1. When it comes to utilizing services, my frugal voice asks: “Why pay someone when I can do it myself?” So when I heard Drybar was opening here, I thought, why would anybody pay $45 to have someone else blow-dry their hair?

Then I remembered that all my good hair days come after a salon trip. My hair is cut to create the look of tousled beachy waves, but you’d never know it. I can never reproduce the style at home. So I was thrilled to find that Drybar — created by Alli Webb to focus on shampoos and blowouts alone — is able to create the look with a few waves of their magic styling wands.

Some of my friends set me straight about Drybar’s importance, with one saying: “Every office building should have one. It’ll help so much for us who are running to work with untamed hair.”

Drybar educator Sarah Sandoval said some people love the service so much they no longer buy shampoo and conditioner, choosing instead to visit once a week.

Whether you need to give straight hair a little body, tame curly hair or require the glamorous look of crown braids or plentiful loose curls for special occasions, from proms to weddings, Drybar can create it in about 30 to 40 minutes. Some styles can last up to a week with care, so women often come in just before traveling as well.

Consider an $80 monthly Barfly membership, which entitles you to two visits a month (unused blowouts roll over), $5 off additional visits and other benefits. Drybar Honolulu is at 600 Ala Moana Blvd in Kakaako; 450-3530.

— Nadine Kam, Honolulu

2. You might need to wait a few months to actually get your hands on the Kahikinui Project’s “truly wild” Hawaiian beef sticks, but pledgng at least $45 on Kickstarter by April 9 will not only score you a tasty snack but also support a critical reforestation project that aims to harvest 250 tons of wild cattle roaming the slopes of Haleakala.

KIA Hawaii’s Jake and Kuulani Muise have spent the last seven years working to turn Maui’s feral animals into a viable food source for local communities. Jake Muise’s partnership in Maui Nui Venison with Kimo and Min Tuyay provides the means for the Kahikinui Project to make use of the animals harvested from 4,500 acres of fenced land destined for reforestation.

For $45, you’ll receive five three-packs of all-natural beef sticks produced without added nitrates or sugars from free-range beef. I love how the sticks aren’t too greasy and have just the right touch of smoke and spice — a perfect pau hana bite with a cold one!

Visit 808ne.ws/kahikinui to make a pledge.

— Jason Genegabus, Star-Advertiser

3. Jimmy Buffett’s hard-core fans call themselves “Parrot Heads,” and “Escape to Maragaritaville” is the Broadway musical they’ve been waiting for.

Twenty-six of the songs Buffett made famous are folded into a story about two young American women who head south to a Caribbean island and meet a predatory musician and other “sharks that can swim on the land.”

“Escape to Maragaritaville” opened at the Marquis Theatre last month, and the original Broadway cast album (Mailboat Records, $14.99) makes the show’s music available to Buffett fans world-wide. It also has performance photos, production credits and the song lyrics as they are sung in the show (Parrot Heads will notice minor changes so that some can be sung from a woman’s viewpoint).

No comprehensive collection of Buffett’s work can be considered complete without it.

— John Berger, Star-Advertiser

4. Slender, compact and beautifully patterned in Polynesian motifs, Green Banana Paper wallets are perfect for vegans and anyone who likes to travel light. They are made from banana fiber, a renewable resource, on the island of Kosrae, Micronesia, from cuttings provided by local farmers.

(After bearing fruit, the banana trees are pruned to let new trees grow from the stem.)

Treated with water-resistant wax, the wallets come in folding styles ($40) or a flat, minimalist version ($20), at Banan’s spacious, air-conditioned shop at 1810 University Ave. (enter the parking lot from Metcalf Street).

While there, treat yourself to some vegan, frozen banana custard flavored with local fruits — lilikoi’s in season! Call 517-3072.

— Mindy Pennybacker, Star-Advertiser