Life of Larisa or LOL

In three short months I will have completed this 52 New Things Journey/Project/Resolution/Adventure.  It has been eye-opening, sprit rejuvenating, health beneficial, filled with growth and learning, comfort zone pushing, and taste buds expanding.  I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.  Today I completed my thirty-ninth new thing.  It was a moms morning out at a new cafe on the windward side of O'ahu.  New dining out experience at Cafe Kopi was this weeks new thing. Have you ever tried a new restaurant or cafe and walked away thinking it felt like home?  That was my experience at Cafe Kopi.  It was a breath of fresh air.  It was a romantic cup of coffee.  It was a whimsical morning treat.  It was all the things I want in that first sip of morning.  It was literally a rainbow in a cup.  New cafe, new style of coffee, new experience, new place to hang out on a rainy Thursday morning. Did you know that Kopi means coffee?  Kopi is a traditional coffee of Singapore and Malay

  Rounding out the thirties of my fifty-two new things with an amazing event I attended yesterday.  A mini-retreat was the perfect way to bring September to a close and start off the new Autumn season.  I found out about the mini-retreat on my favorite informative platform---Instagram.  I experienced several new things at the retreat, so the thirty-eighth item on my new things list is Meditative Spiritual Wellness Retreat. The retreat was held at a new meditation center in Kaimuki.  Mana Aura Hale is a sacred space in town with the purpose of enhancing well being, community, culture, wellness, education and supporting women, women of color, and locally owned and operated business.  I am here for all of that good stuff.  As soon as I learned about their Autumn Equinox Self Care Retreat, I knew I wanted to try this new to me event. The focus of the retreat was meditation and the changing of seasons.  Through a Yin Yoga practice, a healing Sound Bath, Punani Steaming, and Henna Adorning

  I want to be a party planner when I grow up.  There's so much fun in the detail of it all.  From parting gifts, to preparing a menu, to color schemes, to guest lists, it's all enjoyable to think about.  A party is something to look forward to and I have missed such fuss over the past pandemic year.  I'm glad I got to use some of my party planning tricks and ideas for preparing a Posh Picnic---my thirty-seventh new thing on my list of fifty-two new things.   This past year, I may have spent more time online than I normally would have.  I look up fun ways to decorate my house.  I look up famous people I love from favorite movies and T.V. shows.  I look for new books to read.  I look for new foods to try.  And I look at specialty niche things like how to DIY a Posh Picnic---one of my latest online obsessions.  Spending so much time watching others across America (with no training and limited budgets I might add) put together cute picnic-scapes, made me believe I could do it