(Photo from: tumblr. Thank you whomever created this.)
I really feel so strongly about this image and its words. I don’t think I really have much to say. I think it’s best to let you ponder on it. Gosh.. being young is so beautiful. Thank you again to that special soul who feels the way they do and allowed it to tumble through cyberspace.
Truth be told.. we all want to be young and free and feel life’s beauty.
x
(Photos taken by: me with da hipstamatic)
Got to do some quality country bike riding this passed Sunday. Hit the spot. The Volcom Pipe contest was in full effect all weekend (the waves are huge right now!!) and it was nice to peek in and out.. but even nicer to hit the pavement and cruise around most of the day.
So, the hipstamatic. I’ve only had my iPhone for a short while and I have to admit I was a bit hesitant on the purchase. I thought I was some earthy, keepin’-it-old-school kinda girl and would be compromising my steez if I got an iPhone. Guh, what was I thinking?! I don’t regret it one bit now. Biggest up: the camera. Amazing, amazing, amazing. But I don’t have to tell you that. I have all the lomography camera gadgets but I have to say that having the hipstamatic ready to go on my phone is pretty dang amazing. I got to snap these quickies on the bike path and on the beach I would have otherwise never gotten to document. Can’t beat that.
Anyway. I really cherish my weekends. Just thinking about bike cruising and lounging on the beach puts me in a relaxed mood. Although.. I wish the waves were “my size” so I could be surfing instead of watching water monsters all day. But I’m not complaining.
I would sunday cruise every weekend if I could.
x
(Photos by: TR; Wetsuit: Cynthia Rowley for Roxy)
I’ve only had a few real shell diving experiences and have learned it pays to be prepared. My first time I had to learn the hard way.. or more like I had to borrow a whole bunch of stuff because I was so ill-prepared. So I’ve narrowed it down. The real deal items necessary for a good dive. This is probably a no-brainer for some people but I have to put it out there anyway.
The shell hunting essentials include: snorkel, fins, wetsuit, and shell bag.
Now.. some of you are probably thinking it is pretty ridiculous to have a wetsuit in Hawaii. But let me tell you.. they are quite essential. When you are in the water for a long period it gets quite chilly and you can’t last very long. You can even get hypothermia if you stay in the water for too long (unprepared.) A wetsuit or jacket is essential for getting quality time with the sea, salt, and shells. I’m obsessed with my Cynthia Rowley for Roxy suit. I was able to snag this one from the Quiksilver store in Waikiki but failed to get any long-sleeve ones that had sold out. I want one in every style and color!! The whole concept makes me so excited! For the first time in the surf industry they are actually making suits worth wearing! Fashion statement included!
No seal suit around here! I hope I can get my hands on a couple more. Fingers crossed.
I used to use bodyboarding fins to go diving but I have found that they are really stiff. Hurts my feet. You have stick with what things are meant for. Thus, diving fins. They may seem tacky, but quite comfortable. Also very underrated.. shell bag. I used to use an old sock. Bad, bad. When you get down with the big boys and get in some serious shell hunting time you can’t use an old sock. A well-rigged mesh shell bag is essential. Lastly, the snorkel. I usually really avoid using the tube but when you are surveying the ocean bed you can’t keep coming up for air. I used to do that. I’ve learned. I’ve learned quite a bit after diving with my friend Jennifer.. the shell hunting expert.
And so, a shell hunter dream. Well prepared and ready to go.
x
(Photos from: here)
I’ve been trying to plan out my summer travels and am hoping to spend some time on the French coast. In between looking up “small space living” (ohhh yeah, in between living out of my car and my little room I am always trying to find ways to save space!) and France travel destinations I came across this little homey bohemian number. Located in Deauville a couple hours outside of Paris, you can rent one of these bad boys out.. Near zee coast none-zee-less! Aaaamazing!! Now all I have to do is figure out a way to make this an every-day-this-is-where-i-live! I’ve always wanted to live out of an old airstream or short bus. With plants and trinkets and blankets and firepit all in the mix. That would be a dream!
In the past I have found some pretty cool photos of re-vamped trailers, mobile homes, etc. all over the internet. Tumblr, blogs, etc. It is so inspiring to see images like this and know that it is completely possible!!
This whole concept is perfect for the little bohemian lifestyle I want to be living!
x
FIRST DAY BOOT DAY. (Photos by: BD. Top: J.Crew, Shorts: Current/Elliot)
THE BOOTS. (H by Hudson.)
SECOND DAY BOOT DAY. (Photos by: TR. Top: Free People, Necklace: Dezso By Sara Beltran.)
I just got these bad boy boots in the mail and my feet are glued. I wore them all weekend. All weekend. Surprisingly I didn’t wear them in the water on accident. I originally got them for my trip to New York but have found them very useful to slip on and run around town (or the beach) in.
With that.. I think it’s really hard to find a balance between the cold and the warm fashion choices when you live in such a warm/humid (and I mean humid) place. I only know a very few girls who can pull off the winter look in Hawaii. I don’t know how they prevent profuse sweating under all those layers. But I struggle all the time with being “stylish” or “fashionable” because it is so easy to dress without effort here (and I don’t mean effortless style.. I’m talking about wearing your pajamas and other misc. items that just don’t make you feel good when you wear it). And so there is a struggle to maintain that “fashion” vibe when I’m trying to blog. It’s always refreshing to buy something new that can be worn repeatedly without feeling like you’re coping out. And it’s season appropriate.
In a nut shell: it is hard to be maintain fashion in a place where all you want to do is wear your bikini and pereu. But when you do find that one thing that you never want to take off.. wear it thin and wear it often. Because no matter where you are, who you are, and how “fashionable” you are.. it doesn’t matter unless it’s you. So who cares if you wear it as many times as there are days in the week! Just make sure you wash it and it doesn’t stink.
*Note: I don’t speak of “style” or “fashion” in a marketable sense, but for my own satisfaction of feeling confident and.. good.. with whatever I am wearing. It’s a personal thing.
And so, same boots different day everyday.
x
(Photos by: me)
I am so unbelievably tired from the weekend. I didn’t do much and it was quite relaxing for the most part.. but as the weekend closes I am ready to pass out and try to take Monday head first. I usually spend most of my time in Lanikai and can get really complacent to the beach and waves and sun and sounds.. but there is something very special about spending time with close friends in a beautiful place. It puts things back into perspective. It was the perfect little weekend getaway.
We got to spend the night watching the stars and falling asleep to the sound of the waves. And the most magical part about being by the sea.. the mornings. The sunrise. I’m not much of a morning waker but I wake up to the sun when I’m near the ocean. It’s a natural thing I suppose. It’s moments like those that remind me how blessed we are to be living and breathing.. and to be able to do it in such a beautiful place.
It was a magical little weekend by the sea.
x
(Photo from: here)
Channeling my inner punk rock cowgirl with these images from Blue Planet for One Teaspoon. On a quick side note, I’ve been searching for some cool statement pieces for my room and one of them included a steer head. There is something very rustic, old but clean and chic about a steer head. But I digress, I’ve already built myself a little cart of One Teaspoon goodies on Blue Planet. I love the shorts. Whether I’ll look good in them or not is a different story. But whatever, I’ll rock them anyway.
Oh oh, I’d like to think I was going to Coachella and rock these outfits. But let’s be honest, Coachella sold out before I even got a chance to log onto their website. In the meantime, I will be thinking about my wild west side and prepare for some spring/summer shopping!
Because I’d like to think I’m that kind of girl and one with the west.
x
(Photos by: me & she; Swimsuit: Bantu, Skirt: F21, Sunglasses: Chloé, Headband: Nordstrom)
If you frequent Oahu’s North Shore or have only been there a couple times you’ve probably seen the Roam Hawaii girls.. [for a lack of a better term] roaming around. Oh you know, they only have a TIGER for a vehicle. They’ve got this awesome lifestyle-concept-mobile-store offering unique, one-of-a-kind clothing, accessories, jewelry, and the like. The artwork on their truck is even one-of-a-kind for goodness sakes!
I got a chance to tag along with them for a little surf safari adventure to one of the only spots on the north shore that were longboard-lady-sliding friendly [the swells are still rolling in for the winter season!!] Puena Point. We were able to shoot a couple of photos using our nifty Hipstamatic apps throughout our adventure. They’ve got such a unique quality, no? I’m snap happy on mine for sure!
If you can’t find them roaming [again, lack of a better term!!], wave sliding, or at the local fleas, you can also find their shop on Etsy. Check out my favorite: tees screen-printed in Hawaii!!
Looking forward to my next invite on the tiger-mobile already!
x
(Photos from: British Vogue)
I recently picked up the latest British Vogue (latest meaning Hawaii latest.. which means it is a couple months behind. hah.) and was floored by this editorial. I had originally decided to purchase the magazine based off the Gisele Bündchen cover (she was wearing the most amazing pair of pants!!) but was exceptionally delighted to see it filled with cultural content, colors, travel, and fashion with each flip of glossy paper.
In my opinion.. the most unique part of the editorial is the Mongolian cultural presence. It’s something you don’t see often in fashion editorials and such a breath of fresh air from the usual over-exaggerated poses and obvious designer branding/imaging. If you read the journal-like entry included in the mix, it talks about photographer Tim Walker really wanting a local presence in his photographs. It really shows.
You also don’t hear much about the seemingly lonely and vast looking country. I had heard bits and pieces about Mongolia from a friend who had gone on a 2-week horseback riding tour and by watching Bayar, a chubby but happy Mongolian baby on the movie Babies. Mongolia had always seemed so mysterious and far away. Being one of the least densely popular countries in the world I can see why it goes a little unnoticed.. especially in the fashion world (not to discount Mongolia. I am positive Natural Geographic and other major foundations/groups and smaller just as important people invest a lot into the countries history, landscape, wildlife, culture and people.) Whatever the case, I definitely want to investigate and definitely included it with the rest of my future travel plans.
That being said.. I think the entire team did an amazing job tying in all aspects of the country, culture, fashion, designer-presence, people, lifestyle, colors, etc., etc. etc. It was very feel curated and probably one of my favorite editorials to date.
I definitely would consider experiencing an awfully big adventure in Mongolia now too.
x
(Photos by: she & me)
After spending the day at the beach surfin’, loungin’, chattin’ and the like [what looks to be a usual on the weekends from here on out] we made a last minute decision to get some Açai bowls from the local watering hole: Haleiwa Bowls. Deliciousosososo!! Secret ingredients include but not limited to: bee pollen and kiwi. Not a usual in most of my Açai bowls around town but such a delight in a bowl!!
Now, the choice of outfit. Going from beach to town is usually really easy for me considering that I live out of my car.. but today I was a little less prepared. I ended up wearing a pair of drop-crotch harem pants that I usually wear to bed. But I guess it worked?? Haha. It was a bit of a joke and we decided to take photos of it.. in it’s “true” form I supposed. It was a good laugh. Now, I decided not to list the clothing in this particular post because it doesn’t really do the brands justice and you will be seeing them again really soon. In better form.
But after a day in the waves and sun, last minute bowls were definitely a good way to end the day.
x