first of all our winner!  our randomly chosen (and lucky ducky winner) is laura kauffmann.  laura, you get a $250 gift certificate to lisa leonard designs.  congrats!  email us at customerservice@lisaleonardonline.com.

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and our other lucky winner for the photo shoot with jasmine johnson is the1stdaughter.  congrats!  can you email me at customerservice.lisaleonardonline.com and i’ll forward your info to jasmine.

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we are so excited about the new heartstrings necklace.  they’ve been selling like crazy, even before i had a chance to share with you!

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those who have our deepest affections hold the string that is forever bound to our hearts. the new heartstrings necklace is a simple, organic expression of deep feeling.  a 1 1/4″ sterling disc is customized with two, three or four heartstrings.  around the edge, we’ll hand-stamp names, words, or a date of your choice. absolutely filled with meaning.

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isn’t it lovely?  it’s on sale this weekend and you’ll find it here.

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and last but not least, it’s free earring friday–all day today!  you’ll get a free pair of cream, freshwater pearl earrings with any order.  just make a note in the notes section that reads ‘free earring friday’.  yay!

orders placed this weekend will arrive at the beginning of january.  you can shop here!

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thank you, my sweet friends for your words of encouragement.  yesterday i was downtown with david, just running errands and we crossed paths with a woman who had cerebral palsy.  we smiled at each other–but inside i wanted to grab her, hug her, and know her.  please understand, i didn’t pity her, i resonated with her.  life is hard and every one of us is broken and needy.  we have friends going through marriage difficulties, job loss and other hardship.  and i know you, my blog friends, struggle, too.  real life is a struggle.  and in the midst of that we find hope and beauty. i feel this tension every day–and yesterday i felt a little overwhelmed by the tension.

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last night was spent with chrissie in santa barbara.  it was impromptu sister getaway.  we talked and talked and it fed my soul.  the red case pictured above is my christmas gift from her.  love it!  sending big hugs to you today!

sometimes, real life hurts.

and i want to pretend it isn’t real.

but it is real.

and even in the midst of the hurt

real life has a lot of beauty.

there are times i have to look harder,

but it’s there

waiting to be found.

i want to live a real life

and be willing to experience the pain

and willing to look for beauty.

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i wear a scarf almost everyday.  lately i’ve been wearing scarves in more of a ‘tube’ style.  if you’re a knitter, then you can just knit them that way (lucky!) but if you’re like me you have to get a little creative.

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this is the scarf i wore today.  this amazing lady made it.  and the clip is from anthro.  i bought a few for christmas gifts and accidentally got one for myself (whoops!).  i’m also loving these clipped to a scarf.

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do you wear scarves?  any great tips for wrapping or knotting??

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we’ve been having some deliciously rainy days this week.  the rain makes it feel so much more like winter.  at night it gets so cold that by morning the rooftops and grass are covered with ice.

so we’re lighting candles, sipping cocoa, wrapping gifts and of course, making lots of jewelry.  we decorated cookies with friends this week–which basically consisted of piling on as much frosting and candy as possible. i’m really excited about the gifts we got for the boys this year.  for their big gifts, david is getting this and matthias is getting this.  they’re gonna love it.  the month goes by so quickly, i’m trying to soak it up!

what’s your favorite part of the christmas preparations?

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all week i’ve been reflecting on how thankful i am to be married to my sweetie.

in high school i had crushes on the popular boys.  in college i wanted to date boys who had the right ‘look’.  i wasn’t as concerned about what was on the inside, i foolishly thought image was the most important thing.

i dated a few guys pretty seriously.  i fell hard.

then the feelings would fade and eventually we would break up.

then i met steve and although i didn’t have strong feelings of attraction initially, my feelings quickly grew.

but beyond feelings of attraction, i felt respect, admiration and confidence.

this was the man i wanted to spend my life with.

as we dated our friendship grew.

10 years later i can confidently say that, while romance is wonderful, it’s the friendship that carries us through the little daily decisions and the seriously crappy times.

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i’m so glad i married my best friend.

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did you miss the deadline for christmas delivery?  while we will be doing our very, very best to fill orders placed after dec 7th before christmas, we can’t promise you’ll have custom pieces in time.

but, you still have a couple options.

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our brand new ‘you are loved’ necklace is in stock and ready to go!  i made a bunch of these before we hit the holiday rush so that if you happened to miss the deadline you can still give an amazing, thoughtful gift.  we have a limited number, so order soon!

this new necklace is hand-carved then cast in sterling silver and hand-stamped with a message of love.  it’s the perfect size for everyday (3/4″) and is strung with a sweet freshwater pearl.  i love this necklace!

you’ll find it here.

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or what about a gift certificate and a pair of freshwater pearl earrings.  beautiful. and if you order before december 20th, you’ll have them in time for christmas.

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and last but not least–yay!  we are giving away a $250 gift certificate.  so fun!

leave a comment and tell us which piece(s) is your favorite and what it means to you.

much of my weekend was spent working or laying on the couch feeling crummy, but sunday afternoon we headed outside and it was great.  first we went to the new bob’s big boy for seriously mediocre burgers and seriously delicious sundaes.  we used to eat at bob’s big boy on road trips as a kid.  brings back so many memories!

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then we went out to morro rock for a a bit.  the sun broke through the clouds and the seagulls were flying all around us because some people had brought food for them.  it was crazy and really beautiful with the sunlight behind.  oh and so cold! (well, 55 degrees).

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then back home to warm up and play a few games. and drink some hot chocolate (of course!).

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we’re really into candyland around here.  and slapjack (thanks auntie ellen!).  the boys are getting the game hungry hippos for christmas–that will be hilarious.

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and don’t forget today is the last day to place orders for christmas delivery.  you can shop here.

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we’re so excited to get some cooler weather and rain this week.  tell me about your weekend–is it cold where you are?

were you outdoors this weekend??

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our friend shane was able to recover all my pictures and documents.  i am so thrilled!  thank you, sweet friends, for your kind words.  and thank you, shane for working your magic!  i am going to start backing up at least monthly. i’ve learned my lesson!