Home Ownin' & Lovin' It

Do you know what owning a home in Hawaii feels like? It feels like you hit the jack pot, but your jackpot is in the form of a cute little house... attached to a 30 year loan. But boy, it has never felt so good!

When you think about it... You now own a piece of paradise -- even if it's costed you an arm and a leg for a 850 square foot townhouse. Heck, that thang is all YOURS. You can do whatever home updates you want (as long as it's within the HOA guidelines). You can have a dog, a cat, or even a miniature pig. No one to tell you you can't paint your walls bright red -- even though I highly advise against doing that. No one else to pay for living in their home that they own. Nope. This time, it's yours.

The bottom line is, everyone who has grown up in Hawaii knows the struggles of owning a piece of it. It doesn't come by easily for us locals. A lot of times investors come down and buy homes quick, and then turn around and sell it to us locals for so much more. It sucks but it's the name of the real estate game. The cost of living here is so HIGH, and the market is so competitive... So, when it does happen for us, it's kind've a big deal. It's a huge life milestone. And what do you do when you achieve a milestone in life? Well, we GOTTA photograph it. Duh!

My long time client turned friend aka fashionista + owner of faith-inspired clothing boutique Zoey Grace, Rachel Marie (best middle name ever) Chantavong, contacted me a month ago because her and her adorable little family had reached that epic milestone; They just bought their first home! She wanted me to come by her new place to take some cute little photos of her family outside of their home. I absolutely loved that idea because we too just purchased our first home last August. I understood all that went into achieving something like this. It's something you should be so proud of! Like dude, we just bought a HOUSE, in HAWAII. Let's cheers to top-ramen for dinner for the first few months because sh*ts about to get real. Yeah, we'll be hella broke for the first 5 years, but hey... this is an investment in paradise. I repeat. PARADISE. Our keikis get to grow up here and always have a place to call "home" just like we did.

So, without further ado, here are some of the photos we took. Aren't they just the cutest family?? 

(Shout out to my hubby for suggesting we turn on their bistro lights because the porch shots are my fave!)