INSPIRED BY: janelle edition.

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meet janelle.  (seriously, how cute is this girl!?!?)  she is one of my nearest and dearest friends and has been uber fashionable since the day i met her.  when all of the rest of us were sporting brands like rusty and limited too in high school, janelle was on another level with fashion.  she was carrying kate spade bags and wearing seven jeans long before i had any clue about the world of designer fashion!  she has impeccable style and taste and i think you should go visit her adorable blog and tell her she needs to do more outfit posts.  like right now.  she may not have exactly followed my typical “inspired by” rules with being on-the-cheap, but that’s a-okay. we’ll forgive her this time because she does look ridiculously fab.  i only wish hawaii were 20* cooler so i could copy this outfit!  thanks so much janelle! (photo credit: her sweet bf kyle)

hat: f21//coat: j.crew//shirt: j.crew//shorts: vintage//tights: target//shoes: madewell//bag: j. crew

saturday.

saturday i snuck out of work early so reis and i could spend the day together.  he took me out to lunch at the cutest little organic cafe, sweet home waimanalo, on the east side of the island.  then for dinner he took me to haleiwa joe’s at haiku gardens.  such a treat to have 2 yummy meals in one day!  this place is amazing.  one whole side of the restaurant is completely open and looks down into this green and lush garden.  it feels super tropical and treehouse-ish.  the wait was pretty long (an hour and a half…and they don’t take reservations) but the food is worth it and while we waited we explored the garden!

four years.

4 years ago today we started dating (yes, he made it official the day after valentine’s day…he likes to be unpredictable that one).  and i could not be happier!  never would i have thought that i would uproot my southern california loving self and move to hawaii for a boy!  crazy how things work out.  we have plans this weekend to celebrate but as for tonight, we are getting take out from one of our favorite mexican restaurants and renting a movie.  pretty much my idea of a perfect night in.

happy anniversary to my favorite.

INSPIRED BY.

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let’s celebrate: it’s friday.  wahooo!  this weekend will be spent working (eh…this whole saturday thing is getting old), running (yip yip!), searching high and low for a valentine’s day AND an anniversary present for reis (why is shopping for guys SO hard??), having friends over for dinner (i’m making yummy tortilla soup!), and seeing The Vow tomorrow night (channing + rachel, um yes please), oh..and sleeping.  i see lots of naps in my future.  this girl is exhausted.

hope you all have a lovely weekend!

floppy hat: $18 f21//black shorts: $12 f21//baggy tee: $12 f2//bag: $40 tj maxx

2012 calendar.

i make reis’ parents a calendar every year for christmas.  and every year, i don’t have time to make it until after the holiday craziness.  by the time i give it to them, it is mid to late january.  well this year i got smart.  knowing that i have a tendency to [without fail] be tardy with this thing, i made them a february 2012-january 2013 calendar.  genius, i tell you.  when designing this year’s cal, i went with a minimalist theme because i’m digging simple layouts, simple fonts, and the whole “less is more” movement.  here are a few of my favorite months.

sunday donuts.

early morning pre-church donuts (from leonard’s!) + coffee on the beach.  i love sundays.

INSPIRED BY.

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today’s look is inspired by sincerely jules, one of my favorite fashion bloggers.  she is adorable and chic and looks amazing all.the.time.  (p.s. is it kosher in blogland to copy the outfit of another blogger ??)

on a side note, do you see this beautiful house behind me?  it’s kind of my dream house.  and i am pretty sure no one lives there because there are never any cars in the driveway and no people ever to be seen.  this abandoned gem is a few streets over from my house and i always pass it on my runs.  i have fallen in love.  the french doors, huge front yard, the lanai, the old roof, the windows, the charm…oooo i just love it!  it is really fun to dream about owning a house one day and decorating/renovating it without restriction.  but seeing as i live in hawaii and any relatively decent property is in the millions, i think i will just keep dreaming :)

hudson green cargos $40:nordstrom rack/polkadot blouse: $6:thrifted/bag $40:hautelook/belt $5: f21/sunglasses $15: urban outiftters

mondays.

oh mondays.  i don’t particularly love this day of the week to be honest with you.  after fun weekends and our sundays spent on the north shore, getting back to the grind on monday is kind of a buzz kill.  boo.  but thank goodness for monday morning coffee.  yes yes yes.  i always have these grand intentions of going to bed early on sunday night but no matter what, i cannot get to bed before midnight!  i don’t know what it is but for some reason in the late hours i get all sorts of productive and my house gets cleaned, things get organized, and laundry gets done.  all to say that my monday morning cup of coffee is so good.  and so necessary.  happy work week!

lunchtime purchases.

my lunch breaks are pretty much spent doing homework for my online classes or running errands (is it just me or does everyone else that works an office job feel like lunchtime is the only time to do errands because a lot of the places you need to go close at 5??).  i work in downtown honolulu and i just love getting out of my cubicle and walking around and perusing shops while doing errands.  long’s drugstore is a a few blocks away and in addition to whatever crap i need to get (contact solution, dish soap, eyeliner…i swear it’s always something!), i always seem to find some other “necessities.”  namely, essie nail polish and revlon lipstick.  then i normally venture on over to ross next door to see if they have any amazing bargains i can’t pass up.  the other day i found these grey/hot pink cross training shoes and i just haddd to have them because they were only $20.  andddd i believe that if you feel cute working out, you will have a better work out.

thank you cards.

after long and tiring days at work, designing is one of the ways i like to relax and i find it to be really therapeutic.  after being in the office all day dealing with taxes and the ever growing laundry list of regulations from the IRS, i love how design virtually has no real “rules.”  i can put shapes wherever i want to and use whatever font suits my fancy that night.  it’s awesome.  these are some thank you cards i designed the other night to send out my [better-late-than-never] christmas thanks!