My Favorite Place

My husband and I spent the last week back east visiting family, celebrating at a wedding and spending time at the shore. Both of our families have spent their summers in Sea Isle City in southern New Jersey for years. This summer marked my 28th year at the shore -- my first trip there was when I was just a month or two old. During college, I even lived with my grandparents in their tiny beach house for two summers. During that first summer that I lived at the shore I rekindled a friendship from kindergarten and fell in love. A few years later, the boy I  had known since kindergarten proposed to me on the beach in that small beach town. My (now) husband and I were even married at the shore - though not on the beach. So, as you can imagine, the shore has a special place in my heart. On our last day at the shore, I took a walk by myself along the beach in the morning. The beach is so peaceful when it's not filled with sunbathers and ice cream carts. Here are a few photos I snapped to share my favorite place with all of you:

I can't wait to be back on the beach in late July with my parents and grandparents.

Counting down the days!

Hawaii Highlights

My husband and I are back in Chicago after an amazing vacation in Hawaii! The time we spent on Kauai and Maui was so wonderful -- we feel so lucky to have been able to take the time to travel there! I can't say I preferred one island over the other -- they were both unique and equally beautiful. Here are a few highlights in photos from our trip:

Top to bottom

Hiking and lookout point in the Waimea Canyon -- Kauai

French toast with pineapple, macadamia nuts & coconut syrup -- Kauai

Shipwreck Beach near our resort -- Kauai

Catching some rays at our resort -- Maui

Checking out the ocean view -- Maui

Swimming under a waterfall that we kayaked and hiked to -- Kauai

The lava shelf at the Olivine Pools -- Maui

Olivine Pools -- Maui

Napali Coast lookout -- Kauai

Jack Johnson concert -- Maui

If you're headed to Hawaii in the near future, let me know if you have any questions about Kauai or Maui! We did a lot of research before we left, and I am happy to recommend sites to see on either island! I also highly recommend both resorts we stayed at -- The Grand Hyatt in Kauai and The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua in Maui. Aloha!

Aloha!

I've been a horrible blogger lately, tsk tsk! For those of you that don't know, I write another blog as part of my job -- The Finer Things. Between blogging over there, designing emails and site graphics for my consulting job, designing and creating beautiful wedding invitations for my husband's cousin and his fiance and getting ready for our Hawaii trip, I just haven't had the time or energy to post over here at Darling Notes. Shame! Before I say bon voyage and depart for Hawaii tomorrow, I thought I'd share a few pics that I've taken on my phone recently:

My brother in law and his girlfriend visited Chicago for Easter weekend. We checked out the sites of Chicago and ate a ton of food. I cooked Easter dinner for 6 people. While they were here, we dined all over the city, including dinner at q (which was amazing!) and brunch at Cafe Babareeba (create your own bloody mary bar!)

A sneak peek at the invitations I designed and created for my husband's cousin and his bride-to-be. We're looking forward to their wedding in June!

On a whim I had my hairdresser give me long bangs. I love them.

Bean has been extra mischievous lately. I folded all of the throw blankets and she had to make a bed on top of them. Somehow, she always finds the most comfortable spot in the apartment to take her naps.

We leave for Hawaii tomorrow morning, and we could not be more excited! I am guessing that my phone should work on the islands, so I should be able to post a few photos on Instagram. So, aloha for now!

Catching Up

I feel like life always gets busier this time of the year. People are out and about, and the city feels more energized -- I love it! The quiet and cozy winter gave way to spring summer temperatures this week, with the high reaching 82 the last two days! The sliding doors were open all week long to let the fresh air in, and I was able to enjoy some time in the sun on our deck. Since Darling Notes has been a little quiet, I figured a little catch-up post was in order.

1. Did you know that I'm a paper person? I'm head over heels for nice papers, pretty stationery and invitation design. I've been working on my husband's cousin's wedding invitation ensemble. The bride selected a pretty shimmering pink and green palette with starfish and shell motifs. We're in the design process right now, but I have no doubt they'll be beautiful!

2. The warmer temps have me thinking about flip-flops and being barefoot. I need a new polish color for the spring, and I'm thinking about this strawberry pink color from Essie. I'll definitely need a pedicure before our Hawaii trip.

3. I could not resist posting this photo of a pug in a bowtie in front of a ship. I mean, is he cute or what? Sweet Paul is hosting a giveaway for your choice of the bowtie or flower collar from Etsy shop Rover. I'm hoping to win the flowered collar for Bean.

4. Have you been keeping up with The Everygirl? I'm loving all of their daily features, and today's post is no exception. Click over to see two pretty and delicious drinks for St. Patrick's Day. Since this is our first St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, the husband and I are going to head downtown tomorrow morning to watch the river be dyed green. Apparently it gets VERY green, and I think I need to see that (maybe with an Irish coffee in hand?)

5. Last Friday, my old iPhone 3GS jumped right out of my hand onto the sidewalk (imagine!) and the screen sadly shattered. Although the phone was sort-of working for a few days, it took a turn for the worse and cracked a little more on Wednesday night. . Since it was over 3 years old and I was eligible for an upgrade, I headed to AT&T on Thursday morning and selected the 4S. IT'S AMAZING. I should tell you that it's currently being held in a massive Otterbox case that is probably bomb-proof. Knowing how clumsy I am, I'm willing to carry around the phone in a bulky case to keep it safe.

Have a great weekend and a very happy (and lucky!) St. Patrick's Day!

We're taking a little trip...

Actually, we're taking a pretty big trip. In late April, the husband and I are headed for sunny Hawaii! At the beginning of the year, it didn't seem like a trip was in the cards for us this year. Pesky things like work sometimes get in the way.  However, we sat down with a calendar and planned out our family visits and other happenings for 2012, and found some extra days... and decided to treat ourselves to a trip to the islands! Neither of us has been to Hawaii, so you can imagine our excitement. I want to start packing right now! We have flights, hotel and car booked, and we're having fun planning out our "itinerary" of activities. It's going to be hard to narrow it down, because EVERYTHING in Hawaii looks beautiful, and we want to see it all. We'll be staying in Maui and Kauai for a total of 10 days. So, friends who have been to Hawaii... what do suggest? What should we see? Where should we eat?

tote, sunglasses, sunblock, earrings, bikini top/bottom, shorts, flip-flops, camera, scarf, lei