Category: Life

DIY Magical Floating Candles for Halloween

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2024 was finally the year. 🪄

I’ve been dying to put my spin on this magical floating candle trend for years, and this Halloween, we finally had the perfect outdoor porch space to hocus pocus my dreams into a reality. And while I wouldn’t label our family as true-blue DIY’ers, the mulit-day task was a frightfully fun way to spend a weekend with the little guy, getting our house ready for the “spookables.” We even tasked him with a few small projects – pulling apart the “fluff” to turn into clouds, loading up the candles with batteries, etc – to keep his little hands busy while we charted our course through this *somewhat* challenging setup.

Magical Floating Candles

One of the most challenging elements of this enchanting display was finding the materials that would work best for our setup. Our porch is not blessed with an external outlet, so finding a battery-operated, weatherproof set of string lights that had the colorful “storm” effect we were looking for was a little exhausting. But find it, we did! The project took roughly two afternoons – one to put together the “clouds” and let them dry and a second to formally hang all of our materials on the porch.

In case you are interested in knowing how we did it – and how you can do it too! – read on for a list of supplies (all Amazon finds) and step-by-step instructions.

The Spellbinding Supplies

The Not-So-Harrowing How-to Guide

  • Prepare your space and choose a spot in your home to create the magical effect. An area with a low ceiling or in front of a window would work well. We chose to make an outdoor display on our small front porch. Clean the surface well and let it dry completely.
  • Measure carefully to make sure you know the full size of the space so you can buy the correct size sheet. TIP: Size up on the sheet so you can cut it down to the right dimensions. Our porch space was the perfect size for a twin sheet.
  • Cut your sheet according to your measurements. Use your spray adhesive to glue the polyester stuffing (our little one enjoyed referring to it as “fluff”) to one side of your sheet. Pull the stuffing apart a bit before gluing it down for that extra fluffy cloud look. No need for the distribution to be perfect, an uneven application of “clouds” makes for a more visually interesting piece.
  • Back in your location, plan out where you want to stick your 3M hooks to the ceiling. Make sure to account for utility and access if necessary. For us, the home’s entrance was a major obstacle and we needed to make sure candles wouldn’t hit the screen door each time we opened it.
  • We decided to use the 3M hooks for three purposes – stringing the LED lights, hanging the “cloud” sheet, and hanging the floating candles, so plan a 3M hook path that will work for all – including weight distribution of the sheet. Make sure to stick the 3M hooks on and let them set before hanging anything from them.
  • String your LED lights through the 3M hook path. Make sure the lights spread out in a way that will feel like the magical “lightning” is rolling across the “clouds.” Since our front porch doesn’t have an electrical outlet, we went with battery-operated string lights. Also, make sure the battery pack is accessible on the side, so you can easily change the batteries when they inevitably go out. Our set used AA batteries.
  • Hang your “cloud” sheet by cutting holes where the 3M hooks are. If any areas need reinforcements, add a few extra 3M hooks. This may take an hour or two of trial and error.
  • Add AAA batteries to each of your floating candles and tie on the provided string. Create a small loop and hang one floating candle per 3M hook. Hang them at slightly different heights for a more visually interesting display.

With just a few simple materials and a touch of creativity, we loved transforming our home into a Halloween wonderland filled with floating candles and colorful storms. The only thing missing are thunderstorm sound effects and wizard-worthy musical scores… but that’s something we gather our neighbors would not be too fond of.

Of course, we did end up topping the whole setup off with a delightful display of colorful pumpkins, picked fresh from a local farm. These gorgeous gourds and LED candles with lanterns added just the right touch of Halloween spirit to our otherworldly porch.

Special thanks to the hubby for putting up with my constant need to take photos and videos to document our process.

We are definitely not an “influencer” family and he graciously took on the lead role in my production of “Practical Porch Magic.” ✨

I hope you enjoyed seeing our haunting porch transformation. Let me know if you tried this candle trick – or any other spooky-fun decorating ideas – this Halloween.

Happy Haunting, guys and ghouls!

xoxo, Ashle

Making Mindful Matter in 2019

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The glitz and glam of the holidays has come to an end. I’ve kicked off my party shoes and slipped my aching feet into the less glamorous, but oh-so-comfy, Uggs we lovingly call life-per-usual.

Maybe it’s the stress of the two full time jobs that I’m currently working – or the fact that I’ve spent the last three days glued to my couch, knocked out with the gnarliest head cold I’ve had in years, and nothing but a marathon Game of Thrones  session with the hubsters and my thoughts to keep me going – but I’ve been crazy for change lately.

Not grand gesture, big announcement, I’m going to live-off-the-grid kind of change, but change that moves you nonetheless. While I’ve been settling back into the swing of our typical day-to-day grind, I’m realizing that the only thing that’s really grinding is me… and it’s not working. I’m not as healthy as I could (or should) be, I’m not as organized as I’d like to be and all of it is driving me (and let’s be honest, probably also my husband) just a little insane. So something needs to change.

But the memory of made and abandoned resolutions is a hard pill to swallow. Remember 2014, when I attempted to take and post an Instagram photo every day? Well I abandoned that in late-August when an unrelenting anxiety about posting finally got the better of me. And while I was bummed I made it that far and didn’t finish out the year, what I lost in unfulfilled resolutions I gained in time, which allowed me to meet my now-husband just a few weeks later. I’ve also vowed numerous times to return to blogging at the start of a new year. I won’t make any major promises on that front this time around (lest my two-full time jobs get the better of me in the next few months), but I’ll do my best to get back to the one true passion that ultimately drives me.

So what is all this about? What exactly am I going to do? Well, I am not going to do is make a resolution that I’ll start some fancy new diet or go to the gym every day. If you know me, you know that’s crazy. First, I love cooking and baking and food (oh my!) and second, I don’t really love how smelly and gross the gym can be this time of year. I can’t guarantee that I am going to be as clean as I should be, or that I won’t always be stressed out. I’m a stress case. We all know it.

But what I will promise myself is to be more mindful. More mindful about the food that I eat. And the choices that I make. In fact, I promise to make one small choice for change a day – whether it’s making an effort to clean the house on a random Thursday night or choosing to listen to my body and stay out that extra hour after work so that I can make it to the yoga class I used to love so much. Maybe it’s waking up 30 minutes earlier than normal to assess the day and get prepared for what’s ahead or resting my mind with 30 minutes of meditation one night after a truly stressful day at work. It could be going through my closet and donating the old clothes that I haven’t worn in years, or finally picking through the boxes under the bed in the spare room, filled with treasures I couldn’t bare to part with when I moved out of my last apartment, but honestly haven’t looked at since.

Above all? I promise to make mindful moments matter in 2019.

So help keep me accountable, okay? And feel free to leave behind any tips you may have for staying mindful in 2019.

xoxo

Ashley

Meet Luna Okimoto

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Blueberries and papaya and hay… oh my! This is the story of how a small section of the Okimoto kitchen turned into a bunny feeding factory.

A little less than a year ago, I (halfway-jokingly) came home and announced to my fiance  that I thought we should get a bunny. We had just moved in with each other and had been debating the merits of adding a pet to the mix when a co-worker had introduced me to photos of her beautiful little bunny. I laughed at first, thinking back to my childhood when we kept bunnies in the backyard in a giant hutch that always smelled and was a nightmare to clean. Surely, caring for a bunny in an apartment was not a possibility.

Wrong.

I went home to Kris that night armed with the stories of apartment dwelling rabbits who could be liter box trained (just like a cat!) and – in all honesty – expected him to laugh at me. Instead, in true Kris fashion, he suggested I do a little more research on what we would have to do to make bunny-ownership a reality. The next night, I came home from work to find that he had spent a chunk of his work day “falling down the rabbit hole” of rabbit-owner websites and watching alllll the YouTube videos he could find (I dare you to Google it – there’s a whole world of bunny obsessed YouTubers out there, bless their hearts!). And with that, he was hooked.

As fate would have it, a state-of-the-art adoption center had opened up just down the road from us and were trying to adopt – you guessed it – bunnies! Angelenos who are looking to adopt, PLEASE check out Annenberg PetSpace, I promise you won’t regret it (think clean, friendly and no-kill!). We made quite a few trips down to play with these charming little critters before finally deciding on a spunky little sweetheart they had named, Papita. While we didn’t vibe with the name, we connected with her right away. One of the few bunnies in the adoption center that would let us sit, pet and play with her, we knew she was special from the moment we saw this pitch-black beauty.

Fast-forward four months later and (post-name change) Luna is the true queen of our castle. She loves bluberries and dried papaya, and gets a huge kick out of running laps around our living room ottoman. Plus, her vegan bunny diet has encouraged me to wrap more veggies into our daily dinner recipies (seriously, we’ve had a true broccoli revitalization since little Luna became a permanent resident in the Okimoto household.

She’s probably the most spoiled bunny I have ever seen and to be totally honest, I don’t think I’d have it any other way.

So Long, Farewell. I’m Ready For a New Year.

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Dear 2013,

It’s over. I’m leaving. #sorryimnotsorry

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few absolutely amazing things that happened to us along the way. Two dream-worthy career opportunities were probably the highlight. The successful writing partnership, beautiful friends, and the many (seriously, so many) wine tasting trips were delightful.  I traveled and I grew. I loved, I lost, I learned. For all of that, I am truly grateful. Lest this anti-love note to the past 365 days take a tone that borders on bitter, let me state upfront, I am most certainly thankful for the countless blessings that have been bestowed upon me.

IMG_0764
Inspiration for 2014

But in the name of full disclosure, I’m over it. I’m over the fact that I’ve been neglecting this blog. I’m over the fact that I haven’t even cracked the surface on the editing notes for my novel that I received last January. I’m over the fact that I wrote only ten articles for Cinema Coma this past year. Seriously. Less than one a month. I won’t even attempt to broach the subject of my personal (read: dating) life, which has dealt me quite a few irritating (read: devastating) blows of it’s own this year. Long story short, I let myself slide on more than a few promises I made to myself this year and starting tomorrow, that changes.

I am over being over everything.

Last January, I announced confidently that I would write daily. While I did write something on the regs (yay for small accomplishments), I would like to amend it ever so slightly for the New Year. With that in mind, here is my list of (hopefully not too cliche) goals for 2014:

  1. Love. Bigger and better than ever before. Because… well, I think I finally deserve to cash in on that happily ever after that people keep telling me is coming my way.
  2. Take a picture eIMG_0634very day. I know people who did this a few years back and I have been enamored with the idea ever since. If anything, I’ll at least get a few great Instagram photos out of it (look for #instaAttitude).
  3. Work on my novel at least once a week (let’s be real, a daily goal would just be setting myself up for failure). Go ahead and keep me honest.
  4. Spend more time with friends and family. So basically, more phone calls, mid-week dinners, and 3+hour Google Hangouts with a few of my fab East Coasters.
  5. Breathe. Seems simple, but for me it isn’t.
  6. Raise my Cinema Coma monthly article average. Maybe this year, I can aim for 2. You know, reach for the stars and all.
  7. Find a Yoga instructor that I actually like. (PS… apparently, it’s harder than you’d think).
  8. Get back into Yoga. Starting off the New Year with insane back pain is not exactly my idea of a good time.
  9. Turn 30. It was already on the schedule, so why not make it a ressie, right? I’m thinking a huge beachside bungalow blowout.
  10. Start the process of buying a house. I know… that’s a big one. But I’ve decided it’s happening.
  11. Get an article published through another nationally recognized site or magazine. You know, build up my street cred.
  12. And obviously, update this blog a little more often.

So screw the drama, 2013. Things are looking up in the New Year and I’m pretty damn excited.

xoxo,

Ash