Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Guess Where We Are?!

Last Monday, a surprise snowstorm (in the middle of a super mild winter) made for this picture out of our living room widow:

  Last Monday Window

And Clara went outside and had fun doing this:

  Last Monday Clara

Fast forward about a week, and our view looks more like this:

  This Monday Window

And Clara’s sporting a different kind of outfit:

  This Monday Clara

Yup, true to our anniversary resolution, we snuck off to Maui, Hawaii to celebrate finishing our book, our impending five year anniversary (in July), turning 30 (I will in March and John already checked that box in November), and any other celebration-worthy excuse that we could think of (Clara’s first four syllable words: escalator, helicopter, and anemone!). It’s actually the first time we’ve flown somewhere on a real vacation since our honeymoon to Alaska back in 2007, and it’s the first time we have ever announced that we’re taking a week off from blogging in the entire 4.5 years since we started this whole shebang.

We know – gasp!

We do plan to post a pic or a quick note here or there throughout the week about our little island adventures (and a few things that we wrote up to share before we left, like some small kitchen progress). And we lined up a pretty sweet giveaway (valued at nearly $500!) for you guys, which will go up sometime tomorrow (Monday) – although not necessarily at 10 or 2 (we’re 5 hours behind our normal schedule here in HI). But our main goal is to relax, unplug, show Clara a great time, and just generally seize the week that we’re here.

This Monday Flower

So we’ll return to our regularly scheduled home improvement programming next Monday and will just be popping in every once in a while until then (so please forgive us if we’re not actively answering comments). We can’t wait to come back refreshed, inspired, and ready to tackle everything from the cork floors in the kitchen to the three untouched bathrooms, the walk-out deck we want to build, our big carport-to-garage conversion, the crown molding and wainscoting we’re planning to add, a complete sunroom makeover, a total playroom makeover, and all of the other major projects mentioned at the bottom of this post that we chatter endlessly about when we lay in bed at night (yes, even here in Maui).

This Monday Ocean

Oh and since Clara’s here with us we’ll have to share all the how-she-traveled and how-she-adjusted-to-the-time-difference details soon (maybe next week on Young House Life). Due to quarantine regulations, we couldn’t bring Burger, which is why he’s at home snuggled up to our house sitters (we have some friends and family members who are taking turns moving in to hang with him the whole time we’re gone). You know we call him and talk through the phone at least twice a day though, right? Heck, maybe he can somehow inspire our house guests to lay some cork flooring while they’re there (he’s a pretty persuasive chihuahua). Here’s hoping!

To any Maui natives or fellow vacationers: you better say hi if you see us out doing the whole dorky tourist thing! Just look for the girl whose legs are so pasty white that they actually look blue and there I’ll be.

This Monday Legs

And yes, my skirt is twisted about three inches too far to the right. I can’t be the only one who fights skirt-spin, can I?

Comments

  1. Sara says

    We’ll miss your blog posts. But congratulations!! (the book, turning 30, Clara’s words… etc) You all deserve an amazing vacation. I don’t know how you pulled off all the photo shoots, being sick, prepping for the home show.
    Hope you can relax, enjoy the sun, sand, waves and all that Hawaii has to offer. Cheers!

    Reply

  3. Amanda says

    How wonderful. Have a fabulous time!

    You all will probably find all kinds of great blog material on the trip, but just wanted to put in my two cents. I would love to hear all about your experiences traveling with a toddler–packing, logistics, how to do it on a budget. Thanks!

    Reply

  4. Bethany says

    Skirt spin is the worst, so glad I’m not the only one! Haha

    Hope you guys are having a blast, you totally deserve it! :)

    Reply

  6. Marta says

    If you like BBQ, try Fat Daddy’s in Kihei. Their pulled pork and ribs are fantastic.

    Also, don’t miss the black sand beach just before Hana, if you’re doing the drive to Hana. It’s beautiful.

    Reply

  7. Marta says

    Also, snorkeling at Molokini isn’t as great as everyone makes it out to be. But it’s worth going on a boat for a while to do some whale watching.

    Reply

  8. Laura says

    wow, good for you guys! that is wonderful. i was just daydreaming last week about going to maui…i must have subconsciously known somehow :) have a great time!

    Reply

  9. Sam says

    Have an amazing time! I too fight the dreaded skirt spin. :)

    I also wanted to give you guys a BIG THANK YOU for your tip to hang a little tape table to catch falling dust when sanding or drilling. So Smart, thanks for getting there faster than I did. Made sanding the Spackle off the master bedroom walls before I painted last night such a dream!

    Reply

  10. Amanda says

    If you’re near Ka’anipali beach, check out 2 things: 1) nightly cliff diving ceremony off of black rock. 2)Hula Girl resturant’s lava cake… it’s sooooo good!

    Reply

    • Amanda says

      Oh I forgot to mention the Atlantis Submarines! It was so neat and really kid friendly! They take you down in a submarine and explore some reefs (including a sunken ship)and teach you all about different kinds of fish and ocean life!

  11. Jennifer says

    Skirt-spin hahahaha I love it.

    Enjoy Hawaii! My fiancee is stationed there so I get to hear about how awesome it is all the time. Soak up a little sun for me ;o)

    Reply

  13. Carro says

    Oh, I miss your posts, but am wishing you a fantastic holiday!! If ever you want to travel to Australia for a vacation, we’d be happy to have you house sit our place!!

    Reply

  14. Courtney says

    You guys totally deserve this awesome getaway!! So jealous..Maui is one of my favorite places on earth!
    When in Maui…the road to Hana is great! There are lots of picturesque stops along the way for breaks. I’d suggest the hike through the bamboo forest…it has the most amazing waterfall at the end!! And Hamoa Beach is pretty awesome too (my hubby’s favorite beach in the world).
    Oh, and from a way pastier (that’s a word, right?) girl, pick up a bottle of Maui babe lotion if you happen to get a little too much sun.
    Hope you’re having a blast!

    Reply

  15. Sarah says

    Aloha,

    So happy to hear you are enjoying Maui! I see you have already enjoyed a few local things. If you want to see a few things that aren’t in the guide books, or go on a boat trip to Lanai, we’d love to take you. [email protected]

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw you’re so sweet! We actually took Clara on a boat ride today! She loved it for most of the time, but there was some screaming! Haha. Yikes. We were those people.

      xo,
      s

  16. Sarah says

    I’m so glad y’all are taking a well-deserved vacay! Have a fantastic time and I’m praying for good weather and a safe return trip!

    Reply

  17. Penny says

    Hope you the three of you have a fabulous time, you surely do deserve a break. I can’t believe how hard you all work to keep us all entertained!!
    Now step away from the laptop, pick up that beach towel and get soaking up that sun!

    Reply

  18. Kadra says

    I was at Target tonight and saw this great bicycle pillow and thought of John! In black and white, with one of those old time bikes that has the really big front wheel. It even had some of the bike in a velvety kind of fabric that was nice to touch. Maybe it will still be there when you guys return, or maybe you already have it! Enjoy the sunshine! Everyone is right on, you guys deserve some time to yourselves, especially after the marathon you all have run with the book, extra secret projects and photo shoots.

    Reply

  19. Morgan says

    Im not going to lie….I miss yall!! Does that sound stalkerish?!? I hope you all are enjoying your well deserved break and family time!

    Reply

  21. Michelle says

    It’s so funny, I saw this post the other day and didn’t have time to pull it up right then, but I saw it and said “OH, I hope they went to Hawaii!!! They deserve a break after the book stuff!” (and ya know, all normal crazy busy life as a work at home parent… and as a parent to begin with… and home renos… Yeah, ya’ll deserved a break!)

    Anywho. Sherry, you are NOT the only one that deals with shirt spin! I’ve always blamed it on the junk in the trunk ;)

    Can’t wait to read about adjusting Clara to the time difference! Hopefully my family will take a trip to Hawaii sometime!!

    Reply

  22. Debbie says

    Gosh! I just came home from a week of vacation myself and figured I had at least 12 entries to catch up on from you guys! Looks like your vacation paired nicely with mine, and I have not missed much reading after all! :-P Enjoy your trip. I went to Maui on my honeymoon in 2010 and absolutely would love to go back. Definitely try swapping your rental car for a Jeep for the Road to Hana. It’s worth it!

    Reply

  24. Mary Sweeney says

    If you have not been told… you have to goto Grandmas Coffee House in Kula!Brunch on Sundays are the best :P We Honey mooned there 2 years ago and fell in love with the Island and the locals! HAVE A GREAT TIME :)

    Reply

  25. Kristin F says

    Admittedly, I’m crazy jealous. But you guys deserve it. Funny thing is, I wondered after the Portland posts if you guys EVER take a vacation from this place! Now I have my answer!

    Reply

  27. Rupa Wong says

    I’m from Hawaii and I definitely second Mama’s Fish House and check out the Sugarcane express train. It’s a real steam engine which takes you 2 miles down to Lahaina. Clara would love it! Enjoy!

    Reply

  28. Asha Rao Schertler says

    I’m catching up on all the YHL blogging because we were in Kauai last week! I’m such a geek thinking “OMG! We almost went to Maui…I could have met you three!” Nerd alert. Can’t wait to see what you thought of Maui. We love that island…although Kauai was pretty nice too. Doesn’t look like you had much rain. Lucky! Aloha :)

    Reply

  29. Jess says

    Oh man, we were there at the exact same time as you! Too bad I was taking an internet break too and missed this. On to read other posts to see if you did what we did. I have 19 month old son and all he talks about is the Sugar Cain train. If you ask him about the trip all he says is Choo Choo.

    Reply

  30. Nikki T says

    Wow, everyone headed to Maui this year! We were there at the same time as you…didn’t see you doin’ the touristy thing though, unfortunately…
    Hope you have a fabulous time!
    We were there celebrating our 5th anniversary as well (we were married there in 2007!)

    Reply

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