Kauai Update

Well, Kauai is absolutely fantastic.  I thought I would post a little more, but when they talk about "Hawaii Time" they aren't kidding - I adapted and therefore move much much slower here.  Everyone needs to put this place on their list, the higher on that list the better.  Pretty much everywhere you look is stunning, and almost always covered in tropical plants, flowers and birds.  Oh, and chickens & kittens.  Yep - chickens & kittens run this place, so many beaches we've gone to have had adorable stray cats (that won't come near us) and a guaranteed flock of chickens - cute! The weather is great, and only took me a day to get used to the humidity.  The wind howls through our room & is so refreshing,  I can't get enough.  Alright, let's get to the fun stuff, picture time! Here is the view from our room, I'm in heaven:

I don't ever want to leave, can you blame me? Here's the living room of our condo, and that couch & laptop is where I write from now.  What a rough life!

You may have noticed the chair on top of that table on the patio, haha - no, we didn't sit there! Ralph got me a GoPro for my birthday, and we've been having a LOT of fun with it. Time lapse are my favorite videos, and I've made quite a few this trip. I apparently cannot embed a video to save my life, so we'll have to do this link style, don't worry - they are all pretty short!

• Snorkeling in Queens Bath:  This was great, a slippery & muddy hike took us down to the rocks, where we came upon a huge pool naturally filled with warm water & fish from the surf.
• Ocean Time Lapse: This was the first day, just wanted to try the camera out and get some fun video goin.
• Sunrise, Day 1: This was our first sunrise, and you'll notice it speeds up a bit, I'm still learning the settings!
• Sunrise, Day 2: This one goes much faster, and has a different camera angle.

While those look like a sunset, it's actually the sunrise.  I'm amazed that we've been seeing the sunrise almost everyday - waking up between 5 & 6 a.m.! But, Hawaii is 3 hours behind California time, so that's like waking up between 8 & 9.  It's still really really weird. 

I love flowers, and just because we don't live in this condo doesn't mean we can't make it our own! I've been picking flowers everywhere we go and bringing them home, using cups as vases and filling corners with arrangements.  I wish we had Plumeria at home, they are so pretty & last a long time.  We drove up to Wailua Falls, which had a great lookout point over it - like I said, beauty everywhere you look. 

 

Above is Secret Beach, but seeing as how a good amount of people were going there, I don't think it's a secret anymore.  It is secluded, and in front of a lush green forest full of frogs & birds.  It feels like being on the set of Lost (which was filmed somewhere in Kauai...) or something.  Right after we hiked down to this beach, 3 coconuts came crashing down behind us - so Ralph,  Morgan & Aaron got to work:

Inside that huge husk is that coconut I'm holding up there.  It took them about a half an hour to get it out! And yes, we drank the coconut water.... how magical.  Ha! Well I'd better get today started, but I figured with waking up this early each day that I could squeeze in a post.  We'll be back on Monday, I should be posting  a few more time lapses on Youtube and pictures on facebook in the meantime.  Have a great Thursday, and if I don't post before then, a relaxing weekend too!

P.S. THE BEST book in the world to help you get around Kauai, is this one:

Seriously the best book.  It's written by locals and is very honest & specific.  Plus, it's full of quick references to find information fast. And the back cover is the 15 best beaches, so you can get out there QUICK.

Post a Comment

Spotlight: Murphy Bed, & Desk!

Prepare to be completely blown away.  This came through Design*Sponge last week, and I about dropped my grilled cheese & turkey sandwich, all over Lappy (laptop...).  This is exactly the type of solution I was thinking of when we looked at a less-than-large house the other night.  A solution to not letting your guest space sit empty and unused when you don't have guests, the Murphy Bed/Desk/Storage/Home Office/Sewing Station:

Can you believe this?  As it is it looks like some beautiful closet system with an added desk, but wait - there's more:

A pull here, a fold there - BOOM! You've turned this room into 3 different rooms, just like that.  Sarah, of General Assembly designed and implemented this beautiful beast for her clients, and it came out fantastic.   It's this type of space saving creativity that has always amazed me about cramped cities like New York, Tokyo.. or even San Francisco.  The white matching the white walls also makes it look open and airy, even though so much potential is packed away into what looks like about 16 inches of depth.  Hey, if you're going to put furniture against a wall anyway you might as well take it vertical, right?

What do you think, would you do something like this?  Head over to General Assembly and check out all their amazing designs & space saving creations, get ready to pin-it!  Have a great one :D

Keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Email.

Post a Comment

Leaving on a Jet Plane

By the time you read this, I will be gone. TO HAWAII!  Unless you're on the east coast, then "Good Morning!" - I'm probably stuck in some crazy security line as we speak.  It's worth it though..... I've been waiting for this trip for about 9 months.  It didn't seem real when we planned it since it was so far off!  We were lucky enough to figure out a direct flight from San Jose to Kauai, and should be arriving 5-ish hours after take off.  One of the many perks about flying to Hawaii (other than the obvious) is that you gain 3 hours.  So you arrive thinking it's mid afternoon, but no - surprise! It's still morning. Something unique about us flying on this particular day, is our plane takes off exactly 30 years after I was born! Spooky, right? Well, give or take like an hour. It's probably a sign that we should move there ASAP.

We don't really have a ton of things planned, I figure the most adventurous & relaxing way to go about this is to let ourselves go wherever the wind takes us.  We'll probably just decide the next days plan after dinner & drinks each night - yes!  One thing we did have to plan in advance was the luau, which I'm sure many travelers would view as cheesy & touristy - but I don't care! I'm excited, and we don't live there so, surprise! We're tourists.  I love a great meal and a good show, and it's not like I get to see this stuff all the time! We're going to the Smith's Family Garden Luau on Monday night (they pick us up, sweet!) and here's a little video snippet:

I hope that worked, I'm not a big video em-bedder. Anyway, I'm totally coming home with one of those big ol' hats. Ha! Well if you've never been to Hawaii, stay tuned - I'll update when I can, and throw some pictures on facebook. I've never been to Kauai so this is new to me too, but every person I've told about this trip that's been there has a million ideas - so I have plenty of reading on the plane!  (Thanks guys!) Some of the really mouth watering suggestions are Queen's Bath:

Photo Credit: Rachelleb

Secret beach:

The Botanical Garden:

Photo Credit

and the FOOD! 

I am so ready for this.  See that hot dog type thing? It's a puka dog. They sound awesome - a bun is hollowed out for a hot dog, and covered in some crazy tropical salsa.  The stacked sushi there is SPAM musubi, which is as it sounds.  Sushi made with Spam.  I just love me some salt.  

My batteries are charged, I've got five different pairs of board shorts, and my luggage is only half full so I can take home parts of this place with me. Have a fantastic weekend everyone, Aloha!

Follow our Hawaiian Shenanigans on Facebook, & Twitter

Oh yes I did say Shenanigans! 

Post a Comment

Spotlight: Cross Stich Furniture

One of my favorite bloggers, Barb Blair of Knack Studios recently posted these amazing giant cross stitch furniture & rugs. I had to do a double take, this reminded me so much of my Grandma! Except that she didn't make rugs & sofas, more like wall hangings (amazing ones too!)... these are unbelievable, I can't imagine the time that goes into them.

Look at that - pillows, sofas.... rugs... what a great idea, and such a unique look.  With the stitches being so much bigger, I imagine this would come out pretty soft, and take less time too.   They are sort of industrial and modern, but cozy, charming & give the feel of handmade. If that makes any sense!  These beauties are made by the Belgian Designer, Charlotte Lancelot.

I think the ottoman, or a few pillows would be more than welcome in our house.  What do you think could you add these to your home decor? Enjoy!

-Jesse

Keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Email.

 

 Hey check out that sweet lamp on the left there too, cute!

Post a Comment

Retro Avocado

I just finished up another string art name plaque, but this one is a little different.  At the request of the new owner, she asked for the color "Retro Avocado" by Behr. I've never seen this color, and I loved it! I think it came out great.  Plus, I did something a little new and different this time, I edged each letter in a darker string. What do you think?

I'm getting quite the collection of custom orders completed, and I'm about to embark on another four (holy cow!) as soon as we get back from vacation.   Very exciting!  Here's the group:

Post a Comment