On this day, December 7th 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan.  The attack was brutal and marked the official entry of the United States into World War II.  My grandfather Henry who served proudly in the Navy, was near Midway island when the attack happened. Thankfully he survived though so many others didn't.  The war took it's toll on my dear grandpa, eventually killing him as a shard left in him from the plane that hit his ship made its way down to his heart causing a heart attack long before I was born.

It's truly important for me to honor the Veterans who have served/are serving our country.  Without them, we wouldn't be free to live as we do.  I am proud to be the granddaughter of a Navy fighter in World War II.

Edmund Burke famously said:

“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” 

Let us hope and pray that the horrors of the past are not revisited in the future.  I hope you all take a moment to think of those lives lost in World War II.   So many lives were lost on all sides, let them not be lost in vain.

xo,

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xo,

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen teamed up with Damien Hirst on a collection of backpacks. Photo: Getty Images/ via Just One Eye

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen could never be considered frugal or conservative.  Most celebrites these days spend more money on a shopping spree than most people make in an entire year.  It just goes to show how wasteful the rich and famous have become.  In utterly ridiculous and distasteful celebrity news, the Olsen twins have announced that their ultra-exclusive brand The Row has outdone themselves in the ridiculously overpriced handbag game.  They previously were pricing the plain crocodile skin backpack for a cool $40,000 but now in their quest to be even more ridiculous, have teamed up with designer Damien Hirst to create a super limited edition of the bag priced at $55,000!!!  What the.....

Via MTV.com

The actresses-turned-CFDA winners have debuted a brand new capsule collection of super luxe backpacks in conjunction with Damien Hirst. The Row designers and the contemporary artist collaborated on nine different styles of the carryall, embellishing the label's signature black patent Nile crocodile leather backpack with Hirst's quirky-cool designs. It's an awesome concept, sure, but just like all the other swoon-worthy pieces from The Row, the bad news is, it's gonna cost you. A lot. If you thought the Olsens wouldn't dare to top the $39,000 price tag on their other (controversial) backpack, think again...because they totally went there. The limited-edition collection of bags is listed at online design store Just One Eye for "price upon request." We called, and it retails for a cool $55,000. Gulp.

Although a portion of the sales go to UNICEF, we're still wrapping our heads around the insane price tag, and here's the thing: as crazy costly as the bag is, there are people who will buy it— after all, the label's alligator backpack sold out last season. But just to put the money into perspective, with that $55,000, you could instead buy a couple of cars, approximately 110 new iPads, 3, 055 bottles of Deborah Lippmann nail polish....  So there you have it: the super expensive backpack just got even pricier, making even the most wallet-busting pieces from Alexander Wang, Mulberry, and more seem like pocket change. 

 Other than the ridiculous price, many of these limited edition (and in my humble opinion UGLY) bags are adorned with pill appliques... What is the point of that? It's in such poor taste to release anything that is condoning or promoting drug use.  Pills have, in recent years, become many a person's drug of choice even killing one of the Olsen's close friends Heath Leger who died from an overdose of pills in 2008.

I really don't understand how or why anyone would want to purchase these bags.  Even if they were gorgeous and didn't promote prescription drug abuse, they are SO expensive and ridiculously overpriced.  I'm not saying it's wrong for anyone to want or have something nice but $55,000 for a purse?  That is beyond expensive.  That is more for 1 bag than so many people make in one year.  They justify the price by saying a "portion" goes to UNICEF yet they omit how large that portion going to charity is.  Whoever purchases these bags would benefit greatly from visiting a homeless shelter or visiting people left devastated by natural disasters or disease.  That money could go to so many other wonderful and helpful causes instead of an ugly handbag that is adorned with prescription drugs.

I personally could never spend a large amount of money on a handbag or shoes, it's just not my style.  I would rather spend my money on my son's tuition or on photography gear.  I just don't understand frivoloty of spending thousands of dollars on handbags like these.  What do you think? Worth it?  Not worth it?  I think it's so not worth it and such a bad message to send. Why adorn handbags with prescription drugs? What's the purpose in that?

Give me your feedback and take a look at these overpriced $55,000 bags after the jump.

Monday is but a few hours away and I'm sitting here dreading the upcoming work day.  The "day job" takes so much time and energy out of me but I don't mind it.  I just sometimes wish that I had a job that I loved or that I could spend more of my time with my son or doing the things I enjoy so much like photographing or blogging.  I'm just thankful to have a good job to be honest, especially in this economy...  Wouldn't it just be lovely if we could all do something we love for work?  To do something that I have passion for, to be creative all day and get paid for it, boy oh boy how I would love that! I rarely get the chance to be creative in my day to day life. 

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The Aloha Friday Blog Hop is more than a "Friday" hop, it's a way to share aloha and friendship to our fellow bloggers all weekend long!!  I consider this particular blog hop to be more of a weekend hop because Fridays are so hectic that a lot of people function on what we like to call "Hawaiian Time" here in Hawai'i which means they link up on Saturday or sometimes even Sunday which is just fine and dandy with me!  That's why I keep it open from Friday through Monday because I sincerely believe, the more the merrier!! 
This week we wanted to add a little something extra special to our lovely hop. It's an oh-so-easy opportunity for you lovely participants of the Aloha Friday Blog hop to get some exposure to your blogs!!  What do  you have to do to enter?  Just link up to the Aloha Friday Blog Hop Below!! It's that easy!!  No extra forms or hassle, just link up!  Each week we will pick a linker to featured at random and invite you all to say ...
Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week's featured friend ... Hannah from Thirsty World Designs. Hannah is a postcard enthusiast who occasionally allows her cat to take over the blog (so cute and adorable!). She blogs about recipes and restaurants, art and travel stories. Want a little taste of her blog? Check out these posts to find out what you've been missing:

A Post from Einstein (the cat, not the scientist!) All the Fun of the Fair

If you're not already a follower than you definitely should be! Now, let's link up and start spreading that Aloha shall we?

On this busy, busy day I decided to share a simple photo of my son Alaka'i in his Iron Man costume at our church celebration for Hallow Him (on Halloween). This simple photo took forever to edit because I didn't have a real backdrop so I masked out his and 84 other people's photo background and added a digital background. Not easy but way easier on the eyes than the mess that was originally in the background!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday. I'm utterly swamped at my "day job" but I have lots of new and exciting posts that will be going up in the next couple of days!! Lots of photos, reviews and more!!

Happy Wednesday!