Welcome to California!

 Background image from Kameron Walsh

 So lately I've been thinking about how crazy life can sometimes be. It's proof that nothing can really be planned or pre conceived because everything in life has the potential to change, at any given moment. The truth is, we can never really know what to expect, which is the beauty of it all!

Bearing all of this in mind, today makes two weeks since I picked up and moved to SoCal, in search of sun, sand and a better lifestyle! If anyone had told me last year this time that I would be living in California right now- I never would have believed them, but this is a typical example of how crazy and unexpected life can be. These days I find myself waking up to clear blue skies and the warmth of new possibilities! I'm a firm believer that if you ever have the chance to just pack up your belongings and start fresh- you should certainly take advantage of it. The thing is, we only live once and you never know where these risks might take you. Like I said in my last post- I don't know where this new path will lead, but I'm absolutely ready for the journey. I see a lot of new adventures and exploration in my future- it's all a part of the process. So here's to more soul searching, risk taking and spontaneity in 2012! xo

The Chive

Weekend in Reveiw Vol.#3- Sleepover at Vozinha's

Lately, I always find myself reminiscing about the "good ole days", when I was young enough- not to have any "real" problems or responsibilities. Of course those days are long gone, however it's nice to think back on them every now and again, to remember where we came from and what made us the people we are today. Some of my fondest childhood memories are the sleepovers I had at my Vozinha & Vovo's house (which means grandmother & grandfather in Cape Verdean creole). Sometimes I would sleepover my grandparent's house alone and other times I would be with my cousins, which was a real treat (considering they all lived an hour from us)! There was always plenty of love, laughs and good food to go around at the sleepovers. Oh how I miss those days!

Now that I am a young woman, I'm still lucky enough to have Vozinha in my life. She's 80 years old and still kicking! Vozinha is quite the feisty one (which is why she has outlived the rest of my grandparents), not to mention she's like super woman! I'm so grateful to still have her in my life. And lets just say that now-a-days when I have a chance to sleepover there, it's so much more special, because it makes me feel like a kid again, like I'm reliving my younger years all over again. This weekend my cousin Lanita and I slept there one night and she brought her new little baby, Audrianna for quality time with Vozinha (her great-grandmother). It was 3 generations having a sleepover- something you don't hear of everyday, and most certainly doesn't happen very often. Here are some images I captured with my phone while we were all together;

Isn't she the cutest baby ever? I mean how can you resist that face! *smile*

As for the rest of my weekend- it was pretty low key. I finished working on a scrapbook/guestbook for the Bat Mitzvah event I posted about here, which I will share with you soon. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and was able to spend some quality time with family too...

That's it for now, be back soon! xo

Photos taken by; Wahkuna

Weekend in Review Vol.#2- Halloween weekend in NYC

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and if you were as lucky as me to get stuck in the snow storm of October 2011, I hope you were safe and didn't lose power! I can definitely say I wasn't prepared for the snow that hit the north east this weekend, however I survived nonetheless, and still made it to the Halloween party! It was a great weekend, full of quality girl time with my good friend and fashion stylist Tiffani, of Accidental Chic. On Saturday (the day of the storm) we lounged around with a hot cup of tea and scoured through a bunch of her great magazines for new inspiration, before heading out that night to a Halloween party that our friends were having in Brooklyn. On Sunday, I had lunch at Chocolate by the Bald Man in Union Square (best place for all of you chocoholics!) followed up by drinks at Heartland Brewery to cap off a great weekend! So all in all, it was a good time! Happy Halloween! xo

 photo taken by; Brad Johansen-Pirates of Brooklyn

Photos taken by Wahkuna (unless otherwise mentioned above)

Handmade Inspiration Board #2: Fall + Halloween

Hello, and Happy Friday! In celebration of Halloween weekend, I wanted to leave you with an inspiration board to help stir up some creativity for the festivities! I pulled together some great Halloween/fall images and embellishments to help get you in the mood! So enjoy, and whatever you're doing this weekend, please be safe! xo *wink*

Supplies Used; Patterned Paper- Crate Paper, Melissa Frances and Hambly Studios; Sitching Rub-On- K & Company Studio 112; Burlap Trim-Canvas Home Basics; Paper Flowers & Crocheted Flowers- Prima; Pocket Holder- Ki Memories; Mix Tape- American Crafts; Buttons, Ribbon & Embroidery Thread- Other

Images Used;  

Halloween Bunting- Craft Zine

Crocheted web- Betz White 

Dining room setup- Country Living 

Pumpkin Garland- Martha Stewart 

Trick or Treat boxes- BrownPaper Packages 

Rhinestone Pumpkin- Better Homes & Gardens 

(Photos of inspiration board by; Wahkuna)

New Series; Weekend in Review Vol.#1- Halloween Party & King Richard's Fair

Hey there, welcome back! I hope you all had a great weekend and had a chance to get out and do something fun, as well as relax! I'm here today to introduce a new series on the Wahkuna Mae-lyn blog called Weekend in Review which I will run every Monday (at least until the end of this year *fingers crossed*). Its where I will share little clips of my weekend.

So to start it off; On Saturday I went to my good friend's Halloween party at her brand NEW house! First of all, I'm SO excited for her new home (of which she bought all on her own at age 26! I'm such a proud friend!) She's done a lot of work on it, and the whole downstairs was renovated (which is right up my alley, with my HGTV obsession 'n' all!) 

It was a great party, full of new faces for me, but was really fun and I was happy to be in attendance! My costume this year, is basically the same costume I wore last year (a Native American). I love it and was able to save a lot of money by recycling and reusing it for this year! A win/win situation! My friend Katelyn's costume was the bride of Chucky! The costume was brilliant, and looked great on her, don't you think!?!

On Sunday I went to the King Richard's Fair in Carver, MA with friends. I've never been, but it was AWESOME! It's like going back in time to the Medieval days! Everyone who works at the fair dresses up and also a lot of the fair goers do too (even the little kiddos)! It was crazy! There was; a tiger show, archery, bag pipers 'n' belly dancers, jousting matches, sword fights, little Medieval shoppes, plenty of food/drinks and much, much more! It was such a great time, and I will definitely go back! It's only open for 2 months out of the year (between September & October) but well worth the visit! Sunday happened to be the last day of the season, so it was pretty packed but I'm glad we made it this year!

So it was quite the eventful weekend I must say. Stay tuned next week for a review of my adventures in NYC during Halloween weekend! Be back soon! xo

A day at Westport Rivers vineyard

Hello all! I'm finally back from the weekend (better late than never)! I had a pretty awesome "fall" weekend which consisted of; visiting the Westport Rivers vineyard in Westport, MA where we tasted 6 (really good wines), went on a hay ride around the vineyard, picked pumpkins, took a tour of the winery/wine making process & enjoyed the gorgeous scenery! It was a lot of fun, and the best part of the experience was that it was a random stop- totally unplanned (which usually ends up being the best time). I'm really happy to have discovered this hidden gem in the area and would like to visit more frequently. It's definitely a great place to enjoy with a group of girlfriends or for a nice date. Wine + beautiful scenery = simple luxuries of mother nature. So if any of you are ever in the area, please do check it out! That's it for now, I'll be back tomorrow to share one of my most recent creations. See you then! xo

Simple things that make us smile

Meet Arthur. He's super friendly, likes to be where all the action is, and clearly even likes to share other people's beverages! This is my best friend's little guy, and while I spent time with her over the weekend, I caught him sneaking some water from my mug! It was so cute, I had to capture the memory, because it's the simple things that make us smile. And just imagine- a little while after this picture was taken, he couldn't stick his head in far enough to reach the water that was left, so he had some clever tricks. He would stick his paw into the mug to get the water and then lick it off! Lol, it was too funny, all I have to say is; animal's do the darndest things!

Anyway, I had a pretty good weekend-catching up with old friends around a fire pit, showing my support at a cancer benefit, and watching the new SJP movie and enjoying some good Riesling with my best friend *wink*.  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well.