I am so excited about our new artisan collection. The pieces bring together cut glass, polished stones, textured wood, and hand-made elements cast in pewter and dipped in gold. I love the way they wear–long and  sparkly. Just plain pretty.

This sundress is from Target and I passed it up three different times. But on my fourth visit, I tried it on and loved it. It will be a summer staple.

David wanted to give me kisses. Fine with me!

Wood and gold and aqua stone. LOVE our day to night necklace.

 And the down to earth bracelet has been on my wrist every day. It’s so versatile. And such an eye-catching piece.

Outfit details. Dress, Target. Sandals, Swedish Hasbeens. Day to Night necklace, My shop. Down to Earth bracelet, My shop.

This summer I’m loving color. Which piece from our artisan collection is your favorite?

I thought it would be fun to tell you about the first time I met Cameron. I already knew he was. I mean, he’s an incredible, world famous photographer. He also happens to live in the same town as us, and we have mutual friends. I kept hoping I would meet him. And then one day it happened!

My family was having dinner at Del’s Pizzeria {so yummy if you’re in the area!} and as we were leaving someone came up behind me and asked if I was Lisa Leonard. I replied that I was and he introduced himself as Cameron Ingalls. It is cheesy to tell you that I was a little starstruck? Well–it’s the truth. He is so talented. I got a little tongue tied to be honest!

 A lot has happened since our chance meeting at Del’s that night. Our families have become friends and we’ve had many opportunities to work together on projects.

Cameron has a magazine called Wedding Standard {I know, he’s amazing, right?!} And we got to do a spread on cake toppers.

Last Father’s Day we interviewed him for our series ‘What rocks about being a dad‘. It was a breakfast shoot at their adorable home.

I was a guest speaker for a workshop he held here in San Luis Obispo and I also created some styled shoots for the photographers.

And last but certainly not least, he’s taken our family photos the last couple of years for Christmas. These photos are so precious to me!

 Make sure to check out his blog and like his facebook page. And of course, you can see the beautiful photos he took for our summer collection here.

{thank you, Cameron. you rock!}

My team and I have worked countless hours to create pieces that reflect beauty in the brokenness. That bring together color, texture, pieces molded by hand and mixed metals. I’ve been looking through the photos for our summer collection and honestly, it makes my heart want to burst. I feel like we’ve captured it. We’re bringing beauty into the world in a tangible way. The team that I work with day in and day out–what can I say? They just GET it. They resonate with my heart. They want to find beauty as well. They care about LLD and they care about YOU. Each of them sees my brokenness and their own brokenness too. And in that place–that’s where we meet. That’s where we create. That’s where we look for the beauty. It amazes me.

I’m so humbled to work with our team and to be part of this community–right here on this blog. Where I share my heart and you care. And you share your heart and your own struggles. Thank you for that–it’s no small thing. Thank you for coming here and caring about my family. And journeying with us.

Can your heartaches teach me find joy in the little things. They can and they do.

Can my imperfect marriage show me how flawed I am, how flawed he is, and help us to love each other even more. It does.

Can Matthias’ art and his passion for drawing make me want to learn more and try new things? Yes, it certainly can.

Can a little boy with seven fingers teach me about accepting the imperfect and finding the beauty in the every day? I know he can–because he does. His brokenness teaches me about my brokenness. And in the brokenness we have found love. And hope. And life.

This is the heart of our summer collection. This is the heart of Lisa Leonard Designs. I hope you love it as much as I do. I hope it speaks to you.

Jen of Earth Angels Studios carries our heartfelt collection–so I made an appearance at the event to chat about our jewelry with guests of the show. It was so fun. The ladies were so incredibly excited to hear my story and talk about the jewelry.

That’s Jen on the left–one of the most FUN, energetic and smart women I know. And that’s Ben the owner of Folk Magazine on the right. We’ve worked together before–but I hadn’t met him until that weekend. And he’s incredible. Loved him.

I’m sure you all know Jo Packham of Where Women Create, Where Women Cook and more. I haven’t seen her in a couple years and it was great to get some time together. This woman is seriously amazing.

I also got to know Laurie Meseroll of Mudcakes. This woman’s got style and spunk. I tried not to ask her nerdy questions, like ‘how do you get your eyeliner to look so awesome?’. Play it cool, Lisa, play it cool.

Ruby Rose dressed me for the event with a super fun crinoline, eyelet dress and cardi. I love Ruby Rose!!

I was so inspired at the end of the day. Amazing business people, incredible artists and more vintage finds than a person can handle. Pretty much perfect, don’t you think?

How about some hellos for a new week?

Hello SUMMER! We are in full summer mode around here. That means lazy mornings, frozen yogurt and trips to the beach. Love.

Hello trying to squeeze in a little work here and there. {when I’d rather just play!!}

Hello quick trip to Dallas at the end of the week. I hate to leave my boys but I can’t wait to see my nieces!

Hello brand new summer collection. I’m incredibly excited about it. And many pieces are limited edition–so hurry over to check it out.

Hello party planning. We’re having a celebration for Steve’s doctorate and David’s birthday is right around the corner.

Hello pancakes. I’ve been making them almost every morning–with lots of chocolate chips.

Hello love! I’m so glad you’re here!

Hello Monday! What are you saying hello to this week? Leave some hellos in the comments section for us.

Things got a little crazy at this point in the trip. A few days into our trip we left Gniezno and drove to Zary {about three hours away}. The drive was just gorgeous–open countryside and puffy clouds.

We stopped beside the road, not to look at this adorable cottage, but to chat with the police officer who pulled us over for speeding. There was a major language barrier but after a brief reminder about the speed limit we were on our way. Phew!

Do you see that balcony above bursting with flowers? I love that. It totally caught my eye. I want to be the person who adds as much beauty as possible to each day. I want to walk out on my balcony and be greeted by bright blooms.

As soon as we pulled into the town I noticed color. The buildings were all colorful and fun. So charming.

He brought this lego book with us everywhere we went.

The famous composer Telemann spent some time in Zary.

Pizza, soda and beer. Yum!

Zary holds one of the palaces from the Von Promnitz family {of which our friends are descendants}. We are told they’re planning to restore this amazing palace and turn it into a hotel with shopping. How incredible will that be?!

Love this moment captured!

Too silly to get a good pic–so this will have to do!

We arrived in Zary, had a great meeting and then ate pizza and explored the town as the sun set. We got into our beds and crashed quickly–but after a couple hours Steve woke up not feeling well. I’ll spare you all the details but he was really, really sick. Then an hour later Matthias woke up with the same thing. My sister Susan didn’t get it quite as bad–and somehow David and I managed to avoid it all together. I’m so glad I didn’t get it! I was busy taking care of my sick boys. Oh it was terrible!

I packed up all the luggage and Susan and I loaded it into the car. Steve was well enough drive {thankfully!}. We stopped at Tesco to pick up crackers, bananas and water for the drive. We made our way back to Berlin without incident. The sick members of our party were feeling better within 24 hours and we were able to do more exploring in Berlin.

I’m almost caught up on laundry and emails. Yay! It’s Friday and we’re so excited to have a weekend at home. We’ll be celebrating Father’s day and chilling out. What does your weekend hold?

While we were in Poland, I saw very few individuals with disabilities. People stopped in their tracks and really stared at David. We talked with a local and she told us it’s unusual to be out and about if you have such a severe disability. That said, no one was unkind to us and everyone was very accommodating with David. We were able to find soy milk {after a bit of hunting!} and blended foods that worked great for him. He stayed healthy the entire trip and except for a little constipation, he felt happy and energetic. I am thankful we’re able to travel internationally with David. It can be challenging, but it’s so worth it!

There are bikes everywhere. I love a bike friendly town!

WC stands for water closet–which means restroom, bathroom, toilet, loo, what have you. If you’re in a new country and having an emergency, this can be valuable information!!

Too bad that ice cream cone isn’t real. Yum!

Photo bombed by Matthias {again!}

We didn’t mind a little rain.

Silliness.

He really, really, really wanted the artist lego mini figure–and you can’t tell which one is in the package. And he got it. So happy!

This picture of the sun setting behind the cathedral doesn’t do justice to the beauty that we took in. Gorgeous.

We attended a royal ball in Gniezno. I found this vintage, beaded gown  at a thrift store in Dallas for $7. I was so happy! The silver glitter shoes are off Zappos. We’ll have to talk about how much I love Zappos some time. The dress felt like a gift sent from heaven–finding a formal gown is stressful and expensive–so glad I didn’t have to worry about that.

The ball was a mix of descendents of the royal family,  city officials {I chatted with the head of the Polish air force, a very nice gentleman!}, prominent business people and American students who were singing in the Von Promnitz Choir Tour. There was tons of food, all kinds of drinks, lots of pastries, a short ceremony and lots of time to mingle. It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences. Funny thing, I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to snuggle with the boys–I’m introverted, what can I say?!

It was dark when we left for the ball so it was hard to take pics. The ball was held at The Palace Balcerowo. And the photo above of us dressed up was the best of the bunch.

 I wonder if I’ll ever have another opportunity to wear that dress again? Maybe I’ll have to create an opportunity!

We had an AMAZING trip. Wow, there is so much to tell. So much to think about. So much to be thankful for. The boys were fabulous travelers–there were many times I marveled at how flexible they were. Also, having my sister with us was a blessing. She helped a ton with both boys, but especially David.

We tried new foods, learned about history, and grew closer as a family. There were imperfect moments too, and I want to be honest about those. I have five posts lined up for the next week or so–and I’ll try to share as many bits and details as I can.

We landed in Berlin and then drove to Gniezno, Poland. This is where our story begins!

Gniezno is a small town in central-western Poland. It’s near the larger city of Poznan. It used to be the capital of Poland so there is rich history here!

The cathedral in Gniezno is breath-taking both inside and out. I took so many pics it was hard to chose which ones to share!

How fun to have auntie along, right?

We found a pizza place our first night there and it was probably the best pizza I have ever eaten. So of course, we went back the next night, too!

David was nodding off at dinner. Jetlag is rough!

The town center is full of shops, restaurants, flowers and birds. So charming!

We stayed in the heart of the town and we were able to walk everywhere {which is my favorite!}. We ate pizza, kebabs, and traditional polish food like polish sausage and schnitzel. There was a toy store and an ice cream shop right across the street from the hotel.

Some friends of ours are descendants of the Von Promintz Family of Poland which makes them a Count and Countess. Because of their position we were able to meet with city officials and business leaders. It was an amazing experience!

I’ve got lots more to share. Including attending a royal ball, getting wiped out by something we ate, and taking in lots of history.

My favorite part of travel–discovering a completely new place for the first time. My least favorite part of travel–jet lag. What are your favorite/least favorite parts of travel?

Our kiddos have fun play structure in the backyard that they only use when friends come over to play. I think I should add a canvas cover and they can use it as a fort or hideout. But on this day, it was my backdrop for pics. If you don’t know, I set my camera on a tripod and use the timer to take these pics. It’s nerdy, but fun!

We’ve had some gorgeous weather but the mornings are still a bit chilly. That’s fine with me–it’s a perfect opportunity to layer on a scarf!

Colorful bracelets layered on falls under the category of ‘why not?!’ It’s fun and I love it.

Outfit details: Skirt, Old Navy {three years ago}. Shirt, thrifted {brand is Bass}. Heels, H&M. Scarf, Target. Saffron bracelet, my shop. Orange bangle, thrifted. Thank you, mom bracelet, my shop. Connected hearts bracelet, my shop.

We’re home from Poland and exhausted but happy. You can see sneak peeks from our adventures on instagram. I can’t wait to share more of the trip with you!

materials:

-empty glass jars

-decorative paper

-modge podge glue

-paint brush

-scissors

Soak the jars in warm soapy water to remove the labels. If some of the bottles have the dates stamped on them, you can easily remove them with nail polish remover.

Next cut out a circle roughly an inch larger than the lid.

Glue the lid to the center and cut little slits around the perimeter of the paper. Make sure the back side of the paper is covered in glue and then fold the tabs over.

Seal the outside of the paper with a thin layer of glue… let it dry… and then fill your jars with pretty things!

I think these would make adorable spice jars. And they’re perfect for holding Q-tips and cotton balls in the bathroom, too! What other uses can you think of?

We spent a Saturday in Pismo Beach right before we left. It’s such a fun town, but for some reason we don’t go there very often. We usually end up in Avila Beach or Morro Bay. It was a windy but fun day. And the cold weather didn’t stop us from enjoying ice cream.

If you find yourself in Pismo Beach, make sure to get some Old West Cinnamon rolls, clam chowder from Splash Cafe, shop at Panchos and walk the pier. Of course the sand and the sea are breathtaking!

Scroll down to see pics from our day and for some hellos!

Hello getting to see a new place.

Hello making memories.

Hello sweet time with my boys {and my sister!}

Hello dreading the long plane ride home.

Hello ready to sleep in my own bed.

Hello not thinking about all the laundry I have to catch up on.

Hello ordering pizza while we get back into our routine.

Hello lots of pictures to share with you!

Hello Monday! What are you saying hello to this week? Leave us some hellos in the comments!