Growing up, I always loved the smell of my mother's perfume as it wafted through the air.  Some of the warmest, most comforting memories of my childhood are those of sitting in my mom's room watching her put her perfume on as she got ready.  It's funny how a scent can trigger and strengthen a memory or emotion.  I suppose that's why I grew to love perfume and essential oils, they evoke such warm memories and emotions within me.  Isn't that just how life is though?  An endless series of moments, emotions and memories weaved together like an intricate basket?


Over the years, I've grown rather fond of perfumes and thus have acquired a collection of favorites that have changed as the years have gone by.  Lately I've been really loving vanilla and rose scented perfume and I'm kind of obsessed with Jo Malone fragrances because you can mix them in so many different ways with other perfumes by the brand or others to create your very own, unique scent.



To be honest, I have so many favorites that it's difficult to choose.  Some days I'll wear my "usual" which is a mixture of the Lavanilla Pure Vanilla, Jo Malone Rose Water and Red Roses.  Sometimes I opt for the vanilla with a patchouli which is a spicy scent that makes me feel bold and lovely.  Other days I opt for something more flowery and fresh like tuberose or gardenia... it just depends on my mood and like most women, my mood changes quite frequently.

When one of my followers on Instagram requested I share some quick pictures of my perfume collection when they saw a glimpse of it in the background of a photo, I thought why not share.  Are any of you scent obsessed like me? What are some of your favorites?  I'm always on the lookout for new perfumes, new classics to add to my collection.

Hope you're having a lovely day.

Aloha,

Jesus.  He is the inspiration and motivation for my life.  Before I knew Him, I was lost and wandering through a sea of darkness and terrible decisions.  Those decisions forever altered my life and could have left me dead but thankfully God saw me through it and finding Him was the greatest gift of my life because He saved me.  There is not a day that goes by that I am not in utter awe and amazement in the power and glory of God.  I am but a humble servant of Him.

I won't sit here and make anyone feel bad if they don't believe in Jesus as their Savior, that's not why I'm here.  I'm just sharing a love for the Lord and how He changed my life and saved me in every way.  It's easy to get wrapped up in the secular practice of Easter when it is so much more than bunnies and eggs.  It is the day that our Lord Jesus died for our sins so we could all be saved. It's the true Thanksgiving day in our little home because if not for His great sacrifice on the cross, we would not be saved.  I don't know about you, but I am eternally and endlessly grateful that He went through such agony to save us all.

Seeing and knowing the pain and agony He went through gives me a true perspective, it makes those terrible days seem like they're not that bad, it makes me feel like I have something to live for, a purpose to do good and to not give up...even in the toughest circumstances.

Whether you believe in Jesus or not, I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Sunday.  God loves us all, and none of us deserve it, but He does anyway.. I'm so thankful to have such a loving and forgiving Lord.

The image below is a cute one that I found on one of my favorite blogs and I wanted to share it.  It's a cute and real way to see the Easter Bunny's relevance as a Christian.  I love this as does my son and nieces so I thought I'd share with my fellow mamas and aunties out there.

Aloha,

I spent my Good Friday night coloring Easter eggs with my son Alaka'i and my oldest niece Kaliko.  Little Alohilani was asleep so she missed out on the coloring fun, but she's more into mess making than creating...  Needless to say, the eldest two were rather pleased that they could create and color without a huge mess or wild Alohi dipping her hands in the dye and touching their faces like she did last year.

It was a fun, laid back and mellow night in our little home.  My mom was gracious enough to set all the decorating fun up for the kids so I could take legit photos which is a wonderful change for me since all I've been using to shoot lately is my iPhone.  I missed the weight and feel of a sturdy DSLR in my hands.


The kids had a blast. They drew, colored and let all their creative juices flow.  It's more fun for me actually, that the littlest niece was asleep because I could just snap photos and watch the two big littles just work and think and create eggs that are uniquely their own.

I think it's safe to say both Alaka'i and Kaliko had a great time coloring their Easter eggs!  Their favorite part was coloring on the eggs before dipping them ever so gently in the dye and seeing what their drawing turned into after the dye had made it magically appear.

Oh and Kaliko and her glitter... that girl loves glitter with a passion!!  Glitter does make everything better after all!!  So post-coloring and pre-clean up, Kaliko enlisted my help in getting some of her eggs glittered up and beautified.  Gotta love her!


Did you do any pre-Easter activities with your littles or loved ones? I was thinking of baking with Alaka'i although I don't know if that will actually end up happening as the hectic-ness of life will most likely take over later today.

Happy egg dying, sparkle sprinkling, Easter decorating to all of you!  Legit Easter post coming Sunday.  Have a blessed weekend!

Aloha,

As a photographer, part time as I may be (lately), I'm constantly chasing the light whether it's trying to find the best photo ops for sunset or capturing the starry night sky- the light can either make or break your photo.  Shooting at night is especially challenging because depending on what you are shooting, you either need a ton of light or no outside light at all.

Lately I've been kind of in love with photographing the starry night sky and although I've photographed the stars before once, I wasn't all that happy with the results so I did some studying and decided to challenge myself.  After researching, I learned that it's best to capture the stars during the New Moon phase because the moon is a mere sliver which means the sky is dark and the stars shine brighter.  Next step is to find a place with as little light pollution as possible.  Hence, Mokulēʻia on O'ahu's North Shore.  If you go right to the point where the highway ends, you can walk down to the rocky beach and photograph the stars quite successfully.  If you're lucky, you can catch The Milky Way...


That's where I was this particular night taking this particular shot.  I was going to hike to Ka'ena point but I had my son with me and it was a little late and I wasn't exactly digging the idea of walking back down the mountain and to our car in the pitch black dark with my eleven year old son.  No thanks.  So we went to the end of the highway and walked down to the beach and sat there in the sand and shot photos.  Anywhere deserted with little to no street lights or house lights is ideal.  We were in a nearly pitch black area but there was a lighthouse at the point and some random fishermen.  

Those little balls of light in the foreground are from the fishermen and the lighthouse yet the stars still shined.  How amazingly beautiful is this sight?  Believe it or not, looking at it in person is even more amazing.  There are so many stars the naked eye can see that the camera sensor does not capture.  



After dinner, we drove out and decided to chance it and walked and took the camera gear out and snapped some photos.  Alaka'i mostly played while I shot but it was nice to sit there and talk about stars and constellations with my boy as we felt the gritty sand between our toes and listened to the waves crashing into the shore.  As I snapped and watched the clouds creeping towards us from the east, Alaka'i was giving me some fun facts he learned about the Milky Way.  I think that these photos are mostly of the tail end of the way.  I have some other photos from a shoot on a different night from another beach that I'll be sharing soon.  Those came out amazing and I'm excited to share them.

You know, most of my life went by without me even knowing that we could see the Milky Way or so many stars with our naked eye and without a telescope.  I don't know how or why I never saw the Milky Way before 2012 other than in a book, but I feel so thankful that I was able to spend some time gazing at God's wonderful creation with my son.

For the photography lovers: the best settings (for me with my Canon 5d MK 3) was 30 sec shutter, f/2.8 ISO 1000 using my 16-35mm II lens.  Also a warning, the best areas to photograph and view stars are dark with little to no outside light.  Dangerous people could be hanging out there so do some scouting, some research and go with a group of people...just to be safe.

To check out more photos like these and to see a sneak preview of my Milky Way captures from Yokohama Bay on a different day, check out my gallery here:  What Jean Likes Photography.

Take a few moments to enjoy the beauty in the world that God created.

Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week's featured friend ...

Toi at Life of Toi.

Toi blogs about life, love and all things mama.

Want a little taste of her blog? Check out these posts to find out what you've been missing:

Like a Real Mother

Like a Blur

Like a Vision Board

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