Freshman Year Survival Kit

My cousin graduated from high school on Friday, and I wanted to share the gift I gave her for graduation. 

As I mentioned in my Money-Lei post, I loved getting money for graduation to buy stuff for my dorm room, but I realized there was a lot of stuff I didn't know I needed. This when I came up with the idea of the survival kit. When I went to school I knew I needed bedding, mini fridge, etc, but I didn't think of all the little stuff I could use. 

So here's what I included in the survival kit: 

{Magnetic Dry Erase Board, Chapstick, Lint Roller, Pencils, Whistle, Asprin, First Aid Kit, Flip Flos, Sewing Kit, Post-it Tabs, Ear Plugs, Sleep Mask, Swiss Army Knife, Pedicure Set, Notepads}

{Screwdriver Kit, Pens, Journal, Post it Notes, Tide to Go, Flashlight, Laundry Bag, Thank You notes} 

As you can see I put everything in a two-level storage container, which can also be used as dorm storage. You could also buy a hard laundry basket or a shower caddy and store everything in it. I used the storage container because I needed to ship the package 4,000+ miles. 

The great thing about this is you can put whatever you think the grad would use. I wanted to add a blanket (cause for some reason you take a lot of naps in college). You could add DVDs, a candy jar, gift cards, flashdrives, etc. The possibilities are endless! And any way you do it, it looks great!

*Note: I know graduations are mostly over, but this could be a great present for right before the graduate leaves for school in the Fall.* 

Then I just put it in a box and shipped it off. 

What do you think? 

If you make your own survival kit, make sure you share your pictures! 

Money Lei and Other Cute Gift Ideas

{image via}

Well, graduation season is officially upon us. And for those rushing to find the perfect gift, I think I have an idea for you. 

I know when I graduated I was really grateful for cash because then I could get what I needed for my dorm room. {It's not like they have gift registries for graduating!} But giving cash in a card is just boring! 

So I thought I would try my hand at making a Money Lei. 

I searched Pinterest and I found this tutorial from the blog Lil' Luna. 

{Click here for the full tutorial.} 

You will need: 

Paper - I used cardstock in the school colors

Crisp $1 bills- I used $20, but you can use however you want

Hot glue gun

Glue dots

Ribbon 

Scissors 

You start with making paper pinwheels. 

{Again, Lil' Luna has the step by step tutorial.} 

Then I just strung the pinwheels onto the ribbon. 

{Thanks to Matt for being my model.} 

*Now, I must warn you that this is time consuming. This lei takes a lot longer than the  one-straw  lei tutorial, which only took about 45 minutes. But you can definitely do it in a day, it just takes some time.* 

Here are some other cute ideas to give money if you don't want to try your hand at the lei. 

{image via} 

{image via}

{image via}

How to Make a One-Straw Lei

As everyone knows, leis are a big part of Pacific Island culture. I love leis; I find all of them to be so beautiful! There are tons of different leis, some take a lot of time and effort to put together and some are really simple to put together. 

In the season of Mother's Day and Graduations, I thought it would be perfect to share how to make a simple One-Straw Lei. These are easy to make, they look beautiful when you're done, and the best part is they are made of yarn so they last forever! 

 I have seen these around since I started living here in Hawaii in 2007, but it wasn't until Matt's graduation that I became really interested in figuring out how to make them. 

I was sitting by a friend of mine during graduation and she was busting out these one-straw leis like nobody's business. I think she made three during graduation. I watched what she did and was like, okay I can do this. 

And I did! My mother-in-law would be proud. 

Here's how to make your own One-Straw Lei. 

What's great about one-straw leis is that you probably have most of this stuff around your house.

You will need: 

Eyelash yarn - you can use up to three different colors at one time. I think using more would just look a little too crazy, and be really thick. For my leis, I used two colors. Here in Hawaii, you can find eyelash yarn at Longs, but on the mainland you could probably find it at your local craft store. If you want to shop on-line you can click here.  There is long and short yarn and regular and sparkle yarn. Just find what you like. One lei will use one whole spool of each color. 

Scissors

Straw (I used a McDonald's straw because they are wider.) 

Ribbon 

Tape

Kukui Nuts (optional- if you do this you will need a needle) 

Start with threading the ribbon up through the straw. Once it's through the other side, tape the ribbon to the straw. 

Now tie the ribbon to the straw, opposite to the side you taped. I tied a double knot to really secure it to the straw. 

Now you just take the ribbon and twirl it around the straw. You do that all the way to the top of the straw. *Make sure you don't twirl the yarn too tight on the straw. 

When your yarn is at the top of the straw, push it down to the bottom of the straw. You will keep twirling and pushing the whole time. You will get to the point where you have pushed the yarn off the straw onto the ribbon. That is okay, just make sure some of the twirled yarn is still on the straw. 

This is what it will start to look like as you progress. {Hopefully your yarn won't change colors.} You just keep going until a) you have the length you want or b) you use all your yarn.

*If you want to add more yarn just tie the end of the old yarn to the start of the new yarn. 

When you have the length you want push all the yarn off the straw. Un-tape the ribbon from the straw and pull the ribbon free. Now you can either tie the ribbon at the top, or string some kukui nuts to the ribbon. 

Thread the kukui nut to each side of the ribbon. 

And there you go! You have a one-straw lei! 

You can make a one-straw lei in a little less than an hour, and under $7. 

This would make the best gift for your mom on Mother's Day. Or get the school colors of your grad and make a straw lei for graduation day! 

If you feel like this is too easy or you don't like the look there are also two and three straw leis for you to try your hand at. 

If the pictures weren't enough, check out this video. 

Enjoy! 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is May 12-  Just 11 days away! 

So I thought I would make a list of gifts to give to the mommas in your life! 

{Painted Photo Bottles from eighteen25}

{Balloon Pocket Card from Pretty DIYs.} 

{Memory Jars from Front & Main. I did this for my mom a couple years ago. I added to it by writing notes on why I love my mom and filling the jar. You could also fill it with your mom's favorite candy or treat.} 

{DIY Monogramed Mug from Design Mom. If you didn't want to make a monogramed mug you could buy cute ones from Anthropologie} 

{Curvy Vase from Anthropolgie} 

{Georgetown Cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes! And don't worry they ship!} 

{Mom and Me journal from the one and only Gadanke} 

{Less Dishes to Do from Capital B} 

{Best Mom Ever wall hanging from Lisa Leonard Designs}

{Mother Daughter Letter Book from Amazon} 

{And just for the Grandma/ Abuela/ Nana/ Obachan in your life from This Etsy shop.}

What are you going to get your mom for Mother's Day? 

What's In Your Easter Basket?

I love Easter. I really do. I love everything it represents, and I love another excuse to show my friends and family I love them with little Easter gifts. 

Matt and I have a special place in our hearts for Easter and Easter baskets because of our engagement. {If you have no idea what I am talking about click here.} 

As a kid, I understood what Easter was, but I really enjoyed getting my Easter basket and all the candy that came with it. 

As I am older, I have a greater understanding of Easter and it's importance, but I still like getting my Easter basket. 

So I thought I would write a guide to my dream Easter basket. Really this is just a few things I am loving, that would go great in an Easter basket... or maybe as a birthday gift, if one's birthday was just a couple months away.... hint... hint. 

{Loving this Lisa Leonard necklace} 

{Still loving this soft cover notebook}

{Love these Homegrown Monogram Mugs from Anthropologie}

{Loving this Calico Owl Knob from Anthropologie. Don't ask why.}

{Awesome Mustache Turvis Tumbler} 

{Seriously, my dream gift!} 

I hope you all have a great Easter weekend! 

A Guide to Valentine's Day Gifts

{image via} 

Valentine's Day is coming up and that means- A mad dash to find the right gift for that special someone. 

Here is a little tip: Everyone wants a little something on Valentine's Day. Even if they believe it is a corporate holiday only created to make money, they still want something.  

When I was younger, Barry would always get me and my sister, Chantal, a dozen red or pink carnations, and he would always get my mom red roses or some other type of flower. 

My mom would get each of us kids a few little gifts and place them on the table for us to find in the morning. Now, it was never anything big, but I loved getting something from my parents. It was so exciting and it showed they cared. I am all about 'corporate' holidays because they remind people to think of others, and I think that is okay. 

This year I have been shopping around to find the best Valentine's Day gifts, and I thought I would share. These gifts range in price and some you can even make on your own. Some of us might not have a large budget to use for Valentine's, some of you might, but everyone should think of their loved ones this time of year. 

The best thing is, you don't need to have a lot of cash to make your loved one feel special. 

Last year, Matt and I made each other Valentine's Day Cards and it was a lot better than a store bought card. 

If you don't want to make your own card, there are plenty of sights out there that have FREE printables for you to use. And they are super cute. 

Check out this post from My Owl Barn. 

Or the blog Free Pretty Things for You  

Or the site hellolucky.com 

You can even type in the words Valentine Printable in Pinterest and get all these links and ideas 

There are so many ideas for those that have a tight budget, or want to make sure their gift is unique. 

Here are a few of my favorite things: 

"Sweets for My Sweetheart"- if your loved one is into sweets as much as my loved one is, this is a perfect and easy gift for you. You can easily buy these from a Gourmet Gift Basket company, or you can just make it (which is the route I would take). Here is a sample, but you could do it however you want. 

"Candy Gram"- Again, another homemade easy gift that is all about the candy. My Aunt Nickie started making these a while back, and I have always enjoyed when I get the opportunity to make one. You basically get a bunch of candy from the store and turn it into a message. {For example: Honey, some might think you are a NERD, but I think you are one HOT TAMALE.} And you would tape the candy in place of the word. 

{This is one I made for my best friend Beth on her birthday. It was in better condition, I promise.}

"Try Something New: 100 Ways to Spend Time Together" - this book is a great gift because it gives you all these ideas for fun activities. If you are the couple that has the same conversation of "What do you want to do tonight" "I don't know. What do you want to do" This book is for you. 

Pay Scale: $ 

 "Date Night in a Jar" - From the blog Life in the Green House. This is basically the homemade version of the book above, but you make the date ideas varying in price.  Life in the Green House gives you some date ideas and step-by-step instructions on how to make your own date jar. If you have a mason jar and some popsicle sticks you are good to go. *You could also make this with envelopes and paper. 

"Custom Gift Book" by Datevitation. These are the best coupon type books out there. They have books for all occasions {if you have a birthday or anniversary coming up}. They also have all sorts of different categories for you to customize your book. They even have E-dates that you can send for those that don't want to buy a whole book. These books are not just for your spouse or boyfriend/ girlfriend, but you can give one to your kids, or parents, or best friend. They are personalized to whatever you want! 

*If you are going the romantic route check out the 18 or older coupons they are so funny.* 

And of course you could make your own coupon book. For me though,  I think this is the faster route. 

"Your Memory Lane" - by Memory Lane. Okay, if you have a lot of money to spend I would get this. You basically type in all the important events/ dates/ places in your relationship and the company turns it into your memory lane. I think this would be perfect for the couples that have been together for a long time. {I.E. 20, 40, 50 years} My Abuela and Papa will celebrate their 40th this year and I really want to make this for them. The only downside is they are really really expensive. But it might make for a good collaboration gift. 

"The Tie Bar" - by The Tie Bar. If your honey is a fashionista like mine is, or if they just like cool bow ties or ties, the tie bar is the place to go. They have tons and tons of really sweet ties. And the price is really not that bad. The thing I love about the Tie Bar is that they have a collection called the Jesse Tyler Ferguson Bow Ties and 100% of the proceeds go to the TIETHEKNOT.ORG in support of marriage equality. But if you are not into that, just get all the other ties from The Tie Bar. 

"State Art" - I am seriously, seriously in love with state art. This would be perfect to remind each other where it all began, or to see all the places you have been together. Really you could do it for anything. I recently sent some state art to my sister Chantal who just moved from Georgia to Utah. I wanted to remind her where her true home was. And she loved it! I love the state art that is wedding related. There are so many sites on Etsy that do this, I didn't want to just pick one. And if you have never seen or heard of state art- get on the band wagon. *Note: for all my international friends, most of the companies do other countries as well. 

"Personalized Mugs"- From pick any Etsy store ever! Matt loves mugs. He is always trying to get us to buy mugs. But I always turn him down because we live in Hawaii and it is never cold enough for us to have an unlimited supply of mugs. But I do love some cute mugs. 

{image via} 

{image via} 

"Reasons I love You"- Homemade. A while ago, I made my mom a jar full of reasons why I love her. And before my Abuela started chemo I made the same type of jar. I wish I had pictures to show you. But basically I got a jar, got cute papers, wrote the message on them, and then decorated the jar with pictures of the family. Anyway, this could be a great idea. And you don't have to have a jar- it could be anything. 

{image via}

{image via}

I hope your Valentine's Day plans go great. Please share any gift ideas you have! 

As an end note, please enjoy these cute cards!