Life just got a little more "betta"...

Happy Aloha Friday, friends! With a busy week of finishing cafe renovations and preparing for a nearing opening date, it's been extra nice to balance out the week by intertwining a few art & garden-related projects in between :) I was recently given a great opportunity to add a new piece to my watercolor series by a request of a custom betta illustration.  

Meet Dream.  He's a beautiful betta full of color & life!  I absolutely loved working on this piece and am so happy I could create it for a fellow betta lover (Dream's owner) :)  I still have a lot to learn with watercolors, but there's just something about this medium that really excites me and is so fun to work and experiment with.

Other mini joys of the week include jazzing up some new terracotta pots with Thanh (the wonderful boyfriend) and creating new decorations and displays for home & the cafe.  When he's not occupied by the construction and renovations, it's really nice to see Thanh spend some time on his woodworking and gardening because it's so clear to see how much he enjoys it :)  We've been having fun working on projects that include up-cycling reusable materials (i.e. salvageable wood, pallets, wine bottles, etc) and transforming them into planters, terrariums and decor. We hope to have some on display (and possibly for sale) in the cafe :)

That might just do it for now...Here's to a great Aloha Friday for you all and an even "betta" weekend ahead!

Get out to stop & smell the...succulents?

Sometimes living right next to a freeway has its downfalls of being able to practically hear every motorcycle, loud muffler, siren or speeding car whiz by. Not to mention, with the lingering chill in the air lately, it has been so easy to choose to work indoors (on several occasions, wearing long sleeves & socks!).  Tuesday was definitely a breakthrough: the sun was shining, the air was crisp and I found myself excited and energized even before having my daily dose of coffee (say what?!)! Even after brewing my slow drip coffee, I knew the day was too nice and I was too energized (and now too caffeinated) to waste staying indoors!

Our new place has a nice lanai right outside the front door which we've been using as extra storage and for those "we're still moving in" boxes that needed to be sorted.  I replaced the freeway noise by jamming to some Songza (I highly recommend THIS playlist!) and finally attacked the crazy pile of miscellaneous and made space where I claimed as my work area for the day :)

Along with decorating some new terracotta pots for the house and cafe, I was able to doodle up some new succulent plants.  Collecting these little guys have become such an awesome hobby.  They are just too cute (and quite affordable) to pass up!  I have to admit I bought two more the other day! I'm seriously a sucker for succulents!  :)

I'm not too sure where this doodle may go or what it will turn into just yet.  Majority of the time, I tend to draw things from interest or enjoyment and then go from there.  It might sound like a backwards process, but sometimes it helps to clear my mind by simply doodling and not worrying too much about its purpose or what it could be used for.

Just as in life, sometimes it's needed to spend time doing things we enjoy for the simple reason that it makes us happy :)  With days of being a busy body and getting caught up with the daily grind, being able to "stop and smell the roses" can make all the difference! :)