This California girl just spent ten of the last fourteen days in below freezing temperatures. I know why we went to the snow [because I want my kids to choose if they prefer snow or beach], but the entire time I was there I was wishing I was I staring into blue skies, dipping my toes into sparkling [unfrozen] water, and feeling the ocean breeze whip against my skin.

We currently don’t have any plans to go to Hawaii, but we are keeping a close eye on airfares with the entry of Southwest in the market. So, how do you get your Hawaii escape in between island visits?

The first and, most obvious, is to start flipping through your vacation photos. There’s so much technology out there that you can easily create a slideshow to play on almost any TV. Even my seven year old is making movies out of pictures these days.

I was listening to an entrepreneur talk about finding moments of peace.  In her mindfulness journey, she creates an album called Calm, which she looks at when she needs to go to her calming place. I’d suggest making an album called Aloha and put your Hawaii favorites there.  Here are some of my favorites that bring me back to my relaxed, happy times.

One of my favorite ways to feel like I’m back in Hawaii is to watch TV shows about Hawaii. There are so many choices these days. For action shows, you have both the modern-day and vintage versions of Magnum PI and Hawaii Five-O. Prefer more reality TV, then you can choose from Hawaii Life or Aloha Builds.  Even though many of us dream about moving to paradise, the reality is often daunting with the high price of real estate. Yet, it’s great to watch so many people realizing their dreams.

If you have a little more time, there are a bunch of movies to watch that take place in Hawaii. From more recent movies like Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, to classics like Blue Hawaii.

On my snowy flight from New York, I indulged in The Descendants, which has two of my favorite things, George Clooney and Kauai, in it. The Descendants tackles the complicated topic of land ownership and development in Hawaii.

Go grab yourself a bowl of popcorn, make it Island Style, and imagine that sun warming your face.

Island Style Popcorn

Add popped corn to a bag. Melt butter, cool, then drizzle over popped corn. Add bag of mochi crunch. Sprinkle furikake seasoning over the top. Shake the bag until ingredients are mixed. Enjoy!