Living La Vida Holoka


“Here Comes the Sun” Amazing Intimacy Box

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Spring is in full swing and the sun is shining! Turn up the heat with the “Here Comes the Sun” Amazing Intimacy Box!


There’s something so playful about spring and summertime.  All of that sunshine and warmth on our skin brings out our inner child.  A simple task of washing the car or watering the garden can become a playful, teasing water hose fight.  Balmy nights are perfect for drives down to the beach or sitting around the fire pit together.

Every Amazing Intimacy Box has been exciting to receive, but when Leslie announced the theme for this box – “Here Comes the Sun” – I knew it was going to top all of the others.  We live for the sunshine!  Especially when most of our days have been filled with rain lately.  We take any chance we can get to sit outside together in the fresh air!

If you’re still experiencing cooler temperatures, don’t worry – this box will definitely help you turn up the heat!
 

INSIDE THE “HERE COMES THE SUN” AMAZING INTIMACY BOX

 

Waterproof Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

We just got a new Bluetooth speaker last year, but it’s a bit bulky.  This speaker is small and compact, making it easy to bring outdoors with you.  It’s even waterproof and has a suction cup on the back.  Bring it in the shower or poolside with you!  This speaker might be small in size, but it has a lot of volume!  Use it to play the “Here Comes the Sun” playlist Leslie has provided for you!

59″ Spring Patterned Chiffon Roundie

This might be my favorite item in this box! I’ve always loved these roundies, but never jumped at the chance to get one.  Thankfully, Leslie decided we should all have one!  Now, I’ve been pulling this roundie outside with us every chance we get!  Not only do we love it, but Hunter likes hanging out on it, as well!  This lightweight blanket is perfect for sitting back and relaxing together! 

Sensuous Storytelling Cards

Leslie designed these cards to help couples get imaginative and create intimate stories together.  There are four cards in total.  Three of the cards are stories meant to read aloud together.  How you end the story is all up to you!  The last card is made up of pick-and-choose words to help you create your own sensual story.

Yours and Mine Hardcover Journals with Elastic Closure

I love a good journal and notebook!  You’ll find two hardcover journals with elastic closures.  You know I love a good love note!  Use these journals to write little notes to one another or your secret thoughts.  I plan on using mine as a gratitude journal.  But not just any gratitude journal – a gratitude journal about my husband.

MyJoy Collection A Touch of Honey Raspberry Chocolate Sexy Body Dust

This sweet and sexy body dust is made with natural ingredients like raspberry and chocolate flavors and a touch of honey.  Apply this edible body dust with the included marabou feather and consider it dessert! 


Don’t forget to read the newsletter that’s included in each box. Not only does it give you a full rundown of all the items in the box, but you’ll also find your Spotify code to scan to get the customized playlist, and three experiences to bring you even closer!

Use the code AIBFRIENDS at checkout and receive $10 off your first Amazing Intimacy Box!

 
When you get your box, make sure you share your thoughts with the hashtag #amazingintimacybox.  Follow Leslie and the Amazing Intimacy Box on Instagram for more information about this truly amazing and unique subscription box!

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Take a look inside the previous Amazing Intimacy Boxes:

Laurita Winery BaconFest 2019

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We enjoyed an afternoon of food, fun, and lots of local wine at the bacon-centric Laurita Winery BaconFest including food trucks, live music, and more!


Bacon.  And wine.  Bacon and wine.  

I spent Saturday, April 27th, at Laurita Winery’s BaconFest.  You might remember Laurita Winery from the Oktoberfest and Food Truck Festival I attended last fall.  This time around, the food truck festival was centered around everyone’s favorite salty meat.  Each food truck had special bacon offerings added to their menus.  We hopped from one food truck to the next, sipping glass after glass of wine, and it was marvelous!

Wine Tasting

 
Our first stop was the wine tasting tent to refresh our memory, and our taste buds, with some of Laurita Winery’s offerings.  You got six tastings of your choice for $7.  I wanted to try some of my favorites from our first visit as well as some new varieties this time around.  For $1, we each got a shot of their chocolate wine, Chocolate Therapy.

  • Riesling (2) – a fruity, floral, dry white
  • Norton – dark, dry red
  • Bistro – a favorite, fruity, dry red
  • Tailgate White – a light and sweet white that would be perfect for summer
  • Tailgate Red – very cherry forward semi-sweet red

Empanada Monster

 
Our first food truck stop was Empanada Monster.  My sister, Nicole, got tostones topped with bacon and I got an arepa stuffed with mozzarella cheese and bacon.  It basically tasted like breakfast and was a delicious start to the festival.

JD’s House of Bacon

 
What’s better at a BaconFest than a straight up strip of bacon?  Barbecue bacon!  Nicole and I split an order of Vanilla Bourbon BBQ bacon and Chinese BBQ bacon.  There was a slight sweetness that played off the saltiness of the bacon with the Vanilla Bourbon BBQ glaze.  But the Chinese BBQ had a ton of delicious flavor that made me happy that I ordered two! 

Five Sisters Food Co.

 
You might remember Five Sisters from Oktoberfest.  My sister and I split the Brie sliders and they were excellent!  When I saw a bacon topped mac and cheese cone added to their BaconFest menu, I knew I had to try it! 

I got two forks for sharing this large waffle cone stuffed with mac and cheese and topped with applewood smoked BBQ bacon jam.  Oh my yum!  It was amazing!  The best way to eat mac and cheese while you walk around a vineyard is definitely in a cone! 


Twisted Steaks

 
By the time we got to Twisted Steaks, we were all about to burst.  Knowing we weren’t going to eat the rest of the night, I ordered their Cheesesteak Dumplings.  The dumplings are homemade and served with a side of sweet hoisin dipping sauce.  Bite into the soft dumpling and you’re met with a juicy cheesesteak filling.  I can’t wait to try their Cheesesteak Egg Rolls next time! 

Nicole and her fiance, Jon, split a Chicken Cheesesteak Pretzel topped with cheddar cheese and bacon.  It looked amazing, but I could only muster up the belly room to try a piece of the pretzel.  

Elemen7ts by Nitro Girl

 
Unlike last food fest, I was so stuffed that I never got to try dessert!  Take a look at this beauty that my sister-in-law, Sara, ended up getting from Elemen7ts by Nitro Girl!  It’s a Nitro Maple Bacon Crack Stuffed Crust Pizza.  Say what?!? 

This pizza is made with a bacon crack crust and topped with Nitro Maple ice cream, a Nitro Maple ice cream stuffed chocolate cannoli, bacon crack crumbles, and a drizzle of chocolate.  Now that’s how you do dessert at a food fest! 

The full list of food trucks from BaconFest weekend!
  • Angry Archie’s
  • Bacon Broads
  • Coffee Bouteaque
  • Cold Stone Creamery
  • Cousins Maine Lobster (from Shark Tank!)
  • Dags Dippers 
  • Dogs Gone Wild
  • Elemen7ts By Nitro Girl
  • Empanada Guy
  • Empanada Monster
  • Five Sisters Food Co.
  • Grilled Cheez Factory
  • Gyros to Go
  • House of Cupcakes
  • JD’s House of Bacon
  • Jersey Roll
  • Joe Smoke Bar-B-Que
  • Maddalena’s Cheesecake
  • Mastoris Catering
  • Meat Wagon BBQ
  • Pierogi Flats
  • R.E.D. Pizza Express
  • Shore Good Eats n’ Treats
  • Star of the Sea Seafood
  • Tacoholics
  • Twisted Steaks
  • The Little Sicilian

It was a fun day full of great food and glass after glass of  wine!  I even managed to bring home a bottle of Chocolate Therapy (I’m usually not a fan of chocolate wine, but this delicious)!  There were vendors set up at the entrance, so I also snagged a few bags of jerky from Jerky James Fine Meats and a bottle of pineapple hot sauce from Rocky’s Hot Sauce.  

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Have you been to any of the food trucks at this festival?

How to Grow a Black Flower Garden

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Bring a little drama to the outdoors this summer with a unique and magical looking black flower garden! Get started with these gardening tips and flowers!


A few years ago, I visited a small, local greenhouse looking for some spring flowers to plant in pots in our yard.  I had to do a double-take when I passed by a table of velvety black petunias.  They were gorgeous and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Black flowers!  They were completely unique and I knew I had to have them in my garden.  Year after year, I can’t wait to go back to that greenhouse and buy a pack or two of Black Cat Petunias.  They’re quite a conversation starter! 

That same greenhouse introduced me to another dark plant called the “Velvet Elvis.”  The leaves are a rich, dark green and purple blossoms bloom on dark stems.  Underneath, the leaves are a dark, velvety purple – akin to those retro velvet paintings of Elvis.  Our plant, aptly named “Elvis,” is a happy addition to our summer garden.

But all of this black garden magic went into full throttle the minute I saw pictures of Kat Von D’s all black flower garden.  For a couple years I’ve been saying I would devote one summer to an all black flower garden and, well, this seems to be the year it’s finally going to happen!

How to Grow a Black Flower Garden

 
Before you start buying up a whole bunch of seeds, it’s a good idea to look into your zone (search your location + “zone” to find out).  That way you’ll know when to start planting or when to at least start your seeds before transferring them into pots or the ground. 

Also, make note of how each flower grows.  Some might be bushy and others will grow tall.  Plan your planting spaces accordingly and you’ll end up with a super unique, pretty badass, rock’n’roll style flower garden!

Check out some of the seeds I purchased from Amazon below.  All of the flowers are black or very nearly black.  Plus, I even found black succulents to add to our garden!  I also included some of the flowers Kat Von D has in her all black flower garden.  Happy planting!

  1. Black Button Cornflowers
  2. Black Pansies
  3. Ornamental Black Succulents
  4. Scabiosa Black Knight
  5. Queen of Night Tulips
  6. Black Cat Petunias
  7. Bearded Dutch Iris
  8. Black Geraniums
  9. Moulin Rouge Sunflowers
  10. Black Beauty Gladiolus
  11. Black Charm Lilies
  12. Pennie Black Flowers
  13. Black with Red Dahlia
  14. Black Bat Flower
  15. Midnight Poppies

If you plant your own black flower garden this year, I’d love to see it!  Make sure to tag me @lavidaholoka and share with the hashtags #livinglavidaholoka or #livinglavidadiy!

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Would you plant a black flower garden?

20 Bright and Colorful DIY Easter Wreaths to Decorate Your Door

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Decorate your door with a festive look for spring and Easter with one of these 20 Bright and Colorful DIY Easter Wreaths!


You know I love a good wreath project! I’ve made a DIY wreath for just about every season….except Easter.  It’s probably because I have a couple store bought Easter wreaths that I’m super attached to.  One is a bunny-shaped wreath that lights up.  The other is a neutral wreath decorated with white feathers and off-white and brown eggs.  Some of the eggs fall off year after year and some of the paint has started to chip off the eggs, but I just can’t part with it.

The only DIY aspect about these wreaths is the fact that I break out my glue gun every now and then to reattach eggs and open some paint to make little touch ups here and there.  But if you’re looking for some new DIY Easter inspiration for your door, try one of these Easter wreath ideas!  They’re bright, colorful and a perfect welcome for the Easter season and your front door!

20 Bright and Colorful DIY Easter Wreaths to Decorate Your Door
  1. Magnolia Wreath DIY – The How To Mom
  2. Quick & Easy DIY Easter Wreath Tutorial – Urban Bliss Life
  3. Spring Cupcake Liners Wreath – The 36th AVENUE
  4. A Simple Marimekko Easter Egg Wreath – Pillar Box Blue
  5. Grapevine and Burlap Easter Egg Wreath Tutorial – An Extraordinary Day
  6. DIY Easter Rag Wreath – Blessed Beyond Crazy
  7. Tulip Wreath DIY – The How To Mom
  8. Chalk Paint Eggs for Easter – The Mom of the Year
  9. DIY Easter Bunny Wreath – Sustain My Craft Habit
  10. Easter Ribbon Wreath – My Suburban Kitchen
  11. Simple Easter Egg Wreath Tutorial – Seaside Sundays
  12. DIY Cardboard Easter Wreath – Little Red Window
  13. Easy DIY Easter Wreath – An Exercise in Frugality
  14. Simple Easter Wreath – Live Laugh Rowe
  15. Wagon Wheel Farmhouse Style Wreath Tutorial – Lydi Out Loud
  16. Easter Egg Wreath – A Pumpkin And A Princess
  17. Spring Easter Wreath – Sum of Their Stories
  18. DIY Fluffy Easter Bunny Wreath – Busy Creating Memories
  19. Rainbow Easter Egg Wreath – The House That Lars Built
  20. Spring Wreath DIY – Simple Acres Blog

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Do you have an Easter wreath on your front door?



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