The Black and White Jungle

Greetings from Hawaii,

     I am again posting from paradise! I am currently laying in bed slathered in aloe and drinking a Blueberry Lemonade Smirnoff waiting for my dad to finish grilling dinner.  Who even drinks Smirnoff anymore, I am not sure, but man does it taste refreshing after such a ridiculously hot day! My mom and I went to some Kona thrift shops today and it had to be in at least the mid 80s.  It was a lot of fun, but driving around in a car with no air conditioning was not!  

   

 Outfit Details:

Shorts: thrifted

Tank: Forever21

Necklace: Forever21

Shoes: borrowed from my aunt

Hat: sears

These pictures were taken in a lush area that I discovered the other day right near our apartment here along the bay.  There was a really cool old canoe covered in debris and palm fronds and LOTS of spider webs.  It is so nice to have so many awesome areas to take pictures in so close at hand.  I did not bring my tripod with me though and feel slightly bad about having to ask others to take most of these for me.  My mom has been a very willing participant though because we are outside anyway and this encourages us to explore more. (Thanks mom!)  

Alight, I am off for now but have some really pretty beach pictures I would love to share tomorrow!

xo Hannah

The Land of Surf and Sunshine

Aloha!

      I wanted to do a quick outfit post that had the feel of a vintage Hawaiian postcard or pin-up girl.  The pictures were taken inside of our apartment here in Kona.  Though I feel sightly bad not utilizing the beautiful scenery, I promise you will be seeing a lot of it in the next two weeks and wanted to mix it up a little bit!  My aunt actually gave me a big bag of vintage jewelry when I arrived that friends had thrifted at different stores around the island.  The flower pin and earrings are both from her!  I also thought the romper could be slightly reminiscent of a 50s style bathing suit so I added a twist to my hair and took it from there! Enjoy!

      

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Outfit Details:

Jewelry/Pin: vintage

Heels: thirfted

romper: sears

     We are off to an art fair in downtown Kona now.  Local artists bring their handcrafted items and there is food, music, and of course, shopping!  Hope everyone is having a lovely long weekend!
xo Hannah

Red Hibiscus

Aloha!

     I arrived in Hawai'i late Thursday night, and spent yesterday acclimating, swimming, and reading by the pool.  We are at our apartment in Kona and it is beautiful!  We went out to a super nice dinner last night at the Kona Inn, a historical restaurant on the water which I would highly recommend as a special treat if you are ever in town (and preferably if someone else is buying!)  I am so happy to be here and can't wait to soak up some more sun and just relax!

     Living in Colorado I have already forgotten what it sounds like falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves.  I do have to admit, my first night here I was pretty convinced there was about to be a tidal wave! I kept on hearing that suction sound they say comes before it, but it was just the waves going back out over the rocks in the bay here. I grew up listening to the ocean falling asleep in New Jersey, so I can't believe that is something I would be afraid of at night.  I am going to blame it on the jet lag, because this past night it was just peaceful.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Boutique in NYC

Sandals: Borrowed from mom!

Fringe Necklace: Made by me

Sunhat: Target

(wow- this section is so much easier when you don't have to wear so many jackets and layer!)

     This is the outfit I wore out to dinner yesterday.  This is me "dressing up" when I am here, and this is often my go-to dress.  The silky material is so smooth and comfortable after a day in the sun and I love the cut of it. It is quite the change to be able to throw on a sun dress when two days ago my goal was to pile on as many layers as would fit under my jacket!  I also should warn you guys that you may be seeing a lot of hibiscus pictures while I am here. The insides of these flowers are so beautiful and interesting, definitely one of my tops favorite things in nature to photograph!

     Anyway, off to drink some Kona coffee and perhaps go on a quick morning run (and by run I probably mean walk...downstairs to the pool).  I can't wait to share my adventures with you guys, and will try my hardest to keep up with consistent updates!

Hawaiian Word of the Day:
ALOHA: the most common word you will hear here has many meanings, the most common being hello, goodbye, and referring to love and affection:

I am going to try to use at least one Hawaiian word in every post while I am here!

xo Hannah

Snow and Lace

Hello there, fancy seeing you here!  

     This morning I got a root canal before work, which is always fun.  It actually wasn't that bad, probably due to the fact that I was high as a kite from the Nitrous mask I had on during the procedure.  But even now, I have been at work for about five hours and the Novocaine has worn off and I still don't feel terrible- hope I am not jinxing myself.

     As I laid in the dentist chair pondering important things such as,  "Oh no is my mouth really open or do I just think it is open?" and " AHH I think I am laying sideways and am actually about to tilt out of the chair", I hear the dentist proclaim to his assistant that there are actually two canals in this particular root.  I don't exactly know what that means, but when I am getting a "root canal", a second canal is not something I want them to discover.  But, like I said, in the end everything turned out okay!

Outfit Details:

Dress & Necklace: Forever21

Tights: Claire's

Boots: Marshalls

Skirt: unknown (It's a SKORT  from 6th grade!)

Jacket: a little NJ boutique

     I wore this outfit to run errands and go out to dinner this past Saturday.  Alright, if I am going to be honest with you I basically just wore this all weekend. And actually Monday too.  Rob snapped these for me on the trail behind his house on Sunday after we got a light snow Saturday evening.  This is the last wintry post you will see for awhile, as Thursday I am jetting off to Hawai'i!  I cannot wait! It will be so strange to suddenly need to style warm weather outfits when I am so used to tights and sweaters at this point.  Oh well, in Hawai'i you don't need much styling besides a cute bikini, sunnies, and straw hat!  Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday and be sure to follow along to get updates from my upcoming travel adventures!

xo Hannah

The Real Black and Tan

Hello,

     I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine for one, was way too short as usual!  I was slightly productive on Saturday during the day, but I definitely didn't get all my stuff done.  Oh well! I did get a hair cut, new glasses, and worked on some things in my new room.  Oh, and I got to make those adorable little mini "bacon and eggs" chocolate snack from my last post, and they were SO easy.  I highly suggest checking it out!  If I can make something in the kitchen, literally anyone can!

 Outfit Details:

Sweater: vintage/ thrifted

Jacket: thrifted (J. Jill)

Shoes: Mia Pampa Desert Wedge Bootie

Jeans: unknown!

Necklace: Botanical necklace, Premier Jewelry

   
     These pictures were taken a few blocks away from my work in my new favorite place for photos.  It is the courtyard of an ivy covered old red school, and I love the stadium style stone steps.  Plus, it is really peaceful in the morning, though cold!

     This upcoming week is going to start off really crappy with a root canal Tuesday morning before work.  I had one when I was little but I am pretty nervous about this one! I think I am more worried about having to go to work after and deal with the rest of the day than the procedure itself.  Any advice from anyone who has had one?  The latter part of the week however, will be amazing as I am headed off to meet up with my family in Hawai'i!  (We have a place in Kona on the big island!)  My boyfriend is joining me there next week as well.  It will be a complete 180 degrees from the chunky sweater posts you are seeing now, and I seriously can't wait!  Alright, hope all is well, and will try to squeeze in at least one more post before I leave Thursday morning!
xo Hannah

Weekend Aspirations

"Great minds have purposes, others have wishes."   -Washington Irving

That's what my Celestial Seasonings tea just told me, which goes very nicely with this blog post!  Just wanted to share a few things I would like to accomplish weekend.  I figure if I publish them in writing on the internet for all to see, maybe it is more likely that they will actually get done!  I am so excited for the weekend.  The most important thing on my list is to relax and get lots of sleep! This has been a very tiring week, and I need some major R&R.  That said, I also want to spend my waking hours very productively.  Now that I am a little bit more settled into my new room, I am on a major crafting and DIY kick, especially when it comes to room organization and decorating. So here is my DIY to do list for the weekend:

1. Make these ADORABLE mini bacon and egg treats. All you need is white chocolate chips, M&Ms, and pretzel sticks! (source below)

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2. Finish making my necklace rack from a cool piece of wood I found. I am trying to figure out the best way to attach it to the wall now! Photos to come.

3. Convert a very ugly vintage painting in a gold frame into a new earring display using mesh and paint!

4. Make a flag banner for above my new sewing space! I have been making mini flag banners to include with my Etsy orders, but I want this one to be much larger. Oh, and have glitter!

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5. Learn how to sew! My brandy new sewing machine arrived yesterday, so I am going to practice some basic stitching and figure out how my machine works.  I found a great starter tutorial here.

6. Figure out something to do with all of the large branches I have collected. I am thinking spray paint, and perhaps some white lights.

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Do any of you have any fun weekend projects to complete?  I will share my results later! Have a terrific weekend!

xo Hannah

A year in Outfits (2011)

Hello!

    I know I am a little slow on the uptake, but I couldn't resist one of these New Year recaps after seeing how lovely everyone else's turned out.  I actually stumbled upon some really awesome blogs these past few days, which have provided hours of entertainment during a ridiculously slow work week. (Only Tuesday, what?!)  Anyway, it is really nice to discover new reads at this time of year because the end of year posts give you such a great feel for a blog.  I really only started this blog this past summer, but it has been a great experience so far and I truly appreciate all of the people who stop by and say hello.  Sometimes a friendly comment can really make my day! So enjoy some of my favorite pictures from these past few months of blogging, and I look forward to many more to come!

 *Click the image or link to be directed to the original posts :)

"Little House on the Prairie"

"The Dollhouse"

"Pumpkins and Weekend Festivities"

"Chevron and Crazy Weather"

"Flora and Fauna"

"Into the Forest"

"Obey the Rebel Waltz"

xo hannah