Tomatoes from the same bunch seen here, only this time they quadrupled. This tomato squad is gonna look good in salads all week. Living that #fitlife or as Maui Mike said, “eat salad you going live long time.”

When the vog got you down, nothing like a colorful drink to reverse that frown.

This time last year I felt like winter was never going to end. I was tired of walking through street corner slush and dodging ice patches (and falling from them too). Last winter I spent more time preparing to go outside than it was actually worth it. There were constant wet spots subway floors from wet snowy shoes and abandoned hats and gloves were dropped here and there. My hands were chapped like no other winter experience I ever had and my nose was like Rudolph’s just because. Weeks went by and all I saw was white, then brown, and then sometimes, yellow. Smells ranged from fresh to horrendous. I did make my first snow angel though and that was pretty worth it. The past two nights have fallen into the low 60’s and while that’s cold for here, it is nothing for over there. 

There was a duck phase in my past and I still have this blanket to prove it. It hides under an all-white bed now. Fifteen years old and so. damn. soft.  Today it also doubled as a photoshoot crime scene for this Matsumoto Studio post. A shout out to our big brother because he’s the only boy of this house and all us ladies love him.

On Maui you can go from the ocean to the mountains in an hour or less. You can from baking in the sand to enjoying crisp mountain air. I would have never realized this if I didn’t move away. Living from the west coast to the east coast you have to go F A R sometimes for a great escape. Especially in NYC. Woods and the water in the same day? We are really lucky to live here.

This is unlike me, but this needs to live here. Gecko courtesy of Wailuku Heights, Emoji placement thanks to Snapchat. Go ahead, make a meme.

Drake isn’t the only person who can play with words but he might be one of the first to start talking about #SummerSixteen. But before that, I have to talk about when he used to call me on my cellphone.

While that never happened, I can’t tell if I’m being a hater or an admirer. Well, definitely both. I’m confused because when Hotline Bling started ring-ring-ring-alinging out of speakers and radio stations everywhere I really didn’t like it. I didn’t really like that it was about some girl who started dissing Drake and started partying it up with who knows who. That might have been her wrong, but girls seem to always the target of bad news. Then I didn’t really know what I thought about the beat. But the designer in me thought, why pink? Then the music video came out and after having no expectations, I also felt like I would leave feeling something more than–“Was that it? Just Drake dancing real bad?” Nope. (more…)

In San Diego we knew what it meant to have the fog roll in. The sky disappeared and everything was less clear. Planes couldn’t land and crossed our fingers our late night arrivals did not end up in LA. Maui’s been extra voggy recently. That’s volcano + fog = VOG. The mountains are less clear and in some places disappear. We get this a lot on Maui, but this past week has made the sky extra voggy.  I’d take this over the street smoke in NYC any day.

Sisters. (and awkward hand candids.)

I feel for all of you in 30″+ of melting snow and I got as close as I could to a “snow day” in Hawaii. The east coast got showered with record number snow this weekend and all I could think about was “LET’S EAT SHAVE ICE TO CELEBRATE!” (Ululani’s, of course). This is my first winter in four years that doesn’t involve slushing around melting snow, dodging ice patches on the sidewalk, wearing a sleeping bag for a jacket, and dreaming about what it felt like to be warm. I enjoyed cold winter walks and the newness fresh snow brought to the busy city. I’ll miss dressing up to be warm, but let’s be real, this view isn’t too bad either.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find. I always am. From buildings to cotton candy clouds the view up there is always a bit different. I’m saying bye to the buildings and replanting my roots. Staying grounded where it all began, but thinking beyond the clouds too.

“Rules are meant to be broken Jen,” said one smart 9 year-old and in this photo, it certainly is. The rule of thirds helps create balance and interesting, captivating images. Follow this “rule of thirds” and create New York Times worthy compositions. Well you’d hope so. The rule is in place as a guideline you learn.  The rule is something you think about in the back of your mind, but maybe is skipped over a few times. That’s okay because as the 9 year-old said, “rules are meant to be broken.”

Now that 2016 is here, there are three “thirds” I hope will become my guidelines for 2016. Last year I started with a few ideas that focus put me on a path for the rest of the year. With my admiration for alliteration (ironic because I thought it was a joke in middle school English), these three categories are labeled with the 3L’s–location, love, and learn.

Location, location, location. It’s all about where you are because that should be where you want to be. If you’re not where you want to be, or where you think you should be, go there. Now. You won’t regret it and the people who care about you will respect it. That’s why I’m here again, on Maui for the love and life of someone I care about very much, G-Flo. New York is not going anywhere, but who knows about G-Flo. Her walker rolls where she goes and as quickly as life comes, it can also go. I need to be here before I regret not being here. I look forward to surrounding myself with the people I love and who love me. The second third, love, encompasses many things but an important one is that I figured out I truly love what I do. The artist life might not be easy but there is alway something to learn–that’s the final third. In 2016 I look forward to learning how to do better and be my best self. Last year I allowed myself to do things and try things I would have questioned the year before. I still question some of that now, but that’s how you learn. Right? All I can say it can only go up from here. *Raising both hands in celebration emoji*

These thirds–location, love, and learn–will serve as my guidelines for 2016. I’ll remember what my favorite 9 year-old said about breaking the rules as I try to make the most intriguing compositions of my life possible. This year will be very different from last and I welcome that with open arms. Change is good, and so is alliteration. ;)