1. Everyone in the Blaisdell Concert Hall was rooting for Glen Campbell when he took the stage Sept. 2, 2012. We all knew he was battling Alzheimer’s disease and that this would be his last concert in Hawaii. Talking with him several days earlier at a friend’s home in Windward Oahu, the erosion of his short-term memory was evident, but that night at Blaisdell he got through the evening in great form.
Back home in Nashville, Campbell and his longtime friend and sideman Carl Jackson starting working on what they both knew would be his last album. Appropriately titled “Adios” ($9.24 for the CD on amazon.com), it was completed in 2013 and released shortly before his death last month.
On it are songs Campbell had liked for years but never recorded. Wistful for the most part, they are a touching farewell. Jackson’s annotation tells the rest of the story.
— John Berger, Star-Advertiser
2. It seems counterintuitive to put oil on your face, but as I’ve aged, my skin has become much more thirsty. So when a friend gave me a bottle of L’Occitane’s Divine Youth Oil, I was skeptical but gave it a try.
Now I readily apply it every night to moisturize and plump up the skin on my face and neck. Made of organic essential oil from immortelle, an everlasting wildflower, and other natural ingredients, it has a remarkably light, silky feel.
At $99 for a 1-ounce bottle, it’s the most expensive skin care product I own, but using only a few drops at a time, it goes a long way.
— Christie Wilson, Star-Advertiser
3. If paying for parking is your least favorite thing about Waikiki, Surfjack’s got your back. The boutique hotel, home of Ed Kenney’s Mahina & Sun’s restaurant and known for its Instagram-ready pool, normally charges $10 to park. But reaching out to kamaaina, it’s offering a Swim Club membership that includes free valet parking each time diners spend $50 at the restaurant.
Membership takes the form of a stamp card offering incentives for return visits on top of free parking: free dessert on your second visit, a free entree on the fifth. Come back eight times and get a VIP pin granting free parking for every visit — and a free night at the stylish hotel on your birthday.
Ask about joining on your next visit to Surfjack Hotel, 412 Lewers St., 923-8882. For Mahina & Sun’s, call 924-5810.
— Elizabeth Kieszkowski, Star-Advertiser
4. With back-to-back hurricanes ravaging the South, Crazy Shirts rallied to help by donating more than $5,000 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey relief fund and is supplying more than 4,000 pieces of clothing to help those who suffered losses.
The local company also is making it easier for others to contribute by selling an “Aloha for Texas” T-shirt ($29) at its retail locations and crazyshirts.com, donating proceeds in the form of cash and in-kind donations, up to $25,000, toward hurricane relief.
The front of the shirt features a small Crazy Shirts logo in red, white and blue atop an outline of the Lone Star state, with the words, “Sending Aloha.”
— Nadine Kam, Star-Advertiser
5. After months of struggling with car seat straps, every parent knows what a time-saving miracle it is when your kids are finally old enough to climb into the back seat of the car and buckle themselves in.
Get to that point sooner with LulaBloc seat belt buckle holders. Sold in sets of two for $12.95, the black plastic rectangles fit snugly over the seat belt buckle, preventing it from flopping around or slipping behind the booster seat.
Buy it at lulakidsbrand.com.
— Donica Kaneshiro, Star-Advertiser
“5 Things We Love” is a shortlist of newly discovered stuff you have got to see, hear, wear, use or eat. Please keep in mind that featured products may be in short supply and may not be available at all store locations; prices may vary. Tell us what you are loving by emailing features@staradvertiser.com.
