I think my favorite thing about the Big Island was the variety of landscape. We drove through desert, swam in the ocean, saw lush green trees & of course observed the volcano. There was so much to see [but it involved a lot of driving...] and I never really got bored looking out the window at the ever-changing scenery.
Day two was a really great one, & a really lame day too. We went to this outrageously goregous beach [duh. they all are.] and I loved swimming around looking at all the fish & coral. It was so clear! As I began swimming back into shore I kicked what I thought was a rock, only to find out it was a sea urchin. So there I sat on the shore with a throbbing toe & about 15 little sea urchin spines sticking out of my foot. Definitely not my favorite moment of the trip. I spent the rest of the day soaking my foot & trying to get better.
Luckily we had enough time to go meet everyone for dinner & catch a stunning sunset [again..it's because every sunset is perfect..]
Seriously though, that sunset...
In more current events, we are in Honolulu for two nights & then we head to Canada for a wedding. I'm so refreshed & ready to take on the summer!
Travel
06/22/2014
06/20/2014
Hawaii | Kona
Nate & I flew from LA to Maui for an overnight layover & then took a quick flight to the island of Kona. When I say quick I mean we literally were up in the air for 16 minutes. But man, it was a beautiful 16 minutes.
We have only one more day here before we move on, but it has been so great being with family & hanging out with all our nephews. The other night I sat on the couch & talked to our oldest nephew about the dinosaurs & volcanos for probably 15 minutes. His imagination is something else & I just love those little moments where I get a sneek into his brain.
We are staying on the big island, which is basically made up of a giant volcano, old volcanic rock & more green than I can even comprehend. Driving on the highway and just seeing black rock for miles & miles is a pretty incredible experience though..
Trying out the famous Kona Mountain Coffee Company
Teva Triplets
Our coconut friend.
The twins drank almost the whole coconut between them!
It's a pretty surreal feeling, driving & not knowing where the ocean meets the sky..
We spent most of the day at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. We had a picnic, walked out onto the rocks & through the Place of Refuge [a self guided tour through some historical points]. It was right beside a rock beach that was full of people swimming & snorkeling!
All together we had a great day full of lots of sun [too much for me...] and some beautiful scenery.
06/16/2014
Explore : DTLA | Hollywood Hills
Day two we started off by going to Downtown LA. We walked around & saw some really cool areas.
The Walt Disney Concert Hall was definitely a stunning building & next time I'd love to go inside. We walked around, got some incredibly delicious egg sandwhices, went into a giant bookstore, and then headed down to the arts district. Out of all the places we visited in LA, this was the area I felt most comfortable, and could see myself living there [not that it's something I plan on doing...] We finished the day by heading up to the hills & driving through the windy streets was really fun. They are tiny, and curvy, and full of cars & humans.
[Walt Disney Concert Hall]
[Grand Central Market || Eggslut] the BEST Egg Sandwhich I've ever had. Legit.
[Handsome Coffee Roasters] Very different coffee from any other place I've been, but still very great. Also in a really really great area & it has sweet vibes.
[The Pie Hole] I mean. It's pie. I had the earl grey, but I suggest the mac & cheese for savory & the nectarine for sweet!
[Alchemy Works] Great shop. Great employees. Warby Paker section.
[LA Arts District] Just a great place to wander, so many great locals, shops to pop into & great food.
[BlackTop Coffee]
Being in the Hollywood Hills was so much fun, but it's a reoccuring theme in my life to go to places I see in the movies & be a little bit disappointed. Moral of the story, the movies are full of lies. & the Hollywood sign is cool, but..it's just a sign :)
Our friends also got new kitties just before we arrived & they are so tiny & cute. So obvs we had to take some family photos! Meet Sonic & Boom.
In more recent news, we made it to Hawaii & are loving. life.
Hope you have a great Monday!
06/12/2014
Explore : Venice Beach | Santa Monica
Nate & I are in LOVE with the West Coast! It's so beautiful, the weather is pretty close to perfect [other than the sunburn I currently have...] and there is so much to do! Our great friends Shawn & Jes have taken us in & showed us the sights. The first day we explored Venice Beach & Santa Monica. I just cannot believe how much I love it here & I'm so thankful we have friends that take us out to explore this beautiful city!
[Venice Beach Skate Park]
[This was a random & really great find!]
Deus---
Santa Monica was probably the highlight of my day. It was so dreamy & going on the ferris wheel was so stunning. Nothing like getting up in the air to look over the ocean. For $6 it was a great purchase & it was a very long ride! I highly suggest it! We also went into the arcade on the pier & had so much fun. I'm not much of a game player, but I played some [us girls won the foosball game! holla!!] & we just has a blast.
Of course after being out in the sun for a ridiculous amount of time we all got a bit crispy, but it was such a good day!
Check out my vsco grid for some more iphone snaps & cool places we checked out!
p.s. Lemonade is a freakin legit place. They let you taste test everything & the macarons are ridiculous. I suggest the Truffle Mac & Cheese, Blood Orange Lemonade & finishing off by sharing a macaron!
04/30/2014
In This City : KC [a visit from a friend!]
Last week my friendy Audrey came to hang with us in Kansas City!! You might remember last year I went up to Ohio to hang with her for a couple days, but this time she came to my hood. We basically ate food & drank coffee, and not a whole lot else.
[wishing I took advantage of these pretty blooms just a little bit more.]
[coffee stop one : parisi]
[coffee stop two : oddly correct. this was in the same day & we were hyped from then on.]
[dinner at port fonda. we ate scrumptious tacos & split PINEAPPLE BACON GUACAMOLE. *happy tears*]
[day two was rainy & sad. so we got coffee & did some antique store wandering. so relaxing.]
[nate & I both had ridiculously terrible colds the whole time, so we got up Friday morning & grabbed coffee. but I ended up getting a fresh juice with all the ginger I could find. it was nicely balanced by a chocolate croissant. off topic but totally relevant is this video. a fave of mine & audreys. I silently quote it in my head when I hear words like 'croissant' 'ivonne' & mike n' ike's.]
[I don't want to say this was the highlight of my day.. but it kinda was. Hammerpress.]
[we did not go into this beautiful little snow & co. shop but I wish I did. ]
[one day I will go inside & see how beautiful you are. one day Kauffman.]
[last minute airport waiting photos.]
I love having friends come & stay with us. I think my favourite part is playing tour guide & doing fun things, eating good food & staying up late chatting. Exploring this city is definitely a fun thing to do & doing it with friends who've never seen KC? even better.
04/26/2014
In This City // St. Louis
A couple weeks ago we took the train to St. Louis to hang out with our friends & go to the So Worth Loving event!
[I was obsessed with things flying past our little window.] The train ride was about 6 hours, but it was comfy, rainy outside & connected to wifi. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!
Once we arrived, we stayed at this hilariously cute hotel called The Cheshire. If you know us, were big on last minute deals & this was the only option that night! It was like walking back in time, through an old British novel. All the rooms are based off of famous poets & authors. It was so cute.
At one point this beautiful chair + the rainy [tornado-sky-filled?] light was beautiful.
Later that night, we were walking through town when out of nowhere it started hailing. The hail quickly became pouring rain & as we were running into our restaurant the tornado sirens started going off!! It was the craziest thing ever. & everyone we were with were soaking wet. Quite comical.
In more recent news, we had one of my college roommates come down to visit for a couple days & had a wonderful Easter. This spring weather is perfect, but I'm full of the cold [I'll never understand that..] so we're laying low, but getting things done.
Hope you have a great weekend friends!
04/21/2014
So Worth Loving - Free To Be Tour
Nate & I had the amazing opportunity to go on tour with our friends So Worth Loving! Our quick trip to St. Louis became a week long trip in a giant bus with amazing people. We got to spend time and meet some beautiful people in St. Louis, Dallas, Austin & Houston! Nate & I were hanging around taking video of everything [which you can see the full version here!] but I did manage to snap a few photos here & there!
[nate on the bus, vibin, editing, bean bag sitting]
[we always made jokes about it really being a coffee tour. This shop in Springfield was one of our faves!]
[our fearless leaders!! Eryn & Jared. we luh them.]
[hours & hours & hours on this bus. I kinda loved it.]
[a first time experience for meeee!!]
[spending an afternoon off in Dallas, getting things doneeee!]
[SWL event in Dallas @ Pouf Blowout.]
[our houston stop was a super cool location too. It was a coffee shop called Ecclesia!]
On our flight home, Nate & I were somewhere between delisionally tired & inspired to create all the things we could muster & push ourselves. I didn't want to go home & just forget all the people I met. The stories I heard & the smiles on people's faces as they talked about how they realized that they are 'worth loving'. That someone cares about them & really believes in them. I still can't fully believe the experience we had & the fact that it was just what we needed, and just what they needed. It was a match made in creative heaven!
If you haven't checked out SWL yet [that's some of their shirts up there!!] I suggest you peruse their website & feel the love. :)
04/11/2014
coffee & currently [04.11.14]
drinking orange juice. it kinda feels like I'm cheating on my coffee, but..such is life.
listening to a man sit in his car outside our building playing terrible music. it's rough.
planning to go do easter festivities with my nephews tomorrow! i miss them! & am still getting used to the fact that they are a drive away.
dreaming of how busy the next couple months are going to be..but busy in a beautiful & exciting way.
inspired by the last week of being on the road with So Worth Loving. It's all still sitting in my brain & I'm almost ready to pour it all out.
watching veronica mars. Nate & I are binge watching to say the least & it's borderline unhealthy. but so so good.
eating mangos. it's not quite mango season, but I'm so impatient & they are delicious.
reading a book called love-ology. it's redefining the word love & I'm really really...loving it!
[some of the girls I traveled with & a friend we made on our Houston stop!]
& here's 3 things you may not know about me :
+ mint chip ice cream is my kryptonite. actually most ice cream is, but mint chip.. oh how I love thee. So much that I bought a little mint plant & finely chop it up & throw it in my vanilla ice cream. it's so good. *dreaming of it now*
+ I am constantly reminding myself of how lucky I am to have the life I have. & also reminding myself that being content with what's happening now & not being envious of other people, is a good place to be. which then brings me back to me reminding myself how my life doesn't suck. it's a never ending cycle.
+ I have memories attached to things & they are very strong. I think of them every. single. time. I'm doing/seeing/hearing said thing. example: mangos = my mom on a beach. every time I eat a mango I have a visual of my mom on a beach eating a mango off a stick. how crazy town is that!? [luh u mumma]
01/18/2014
Nashville Travels [pt i]
Nashville is one of the many cities I've wanted to visit for ages & I can now say I've crossed it off my list. My best friend & her husband moved there almost 4 years ago & I've been dying to go to visit ever since! Here's some snapshots of our time there. It was full of food, errands, food, coffee, meeting lots of people, coffee & then some food. It was the perfect balance of chill & being out and seeing the city. I loved it.
++ at Fido for breakfast.
++ shopping at Trader Joe's.
++ a little corner in Emily's home.
++ artwork in her home
++ Nate & I had a list compiled of coffee we needed to have. obviously Barista Parlour was number one.
++ husband.
++ inside barista parlour. we stayed & worked, drank multiple coffees & caught up with a couple friends.
Some of my favorite memories of this trip were doing the day-to-day things with Emily. We wandered around target, sat & did work at coffee shops, and took down Christmas decorations around her house. It was great.
I'll share the rest of the photos later this week! Have a great weekend!!
01/13/2014
FL > KS road trip recap.
As I've mentioned in my last couple posts, Nate & I spent about the last 10 days driving from our [old] home in Florida, to our new home in Kansas City. We made multiple pit stops & spent time with friends in new cities. There is really nothing like exploring a new place & trying local shops & restaurants for us. It's the best feeling.
We've officially landed just outside Kansas City, where Nate's family lives & where we are going to stay until we find a place in the city. I'm so thankful for them taking us in so we aren't frantically looking for a place!
Until I post a real update with all of our photos, I thought I'd just share a couple of my favourite iphone snaps!
coffee in orlando. new [but old..] friends in atlanta. oldest friend in her home. comfy cozy in the cold weather #polarvortex. nashville.
best friend eating Jeni's ice cream. selfie of me & my favorite food. not a bad view from a coffee shop. one last [delicious] breakfast in nashville.
best friend walking on the bridge in a zebra coat. crossing a bridge into Missouri. gas stop sunsets. coca-cola junk yard finds. coffee in Springfield. downtown Kansas City.
This trip has been all sorts of fun, and all sorts of tiring. I'm glad we did it & glad we don't have to look forward to doing it again. I'll share more soon & hopefully have some updates to where we'll be living!!
Happy Monday from Kansas!
ali happer
a lifestyle blog about adventures, creations and lots of photos.
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