Lavender Farm

If my husband’s favorite part of our Maui trip was The Crater, then mine would have to be Maui’s Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. At only $3 a person and free parking, it is a bargain to get in and wander the beautiful property. They give you a map and a treasure hunt piece of paper that you stamp as you walk through the grounds (I recommend adults do this as the prize is age universal). My son LOVED this.

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This picture was taken on the drive up. The drive is just beautiful.

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There are many different paths. I like the name of this one.

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And, of course, lavender farms means pictures of lavender.

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We wandered through trees.

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And up high. The views on the farm are incredible.

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I even had a Buddha friend to keep me company.

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Beautiful flowers.

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And creepy girl flowers.

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My husband and I split a lavender scone. I wanted a picture, but he ate half of it before I could get the full thing.

It was really good.

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Now. My favorite part. I love chameleons. And we were lucky enough to spot three Jackson Chameleons while we were there.

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My husband said he’s never seen me so happy.

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But, how cute is this little guy?! Those horns! He is a baby. And I was madly in love. I could have spent the whole vacation up there playing with those lizards.

What are your thoughts on chameleons? Have you been to a lavender farm or eaten anything with lavender in it?

Outfit details: this dress is an older Anthropologie dress called Espejoa Mini-Dress. I am wearing the dress backwards. I would rather a keyhole be in the back. The closest dress I can find to it now is this dress. The shoes are Gentle Soul’s tall gladiator sandals and the necklace is Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace.

*These photos were edited using the app Afterlife’s Sailor or Bay filters (depending upon the darkness of the picture).

On Top Of The World

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We just got back from Maui, late Thursday night. I will be doing a little trip report next week (I still have yet to write it. I have to get my kids ready to leave today. They are embarking upon a week long camping trip with their grandparents. I am hoping this alone time will allow my brain the capability to fill pages with stories and get me caught up on comments and reading my favorite blogs!). I managed to do some outfit photos while I was there.

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My favorite thing to do on vacation is to just drive and see where the day takes us. This usually does not disappoint. We found ourselves in the vicinity of Maui’s Haleakala Crater and so we decided to make the drive up the mountain. Usually people make the trek up for sunrise or sunset, but we are not planners. I think both events would be worth it. Although, I cannot imagine making the drive in the dark, especially with the bicyclists on those tight turns.

This picture above was taken on the drive up. It starts off gorgeous and green and then turns red and barren as you drive higher up the volcanic rock.

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We got to the top and it was gorgeous. Truly breathtaking. You can see above the clouds. It feels wonderful and oddly like being a part of “The Never Ending Story.”

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Yes, I wore this dress to the top of a volcano where everyone else was dressed in hiking gear.

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And it was kind of awesome! Well, maybe I did regret not bringing a sweater. It was cold! But spontaneity sometimes calls for a little discomfort.

The dress was a clearance buy from Free People that I featured here a few months ago. It is sold out now, but they have a slightly similar one here that I very much want. And underneath it, I am wearing my favorite slip in the world. It is the Free People Trapeze Slip. It looks like they currently have a similar color to my seafoam colored slip. I wear mine at least once a week. While I was in Maui, I saw three different women wearing this slip (all three women had on different colors and all three women were at three different places) as a swimsuit cover-up.

The necklace is Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace.

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It was so high. It might have been the highest I have ever been except for traveling in an airplane.

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One of the most amazing sights is peering down into the crater. It feels so untouched and I told my husband that I could still believe there might be dinosaurs amongst us peering down into that valley. This was my husband’s favorite part of the trip. He could have stayed here all day.

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And honestly, I could have, too.

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It was peaceful and not as cold as it was at the very top of the mountain.

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I did a little twirl and I think it looks like I was flying.

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Speaking of flying, we spotted a ton of owls on Maui. For some reason it is not something that I had pictured when I thought of the island. This little guy was the third one I spotted on the drive back down the crater.

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Have you been to the top of a volcano? Was it windy and cold? Did you bring a gnome friend?

Degnome Dress

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I loved this denim dress when I saw it on H & M a few months ago. The best part about it was definitely the price. It was $39.95 but I think I paid $24 for it after a coupon. It is sadly now sold out online (I found this one that is similar, but I have never purchased from that store before). It is a blank slate. I could not wait to dress it up. I have a chambray maxi dress but it is strapless so it limits how and when I can wear it.

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This dress is short, so it limits how and when I can wear it. That seems to be a theme around here when it comes to chambray.

The sandals are Gentle Soul’s Tall Gladiator Sandals. I purchased mine through Anthropologie, but Piperlime has them on sale.

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The scenery was gorgeous. So peaceful. I felt lucky to capture it.

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It was a beautiful and windy day.

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Lots of fun jewelry! The large jersey necklace is Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace and the others are layering necklaces from Anthropologie last year. The bracelets are from H&M and the larger one is Free People’s Hammered Multi Cuff.

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Do you have a lot of chambray pieces? Do you still like denim and chambray? I thought I would be over the trend by now but it is still going strong!

P.S. I will not be posting on Thursday. Sorry. I had a post ready but we could not get the photos transferred here in Maui. Thankfully we will be home Thursday night, so I will be able to post on Friday. : )

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Bermeja Tunic Dress

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You would think a girl whose favorite novel being entitled, “Name of the Wind”, would be more interested in names than I am. Blame it on having the most popular name of my generation. A common name. And you will start to see the reasoning behind my conditioning. A name might be what is given to you, but the words you have earned by which your name is described to others, are your own.

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Lately, I have become more intrigued by the names of things. I think it also has to do with naming blog title posts each and every day. Do I give the post a funny name? A punny name? One that makes me smile? Or do I stick to what the search engines want and keep it boring and simple? I try to do both.

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This dress has the name Bermeja Tunic Dress. I decided to look the word “Bermeja” up. Imagine my surprise in discovering that the name of this dress is controversial. Historical. Quite interesting.

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Bermeja is a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico. Or was a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico. Or might or might not have been a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico. Nobody knows. Because either it disappeared or it simply never existed.

There are many theories about the island. I found my information on Lonely Planet. You can click there if you wish to learn more.

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The reason this is even more interesting to me is because on the day these pictures were taken, I wore my Holy Holey Girdle. Yes, you read that right. I will have to do a post on it sometime.

Well, this dress ended up being shorter than expected and we ended up having to edit Holy Holey Girdle out of two pictures. This led me to feel many mixed emotions. I have never edited a picture before by erasing a flaw in it. I want to be true to myself. But I also don’t want Holy Holey Girdle to get all of the attention.

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It is kind of addicting. This fixing of one’s flaws. I am not going to say this will be the last time I do that. In fact, I will say, that will definitely not be the last time I do that. But in an effort to be real, I will share an unedited picture on tomorrow’s Keepin’ It Real” post, complete with a glimpse of Holy Holey Girdle.

‘Cause if it is about names. The truth in names. Then I want my name to be a real island. Of truth. Even if the truth can get ugly. At least it won’t sink with the weight of lies.

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Paired with the dress, are my new Tarara Gladiator Sandals from Anthropologie (they are almost all sold out, but other stores have them. Bloomingdale’s has them here). Tarara is a small town in Cuba. In New Zealand, Tarara means fast talker (source: Wikipedia).

These sandal boots were made for talkin’…

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Had you ever heard of Bermeja before? What are your thoughts on names?

*The bracelets and necklaces are a mish mash of older pieces (similar bracelet here) and Forever 21’s Globetrotter Beaded Cuffs. The turquoise necklace is from Simply Livly on Etsy and the other necklaces are old layering necklaces from Anthropologie (similar here).

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!