Life Lately

It feels like forever since I’ve shared a life update over here, so if that’s something that you’re interested in hearing about…settle in! Today I’m sharing what we’ve been up to around here, summer plans + more 🙂

Our 4th of July holiday was pretty low key this year and we enjoyed soaking up some sun, snacks on the beach and then a beautiful fireworks display on the Army base. If you’re ever stationed in Hawaii, Schofield Barracks on 4th of July does not disappoint. The show is always impressive and it’s been our go-to for several years now. Ko Olina’s show used to be out of the this world, but the last time we went it fell majorly flat, we left disappointed and traffic was a total nightmare 🙁 This year, David Nail performed on Schofield which was a nice added bonus!

USA Champagne Spray Team tank from here (it’s super soft + I got a few questions about it when I posted)

One of our big goals for this summer was to explore our own backyard. We didn’t have any major travel plans set, so capitalizing on downtime at home was something that was really important to us. More beach days, more relaxing afternoons at home, getting lost in the streets of Honolulu, trying out a new restaurant…all of it! We wanted to really sink our teeth in since we will be away and traveling most of the fall. It’s safe to say this summer hasn’t been a disappointment! We’ve had beach days, drone exploration days, lazy home days and everything in between. 

I’m not quite sure when it started, but one of our weekend staples is enjoying our coffee outside with the dogs on Saturday mornings. We don’t have a backyard to write home about (our patio furniture is currently our living room furniture but that’s a story for a different day), but 1. it’s not our forever home and 2. it’s ours, so we enjoy being out there and just seeing the dogs happy to run around and play. Plus, it’s always a pretty good indicator of how hot it’s going to be for the day so we can decide what type of weekend adventure we want – one that includes AC or not, LOL! In any case, it’s become one of my very favorite parts of the week.

Dane and I got the itch to hike the other day and we set out on a (very hot) adventure that ended up being a great workout and offered some amazing views. He has the new iPhone X and I swear the camera on that phone is amazing!

I don’t know what it is about summer time (yes, I realize it seems like summer all the time in Hawaii), but for whatever reason May-August, I find myself reaching for my jean shorts more often than usual. I feel like denim shorts are such a sticking point for so many people, but I have to give love to these bad boys who have lasted me almost 4 years now. They’re a bit of an upfront investment, but for nearly 4 years of continuous wear, I’d say they are well worth it! When I bought them, they were offering a destroyed version, so if that’s the look you’re going for, I’m sure you can easily DIY some holes.

Ever since we got Judy, she has been a lover of going on car rides. All you have to say to her is..wanna go for a ride in the.. and you don’t even have to finish the sentence, because she is already at the door with bells on. She is such a smart animal (Bill is too, he just doesn’t always showcase his smarts ;)) and I love taking her with me when I can.

One of the very best Christmas gifts I gave to Dane was a subscription to Condé Nast Traveler (only $5/year here!), because he gets so excited to get his new issue each month. Travel is (obviously) a huge passion of ours and we have definitely gotten some great ideas for upcoming trips. The articles are always interesting, reviews spot-on and off-the-beaten path hotel suggestions truly make me want to just pack my suitcase and leave! Plus, I love the photography and “real-ness” of each piece. It’s a good gift or “just because” treat, especially for the price!

Dane headed out on an Army adventure, so with my best exploration buddy busy for awhile, I’m going to be keeping myself occupied by gearing up for a fun fall, taking the dogs on as many outings as I can handle solo (wish me luck), soaking up some sun, trying some new recipes + writing my little heart out for some truly exciting pieces I’m working on. One of the ways I’m continuing to keep myself sane is keeping up with Glow Body PT’s 8-minute workouts. I know I’ve talked about them before, but I pick 1 or 2 from her YouTube channel each day and 16 minutes later..I’m done! Seriously, I know 8 minutes sounds like a drop in the bucket but Ashley will kick your ass (in the best way possible), so I really enjoy them!

I know I typically post a lot of food photos and recipes, but in full disclosure – many of my recipes turn out like the photo below. Gluten and dairy free baking can be HARD and I don’t ever want to pretend like it’s an easy feat for things to turn out “perfectly” each time. Recipe testing can be awesome and awful. The below tasted great, but the presentation was a little..lacking! LOL

Whew – I’m exhausted just rereading all of that! And now that I’ve dished what life has looked like around here, what have you been up to?