hello september!

hopefully, your summertime was filled with good times spent with your nearest & dearest along with random new discoveries destined to become lifelong favorites (mine: duck confit corn dogs handmade by the delicious kitchen at real, a gastropub. next time, our pau hana party agreed to order up enough plates so we each have one to call our own rather than splitting with our sweeties).

let me begin the first post of fall by sending a big mahalo to you, my sweet h|h 'ohana, for all your patience so i could enjoy a much needed summer free of online obligations. it allowed me to be next to my dear hubby's side as we said our final farewells to his dad and then recharge my soul with downton abbey marathons, reading stacks of books borrowed from the library to fall in love again with well-written words, and tackling all the tiny projects that had fallen by the wayside (mending pile - check!, archive emails - check!!, transfer domain to new company as my small protest against former registrar's ad campaign objectifying women - check!!!).

i'll be back tomorrow with an especially sweet post but 'til then find a few fun diversions for your week ahead along with the makers of the fab designs featured above after the jump!

• click over to gypsy's online shop & scoop up discontinued styles for 40% off with secret code luna (expires: fri, sep 7th).

• photographer rita coury who just happens to be one of my lovely sponsors & who snaps the most delightful photographs of little ones and the people who love them will be hosting her second annual mahalo showcase on fri, sep 7th. a gallery of rita's favorite pictures snapped over the past year will be shared (find an adorable preview in h|h's sidebar) along with giveaways galore.

• super citizen, the indie emporium specializing in eco-friendly goods, has decamped from chinatown and opened up shop at kahala mall. (alas, former neighbor chinatown boardroom shuttered its doors earlier this year.)

oh, and a bit more background on the designs featured above before i sign off for the day. i first spotted these cheery hi tees at the human imagination in chinatown which offers them in a generous selection of styles and colorways for keiki and grownups.

and the bubbly typeface featured in ashley johnston's happy-go-lucky we live hawaii design can't help but make kama'aina smile. stickers can be had in a rainbow of colors or share the aloha with a trucker hat.

off to make a batch of pineapple fried rice and listen to the first lady's speech!

shop toast: festive flags

an island graduation is an iconic rite of passage from friends and family showering the newly minted graduate with lovely lei and party invites booking summer social calendars with carport celebrations, beach picnics, and resort receptions.

if you still have a few weeks before the big party, our friends at shop toast recently introduced candy-filled festive flag favors in school colors to cheer on your grad's scholarly accomplishments.

with cap & gown season already upon us, do hele if you hope to festoon your festivities with tiny banners since a custom design (starring your grad's photo perhaps?) requires a three week turnaround. you are welcome to send along your own artwork or hire shop toast to whip up something special to make your grad smile (for an additional fee, natch).

order online or pop by the kaimuki studio for more details.

island crush: pacific impressions

happy may day wherever you may be! my love affair with vintage maps has been well documented on h|h along with my paper crush on pretty letterpress goods. so you can imagine my delight when i happened across the loveliest letterpress map featuring the hawaiian islands.

and it's printed in turquoise ink!

{sigh}

the etsy shop of quail lane press woos with hand drawn illustrations of seaside locales (the lost art of cartography just happens to be a hobby of the designer) impressed on a vintage vandercook press. each print is then carefully tinted with watercolor for an extra helping of handmade sweetness.

limited edition and only 75 will be printed so hele over to peek our part of the pacific in all its glory.

$45 online.

p.s. a chocolate print is also offered if you prefer a more subdued design.

morning crush: pupu platter

look what i spied while browsing through re-nest's list o' etsy favorites this morning! how fun would these plyboo cutting boards of the hawaiian islands be at your next soirée? kaho'olawe appears to be missing, but still a darling pupu display for a luau, wedding, or weekend gathering.

made by brooklyn's aheirloom who is happy to customize the placement of a little heart to mark your hometown or favorite island spot.

$40 online.

p.s. mainland states also offered.

social wahines 2.0

danielle from social wahines recently sent along word that the group's new beta website has launched with the addition of an online social networking feature. it's like an über-exclusive facebook, an online pa'ina to meet new peeps and a way to help biz-minded island girls expand their empires.

the new features mean that sw is switching to paid memberships so, if you are already a member, you will need to re-establish your account to access all the good stuff including monthly networking events (at a discounted rate) plus member-only deals, message boards & much more.

annual memberships go for $65, however, to celebrate the new website, social wahines is offering h|h readers an introductory membership deal. it's on a sliding scale so the sooner you hele over and sign up, the more you save:

• $45 membership ($20 savings)
  secret code: swnov
  expires: sun, nov 30th

• $55 membership ($10 savings)
  secret code: swdec
  expires: wed, dec 31st

click rewind to learn more about social wahines.

p.s. once you register, please join the new h|h group on sw!