daStore.com Blog

Hawaiian Christmas Music

2008-11-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is here. Make this Christmas extra special with the sounds of Hawaii. Check out these selections of mele kalikimusic.

A Hawaiian Christmas - Amy Hanaiali'i $14.95	Caz Christmas - Brothers Cazimero $14.95	Hawaiian Style Christmas $14.95
Kohala Christmas $14.95	Slack Key Christmas $14.95	Willie Kalikimaka - Willie K $14.95

Plumeria Ohana Decal & Sticker

2008-11-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

Ohana means family. We have added the Plumeria Flower Ohana Decal to our store. It comes in 7 different colors and two sizes. All of our decals are made from high quality 7 - 10 year vinyl.

Hawaiian Decals are great for adding some aloha to anything from cars, helmets, laptops, walls and more.

Sizes & Pricing:

7" x 7" - $5.95
5" x 5" - $3.95

Kalua Turkey Recipe

2008-11-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

Try something new this Thanksgiving and make some Kalua Turkey for your Holiday feast. Here is a great Kalua Turkey recipe along with an ono recipe for some sweet potatoes.

OVEN KALUA TURKEY

1 twelve pound turkey
16 large ti leaves
1/2 cup softened butter or margarine
3 tablespoons Hawaiian salt
2 teaspoons liquid smoke

Rinse and drain turkey. Line a large baking pan with foil. Wash ti leaves in a sink of cold water with a few drops of dish soap then rinse. Remove fibrous part of the veins. Line baking pan with ti leaves radiating from center. Place two additional ti leaves across the middle of the pan. Place turkey on the ti leaves. Rub butter, salt, then liquid smoke on inside and outside of turkey. Place 4-6 ti leaves over the turkey. Fold leaves around the turkey.Crimp foil around turkey and cover pan tightly with additional foil. Roast in electric oven at 375 degrees F for 6 hours. Shred turkey and add in pan liquid to moisten meat. Makes 8-10 servings.

SWEET POTATOES

INGREDIENTS
2 (15 ounce) cans sweet potatoes
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place sweet potatoes in a 10x6 inch shallow baking dish and pour orange juice over. In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt; mix together and cut in margarine. Sprinkle over sweet potatoes. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with marshmallows and broil until browned.

Enjoy!

Inexpesive gift idea with a touch of aloha

2008-11-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

A year ago we received this tip from one of our customers for a great inexpensive gift idea. He ordered a bunch of our Hawaiian Island Chain decals and included one with each of his Christmas cards to his friends. This is a great way to keep costs down this Christmas and send some aloha at the same time. What's even better is that we have a bunch of decals for you to choose from.

Hawaii Holiday Online Shopping Tips

2008-11-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

This is going to be an interesting holiday season both for consumers and retailers. Which means that you could win big time as shopper. Shopping online can be a very rewarding and safe experience if you do it right. Here are some online shopping tips for the holiday season and in general.

1) Look at the bottom line. A lot of online stores will be running promotions this Christmas which may seem like a good deal but shop around. Most retailers will mark items up huge and then put them on sale at their regular prices.

2) Watch the shipping. Shipping is the catch 22 of online shopping. You will find a lot of stores offering flat fee shipping, lets say $7.50 for your whole order. What if you only spent $10 at the store? It's still $7.50. Look for a store that will give you an estimate of shipping up front or offers free shipping.

3) Does it look safe? Use common sense when evaluating who you buy from. Does it look like the store was thrown together over night? Do you get any warning messages like this website is unsecure? Make sure you see a https: in the web address. If you have any reservations about the store but really want an item try placing your order over the phone.

4) Money back & exchanges. This one is simple. Make sure you can return or exchange items. 30 days or more is better but just make sure you can.

5) Do these people exist? Make sure that you can easily contact the store you are shopping from. Do they make it easy to contact them? Do they have a phone number prominently displayed? A physical address? Stores that make this information hard to find either have something to hide or do not want to deal with customer service issues.

At daStore.com we go above and beyond to make your experience with us an easy an safe one. Feel free to give us a call or use our contact page if you have any questions. Follow the tips above and stay shopper safe this holiday season.

Homesick Hawaiian Music : Justin Young

2008-11-07T17:12:00.001-08:00

Today we start a series of posts for the Homesick Hawaiian better known as da Hawaii expat. This topics will focus on music, places, products, events that help you feel not so homesick or maybe more homesick depending on how you look at it. With that being said what better way to forget your problems then listening to some good ol Hawaiian Music.

Justin Young has been entertaining the Hawaii crowd since 1996 with his debut album "No Better Time Than Now." But his real homesick appeal came in 2003 when he released the song "One Foot On Sand" on his album of the same name. The song talks about how being away from home can open your eyes to new things, new experiences but being from Hawaii always keeps you grounded with one foot on the sand. Get it?

Here's a little lyrical taste:

Holidays bring me home
My appreciation has grown
Warming waters, smaller pond
But some things here circle on
Sometimes I reach to meet the clouds
But I always keep one foot on grounds
And away on distant lands
I always keep one foot on sand

This CD is great for anyone looking for some good music to give you that warm I miss Hawaii feeling. If you would like to listen to a sample of the song click on through.

New Hawaii License Plate Frames Added

2008-11-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

We have just added some new license plate frame styles to the store. All frames fit the standard 6 by 12 inch auto license plates. They are priced at $7.95 making a smart and thoughtful gift choice.

We've added 8 new styles in total. View all of our Hawaiian and Flower license plate frames here.

Hawaiian Flag License Plate Frame

Red & Yellow Hibiscus License Plate Frame

Retro Flower License Plate Frame

Blue & White Honu License Plate Frame

Hawaii gets a President

2008-11-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight history was made as Barack Obama was declared the 44th President of the United States. As most of you know Obama was born and raised on Oahu. His grandmother who sadly passed away yesterday was currently residing here. By winning this race he has not only become the first African American President, he has become Hawaii's first President. A great accomplishment for a tiny state who only saw statehood within the past century.

Congratulations Mr. President and Hawaii! We get one President!

Funny Hawaii Videos

2008-11-02T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here's some hilarious Hawaii videos. First one is of Triumph the Insult Comic dog from the Conan Obrien show doing the weather. The second video is of Aunty Marialani from the Rap's Hawaii DVD. Very funny stuff.

Spot One Get One Island Chain Decal

2008-11-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

You're driving down the street and you see somebody with an island chain sticker or decal and you wonder to yourself..."I wonda what island dat guy is from?" Well the answer to that question is the concept behind our Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Big Island Chain Decals. We wanted to give Hawaii expatriates a way to show some Hawaii and Island pride all at the same time. We introduced these decals in early 2008 and they have been a hit. And today we are launching our Spot One Get One program.

Here's how it works. If you spot any of our Kauai, Maui, Oahu, or Big Island chain decals snap a picture of it, send it in and we will give you your choice of one of our decals for the cost of shipping $1. That's all it takes. Use our contact form for submissions.

Here are the decals that qualify for Spot One Get One: (any color)

Welcome to daStore.com's Blog

2008-11-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

Aloha and welcome to our blog. This is the first of what we hope to be many posts updating you on new products, product reviews etc... We will also cover anything Hawaii, this is a casual anykine blog. Any topic regarding Hawaii etc... will be covered. So welcome!