Finding My Aloha's New Prints Now Available!

Aloha, friends! Sorry if you have missed me lately. No, I haven't been pinned under an iceberg or taken captive by a polar bear- not yet, at least. To be honest, I kinda needed a break at the beginning of the year. I am sure you can all relate to the burned out feeling while recovering from the holidays. I intended to focus the first week of the year on completely scouring my house top to bottom and purging everything we don't need or use. I was mostly sucessful, but I definitely under-estimated my time commitment! Besides copious amounts of organizing, photo shoots, and life in general, I also launched my photography website this month! See, I told you I have been busy!

I'm dusting off the cobwebs around FMA, and today I am here to share my new website! Besides showcasing my portfolio and session info, I have a photography print gallery with images you can hang as art in your home or even office! I have embedded a slideshow of all my artwork prints available for purchase. Take a peek, and even hop over to the site and let me know what you think! I will be adding more and more to the selection too!

Fishs Eddy

Have you heard of Fishs Eddy? Its an eclectic store mostly featuring kitchenware and gifts and its based out of NYC. I hadnt heard of them until a few weeks ago. They have alot of fun stuff. I am considering getting these drinking glasses. I thought about collecting something similar from antique stores but then I heard a rumor that you shouldn't because of cadmium poisoning. This would be a safe alternative...

The best part is they are on sale! You know I cant resist a bargain! ;) And look at this, isnt this cute?

These swimmer glasses are also on sale! Now, these plates are genius! I don't know about you, but I seriously need these ;)

A pinch of this and a dash of that...

Baking is supposed to be fun right? Well, its going to be even more fun now that I have my new porcelain measuring spoons from World Market. I got them for $2.99! Their website only shows them in white but they also come in these happy colors...

I ♥ these too...

Anthropologie, SpoonerZ's Recycled Silverware on Etsy, PierOne

Pack-a-snack

Isnt this great? What a neat and fun way to pack snacks and on-the-go meals! I picked up my silicone baking cups today at World Market for $2.99. I borrowed the idea from Holly at Tutus and Turtles- a now dormant favorite of mine...tear :(

Linked up to Keeping It Simple, Delicious Ambiguity

A Poor Man's Cricut

Am I the only person that must have been living under a rock and didn't know about the glories of Cricut's or Silhouette's? Until about a month ago, I was completely unaware of their existence. After my son was born, I didn't have the time, patience, or money for scrapbooking anymore. I left preserving our family memories to Blog2Print, and just had them make photo books of my personal photo blog. Anyway, I have been seeing the fruits of these amazing inventions on all of your blogs and I am green with envy!

I am working on a BIG project that calls for alot of custom vinyl lettering. I considered buying a Cricut and then my husband saw the price and went white in the face. To preserve my marriage, I moved on to Plan B and started looking at making a custom order from an etsy shop, but I became too impatient. Now I am onto Plan C and so far (though tedious) its coming along nicely. Here's how I did it...

STEP 1: I found a font and printed off the letters in the size I needed on regular printer paper. I then carefully cut out the letters.

STEP 2: Next, I taped a strip of vinyl adhesive to an old cutting board. I did this so it would stay put as I traced the letters using a pencil. Then I meticulously sliced the letters into existence, alternating between using an exacto knife and scissors.

Here's the finished product! I think it looks great! It probably seems too tedious, especially to those lucky owners of fancy crafting machines, but I pumped them out while watching a favorite flick with my hubby and so far I am pretty happy with my poor man's Cricut.

This project is just a piece of a MUCH larger project I am still working on. We are remodeling our laundry room! It's going to be soooooo beautiful. Just like every other project we tackle, half way through we start to think that we bit off more than we could chew. We stuck with it and now I just have to add the final touches. I hope to post about it next week with tips and tutorials. I hope to keep posting regularly this upcoming weekend/week but my mother-in-law is visiting right now and my father and brother-in-law arrive next week. For now here's a sneak peek teaser of what's to come:

Boring, clutter trap of a laundry room BEFORE:

$5 Craigslist cabinets we got from a gutted farmhouse:

Linked up to Tatertots & Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, The Girl Creative

4-step wine glass charms

I have been looking for wine glass charms for awhile now. I almost landed on these from World Market, but then I had an idea! What if I could make chalkboard medallion charms? How fun would that be? You can just monogram your charm with some chalk and now there's no need to remember which charm you picked at the beginning of the evening, which, yes, I have found challenging at times ;) 

Ok, now here is how I did it...

Supplies: 

• 1” wooden circles 
• Jewelry kidney wire, 
• 9mm jewelry split rings
• chalkboard paint

I found all of these in the jewelry making aisles of Joann's and also Ben Franklin, minus the paint which was on the next aisle over. It all totaled about $10 with the paint hogging the majority of the budget.

STEP 1:

Make a small hole in each circle using a nail.

STEP 2:

Paint the circles using the chalkboard paint. Let dry.

STEP 3:

Once dry, twist the jewelry split rings through the whole in the circles (like threading a key chain)

STEP 4:

Slip the split ring with the circle onto the kidney wire.

Linked up to Somewhat Simple, Shabby Chic Cottage, Fireflies and Jellybeans, A Few of My Favorite Things, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Tidy Mom

Tickled PINK!

I love pink grapefruit! So refreshing and PINK! These are some of my favorite things...

Sur La Table Dish Soap, Williams-Sonoma Hand Soap & Lotion, Izze Sparkling Grapefruit Juice, Williams-Sonoma Candle, Bath & Body Works lip gloss, Method All-Purpose Cleaner

Try this recipe from Rachel Ray for Frozen Grapefruit Shirley Temples. Doesnt that sound so refreshing? and PINK! :)

Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt...

I just recieved the vintage salt and pepper set I ordered off Etsy. They are made of stainless steel and teak. I have been searching for a salt and pepper set for about a year now. I thought these were perfect! Dont they look like something you would find at Williams-Sonoma? ahh...Williams-Sonoma...

Black Truffle Salt

Here's a post that is guaranteed to make you foodies out there hungry...or at the very least it's going to make me hungry ;)

Today, I was looking in my spice cabinet and decided I would share one of my mostly highly treasured spices...my black truffle salt. I first found this at a specialty boutique in a winery and I bought it as a gift for my husband. In fact, it was supposed to be a stocking stuffer but I just couldnt wait to give it to him. Now I should mention that both my husband and I avidly dislike mushrooms, always have and always will, but this, ahh this was love upon first taste! It is simply wonderful! I throw it in all kinds of dishes for an added gourmet flare. It is amazing in mashed potatoes, but also in steak dry rub, flatbreads, egg dishes, french fries, and especially buttered popcorn. There is just something about the salt that intensifies the truffle. Keep in mind when using it that a little goes a looooong way. I have only ever found it in select specialty boutiques for anywhere from $19-22, but you can now order it from Amazon for $15.30 (Fusion Black Truffle Sea Salt, 5.5-Ounce Jar)!

Now, go order your salt, get to cookin' and then please, please, please come back and share your recipes :)