What better way to commemorate my mom’s 50th birthday in Maui than to get a matching tattoos in Maui? I knew I had to get another tattoo because it was on my 27 x 28 list, so when I casually mentioned to my mom we should get matching tattoos again, she was all for it! 

After some research into tattoo studios in Maui, we called around to a few we flagged as options. The deciding factor for us was availability. Ultimately, we were able to book an appointment in at Zen Tattoo Maui. We booked our appointment for the end of our trip to make sure we didn’t have to sacrifice any time in the sun.

In typical mother/daughter fashion, we spent all week being unable to agree on what we wanted. We landed on getting two new tattoos each and have coordinated tattoos, rather than completely identical matching tattoos. Mama J got a shaded plumeria with the word ‘ohana’ on her ankle, while I got a plumeria shaded using black ink and dots with ‘aloha’ on my forearm. 

If you’re like us and big fans of Lilo and Stitch, then you know Ohana means family in Hawaiian. And family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. Our family is incredibly tight knit and this sentiment could not ring more true.

As far as Aloha, if you’ve been to any of the islands, you know exactly what aloha means. We opt to forgo the built-up resort area in Kaanaapali, and stay in Kihei. We feel its far more of a beach town experience, which is what we love about Maui! For me, I was so excited to permanently etch aloha on my skin. The feeling I get while on the island is something I can’t quite put into words. The people of Maui truly live aloha and its so evident in how they welcome visitors. For those who haven’t been fortunate enough to visit, our good friend Wikipedia defines it as:

Aloha is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians, for whom the term is used to define a force that holds together existence

My plan is to eventually create a full travel band tattoo of alternating triangles documenting all of the places I travel to and visit. 

To keep it coordinating and somewhat matching, we both got each other’s word in basic caps vertically along the back of our leg by above our heel.  

I’m so happy we got these matching tattoos in Maui. I’ll forever have these tattoos to remember celebrating 50 years of the best woman to ever walk the planet! 

Have you gotten a matching tattoo with somebody before? Share them with me!