Birthday by Mail!

This DIY Balloon Birthday invitation inspired me to make an entire balloon bouquet! I mailed the entire collection to her piece by piece leading up to the grand occasion of her 8th birthday. I loved the idea of her getting a surprise in the mail every day for a week or two beforehand.
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The pièce de résistance was this box of goodies which included lots of candy, some party horns, party tooters, paper straws, surprise balls and vintage cake decor. Who wouldn't enjoy a birthday party in a box?

What's the best care package you've ever recieved? What was inside? Who sent it?

Full Circle Moment: Becky Kazana and Inspired Ideas!

I'm enjoying a full circle moment today. When I first began blogging (can it really be seven years ago?!!) Inspire Co immediately became one of my favorite reads. Amy has a way of welcoming you into her imaginative world of craftiness with generosity and authenticity. I love the way she juggles personal posts about being a foster parent with the inspiring things she creates and discovers. It is a perfect example of what blogging can be; an outlet, creative channel and a way to interact and connect.

She is a talented person whom I've idolized from afar, so you can imagine my delight when I got an Etsy order from her! I sent her a note straightaway telling her how much she had inspired my own business, blog and online persona, and she was kind enough to invite me to be part of the spring issue of Inspired Ideas, her beautiful online magazine. I am delighted to share a preview of the issue with you and you can also subscribe right here!

I am tickled that my business and blog have brought me into contact with someone I have admired from a distance. It's a nice way to assess the growth of the past seven years and remind me to ignore self doubt and keep reaching for new opportunities. Have you had any full circle moments of late?

Happy Long Weekend!

We are enjoying a long weekend this weekend thanks to Prince Kuhio Day on Monday and it couldn't have come at a more welcome moment. After a string of visitors, Transforming Mr. Brown, an upswing in business at Becky Kazana, and a long term sub gig in first grade that is keeping me bustling, I am glad of a few days to catch up on housework, order in pizza, snuggle with my fella, read and see The Hunger Games (just like everyone else in America this weekend!)

Do you have time to relax this weekend? What are you doing to enjoy every moment?

Eat Like a Local on the Big Island of Hawaii: Hawaiian Vanilla Company

Eric's parents were here on the Big Island to help us celebrate the big 3-0 this year and I knew I wanted to plan a special outing. I'd heard great things about The Hawaiian Vanilla Company, so I booked a reservation for their afternoon luncheon and tour.

Our afternoon began with a vanilla themed lunch. Iced tea and lemonade were generously laced with teeny tiny black specs of real vanilla seeds and served in mason jars for a homey touch.

Next up was a chicken sandwich with a vanilla seed bun, barbeque aioli made with cayenne, paprika, curry and you guessed it: vanilla! The chicken was incredibly tender and juicy and the homemade bread was still warm from the oven.

What dessert showcases real vanilla better than ice cream? It was topped with a delicious lilikoi sauce, and the tartness of the lilikoi flavor was in perfect contrast to the cool, creamy, sweetness of the ice cream. Can you see the vanilla seeds?

After lunch, we toured the farm to learn about the time consuming art of growing real vanilla. Vanilla comes from an orchid- the only orchid species in the world that produces a usable fruit. It takes four years for a plant to produce pods, and the process is slow and labor intensive. Each flower must be hand pollinated during a one week blooming season, which goes a long way towards explaining why real vanilla beans are so expensive. This plant is just a baby at only two years old. It will creep slowly up these poles and begin to create its first blooms in two more years.

Our tour was brief due to rain, but we enjoyed learning more about this exotic plant, first discovered by the Mayans and cultivated continuously ever since. (Chocolate AND Vanilla? Those guys had some precious knowledge, wouldn't you say?) It was a great way to celebrate Eric's birthday, (he has a secret fascination with spices and farms!) and if you are paying a visit to the Big Island of Hawaii, I would highly recommend this for an afternoon adventure in the rural mountain country of our island.

Have you ever tried a culinary tour before? I can't wait to do it again.

Are you planning to see The Hunger Games?

The Hunger Games is the only blockbuster I've been excited about for ages. It has a female heroine who isn't motivated by lust, husband hunting or shopping sprees. It's set in an America so far in the future that there are only faint reminders of how life used to be. These novels are Aldous Huxley meets Mortal Kombat with a little twist of Dolly Parton thrown in for good measure.

Katniss Everdeen is a simple girl from the what used to be Appalachia who gets sucked into The Hunger Games. This vicious event is held every year where tributes from each district go into an arena gladiator style to murder each other for the amusement of the public. But more than that, the games are a symbol of the ultimate and unquestionable power of the capital. Katniss is simply a pawn in the game at first, but nothing seems to play out according to plan as she follows her instincts for self preservation and begins to discover her own power.

This book is aimed at a teenage audience and so Katniss' resentment at being controlled by others, her confusion, and self discovery make perfect sense. Sometimes I found myself wishing for a heroine more certain, more willing to trust her instincts. But what seventeen year old is?

Though the books have flaws (perhaps mainly because they are intended for a person younger than myself), I like how they tell a story about a girl trying to do the right thing in circumstances that are far from black and white. It feels like a great metaphor for the world we live in now; one that is complex and confusing but still full of possibility for new and more complete ways of living. (Is it that all my favorite books & films seek to explore the balance between technology, human potential and spirituality, or is it that I find that metaphor in everything I read and see? Most likely a little of both!)

Have you read the books? What did you think? I'm working my way through the last one right now and can't wait to see the film this weekend.

Transforming Mr. Brown Part II; The Big Cut

Are you ready for the really fun part? Thanks to all your generous donations, we raised more than $2,000 for the Tiki Techs and Mr. Brown agreed to cut his ponytail and donate it to charity.
I had planned to take Justin for a consultation before the fact, but in the end his busy schedule meant we had to just dive in.

I took him to see Carla at Paradise Salon, who has given me my fair share of dramatic haircuts and has done big cuts for charity more than once. It's always a pleasure to sit down in her chair. After combing his crazy mane, she carefully braided it, securing it with rubber bands at both ends. For the donated hair to be usable it has to stay all together during shipping.

Then it was as simple as SNIP! Justin's face remained impassive, but I felt a big lump in my throat. This was truly a transformation.

This braid will be part of a beautiful wig for a little kid fighting the battle of their life. It takes 6-10 ponytails to make one wig.

This was the photo I brought Carla for inspiration for Justin's hair. In the end, his hair texture is much less curly when short, so she went ahead and used her best judgement in creating a style for him. She went pretty short, pointing out that it might be a while before he makes it back to the salon so we should err on the side of clean and crisp.

She used clippers to tame his beard a bit as well, but ultimately left it up to him to decide how to change it.

His first peak in the mirror. I think the ladies in the salon were the ones most excited. His expression remained pretty neutral, so I'm dying to know how he really felt.

Next we went back to his house where he decided he wanted to trim the beard down to a goatee and take a long shower to get all the hair off his neck.

I can't wait to share the final reveal with you! What do you think? How does he look so far?

Transforming Mr. Brown Part I; The Closet

Hello there! It's been a hectic few weeks, but lots of fun as well. I am so excited to begin sharing The Transformation of Mr. Brown with you at long last. Thanks to all of your support and donations, we were able to meet and exceed our goal of $2,000 for the Tiki Techs! (You guys are amazing!) That meant it was time for me to roll up my sleeves and tackle Mr. Brown's closet, wild mane and grizzly man beard.

He had cleaned up his room quite a lot before I arrived. On one hand, I was grateful since it spared me some of the untold horrors of bachelorhood. On the other hand, I wished I could have seen his usual routine so I could best help him with new ways to manage it.

We began by creating three piles. One for things that he likes that don't fit at the moment. The second were things he can wear right now. The third were things deemed inappropriate for contact with other humans. This pile came to include several shirts that were covered with ink after an unfortunate incident with pen exploding in the dryer, man capris from the late 90's complete with hammer loops, and one pair of sweatpants with a hole in the butt which I have actually seen him wear to school.

He fought me a little, but I could tell it felt good to be making room for something fresh and new.


Next, we packed the things that he might be able to use soon into a suitcase and put it on the top most shelf. That way he can revisit them in a month or two when he is wearing a different size but they won't take up precious closet space until then. A great closet is filled with things you love and look great in right this second. It makes mistakes impossible.

We also decided to hang everything he owns except for underwear, socks and undershirts. This is not a man who is ever going to iron his clothes, so I encouraged him to get into the habit of hanging everything as quickly as possible after taking it out of the dryer. (Can't get there in time Get a clean hand towel wet and toss it in the dryer with the clothes for 5-10 minutes. The steam from the towel helps loosen wrinkles.) This way gravity helps to fight wrinkles and there are no messy piles or stacks to contend with. He can also see everything he has to choose from at once instead of forgetting about all the things tucked away in a dresser (or in a crumpled heap on the floor.)

We put all the pants on one bar and the shirts on another. We added a rolling cart with cubbies for underwear, socks and undershirts which are perfectly fine rumpled. We made a list of things we would need repair- new shoelaces, shoe polish, etc. We also thought about what he would need to replace or update.

When I first began thinking about a look for Justin, I knew it would have to be relaxed and incredibly easy. I wanted to show him that it doesn't take that much extra effort to look polished if you do a little planning ahead. I also wanted him to see the difference between absolutely no effort whatsoever and the power that polished grooming and wardrobe can offer as you tackle your day. Hawaii's culture of Aloha wear (that's what they call it!) can be done with elegance and refinement, but it's still be comfortable and easy. Tommy Bahama and Tori Richard both sprung to mind immediately as a brands that could work for Justin's busy but casual professional life. It's all about natural fibers, relaxed fit, soft, tropical colors and ease. It seemed like it might suit him.



It's also rather brutally expensive. But not a bad starting point for inspiration.
The next day we went shopping at Macy's. Justin actually loves to shop- he's a crazy bargain hunter. This shopping trip was a bit different from his norm, since I asked him to try on everything and talk with me about what he liked and didn't like and why. Although it was out of his comfort zone, we found some things that looked really terrific on him and he started to volunteer some thoughts about colors and patterns that showed there is a little pizazz and creativity in there after all. (He revealed that at home he has a massive collection of ties- so there must be a little bit of a dandy in there somewhere!)

In the end, he bought two new pairs of khakis to replace some that had been edited out. We found four beautiful new shirts- two long sleeve (one in an aqua gingham that was so cool!), two short sleeve Tommy Bahama pieces (on super clearance!) in beautiful silk that I could tell made him stand a little taller. He also found some nice brown boots that he can wear in the robotics machine shop for safety with a little style too.

We also indulged in some new socks and undershirts from Target. (Don't you agree that brand new socks are one of life's wonderful luxuries? They are always so cushy and soft!) I also found him a few Aloha shirts on clearance at Target that I think will look great with his reddish hair and make his blue eyes really pop.

I am looking forward to sharing his haircut and shave with you next!

Last Chance to Transform Justin Brown!

Just saw this before and after of football player A.J. Hawk who just donated his hair for kids fighting cancer and had to share. We are only $300 away from our goal to do the exact same thing with Mr. Brown's ponytail. Our deadline is Tuesday, when he will be taking his Robotics team to New York City to compete at Nationals! Please donate if you can. I've been so touched by the support we've gotten from so many of you. Mahalos! Updates to come!

P.S) You can follow along on Facebook here as well!