Make time for La Mer watches at Manoa boutique

During a recent visit to LMS Boutique in Manoa, I found these gorgeous watches from La Mer. I love this coral-colored one, but pretty much all the La Mer collection is amazing with its added bangles, bracelets, ribbons and gems. LMS Boutique, 2909 Lowrey Ave., is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call 988-4575. Visit www.lamercollections.com to see the whole collection.

— Michelle Cabalse, Aiea

The dead keep walking

Oh, joy, it’s the much-anticipated return of cable TV hit “The Walking Dead” Sunday on AMC. The zombie-fueled adventure-thriller makes a good entry point for the original source material, the continuing comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, an executive producer on the TV series.

While fans might opt for the new hardcover color collection of the first 12 issues that retails for $35, I suggest buying the black-and-white compendium that includes an additional 36 issues. Although listed at $60, most online retailers offer a cheaper price than the hardcover version.

While the blood and gore are depicted in gray tones, the story still packs a wallop and you can see where the TV and comic book series dovetail. As in the printed series, the TV drama this season will move to a remote Georgia farm as Sheriff Rick Grimes and his group try to stay one step ahead of the zombie horde.

— Gary Chun

Popcorn minibags cut down on guilt

Those of us of a certain poundage know that popcorn is a dieter’s candy. Other than the skein of oil used to lubricate the popping cycle, there are relatively few calories and fat in freshly popped corn. It’s when you start adding stuff that you get in trouble. Cheese, butter, salt, arare, Hurricane mix … yikes. You might as well start mainlining lipids.

I’ve found the perfect balance of convenience, flavor, serving size and caloric intake. It’s — drumroll, please — Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn Natural Buttery Salt & Pepper Popcorn Minibags. Whew. Long name for such a basic product. It’s just enough popcorn in a bag for one, and it’s flavored with slightly buttery salt and the bracing spice of black pepper. That’s it. Just spicy enough to be interesting, just large enough to be satisfying, just convenient enough to be rationalized. A single serving bag is 130 calories, 10 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of protein, according to the LiveStrong.com food database.

— Burl Burlingame

Let your dog show UH pride

There’s no reason every member of the family — even four-legged ones — can’t get caught up in Warrior fever. Dress your pooch for success on the gridiron with University of Hawaii logo wear, including the T-shirt and collar that Maya, a lovely Lhasa apso, is modeling here. It’s the perfect accessory to UH-Manoa Homecoming Week, which starts Monday. The shirts ($10 to $15) also come in a pretty pink; collars and leashes are $12 to $15, halters $19 to $27 at True Friends at Ala Moana Center, Pet Corner at Ward Warehouse and Koolau Pets in Windward Mall.

— Christie Wilson

Froggy goes frolicking in Hawaii

Kid-favorite Froggy is back with another accident-filled adventure, but this time he’s on vacation with his family in Hawaii. Jonathan London’s latest book about Froggy has him ninja-fighting a coconut tree, climbing a volcano, surfing, hula dancing and “looking more red in the face than green” when he accidentally dunks dad’s binoculars in the ocean while whale-watching. Though the frog family has ditched its usual duds for aloha wear, London maintains his usual charm and finds a way to work in all the Froggy catch phrases that kids look for in the series. “Froggy Goes to Hawaii” sells for $15.99 hardcover or $3.99 paperback at your local bookseller, or check it out from the public library like we did.

— Donica Kaneshiro