We're Moving!

So, we're moving. Back to Kauai. It's just a flight away, but still, a task to actually move everything over there. Boxes are being packed. Loads to Goodwill are being made (don't tell Ivy). We are all excited, yet a decision like this is always hard. I think it's hardest on me. Kit and Ivy are stoked, but I'm sentimental. I've done pretty well with taking it all in stride. I look at it more like dual citizenship because thankfully I'll be working on Maui every Saturday, so I can teach the students I adore so very much, and see my parents and family and friends. 

 This photo of the moon was taken on one of our last BBQ's in the driveway before Kit took off to Kauai to start working for a couple weeks. These are the moments I'll miss, because now they're no longer everyday life, they're memories of our life here. 

Ugh, how can 600 sq ft hold so much!

PROBLEM: I've been buying things left and right, as if I'm going to be stuck on an island forever! But these wire baskets from Urban Outfitters-- they're going to look awesome in my office!

Fabric is a whole other story. In my defense, there are no good fabric shops on Kauai, and with Ivy & Co., there are certain fabrics I need an abundance of! But seriously, I'll be back 1 month after I leave. I can stock up then if I need to. I'm driving myself crazy and really, I just want to unpack and be in my new space and get completely organized. 

Speaking of unpacking, I can't wait to unload this gem. It's an antique pie safe I bought from a friend on Saturday. It's going in my office :) 

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have noticed 3 new boards I created recently:

MASTER

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/171910910751221545/

OFFICE

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/171910910751221521/

IVYS 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/171910910751221649/

These boards contain my visions for these 3 rooms in the gorgeous 3 bedroom we'll be renting. Honestly, this awesome house is one of the things that has kept me sane in this process. I'm really stoked on it and feel like it's God's blessing for being obedient to the way He wants to orchestrate my life. We tried a few times to buy a house here on Maui and it just didn't work out. We live in an adorable cottage next door to my parents here, but we're outgrowing it quickly. So Kauai is the next adventure for us!

It's been so hot and humid here, we've been going to Ululani's Shave Ice frequently. Moving is hard. Today I killed a scorpion with a magic wand and a flower stem. No joke. 

Ok, I made it through writing this very surface level post about moving without a tear in sight. I've got a million ideas for blog posts, but they might have to wait until I get settled on The Garden Isle. Until then, 

A hui hou, 

Rebecca

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Home Tour - My sis-in-law's Hawaiian Plantation Home

My husband's brother and his family just moved into an old plantation home here in Hawaii, and had to gut it. When they first looked at it, it stunk and was basically abandoned. We visited them a few weeks back and I immediately asked my sis-in-law, Ariana, if I could showcase her home on my blog. It was no surprise that (with a lot of hard work), the house turned out awesome-- the house they lived in before was also to-die-for. 

Ariana's style is effortless, and its been that way for as long as I've known her. When I look at blogs and Pinterest, I think, "They're just trying to copy Ariana." Ariana doesn't read DIY blogs. She's never been on Pinterest (we explained it to her a few weeks ago). She has a collection of French design magazines with bookmarks on the pages she likes, and she's got enough creativity in her to have a career as a fine artist. She sews, paints, and decorates like a pro.

Here's her entry table. I love how she has Anthropologie, Surfer, Surfer's Journal and Serena & Lily magazines/catalogs. Oh, and fresh flowers, of course.

The pieces she chooses for her home are extremely good quality, but able to be lived in. She's got 4 kids under the age of 7. Ivy and the youngest, Shepherd, are 6 weeks apart. :) She and Kit's brother are in the real estate/rental business, so they have the ability to accumulate a lot of home furnishings, and just kind of shift them around where they need to go. I've eyed this rug on Urban Outfitters for a long time, and just realized she's had it all along! I'm pretty sure she just "felt" like those oars would look good up there. Guarantee she didn't see it on a blog, like the rest of us...

 This is the first time they've had a TV in the living room... Ivy's loving it. I'm loving what's below it.

I love the vintage radio next to the window seat.

See how she effortlessly pulls off chic, yet comfy? Those are boys... lounging on a designer pillow!

I'm in love with this table.  

Great piece of artwork on her wall. She's recently added a little purple to her color palette, I noticed. She didn't. :)

I think a friend made this for her. 

She framed a poem one of her kids wrote (I think). Isn't that so sweet? 

How cool is this... this was a family member in San Francisco as the Golden Gate Bridge was being built. See how it's incomplete? What a piece of history!! And of course, I'm pretty sure Ariana was on the mason jar bandwagon YEARS before the rest of us. YEARS, PEOPLE.

On the left is two pieces Ariana painted herself.

On the right is a piece her 7 year old daughter, Niah painted. Aren't they amazing?!

 Ariana knows how to cook good, healthy food. And wouldn't you love to cook here?

I love how her dish rags are even effortlessly quaint and colorful.

 I think these are just Macy's plastic plates, but I'm in love with the pattern.

This is hanging in her laundry room. I can almost guarantee you she uses these bags and that hat. It is not mere decor. 

 I thought this serving tray was adorable. She said she picked it up at a thrift store or something. I want to recreate one for myself.

Who has a vintage bread and cake cabinet?! Ariana does, of course! 

The best part about this, is that Spiderman is sitting on top. Hahahahahaha, I just noticed that. I love it. 

Here's the kids' bathroom. Love the "bain" tin.

 The master bathroom is still in progress (see the blue tape on the window?), but I'd take it any day.

I love her dresser and curtains. And btw- like the mason jars, she's been using old windows, doors and screens as wall hangings/earring storage/art work LONG BEFORE THE REST OF US. Ariana is way ahead of her time. WAY AHEAD.

She almost wouldn't let me take photos, because they're not quite settled into this new home. Can you believe that this is what "not settled in" looks like? Kit's brother made those side tables out of reclaimed wood they took out during the demo of this house. 

Here's where the 3 boys sleep. Perfectly unfinished.

Kit's younger brother lives in this tree house. I'm not kidding. He's 20. It's his "first place."

Random swings in the back yard.

They have a creek in their back yard. Yes, a creek.

Apparently Kit showed her my blog and she became inspired and started painting this chair! Inspired by me? Crazy! She's been a huge creative inspiration to me. I have yet to blog about baby soft blocks, but those are all her idea!! All my fabric choices... I think, "what would Ariana choose?"

This is the best shot I could get of the cousins with Ivy... hahaha. 

Well, about half of them are smiling. :)

Thanks Ariana for letting me show off your home! You're the best!

Aloha, 

Rebecca

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Upcycled Entertainment Center

Look what I did!

After almost a month of work, this entertainment center is finally in my living room, and believe me, it was no easy task. Our entertainment "area" was in need of help. You see, we had these awesome Hawaiiana end tables and a coffee table from my parents vacation rental that we had stacked up to create shelving under the TV. See below right, last Christmas:

I have no idea what's going on with Ivy and "Sissy" in this pic. (Sissy's a doll, not a human). Forgive the mess, it was Christmas. I felt terrible having these gorgeous pieces stacked on top of each other, and I wasn't digging the Hawaiiana solid wood decor. I'd been scouring craigslist for an entertainment center for a few months, but really hated everything I saw. I even hated what we eventually picked up:

Kit hated it too, but for some reason he loaded it into the truck for $60. (Yes, we overpaid for something we hated.) Since he hated it, that meant I could do whatever I wanted to it. It was particle board, so I researched how to paint it. Kit sanded a lot of it for me:

Then I painted Kilz primer on it with a roller. I've heard lots of people say, "Just use the Kilz spray paint primer. It's just the same." It's not. It gives it a really bumpy texture. Lots of bubbles.

Then I started to get creative, and that was a bad idea...

I got green paint from a garage sale, right before I picked up Cailin from the airport a few weekends back. I also had a grey color called "Owl's Nest" I was dying to use. I put a layer of green on the inside and on parts of the outside, on areas which I was planning on stenciling. 

I created two stencils out of cardboard. I wanted to lay them on the green areas, and then paint the grey around it.

Doesn't look too bad...

Well, when it dried, it was a mess. I don't know what I was thinking. The cardboard was stuck. 

The grey paint was drying all weird in the curves. 

Even though Kit and I both brainstormed as to how to salvage the idea, we eventually exhausted our resources and I just sanded it down and painted it all grey on the outside. 

Then I needed to pay some attention to the inside. I loved the green, but because it was even thinner particle board inside, the sanding, paint and primer just weren't jiving. The green paint on the sides was just peeling off. So, I figured I needed to cover the sides in fabric. I was over painting this thing already. I loved the fabric I bought for my Vintage Train Case, but didn't have enough of it and I didn't want to go buy more fabric. I knew I could use my 2nd Urban Outfitters tapestry, which hung as a curtain in our dance studio on Kauai, (see photo below), but I was so sentimental about cutting it up...  but the colors were perfect!

(yes, I was a prego dance teacher)

I gave in and cut it up, and modge podged it inside:

Even though I love a flat finish, I used a water-based varnish on all the paint surfaces for durability. After all, I have a two year old!

While I was cleaning up a mess Ivy made in my room, I came across some vintage knobs that came off my shiloh desk (see that desk here). (Btw- Shiloh and Owl's Nest are almost identical colors.) I love how they look, instead of the ugly gold knobs that came with it. Thanks Ivy for making a mess so I could find the perfect knobs and finish this piece!

 

And you can spot where my Vintage Train Case now lives...

It's my catch-all.

Kit made that white piece of art. Isn't it cool? It's made out of pallets. 

 I'm a way bigger fan of staring at this, rather than the stack of end tables. It took longer than I wanted it to, but I'm glad it's finally done!! I love sitting on the couch and staring at it! Waaaayyyy better than what we had before. And waaaayyyy better than some cookie-cutter particle board entertainment center... no offense if you have one of those. :)

Aloha, Rebecca

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