everything is never as it seems

 top - cotton on / shorts - tjmaxx / shoes - dsw / jewelry - amaniworks.etsy.com

today is my half birthday!  yay!  i enjoyed some guilt free cookies and exercised (making the cookies even more guilt free!)  i am rather sad though.  Lonesome George (google him if you don't know who that is) passed away.  one of my dreams in life was to go to the Galapagos to see him... 

on a somewhat related note, i'm working on (re)finding myself and what i really want out of life.

"i'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly.

it's hard to say i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep

because my dreams are bursting at the seams..."

oh, it is love

one of my favorite things is to go to thrift stores!  you never know what you might find!  what can be even more fun is to go to a thrift store that charges by the pound.  i feel like a treasure hunter in search of that perfect piece of clothing or beautiful fabric.

i found this skirt while digging through the bins at a goodwill outlet.  i loved the vibrant colors and the tropical pattern.  i had to have it.  the only problem was that it had a hole in it...

lucky for me, the hole was right on the seam!  simple to fix!  all i needed to do was sew that seam right up, and tada! all fixed!

i decided that this skirt worked much better as a dress, all i needed to do was add a belt around the waist.  it was perfect to wear while we were in hawaii.  i even got compliments on it!  this is definitely one of my fave summer dresses!  so comfy, lightweight, and totally unique!

 at the kalalau lookout

 napali coast behind us

 on the hanapepe swinging bridge

thrifted dress / jean jacket - h&m

Shoreline Access

we were visiting a cute little shop in historic hanapepe town and were told by the friendly owner to go to certain beaches and locations while we were still on the island.  he told us how to get to these places and drew a map for us as well.  yet, we somehow still had much difficulty finding these places!

 after wandering around the golf course, we FINALLY found the beach!

 hubby was super excited...

 top - old navy; jeans - american eagle; old sneakers so i dont break an ankle hiking down to the beach.

 we spotted a couple crabs!

love the ocean and beach!

AND, as promised...

 BABY CHICKS!

 blinking...

they are just the most adorable little things!  i love them!

ikat and cats... and a rooster.

ikat dress - tjmaxx

i love this ikat dress.  i also have one in blue.  it is definitely a staple in my summer wardrobe (as well as my tropical travel wardrobe)!  it is perfect to wear while lounging around, as well as going out exploring the island!  

check out these adorable kitties!  there were actually 4 of them that came out every night... so cute!  also, one of the many wild roosters on the island is strutting his stuff in the background.  maybe next blog i will include some pics of the ADORABLE baby chicks!

kauai polynesian festival

 top - old navy; shorts - thrifted; shoes - payless

we were super excited to find out that we were in kauai the same time that they were having their polynesian festival!  it was a beautiful walk through the golf course to get to the festival.  this was one of the few days that i wore shorts while in kauai -- i almost always wore a dress (usually over a bath suit!)  anyways, the festival was great!  the adorable little hawaiian dancers were so sweet.  watching the tahitian dancers made us feel like we were on our honeymoon in moorea/bora bora again!

a rainy day

a week ago we had a rainy day... it was strange because it never rains in June.  it was quite nice to have cooler weather for a couple days though.  plus i was excited that i would get to use my orange umbrella!  i never seem to remember to bring an umbrella with me if there is a chance of rain, and usually get caught running through torrential downpours.  but not this time!

linen blazer - old navy; top - tresics (from totsy.com); jeans - american eagle; shoes - toms; bracelet - handmade in kauai

garden party

as i have said before, i absolutely LOVE lace.  i think i've also mentioned how much i love florals... so, you can only imagine how much i am in love with this outfit!  from the beautiful lace detail at the top of the blouse (part of h&m's conscious collection -- score!) to the garden print of the shorts, this outfit is perfect for me!

lace detail!

sweet vintage bracelet... matches my shorts perfectly!

check out those cute little bows on the side of the shorts!

 

 top - hm; shorts - tjmaxx; shoes - dsw; purse - susan nichole; vintage jewelry

quick thrift trip in los angeles

i wanted to stop by a handful of thrift/vintage shops in los angeles on our way back home from phoenix.  i really wanted to get the the dollar make you holler sale on sunday at Jet Rag (but we didn't get there early enough...)  Nevertheless, we still have fun looking through all the amazing vintage clothing, and will definitely get there on time next time we are in the city!  i got a dress which i am uber excited about!  I am just trying to figure out if i need to alter it...

 JET RAG!

super excited even though we missed the sale...

we also hit up St. Vincent de Paul (which was AMAZING)!  they had so much good stuff and we had a blast browsing through the racks of clothing.  i got a handful of items and we even found a couple super cute owl pictures!  i love owls.  i am thinking about either changing out the mat or painting the frame a fun color (or both).

soooo many racks of clothing!

cute owls!