Finishing Touches

These two photos are a great example of how finishing touches really serve to bring a level up to the next level. The necklace and shoes help pull together the outfit. I sort of wish I had brown sandals so that the white wasn't quite so glaring, but my only brown sandals have gold and are a whole different look than what I was going with for this outfit. This top is one of the pieces that I got on clearance from Old Navy.

 Yellow shorts (NY&Co) shown here and multiple ways seen here

Hawaiian Outfit

This outfit is all Hawaiian..sort of. I had been on the lookout for some new shorts and ran across these ones when I was in Maui. I'm pretty sure I bought them from Alice in Hulaland in Paia. Paia is a cute little town with a bunch of boutiques and amazing food. The Paia Fish Market has great fish tacos, the Flatbread Company has great pizzas. So ono! There is a Maui Girl Bathing suit store as well as a number of other boutiques some way out of my price range and others more down to earth. Just go there!

Anyway I found these shorts that are a great mint color and have a little bit of white lace detailing. My only regret is that I didn't try the size smaller because I think it might have fit a little better. 

This shirt I got from Mu'umu'u Heaven in Kailua. It's a little hard to see, but it has a screened picture of a bee and says Aloha...Be Aloha. It's a fundraiser shirt for bee protection. My tank is pretty tame, as it's just an express top with the screen on it, but some of the tops they chose for the collection were shirts with album covers so they looked pretty cool. 

The shoes are just Old Navy, and weren't purchased in Hawaii. 

Kindess of Others

So while Don was gone for work I was sitting and watching too much TV...and also hanging out and working out some, but too much sitting. I have wanted a stationary bike or treadmill or some sort of workout equipment in our house on and off for years. I think that it would be far easier to work out at home rather than go to a gym and I think I could spend part of those sitting hours TV getting in some additional activity. So it was about time for my semi-annual review of Craigslist for exercise equipment. However I didn't find anything that I actually wanted and/or was actually willing to shell out the money for. 

So the next day I was taking Lexy for a walk and we passed by the new Goodwill store that had just opened and I saw a man with a stationary bike in the back of his truck. I asked it he was donating the bike. Of course in my head I immediately was thinking, "Duh, it's in the back of my truck as he's unloading stuff at Goodwill" and "What are you going to do snipe their donation?" Well he and his wife were actually looking to donate the bike, but Goodwill doesn't take exercise equipment so they were probably going to have to take it to the dump. So I asked if they wanted to donate it to me and they did! So Lexy and I jumped in the back of their truck and we drove the 4 blocks to our house. The man was so nice and brought the bike into the house and wouldn't even accept any payment for the bike or transport!

I posted about this story on facebook so DH could see and his first question was "where is it going to go". My favorite response was from our friend who said, "Looks like the dining room!"  Ha Ha...although it really does live in that little nook area between the living and dining rooms. :) 

Necklace Hanger

When we lived in Pensacola DH and I each had our own walk in closet. DH had built me this beautiful huge wooden earring holder with a bunch of pegs at the bottom to hang all necklaces from. Well now that DH and I have to share one standard size closet and there was no room for it. However I still needed something to hang my necklaces up on.

I went to the hardware store looking for pieces of wood and drawer pulls. However the pulls can get pretty pricey and weren't as fun as I wanted, so I found these hooks instead. You don't need very large hooks. These are about 3/4 inch. Our hardware store has a scrap wood pile so I got one piece about twice as long as this, and another piece this size for $1.50. After cutting all the pieces to size, twisting on the hooks, drilling holes for the screws and screwing it onto the wall I was done. This one I put the hooks at varying heights, but the next one I just put them in the middle. I didn't paint or stain the wood, but you certainly could to make them look more polished or to give them a pop.

Complementary Colors: Purple and Yellow

Complementary colors are probably the most basic way to color block. They involve mixing colors from opposite sides of the color wheel. Audrey from Putting Me Together has a great post on using the color wheel to create a wardrobe. She also links to another great post about color wheel theory by academichic.

The purple and yellow combination I wore almost always makes me think of LSU. However, since I'm no longer living in the south I felt safer wearing this outfit without someone thinking I am a Tiger's fan. Another way to wear this combination would be a with a lilac rather than such a rich purple. Other complementary colors also have strong associations in our lives. They are orange and blue (Go Gators!), red and green (Christmas anyone?).

Manoa Falls

A little while back a friend and I met up and hiked the Manoa Falls Trail. It's a good hike, particularly for beginners or visitors. You park at the visitors center for a $5 fee, which is what we did. Upon further investigation you might be able to park in the residential area and walk in. If you chose to do that, please be respectful!!

The visitors center has bathrooms, a little mini mart and a grill. Then you start on the trail. The terrain can get a little rough with branches and rocks on it, and it could be muddy if it has recently rained, so shoes are best. The trail follows along the river some, but you never have to cross over it. There are also lots of trees and other foliage to look at. At the end you are rewarded with this beautiful waterfall. It's said to have been filmed in both Lost and Jurassic Park. So a pretty quick and easy hike with a beautiful view and bathrooms at the end...what's not to like. Also note you can't go swimming. You don't want rocks to fall on your head! :)

My friend and I weren't ready to be over so we continued up the trail and saw a lookout over the Manoa Valley. There actually are probably miles and miles of trail back there, but we didn't really know where they ended up so we turned back at the next trail head.  After the hike we still wanted to explore so we walked up to the Lyon Arboretum which has free parking and another set of trails (which don't link up to Manoa Falls) and another waterfall. We were getting pretty hungry so we didn't go on those trails. Next time! After that we went to Grylt which was amazing.

Some thoughts on being social

For anyone looking to be more social (or moves to an island where they don't know anyone and has their husband gone).

1. Say yes to everything. You will have new experiences and meet new people.

2. Leil Lowndes's How to Talk to Anyone is a great book. I probably read this book 3 years ago and found it really interesting. I found that I already did many of the techniques the book discussed, but it also gave some other concrete examples of things to do and say while talking with people. It's great for people who have to network or need help making small talk.

3. Try Meetup. I'd heard of it before, but never used it before now. There are tons of groups for tons of different activities. It's a great way to meet people with common interests. I really think it is great for single people. I'm thankful that I met my spouse in college and I've always wondered how singles meet in adulthood rather than online dating or a bar. Well Meetup could be that answer...just don't be a creeper, not everyone is necessarily looking for romantic connection.

4. Get a dog. She will force you to get outside and get walking. Find a dog park where your dog likes to play and meet the other owners.

5. Take classes. See if there are classes at a gym or yoga studio. Check out the local community college for classes.