Ono treats from Hawaii

There are a group of women who I have chatted with daily since September 2006...we all were married in Hawaii and "met" online at The Knot, while planning our weddings. Some of these gals live in the islands and most of us just love Hawaii and come from all across the US, Canada and Australia! We exchange gifts a couple of times of year. Last year it was Christmas Ornaments, if you remember the awesome ones I received from Evonne and Jaime. Once we receive them, we usually take photos of the items and post them on the forum we all chat on to share.

This summer, we decided to do one with little gifts that represent where we live. I drew Kristen, who lives in Colorado, and sent her items from the Made in Oklahoma Store...pralines, peach jam, BBQ dry rub and pecan chocolate turtles (missing from the photo, because they were too tasty!). Here's what Kristen got from me:

Lisa in Hawaii drew my name for this gift exchange and look what I got:

Yummy mac nut goodness in three flavors along with a cute note from Lisa!

Tanioka's Corn Flake and Chocolate Chip-Arare Cookies

Lisa and her husband John make these marble magnets from John's underwater photographs.

He's a free diver, which means he uses no snorkel or scuba equipment and just holds his breath for the photos! Aren't they just little gems of art!

Much mahalo to Lisa for sending us a slice of the islands! It makes me want to be there SO much more than I already do! I can hardly believe it's been two years since Joseph and I were in Kauai (for our wedding) and nearly a year since I was there, in Honolulu, for work, when I was lucky enough to meet Lisa in person!

It's funny, I chat online with this group of women daily. We've shared a lot...from wedding planning to life as newlyweds, family issues, work dramas, and for some of us, try to conceive and pregnancy. It's amazing how close you can become with people that you've hardly met in real life by share your daily experiences with online. I love my Hawaii Knotties, turned Nesties! They're a great bunch of ladies!