Reflection

A year can go by in the quickest of flashes, and while each successive day may seem to differ just slightly from the last, when a year's worth of those days have passed, I find myself in an entirely new place from where I began...

While the past must stay in the past - and dwelling does us no good - I think that reflection is an important component of personal growth. Looking back at a period of time all at once, almost like a snapshot, can allow us to see what we've accomplished and how we've grown - physically, emotionally, spiritually and more. 

Although reflection can be done at any time, when the end of the year comes around, it always seems to join in naturally. With the final days of 2014 making their appearance, I will be manifesting and eagerly embracing the future, and I urge you to do the same!

Jumper: Someday's Lovin, Crop Top: Free People, Necklace: Island Treasures, Sunnies: Romwe Rings: Shop Dixi & Etsy

There's Never A Better Time

It's here, that bittersweet time where we revel in the weekend glory after the holidays, only to be reminded that we are now standing in the shadow of the new year! There is so much to look forward to! Say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015! As you're anchoring in for a few more days of rest and togetherness with family and friends and getting ready to pack up your gifts and head home, I figured you could check in for one more look. While everyone was home for the holidays, bundled up and cozy next to the fire enjoying their white Christmas, I was enjoying white sand beaches! 

During this eventful last week between Christmas and New Year's, many of us find ourselves party-hopping, panic-shopping, or perhaps just sleeping in. Some do all three in one day, given there is so little time to do so much. There's never a better time than a new year to refresh your style! A clean slate will surely fulfill your cravings for a new look and a new start for the New Year! Even if you're just looking to make a small change, there's still plenty of room for inspiration. 

Dress: Urban Outfitters, Shorts: Nasty Gal, Necklace: Island Treasures, Sunnies: Blenders Eyewear

To help along with that small leap, many find comfort in feasting, fireworks and the fickle New Year's resolution. Whether it's a change in diet, love, lifestyle or wardrobe, a big resolution is often difficult to keep, so the best one to make this year is to just keep changing, at least in terms of style. As January sets in, take the time to sort through your coset: keep the staples, get rid of old baggage, and hold on to promising pieces. In the spirit of frugality, there is no need to throw away everything! Pieces I'll be keeping are like the ones I'm wearing above: denim cutoffs never get old, necklaces are my go-to accessories and if you can use one piece in multiple ways, it's a keeper! The best thing about short tight dresses (shown below) is you can wear them tucked into shorts (shown above), skirts or pants!!

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." 

Life is Beautiful

My feet trod through sand as I walk through a forest full of tropical flowers and palms, only hearing the sound of the ocean behind me. The plumerias are blooming and as red as cherries. I can't help but think, our souls are with Hawaii now, and it's nostalgic. Maui is where Greg and I fell in love. We had only been dating for a couple of months when we made our first spontaneous trip to the islands. We had no idea what to expect, we didn't even know if we had chosen the right island, but looking back at it now this island chose us. 

Maui, where do I even begin with this magical little island we call home. The moment we stepped off that plane, our lives changed. It felt different, it smelt different and even though we were far from home, for once it felt like this was exactly where we were supposed to be. Since we first met, Greg and I have gone so many places together and adventuring has always been a bond of ours. From San Fran to Catalina and back and forth across the Pacific, our gypsy souls are always looking for more. Our lives have gone from being beach bums in San Diego to climbing deserted cliffs, deep diving with snorkels to admire coral reefs up close, and jumping in waters filled with wild dolphins! We have roamed tropical forests many times and our wandering spirits never get sick of it! Before I came to Maui, I always thought a beach is just a beach, but it's different here, maybe it's the sun setting behind the islands in the distance, maybe it's the caramel colored sand and crystal clear waters, but after living here I've realized people fly from across the world to experience the wonders of the Hawaiian islands and we're lucky enough to call them home.

 

 I find myself under the cool Pacific water, running my palms across the ocean floor looking for shells and sea stones. I admire roaming around the beach or in town walking barefoot and wearing my cutoff denim shorts and sunnies in mid December. Other days are spent on a boat, laying on a raft in the middle of the ocean. I place my hand on the tops of waves and think about all my travels and the blessed life I live. A spinner dolphin appears and swims right beneath us then disappears again. Back at shore I look out at the horizon and a giant whale is waving its fin to say hello. These are the days! The days I will always remember when we were young with sun kissed skin, salty hair, and new freckles!

Life is beautiful and it's moments like these that help me remember.

"I went to Maui to stay a week and ended up staying forever."

Lapis in Paradise

From chunky statement pieces to delicately etched handbags, Ladies of Paradise offers vibrant handcrafted items that speak to the free spirit in all of us. The beaded lapis crystal pendant necklace that I'm wearing in the photos below, is just one of many beautiful items you can find on the website. Not only is this necklace full of energy, but it's perfect for layering or adding to an ensemble that takes your look to a whole new level of bohemian goodness. 

My blog is an invitation to see the world through my eyes, to share my personal style and document the inspiration I encounter along the way. This is an avenue to celebrate a liberated lifestyle of self expression, good vibes and creative energy. It is through passionate people like my friend Jade, founder of Ladies of Paradise, that charges the cultural community to its fullest! Never underestimate the power of your dreams! Once you discover your inner strength, then you can truly start to see your dreams become reality, which is exactly what my beautiful friend has done by creating her website. Now get to giving! With the holidays approaching fast it can be overwhelming trying to find the ultimate stocking stuffers for all your besties, and I guarantee a gift from LOP will not disappoint! Shop now!

Crossed Crop Top: Urban Outfitters, Snap Front Skater Skirt: Urban Outfitters, Beaded Lapis Crystal Pendant Necklace: Ladies of Paradise

When Mars Meets Maui - Haleakala Crater

It has been exactly 3 months since I have written a blog post, and it has also been about the same amount of time that I have relocated my life to Maui. Although I am constantly inspired by this magical little island, I have been putting my creative energy into things other than writing. My spare time is usually spent soaking up the Hawaiian sunshine and finding treasures on the beach and in the ocean to create my Island Treasures! As much as I love the art of jewelry making, I have been thinking a lot lately about how much I miss writing! 

Two weekends ago we took a 2 day camping/ hiking trip with a bunch of our friends through Haleakala and I thought what better way to bring back my blog than an adventure to the house of the rising sun! 

Neil Armstrong had one of the most unique experiences anyone could have ever hoped for. Everyone knows he walked on the moon, but few people realize they can do something similar close to home.

Maui is home to Haleakala Crater, one of the most interesting landscapes I've ever seen. The drive up to Haleakala National Park is an interesting adventure all in itself. The road winds up a 10,000 foot flank of the enormous, dormant volcano that defines Maui. Our first visit to the volcano's summit, we arrived just before sunset, which is just as breathtaking as its morning counterpart with its flaming colored sky and clouds. We spent the night in the car and froze our butts off, but I must say the views were worth it! Temperatures here are much different than other parts of the island. Dress warm, really warm, and bring blankets if you plan on staying overnight. Sunrise and sunset at Haleakala are among the best experiences on the island.

This time we make it to the top by noon with hiking gear and enough food to last us for 2 days. Half of us park at the top and the other half park further down so we can easily get back to our cars when we finish. Plan accordingly or you'll end up having to hitch hike back, like we did our first time. The sky was the clearest I've seen it over Haleakala with views all the way to the ocean. As the day progresses, it's quite amazing watching the clouds move into the crater. You almost lose track of time watching the wispy clouds drift in and out and break up the unending cycles.

We gear up and start down Sliding Sands (Keonehe'ehe'e Trail), which immediately descends into the enormous Haleakala Crater with its layers of lava rock and mini craters each with their own particular color. They call it an aeolian cinder desert meaning it is made by aeolians, which surface gets its shape from the wind. A native plant species, Silverswords, that are unique to Hawaii, line both sides of the trail adding to the rare quality of this location. This lunar landscape hike is in the middle of one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Not only is the landscape so different from sea level, but the temperatures are significantly cooler and dryer. Once away from the crowds at the summit, there is almost no sound other than ourselves. Every now and then I would look back in awe by the natural amphitheater that surrounds us... we're inside a freaking volcano!

The more we hiked, the more our view changed. Soon after completing the downhill climb, there is a fork in the road that allows for exploration of more cinder cones, which we use as a resting place and photo opp, while taking in all the colors.  The thought that everything surrounding us used to be active lava vents is incredible and I'm amazed to see them up close!

Maybe five miles in and halfway across the crater's bottom, the plants disappear leaving barren land full of black sand and rock. It takes a single step and we have suddenly crossed between almost lush land and southwestern barrens. Peaking from behind the crater's edge is our tiny cabin and the horizon of mini craters the color of sunset. Kapalaoa cabin, equipped with 12 bunks and a kitchen, is perfectly situated at the bottom of one of the crater's tall peeks with an amazing view of the clouds covering the land's edge. This is a place where silence offers an alternative to the frenzy of modern life. I sit down, empty my shoes and listen. 

Sound travels differently here. A place like Maui preserves its own echoes, saving them in the folds of its hills and mountains. In the bottom of the crater, dozens of separate eco-zones, entire ecologies, can lie only inches apart yet have nothing in common and each one sounds different. It's like an acoustic museum out here. As time passes, my body quiets, my mind slows, and the Jack in my system keeps me warm. My body is slowly matching the stillness of the landscape and when I can't hear my body anymore,  I hear something else, the crater, the island. Watching the colors of the sunset build beyond the mountains, my heart moves in time with something at the edge of sensation, a disturbance of the field. Maybe it's the vibrations of distant waves coming ashore or maybe it's just the island breathing. I've never heard anything like it and then I see my first shooting star... and then another and another.

Once the sun has finally made its way over the horizon, the quiet of dusk transforms into a starry night. As darkness falls, the stars here offer a celestial phenomenon. This has to be one of the best stargazing spots in the world. This skyscape shows the Milky Way at its best along with many other well known constellations. A deeper awareness of human's place in nature is the very reason people come to Hawaii and it's experiences like these that remind me of that. National park status isn't enough to make a place quiet, but here an unusual mix of other factors comes into play. This is a place where you truly must leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photos. Once inside, the crater feels like miles of endless land devoid of life, no leaves, no animals, nothing to make a single noise, except for us tonight. This giant bowl offers shelter from the wind. I sit for as long as the quiet lasts or until I can take the cold no longer. The weather has become quite frigid and we are all wearing every layer of clothing we brought.

The following morning, our hike out of the crater to the Halemau'u trailhead is a 10 mile uphill switchback that ascends 6,000 feet up with views of the valleys below where clouds move at incredible speeds. They say this is one of the only places on the planet where you can see turbulence. It feels like we're in Jurassic Park now and once again I am blown away by the fickle scenery. It's a long and winding road back to the top, but you're rewarded with spectacular views the entire way. As we approach the rim of this giant volcano its sheer size instantly impresses. You could seriously get lost exploring this place for days! The desolation and colors of the landscape has an other-worldly appearance. It's so dramatic and so diverse, you can't help but respect it.

 

"Haleakala- Showing that the quietest place on earth actually exists inside each of us, wherever we are, if we can only find our way to it." 

- Edward Readicker-Henderson