Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Strings and strings of firecrackers...



Popping with reckless abandon...



Lighting up the midnight sky...



Air quality and visibility from the fireworks, extremely poor. This picture was taken at midnight, at a time where everyone sets off their best and loudest fireworks to usher in the New Year and to chase away the evil spirits. Look closely in the upper left corner for a white rectangle. That is my neighbors garage door. We are separated by a street that is less than 10 yards wide and you can barely tell that there is a house there. It is tradition in Hawaii to set off fireworks, despite the awful air pollution caused by it. There is a growing concern and movement to ban it completely and you can see why.



There are many New Year's rituals that take place here in the islands due it our extreme cultural mixes. Bamboo and pine at the entrance of our home welcome the spirits of our ancestors(one of hubbie's Japanese traditions).


Kagami Mochi, another one of hubbies traditions, is an offering consisting of 2 sweet glutinous rice patties topped with a tangerine.



The holiday's bring on a slew of emotion for me. My Chinese grandfather passed away over 30 years ago, right before the holidays. He celebrated New Years like no other and I truly believe it was his favorite holiday. As children, no matter where we were in the house, the loud burst of firecrackers would have each grandchild racing to the front of the house to greet Grandpa. You see, the popping of firecrackers was my Grandpa's sign to his family that he had arrived at the party. In true form, he'd have armfuls of fireworks to hand out to each of his grandchildren. The holiday's following his death were difficult and we had a period of no celebration simply because it was too hard without him. To this day, on New Years Eve, the first sound of firecrackers still make me believe, in my heart, that Grandpa has arrived. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!


Aloha!

Happy Holidays!

These bags are a quick and easy way to package homemade baked goods. Gather a few brown paper lunch bags, assorted paints, a sponge, scissor, and a sharpie. With your sharpie, draw several shapes onto a sponge. Using a scissor, cut out the shapes. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect as we are going for the rustic look. Dip the sponge shapes into the paint(I used acrylics)and stamp to your hearts content. Once the paint has dried(you can speed it up with a blow dryer if you wish), take your sharpie and do a quick outline on some of the shapes, adding squiggles and other dibs and dabs for interest. Place your baked goods into the bag, fold the top over once, punch a couple of holes, thread some ribbon or twine through the holes, add a tag and voila, you're done! Easy peasy. Homemade goodies in a rustic, homemade bag. Perfect!

I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season. As we say here in the islands, Mele Kalikimaka and Hauoli Makahiki Hou, or Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Aloha!

Money Bouquet

It is late, I'm bleary-eyed and brain dead, and really shouldn't be posting at this hour but I've decided to do it anyway. I guess you can tell that this will either be an incoherent post or a very short one. Or maybe both.

I made this little flower bouquet for my niece for her sixteenth birthday. I dislike giving money in an envelope and always try to find a unique way to present it. I also got her some cute Smashbox lippies. These are a limited edition and are at Sephora for just $29.00(that's a fantastic deal). My niece is just starting to wear makeup and I know that she will have fun with these. Heck, I know I would have fun with these too!



I hope you are doing well and enjoying the holiday season. Take care!

Aloha!

Sweet Angel

Hi everyone! I just found this little wooden angel among the chaos of my sewing room and I thought that I'd share her with you. She is made from various wooden shapes called Woodsies. This brand can usually be found in most craft stores.


I received an email from a friend introducing me to a wonderful Christmas idea just oozing with the true spirit of the season. Do you feel like bringing a smile to the face of a stranger this Christmas? Well, Creating Keepsakes has put together an event called an Ornament Drop. This event is open to anyone who wishes to participate. The general idea is that you will leave a handmade ornament, along with a printed tag(downloaded from their site), in random places for strangers to find. The tag asks the finder of your ornament to log onto the site and post their "found ornament" story. You can read their stories and comments and pictures from participants here. This is such a heartwarming idea, don't you agree?

I hope you all have a fabulous evening.

Aloha!

Darling Miss Effie

Please meet Miss Effie. She hangs out in my sewing room and glares at me every day. She is in charge of quality control and is not afraid to tell me when something doesn't meet her expectations. She's a little bossy, all 3-inches of her. Looking for a little fun and a change of scenery, she's made herself at home in the Christmas tree. She thinks she's cute in her hand painted, lace trimmed frock. I guess I kind of have to agree with her, in a homely kind of way!

Okay, in all seriousness, this little doll has been hanging out in my sewing room for a very long time. Of course, she is a prototype (a.k.a. experiment). And she is ugly. And I'm not sure what to do with her or where to take her. The one thing that I do know is that I love that she is a miniature. At least she has one good thing going for her. hehehehe

I hope you all have a fabulous day. Gotta run. I'm off to the doctor for a follow-up.

Aloha!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, sort of...

I am ashamed to say that I have barely put a dent in my holiday preparations. I readily admit to taking my merry ole time getting to the finish line. Maybe because once I get there, it will mean that Christmas will almost be over. I am trying to savor every precious moment of it that I can. The rain continues to fall (a.k.a. Hawaiian snow) and is expected to be here until late next week. The sound of rain is what I associate with the holiday season anyway. I realize that for most of you it is snow, but for me, it is the rain. I really don't mind. In fact, I actually love it because it relaxes me and makes me feel nice and cozy. I've been drinking loads of hot tea, sitting back, and trying to savor the flavors and scents of the season.

I realize that I am probably making your head spin with my choice of Christmas decor. You are probably scratching your head and asking yourself where all of the handmade items are. My trees haven't had a handmade look for quite a few years. I don't know why, but my taste has changed over the last decade or so. Here is a small tree that is in the hall that separates the dining and living rooms. I love glitz and you will surely find it in this tree. I picked up those delicate pink, white, and gold snowflakes at Harrods while were were in London last year. Unfortunately, due to the lack of room in my suitcase, I had to be very careful about the items that I chose to bring back. These were chosen because they were very compact, non-breakable, and easily transported from city to city.


I believe that I have finally found one of the best light-up mirrors for the price for grooming and applying makeup. It is from Zadro and was purchased through Amazon. I have been looking for a mirror for a very long time and have been reading product reviews like crazy. It arrived a couple of days ago and I love it. On one side is a regular mirror(1X),and on the other side is a 10X mirror which gives you insight to every minute imperfection in your skin. You can see every stray hair that you neglected to pull, and it let's you see exactly how horrifying your pores really are. Trust me, that's a good thing! LOL The best thing about it is that there is no distortion on the 10X side like in some other mirrors. The light is fabulous too. The on/off switch works just like a dimmer, and it can easily take you from bright sunlight to evening lighting in a snap.(The light has been turned off for the photo) Anyway, I guess you can see how excited I am about this mirror.

The large chest that you see in the background is a machinist tool chest that I got last year from Lowes. I found out about this chest through one of the makeup boards that I read. Alright, I confess that I am a real girly girl and this chest holds my makeup. Each drawer is felt lined. I am told that collectors of knives and other small valuable pieces also use these kinds of chests. I've opened the drawers so that you could see how spacious it is and how perfect it is for storing makeup. It is also great for storing your jewelry too.


Are any of you into Lush products? I absolutely adore their bath bombs and bubble bars. I pick up several of their products each time I visit the shopping center. They're so hard to resist! You have to practically pull me out of the store because I can stay in there forever. I also like to go to YouTube and watch the videos that are posted of the bath bombs spinning around as it colors and scents the bath water. It's also fun to see all of the glitter and confetti that are emitted from the bath bombs. I know, I know, I need to get a life, don't I??? LOL


Well, I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and are ready to take on the hustle and bustle of the coming week. Be good, because Santa will be here soon. Fabric, makeup, and jewelry is so much better than a lump of coal!

Aloha!

Happy With My Progress

Things are finally starting to happen around here. Hallelujah! We (me and hubby) left for the shopping mall yesterday morning at 9:30am and returned home last night at 10:00pm. The majority of our shopping has been done. Whew! Close call. Never will I wait to shop this late in the season again!!!

The Christmas tree is up. Most of the ornaments have been hung. Just a few more crystal ornaments to go and it will be complete. Here is a picture of my tree taken early Wednesday morning, sans crystal. As you can see, my tree lacks glitz and shine without them. I will try to snap a new picture once the tree has been completed.


We currently have a really nasty storm passing through the islands. The heavy rain and wind started last night and is expected to continue throughout most of the day. Many areas have been particularly bombarded, my area included. We are currently under flash flood warning, heavy rain, and expecting wind gusts of up to 50mph. Many of our schools have been closed. I love nesting in this kind of weather. I plan to continue my cleaning and organizing, finishing the decorations on the Christmas tree, and most importantly, taking some time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the holiday season.

Aloha!