July 30, 2010

More DIY Wall Art

By Leah

A while ago, I showed you guys the paintings I created (along with Jake’s help) for our living room. You can view again here.

For our bedroom, instead of three smaller canvases, we wanted one large one. Staring at a huge blank canvas can be super intimidating.

The key is to have a plan but to also be flexible, because you never know what you might end up with after experimenting with various techniques. I always like to play with mixtures of paint and water because it creates neat layering effects.

We used different shades of purple to create this painting that now hangs in our bedroom:

Purple Painting 1

My favorite part is on the top right of the painting, how watered-down brush strokes stained the canvas to look like a city skyline. Definitely didn’t plan that!

Another project I did recently ended up hanging in our bathroom until it came crashing down…the glue I used to hold the canvases to the ribbon was not strong enough…any suggestions??

Anyway, the first thing I did was cover the three small canvases in wall spackle (the stuff you use to fill in small holes on your wall) to create some texture. Then when that was dry enough (about 12 hours) I sanded the surface so it wasn’t as rough.

Then I glopped some green, yellow and brown paint  on there and used a rubber leaf stamp. I really didn’t like the final outcome so I decided I would try to start over and rinse off all the paint in the sink . Once I did this, I actually really liked them! The paint stayed where I had used the stamp and in the grooves from the spackle, but was very muted in all of the other areas.

Green Painting 2

Green Painting 1

Creating your own art for your walls is both inexpensive and rewarding because you get to look at your own accomplishment everyday!

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July 29, 2010

The Drink that Does it All

By Leah

I stumbled upon something at the grocery store and am currently pretty obsessed – Chai Green Tea

You always hear about the amazing health benefits of Green Tea and this one is delicious! With the addition of the Chai spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove) this tea seems like such an indulgence.

I take mine with a touch of milk (that is why the color is a little weird in the picture).

I have it at work in the morning as a pick-me-up or at home in the evenings instead of an extra snack or dessert.

Love it!

Chai Green Tea

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July 28, 2010

Finally – New Bedroom Reveal!

By Leah

Hi Everyone!! So remember a million years ago when I promised to show you our bedroom re-do? I finally took some photos of our new space!

First Up – Before Pictures:

This is how the space looked when I moved in. It was nice, but definitely more of a boy’s room (and note how my bedside table used to be a TV dinner tray)

Old Bedroom 1

Old Bedroom 2

Old Bedroom 3

And here is how our bedroom looks now:

New Bedroom 1

Of course Raleigh snuck into some of the pics:

New Bedroom 2

Close up of the wall paper:

New Bedroom 3

Potted orchids are from Home Goods:

New Bedroom 4

Our bedside lamps are also from Home Goods:

New Bedroom 8We picked up this little candle holder in China Town in San Francisco:

New Bedroom 7

I got this mirrored jewelry box at Target. This is where I store my engagement ring when I go to bed:

New Bedroom 5

And there you have it! I cannot take full credit for any of it, it was 100% a team effort. We painted the walls (’agreeable gray’ from Sherwin Williams) and wallpapered the wall behind the headboard as an accent. Neither of us had put up wallpaper before, but the process went pretty smoothly. I actually prefer wallpapering to paiting, but I’m sure it is more difficult to do a whole room vs. one wall.

All of the accesories came from Target, TJ Maxx or Home Goods. We also did some DIY artwork for the wall. Above the dresser are three framed black & white photos. One of a California beach, one of the St. Louis arch and finally a scene of New York City. I also did another painting for a wall across from the bed.  Stay tuned for pictures of the painting and more of the Raleigh photo-shoot!

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June 25, 2010

Raleigh Turns One!!!

By Leah

We don’t know the EXACT date, but based on getting him around 9 weeks old, we estimated Raleigh’s  birthday to be May 15th. He blew out the candle on his doggie cupcake (with yogurt frosting) and got a new toy which is now known as his ‘Birthday Buddy’.

If you have a dog that rips through stuffed toys in 20 minutes, I highly recommend the “Go Dog” brand of toys. Yes, they are more expensive, but they have a chew guard technology that makes it a lot more difficult to rip open the seems, and provides hours of entertainment!

You can find where they are sold near you here.

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We just love him so much!! Here’s to another great year!

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June 24, 2010

Books, Books, Books

By Leah

I have been reading a lot lately. Well when I say a lot, I mean reading two books in two months, which  is a huge accomplishment for me.

Usually I can never get through books because I end up reading them a few pages at a time before falling asleep and then I give up halfway through the book. 

When I have long plane rides though, I can breeze through them in a few days. Here are my two most recent reads, I recommend them both!!

And here is the next batch I picked up at the library yesterday…interesting mix! I have heard good things about the first two. The wedding book I just saw and picked up.

I want to remember to focus more on the meaning of our wedding than the style of our wedding. Even though I love planning the visual and style aspects, that is not the part that REALLY matters!

What are you reading??

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June 14, 2010

Happy Monday & Fitness Update

By Leah

Remember my goal to workout (in some form or another) everyday? I’m finally starting to achieve it! I’ve switched my schedule around so I can workout in the mornings and although its sometimes hard to get out of bed and get moving, I feel so much better through out the day knowing I already accomplished my goal! Here is the basic breakdown of my morning workouts:

  • M – Hit up the gym for 20-30 min of cardio and 10-20 min of strength
  • T – Power walk/run with Raleigh (2.5 to 3 miles)
  • W – Cardio/Strength at the gym
  • Th – Power walk/run with Raleigh
  • F – Cardio/Strength at the gym

I like the mix and have been sticking to it so far. I also feel good about giving Raleigh really long walks a few days of the week, especially since I am less likely to go very far with him in the afternoon HEAT.

The treadmill (referred to by some as the DREADmill…) is my go-to cardio machine. I find that when you switch speeds/inclines every minute or so it really makes for a more enjoyable  experience overall. One of my favorite bloggers, Tina from Carrots and Cake has some awesome treadmill workouts. Here is an example of one, but she has several others here.

A (Not Boring) Treadmill Workout:

Total time: 45 minutes 

  • Walk at 4.0 at 7.5 incline for 4 minutes
  • Jog at 6.5 at 1.0 incline for 5 minutes
  • Repeat walk + jog 2 times
  • Jog at 6.5 at 2.0 incline for 3 minutes
  • Run at 7.0 at 1.0 incline for 3 minutes
  • Sprint at 8.0 at 1.0 include for 1 minute
  • Jog at 6.0 at 1.0 incline for 1 minute
  • Sprint at 8.0 at 1.0 incline for 1 minute
  • Run at 7.0 at 1.0 incline for 1 minute
  • Jog at 6.5 at 1.0 incline for 3 minutes
  • Walk (cool down) for 5 minutes  

Give one a try and you might find the treadmill not all that bad!! She also has tons of awesome resources on her blog: recipes, workouts, healthy living tips, etc…

And because I feel as though this post needs a picture…can I totally go here on my honeymoon??

The Misool Eco Resort in West Papua, Indonesia.

Photo via Desire to Inspire

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June 4, 2010

Wedding Colors

By Leah

Wedding Color Palette.

This is a little color palette I have put together for our wedding. Keep in mind, I won’t be using the actual objects (well maybe some), but they represent the colors that will be used for invites, bouquets, centerpieces, etc. Of course this may change, but for now, I love it!

I promise to talk about stuff besides weddings soon :)

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June 1, 2010

Wedding Inspiration – the good and the bad

By Leah

Hey all! Sorry I am becoming only a sometimes blogger, such is life! Even though having this blog was a big goal of mine and I had grand dreams of making it amazing, I’m just not feeling it lately. And I don’t feel like adding something to the pile of things to feel guilty about.

Similarly, I’m trying hard not to feel guilty about not having the most amazing, beautiful, unique, put-together, meaningful, special and cutting edge wedding around. Where would I get this idea that I needed to put together such an event?

Wedding blogs that’s where! Both wonderful and evil at the same time! Wonderful in the sense that they provide beautiful inspriation photos and ideas, evil in the sense that my wedding will never compare. Either way, I’m still going to look, so here are some pics I like via snippet & ink (Can you tell I like green and white?). Other pretty blogs include Once Wed and Style Me Pretty

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May 21, 2010

Do you like crowns?

By Leah

I wanted to show off pictures of my beautiful engagement ring! At first I couldn’t figure out how to get a good photograph up close, then I discovered the macro setting on my camera, its awesome!

So the story behind the title is that when viewed from the side, the ring resembles a crown. Jake asked me once or twice before actually giving me the ring ‘do you like crowns?’.  I’m sure I responded with ‘uuhhh, I guess soo…’ because at the time I had no idea what he was talking about! But as soon as I saw the ring, it all made sense :)

I love gazing at it and thinking how lucky I am to be loved so much! Of course I don’t need a diamond ring to feel loved, but it is a symbol of a pretty big commitment…

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May 20, 2010

Cheapskate Wine Review – Winking Owl Shiraz

By Leah

Here is my latest wine review for you! I picked up this bottle at Aldi, the vineyard is called Winking Owl and I just thought the little guy was so cute:

IMG_2892

Here he is again on the cork:

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OK…enough with the cuteness and onto the review!

price - $2.99

label says – “subtle flavors of black cherry, blackberry and a hint of spice”

my take – I thought this wine was just  OK…you maybe saying to yourself, of course it wasn’t great, you bought it for 3 bucks at Aldi! However, on our recent trip to California, Jake and I did a day tour of Napa. Our awesome tour guide told us lots of fun facts, for instance, did you know that Charles Shaw’s (famously known as ‘two buck chuck’) 2002 Shiraz won a double gold medal at some big wine competition? So remember – low price does not ALWAYS mean low quality wine.

It didn’t bowl me over, but it was not unpleasant either. It went down smoothly, almost to the point of seeming watered down. Its suitable for just having around the house in the event that you need a glass of wine to unwind, but I wouldnt choose it for hosting a dinner party.

cheapskate rating – ♥♥♥ (3 out of 5)

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