One of the downsides of living on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is that we get some crazy things happening from Mother Nature.

Today there is a Tsunami alert that may just hit us at 1:00 today! There was an 8.3 earthquake in Samoa and there are investigating to see if it will hit us. Storms are fun but Tsunamis, not so much! I am going to get the pet carrier prepared just in case. My cat Murphy is the first thing I am grabbing! Fortunately I will be prepared but if that siren goes off there is going to be panic. Ugh! This sucks.

Photo from HERE UPDATE: Tsunami did not hit Hawaii! Woohoo! I feel very lucky right now. :)

Ryan and I tend to plan things on the spot. We knew we were going to go to Hana but the details hadn't really been thought about until we actually got in the car and drove off. Before we left we did check the weather forecast and there was this really really really large cloud coming towards Maui from the Big Island so camping didn't sound very fun anymore. I was actually still down for camping but Ryan who had been camping several times in the Pacific Northwest insisted that we started thinking about other options. I had to agree with him. Camping in the pouring rain did not sound all that great. So we looked into getting a cabin and we went to go get the permit in the main town of Wailuku but when we got there we found out that they were all booked out. So we looked into some B&B's and the first one I called had availability and so we took it! It ended up being a nice place across from where we wanted to camp originally so it was perfect.

Hana is a pretty desolate place as I have mentioned before so there isn't much for nightlife but that wasn't what we going there for. It was nice to just getaway for awhile and not have the computers distracting from getting some nice quality time together. Our first night there was really fun. We played cards and then we started to play this game that was in the movie Inglourious Basterds (that is how its spelled) where you have to guess a famous person that the person next to you picked. Ryan had bought some Hana Bay Rum and lemonade so it was especially fun!

The next day we explored the beaches and drove back. There is this incredible area where we were going to camp called Waianapanapa and there is this beautiful black sand beach with a path with a cave. I have actually swam through it when I was 16 but I wasnt quite daring this time. :) There was also the red sand beach that was a little harder to get to but we managed because we are just that adventurous! Not really but I was proud of myself for walking through a barbed wire fence that was cut open to create just enough room to get through.

After exploring Hana we decided to drive home around the larger part of the island instead of going back the way we came. This road is amazing! You start in Hana where it is all rain forest lush and green and then you go through a very dry part and then you drive through a part that is more new which is almost all volcano rock and then you end up in Kula which is also very lush and green. It is really quite an experience. Since we drove this way we stopped at the winery at Ulupalakua and we got to try 4 different wines for free and ended up buying a bottle of red which tasted wonderful!

Yesterday Happy Cavalier posted pretty blue earrings from Sparklethots so today I thought I would show you some more of her lovelies. Each piece is handcrafted and made available in either limited quantities (under 5 per design) or just one only.

So I didn't end up making my garland. I instead made these pretty tags that I am calling skirt and shoe tags. I was really inspired by a wedding that was recently featured on Once Wed.

I think they would be really cute for bridesmaid gifts. I am offering to make them in custom colors if a bride wanted to color coordinate them with her wedding. I wish I made these for my wedding!

And here is another recent addition to the shop. I actually did stitch these and I think it adds a special touch to them which I love.

I was inspired by these cards from Poppies For Grace and how I angled the lace was inspired by this beautiful ipod case from Tabi Designs who is also a featured seller on Lovely Clusters!

I am thinking about making one with leaves perhaps. Still working out the details. I just spooled a bunch of thread yesterday and I am itching to sew. Hope you find these inspiring as well!

As a way for them to introduce their new shop and blog they have offered to generously giveaway an 8x10 print of your choice! You get to pick any one print from their beautiful blog amy and ann. Rules: All you have to do is go and follow their new blog and come back here and comment here letting us know which print you love the most. Easy peasy!

Here is a photo of one of their items in the shop which is a 4x5.5 folded cards set of 6. I love the simple pretty packaging! amyandann.bigcartel.com Now go and have fun exploring and picking out your favorite! Warning you it may not be easy. :)

Jess from Make Under My Life asked me to be part of her Design Your Life series and I am so honored!

She will also be posting a little interview that I did for her for Lovely Clusters later today. So much blog love. I needed that this week. Thank you Jess! :)