Aunty Files: Merbaby and Friends

Aunty Files: Merbaby and Friends

I think it’s important to gift my niece and nephew with things that are meaningful and memorable. My niece just turned 1 last month, and I have no idea what toys or clothes she already has. As her only aunt (read favorite aunt) I want to get her cute things!So when I saw that Lexi Lizama from MeAndMyMerbaby.com reopened her Etsy shop, I messaged her right away for a custom order.

Lexi is a Pacific Islander like myself and–inspired by her adventures with her sweet daughter Aaliyah–she makes the most adorable merbaby dolls and sea friends from soft colorful felt and hand stitched detailing.

Lexi is super sweet. She was super helpful and sent me a custom Etsy link for my order. At only $30 for both the custom merbaby and seahorse, and the fact that she was able to make and ship my order within just a few days, it was all so worth it! I placed the order while I was on a trip to the Dominican Republic and was so excited when I got to Arizona and found that the order had arrived! Just in time too since I only had a couple of days with my niece before I was to return to American Samoa.

My order was wrapped in white tissue paper and twine. She also included my message “To my sweet little merbabe Rachel”.

My nephew helped his baby sister open her present and let her rip off the tissue to reveal her merbaby.

I requested a merbaby with light brown skin (for my little asian pacific islander niece) and braided black hair. I wanted this merbaby to have a friend and asked for the seahorse plush in complementing colors.

My sister noticed the special details right away, like the twinkle of the merbaby’s eye, and the secured stitching at the end of her braided hair to prevent from unbraiding and flyaways.

My niece is an observer, so she held it skeptically at first. I imagine her thinking to herself: what is this… it’s soft but it doesn’t smell like mom… oh but it looks like her… ok I like it!

I really like the size of these plush merbabies too. It was larger than I expected, which is nice so Rachel can hug them for warmth and comfort while she’s still tiny, and she can still hug them as she gets older.

This merbaby and seahorse plush was the perfect gift for Rachel’s belated birthday. It has all the elements of what makes a gift from an aunt so special, and it felt great to support a small business and artsy friend! I hope my niece goes on many adventures with her merbaby friends.

Check out @MeandMyMerbaby on their website, instagram, and etsy!

*This is not a sponsored post!

Diary of an Aunty: Summer 2018

Diary of an Aunty: Summer 2018

Oh my goodness time flies and these cuties just get cuter! I am so incredibly blessed to have the chance to go and visit my nephew and niece every year.

It always feels like eons waiting for summer to come around and my bank account is weak but when I’m hanging out with them and we’re bonding over a fish book that Ian picked out a couple years ago and my nephew’s super excited to read it for us… It just feels so good.

Also my tiny 3-year old nephew who barely spoke the last time I saw him showed me a photo of his class playing with puzzles and I asked him if he was able to solve the puzzle – he straight up said to me “it wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t easy”. What??? Who taught you that kind of reasoning in response to a very simple question?! You’re 3!! How do I even respond to that?? I’m just “aunting” real hard here heheh.

My 1-year old niece is also too adorable for words. She’s different from Isaac: she doesn’t (yet) like people as much as Isaac did when he was that age, gives you a skeptical look when you try to pick her up, she is a total mama’s girl, and she has a hilarious toothy smile when she laughs. But she’s also super observant, gives the best kiss we when you say besos, and makes my heart melt when she’s reaching for her blankie in her sleep.

The two of them together, they’re just the perfect little kids in my eyes. Isaac’s always talking about his little sister with affection, always tries to make her smile, shares his toys with her and is patient with her when she hogs the toys. Rachel is learning lots from her big brother. She laughs every time he makes a funny face for her, or when he runs around and does something silly, she plays with him even if it’s trucks or puzzles.

I forget sometimes that these tiny humans came out of my sister’s womb. It’s nuts to me. We were that age once, my sister, me, and my baby brother. We were best friends and confidants, with some headaches in between. All these little moments make me so happy.

When Two Worlds Collide: Elaine and Fernando Coura

When Two Worlds Collide: Elaine and Fernando Coura

Last weekend, Saturday May 12th, was a day for the cosmos. Two bright young worlds collided, and became one.

She’s from American Samoa. He’s from Brazil. They met in New Zealand in 2015. And since they’ve met, they’ve traveled to over 15 different countries in the last 3 years. This special day is set in the tropical sand of Dominican Republic. And at the time of writing this, they’re currently honeymooning in Greece.

We traveled from the South Pacific to witness their union, along with 80 of their closest family and friends from around the world. Here are a few of my favorite photos from my lens. I’m overjoyed to know these beautiful people.

Congratulations to our dear friends and newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Fernando and Elaine Coura.

Life Lately: Travel Updates Coming Soon

Life Lately: Travel Updates Coming Soon

What a crazy amazing past couple of weeks! Ian and I have been traveling around every few days which is NUTS and I don’t necessarily recommend it because I always got sad every time we had to leave so soon. Still, it was totally all worth it! I traveled extremely light for my trips to Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. I only brought my camera, journal, a book, and a few items of clothing. I didn’t get to blog at all because I left my laptop at my sister’s place in Arizona knowing I’d be 1) too busy to edit photos and write a blog post, and 2) too busy having fun. So I have a lot of catching up to do. Currently, it’s 4am on my last day of vacation. *Tears*. I’m sitting at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix sleepily typing away on my laptop and waiting to check my luggage in. I have about half an hour before I can check it in. After this, I’m really hoping to get a nap in since I stayed up all night. Brutal. I really wanted to write full blog posts for my trip while I was actually on the trip – but let’s be real. That’s not happening. You’re here for the photos anyway right? I’m gonna say yes. Look out for travel/photo diaries soon! xx
Life Lately: Destination Weddings mean Travel More

Life Lately: Destination Weddings mean Travel More

Busy at work.

An update, I’m now basically the graphic designer at work! I’m still learning but I’m absorbing a lot, and I’m actually really enjoying it so far. It’s just been super hectic and I’m getting ready to go on vacation, so trying to automate my work as much as possible while I’m gone.

I forgot to file my taxes

Oops. Does anyone know how much the late fee is?

Wedding season.

Two destination weddings in two weekends! I’m excited to witness two very dear friends seal their love officially. Side note, I also hosted a bachelorette party (with huge help from my coworkers) and it was absolutely insane. It was a lot of fun, but there was a lot of craziness too. My introvert self rallied for the first time in a long time though I think it’s safe to say that I’m ready to retire back to my comfortable movie nights in bed every weekend for the foreseeable future.

Traveling soon.

I’m leaving in just a couple more days and traveling through Samoa, Hawaii, Arizona, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico! It’s going to be a crazy month, and I’m so pumped for a new travel adventure with my favorite person in the world. What I’m not pumped for: packing. As per usual.

Sustainable living update.

For Earth Day, I felt I needed to celebrate. Not by posting a photo/caption online. But by taking another step forward sustainably. I just so happened to run out of garbage bags at home, and Ian and I had a short conversation that, it’s silly we throw our trash in plastic bags which create more waste. So I made a fabric receptacle liner with a drawstring so it can be closed, dumped when full, then reused. It’s washable too. I’m pretty jazzed about it.