Aloha Friday + Extra Chance to Win $750!
You can click_ _on each of the hosts & co-hosts links and labels to _easy_ follow them! If you want to go to their main blog and follow from there, click their link in the hop below! 
You can also share any blog hops you are hosting by linking your blog hop post in our linky below! I love to join new blog hops, so please share them! We had over 420+ link ups!! Each name gets clicked on average 5-50 times so link up, get some followers!! To ensure a follow back from me, leave a comment with a link to your blog!
_An easy, quick way to follow each of the hosts is by clicking on buttons labeled “GFC” or “Bloglovin’” under each picture! _ __ _
_ 
Grab our button!!
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Welcome to WEEK 56 of the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!
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Here’s the extra special addition to our lovely hop. It’s an oh-so-easy opportunity for you lovely participants of the Aloha Friday Blog hop to get some exposure to _your_ blogs!! What do you have to do to enter? Just link up to the Aloha Friday Blog Hop Below!! It’s that easy!! No extra forms or hassle, just link up! Each week we will pick a linker to featured at random and invite you all to say …
Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week’s featured friend…
Melissa at This Girls Life.
Melissa blogs all about DIY, food and the adventures of life!
Want a little taste of her blog? Check out these posts to find out what you’ve been missing:
Tips for Happy Feet
DIY Spring Wreath
Cake Mix Cookies
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If you’re interested in co-hosting future month’s Aloha Friday Blog Hop, please email jean@whatjeanlikes.com for more info.
Want a chance to win $750 Cash?
Come enter my Big May Giveaway
Linking up to the Aloha Friday Blog Hop gets you an extra 10 entries into this giveaway!
Follow our lovely Post Sponsor!
Want your link to be one of the first people see? Sponsor What Jean Likes by purchasing an ad space!! All Sponsors are automatically linked up! More info on becoming a
sponsor {here}
50% off ALL ads this month! Use code: MAY
Link up to this week’s hop. get the InLinkz code To guarantee a follow back from What Jean Likes, please leave a comment. Makes it easier and faster! :) [Still working on following everyone back from last week so don’t worry, I will follow you back if I haven’t already!] get the InLinkz code http://dlvr.it/3NdJ2x
A Week of Random
Oh man, the last week has been chaos guys!! My brother moved to the other side of the island into a new gorgeous place so I have been watching my eldest niece Kaliko a lot because she still goes to school on this side of the island because it didn’t make much sense for her to have to transfer so late in the year. So it’s been a lot of waking up early and transporting the littles here and there as my brother and sister in law get situated and organized. Needless to say, I’m tired.. _Yawn_. Though tiring, the week was a good and busy one. I even managed to squeeze in a pre-Mother’s Day photo session at Waikiki Beach on Saturday. I took a ton of photos and so far have only edited one as you can see from the photo above. It was a truly magical evening at Waikiki Beach that I spent with my son and an old friend. A nice way to say aloha to the week past and welcome in Mother’s Day. 
I gave my mom a lovely card and fixed, restructured , cleaned and organized her pantry for her. It was a _huge_ job I spent a ton of time doing on Saturday but she wanted it done so badly so I decided to give that to her as a Mother’s Day present. It was a better present than anything I could have bought her. Seeing her pantry clean and organized is wonderful and seeing her face when I did the _reveal _was even more amazing. It was a big ol’ mess guys…. like a cluttered, mess. You see, the pantry shelves were breaking after 10 years of use, hard use so she needed me to put new struts and supports to make the shelving sturdy enough to reorganize it. _Pats self on the back_. ’She has a huge pantry and I didn’t take pictures except for the one you see above. Needless to say, it’s a big improvement. 
How was your Mother’s Day? I had a pretty darn good one, spent the early part of the day praising Jesus at church and then the rest of the day with my son Alaka’i. We ended the night with my mom, dad, aunt, sister-in-law, brother and nieces having dinner at the Pacific Beach Hotel while _mermaids_ swam. The kids loved it because of the big aquarium and desserts. The adults loved it because of the big buffet (even though I didn’t really eat all that much because I’m on a diet). It was still delicious and wonderful.
I’m so blessed to have such a wonderful family and group of new friends. I pray so hard all the time for God to just reveal His plan for me because I feel like I’m in neutral sometimes so it’s been quite a journey these last few weeks of really letting go and _letting God_ work in my life. I’ve been quite challenged at times and blessed. The only “down side” to this week of chaos and having my son _and _nieces is the looks I get when I’m out with them alone. My nieces look enough like me in their own way to pass for my daughters and I get looks from people, _especially _older women. Looks of disapproval and judgement and they don’t even know me, don’t even give me the opportunity to explain that the boy is my son but the girl is my nieces. But I don’t have to explain myself to them. Then I wonder, do I ever give looks like that without realizing it? Do I ever come off as judgemental even if I don’t mean to be? It was an opportunity to look at myself in a whole new way and think about how the looks I may give people might affect them. I’m a people watcher myself so I notice the looks I get and man, it sucked being judged like that.
Being a single mom is lonely. Being a fat single mom… _lonely_. Though I’m working out and eating right now to fix my weight problem, it isn’t an instant fix all. Plus, my weight loss is more centered around taking care of myself and my health so I’m around for many years to come. I often wonder if I’ll ever find love. I must confess the view from where I sit on that front is looking rather gray but maybe it’s just not God’s plan for me. I fell in love and got pregnant by the first guy to tell me he loved me. I was terribly abused by him and thank God he’s out of me and Alaka’i’s life. I only had one boyfriend after him. Bleek. Hawai’i is full of these super gorgeous girls, in good shape and without kids. Guys have all these other opportunities to find girls they actually would want to be with and then there’s me. LOL. I think it’s also due to the fact that my day job, parenting and just not going out limits my alone time with adults… _perspective. _Whatever God’s plan for me is, I’m just thankful for all the blessings I do have. I am quite fortunate and have a pretty awesome life so I need to quit feelin’ bad for myself. But hey, girls tend to do that from time to time, get dramatic and emotional- at least once a month, ya know?
This week started off with some awesome Alohi time during the day. She’s a real character, that girl. Oh and my darling niece Kaliko lost her first tooth_… ever_!!! She’s so excited. The Tooth Fairy gave her $1. She was so excited when my brother dropped her off this morning.
To all of you, I wish a happy and blessed Wednesday, whether it’s a _Wordless Wednesday_ or filled with words. Know that you are loved, you are wonderful and you are beautiful. Happy Wednesday! Tomorrow is the Big May Giveaway by the way…. $750 bucks!! So excited!This scripture always gives me comfort when I’m feeling lonely and down on things.
_”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”_ _Jeremiah 29:11-13_
Aloha,
Photo Inspiration: 11 Secrets of Really Photogenic People
I read this article when I woke up this morning and found these tips to be quite helpful so I decided to share. Do you have any tips or tricks for posing and taking great photos of yourself? Do share and read some helpful tips from Glamour below!
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Having just renewed two government-issued IDs, I have been harshly reminded of what NOT to do when being photographed: stare straight-on at the camera, do a weird half-smile. As a beauty blogger, I’ve mastered looking cute in selfies, but as evidenced on my license and passport, when I don’t dig into my bag of photo-posing tricks, I look…_intense_.
The experience traumatized inspired me to investigate further why some people look so amazing in photographs. I picked three of my most photogenic Facebook friends (they always look _gorgeous_!) and asked them to reveal their personal photo-taking tricks. And, oh boy, did I get some good, extremely specific advice for you. Read on. )
Eleanor Langston, beauty writer—like me, she’s photographed frequently for work and is constantly surrounded by beauty-obsessed people. All of this teaches a girl to pose. She also has unfairly perfect hair, but let’s not get hung up on that for now. Eleanor’s look-great-in-photos tricks: 1. Play up your brows. ”Darkening them by one shade with a pencil, wax, or powder will frame your face and balance out your makeup,” Eleanor says. “If I have to leave the house quickly, it’s the one thing I do that makes a big difference.” 2. Dress in sleek clothes. ”It’s sad, but some outfits (billowy tops, tunics) that look fab in real life often photograph oddly because you don’t get the proportion of your skinny legs. For special events when you know there will be lots of Instagramming, either wear a slimmer-fitting top that hugs your silhouette OR throw on a tailored blazer on top of your loose top to give you a more streamlined shape.” 3. Master the chicken arm. ”Everyone in America has gotten the memo that the ‘chicken arm’ (the cheerleader, hand-on-hip pose) will make your arms look more toned, but they often miss a key point: You have to put one arm on your hip but then angle it BACK (not straight out), so that your elbow is facing behind you instead of perpendicular to your body. This angle makes your pose look more natural than the chicken arm, but you still get that same toned effect.” 4. Create angles. ”My general rule for finding the most flattering picture is to remember that it’s all about ANGLES. Never stand facing the camera, but position your body to one side or the other and even cross one of your legs. If you don’t want to cross your legs, then at least bend one of them to break up the shape.” 5. Use this body-shrinking move. ”I’ve found that if you lean into the camera and stick your head out forward and tilting down a little bit (it definitely takes practice, and you may look cray from the side!), your head will look bigger, giving you the optical illusion of a smaller body. I also cock one hip AWAY from the camera because whatever is closest to the camera always seems bigger.” )
Monica Widmann, product development manager—Monica is the sister of my camera-obsessed sister-in-law, has a boyfriend who’s into photography, and happens to be half Asian, which may involve a dominant photo-posing gene (according to my sister-in-law). OK, that all sounded really confusing, but all you really need to know is that Monica has truly mastered always looking amazing on camera. 1. Wear bright lipstick. This is one of the things that always makes Monica’s photos stand out in my Facebook news feed. “I’ve been addicted to pop-color lips since kindergarden!” Monica says. “Whether it’s pink, red, orange, or coral, every girl should have a go-to shade that brightens her smile in photographs. It really makes a difference.” 2. Know your good side. ”Any time a photo is taken of me, I fight my way into posing from my left side. This is difficult to explain, but the main reason is that my bangs swoop to the left. When I pose on the right, the focus is on where my hair parts
and it makes my forehead look bigger. Also, my nose looks smaller when I pose to the side vs. straight on.” 3. Squint just a little bit. ”Like Tyra Banks says on _America’s Next Top Model_, I always try to ‘smile with my eyes’. The best description I could find for this was
‘squinting slightly to create small pillows beneath your eyes’. I also describe it as half-moon eyes, like you see on those cute Japanamation characters.” )
Robyn Myhr, model and photographer—OK, fine, Robyn has a leeetle advantage given her resume (oh, and her husband Bryan is a professional photographer), but I think that’s just all the more reason we should steal her secrets. Robyn’s look-great-in-photos tricks: 1. Get silly. ”Many people freeze up when the camera comes out, making them stiff and awkward-looking. To help you feel relaxed, think of something funny or just giggle to yourself.” 2. Smile with your eyes. Wow, turns out this trick is pretty legit! “Yes, Tyra Banks knows what she is talking about!” Robyn says. “Try smiling without moving any muscle in your eyes—it feels fake, flat, and boring. Now try smiling just with your eyes. They say eyes are the widow to your. Even when you don’t smile with your mouth, but just with your eyes, you can take a good picture. Now put the both together—smile with your eyes _and_ your mouth. Voila—beautiful!” 3. Create a little mystery. “There’s a time and a place to look straight into to the camera, but for the most part, giving a little tilt to your head or turning your body slightly away from the camera gives your body a more interesting and relaxed shape.” What are _your_ go-to tricks for looking great in photos? Will you be trying any of the advice here? http://dlvr.it/3MtStZ
Aloha Friday… Looking Forward To The Weekend!
You can click_ _on each of the hosts & co-hosts links and labels to _easy_ follow them! If you want to go to their main blog and follow from there, click their link in the hop below! You can also share any blog hops you are hosting by linking your blog hop post in our linky below! I love to join new blog hops, so please share them! We had over 370+ link ups!! Each name gets clicked on average 5-50 times so link up, get some followers!! To ensure a follow back from me, leave a comment with a link to your blog!
_An easy, quick way to follow each of the hosts is by clicking on buttons labeled “GFC” or “Bloglovin’” under each picture! _ __ __
Grab our button!!
(Other button sizes {big & small} available HERE)
Welcome to WEEK 55 of the Aloha Friday Blog Hop!
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Here’s the extra special addition to our lovely hop. It’s an oh-so-easy opportunity for you lovely participants of the Aloha Friday Blog hop to get some exposure to _your_ blogs!! What do you have to do to enter? Just link up to the Aloha Friday Blog Hop Below!! It’s that easy!! No extra forms or hassle, just link up! Each week we will pick a linker to featured at random and invite you all to say …
Aloha Hoapili translates as Hello Close Friend. So, without further ado let me introduce you to this week’s featured friend… 
Karina at Mom In The USA. Karina blogs all about charities, decor, jewellery and much more! Want a little taste of her blog?
Check out these posts to find out what you’ve been missing:
Giving Back In May
Good For You
Did You Know?
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If you’re interested in co-hosting future month’s Aloha Friday Blog Hop, please email jean@whatjeanlikes.com for more info.
Do you want to be part of my Big May $675+ Cash Giveaway? Click here for more info on how to get involved:
Big May Giveaway
Brand spankin’ new giveaway from your lovely co-host Sarah: A Curiously Gorgeous Giveaway Some exciting contests Jean’s co-hosting that you may want to enter: Win $500 VISA Gift Card _(ends 5/10)_ | Win $100 Cash _(ends 5/10) _| $230 Cash Giveaway (Ends 5/17) | $100 Visa + Jewelry Giveaway
Follow our lovely Post Sponsor!
Want your link to be one of the first people see? Sponsor What Jean Likes by purchasing an ad space!! All Sponsors are automatically linked up! More info on becoming a
sponsor {here}
50% off ALL ads this month! Use code: MAY
Link up to this week’s hop. get the InLinkz code To guarantee a follow back from What Jean Likes, please leave a comment. Makes it easier and faster! :) [Still working on following everyone back from last week so don’t worry, I will follow you back if I haven’t already!] get the InLinkz code http://dlvr.it/3LnsLN
$230 Dolla Billz Giveaway with Olive & Ivy!
$230 DOLLA BILLZ GIVEAWAY! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway http://dlvr.it/3LY1f1
We Speak Now! Join Us For A Giveaway & Link Up & Empowering Women!
Ellie Coburn // elliecoburn.com | Ashly Griffith // After nine to five | Keri-Anne Pink // Gingerlilytea | Franchesca Cox // So this is love | Kristine Foley // The Foley Fam | Lena Baird // Lena B. Actually | Emily // Dashboard Diaries | Cristine // Life with a side of Coffee | Shane Prather // Whispering Sweet Nothings | Shantel Cannon // Our Funny Little Family | Heather // Finding Beauty in the Ordinary | Ady // When in Doubt, just add Glitter | Beth Lewis // Through the eyes of the Mrs. | Brooklyn // This Little Blonde | Cassie Yielding // Live. Laugh. Love | Tamika Rybinski // No Time for Tea | Torie Jochims // Lattes and Love | Laurel Martinez // Heart of Wanderer | Laura Williams // Lulu’s Little Wonderland | Kayli // Truly Lovely | Ali Mills // Our Happily Ever After | Jean // What Jean Likes | Hannah Stocker // All of My days with you | Jen Hallquist // Living a Listful Life | Jill Wilhelm // I know the plans I have for you |
Happy May Speak Now friends, both new and old! Today is an exciting day for Speak Now Today, some fabulous ladies have teamed up to link up and tell you that you’re beautiful. Speak Now is all about beauty from the inside out. We believe in your dreams + passions. We believe in you. Today we want you to look in the mirror and tell yourself that you’re beautiful. Identify what makes you feel beautiful. Make this feeling an obligation in your life. Today we are here to remind you that you can do anything. Today and everyday, you are lovely, you are perfect, you are bold, you are unique. Today and every day- you are beautiful! Speak Now is a women empowerment organization built around the philosophy that self-love, self-respect, + self-confidence will make you beautiful. We empower. We create. We educate. We inspire. Link your blog up to connect with other bloggers who believe in the empowerment of women and help us spread awareness about the importance of women empowerment! 
_ _ Once you link up, no community experience would be complete without a little welcome gift! We are giving away a $100 visa gift card and any piece of beautiful jewelry from the Speak Now shop!
So link up, enter our giveaway, take a look at some of our blogging friends, and share our mission with your friends, family, and fellow blogging community.
We are an online community designed to believe in you. Today, we want you to join our movement. _________________________________________________________________________________ HOW TO ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY _& win a $100 visa gift card and a custom jewelry piece from our jewelry store_ _ _ 
_ _ _ _ MANDATORY TO ENTER: ****MUST FOLLOW SPEAK NOW ON EITHER FACEBOOK, TWITTER, OR INSTAGRAM TO ENTER***** *****MUST LINK UP BLOG BELOW TO ENTER***** ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: +1 for each // Follow Speak Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - COMMENT FOR EACH + 1 for each // Follow via GFC, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for any of our co-hosts - COMMENT FOR EACH + 1 // Share Speak Now’s I AM BEAUTIFUL May link up with your FB or twitter friends - COMMENT FOR EACH +1 // Spreading the word via status/tweet/instagram post- COMMENT FOR EACH COMMENTS ARE OFF ON ALL WEBSITE’S CO-HOSTING THE EVENT SO YOU CAN HEAD ON OVER TO SPEAK NOW’S WEBSITE AND COMMENT TO ENTER! { WWW.WESPEAKNOW.ORG } 
_A very special thanks to Aunie of Aunie Sauce, Casey Wiegand, Keri-Anne Pink, and Salena Lee for sponsoring our link up!_ _ _ http://dlvr.it/3LVGcF
Beauty Tips: Getting Rid Of Puffy Eyes & Dark Circles!
Image not my own
Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I have puffy, dark under eye circles. It’s not a good look for me. In fact, I reckon it’s not a good look for anyone.
There are a number of reasons why you could be suffering from this nasty case of puffy eyes, such as staying up too late the night before, tossing back one too many cocktails or suffering from allergies. Whatever the cause, I’ve got the solution!
Step One: Find the Perfect Concealer
This sounds so simple, but most people don’t know how to choose the correct concealer palette for their skin. Choosing a shade for your under eye is different than the rest of your face.
What you want to do is pick a shade that is slightly warmer than your natural skin tone. You may need to test drive a few shades, but you’ll know when you have found the right one when it disappears into your skin naturally.
Concealers found in pots tend to be better than those found in sticks or wands, so keep this in mind when you are shopping.
Step Two: Blend and Hide
To perfectly apply your concealer, use a makeup brush. A brush reduces the likelihood of over application which can make your under eye situation look even worse.
Dip it into your concealer and dab it gently on your under eye area and blend. You want to focus on the darkest areas first. Dabbing a little on your inner eye and eyelid will help brighten your eyes as well.
Step Three: A Flawless Finish
To get the most flawless, incandescent finish, sweep some translucent powder underneath your eyes. The shimmery flecks in this powder will give your eyes an instant eye boost.
Top this look off with a perfectly lined upper lid and mascara. Your eyes will look brighter, bigger and more beautiful.
A Little Pre-Concealer Prep
Some days my under eye circles are worse than others. On days when they’re looking extra dark and puffy I like to treat them to a simple potato paste.
Potato juice naturally lightens and reduces inflammation so it’s perfect to use before your makeup.
All you need to do is liquify one raw potato in a blender or food processor, close your eyes and place the puree over your peepers. In 20-30 minutes time you can rinse it off and you will see a noticeable difference.
Simple, effective and not very time consuming; I’d say that’s a beauty win!
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Author Bio: Sabrina is a DIY loving beauty blogger for BESskincre.com. Whether she’s jet-setting or hanging out at home, she prefers to use her own skin care products like her Homemade Anti Aging Cream rather than buy them. Connect with her on Twitter or Facebook. http://dlvr.it/3LTNP9
Daily drive by view #instagramhawaii #iphoneography #hawaii #hilife #beauty #nature
On Broken Computers…
This isn’t actually my computer but man, I felt like making mine look like this because I was so darn frustrated this week!! I bet more than a few of you know the feeling when you’re working on a computer, in the middle of something amazing and it crashes…. I got it to turn back on but every word I typed was on a half minute delay where I’d type and it would stall and then like 30 seconds later the words would show up. Crazy. So after almost 5 days computer free, I finally got a new computer up and running so that I can approve ads, get giveaways going and work on some new and exciting reviews and posts. I haven’t had much time for photographing this week which is regrettable but normal considering my schedule.
How is your week going so far? I hope it’s going smoothly and that all your devices are working properly. I don’t know what I’d do without my iPhone. I would literally be out of the loop without it. Sure, I have a computer at my “day job” but I have tons of different work deadlines piling up so going on my site at work isn’t happening at all this week. Man, I miss being a kid sometimes. Remember when all you wanted was to be a grown up? Yeah… so do I…
Happy thoughts, prayers and big hugs to you all.
Aloha, 
http://dlvr.it/3LMwCw
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