As we all know, the beach is a place to relax and renew. I am someone who likes to stay busy and really embrace culture when I’m vacationing; but just lying on the beach gives me a feeling that I can’t find anywhere else. Because we were staying on such a gorgeous beach, I had a tough time pulling myself away from it. Every day the simple pleasure of waking up and knowing there was a beautiful day ahead of me was thrilling. Going down, walking on the beach and feeling the sand on my feet was so enjoyable; I had a hard time even leaving to grab lunch.

I would normally describe myself as a winter lover, which I am, but the beach converts me to a religious dedication of sunshine and warmth. Being in Maui and taking life at a slower pace helped remind me to enjoy the simple things. Feeling the warm trade winds on my skin, or lying on a pool chair and watching the palm trees sway overhead were the moments that stuck with me.

I used to always try to have my hair perfect, clothes unwrinkled, etc. Now, I’ve started a new style for myself where I actually prefer to look a little more undone. Kind of that raw, natural look. I’m not sure how well I pull it off- but I enjoy myself so much more. Not afraid of a breeze to blow my hair in the wrong direction, or the humidity to bring back the natural curl. Instead of focusing on everything staying right in place, I can focus on and enjoy my surroundings and not be afraid to get a little messy.

Even when I’m not on the beach I revert back to this style. I love the look when your outfit is on point, and your makeup and hair is a little understated and disheveled. To me it gives off the impression of someone who is effortless and comfortable in their own skin. Knowing that your natural beauty is enough helps improve our confidence, and of course, saves a lot of time in the morning!

This simple, white dress is perfect for the days when I want my outfit to look like I put in some effort, but I want comfort and practicality. White is the color I always go for when I want to emphasize a tan- and I love the pop of color on the neckline to really add that tropical touch. For me, shape and length are key in order to find my go-to dresses. I always love a flattering v neck, and because I’m petite I like to go for a length a few inches above my knee in order to help give me the illusion of some height.

Even though it can be easier to enjoy the simple things in paradise, every place has an authenticity that can’t be recreated… and a beauty that we shouldn’t take for granted. Every morning holds new possibilities and new pleasures; they just need captured.

xx Hailey















OUTFIT:

Dress: ASOS Skater Dress with Embroidered Tape Detail

Valentine’s Day is a time to cherish our loved ones. To me, there is no better way to show you care than to have fun baking, decorating and sharing some delicious treats! Even though this day generally caters towards couples, it’s nice to make the holiday about showing some love to family and friends, too. That’s why I personally love these baking ideas- it’s such a fun get together or party idea. You don’t have to be a master baker or decorator to make these cookies and cakes look amazing and original. Plus, they are delicious.

Let's get real, not all of us have a romantic him or her, but we can definitely still enjoy this day. I decided to think of ways to make V-Day a fun experience for you and friends, family, and maybe that special someone. Some of my favorite memories from holidays, and Valentine’s Day in particular, are baking cute cookies with my family so that I could give them out at school the next day as a show-stopping gift. Everyone who I give these cookies to are guaranteed to say it looks like a professional made them, when in reality anyone can do these techniques- they are so insanely simple!

This, along with a lot of my fun holiday treats, tend to be semi-homemade; decorating tends to be the most time-consuming part for me and I like the baked good to stay somewhat simple. But if you have some recipes that you would love to make from scratch, the sky is your limit!

INGREDIENTS USED:

Sugar cookie mix or from scratch recipe here

Royal icing recipe here

Food coloring gel in your preferred colors

Vodka, or other clear alcohol (for painting the cookies)

Pound Cake mix

White chocolate ganache recipe here

Raspberry buttercream recipe here

Flowers for decoration

For the cakes:

I used a store bought pound cake mix to make the cakes because I wanted to bake them in sheets, but didn’t want to messy a lot of dishes by making it from scratch. I used a glass baking sheet so that I could spread out the cake batter and it would be easy to cut out little hearts and stack them together. After the allotted baking time, let cool for a few minutes and then flip them onto a cookie sheet and cut out your hearts.

I then made a simple raspberry buttercream to put in between the layers and frost the cake. Also, side-note for the buttercream: instead of using all powdered sugar you can substitute in some corn starch in order to thicken the mixture without continuing to add sweetness. Especially if you have really juicy raspberries and you want a thicker consistency for your frosting.

For these cakes, I used a little white chocolate ganache to crumb coat the cakes and make them sturdier and less crumbly. After I filled the middle with buttercream I stacked the cakes together, and spread on a thin layer of ganache over the cakes to fill in any holes and the excess space between the pieces of cake. It would work best if the ganache had more chocolate than whipping cream in order to make it sturdier for the crumb coat, or just put it in the fridge for about half an hour or so to set-up.

When frosting these cakes, I used a small cranked palette knife and tried not to get it looking perfect. I think they have a little more character with that home-made icing look. Just put some excess buttercream on the cakes and run your knife back and forth to create little waves in the buttercream until you’ve reached the look you’re happy with.

For the cookies:

I used a premade sugar cookie mix, added the needed ingredients, chilled it, rolled it out and then cut it to my desired shape! And of course if you would like to use from-scratch recipes please, go ahead- I have one listed in the ingredients section. Like I said before, this was a matter of convenience for me, and these recipes are so versatile you can mix and match steps to your preference. I used royal icing for the cookies, in order to give them a smooth, professional finish. To make it thinner and flood the cookies, I just added more water until I reached the easiest consistency for me to work with.

Decorating:

I made 3 separate colors of royal icing to help me decorate, and kept some of the white free from dye. I spread it out on my cookies and kept the consistency very thin so it would dry without any bumps or lumps. To add more decoration with royal icing, simply pipe on some dots of another color while the base layer is still wet. They will mold together and dry flat. If you want to make the little hearts, use the same technique and before they set, take a toothpick and run it down to dot to form a heart.

I decided to also leave some cookies with plain white icing, and paint them after they were done. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was so adorable, and would be such a good idea for a having fun with friends or family. Each person can personalize their cookies, and it’s kind of a fool proof way to have them come out looking cute every time. Just mix some gel food coloring with clear alcohol, or a clear extract (you only need a tiny bit) and then you’re good to go! I just painted whatever I felt like, and they all turned out so festive! You could just do some straight lines and it would be adorable.

I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love, fun, and amazing memories.

XOXO Hailey

There is something lovely to be found in each season; summer makes me want to go out and enjoy the sunshine in any way I can, fall is an exciting transition where all I want to think about are the holidays, winter is a good time to cozy up; but now that we are starting to peek into spring, I am wishing it was fully here. I am loving sun, warmth and am very much anticipating cheerier weather. This transitional time of year can be challenging, and that is why my family always tries to plan a vacation for the end of January- it gives us that exciting piece that may normally be missing from this time of year.

We stayed in Maui, Hawaii, and I am so thankful that I was able to go and experience such a beautiful place. I have to say that I absolutely love flight and travel (apart from the whole occasional turbulence thing…) but other than that I am in complete heaven whilst traveling to an exotic and fun place. I will do a separate post on the trip, but for right now I will just say that the location was insanely gorgeous and we were definitely blessed with consistently spectacular weather- thank you mother nature.

I have been to Maui several times and each time have never been brave enough to go snorkeling or truly swimming in the ocean. This time, however, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and give myself a pat on the back. Even though travel has always been huge to me, in the last few years I’ve realized how much I really want to enjoy the culture and take the most from each location I am able to visit. I believe I stand with the majority when I say that I find the ocean a bit scary and intimidating. Being suddenly submerged in the unknown, I find myself in a state of ambivalence because on one hand anything daunting can be beneath you and the intimidation can make the shore sound very inviting- on the other hand, beauty and adventure can be at your fingertips and sometimes it just takes a leap of faith to explore.

I will say that if the ocean does not strike your fancy, of course you shouldn’t feel obligated to dive in. For me it was always something that I didn’t do purely because I was scared. When I can look at a situation and determine that the fear is the component stopping me- that’s when I like to see what I’m made of (within reason, of course). This was a time for change. I grabbed a boogie board and just went for it. It helped that to my left I could see 10 year old children swimming about… that’s when I realized it probably wasn’t as big of a deal as I felt it was. But anyway, I faced my fear and swam out. I can’t say I saw anything too groundbreaking, after all it was more just floating around out there keeping an eye on the waves than an actual sight-seeing excursion.

It was a lot of fun though, and I’m really glad I took the plunge. Attempting to ride in the waves was hilarious. I in no way looked like a professional, there was not much technique that I displayed- it was more just hugging the board and squeezing my eyes tight for the anticipated action. I now have my fair share of entertaining videos! But for this day, I enjoyed playing in the surf, relaxing in the sand, enjoying the ocean breezes and taking in some much needed vitamin D.

For these days, the perfect swimsuit is definitely needed. I love this baby blue one piece that brought color in a subtle way. I have to say however, when I ordered it, it didn’t look quite so low cut and I was debating not wearing it… but I loved it, and I think it’s a beautiful piece. I normally just go with a simple two piece, but this time I decided to stick with my vacation theme and step out of my comfort zone. I must say, it put a different spin on the ‘typical shoot”. I certainly had a ton of fun playing around on the beach this day, but it’s always important to choose swimwear that is comfortable and makes you feel confident.

Through experiencing new waters, I learned that I can do things I didn’t think would ever be for me. I suppose trying new things really can pay off- after all, I did have a lot of fun pretending I was a mermaid. And as the wise quote says, “life begins at the end of your comfort zone” and that is something I am trying to remind myself daily.

xx Hailey

























OUTFIT:

SWIMSUIT: Out From Under Plunging V Printed One-Piece Swimsuit