On a recent trip to Hawaii, we went a little wild — for a traditional dish called poke, that is. Pronounced “poh-keh,” it’s often composed of sesame-soy dressed cubes of raw ahi tuna, a sustainable alternative to overfished bluefin tuna. In Hawaiian, poke means “to slice or cut crosswise,” and this salad originally consisted of slices of the day’s catch tossed with Hawaiian salt, seaweed and chopped kukui nuts. Nowadays, poke recipes are a bit like pizza — anything goes — and it all tastes great.

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A sneak preview of Eat Pray Love at an event celebrating the vendors partnered with the film had us salivating over the abundant food, exotic locations and sensuous romance in the screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir about her travels of self-discovery to Italy, India and Bali, Indonesia. The lush beauty of each locale leaps right off the screen — and makes us want to book a trip to all three!

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Friends who can’t bear time away from their beloved pooches have told us that traveling with a pet can have its challenges, from figuring out how to transport a pup to finding a pet-friendly hotel. But even when accommodations are located, what is there for a dog to actually do at a resort? The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch has come up with a solution that will not only make your life easier and your pooch happier, but will help less fortunate dogs as well.

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It’s easy to forget in the bustle of New York City that the place we call home is actually an island. So the documentary Beautiful Islands, which gives a glimpse of daily life on three islands in danger of being lost to rising sea levels due to global warming, was especially moving for us. Japanese filmmaker Kana Tomoko takes a look at three very different, beautiful places: Venice, Italy; Shishmaref, Alaska, and Tuvalu in the South Pacific. Tomoko decided not to include narration or music in the film, allowing these endangered locations to speak for themselves.

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We have to admit that after reading about the recent bedbug outbreak at New York City retailers Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch and hearing a few secondhand tales of infestations, we’ve been suspiciously eying every scrap of fabric that enters our home. The more we learn, the more we wish the blood-sucking creatures existed only in the nursery rhyme of yore. In the interest of possibly sleeping tight once more, we spoke to bedbug expert Jeff White, research entomologist with Bed Bug Central for some tips about bedbug avoidance, detection and control.

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We’re always looking for ways to green our daily routine, from toting reusable bags to the grocery store to reading digital newspapers and books. Yet, when flying across the country, what choices are there to help reduce our carbon footprint? SmarterTravel, an online resource that reports travel news and lists deals and tips for its users, announced its Editors’ Choice Awards and named Virgin America as this year’s Most Eco-Friendly Airline.

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We’ve scored deals on designer clothes, home furnishings and even luxury travel accommodations, thanks to sample sales. But our email inbox is getting overcrowded and we can’t keep track of all the items available on the growing list of discount sites. So we were intrigued to hear about MyNines.com, a “sample sale aggregator” of about a dozen sites that offer deals in fashion, jewelry, accessories, beauty, wine, travel and sports gear.

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We’ve been a proponent of voluntourism since high school, when we spent a summer in Mexico as part of the Amigos de las Américas program. Now, after hearing from a friend who recently helped save leatherback turtle eggs to aid conservation efforts in Tobago, we’re considering taking another volunteer vacation. It’s a great way to see the world and have a positive impact while you’re there. Throughout the month of April, travelers who book one of the 18 trips offered by Planeterra, the nonprofit voluntourism foundation of Gap Adventures, will receive a 10 percent discount. Those booking a voyage during Earth Month through either company also have an option of adding a $5 donation to the Kenya Community Tourism Project.

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For part two of our SoCal roundup, we visited a Long Beach getaway with luxurious Latin flair and a brand-new oceanfront resort just 20 miles south of LAX. We can’t wait to go back to both!

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This is the time of year we start craving a change of scenery as the winter doldrums set in. While there will be travels back home for the holidays, that’s not the jolt of novelty that we’re seeking. What we need is a road trip, and fortunately, in Los Angeles, one of the cities we call home, nearby choices abound.

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