Honeymoon

For our honeymoon, J and I went to the Big Island and then to Oahu.  Our first week as hubby and wifey passed by way too quickly.  It was super relaxing on the big island and a little hustling and bustling in Waikiki.  We snorkeled, sampled shrimp trucks and shaved ice, checked out a number of waterfalls, ate a ton, and more!  Time to start planning for our one year anniversary trip!

 I was terrified, but we went "swimming" with the manta rays on the Big Island.  Seeing them with their huge mouths swim toward you, and then barreling right underneath your belly was so scary!  I kept screaming and failed miserably at floating all the while J kept yelling at me "Stay calm!  You need to calm down!", lol.

We rented a Jeep wrangler and had to make good use of it by taking it off-roading!  Note to self, it is no fun.  Talk about whiplash and headache!

 My horse was super old and didn't want to walk the trail.  I felt so bad "forcing" it to hike to a waterfall that was not very impressive.

 This was my first time down a water slide, believe it or not!  Super fun!

Woohoo!  J braved the cliff and jumped at Waimea Bay!  (see him halfway down?)

Yummy dinner at Alan Wong's to end our trip!

Wedding DIY - Part Deux

Since we love to travel, we continued our destinations theme by collecting our gifts in a vintage like suitcase.  I painted GIFTS on the burlap (yes, I made very good use out of the burlap!) and hung it across the suitcase.

I also designed and printed out a banner to hang on our sweetheart table. 

That's the extent of my DIY projects for our wedding.  Simple!

Wedding DIY - Table Cards

Chalkboards.  Movie Names.  White wooden frames.  Regular table numbers.

How should we designate and identify each table?

Attempting to stay true to the rustic/romantic theme, I decided on a DIY project which was inspired by perusing Joann Fabric, Michael's, and Aaron Bros. over and over again.  I had a roll of burlap, loved lace, and didn't want to spend a lot of money.  

 Here are the materials I started with

 We decided to go with destinations, each table representing a place we have visited together.  I loved the texture the cardboard brought to the overall card and aimed for the rustic feel using burlap and the romance feel through the use of lace.

 Voila!  The finished product proudly displayed on an easel.

Jar of Appreciation

Since J and I got engaged, there have been many new beginnings..  From selling my condo, to buying a new home, to new careers, to wedding planning...there has not been a dull moment!  I have learned that it is often too easy to focus on the next tasks at hand rather than taking a moment to take everything in and appreciate each other and our blessed lives!  So, I decided to start a new tradition in our household.  I created a jar of appreciation.  When either of us feels a sense of gratitude, we will jot it down and drop it into the jar.  At the end of each month, we'll take all the little thank you's and share them over a fancy dinner date.  I hope that this tradition will help remind us to focus on the positives and become something that we look forward to every month!

 

Throwback Thursdays

For one of my wedding DIY projects, I was looking through some old photos of yours truly.  Here are some of my favorites!

 My Mom and I at the Griffith Park Observatory

Here I am with my favorite bear and yes, I still have it and I still sleep with it.  During my teething stage, I managed to chew off a lot of the fur, so my parents went back to the zoo to get me a new one.  My Mom said I kicked that one to the curb and kept my original one.  I used to walk around the house all night with my thumb in my mouth searching for this bear because I could not sleep without it.  I have a funny story about how I lost it one time on a business trip and had a $400 reward for whoever found it.  Maybe I'll tell that story one day.

 I always notice that little kids like to cross their feet.  I guess I was no exception.

 

I think my facial expression here says it all.  My parents had it coming.  I was one rebellious child - and still am!

 

 Here is one of J.  It cracks me up every time I look at it.  He was so fat, lol!

And here's a photo of my DIY project.  Instead of a slideshow, I decided to build a collage full of great memories!

Salt and Pepper

This past weekend, I was blessed to take care of a sweet Morkie named Pepper for a few days while her parents were vacationing in Hawaii.  Dogsitting this little gal was a piece of cake!  She and Echo got along so well that when she left, I found Echo staring at the door for a while.  Sad.  Truth be told, I didn't want her to leave either!  I loved waking up and coming home to these two sweet little faces, tails wagging and all!  Echo (and I) can't wait until they are reunited again in a couple weeks!