Hawaii 2010 was the best trip we’ve ever taken. It’s difficult to have a bad time in Hawaii, and the combination of a week on Lana’i by ourselves and a week on Kauai with our friends was the perfect way to end summer. A few final photos of our time on Kauai, including the largest human pyramid we built that week:
Hanalei Bay:Mark playing his ukulele:
Floppy hats at Ke’e Beach:
Joe paddle boarding at Hanalei Bay:
Hanalei Bay at sunset:
If it isn’t obvious from the photo above, we had an incredible trip. In fact, we were all screaming “OH MY GODDD!!!” in this photo. You can’t fake that kind of enthusiasm. Where to next?

Editor’s Note: The title of this post refers to a quote by the infamous Antoine Dodson who apparently now has his own website and without whom our trip wouldn’t have been the same. Many thanks, Antoine.

Greetings from Kauai! We’re a little more than halfway through our stay here and are having so much fun I’ve almost wet myself on a daily basis. This is our first visit to Kauai, and we’ve already decided it’s our favorite Hawaiian island. The scenery at this place is epic – there are super lush mountains set against crystal blue water practically everywhere you look. If you’re having trouble picturing Kauai, think Jurassic Park – all three installments in the movie series (and many other movies) were filmed here.

We’re staying on the North Shore of Kauai in Princeville right near Hanalei Bay and lots of other great beaches, including one of our favorites so far, Tunnels Beach (shown above). There are 13 of us together on this leg of the trip, and, as you can imagine, we tend to make quite an impact wherever we go. We also tend to consume more food and drinks than the entire Duggar family. The house we’re staying in is perched on a cliff high above the ocean with amazing views:The path to the beach near our house, which we were led to believe was only a five-minute walk through a wooded area, was actually a 20-minute treacherous hike that nearly killed us in our flip flops. The beach was super private, though, and great for snorkeling. AND we scored an awesome SPOTTED: the actor Josh Lucas, most notably known to us as Reese Witherspoon’s love interest in Sweet Home Alabama. DQG spotted him, IMDB-ed him and made initial contact by asking, “Has anyone ever told you you look like Josh Lucas?” When he laughed and responded yes, Dana countered with, “Are you Josh Lucas?” POSITIVE!Lots of memories have been made during this trip. I celebrated my 28th birthday on Saturday with a surprise birthday breakfast, flowers, presents and a cake decorated with M&Ms.In even bigger news, Johnny and Trang got ENGAGED last week! We celebrated with champagne, another cake and red Solo cups.One of our favorite stops on our tour of Kauai’s North Shore was Queens Bath, a swimming area that was formed by an ancient lava flow. It took a little bit of a hike to get there, but it was well worth the effort.
A good amount of people were peacefully snorkeling and swimming in the lava pool until we arrived like a pack of wild dogs from Delaware County, PA. We really do try to be quiet, but we just get too excited. Plus, we saw turtles and started cheering “TURTLES!” each time they poked their little heads up out of the water.
Forgive the bathing suits + sneakers. It was a hike.

I finally wore my H&M Garden Collection rainbow kimono, and it made quite a statement (partially because I kept flapping my arms and squawking like a Velociraptor). Appearances by Mark, Beana, T-Fuzz and Dara below.
If you own this rainbow kimono, expect to have a good time when you wear it. This night on which I wore my kimono was the most eventful evening of our trip so far. After a dance party and limbo contest at our house then sushi and plenty of drinks at Bouchons, we headed over to Tahiti Nui to continue the fun where I nearly JWOWW-ed a local chick in a horribly unflattering orange maxi dress who felt it necessary to tell me that she didn’t appreciate the good times our group was having there. The conflict was dramatic and reminiscent of Blue Crush (”This is my island”), but I can’t really divulge any more details given the pending police investigation.
Watch out: we’ve taken nearly 1,000 photos so far, so additional photos will follow. I won’t give too much away, but I will say that the upcoming posts will include images of human pyramids.

Did I forget to mention I was going to Hawaii for two weeks? I’m sorry. I intended to post shortly after we arrived, but I fell into a comatose state of intense relaxation. I tried to type, but I couldn’t make my fingers move across the keyboard. I’m better now.

A little more than two years ago, Joe and I made the huge mistake of staying at the Four Seasons on the Big Island of Hawaii and on Maui during our honeymoon. Our trip was unbelievable, but it turns out that once you stay at a Four Seasons, you have this weird belief that you should always stay there. That’s how we ended up here.

We’ve been staying at the Four Seasons Lana’i at Manele Bay on the island of Lana’i since Sunday, and our stay has been pure bliss. An example: on day 1, I took outdoor yoga, spent 7 hours lounging on the beach, swimming, reading, napping and eating, got a massage and then took a nap. Yes, that day actually happened. We forgot how incredible the service is here, especially on the beach. I quickly got used to the ice cold washcloths, Evian sprays, never ending water, lemonade, food and drinks. Lana’i is a very secluded island with not a lot to do, and we’ve taken full advantage of the lack of activity. Other people rent ATVs, go horseback riding and take hikes. Not us. Joe snorkeled a few times, and I watched him from my lounge chair (not true. I fell asleep. But I did wave when he first went in the water).

The perfect weather – high 80s, no humidity and sunny with a breeze – has only made our experience on Lana’i all the more amazing. Below, the view from the hotel lobby. Every morning when we went to breakfast (see me with my beloved Four Seasons pancakes here), we couldn’t believe the view. It’s that breathtaking:Lots more photos from our stay on Lana’i below. The Polaroid and other stylized shots come from new apps Joe discovered for his Droid. Today we’re off to Kaua’i to spend the next seven nights in an oceanfront house with 11 of our closest friends. We still can’t believe we managed to swing this long of a trip. More updates will come from Kaua’i!

Fact: It’s difficult to descend back to normal life after vacation.

Joe and I just returned from a few days in the Bahamas.  The weather was beautiful, the beaches were serene and the pace was slow.  I caught up on important reading (Us Weekly and New Moon), took more than a few naps and ate ice cream every single day.
Now that we’re back, the post-vacation blues have settled in at the Haus of Gina.  Apparently, this syndrome is common.  A recent post on the Well blog on the NYT (full link below) discussed this conundrum and cited a Dutch study that found most people are no happier when they return from a vacation than people who had not been away.  Downer.

According to this study, most vacation-related happiness actually comes from planning and anticipating the trip (so true!).  People can increase this “anticipation effect” by talking about and researching the trip prior to departure.  Enter my brother Johnny.  If one could have a career in getting people excited for vacations, he would have found his calling – no one is more adept at anticipating a trip than Johnny.  No matter how many months lie between you and your next vacation, if Johnny is going chances are he’s already gotten you unbelievably excited and made his preliminary packing list.

I feel most excited (1) in the days and weeks leading up to a trip, and (2) while I’m actually on the trip.  This day-after-vacation melancholy I’m experiencing now is nothing new, and perhaps it is the price one pays for a good trip.  After all, how fun would a vacation be if you were super excited to come home?Even though I knew the transition home wouldn’t be pleasant, that knowledge didn’t make exiting the airport into the cold, dreary East coast weather any easier.

For now I’ll just focus on our next trip.

How Vacations Affect Your  Happiness [Well Blog - NYT]

Editor’s Note: The title of this post is the former slogan of Dunkin’ Donuts (remember this guy?).  Fred the Baker would wearily make doughnuts every morning, repeating over and over in a monotone voice “Time to make the doughnuts.”  My dad adopted this saying as a way to poke fun at doing the same routine every day, and I glumly muttered it to myself as I put my tights on this morning.  If this post didn’t already make you want to kill yourself, this Editor’s Note probably did.

You read that correctly – HCG is in Miami!

Nicki, my good friend from college (Chi Omega woot woot!), was cooler than all of our other friends and settled here with her husband.  Since Miami is significantly more fun than where the rest of our crew lives (Philly, Toledo and Pittsburgh, respectively), we reunite at Nicki’s each year for a ladies weekend.

The crew this year is comprised of myself, Nicki, Little B and Dana.  We plan on getting crazy on the dance floor and creepin’ on as many guys as possible (complete lie.  We’re all married and rarely speak to men on these trips).  We’ll definitely talk non-stop, hit up hot yoga, enjoy awesome meals, log some serious beach time and dish about Teen Mom (WTF is up with Farrah’s mom getting arrested for choking her?) and TBL (did the chick from the red team really throw the weigh in for the second week in a row?).

The weather this morning is 82 and sunny, and we’re about to have lunch outside on Ocean and spend the rest of the day on the beach.  Best.  Friday.  Ever.

Editor’s Note: To prevent offending any readers with this title, HCG thought an explanation was necessary.  The title of this post is also the title of a crazy popular song by LMFAO.  We like profanity as much as the next person, but we rarely use it in such a direct manner.  Don’t hate.

Guess what?  HCG is in New York! 

Actually, it isn’t as cool as it sounds.  I came here on an unplanned work trip on Tuesday morning, so please excuse the lack of posts.  I simply haven’t been able to keep up with my regular posting schedule.  As is the life of a super successful low level attorney!

Although this trip is extremely work heavy, I’m attempting to squeeze in some fun while I’m here.  I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with my good friend and  HCG reader Caitlin (aka “C”) last night at The Stantion Social on the Lower East Side.  C and I meet up in person only a few times a year, so the chatting at dinner was nonstop (especially since The Biggest Loser finale had just occurred the night before).  It goes without saying that we deeply missed 1/3 of ARC, our girl Alex in Boston.  Holla, A!

Of course, there’s the shopping factor.  I will attempt suicide if I cannot make it over to Uniqlo in Soho before I leave (for Christmas presents, of course – ha!  I couldn’t even type that with a straight face).  Plus, the DVF sample sale ends tomorrow, and I’d love to get over there, too.  Keep your fingers crossed!

FYI: There are several more installments of the Gift Guide that will go up as soon as possible.  We know the clock is ticking to buy gifts, and we’re on it!  Worst case scenario: you can just buy the stuff for yourself. 

Image via The Sartorialist

For our last supper in Barbados, we ventured back to St. Lawrence Gap and dined at Cafe Sol, an AMAZING Mexican restaurant.  On this, our 7th night in Barbados, we were feeling very relaxed.  The delicious food and drinks, twinkling colored lights and warm breezes only added to our state of bliss.
We are very late diners, and our night owl tendencies won us some free margaritas at dinner; Cafe Sol has a late night happy hour from 10-12 – buy one get one FREE!They were very delicious.
A few photos from our last two days in Barbados:
I really can’t stress enough how warm the water is here.  I killed lots of books during this trip, including December’s book club pick and One Hundred Years of Solitude, which I’ve been meaning to read for ages.
At sunset, nearly everyone staying at our hotel would run near the water with their cameras to take photos.  We got sucked in, too.
On our last night here, I convinced Joe to set the timer and jump on my back.
Ah, vacation.  I will miss you.

Last night we dined at Pisces in St. Lawrence Gap.  Pisces didn’t exactly hit a homerun in the food department, but the atmosphere was lovely.  The restaurant is located on top of the water and is lit up with millions of hanging lanterns.  The waves lapped underneath us, and we watched huge sea turtles swimming near the shore.  That was (almost) enough to distract me from the plastic tasting salmon.Vacation is an excuse for me to wear some of my old favorites, including this gold chain headband (picked up a few years ago at F21 or H&M – I can’t recall which), which doesn’t work as well at home in the winter:I love fun hair accessories, and the inability to wear most crazy headbands/headscarves, etc. when one’s hair is short has actually prevented me from cutting my hair on several occasions.  Oh, and I sported everyone’s favorite BR bracelet, too:Joe and I have finally resorted to attempting to take photos of ourselves in the elevator mirror.  Pathetic (but kind of fun).
Today is our last full day in Barbados – we’re off to the beach!

Today we ventured away from our hotel and lunched at Sandy Lane, the luxury Barbados resort where Tiger Woods was married in 2004.  The entire resort is huge, composed of three golf courses, the hotel, residences, a spa and a bunch of restaurants.  The Country Club, where we dropped $100 on lunch enjoyed a delicious meal, is set on one of the golf courses which is perched on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean.  Even on an overcast day, the view was sick.The view from the entry of the Country Club:Obviously, Sandy Lane is F-A-N-C-Y.  Our cab driver kept telling us how expensive it was and that Bill Gates likes to stay there, and he basically questioned our ability to afford anything there (people always think less of us because of Joe’s beard.  It’s tiring, but we’re used to the prejudice).  SL is so fancy, in fact, the Country Club has little customized cloth doily things at the bottom of the water glasses.Impressive, no?  Everywhere in Barbados accepts U.S. dollars (the exchange rate is fixed at about two Barbados dollars to one U.S. dollar), but the change you’re given from U.S. dollars is in Barbados dollars.  We’re bringing some home for my dad’s international money collection.I always let Joe handle the calculations.At the end of our meal, a server came out with – wait for it – ICE COLD WASHCLOTHS on a FANCY TRAY!!!!  The cloths were soaked in eucalyptus oil, and they smelled divine.  I asked Joe if we could call the Hilton and have them send our luggage over to Sandy Lane because I never wanted to leave.
The hostess called a taxi for us, and we expected a white van/sedan to pull up (like the taxis that always arrive at the Hilton).  But no such mediocrity arrives at Sandy Lane; a black BMW 5 series rolled up and whisked us away from heaven.

Now that’s how HCG likes to travel.  Mark my words, Sandy Lane: I will return.

I’ve always been an obsessive beach person.  As a teenager (once I was old enough to drive), I’d stay on the beach in Cape May reading until the sun had gone down, wearing a sweatshirt and struggling to see the words on the page.  Fortunately, Joe shares my love for languorous, ultra long beach days.

Some serious late morning/early afternoon rain caused a late start to today’s beach day.  We had to drag ourselves off of the powder soft sand near dusk.See the moon at the very top right hand corner of this photo?
And because he’s quietly commented before that he never gets proper credit for his photos posted on HCG (despite the recently created tag “photos by joco” – see it?), please note that all photos in this post were taken by Joe :)