A-L-O-H-A

Everyone needs a little bit of the aloha spirit in their life.  While the word "aloha" is known mostly as a greeting ("hello" and "goodbye"), it also means affection and compassion.  When locals say to "spread aloha", they mean to spread love.  And the aloha spirit is the spirit of love, compassion, peace, and mercy - four things that we often forget in our day-to-day lives.

But in order to spread love and joy to others, you have to feel it in yourself.  Most days we go about our daily routines (work, school, kids, chores, etc.) trying to make everyone else happy and not taking time to make ourselves happy first.  That time you have for yourself is important.  You can't "live aloha" if you don't feel it.

I know it can seem like it's such a big burden to set aside time to make yourself happy when you're always busy and on-the-go, but just doing a tiny thing for yourself everyday will do wonders for your life.  Treat yourself to a cupcake, paint your nails, meditate, dance around your house in the morning, sing a ballad at the top of your lungs in traffic...all these little things can make your day seem a whole lot brighter because you're making yourself (and nobody else) happy.  And if all else fails, put on something bright and fun so you can't help but smile while you're wearing it.

Top:  Papaya [$21]  //  Shorts:  Handmade by me  //  Necklace:  Charlotte Russe [$5]  //  Sandals:  Payless Shoes [$15]  //  Bathing Suit Top:  Target [$17.99]

I handmade these shorts after being inspired by the wonderfully talented Sharon Lei of Elisharon.  Her style is AMAZING and her sketches are crazy awesome!  And if you need a second opinion, H&M chose her to be the Hawaii ambassador for their 50 States of Fashion campaign!  Anyone still questioning her awesomeness?  No?  I thought so.

Now go and get your happy on, feel the aloha, and then hop on over to Elisharon and spread some aloha by congratulating her on such an amazing accomplishment!

DIY Fabric Panel Shorts

So remember those shorts I showed you in my last post?  If you don't, here's another look at them:

Well, as promised, I'll be showing you how I made these bad boys so you can make a pair too!  They're actually very easy to make, all you need is a pair of shorts, some fabric, scissors, pins, and a needle and thread.

So the first thing you need to do is measure and cut your fabric.  What I did was place the fabric over one side of the shorts and cut around the area, using it as a guideline.  Be sure to cut your fabric a little bigger so you can fold the raw edges under to get a cleaner line.

The next step is to fold and pin the edges of the fabric to the shorts.  This will keep your fabric in place as you sew.

Now we're sewing!  I'm still a beginner at this sewing biz so I just used a basic stitch - nothing fancy.  So, using your needle and thread, sew your fabric to your shorts, taking the pins out as you go along.

And, that's it!  You've got some fancy new shorts to rock this summer!  Oh, and don't forget to add a little flair to the back too!  (Use the same method for the back pocket).

 Well I hope you liked this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making it!  It is really so easy to do - I finished the pair I wore in about an hour while I was waiting for the parade to start.  I really love the fact that you can use different colors, washes, and fabric to create unique looks.

So whaddaya waiting for?  Get that fabric and start creating!

Summer Vacation 2013: Legoland

Well hello again!  So as most of you know my family and I went on a long vacation to California and Hawaii this summer and we had such a blast that I wanted to share some of our trip with you all.  It was the first time our kids have been to the continental U.S. and the first time we went on vacation as a whole family so it was kind of a big deal for us.

Our first order of business was Legoland.  The kids had been "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing over photos they saw online so they were extremely ecstatic to actually be at Legoland.  This was their first amusement park and they loved every second of it.

 

 

Playing with lego blocks while we wait to enter the park.

 

Being tourists with a tourist.

 Another photo opp.

 

It's a baby Trace-ceratops!

 

Jaxx and Chloe.

My dad and Trace (who is pretty excited).

 

 Aniyah and my mom.

Nobody wanted to ride with the photographer.

 

 

 Giraffes are my faves!

 

 

I think the kids' favorite part of Legoland was the big sprinkler pad thingy.  They spent more time on it than anything else.  It's not much more than a giant sprinkler system, but to them it was amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I just love this picture of them!

A guy walking past told his son, "Stay away from that one, she's trouble!"

 

 The Lego car.

 Aniyah's checking if it's real.

 Sunglasses: Vans  //  Blouse:  Ross {$7.99}  //  Bandeau:  Macy's  //  Shorts:  BoomBoom Jeans  //  Shoes:  Nine West {$80}  //  Bag:  Louis Vuitton

 

 

 Yup, we won the big one.

 My dad taking paparazzi style pictures of us walking.

 Trace was freaking out - I think he's afraid of heights like me.

 Aniyah had a blast on this!

  Soaking wet and FREEZING!!

The kids absolutely loved Legoland!  There were a lot of rides that we didn't get a chance to go on because they were under repair and because we didn't have enough time during our day there but the kids absolutely want to go back again.

I think it's a really great theme park for younger kids because there are enough rides for them to enjoy but I don't recommend going there with teenagers.  Thankfully, mine aren't at that age yet so we can still go back and enjoy Legoland as a family for at least another few years!

Have you been to Legoland?  What was your experience like?