May 2008

It’s not quite New Year’s, but you’re already working on a 2008 green resolution. Plastic grocery bags have been replaced by reusable ones, gifts are wrapped in magazine paper, and that gas-guzzling SUV? Now it’s a hybrid, baby.

You thought you were ahead until you found out you had to move.

But just one phone call and soon full-service, licensed and insured Malama Moving Company arrives to pack up your “keeps” in free recycled boxes, and whisks them away in a biodiesel-powered truck.

They deliver your “donate” pile to Honolulu’s The Green House, where... Read more »

You survived the holiday rush – barely. The midnight run to the self-ship machine at the post office, furious online shopping between meetings, and the Christmas morning pit-stop at Safeway made you resolve to be more organized in 2008.

Step one: outsource some of those chores and errands to Windward Go Girls, a new personal assistant service run by sisters Maria Sedillo and Nita Sasser.

Call them for help with any kind of errand or concierge-type task, from grocery shopping to hitting the bank and post office to giving you a ride to and from the airport. They’ll even pick up or deliver... Read more »

Your thighs aren’t the only thing that’s gotten jiggly lately. That diet of gossip blogs and fashion magazines – with the occasional romance novel – has your mind turning to mush, too.

Isn’t it time you traded in the trashy tabloids for more grown-up reading material? Spice up your life between the covers with a little help from these two bookish sites.

Paperspine.com

Like a Netflix for books, Paperspine lets you create a list of books you want to read, and prioritize them in the order you want them shipped. Your books are mailed to you... Read more »

Your makeup drawer is filled with products you use only once a year -- body glitter’s turn was last week’s New Year’s Eve party -- and others you’ll probably never use again. There’s the concealer that doesn’t match your tan, leftover lipstick from that unfortunate grunge phase, and shades of eyeshadow you’d dare don only for an 80s party.  It’s a special episode of What Not to Wear waiting to happen.

Maybe it’s time to break up with some of that makeup.

Kailua ’s Wendy Robin, a former Hollywood makeup artist who’s done... Read more »

Some quick experiences are indisputably unsatisfying (just think about it), but most events that last just a few minutes are undeniably good—like short commutes or five-minute ab workouts. But bad or good, who turns down three seconds of fame, even the kind you can only brag about to friends?

Former windsurfing photographer Cynthia Thompson’s Studio Surf Shots helps you achieve that fame by transforming you into a big wave surfer.

Visit her Haleiwa studio so she can snap a professional photo of you in the correct position, then she’ll Photoshop your best shot into a picture of a big... Read more »

You’re pretty clever. You toss out aloha, mahalo, and pau hana with ease. But just when you think you’re on it, someone asks: “Pehea oe?” And you have to respond, pehea what? Maybe it’s time you learned a little more Hawaiian than the average visitor. After all, it’s the state’s second official language, and uh…you live here.

Hawaiian language teacher Kaliko Beamer-Trapp, the adopted son of Auntie Nona Beamer, teamed up with the Instant Immersion language series to create an eight-disc Hawaiian audio course.... Read more »

Los Angeles : 5 hours. Las Vegas : 6 hours. Sydney : 11 bone-crunching hours.

Getting on a plane might be the one time Lucky You Live Hawaii doesn’t hold.  

Cramped in coach, your chances of catching any z’s are limited. Even with an around-the-neck pillow or a three-drink nightcap and a sleeping pill, you arrive knowing exactly why they call it a red-eye. 

Here are three plane props to help next time you have to fly by night.

Read more »

You’re trying to be more eco-aware. You’ve got a very cool reusable grocery bag, and you’re eating organic.

But those bottles and cans and newspapers? Admit it: you have better things to do on weekends than stand in line at the HI-5 redemption center.

And who knows when the city’s curbside... Read more »

When it comes to giving back, somehow you always say yes.

Help organize that fundraiser? Absolutely.
Pitch in on volunteer day?  Done.
Write a check for a worthy cause? No problem.

Here’s another easy yes for you: Ever feel like all the volunteering and donating seems more like a chore than the significant and meaningful contribution you intended it to be?

Mmm-hmm.

 You could pare down your commitments to a couple hours a month, and still help more than 10 different worthy charities each year.

Just join the new Honolulu chapter of... Read more »

As a kid, when you wanted the answer, you asked mom or dad. Now, you search Google. But Google has its shortcomings. You aren’t always at a computer. Your answer could be on page 8 of the results. The power or Internet could be down – like on Wednesday.

Sometimes it’s faster just to ask someone who knows – if you knew who that was.

Now you do. Text any question to ask@mosio.com and get a message back in just minutes with an answer from a real person. Based in San Francisco, Mosio is sort of like searching Google via texting. Your questions are answered by Mosio... Read more »