Weekend Travels

Traveling is one of the most adventurous, fun, tiring things I do. Today we returned from a two day trip to a nearby town, and we accomplished many of the wonderful things people do when traveling such as venturing out to new places, taking pictures, absorbing the beauty of each moment, eating delicious food, seeing God's magnificent hand in nature, and laughing with family.

 

On the first day of our arrival, my brothers and I spotted a gazebo and made use of the picturesque spot. My older brother Nathan on the right is the person who makes my fashion posts possible by acting photographer; my younger brother Michael stands to the left.

A funny incident took place last week when we met a man in church. It was only Michael and I at the time, and the man was attempting to guess which one of us was older (sadly, the subject of whether Michael or I is older has been a guessing game for strangers for years). However, the man stated above went so far as to ask if we were twins, stating he thought we looked the same age. All I have to say is too bad, little brother, I am still two years older than you, whether people can tell it or not.

This morning, when we went out for a walk to Coconut Island, and along the way we spotted quite a few ideal scenes. My parents led the way as we crossed the bridge to the island; in the water we spotted five turtles, a few paddle boarders (I long to go paddle boarding some day), and a dog playing water fetch. The dog being the most unusual creature out of the three to be found in the ocean.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. So far, mine has been divine. There's nothing like family time, especially when traveling and good food are in the mix.

Blue Breezy Beach

Confession: the beach was never my thing. Although I grew up in Hawaii, the beach never became my friend. I never longed to go for a swim in blue waters or pined to make sand castles on the shore. Sure, when I was younger, fuzzy memories of me and my brothers digging huge holes in the sand and wading in crystal blue waters do appear, but there aren't very many of them.

As I grew older, it seemed I grew out of the beach even more like an old pair of clothes. It just never fit. My parents rarely took us and I never found many other ways of going.

So the past few months have shown a complete contradiction to any of the above notes. I suddenly long for salty air, emerald waters, speckled shells, and warm sand.

Now one of my favorite things to do is grab a snorkel and face mask, rush into foamy waters, and dive headlong into a surreal underwater world.

My brothers and I try to go to a (new) beach every week, savoring our time together before my older brother leaves for college next month. Sniffle.

Last week I even tried my skills at some body surfing, and although I got pounded into the sand (literally and violently) I actually view that moment as one of the most exhilarating parts of our beach-day adventure!

Today when we pulled into the driveway of one of our favorite spots along this island's coast, we were told a shark had been sighted. Therefore we all dove straight in a started searching -- just kidding. Therefore we went to a different beach to escape from peril. It just so happens the beach we evacuated to has olivine present in it's sands (it originates from lava rock). Since the water there wasn't necessarily ideal I found myself compulsively foraging for olivine along the shore. My older brother an I amassed quite a pile of the pretty green specks.

These two pictures are of completely anonymous people from behind. I just couldn't resist snapping a shot or two. Especially of the couple on the right. Their stripped towels, umbrella, and shirts were so picturesque it was inevitable.

Oh, and I know, I know, my finger is peeking out on the bottom of the left hand shot. It adds something a little special, don't you think?

I Love Summer

My day started with a refreshing bowl of corn flakes, which were generously sprinkled with sugar. I just can't help over-doing the sugar whenever I eat unsweetened cereal. Mm, good.

Oh, and guess what I am currently madly in love with? That drop-down menu bar. Just look to the top right side of my blog at those lovely blue-greenish rectangles which I worked hours on. Aren't they breathtaking?

Fresh love is so sweet.

I owe much of the success of it to my older brother, who sat with me and painstakingly copied and pasted the needed information into the code until everything worked perfectly. He is also much more experienced with code than I am. Smarty pants.

After that, I continued my day by re-decorating my dresser, walls, etc. It's been so much fun re-organizing things, and I can't wait to show you the final results in an upcoming blog post! Unusually, many of the ideas were inspired by other bloggers (wink, wink). Here's a glimpse at some of the newest features in my bedroom.

Vintage photos!

 

My parents both have an album or two full of ancient (ahem) pictures from their youth. I never learned to love those photos them until now, though! They are all so unique and beautiful in their own way. In many they are standing next to the homes they grew up in, or leaning against antique cars, or surrounded by family. In all they are wearing hilariously old-fashioned clothes.  Each photo is like a small door into their past before I was here on earth.

Another thing which has been making me happy is rather odd. You see, when I began my cleaning adventure through my room, I happened upon an old clothes tag (I am currently collecting them) and found a piece of yarn attached to it. Therefore, on a whim, I tied the string around my ankle, where it has remained for the past two days. Somehow, that little piece of purplish thread has grown on me, and I now find myself writing about it on my blog.

Funny.

Did I mention that I am also passionately in love with summer? Without you, my-dear-time-of-year, I would never be able to waste my days on such loverly things!

So, tell me, what things have been making you happy lately?

Happy-Monday Fashion Post

You're probably wondering where the old chair, dead leaves, and metal ladder came from? Well, let's just say there's an empty, abandoned apartment somewhere nearby and my brother and I took the liberty of making it useful.

My hairstyle is a front french braid which I combed back into my ponytail. It's my official favorite hairstyle, and I am pretty sure I'm now going to be wearing it almost everyday because it's simple and it keeps my overgrown bangs out of the way (okay, and it doesn't look badly either).

shirt: walmart? / skirt: handmade (fabric from walmart) / shoes: macy's / necklace & belt: malaysia

P.S. Please don't mind my shabby, messed-up menu bar located below. It's a work in progress, and let's just say I have no experience or talent with HTML. Therefore, it is probably going to take me a long time to finally make the coding correctly.

Destiny's Giveaway

Hey everyone! I entered a giveaway today over at Sharing Endless L'amour and I can't help but be excited about it! *crosses fingers*

It goes until August 3rd, so there's still time to enter if you're interested.

The New Look

For those of you who are followers or rather "members" of my blog (I don't know about you, but I prefer followers!) I'm sure you noticed that I changed my banner and created a new blog button. Therefore, I did contradict the recent survey results where 15 people out of 20 liked my previous banner.

I know you guys thought it was nice, (I like kites, too!) but I just felt something was lacking.
So what do you think of the new look? Is it as attractive at the last?

Oh, and here's my new button:

<center><a href="http://loveisthethingwithwings.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="(a)musing" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e3r6C0WXUTs/Th9UPokWz_I/AAAAAAAADmw/9jPIKTbL0O0/s144/amusing%252520banner.JPG" height="171" width="184"/></a></center>

Enjoy!

P.S. I've officially fallen in love with drop down menu bars, and I want to make one. If you have any tips or an easy tutorial that you used, do tell!

Red with Jeans

Since my last fashion post, I thought it would be appropriate to create a more church friendly outfit. Thus, this post.

 

shirt: gift...? / jeans: Macys / belt: Jusco (Malaysia) / shoes: Anne Klein / ring: Claires / necklace: handmade, baby!

De-de-de-deactivate!

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Facebook. A very controversial topic among many. Some believe it glorious, while others believe it almost sinful. I once thought it was fun, but now, after deactivating my account on Saturday, find it was far from it.

You see, facebook ruled a strange part of my life. Although it is supposed to open up a person's social life, I found for myself it actually closed certain areas of mine, while stealing my time.

Therefore, after a friend deleted hers, I followed suit (it's kind of a long story).

I challenge all of you out there to consider, maybe not deactivating, but setting strict rules around what you allow yourself to do on facebook while regulating how much time you invest in it. Or is it time to take a facebook fast? No kidding.

Ask yourself a few questions about why you even need a facebook account. If it's unnecessary, then you're probably just wasting a lot of time on it. At least I know I was.

Do you really find facebook makes life easier for you, or does it make life more complicated?

Broken Cisterns

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"For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

And hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Jeremiah 2:10

During a Wednesday night Bible study I heard this verse read and was struck by the meaning of it. Though it is the Lord speaking to the "house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel" (2:4) I cannot help applying the passage to my own life.

How many times have I forsaken God and formed my own "cisterns" or idols. Of course, I have never physically built myself a statue to worship, but there are things in my life which distract me and draw me away from seeking God. It can be simple things like art, friends, or even blogging; I think that anything which draws me away from time with the Lord is a potential idol. At times, it seems I am in a battle trying to "get things done," and I am constantly having to re-evaluate where my priorities lie.

The amazing thing is God is always there, guiding us down the narrow road. Without Him, I never would have realized I sometimes allow things that are first distractions to form into "broken cisterns that can hold no water." The wonderful thing is, when we realize what we are doing doesn't please God, we can always turn back, start over. His love for us never changes, but thankfully, our hearts do.

"Let us search our and examine our ways,

And turn back to the LORD;

Let us lift our hearts and hands

To God in heaven."

Lamentations 3:40

I believe and find that one of the main things I must continue to do is remind myself of what Jesus did for me during His life on earth: His birth, ministry, promises, death, and resurrection. When I contemplate and dwell on His unfathomable love for me, things are simplified. As long as my heart is completely satisfied in the love of the Lord, I no longer need to search for happiness in the world, realizing if I do I will only hew broken, empty cisterns.

Simple is Elegant

Cards come in many shapes, designs, and colors; however, my favorite designs are generally simple, colorful, and sweet. There is no need to waste hours on one card (a habit I am guilty of) when a simple design which you can make multiple times quickly is just as attractive. Not to mention, it reduces the cost of each card while enabling the person who receives your card to not feel extremely guilty if she must discard it (a painful thought, I know!).

First things first! Enter, supplies!

Select a few rubber stamps (large designs are needed).

Don't forget the ink.

Make sure you have enough card stock! Gather as many complementary colors as you can.

These are really cute. If you don't have them, though,
 improvise with buttons!

Cut a piece of card stock as demonstrated in the picture. I also pasted yellow card stock to the stamp I cut out to compliment the other colors. Them paste the stamp on the pink paper and the pink paper in the center of the card.

Finished! Make as many different designs and color combinations as you like. Cards aren't only fun to make, but they are also fun to use. Nothing compares to a handmade card to make someone you love feel especially special.

My Trip Through Pictures *edited*

Hey all you lovely people, I'm back! We arrived home safely after what I like to refer to as one of the craziest, most-fun, ridiculously-busy times of my life. It had it super-highs and it's pummelling lows (because of flights; not even going to broach that topic) but in the end it was amazing.

Since pictures speak a thousand words, I'm going to let them do the talking. Besides, I just got home from Malaysia yesterday and after nearly 24 hours of travelling. I'm tired.

Edit: I added a few descriptions to the pictures to make them more meaningful. Hope you like them!

For the first time ever, I rode on a train! It was a nice experience, and I officially love train tracks. They are just so photogenic, don't you think?

We headed into the city with a few cousins to do shopping. The skyline is extremely different to what I am used to here in Hawaii, and the overall culture is a stark contrast to my laid-back life here. Mopeds, taxis, and buses rushing by in a congested road, clinging to ones bag for dear life in fear of it being stolen, and dodging holes and puddles on the ground all the way along a narrow sidewalk.The adventure was unforgettable, and I will never forget the wonderful experience of that day.

This is a "pasa malam" or night market. Since it was daytime, many of the vendors were only beginning to set up. Surprisingly, a person can find nearly anything there - electronics, clothing, food, shoes, and tons more all cheaply priced.

Oh, happiness! An actual shopping mall! Where I live, there is no such thing as a six story mall, so being able to go shopping in stores like this nearly every day was obviously awesome!

Delicious dim sum! It was one of the reasons we were all excited to visit Malaysia.