Our anniversary trip to Maui

Happy Wednesday Ya'll!

This March 10 was our one year anniversary and we were so blessed to be gifted a trip to Maui from my hubby's family. We had the most incredible time and I recommend going if you ever get the chance. I loved every minute of our trip. I loved spending uninterrupted time with my husband, enjoying God's creation and seeing these beautiful Pacific islands. 

We flew out last Saturday and spend 24+ hours traveling to finally arrive at our hotel at midnight Hawaiian time (5:00 am my time). not the easiest traveling, but so worth the distance.  

Our hotel was right off Ka'anapali Beach and we could see two other Hawaiian islands ( Lana'i and Moloka'i) from our room.

Our first full  day, we chilled out at the hotel pool. It was a little cloudy but I still got some sun. We planned out our week, drank pina coladas and ran to the grocery store. We decided to go grocery shopping to save some money. Eating out once a day on the island is crazy expensive, so we didn't want to do it three times a day. Our hotel room had a frig, dishwasher, microwave and dishes so it worked out perfectly. 

Our hotel was stunning.

We drove to to a lavender farm and a winery on the island. 

Our hotel also had some awesome waterfalls in the middle of it. 

I had to take a photo of our feet in the Pacific Ocean. I had touched it once before in San Diego, but this was our first Pacific ocean time together. Cheesy I know, but I love this photo. 

I think we each drank at least one pina colada a day (which if you know us that's A LOT)

Our beach in Ka'anapali. 

Day two we set out for the volcano, lavender farm and the Maui Winery. 

The picture below is the mountain top view from the lavender farm. We did a scavenger hunt while there. If we went to all the spots on our map and got a stamp for visiting them we would get a prize. The prize was  lavender sugar cookies and Oh man were they incredible. We also had lavender tea and coffee and a lavender scone which was so delicious we went back for more. 

 We then stopped by the Maui Winery and tasted pineapple wines.We walked across the street to eat an elk burger (yes, elk, who knew they were on Maui) and it was so good. I'm wondering if they tricked us, but its famous for its elk, so who knows.  

We tried to go up to the Haleakala volcano, but it was rainy and very cloudy so half way up the mountain we turned around. Oh well, guess we will have to go back one day then to see it. 

More of Maui's beautiful mountains. 

The third day we decided to drive the road to Hana. The first part of the trip was incredible. We stopped along the roadside where all the local surfers go. 

Then we came upon Twin Falls. It was about a mile hike along a beautiful path with palm trees, sugar cane and other Hawaiian plants. 

We then got a smoothie from a little cart on the side of the road. I wasn't adventurous enough to try a coconut. 

Bright and early the next morning, we flew to Honolulu for a day and visited Pearl Harbor, the USS Missouri and Wikiki beach.  Okay yall, I HIGHLY recommend visiting Pearl Harbor. My heart melted and I felt such a sense of pride for our nation when visiting. 

We used Hawaiian Discover Tours (LOVED) who took us everywhere.

We first went on the USS Bowfin Submarine (the same submarine used on LOST) and walked around to the museums for Pearl Harbor. 

We took a ferry over to the Arizona. I don't know if I can accurately describe my experience, but it was surreal. To know what happened to those men boys, their bodies still lying with their ship. There are 12 men still alive today, who, when they pass away have the option to be buried with their ship. 

The oil from the ship still leaks. The water smelled strongly of oil and you could see it bubbling up. 

Can you see it in the water? 

The names of those who died December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor. Most of these men kids were only 16 or 17 years old. They died not even knowing who or what was attacking them. 

After we left the Arizona and the USS Missouri, we toured around Oahu. 

We ended up in Wikiki before heading back to the airport. Sadly, we didn't get to hang out long, but I did manage to run and take a couple of pictures of the famous beach. 

Look at the blue in the water!

Thursday we had paddle surfing lessons scheduled. I did okay for the most part until the waves got a little choppy and I got motion sick. Stephen did well, except his balance wasn't great so he fell off his board a good bit. 

Then we ended the day with a wonderful luau. 

A view from our hotel of Lana'i. 

We drove the awful Road to Hana. I don't recommend it, but we did see some incredible views. 

Friday we relaxed, had a good meal out and got ready to leave our beautiful anniversary trip. 

We took 2 days to travel back to Alabama. I got to see my cousin who lives in Los Angeles and got back this Sunday night. It was a wonderful trip and I am so thankful to have spent this time with my husband. 

10 Ways to Declutter Your Home

I hear the word declutter and I automatically want to revamp my home. A simplified, uncluttered life sounds wonderful. Owning fewer "junk" means less to clean, less debt (for some), less to stress, less to organize, and more and energy to do use your resources elsewhere.

HELLO!

Where do I sign up?

At the same time, the thought of cleaning out overwhelms me. I don't know where to begin, and sometimes I make way more mess than to begin with and feel completely defeated.

I am extremely Type A and need simplicity in my life. I get overwhelmed when my house is a mess or dirty. It probably has to do somewhat with my upbringing but mainly just my personality. 

I have tried some of these methods and they really do help. Here is a list of 10 simple ways to get you started to simplify your home life and rid yourself of the extra house "pounds": Because sometimes, cleaning out for me is just as important as keeping my body help. :)

1. Give yourself 5 solid minutes. Leo at Zen Habits recommends 18 different 5-minute decluttering tips. Pick one today that sounds right for you and commit 5 minutes to completing it.

2. Give away one item each day.  Its easy to pick up one item a day and get rid of it. This is simple but highly effective. 

3. Fill one trash bag. Grab a large trash bag and see how quickly I could fill it. Doesn't matter if its for trash or Goodwill, but fill it up. :)

4. Try the Oprah Winfrey Closet Hanger Experiment.  To identify wardrobe pieces to clear out, hang all your clothes with the hangers in the reverse direction. After you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction. After six months, you’ll have a clear picture of which clothes you can easily discard. This experiment could also be applied to a number of clutter areas in your home (cleaners, toys, linens, tools, hobbies and craft items).

5. Make a list. Create a list of places in your home to declutter beginning with the easiest. When you’re done with one area, STOP. This list could be made as easy or difficult as you desire based upon what areas of your home make up the list (drawers/closets/rooms).

6. Take the 12-12-12 Challenge. A simple task of locating 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home can be a really fun and exciting way to quickly organize 36 things in your house.

7. Change your perspective. Going to invite someone over - friends, boss? This will help you see the clutter you might have missed. Take a picture, see what else passed by you when cleaning out.

8. Experiment with numbers.  Wear 33 items of clothing for 3 months - If 33 articles of clothing seems too little, adjust the rules as you need by picking a new number. The important thing is to challenge yourself to live with less and see what you learn from the experiment.

9. Use your imagination.  Ask yourself questions while going thru you clothing, “If I was just buying this now, how much would I pay?” Is it worth keeping?

10.The Four-Box Method. Bring four boxes: trash, give away, keep, or relocate. Each item in every room should be placed into one of the four categories. No item should be passed over.

Try these simple steps to having a clutter free home! Whatever your goal, there is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind all your clutter.

Wall art {DIY}

Wanting a cute wall art DIY?

I was in the mood to make a cute wall art decoration for my guest bathroom. 
I got on Pinterest and found just what I was looking for that required little cost and materials I already had in my house. 

Items:

1. Toilet paper rolls/paper towel rolls

2. Canvas (any size)

3. Paint (any color)

4. Hot glue gun

5. Scissors

Directions:

1. Grab your paper towel rolls and cut them 1/2 wide to make your petals. Make as many as you chose to create your design. 

2. Paint the inside and outside of each petal. I chose two of my favorite colors, brown and blue. 

3. Once dry, arrange in whatever order for your design. I arranged mine like little dancing people. (See it?)

4. Hot glue the back of each petal to the canvas.

It looks like little acrobatic people. :)

Wala! Easy 3 dimension art and it took no time at all.