Christmas DIY

Pinterest has a way of making everything look so easy, like someone accidentally whipped the project up in 2 hours tops. So, naturally I thought this project would be simple. Props to the original creator! Our take on this Pinterest find was a year in the making. We started before last Christmas with every hope of finishing it in time for Christmas. Sadly, it didn't get finished until after the holidays. But, then it fell face-first onto the garage floor and a handful of the bulbs broke. Last week, JP wanted this thing done already...lol...so we bought a new staple gun and I yanked the stand-in painter's tape off the back and went on a stapling frenzy, re-routing extra bulbs to the holes of the broken ones. Finally, voila!

How did we make it? Well, we had a board that just happened to be the right size lying around the garage and we used flat white wall paint that we already had as well. The hubs painted the board and drilled all the holes through the board and the letters for me. Good man, I say! I then used gold craft paint for the ampersand and Mod Podge to put the gold craft glitter on the remaining letters. The lights are basic white string lights that you can find anywhere this time of year. The craft paint, glitter and cardboard chip letters can all be found at Michaels. I'd say it was more time consuming than difficult. But I'm thrilled that it's finally propped up on the piano and it really brings our living room to life!

Honeymooners

We spent our honeymoon in gorgeous British Columbia and were absolutely blown away by the beauty we experienced there!

Our Kauai Elopement

I'm coming in a little late on our wedding post, well any post lately. But I'm excited to share our Kauai destination wedding with y'all. Before JP and I even got engaged last November, we had planned a trip with my parents to Kauai in February. We agreed that there couldn't be a more perfect place for us to get married. And an intimate, no fuss ceremony really resonated with us. Of course, we'd celebrate with friends and family when we returned but we were going to get married in paradise!

Planning even a small ceremony from half-way across the globe presented its own challenges. I spent a lot of time on Pinterest looking at locations and vendors. There were lots of emails fired back and forth between our photographer, officiant, florist, makeup artist and myself. And with most weddings being planned a year out, we were definitely in a time crunch. But everyone I reached out to was so kind and eager to answer my questions and put my mind at ease.

So, on 2-16-17, in the presence of my mother and father, JP and I got married on the small beach at Moloa'a Bay. The morning rain let up and our incredible officiant, Kelvin Ho, led us through the most beautiful, spiritual Hawaiian ceremony of Aloha!

Officiant: Kelvin Ho
Photographer: Rachel Thurston
Makeup: Lulu Lush
Flowers: Flowers by Emma
Haku: Elvrine Chow

NOLA

New Orleans is just a hop, skip and a jump from home for us so JP and I try to make it over their as often as our time and money will allow. Well, this past weekend we used my birthday as an excuse to "laissez bon temps rouler". And "rouler" the "bon temps" they did! I always feel like I'm in another country in NOLA since the city is so rich with culture and tradition.

Our adventure always starts at Pat O'Brien's for hurricanes. That's the best bar to chat people up and get their story. This time we met a man who lived next door to my family in FWB. What a small world! After that, we meander (stumble) all through the quarter popping into whichever store, eatery or bar that piques our interest. The first time we went together, we were in search of a unique place to eat for dinner and happened upon this little alley with a restaurant called The Pelican Club. After taking a look at the menu, we made a reservation for later that evening and no regrets. It was so good, JP treated me to a fabulous birthday dinner there again this trip. We had scallop-stuffed artichokes (or maybe it was the other way around) and the perfect steak and wine pairing. We then made a donation to Harrah's...haha...and called it a night. We would have loved to hit up The Dungeon or Frenchman Street for dancing but the hurricanes did us in earlier and we were spent.


Our hotel had a Bloody Mary bar Sunday morning. I tried bacon-infused vodka with mine but I honestly couldn't taste it. That might have been due to too much A1 because I have a slight affinity for it. JP tried his with pepper-infused vodka and we both agreed they were some of the best Bloody Marys we've had. We got a little New Orleans history from our bartender, Rex, and walked to Central Grocery for a muffuletta breakfast. Did you know that the owner of Central Grocery started making the sandwiches to feed the men who worked nearby at the wharves? And obviously they were just so freakin' good and took off like nobody's business. Now for the coolest part of the trip. On the walk back to our hotel, we took some random streets to try and avoid the hustle and bustle. We passed a decrepit old building that had abandoned slot mailboxes. JP flips each one of them up and comes to one with a folded piece of paper in it. We unfold it and it was a kind note from a stranger for whoever found it. So we paid it forward and replaced the found note with one of our own. I think next time we should see if it's still there or if there's a new one. It's fun to find and spread good vibes!