Lisa Leonard

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it’s so good to be back home.

yesterday i grocery shopped, did a load of laundry and made dinner.

i know, shocking! i was so proud.

since it’s so good to be home, i thought i’d share a few more pics as we continue to settle in.

all our bed linens and bedroom lamps are from tj maxx,

we just got one near us a few months ago and i love it!

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some friends of ours found this old school chalkboard

and were kind enough to let us take it off their hands.

i can’t wait to hang it up. so fun!

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above the fireplace i have a bunch of photos printed on stretched canvas

an old frame

a driftwood heart and a few seastars.

we are so thrilled to have a fireplace, since our last home didn’t have one.

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i found this teenie tiny ocean painting at my favorite thrift store last week.

it’s about 3 inches wide.

it’s the best treasure i’ve found in quite a while.

love it.

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i’ve noticed a definite ocean theme running though our home.

shells, driftwood, ocean paintings and lots of aqua with nuetrals.

do you have a theme running through your home?

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i can’t believe how well everything went yesterday for david’s heart catheterization.

thank you thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.

each of you is such a blessing to me. thank you.

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david had to be at the hospital by 9am,

so we woke up, ate frosted flake crusted french toast at the hotel (um, yum!)

david didn’t get any

and headed over to ucla.

then we waited in pre-op for 5 hours (ugh!)

i was so anxious but the staff was amazing.

i seriously loved the anesthesiologist.

that’s the part i am most nervous about

and he took so much time to go over david’s history and make a safe plan with us.

everything looks great. david’s heart isn’t enlarged.

his lungs are the right size, no hypertension. yay!

so the next step is to plan open heart surgery to close up two little holes.

right now, we are so happy to be over this hurdle.

sending out a big hug to each of you, from me and david!

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hello friends!

david will be heading into surgery around 11:30am

and we are geared up for a looong day.

thank you for thinking (and praying) for us!

i’ll try to update the blog this evening.

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on a much lighter note…what i wore wednesday!

you gotta get dressed in the morning, right?!

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1. i love this olive green dress (local boutique)

brown leather boots (frye)

fave gray sweater (target)

aqua stone necklace

hope is the thing necklace

2. black + white striped dress (old navy)

black skinny jeans (target)

denim jacket (gap)

black ballet flats (target)

3. gray dress (on sale at anthropologie $29!!)

same denim jacket (gap)

same brown boots (frye)

4. new (splurge) skinny jeans from anthro

cream tank (h&m)

green sweater (anthro)

aqua stone necklace

5. striped navy + gray dress ($20 gap!!)

same denim jacket (gap)

yellow scarf (local boutique that went out of business, boo!)

black flip flops (bass)

red bag (tj maxx)

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and that, friends, is what i have been wearing! how about you??

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i looooove this necklace.

i’ve been wearing it everyday, layered with my new ‘hope is the thing’ necklace.

it’s happy and the color is just plain fun!

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i love the weight of it.

and it works with so many tops because it’s adjustable.

you can find the new aqua stone necklace here.

but wait, there’s more ha!

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we’re doing a limited edition set of all three pieces pictured above.

the new (and limited edition) aqua stone necklace

the new (and sooo sweet) hope is the thing necklace

and our aqua stone earrings.

so fun and such a good deal!! yay! i seriously love a good deal!

you’ll find the limited edition aqua stone set here.

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we are heading down to UCLA this afternoon (4 hours south of us)

to prepare for david’s heart catheterization tomorrow.

it’s a fairly simple procedure.

he’ll be under general anesthesia

and they’ll make a small incision in his groin and slide a catheter up to his heart.

the main purpose is to measure each chamber and check the pressure inside the heart.

if all goes well, we’ll be scheduling open heart surgery for sometime in the next couple months. (ugh).

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we are so grateful for your thoughts and prayers.

i am constantly amazed and grateful at your sweet comments and emails.

i’ll do a few updates on twitter. you can follow me here.

thank you and hugs!!

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so, steve and i went away to santa barbara to celebrate 11 years {dang!}

and it was sooo nice. did i mention my sister kept the kiddos?

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and we relaxed like i haven’t relaxed in months.

we slept in

at breakfast around lunchtime

and skipped lunch

and ate dinner whenever

and walked and talked and soaked each other up.

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this might be the first time we’ve been away from the boys

when i just let myself ENJOY and not feel guilty.

i need to let go of guilt more often!

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it also happened to be ’spanish days fiesta’

which meant hollowed out eggs, elaborately painted and filled with confetti

parades and lots and lots of people.

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there was confetti everywhere.

so fun!

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i love this huge painting right across from our hotel.

i think the painting might be a lety garcia

i love her work!

and i just happened to be sipping a peets coffee when i snapped the pic.

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steve was almost swallowed up by moby dick

but i grabbed his leg and we swam for shore.

phew!

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it was such a lovely weekend!

which is a good thing, since we have a big week ahead.

wednesday we are heading down to ucla for david’s heart catheterization.

more on that tomorrow!

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tell me a highlight from your weekend!!

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i’m away with my sweetie celebrating {eleven} years.

the pics are from our hotel balcony. it’s so beautiful!

on our to-do list?

lots of relaxing, walking downtown, eating and watching the sunset.

happy weekend!

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i found a feather on the beach and was so inspired by it’s intricacy and beauty.

and then i was reminded of this beautiful quote by author, emily dickinson…

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i hand-wrote the words in cursive

and then transferred them to the sterling pendant.

the feather is also my own sketch.

so subtle. such a lovely message of hope.

it speaks to my soul.

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we’re offering a special on this sweet, new necklace, just for the next two days. yay!

use code ‘hopeandfeathers‘ for 20% yikes!!

you’ll find the new necklace HERE.

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what does hope look like?

do you know someone who needs a reminder of hope?

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wow, wednesday again already!

i seriously could not believe all your sweet comments last week.

thank you for being so sweet!

here are a few outfits from last week-just for fun!

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ruffly tunic from urban outfitters

my fave gray cardigan from target

skinny jeans from target

and tan, wedge shoes from…you guessed it! target.

then i layered few pearl necklaces with one of my fave new LLD necklaces.

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cream dress from a small boutique in morro bay.

skinny jeans from target (same pair as yesterday)

open toe flats from a resale shop

aqua stone necklace (stay tune for to hear more about that one in the next week!)

and a new design that i’ll tell you more about tomorrow.

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peasant top from old navy

that same gray cardi from target

same skinny jeans from target

black flip flops from bass

aqua stone necklace (from me!)

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cream, ruffly top from small boutique in slo

brown cardi from banana republic outlet

gap jeans

sparkly brown flats with velvet bow, small boutique

pearl necklaces (me)

and that new design (again). i can’t wait to show it to you tomorrow!!

it’s my hands down fave. so excited!!

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happy wednesday, friends!

link up with lindsey…what are you wearing?

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some friends of ours just moved into a new home with a huge pool.

and they have been so generous to let us enjoy it with them!

it’s surrounding by sky-scraping pine trees

and a view of our small town.

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the kids swam and swam and built an elaborate raft

and jumped off the diving board

and swam some more.

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goggles crack me up.

so cute!

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and lunch was fresh watermelon

and pesto chicken salad.

so yummy. a perfect summer lunch.

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david was very busy trying to explore

and drink from our glasses.

pools + david = one very watchful mommy.

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matthias tried his first bon bon

and now he is addicted.

chocolate covered ice cream balls are his new favorite topic.

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thank you, sweet friends, for a lovely afternoon!

{we’ll be back soon!}

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share some of your summer fun with us!

what are you up to?

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hello friends, and hello monday!

i hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

i have lots of pics to share this week.

and, since i’ve received so many questions about my photography lately,

i thought i would take a post to share some of my tools and techniques.

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{just a disclaimer, these are my opinions and i’m an amateur photographer!}

…camera…

i started out with a nikon d40 {which i loved}

and my husband surprised me with a nikon d5000 for valentines day.

{and i love it even more!}

if you’re starting out, the nikon d40 takes excellent pictures

and it’s so easy to use.

i highly recommend it.

…lens…

i have an 18-55 lens–it comes with most nikon d40 and it’s a great basic lens.

i also have a 55-200 which is great for long distance shots. excellent clarity.

the 55-200 is terrible if you are trying to shoot at close range. sometimes i get annoyed with it.

i also have a 50mmf/1.8 that takes great pics, but has no auto-focus. it’s definitely tricky, but fun to use.

my favorite lens is the 55-105.

it’s a great everyday lens. it’s great for close up and allows quite a bit of zoom.

love it.

…speedlight flash…

great investment. allows you to direct the flash away from your subject and diffuse the light.

…other stuff…

tripod. i bought a cheapy at our local camera store and i love it!

remote. again, it was about $20 and totally worth it.

…techniques…

**i take a lot of pictures and i carry my camera everywhere.

practice has helped me improve.

**have fun. play with settings.

i think photography is about figuring out what shots YOU like.

discover your own style, even if it isn’t ‘technically’ correct.

**learn how to use your camera.

i set ISO and white balance with each new shoot.

sometimes i play with f-stop (thank you, kami bigler!)

**i edit my pics with iphoto (for macs) and picnik.com.

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share with us!

do you take pics for fun or professionally?

what kind of camera do you use?

what are YOUR favorite tools + techniques?

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and i heart ice cream

and strawberries with a heart shaped middle

and yellow flowers.

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and it’s free earring friday.

we are giving away free earrings with every purchase. alllll day today.

just leave a note in the notes section when you check out

‘free earring friday’

click here to shop.

and happy friday!

one definition of tool is

‘anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose’

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i have tools i use every day.

like sterling silver, pearls, carving tools, hammers and pliers.

and then i have other {not so obvious} tools.

like sunshine (i need it to warm my shoulders and give me energy)

and my camera

and my sketchpad.

oh and my iphone. what an amazing tool.

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tell me about your favorite tools-

obvious or otherwise.

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i am linking up with lindsey’s what i wore wednesday.

i love looking at the fun outfits people put together,

so i thought i’d share some of mine from last week.

so here’s a BUNCH of pics of me (in case you care!)

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top is from forever 21 (last summer)

black polka dot cardigan from target (a couple years ago)

black skinny jeans from target

gold, open toe flats from resale shop.

petite crest necklace

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deep aqua bib top (on sale) from anthropolgie

favorite gray cardigan from target

skinny jeans from banana republic

gray ankle boots from kohls

red ripe cherries necklace for a splash of color.

(and just a side note, if you want a red cherries necklace-get one quick.

they’ll won’t be available after july 31!)

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navy and gray striped dress from gap (on sale $20!)

aqua cardigan from target

silver flip flops from bass

family tree necklace (a fave!!)

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striped dress from anthropologie

belt from target

skinny jeans from banana republic

red flats from target

gray petal pusher from pleated poppy

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ruffled top from cheap boutique in santa barbara

rolled up jeans from gap

fave gray cardigan from target

chunky espadrilles from walmart (four years ago!)

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well, have you had enough?

link up with lindsey and let’s see what you’re wearing!

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we are getting more and more settled

and loving our new home!

remember that aqua cabinet above?

such a fun punch of color.

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my mom let me choose one piece of her furniture when i was in high school

(to save for when i got married)

and i chose this handmade wood sideboard.

i just switched out the knobs for glass.

and hung ocean artwork above.

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we found these super cheap aqua leather chairs

at a discount store and we have one at each end of the dining room table.

then i hung a bunch of frames on that huge wall.

it still might need more, but it’s a start!

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these tall lanterns are from cost plus.

only $10 each. yikes!

and i filled them with shells and a pillar candle.

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we have a few cutouts around the house.

in this one i stacked some books and globes

and hung a vintage print.

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and this painting is one of my fave thrift store finds.

those flowers are from bed bath & beyond by umbra and they are seriously cute!

so affordable and i love that they add dimension.

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what’s your next home project??

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1. a flower outside my favorite thrift shop

2. a hummingbird who visits us every morning.

3. a bumblebee at a bridal shower

4. a backyard flower.

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hello friends!

i managed to grocery shop and wash the car and do laundry yesterday-

which puts me in a good position for monday morning!

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matthias starts zoo camp today.

it’s called ‘If I Ran the Zoo’. and he is so excited.

{but just between us, if he ran the zoo, the animals wouldn’t get fed

on time and there would be toys everywhere!}

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david has a really nasty cold…

which is bad, because we have a heart catheterization scheduled at ucla, august 11.

and i am hoping he’ll be well so we won’t have to delay his open heart surgery.

if you don’t mind, would you take a moment to pray for his health?

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i so appreciate each of you!

thank you for sharing this {crazy} journey with us.

please, tell me about your monday!