Aloha

Hawaii holds a special place in our heart ever since we were married there in 2012. When the opportunity came up to see the new Hyatt Kaanapali Residence Club on Maui (thanks to my dad!) it was an opportunity we could not pass up. Kaanapali is by far our favorite place in the world, and the Hyatt did not disappoint! Getting the space of a condo with the amenities of a resort was the perfect fit for us. 

Waiting to take off 

                                                           

Hanging with Grandpa in the airport before we leave for Oahu

Hyatt Residence Kaanapali

We decided to spend a few days in Waikiki before heading to Maui which was a nice change of pace. It was good to land after a long flight with a toddler and be at our destination rather than hopping on another flight right away. In Waikiki we stayed at the Hyatt Place, which was a great option! It was 2 blocks from the beach and a little larger than a standard room (plus free breakfast). The staff was incredible and the hotel was so modern and clean, would definitely stay there again! We also spent a day on the north shore, another favorite place of ours. We took Bennett to the the Dole Plantation where he loved the Dole Whip, explored Haleiwa town and grabbed a burrito at one of our favorite spots Konos, and finished with a late lunch at Turtle Bay!

Morning walks on Waikiki

Waikiki with my little man

Loved our morning walks along Waikiki

Love the North Shore

We had 5 days on Maui and it was incredible! There hasn't been much down time since we had B so it was nice to relax, as much as you can with a toddler, and enjoy being in our favorite spot in the world.  Some of our favorites on Maui are Hula Grill (especially the Mai Tais...yumm!), Leilanis, morning walks along Kaanapali, Sansei, Mama's Fish House, the drive to Hana is beautiful if you have never done it before and just spending time with family enjoying paradise. 

Checking out the Montage Kapalua

Poolside at the Hyatt

Relaxing with Kona Big Wave - Best Beer!!

Family Dinner our Last night

Gorgeous 

 Until next time...Maui No Ka Oi

Traveling with a Toddler

Before our trip to Hawaii 2 weeks ago I was incredibly nervous, scouring the internet and asking family & friends for any advice for traveling with a toddler. Our little man is 15 months old, incredibly active and I wanted to be prepared as possible for our 6.5 hour flight to Oahu. Here is what worked for us...

• I know there is some controversy around Benadryl, but it made all the difference on our flight. Our little guy fights sleep unless he is in his crib so it was critical to getting a nap in. On the way back he took a solid 2 hour nap which set him up for a great flight home, even with landing near his bedtime. It also helped that he had his own seat so he could comfortably sleep laying down between my husband and I.  * we tried Benedryl at home as a test and it did not work, but during travel it made him sleepy. Make sure to try before either way to make sure it does not have an adverse effect and make your little one hyper. 
• Snacks! We had all of his favorites packed and tons of extra milk (+ a lunchbox - this is the one we have,  and a freezer pack). It surprised us that finding milk in airports was actually very difficult and twice the only place to find it was paying for a tall milk at Starbucks in the airport which was around $4. 
• Lots of dollar store toys. They didn't keep his interest too long but each one was new and exciting for him which helped keep him happy. 
• His favorite activity, and what kept him entertained for an hour or two, was stacking the plastic airline cups that our drinks came in. He would stack them up, put his toys in them and thought it was the best thing.  
• Download some apps to your iPad that are age specific to your child and have a movie or tv show downloaded. We had Mickey Mouse ClubHouse episodes and on the way back when it was close to his bedtime he watched it for over an hour and relaxed. 
• Walking the aisles a little helped, or bringing him to the back for a change of scenery. Luckily our little guy is very friendly and wanted to say hi to everyone. Its nice if you get people around you who are friendly, it also gives your little ones a little entertainment even if its for a few seconds.
• And finally try not to stress about it too much, it will all work out. Even when he was fussy it didn't last long and before you know it you will be on vacation 😀

Breakfast Date

When I first graduated college I got a temp job at a big company in town doing Data Entry, the job was just okay but I made friends for life there. This morning I got to have breakfast with one of my good friends Kelley and catch up, well as much as we could with an active toddler : ) So blessed to have somewhere so beautiful in our backyard, The Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain.

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The view from our table at Core

Lounging with mama

Such a silly little boy

DIY Magnetic Chalkboard

It has been such a busy and fun filled summer, especially with our little guy turning the big 1!! Our birthday gift to him was getting his playroom set up. This required lots of late nights of painting and prep to get everything ready but it was SO worth it!! My favorite part of his playroom is the Magnetic Chalkboard we made for him.

To create this we used:

• Rust-oleum Magnetic Primer
• Rust-oleum Black Chalkboard paint
• Door/Window molding (for the trim)
• Chalk (to prime)
• Paint Brushes (1 for the Metallic paint and 1 for the Chalkboard paint)

To start we taped off the area, to give us an idea of where the molding would later go. 

We did 3 coats of magnetic primer, letting each coat dry in between. The metallic primer is very heavy so I would recommend to have it shaken where you buy it (we found it at Home Depot). Make sure to do at least 3 coats to ensure the metal is strong enough once covered by the Chalkboard paint.

Once you have finished the Metallic Primer start with the Chalkboard Paint. It only took us two coats to get good coverage. This was much easier to work with than the metallic!

Let the paint sit overnight and the next day measure out your trim pieces and attach around the chalkboard. We ended using screws to secure it to make sure our little guy could not get it off the wall.

Once the trim is finished and secure you then need to prime the chalkboard. To do this coat the chalkboard with chalk (we used generic chalk from Walmart). Once primed wipe the chalk off so you can start using your beautiful chalkboard. Below is the finished product! (This would be great in a kitchen or office area as well.)

Family Pictures

The past few months have been a bit of a blur with weddings, travel and working on our house. This month is a special month for us, our little guy turns ONE!! I can not believe how fast this past year went.  To capture this special time we had pictures taken by Scott Rice Photography, he does AMAZING work and was so patient with us and our little man. 

Home Improvement

We bought our first house in August and since then have slowly been making small improvements. This weekend we got the hardware up on all our cabinets and ceiling fans installed before it gets any hotter here in Arizona. Of course our little guy loves having the cabinet knobs on, makes it easier for him to open all the cabinet doors - next weekend will be babyproofing!

Love these sea turtle cabinet knobs for the guest bath! 

First Family Vacation

We had been planning this getaway for quite awhile and as it got closer my anxiety got higher, I was so worried about how our little guy would do traveling. Turns out he is a great traveler, so much in fact that he slept through his first plane landing! Only thing we didn't expect was that he is afraid of the ocean and sand, he got slightly better by the end of our trip but hopefully he will like it more before our next beach trip in the fall!

Our hotel, the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, was the perfect location - close to the beach, restaurants and shopping. I love browsing all the shops in La Jolla, and always end up finding something for the house or Bennett. Our two day trip was the perfect amount of time for Bennett's first trip, but even as I am writing this am starting to daydream about our next getaway!

His amber teething necklace: http://otter-things.com/

Sunny San Diego

There have been so many firsts for us this year with Bennett. This weekend will be our first family vacation, first flight with a baby and Bennett's first time at the beach...can't wait for him to see the waves and put his little chunky toes in the sand! With all this excitement I admit I have put off packing and am starting to realize how much more we will be bringing with us than before. I started with Bennett's beach gear, since our weekend will be spent mostly at the beach.

His beach essentials: Honest Company sunscreen and swim diapees, hats, swim trunks, shades, Plum Organics snacks and his Lands Ends beach bag. 

Jump Right In

Hi guys! My name is Krissy Taylor and I am taking the leap and starting my own Lifestyle Blog. Although the name of the blog is thebeachyblonde, unfortunately I live nowhere near the beach but hey a girl can dream. I love the ocean, anywhere tropical really, and absolutely LOVE to travel. There hasn't been much travel happening since I became a momma to the sweetest little boy Bennett William, but that's okay because he is all worth it. I have an amazing Hubby who I have been with for over 11 years and married for 2! Can't wait to share my life with you as well as fun projects around the house (mainly documenting the hubby doing projects), travel, and of course Bennett.