finding beauty Archive - Lisa Leonard Designs Blog - page 2

Lisa Leonard Designs

Hi, I’m Lisa-mommy to my boys, David, 9 and Matty, 8 and wife to Steve. I create handmade jewelry and love taking pictures. Stick around and get to know us!

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my family

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Our happy little family… David, Steve, me and Matthias

Archive for the ‘finding beauty’ Category

totally random tuesday.

November 16th | finding beauty, thoughts

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today i’m just going to share some random things on my mind.

1. my car broke down the other day. and all of the pics in this post were my view

while i waited for the tow truck.

if i have to wait for a tow truck, i might as well be by the beach.

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2. yesterday i felt discouraged and overwhelmed all day.

it’s hard getting our rhythm back. the house is a mess. we need groceries.

i felt down all day.

3. lately i’ve been craving a western bacon cheeseburger from carl’s jr.

i seriously hate their commericals.

but i’m weak. i had one last night for dinner.

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4. i’m in LA today for follow-up visits with david’s doctors.

he’s doing so great! (hope they agree!)

5. my favorite color combination lately is peach and tan. love it.

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6. i’m excited for thanksgiving, but i can’t wait for christmas!

i want to start decorating but i’m trying to wait another week.

7. i just went through all the boys clothing and donated two huge bags.

now it’s time to purge my closet!

* * *

now YOU share something random with us!

xoxo, lisa

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Laughter, tears, worry and joy--Motherhood is amazing! Celebrate Mom with a special gift from Lisa Leonard Designs!

weekend of rest

November 15th | finding beauty

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what a great weekend!

it fed my soul, seriously.

slow paced, great conversations,

time with my mom and sis.

wonderful!

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the ladies {above right} became instant friends.

they shared their journeys of losing husbands,

losing children, and unexpected joy.

it was so beautiful (and unexpected) to make this connection.

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the grounds at the retreat center

are so lovely.

but mostly, it was good for me to breathe.

and have time to think

and reflect.

i knew i needed that, but i didn’t know how much!

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there are natural hot springs

so you can see that duck is swimming in a steamy lake.

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now i’m getting ready for a busy week.

david has follow up visits at ucla.

and we have some big changes coming to the website soon.

can’t wait to show you all!!

* * *

how was your weekend?

did you get any rest?

xoxo, lisa

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the ocean in autumn.

November 8th | adventures, david, finding beauty

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wow, we did some seeerious relaxing this weekend.

david had a fever sunday morning

and i spent pretty much the whole day snuggled up with him on the couch.

and it was wonderful. {the snuggling part!}

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these pics are from friday.

i spoke at a MOPS group in santa barbara.

it was so fun.

thank you ladies for having me!!

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on the way home i stopped at el capitan beach

to catch my breath and snap a few pics.

wow, it was a gorgeous {and quiet} day.

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it seems like fall has finally come to the central coast.

and we welcome it with open arms!!

while we plan for thanksgiving,

i am secretly getting super excited for christmas.

white lights and tree and pretty packages.

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but back to fall at the beach.

mmmm, so nice!

just me and the birdies hanging out for a few minutes.

while i breathe the ocean air and avoid getting hit by a wave.

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someone drew a heart on this tree {above}

and while i don’t recommend drawing on trees, i thought it was sweet.

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little webbed footprints in the sand.

love it.

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happy monday, sweet friends!

we are keeping a close eye on david to make sure his fever doesn’t get worse.

and the holiday busyness has already started over at the shop.

so fun! so crazy!

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i just started my christmas shopping over the weekend (online!)

and i’m seriously ready to pull out the stockings and white lights.

{i’ll try to wait a week or two!}

have you started thinking about the holidays yet?

xoxo, lisa

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this + that {weekend!!}

November 5th | david, family, finding beauty

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these little flowers were just outside the hospital

and i took a few minutes last week to snap them.

i love the close-up detail. so pretty.

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david is doing fabulous!

we are so excited to see him smiling and playing.

he’ll be out of school for a few weeks until the bones in his chest heal.

but he really seems like himself–silly and playful.

he’s just a little more tired than usual.

amazing!

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my mom was admitted to the hospital a couple days ago.

looks like she is on the mend and on her way home soon,

but it’s just been a crazy couple of weeks!!

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i’m ready for some routine around here.

we are getting there little by little.

{check back tomorrow for a fun saturday special!!}

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this weekend will involve some hardcore relaxing.

and a lot of laundry!

what do you have planned this weekend?

xoxo, lisa

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westwood, los angeles

November 1st | adventures, david, family, finding beauty

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ucla is located right in the middle of westwood

so there are lots of little shops and restaurants within walking distance of the hospital.

it was kind of surreal to be surrounded by monitors and nurses and medication

and then step outside into sunshine and charming, tree-lined streets.

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i got to sneak out for an hour here or there just to get a break.

i stayed all night with david in the hospital and most of the day

so little sunshine was great for my sanity!

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there is lots of interesting architecture and colorful tile.

so many little restaurants i’d love to try out some time.

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ok, that was the biggest pigeon i’ve ever seen!

and i love the old school bel-air camera sign. i didn’t have any time to go inside though.

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it felt so good to wander the streets a little

and explore a new neighborhood.

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I love those tile steps {above right}. especially the vintage black tile.

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i love birds. but you already knew that.

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steve and i got chiptole for lunch one day.

it was great to get a little time together in the middle of so much stress.

and while it was hard to leave david, the nurses were amazing.

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i kinda fell in love with the buffalo exchange.

it’s a high end thrift store with lots of vintage finds.

i’ll share a few treasures soon.

and diddy reese–um, homemade ice cream sandwiches.

delicious!! is your mouth watering??

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have you discovered any new little restaurants or shops lately??

xoxo, lisa

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Laughter, tears, worry and joy--Motherhood is amazing! Celebrate Mom with a special gift from Lisa Leonard Designs!

urban standard, birmingham

October 28th | adventures, david, finding beauty, food & goodies

Hi friends! David is doing so well. Mostly he wants to run around and we’re trying to make him lie in bed. Last night he ate pureed roasted chicken and applesauce (which he loved!!). This morning his chest x-ray came back a little fuzzy on the left lung-so they are looking into that. Overall, we are great, just tired. I’m off to get a big coffee!!

Here are some pics from urban standard coffee shop in Birmingham. It was a highlight of the trip!

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xoxo, lisa

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Laughter, tears, worry and joy--Motherhood is amazing! Celebrate Mom with a special gift from Lisa Leonard Designs!

seven pretty things

October 25th | blog friends, david, family, finding beauty

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today we head down to LA with david to see the nurse practioner and {hopefully!} get cleared for surgery. then if all goes well, david heads into surgery at 7am tomorrow!

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my stress level is pretty high, my emotions are all over the place.

i’m sad to leave matthias (but so glad he’s with grandma!)

i’m worried about david–but so anxious to put the surgery behind us.

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so i’m looking at pretty things and taking lots of deep breaths!

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1. pretty bottles from ruby rose.

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2. gorgeous day in morro bay.

i could hardly catch my breath, it was so magical.

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3. a little butterfly who landed

while i was sipping coffee with my sweet friend jen.

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4. words.

aren’t the lovely?

words like, happy, climb, flower, always.

what other words make you smile?

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5. mmmm, pinecones.

can’t you smell the pine trees? i want a mountain getaway.

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6. glass knobs.

the weight, the way they reflect light. so pretty.

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7. little black bird in flight.

so pretty.

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i’ll be updating my twitter account.

thank you for journeying with us!!

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i keep looking at these images-they help calm me.

what pretty things are making you smile today?

xoxo, lisa

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sweet saturday

October 23rd | finding beauty, san luis obispo

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what a perfect, lazy saturday

after chocolate chip pancakes

matty and i headed out to browse some garage sales

but the weather was gloomy and no one was having sales,

so we got a coffee and browsed the bookstore

and looked around urban outfitters.

back home we laid around,

i painted a buffet for the workshop

and we watched a movie.

mmmm, a perfect saturday!

[tell me about your saturday]

xoxo, lisa

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everyday moments

October 12th | blog friends, david, family, finding beauty

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i was so inspired by this post from tara whitney.

i want to capture more of our everyday moments.

less posed, less perfect.

heaven knows we aren’t perfect.

we’re grumpy and silly and stressed at times, but we are happy

and i’m so thankful.

thankful for cinnamon pull-aparts this morning.

thankful for lots of time this weekend

to sit with the boys and watch the chronicles of narnia.

thankful for our messy house.

and a grocery store right down the street.

i love our crazy little family.

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just an update-david’s surgery is scheduled for octocber 26th.

he has a cold and he needs to get all the way better

in the next week. we are praying for that!

and i am doing fine minute to minute,

but i feel the anxiety of it bubbling under the surface.

can’t wait to be on the other side!!

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for today, i want to treasure the moment i’m in.

what are you thankful for today?

xoxo, lisa

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Laughter, tears, worry and joy--Motherhood is amazing! Celebrate Mom with a special gift from Lisa Leonard Designs!

little bits of happy

September 30th | finding beauty

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{because i am a little anxious, i’ve been looking for the happy even more}

and it’s not so hard to find…

1. a half-wished dandelion

2. toast and orange marmalade

3. favorite jeans

4. all four of us snuggling under one blanket

5. blue skies with white clouds

6. leaves starting to change

7. leftover cupcakes (yum)

8. matthias reading little books to us

9. coffee with cream (of course!)

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10. what else?

xoxo, lisa

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