A Wee Break

I'm taking a wee break from being 'online' to enjoy our last days in the sun - it's almost time to go home! See ya late next week!

xo

You Gotta Love It

We've been coming to Maui for almost 15 years now and I've always loved to read the Maui News in the mornings. If you know me, you know I'm a weather checker from way back.  The mild descriptive little story sentences and the surfers around the island that cover the weather forecasts here everyday never fail to make me smile...seriously, you gotta love it. :)

Beach Walk

“Twilight fell: The sky turned to a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix    

 

xo

Last Night's Sunset...

 ...was a beauty!

xo

Pupus (aka Hawaiian Hors d'Oeuvres)

They make the best sashimi in the deli at the local grocery store - it almost an artisan creation. I NEVER thought I would like it as much as I do! Add a sippy and a sunset and you're good to go! Aloha!

Wild Orange Flower Vines in Our Garden

These gorgeous orange flowering vines are meandering wildly through part of our garden! A bit of research reveals the Wild Bitter Melon is not only beautiful but edible as well.  It pops open to reveal red seeds that are also edible.  I love it's bumpy texture!

Wild Bitter Melon

Wild Bitter Melon

Mexican Flame Vine

 

This beauty is everywhere, falling over the stone wall and completely taking over a tree - it's fabulous!!

 It's amazing learning to garden in this tropical climate - SO different from New Brunswick!

happy sunday :)

A Beach Lover's Shadow Box and Making a House a Home

"The home should be the treasure chest of living."  ~ LeCorbusier

 

Last spring, our niece and nephews (and their parents) spent a couple of weeks with us here in Maui. Everyone loves the beach and when we weren't boogie boarding or sunning ourselves, we beachcombed tirelessly, collecting treasures from beaches all over the island. Heart shaped bits of coral, lava and shell were pounced upon like nuggets of gold and we learned that Sophie could spot the tiniest piece of colorful sea glass at 20 paces - it was a blast! I corralled it all in a large clear glass pitcher on a shelf in the family room and have enjoyed the happy memories each time I look at the collection.

 

 

For me, (we've done this a few times!) a new house becomes a home over time as life is lived - family and friends get together, experiences are created, stories are told, great dinners are cooked and eaten, laughter is shared, messes are made, family members are stumbled over morning after morning reaching for the cereal box and the bits and pieces that decorate your home have memories attached. 

 

I was cleaning in the family room the other day and while dusting our pitcher of shells, my glance fell upon a little white heart shaped shell piece pressed against the glass...AND, I had the idea to make a shadow box with some of these pretties! A visit to the local craft store resulted in a 14" square shadow box frame, several colored and textured scrapbook papers and a new glue gun. The aqua paper matched the bathroom the best so using that as the background I selected and laid out about 25 pieces in a 5x5 grid. Glued in place and secured in the frame, I think it makes a gorgeous, memory-filled art piece for our home.

 

 

 

Voila!

 

 

 

Easy Peasy Fresh Guacamole!

Every now and then, I feel like creating with food.  Usually, the mood strikes in the late fall when I'm overcome with my hunker down-stock up on cosy winter comfort food-we might not make it out til spring fears and stock the freezer to bursting with spaghetti sauce, chili and all manner of baked goods that will last til May (pause to consider a recent episode of Doomday Preppers). 

 

 Anyway, I've been inspired in the last couple of weeks in a different direction...fresh island grown fruits and vegetables! They are growing on trees and in the ground everywhere on Maui (we even have 13 fruit trees in our own yard -- but more about that another time).  Avocados, mangos, bananas, lemons and limes, oranges and gorgeous tomatoes too -- their colors are so vivid I can almost see the vitamins in them!  And, I'm in love with avocado-- delish! So, I've made a quick and easy-peasy recipe for guacamole and included some photos to show this beautiful produce - enjoy!

 

Ingredients
 2 avocados, 2 ripe tomatoes, juice of one lime, salt and pepper to taste

Peel avocados, slice fruit from the seed.
 

Mash avocados.
Chop tomatoes and add to mashed avocado.
Squeeze juice of one lime in the mixture.
Mix and add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
I like it with hint of lime taco chips - YUM!!

Even the bits for the compost are pretty!

I can't believe it's been TWO weeks!



...since I wrote I was officially on vacation! So, what have we been up to? After safe travels, we've settled in and have done ALOT of yardwork -- I think my feet are tatooed with red Kihei dirt! As I mentioned, the property was empty for over a year and as a result, most everything needs some TLC -- cutting back, raking and clean up especially. We've also planted several areas around the house, adding much needed color and greenery -- including our first very own PALM tree!

 The decks are much more inviting with some potted plants, comfy furniture and a few very Hawaiian tikis that we've enjoyed at sunset this past week. A couple of rainy days gave me the chance to do a little painting and decorating inside. The house really just needs our own 'stamp' and that is coming along nicely -- I already feel very much at home here :)

This is the front deck -- the potted plants make an inviting corner for outside eating and provide a bit of privacy from the street -- I love the way the fronds blow in the breeze. Sunset viewing from this spot is wonderful!

 

We found a shop that specializes in gorgeous imported Indonesian pots and urns.  This huge glazed red urn and two smaller containers filled with tropicals and a Pygmy palm welcome at the front door.  We're in the middle of planting the area just behind them with a twin Manilla palm and some lower shade plants -- this will finish this area and really add some softness to the rock wall and edge of the driveway.  Manilla palms have some great red berries part of the year which should complement the containers.

It hasn't been all work however...we've lounged at the beach four or five times, enjoyed some lovely meals and more than a dozen Maui sunsets -- it's all good!

I'm Officially On Vacation!

Wild Woman Jewelry is on vacation until mid- April.  I’m taking a bit of a break for some personal projects (we bought a new house!) and have enrolled in a couple of courses to learn some new techniques for working with metals!  I'll be posting here regularly and if you drop by the shop, be sure to click the Blue ‘Email Me’ button for notification when the shop reopens.  I’ll still be checking in every couple of days, so please drop me a note if you have any questions! See you soon!

A Place in the Sun…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of a place in the sun.  When I was a kid, my dad spent most Sunday mornings listening to his records.  The record jackets would be strewn on the floor by the stereo in our living room where he selected his choices for that day.  He had a huge collection but the ones that seemed magical to me had less to do with the music and more to do with the photos of Hawaiian beaches (mostly Dean Martin and The Rat Pack and Don Ho on Waikiki Beach) and beautiful tropical sunsets. 

Print from
hairbrainedschemes on Etsy
 

Through my teenage years and twenties, I planned many imaginary adventures to southern destinations – Tahiti, the Caribbean and mostly Hawaii - and longed to sit under a coconut palm that leaned over the blue waters of a tropical shore.  Movies like South Pacific and Blue Hawaii were among my favorites.  When my husband and I were first married (and still today!), we’d often plan Friday evenings around travel shows with sunny destinations and shows where families are searching for vacation homes in the sun.  Believe me, it’s been a lifelong theme – music, the Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet, beach décor… it goes on and on!

My husband and I began to take winter vacations on the March Break (escapes from the snow and cold!) about 20 years ago – our first trip was to Florida.  I’ll never forget seeing my first palm tree outside the Orlando Airport – I was SO excited!  I’ll also NEVER forget the most surreal feeling I had sitting in a small boat headed for the island of Bora Bora, a place that in all my wildest dreams I never dared to believe I would ever visit. I still get teary when I think about it.



Print from
AsYouWishPrinting on Etsy

Over the years, we’ve been so fortunate to experience many of my imagined destinations including islands in the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and in recent years, several visits to Maui and the other Hawaiian Islands.  The idea of somehow having our own place in the sun had been a constant topic of discussion and source of entertainment!

Sunset view from our deck!!

Well…and get ready
‘cause this is BIG…in November, we bought our own PLACE IN THE SUN!!!! I can still hardly believe it! It’s in Maui, our favorite vacation destination – and my favorite part is the beautiful sunset view – the memory of those old record album covers has become reality.  Talk about surreal! 

 I’ll be back with more details and some updates for Wild Woman while we are away.

It was a Christmas Dinner Luau!

 Everyone knows I love a good dinner party -- especially if I get to do the decorating.  Christmas day here in New Brunswick dawned sunny and bright (and just a tad cooler than in the Hawaiian Islands!).  It was a perfect day for our Christmas Dinner Luau for 20. 

I spent part of the weekend before digging about in my stash of decorating bits and pieces, searching the supermarket for whole pineapples and papaya and hacking fronds from my tropical house plants. A sale at a local department store yielded garlands of white silk poinsettias, two dozen flower leis, palm tree foil confetti and some citrus-y hued ornaments.  I even found a Tiki balloon on a stake and planted him in a flower pot in the corner. The finishing touch was my set of 8 tropical leaf plates that I received as a gift a few years ago.  The number and variety of plates in our house is a long-standing joke around here -- my husband often asking if I'm expecting 50 for dinner :)  My philosophy is you never know when you'll need 8 tropical leaf plates and clearly, I have been proven right!

 

My niece greeted everyone with a flower lei and a welcoming Aloha! She and her brothers were very excited -- Santa brought them a trip to visit Maui in March so their gifts from us followed a perfectly tropical theme as well -  'coupons' for boogie boards and dinner with their aunt and uncle while they are on the island. We were grateful for a wonderful dinner and especially having everyone together -- A good time was had by all!

Mele Kalikimaka!



Hawaii Bound!

...so, I've been a good girl and tolerated the winter with a modicum of good humor (yes, I admit, it's been an especially mild one) and I've waited patiently for vacation time ( I didn't start packing until 2 weeks ago, hehehe...) and after months of dangling all manner of flowers, colorful bits, sunny treasuries and spring creations in front of myself, our vacation is finally here - we leave early (really early) Saturday morning! We've rented a little spot for a few weeks of sunshine, palm trees and tropical breezes - lots of relaxing and hopefully some inspiration for new creations when we return.

In the spirit of tropical vacations, here a few essentials for YOURS! Enjoy and aloha!

1. I Need a Vacation Crochet Rafia Hat by WillowCreekSparrow

2. Vintage Moai Tiki Mug by VintageHawaii

3. Vintage Olive Green Wheary Luggage by moxiethrift

4. Hawaii Souvenir Plate by rachiesplace

5. Tote Roll Up - Beach Comber by efran

6. Pineapple by iamwoman

7. Tangerine Strapless Top by ishkabibblesdesigns