Saturday, July 31, 2010

Color never gets old

It's no secret that color drives me. So when I saw these fun and fearless spaces on Deco My Place I had to share them with pride! Happy weekend!

Luvs!



via Deco My Place

Friday, July 30, 2010

Happenings

Hello my sweet lovelies! I thought I should check in and let you all know whats going on here. I had a dnc yesterday and was at the hospital for a good part of the day. This whole experience has been the hardest thing in my life, but I know God can use my testimony to share with others who are struggling. I have complete faith that Evelette will have a sibling. I mean I have four adopted brothers and they are God's special gift. I think adoption is a beautiful thing. We were going to adopt anyways, so the plan hasn't really changed. I am excited to recover and heal and get back to trying cause I ain't no quiter!!!! : )
You know I haven't been feeling the greatest when I (Leah) have projects piling up. It's so not in me to just have unfinished things lying around! So I thought I would share some of my ideas. Again you guys need to tell me if I am CRAZY becasue I have been on some meds!
My absolutley amazing Mother (who can find anything at Goodwill, seriously she should start a business) found me a matching wicker peacock chair at the Goodwill aka "GW". I am thinking of putting them at the end of my dining room table. Should I keep them black? And if not what should I paint them? This is part of my master plan to give all my burgandy chairs to my Mom who loves them. I thought I could replace the other ones with something young and fresh (maybe from Ikea).


I was thinking that maybe this fabric would be cool for curtains in here?

My amazing big sister who is pregnant no less, delivered this amoire to me the day before yesterday. And the thing is solid wood and heavy! My husband was out of town this week and she took it upon herself to get it for me. Thanks Sissy!

Another shoutout to her she made me the pillows I wanted to make from that Premier fabric. The light blue chevron one. I love how our couch looks right now with all the blue! Thanks sweetie!


Luvs!

via Leah

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Gwensday!

When is she not stylish? I guess thats why I post on her every Wednesday! She's just fantastic!
Question.... How does she get that red lipstick to stay on so well, especially with having kids? I wear some every once in a blue moon but it ends up rubbed off and everywhere! What to do!

via people

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Tropical Vacation

I think it's time for a vacation! How about you all? Or maybe just sitting in one of these tasteful tropical settings would do the trick?
Luvs!





This room was actually the inspiration for our family room. It's funny how you get an inspiration and totally transform it into your own. That deer is so cool in this room!

Heavy Heart

I thought I should explain my little bit of distance lately. I found out a few weeks ago that I was pregnant. I went to a checkup at my doctors and they were happy to tell me that the visit had changed and that I was pregnant. I was so so happy and already picking out baby names. I totally thought this pregnancy was how it was like with Evelette and not with the other two miscarriages. I had an ultrasound last Friday and they said they saw no Embryo but maybe that meant it was too early to see it. So I had multiple tests and another ultrasound over the weekend and yesterday. The doctor called me yesterday and said that it is a "non viable" pregnancy. So tomorrow I have an appointment to discuss options of either having it removed or wait to have it pass naturally. My heart is very heavy and I am confused and sad. But thank the Lord I have God to look too because I know he uses everything for good. It has been frustrating because I am still nauseous and icky feeling. In sharing all this I hope to encourage others who are struggling with "baby making" or those who are just struggling. I love you all so so much and hope you all are having a better week than me. I will post some happier posts here soon, the distraction will be nice. Thanks for all your support!

Luvs,
Leah

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Monday at My Home

First of all I need to give big thank yous to some extremely sweet readers and fellow bloggers! I got some of the sweetest emails from Chantale over at Skiny Mini Kiki and Stephanie from Bonita Bellita. They totally lifted my spirits this weekend and they are two of the sweetest people you will meet. I also want to thank Miss K from Love, Lipstick, and Pearls for giving me three awards this past week! I was tickled pink to get them and I love your blog, your such a doll! And for all the people who constantly leave comments and send me sweet little notes, it means the world to me and I look forward to all your wonderful input and love. Thank you so much!

So for this Monday at my home I wanted to show you pictures of all the chairs in my home. I have quite a variety and I know you have seen most of them but just in case you want a closer look, here you go.

BTW I got half off the amoire this weekend and put my money down for it, so hopefully we will get it picked up from the store the beginning of this week! Yay projects!

Luvs!

Spare vintage tufted chair in family room.

Vintage office chair in family room that we got for free.

Kitchen chair that I painted and recovered.

Evelette's kitchen chair that I painted.

Formal dining room chair. Not crazy about the color. : )

$5 wicker chair that I painted.

The famous craigslist chairs that my husband and I redid together.

Our master bath chair that I picked out for a christmas gift. ; )

Evelette's bedroom chairs, both gifts.

Here is a bonus picture of the Ikea light at night time. (sorry my camera is horrible)


via Leah

Friday, July 23, 2010

Plan for this weekend

My plans for this weekend include laundry, cleaning, yard work, picking berries at my parents farm, and finding a cute dresser or amoire for Evelette's room. And yes I did not get that dresser on craigslist! So bummed he finally sent me a text saying that it had sold for full price. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I spied a cute amoire at Salvation Army but it was rather pricey at $125! They usually have 1/2 off sales on Saturday so we are going back tomorrow to see if it's on sale. I bought several cans of white spray paint just to be prepared! I will keep you all posted and I hope to catch up on some of your gorgeous blogs this weekend!

Luvs!
Here are two of my favorite examples of a white amoire and white dresser.

Can't believe

I can't believe that I discovered this amazing bird house at Goodwill for $30! I gave it to my sweet sister becuase she wants to get a bird. Isn't it the coolest?!!!!


Thursday, July 22, 2010

A warm welcome to Keely from Luxe and Lillies!

Please give a warm welcome to Keely from Luxe and Lillies! She has the most wonderful blog and her taste is flawless. I hope you enjoy her top five favorite rooms just as much as I did!


I'm so excited to be guest posting for Leah today because I adore her beautiful blog, as well as Leah's immense talent! It's an honor to be here, and I hope you enjoy some of my favorite rooms (it was really hard to choose ! )

From the second I saw this in Lonny I thought to myself, "this is my favorite thing I have seen in a while." I love the way the rich orange compliments the deep blue and the punch of green added by the garden stool... I die! The towels add a great hint of pattern to keep your attention, and the silver accents really polish it off. It is just perfect to me.



This room is so light, yet colorful, and deep yet airy... so many different parts of this room to love. The chairs seem like a cozy place to sit and chat and have coffee in the morning, the chaise is tufted which I adore, and it would be lovely to take a little afternoon nap on with all of the sunlight pouring through the windows. The geometric cutout lamp adds a certain degree of character which is playful and fun, and who doesn't love ceiling to floor curtains? They complete a room to me!



Honestly, I'm not perfectly sure that I aesthetically love the look of this bedroom, it just has the different elements which make up a great space to me. Classic white bedding is an absolute must, its one of my greatest indulgences and this bedding with the thick lilac strip adds exactly that luxurious feeling that I go for when creating a space to relax in. The over sized lamp, ornate mirror, and classically shaped chair are all pieces that work together well despite their differences and create a bedroom that speaks to someones personality!



While I love bright whitewashed rooms, the deep yet striking colors have made me giddy with excitement. This purple (a color that has me in love lately on its own) is an absolutely spot on shade. I'm someone who values a comfortable dining space in the utmost, and this looks like the perfect little nook to have a lingering glass of champagne over conversation, or just a place to blog all afternoon. The chandelier adds a gorgeously feminine touch, and the red is striking.



As I said about, white rooms will never fail to suck me in. I love their clean, fresh, and simple palette which just makes you want to breathe deeply. To me, the only thing this room is missing is some beautiful white orchids on that table!




via
Lonny
David Jimenez
House Beautiful


Thank you so much Keely you are such a beautiful writer and I adore all of your choices! Isn't she amazing?!!!!

Two nights Two meals

Lets just say I am not super into cooking but I have the desire to see my family eat healthy home cooked meals so thus I am delighted. My pictures here are not so cute and pretty sloppy but I thought I would share two recipe's from the last two nights dinners. This is the first time sharing a recipe on this blog, so please excuse my unprofessional presentation here. : )

Last night, we had
Romaine Hearts Lettuce Wraps
1 head romaine hearts
3 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
1 bunch cilantro
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup fresh grated cheese
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup oil
1 haas avocado
2 red roma tomatoes
1 bunch green onions
salt and pepper

Blend garlic cloves, 1 tsp. salt, cilantro leaves and pine nuts in a small food processor until you get a creamy texture. Transfer to a bowl and start adding oil while whisking. Bring to desired texture adding the chicken stock if needed. Finish with salt and pepper to taste. Keep aside. Core and seed tomatoes and cut into strips. Slice green onion and avocado and set aside. Clean romaine and separate leaves. Mix the chicken with the cilantro pesto. Take a leaf of romaine and put some of the chicken mixture, add avocado sliced, tomatoes, onions and top with cheese! YUM!



The night before last we had

Eggplant Lasagna with Herbed Ricotta and Asiago
1/2 pound plum tomatoes, halved and seeded (I did not do either)
1 clove garlic
4 tbl olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
2 eggplants (about 3 pounds), sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick
1 cup ricotta
1 large egg
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan (1 ounce)
4 cups mixed greens
1. Heat broiler. In a food processor, puree tomatoes, garlic, 1 tbl of the oil, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. 2. In 2 batches, arrange the eggplant on a broilerproof sheet, brush with 2 tbl of the oil, and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Broil until charred and tender, 3 to 4 minutes per side. 3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, basil, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.4. Spread half the tomato sauce in the bottom on an 8 inch square dish. On top of it layer the eggplant and ricotta. Top with the remaining eggplant and tomato sauce. Sprinkle with Asiago. 5. Reduce oven to 400 F and bake until bubbling, 15 to 20 min. Let rest for 10 min before serving.




How to keep daughter happy while cooking dinner in the morning before babysitting little nephew!

Yes I spilled! Such shame! : )

This isn't even the final product because I didn't get my butt in gear to finish before baby drop off. But trust me it turned out prettier than this. Oh what you all have to put up with with me!

via Leah

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Hunt you down

Have you ever wanted something on Craigslist or anywhere for that matter where you really want something and are trying to get it but the person is not even returning your calls? Well, thats my delima the last couple of days. I totally want this dresser for Evelette's bedroom. She has outgrown her changing table and we could use some more storage. I saw this cute dresser on Craiglist for $40 and I called them and left a message that I would love it for $30 but they won't call me back! Too soon for the "I will hunt you down" message? Lol. On that note like my choice of dresser? I can't decide if I will leave it like this or paint it white. Maybe I will just have to see it in person.... If I can ever get a hold of them!

Luvs!



Via Leah and craigslist

Gwensday!


via People
Happy Gwensday everybody! I hope your week is going well! I thought it about time to show off some of Gwen's work from her L.A.M.B. Fall Collection. I love all of these outfits and could see her in all of them. I think the makeup is throwing me off a little bit but other than that, I LOVE. I really love the belts they had draped over some of the outfits, a great touch. Overall, perfect for a rocker goddess just like Gwen!













via Source