The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

This book was a fun read.  It follows a young man as he spirals down into corruption and the consequences he faces because of it.  It sure makes you want to be good.

The Lowdown:

Awesome rating: 7/10

Adult situations/material: 2/10

Paddleboarding at Ala Moana Beach

Ala Moana Beach Park is located not too far from Waikiki.  I'd say in most respects it's somewhat similar to Waikiki Beach.  It does make a great beach for paddleboarding at because there is a reef that causes the waves to break far from shore.  This was my first experience paddleboarding, and while I'm glad I got to experience it, it's not something I would go out of my way to do frequently.  I prefer to be in the water rather than on it.  My husband's cousin got our rental paddleboards from Girls Who Surf.

Julep Maven May Box Upgrade

Julep's May box had a 1920's theme which I loved.  It's so classy and elegant.  I couldn't decide on just one set so I upgraded and got the whole collection! 

This month they threw in a free set of flower hairpins.  They are very cute.

I haven't had a chance to test this mascara out yet since I have some I'm using right now, but after those get too old I'll be testing this one out.

The Sugar Smooch Lip Scrub smells like butterscotch.  It is delicious.  It makes my lips silky smooth.

I got two sets of lipsticks, the Paris Jazz Trio and New York Jazz Trio.  They each have two unique sheer colors and then one opaque lipstick called Lady in Red.  Lady in Red is a perfect red and supposedly looks good on everyone (it does on me at least.)  I feel like the sheer colors are really too sheer to even do anything, so that was somewhat disappointing.

Millie is a slightly smoky navy blue.  It goes on pretty dark but looks nice.

Zora is a pale pink frost.  It is a nice neutral-ish color.

Paris is a gorgeous glitter.  I wish glitters were easier to get off because I would wear this color all the time if they weren't such a pain.

Gabrielle is a dark smoky purple color.  I really like this one.

Alice is a shimmery lavender.  It's not too light and not too dark.  This is one of my favorites from the collection.

Clara is a peach-colored creme.  I haven't used it yet on it's own so I'm not sure how good it looks on my skintone, but I used it in a design with a seafoam color and I think it looks great!

Coco is a deep oxblood color.  I think it is a very sophisticated and classy color, but it seems a bit too mature for me after putting it on. 

Zelda is fun because in some lights it looks gold and in some it looks rose gold. 

Myrtle is a nice, somewhat deeper red.

Etta is a fun, shimmery/metallic bright green. 

I'm glad I upgraded to the whole collection!  There were lots of colors that are unique to my collection and some fun products too.  If you're interested in Julep, use my referral link: Julep

One Whole Year!

It's hard to believe that we have now been living in Hawaii for over a year.  Blake hit one year on May 7th and I did on June 10th.  Here are some of the highlights (and not-so-high-lights) of our first year in Hawaii!

I flew on 16 different airplanes, one of which I got to fly in first class (first and probably only time) thanks to my awesome boss!  Needless to say, I am getting really sick of air travel.

Not one of my airplanes, but I wish it was.

Blake and I spent about 11 weeks apart. :(

Reunion at the airport after 5 weeks apart.  It will not let me rotate this....

I got to live in a new culture and learn words like da kine, slippaz, and howzit.  I think living in a culture somewhat different than the one you are used to is a fantastic experience and everyone should do it.

These are slippaz.

 Visited at least 20 different beaches.

Electric beach!

Had my first Christmas away from family.  It was kind of awful.  The only thing that made it okay was that the weather made it not feel like Christmas at all, so it didn't seem so sad to spend it alone.

Sad tiny Christmas tree.

Worked our tails off starting up and running the Tram at Hanauma Bay, which hit it's one year mark on June 15th.  Blake has put so much blood, sweat, and tears into this company.  I am so proud of his hard work and complete dedication to running the tram.  He really does not get enough credit for everything he does.

But sometimes we have fun at work too.

We raised a chicken from a baby chick to a full grown rooster.

His name is Chicken Nugget.

Grew to hate Utah for it's lack of ocean and it's five month winter.  Then decided it's alright because it really does have it's own kind of beauty, plus I really love the people I left behind there.

Just a few examples.  There are way more people that I love in Utah, don't be offended if your picture isn't here.

 Learned why people fall in love with the ocean and yearn for it the rest of their lives.

Rediscovered my love of hiking with at least 15 (and counting) different incredibly beautiful hikes, many of which we have hiked several times.

What could be better than a hike that gets you a view like this?

Got to see Steve McGarrett filming Hawaii Five-O.

Learned that the drive to the Bountiful temple wasn't actually that bad after all.

1.5 hrs, if you don't hit traffic.  Good luck.

Discovered that fancy cars probably wouldn't be worth the money for me at least.  Although I admit that might depend on the specific car.

I like the Mercedes a lot more than the Hummer though.

Found love for all of the wildlife here.  Except the mongoose.

I especially love the lizards/geckos, birds, and sea life!  Okay, I admit it, that's most of everything that lives here...

To sum it all up....

They were right, this really is paradise.

Meryl by Julep

Meryl is the perfect grey color.  It isn't too dark or too light, and it doesn't lean blueish or purpleish at all, just a nice, medium grey.  It needs two coats and wears very well.  If you are looking for a grey polish, try out Meryl!