommend?
And I plan to bring my camera and get some cool boutique shots for the ol’ blog!
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
And here’s a little budget travel tip I found out today:
I’ve been requiring sample-sized products for my trip – but Target and other places only sell small-sized products I don’t want. Some of the products I use regularly are in large, pressurized canisters and I don’t want to chance taking them on an airplane lest they burst, and squeezing them out into smaller bottles will cause them to break down. (Like my Olay Definity Deep Penetrating Foaming Moisturizer– it will turn from a frothy foam into a liquid if I dispense it into a small jar or something. So it stays home!) Sephora has a great selection of small-sized goods but they can be so pricey! So I just ask them for samples of stuff I don’t have – a scrub, a moisturizer, whatever (I always have a product I intend to buy in my hand so the associate knows I’m not just using them for their samples)…and they’ll make up a sample with a clean jar and just squeeze product out of the tester!! I had thought they would only give samples of pre-packaged products – but no, they’ll make the sample for you, so if you’re going on a short trip then a sample-size of moisturizer or something will definitely last! I also scored some Chanel brightening moisturizer at the counter today when I picked up their nail polish in Particuliere (more about that later!) – so I’m totally set in the way of products. Definitely try it out if you haven’t before!
xoxo
Carly