postcards from hawaii.

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so this post is about a month late, but oh well, better late than never, right?
as soon as we found out we were moving to california, we made a bucket list of things we wanted to do in hawaii before we left.  that list included LOTS of beach time and visiting all of the touristy places that are easy to take for granted when you live there.  we visited the historical buildings and palaces downtown, drove up to the pali look out, ate aoki’s shaved ice, went on our favorite hikes, made stops all around the island, and spent every chance we could on the north shore.  i even surfed!  (well, tried anyways.  i think i’ve tried surfing 27 times and each time i’m pretty sure i just get worse.)  i’m usually the type to just post up on the beach, but i forgot how much i love being in the water!  especially hawaii water.  where you don’t have to wear a wetsuit year-round…which unfortunately is not the case in california.  looking at these photos of that perfectly teal water makes me bummed that i didn’t take advantage of being in the ocean more often!  these pictures also make me so grateful that i got to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world!  california will always be my favorite state, but there’s something really special about hawaii too.

WORK | vintage hawaii postcard invitations.

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it’s been a while since i’ve posted my work and i have a few recent projects that i’m excited to share with you over the next few weeks!  starting with these.  these first birthday invitations were so much fun to create!  i love vintage hawaii designs and have been hoping that one of these days a client would approach me with that aesthetic in mind.  so when our good friend ida contacted me about doing her son’s birthday party invites with that very theme, i was pretty stoked to say the least.  below is the mood board we initially created to set the tone of the design and above is the finished product!  i even used my own photos of diamond head and the anahulu bridge to create elements within the invitation.  ida was a dream client to work with (and by the way, she makes some super cute jewelry that you should all go and check out) and we were both super pleased with how everything turned out.

happy first birthday, everett!  we are so bummed we can’t be in hawaii to celebrate with you in a few weeks!

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redondo beach living.

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southern california, i just love you a whole lot.  why did i have to move away for a few years to appreciate you to the fullest!?

we’ve been settling in pretty well to our new neighborhood and i’ve fallen in major love already.  the first thing we did on move-in day after we got the keys to our place was buy some vintage cruisers.  we’ve been exploring these parts by bicycle and it’s one of my favorite things about where we live.  we can bike to the ocean in about 1 minute and 30 seconds and then cruise alongside the coast for a few more minutes to get to TRADER JOE’S (!!! we are beyond happy to be reunited with this place), starbucks, and yogurtland…all of the essentials.  we’ve hit up most of the local coffee shops around here and are slowly making our way to all of the cute, beachy cafes.  i absolutely love mornings here.  the 60 degree + overcast weather makes me all sorts of happy…especially now that summer has arrived and a few miles inland is 20 degrees hotter!  my collection of sweaters is growing and getting lots of wear in the AM and PM and i’m already super giddy for fall since hawaii didn’t exactly warrant the wear of scarves and boots.

i’m trying (keyword trying) to get back on a regular blogging schedule so bear with me as i catch up on work and slowly make my way through the boxes i have yet to unpack!

adventures in the midwest.

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we recently got back from a week long trip visiting some of reis’ family in illinois.  we had such a good time visiting with everyone and spending sweet time with his precious grandma.  rural illinois is so different from anywhere i’ve ever lived and i really enjoy seeing different parts of the united states.  we ate lots of fried food, drank lots of milkshakes (ya steak ‘n shake!), went to the turkey festival, shopped for antiques, wandered through fields, spent an evening at the winery, and enjoyed a night on the lake.  now that we’re home, it’s time to detox and get back on a serious exercise program!  i wish we were able to see his family more often, but it’s always fun to spend a week in the midwest doing midwest things.  until next year!

making our house a home.

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i’m [finally] blogging from my very own home office!  there’s still a lot to be done and a few pieces of furniture to be bought, but i have a desk and a chair and that’s all i really need right now.  when we were house hunting, it was at the top of my wish list to rent a 2 bedroom so that i could have my own space and not occupy the living room 24/7.  i’m so thankful this wish became a reality because mannn, it’s SO nice to have a designated workspace.

moving is exhausting to say the least.  and of course we’ve had our fair share of hiccups…including BOTH of my computers failing me at the same time!  (i’m getting real tight with the peeps over at the genius bar).  our crate that we shipped over from hawaii finally came a few days ago so it’s been one giant unpacking party.  we’re painting our bedroom and building lots of shelves and i can’t wait for our house to feel like a home!  it’s an unsettling feeling not feeling settled, ya know?  being surrounded by boxes, making 16 trips a week to target and tj maxx, and sleeping on an air mattress is all part of the process so we’re doing our best to embrace it!

kauai photo diary.

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a few days after reis’ graduation, i surprised him with a quick trip to kauai for his graduation present.  we had also been wanting to visit an outer island before we moved so the timing worked out really well.  i was there a few years ago to run the marathon but was wayyyy too tired to do much of anything besides lay by the pool once it was over.  we crammed A TON of stuff into our 2 day visit but had the best time and still relaxed quite a bit!  we made lots of touristy stops, but they were well worth it.  the first day we explored the west side of the island and the second day we adventured to the east and north side of the island.  we stayed at the sheraton resort in poipu on the south shore and enjoyed living the resort life for one night (we even got complimentary mai tais!).  kauai is breathtaking…it’s so lush and green and beautiful!  out of all of the places on the island, hanalei bay is hands down my favorite…to be honest, it is probably one of my most favorite places on this planet.  we have dreams of renting a house on the bay for a summer vacation once we have a little family of our own!

it was the perfect getaway.  i can’t wait to go back one day!