People love the whole “What’s in my Handbag” and “What’s in My Makeup Bag” posts on blogs, YouTube and Pinterest. I’ll admit, I’m pretty obsessed with them myself. I love “What’s in my vanity” skincare and beauty posts… it’s like a sneak peek into the habits, beauty secrets and personal lives of the bloggers I admire and love. They’re pretty addicting, really.

{ What’s In My Makeup Bag on a Daily Basis for a Spring and Summer Easy Makeup Look? CORAL COLOR EVERYWHERE. }

{ Spring and Summertime makeup look essentials. }

{Tokyo Milk makeup bag | Shiseido eyelash curler}

{ All about the eyes: my eyes are my favorite feature to highlight, even though there’s nothing particularly special about them. }

{In order of appearance: MAC pigment in Vanilla | Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes waterproof liner in Champagne (nude) | Black waterproof eye liner (MUFE – Similar to Rimmel above) | Lioéle Artist Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Grey Black | Kiss Me! Heroine Make Curl & Long fiber mascara (waterproof) | Chanel Correcteur Perfection concealer }

My eyes are my favorite feature to enhance and highlight using makeup. They say eyes are the windows to the soul, so you want to frame them as best you can. I focus on waterproof liners, mascaras that lengthen, hold curl and volumize with formulations that will withstand heat and my oily skin, preventing makeup migration.

I never neglect my eyebrows. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then you need to make sure that you have great frames, and eyebrows are the frames. If you have naturally full brows, you’re all set. I have thin, sparse brows, which, if I were much, much older, would only make my age prominent. Thin brows have an aging effect. Thick brows have a youthening effect. Filled-in brows make a face look alert, polished and healthy.

A sure fire way to look awake is to disguise dark undereye circles. So I even out with a correcting cream gel concealer by Chanel. It does correcting of the dark circles as well as helps to conceal any other areas I want to even out.

{ Coral kisses make a pout pop. }

{Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Kiss Me Coral | Revlon Super Lustrous gloss in Coral Reef}

I like bright lips. It’s perfect for summer to wear a pop of bright, neon-ish coral. I think coral is a wonderful shade for all skin tones. It brightens my medium/golden olive complexion perfectly.

{ Even out! My face essentials for summer. }

{Tarte Cosmetics Amazonian Clay Pressed Powder | Korres Wild Rose Mineral Foundation in Medium Beige | Illamasqua Blusher Powder in Lover (bright apricot)}

The most essential thing in hotter weather aside from a gorgeous, glowy flush, is even skin not covered in tons of makeup. Lighter foundation is an absolute must. So I turn to mineral foundation to not only help me get out the door faster in the morning, but also to even out my splotchy skin without the feel of a heavy base. I bring a pressed powder with a hint of coverage in my bag for touch ups.

{ Refresh! Vitamin Face Mist }

{Sanitas Moisture Mist}

Vitamin Mists with hyaluronic acid in them are an essential during the spring and summer. If the heat or constantly-running air-con zaps the moisture from my skin, leading to lackluster, dull and dehydrated (not to mention uncomfortable!) skin, items with a cooling effect are a life saver. Hyaluronic Acid helps to pull moisture from the air and attract it to the skin and help lock it in. It’s also a great anti-aging ingredient. And the mist is a nice way to set and refresh makeup. This is small enough to stash in my handbag daily.

And here is how a look with these items will look (with a bit of eyeshadow in gold).

{ Kissed by Coral makeup look with coral colors for a healthy, spring glow }

Stay tuned for a how to video on this!

What’s in YOUR makeup bag this spring? Would LOVE to see!

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

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{ Why are we here? }

There’s no reason to live if you don’t try your d*mnest to live well.

Source: Real Simple.

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

Be my homies! | Instagram: @maeluu | thereafterish. life & style blog RSS | thereafterish. on Facebook | Pinterest | Bloglovin’ RSS | YouTube | Xx.

Coco Chanel changed the face of women’s fashion by actually creating pieces specifically designed to make them feel luxurious and powerful, comfortable and feminine. Yet, not only did she revolutionize the industry, she also left choice gems of widsom on how to empower yourself for generations and generations of women who came after her. (Dubious relationships, racial prejudices and personal life controversies aside, that is.)

Goal to be happy: Be who you want and admire, and be what you love most.

To be happiest in life, be the kind of person you look up to, respect and most admire, and have the character qualities and virtues you most admire, respect and love in others. Be the kind of person you would admire, respect and love.

{ Be your own girl-crush–that beautiful, carefree, powerful, capable, brilliant and confident woman who turns heads and makes life look easy while conquering the world. }

It’s not easy, but loving yourself for who you are at this moment is a start. Then it’s baby steps to being that girl. But it all starts with that first step. When you love yourself and choose to be the best version of yourself, the kind of person you’d love and respect, giving love and living life passionately and fully becomes much easier.

Wishing you girl crush dreams.

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

Picture Cred: Alice + Olivia via Facebook.

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Here is what my weekend looked like. WARNING: Picture Heavy. My weekend started on Thursday, since I had a mini-vacation planned for four days with my Mama-in-Law in town from Detroit.

{ Thursday’s sunset lightshow. }

Thursday

Sunset chasing with Husby and MIL.

{ Maui’s south shore from the sky. }

{ Safety first, kiddies. }

{ Happy Travelers! }

{ My lunch crepe from Cafe de Amis in Pa‘ia, Maui – brie, avocado and apple crepe with local greens salad. }

{ An OOTD shot. As Husby called it: “[a] poseur, posing.” }

{ Dharma center (LOST) in Pa‘ia, Maui… Buddhist prayer temple thingy (?). }

{ Rainbow State of Mind. }

{ Our house! }

{ AMAZING bnb find on http://www.airbnb.com! }

{ Our four post bed in our AirBnB in Makawao. }

{ Always, always, always over packed. }

{ Pukalani Superette. Where we spied Dave Kalama in the parking lot. Google him. Big deal in Hawaii! }

{ Junkies. }

Friday

• Flight to Maui
• Lunch, touring and shopping in Pa‘ia
• AirBnB check-in in Makawao and some OOTD hammin’
• Always over packed, always late and always over-dressed.
• Went to Pukalani to find the Superette to buy some snacks for the BnB (we listen to Maui radio and wanted to go… such dorks), and spied one of the Godfathers of big wave tow surfing, Dave Kalama. (Google him. He’s a big deal in the surfing world… and in Hawaii.)
• Hanging out and chilling at our BNB after dinner.

{ Hale‘akala sunrise fail. }

{ Once the clouds cleared, gorgeous views from Hale‘akala’s slopes. }

{ Breakfast after failed sunrise trip under coffee trees in Kula, Maui. }

{ Iao Needle in Iao Valley. }

{ Iao Valley. The sacred river. }

{ Sharon and Elisha of Eli*Sharon, the adorable fashion blog, and my besties. }

{ Mystical Mountains in West Maui. }

{ Caught gramming. J/K. Husby with his gear, trying to catch sunset, Napili, Maui. }

{ Hammin during sunset chasing in Napili, West Maui. }

{ Hammin’ Part Deux during sunset chasing in Napili, West Maui. }

{ Sunset over Moloka‘i as seen from Napili. }

Saturday

• 4AM wake up call for trying to catch sunrise from Hale‘akala, Maui’s large volcano, measuring at 10,000 feet above sea level (3,048m)
• Sunrise fail. The summit was all socked in with clouds. We saw nothing. (Here is what Hale‘akala really looks like when you can at least see something. EPIC.)
• After getting lost, a satisfying breakfast in Kula under coffee trees, serenaded by a local musician singing Hawaiian folk tunes on his acoustic and slide guitars. Epic.
• Naps.
• Road trip out to Iao Valley, hoping to get some good photos, but the valley was also wreathed in clouds and raining hard. The sacred area was still gorgeous, even in the mist and downpour.
• Quick snack and coffee to warm up at Whole Foods where we ran into my bestie boo, Sharon and her hubby Eli(sha) by chance! Talk about good fortune! And yes, I can’t believe they dress this AMAZE for running errands, either!
• Road trippin’ out to the west side of West Maui volcano to photograph mountains, sunset chase and catch dindin with Eli*Sharon.
• Hammin for OOTD pics with Shar and Eli, while Husby and Mama got bored and waited in the car. LOL. Pictures to come from this “sesh” later.

{ Husby’s rare selfie. Isn’t he so handsome?

{ Doing makeup for brunch. }

{ Mother’s Day brunch dessert at Market Fresh Bistro in Makawao, Maui, }

{ Streetside waterfalls in the rain-soaked afternoon on Hana Highway AKA Road to Hana. }

{ Gushing waterfall 4 of about 20 along the Road to Hana. Dangerous, but beautiful. }

{ Black sands Hana Bay. }

{ Me and my Mama hammin’. }

{ The Poseur, asked to pose. }

{ Dreams of Flying, on the black sands of Hana Bay Beach. }

Sunday

• Mother’s Day Brunch at Market Fresh Bistro, complete with apple banana (Hawaiian banana) Nutella fritters for dessert. YUM.
• Road trip on the hair-raising, winding and sometimes harrowing, Road to Hana (also seen here from our trip to Maui last year)
• Lots of waterfalls gushing from rocks and rivers and swollen streams on the hair-pin Road to Hana… I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you some of these waterfalls terrified me–all the water and power? OMG.
• Saw and felt the softest, pillowy black sand at Hana Bay Beach.
• Dinner at Hana Ranch Restaurant… nothing to speak of.
• Terrifying drive back to Makawao in the dark on the Road to Hana, which I did all on my own, no switching. *Pats self on back*
• Chilling at home and then passing the heck out at 9PM.

{ Hale‘akala sunrise reloaded… also epic fail. }

{ Maui’s farmlands as seen from Hale‘akala. }

{ As Husby put it, Maui, showing off. }

{ Kula and West Maui mountains. }

{ Facebook, Instagram and email junkies. }

{ Our lovely view from our seat on the plane ride home. }

{ Home… and welcome by the second worst traffic in the country. }

Monday

• 3:45AM Wake up call to try to re-attempt another sunrise from Hale‘akala, given the clear and warm weather forecasts in Makawao and Kula.
• Stuck behind a string of slow-driving idiot tourists all in Mustangs… we reached the summit, only for it to be wrapped in wet, super cold clouds, AGAIN!
• Total fail.
• Stuck behind slow-driving idiotic tourists who stopped in the middle of the road–with traffic behind them and bikers streaming past going down-mountain–to take a phone-pic of a rainbow. PULL OVER TO THE SIDE on the sanctioned shoulder, dummies! Don’t cause accidents, you morons! (I am so sorry to report, but they were my people: Asians! GOD, MUST YOU PERPETUATE THE STEREOTYPE?! Piss me off.)
• Milquetoast breakfast a Kula Lodge Restaurant where there were literally two vegan options, Rice and Papaya. I had the pancakes and immediately regretted it. They were nice and fluffy and tasty, but I don’t eat dairy or eggs… total bad idea. My Mamasita reported that her french toast was so so. Not a recommendation, if you’re a vegan, or expect a gourmet experience.
• BNB check out.
• Airport to return car and fly back to O‘ahu. – Least interesting view from our window. We were stuck next to the engine and wing. We could see nothing from the plane.
• Stuck in Honolulu traffic (second worst in the nation!) to pick up Bear from the kennel.
• Dinner and then immediately went to bed, super exhausted!

Now I’m home, back to reality and already making a wish list for our next trip to Maui! I wish we could go SOON! We’re so lucky to have all these amazing places to see so close by! Thanks, Husby, for the amazing birthday/mother’s day getaway. Best present ever. <3

More detail of our trip later!

{ What did YOU do for Mother’s Day weekend? Do you have any vacation plans lined up for spring or summer? DO TELL! }

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

*All photos by me except for photos 2 (Maui from the sky), 6 (my OOTD in hat), 11 (Bed), 14 (MIL and me on phones), 23, 24 (MIL and me on beach), 26 (husby selfie), 27 (me putting on makeup), 29 & 30 (waterfalls), 32 & 33 (at Hana Bay with MIL and me posing), 40 (traffic)

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Happy Mother’s Day to the Mothers, Soon-to-Be Mothers and Doggie Mommies out there who join us here in the world of thereafterish.! May your day be a delight and bring a pulse of happiness and a thrill of pleasure into your soul.

In honor of your day, Ladies, Gorjana, one of my favorite jewelry/accessory designers, is having a huge Mother’s Day Sale up to 30% off with the code “FORMOM.” Here are my picks: One, Two, Three, Four.

This is an oldie but a goodie. For my mum. I love you, even though you aren’t allowed to read this blog.

“Jaded Over Pantyhose”

When I was a little girl, I would look at my mummy and see her wearing panty hose underneath her pretty suits and dresses. She’s wear silk and satin and a billowing scarf would be tied in folds around her neck, afixed in some beautiful elaborate knot, or pinned down by a shining brooch. She’d adorn her neck with simple necklaces that would fall just so and would fall between her ample cleavage in a subtle way. She’d wear blouses and jackets with deep, plunging neck lines and curl her hair every day. I’d sometimes pull up her skirt while she was applying her make up and marvel at the lace on her slips and garters. She was sexy back then.

Makeupless, she was still beautiful. She had a simple beauty that was classic and subtle. Her face is wide for her small frame, with a high nose bridge (uncustomary with Pilipino faces) and large brown almond eyes. She also has thin arching brows that accent her eyes. Her lips are full and always pink, whether or not she has lipstick on. Her complexion is light. Almost golden undertones on a beige-y tanned skin. Being light, she was without question a great beauty in the Philippines in her younger days.

Even now, I still find her beautiful and wonder if I live in the shadows of her youth.

Her make up application process was nothing short of extraordinary, too.

The process would begin with a foundation base, which she would pour sparingly into the palm of her left hand and mix with several brushes and then finally apply. Then she would lighten the slightly darker skin under her eyes and around her nose. Then a dusting of powder. By this time, her skin was this even creamy tone that made her look different. Almost as if she were half chinese. I marveled at my China Doll Mummy. She’d pick several bottles and containers from her large box of pink and gold plastic containers–she swore by Mary Kay back then. Sticks and brushes of many different sizes jutted from random places in the box, and she’d gently tap my hand when I tried to play with them.

I found eye shadow to be fascinating. With just one stroke, one’s entire eye lid could become the sky, or a pearlescent shade of pink or mauve or taupe. She’s dip the sponge applicator into the pot of colour and then paint her eyelid different colours, depending on what she was wearing. It would darken or lighten her face, give her smoky, dramatic eyes, or playful, bouncy eyes. It was amazing. And then following that, she would take a pencil or a tube of something with a small little brush at the end of it, and line her eyes slowly. Moving her face close to the glass as possible, she would spend about 2 minutes to line each eye precisely, with the thinnest possible line she could manage to draw or paint. Then, grabbing another tube or something, she would open her mouth, gaping almost, and apply black goo to her lashes. She called it mascara. I didn’t know what it did. I tried to use it once on myself. I ended up with black marks all over my eyelids and burning goo in my eyes and I cried and it ran all over my face like black lacerations.

I thought I could be sexy like my mummy. No such luck.

She put blush on her cheeks. Sucking in her cheeks, she would apply the rouge where the sucked in areas accented her cheekbones, and then pulled the brush to her hair line.

And that was that. Sometimes she’d wear lip stick. Other times she wouldn’t.

Then, while I watched her panty hose move, she’s walk me to my room where she’d pick out my outfit and then dress me and then shuffle me back to her bathroom to do my hair.

But there were days I couldn’t watch her. I’d miss her panty hose. I’d miss the rustling sound of wind moving through the trees that they made as her skirt and slip would swish against them when she walked. I missed the strange smoothness of them when I’d sit at her feet clutching her legs when she was at her bathroom counter doing her hair or make up. I missed looking at her wishing I could be a pretty mummy who went to work and wore make up and panty hose and looked so grown up in her suits and jewelry.

Those days, my dad would make me breakfast, put my hair up in lop-sided braids, tell me to dress myself and then take me to school. I’d make him walk me to class, holding his hand and skipping as he walked, straight backed and tall (taller than me at the time, but nowadays he’s about 3 inches shorter than my 5’2″) in his 3 piece suits and silk patterned ties. He was great, but his suits didn’t make the whispering swish sound that mum’s skirts and panty hose made. Those panty hose were magical. She turned heads when she came into a room. People would smile as I walked around gripping her hand in mine. She was beautiful. It was definitely the panty hose.

But now, I think I know better.

I wake up early in the morning, put on a skirt and blouse and of course, don the panty hose. Sometimes with garters, sometimes fishnets, sometimes control top. I find them to be constricting and binding. They’re too tight, or they ride, or my garters fall, because I’m skinny and the garters are always made for bigger people and my hose pulls them down. They rip and tear easily. A klutz like me wasn’t made for heels+hose combinations as sometimes I step wrong or cross my legs awkwardly and my heels will catch in my hose and rip and run it. After which I am frantic to find clear nail polish to apply to the run to keep it from spreading. My poise is broken then, of course. My mum never seemed to have this problem. They run. They stretch. Sometimes I retire a pair and use them to tie up blankets that are being stored during unuse. If a sleeping bag’s bindings come loose and fall off, I use pantyhose to bind them.

At the end of the day, when I remove my dress shoes, they smell musty, with a day’s sweat lingering on them. It is more a relief to take them off than wear them. I get no little joy in removing a pair at the end of a hectic day. I throw them in the laundry basket with a lackluster that only belies my great happiness in being out of them.

I grew up and tried to see the world of beauty I saw as a child. My mum never complained about being grown up. She never threw a pair of hose into the laundry basket the way I do. But then again, she always worked in the evenings, and I didn’t see her until dinnertime. So I didn’t know. She probably didn’t see very much magic in a smelly pair of panty hose.

Now, neither do I.

It is she who was [and is] magic.

~~written May 9th, 2005 for my Mum, Mollie CM. Originally posted HERE.

{ Did your mum inform the person you are? Or do you have another woman in your life who helped shape you into the person you are today? }

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

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Although I celebrated my birthday two nights ago, IT’S MY BIRTHWEEK**, so I wanted to let you in on my celebration. Here are some photos from my surprise birthday dinner party at YuZu, a vegetarian/vegan friendly sushi joint in Ala Moana.

{ Surprise! A Big Girl Birthday Dinner Party With People! Yay For Friends and Vegetarian Sushi! }

{ Make a wish! My birfday strawberry nutelle crepe. }

As I stated yesterday, my birthday wish was to have something super low-key, understated, quiet and possibly boring. I didn’t want anyone or anything to be a big deal for my thirty-first. A cheap dinner and a walk on the beach would’ve been perfect, but Husby wanted to go out to dinner, so I suggested our new Japanese go-to restaurant in Ala Moana (the district with the big-ass mall next to Waikiki), YuZu, which provides a much broader range of options for vegans and vegetarians than other Japanese/Asian restaurants in Honolulu.

{ Husby’s vegan-friendly veggie nigiri sushi platter. All vegan options! Delish! }

{ My dinner entrée: Seafood Dynamite roll – Teriyaki salmon and shiitake mushrooms on dynamite roll bed. I’m a pescetarian – a fish-only vegetarian with vegan tendencies. }

{ Nigiri sushi balls @ Yuzu, Ala Moana at ma birfday dindin. }

When we walked in the door, running ten minutes late, I spied our friend JB, a triathlete, extreme hiker and Doctor of Group Hugs and Handshakes, sitting on the couch in the lounge. He gave me a hugely quizzical face, probably mirroring the perplexedness wrinkling up my face. I didn’t recognize him at first, since he was scrubbed up all nice, and I only ever see him in biking or hiking gear, covered in a sweaty sheen with some streaks of Hawaiian red mud. I’m sure he was stunned by my beauty (read: not at all). LOL.

After we were seated for a few, ordered some drinks, who comes sauntering in but my very first real friend in Hawaii, Allie (of life & style blog, Heels, Eggs and Rice) and her boyf G! Allie draped a gorgeous, fragrant orchid lei about my shoulders, and, at that moment I felt like some sort of pageant queen.

Husby then informed me that our other friends M, C and their son Nico couldn’t make it, and that he had forgotten to invite a few other people. Of course, I was pretty thrown off, because I wasn’t expecting people. Husby and I generally celebrate our birthdays just the two of us and in quietude. To have people at a birthday dinner is a huge change! It would’ve been a full-on grown up party! I’ve only ever had a few of those in my life, so it was a beautiful night.

{ Da group. Missing a few good people. }

{ Allie and I discussing eyebrows and fashion bloggers, and the men discussing hiking… and GD hopping in between convos. LOL! }

{ Birfday girl’s delicious dessert. }

For dessert, I ordered a Nutella organic strawberry crépe (with the whipped creme 86′d–don’t do full on sugared dairy). Delicious, nutty, chocolate-y goodness to finish off a night of amazing conversation, friendship and fun in a gorgeous, dimly-lit, homey environment.

{ Shaka to yo mada! }

I decided against wishing, since all my birthdays have been progressively better, and each year of life improves upon the last. With my family, friends and amazing life in Hawaii, I decided making wishes would be hypocritical or excessive, or even may jinx all the good fortune with which we’ve been blessed over the last two years. I’ll just let the Universe continue to bestow all the amazingness and ride the current for as far as it takes us, perpetuating good waves and vibrations by trying to remain drama and negativity-free.

A wonderful night, all in all. Better than a mountain of presents. Mos’ def.

{ Do you make wishes on your birthday? What do you usually wish for? Share with me in the comments below! I’d love to know! }

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

**FYI: This entirely spoiled rotten, indulgent notion of a birthweek is completely farcical and said in a joking manner. I would never encourage or demand anyone celebrate my birthday for a week straight. That’s just way bratty. Also, it would be too taxing on my energy to have to celebrate that much.

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Do you know someone who is a total brat about his or her birthday? Loves reveling in the celebration, giddy like an excited eight year old in the thought of receiving presents and having people lavish them with attention?

{ Birthday Brat }

{Birfday girl. Wearing a WWD paper hat.}

A birthday brat. That’s me. I turn into a child every spring. We all know That Person–the one who makes their birthday the biggest friggin’ deal of the year, expects dinners and presents galore, calls it a Birth Month and expects their friends and family to play along with their Me Show. There’s one in every circle of friends and every family. I may happen to be That Girl in my family.

What can I say? I normally don’t like being the center of attention (believe it or not), but when my husband makes a big deal of me, I lap it up. And, seriously, a girl loves her presents. We don’t normally give each other huge anniversary presents (since we have three anniversaries) or Christmas presents… so, once a year it’s nice to get some goodies.

Husby has a 6-7 year running joke that he doesn’t remember my birthday or won’t do anything to celebrate it. So, for the last two years I’ve made an effort not to make a big deal about my birthday, not go overboard with mentions or reminders or ask for anything. Last year he rewarded me with a sumptuous dinner date, a couple’s spa afternoon and an extravagant shopping spree. (It was my Big Dirty Thirty.) In light of the luxurious (and expensive!) celebration last year, I decided to be pretty nonchalant about it all this year, shrugging when asked what we wanted to do, replying that I wanted something quiet and low-key, small and boring.

I like quiet and boring. With the right people, it’s a Happy Place.

I fully planned on napping in the car on my lunch break after my daily lunch walk through the wonderfully air conditioned mall near the office. Instead I received an email around 10AM:

I wanna take my girl out. What time can I get you? Where can we go? You can nap later.

So. Cute.

{My birfday lunch: vegetarian/vegan picnic in the park with my family.}

{Husby and Max the Bear, the best presents I’ve ever had in my life.}

Husby and Max picked me up for lunch at the office, we hit up a local deli for our vegan and vegetarian eats and then drove to Kapiolani Regional Park in the shadow of Diamond Head, found an extremely shaded spot and copped a squat on a beach towel for a makeshift picnic. Perfect lunch date with my perfect little ohana (family).

Max begging and Husby enabling…

{Caught picnic gramming.}

Although I’ve been joking it’s my Birfweek on my social media, yesterday was the perfect singular day for my birthday. After we got home, I grammed for a bit on the couch, then we went out to dinner. More on that tomorrow.

{Reflection selfie}

{Birthday selfie: the perfect understated necklace from my best friend Lily, a single crazy lace earring and coral lipstick smiles.}

{You can see my hormonal acne if you look closely. LOL.}

It was definitely the best way to celebrate 31 years. I’m now firmly in my Thirties. I love it.

{Reflecting on life.}

Along with another year of life, I find myself reflecting about how I live and the years behind me. And I truly must say, life does get better as one ages. Do you find that’s true? If not, you’re living wrong.

{ Do you know a Birthday Brat? Are you one? Do you find that life gets better the older you get? How do you celebrate your birthdays? Please share in the comments! }

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

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Have you ever been so engrossed with something so petty or meaningless (like a phone or a magazine article), that you miss the greater beauty of the moment happening around you?

This happened to me yesterday.

{ A Day in the Life: Life is Beautiful, Put Down the G*DD*MN Phone! }

{My Hawaii Life: Shaka – It’s all good.}

N sat on the couch next to me, a bowl of salad on his lap, crunching away on his greens. In between bites, he paused and gasped.

“Oh my effing God,” he said, leaning forward.

“Mm-hmmm,” I mumbled, scrolling through my Instagram feed.

“I can’t believe we live here! Look at that sky!”

I briefly looked up from my iPhone. The sky was afire, apricot, peach, tawny reds, some lavenders, a little pink tinge on that wisp of cloud, and a gradient of infinite, deepest blue. Against this coat of many colors, the cone silhouette of Koko Head had a patch work of light playing against the dry greens and yellows and browns, shadows creeping deep in the ridges and grooves eroded into the sides of the volcano. The moon was a quiet shimmer through the clouds, ready to rise once sunlight completely died.

N’s mouth was agape.

{Sunset chasing and sweet kisses from my Son[Dog] Max.}

{Poke!}

I went back to my phone and the beautiful women in beautiful clothes crowding my timeline.

“Seriously, look at this… this is effing beautiful!” N continued, pausing to take another humongous bite of his dinner salad. “Did you ever think to yourself, three-four years ago, that we’d ever in our lives be living here?”

“Uh uh,” I mumbled, shaking my head, not taking my eyes from my phone.

Gorgeous outfits and sky-high heels flashed before my eyes as I tapped and scrolled, tapped and scrolled, liking a photo quickly and moving on to the next without commenting. I continued scrolling from photo to photo for awhile before I realized N had stopped talking.

I looked up. N’s brow furrowed deeply, lines cutting across his head like cracks in a dry lake bed. A deep fissure between his eyebrows. A look of concern and stern scolding flashing in his dark eyes.

“What?”

“Don’t you ever put down your damn phone? Look where we are. Listen to what we’ve just been talking about. Look outside and see how lucky we are. You live where you never dreamed you’d be. Why don’t you just put down the phone and be in the moment for a second?”

He snatched the iPhone out of my hand and tossed it on the floor, just a ways out of my reach. Normally something like this would annoy the shit out of me, but he was absolutely right. I needed to be in this moment, a moment of true and stunning beauty that may never be replicated.

Koko Head’s slopes were darkening in the waning light and the moon had gained strength from that quiet shimmer to a glowing orb, silver and hazy behind the clouds.

I gasped. All my breath disappeared for a quick second.

{Koko Head and moonrise.}

Truth is, no, before I met N, I had never imagined living in Hawaii, let alone travel there. I mean, I’d wished I could visit, but on a poor college kid’s budget, not something I’d really fantasize about and plan in detail. Before I met N, no one had ever said they’d take me there, or talked about what was here. I never played the Anywhere But Here Fantasy game where I’d imagine different scenarios and daydream about vacations and excursions in this exotic locale of legendary sunsets, gorgeous rainbows and white sands. Before I met N, I’d never let my dreams venture farther than the reaches of the eastern coast of the United States or farther south than Baja Mexico (where I’d already been) or farther west of the California coastal town I lived in. My mind just didn’t expand or widen enough to include faraway places and foreign lands or tropical destinations. I was firmly and plainly a continental girl, living in a bubble and unimaginative beyond all measure.

Then I met N, who came from a weird and foreign place (Detroit), who had traveled the globe and was interested in it… and my entire perspective of the world changed. All of a sudden, there WAS a world out there. It actually existed and real people lived in it and had stories to tell. Not just the stories I heard on the news or saw in movies or read on blogs or in magazines. All the fairytales and fantasies were real, happened in real castles and cathedrals and palaces and in hillsides and forest glades, along rivers and in lakes and in glorious, towering mountains, and not just as the history books told them!

I know I make my teenage and early 20 something self sound so naive, but in truth, I really was that sheltered. Sure, I knew the world existed, but never once did I think I’d go out and explore it, so it never made sense to be curious or imagine a life of adventure in it for myself.

{Max looking out over Hawaii Kai, to our mountainside neighborhood, Mariner’s Ridge.}

So now that I find myself living this weird and beautiful Hawaiian adventure with my husband and my Wheaten Terrier, why do I let myself miss out on it so often?

We sacrificed a lot, slaved for years and risked much to come and build a life here. Given everything we’ve been through to make our own dreams real, why take it for granted or even forget that it’s here? Why obsess over material things I’ll never give myself and obsess about beautiful women I may never meet, whose style I can’t attain? There are much more beautiful, gorgeous things happening here in Hawaii. The best runway show at Paris Fashion Week could never rival the light show that runs across our Hawaii skies each night.

{I put down my phone for a second to enjoy the view.}

Sometimes, you realize how absolutely breathtaking your life is… you only have to put down that goddamned phone to see it.

{ Have you ever come to a similar realization? }

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

Photos © Nate Luzod except for first photo.

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How you start off your week is more than likely how you finish it. So set the tone for your week by greeting Monday with an attitude of motivation, happiness and some kick-ass, and you might just have one helluvan amazing week.

Happy Monday, Lovecat! I hope your week is brilliant.

Rock on, Lover!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

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Are you happy it’s Friday? I am. It’s been a quick week, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t live for the weekend.

Wishing you a great, fulfilling and happy weekend. Make sure you do one thing a day that brings a big, resplendent smile to your face.

SHAKA TO YA MADDAH!!
Me ke aloha ~ With love + aloha,
Mae Xx

Be my homies! | Instagram: @maeluu | thereafterish. life & style blog RSS | thereafterish. on Facebook | Pinterest | Bloglovin’ RSS | YouTube | Xx.