All You Need Is Love: Fabric DIY Banner

I saw this fabulous DIY on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and thought I had to try it! Cory and I are throwing an Anniversary Party for my in-laws at the end of summer and I've started to look for some decor ideas. When this came around I knew it would be perfect. 

What You'll Need: 

1. Ruler

2. Small Dowel

3. Black Cotton & White Cotton Fabric

4. Stencil

5. A few Fabric pens

6. Scissors

STEPS

1. Fold your white fabric in half and measure the size you want the banner to be. 

2. Begin by measuring and lightly marking where your arrows will begin and end. 

* GO SLOW *

3. Stencil in the words then the L O V E

4. Finish your arrows

5. Let the drawings dry completely. 

6. Measure and cut the black fabric to the size you want (doesn't need to be doubled up like the white fabric)

6. Cut out the middle triangle to make the design above

7. Pin the black and white fabric together before you begin sewing

8. Drape the banner on the dowel to make sure your pinning is straight

9. Sew the black to the white 

All done! All that's left is finding the perfect place to hang it.

Go HERE to find the original instructions.

Happy DIY!

Polka Dot Pants

I saw these the other day and thought I could make something similar with what I have at home. So I found an old pair of jeans I had and decided to add a little pop to them. Here is a super simple DIY that you can do that any piece of clothing. 

Items You'll Need:

*Fabric Pen in your color of choice
*Clothing Item
*Circle Stensil 

Steps:

1. Lay out your article of clothing and decide what type of design you want

2. Grab your circle stencil and start making your circles. 

(I used an alphabet stencil and used the lowercase "o")

I decided to do vertical ovals on the back and horizontal on the front.

Voila! All done! Now put them on and wear them with pride! 

If you don't have an old pair of jeans, you can head over to

 Forever 21 and snag a pair. They always have jeans that are less than 15$ a pair. 

Target

So...I'm offically on the Target bandwagon. Don't know really if it was a bandwagon, but I did not know how great Target was. I never lived super close to a Target store, so I didn't frequent it very often. I finally decided to shop there one day and now I know why people like it so much.  

Target Finds
Shirt above // shoes above // dress below 



I wore the polka dot number to a graduation party we went to last weekend. The combination of it and the truck made me feel like I was in the 1950s. It was a fun  and I love it when clothes do that you for. 

Happy shopping! Yay for almost summer dress weather!

Father's Day 2013

This weekend was all about our Dads. It was the first Father's Day that we both could celebrate our in-law Fathers. It made the weekend even that much more special. 

Saturday: We celebrated my dad. We went over to my parent's house and made a lunch. Drove around afterwards in our new truck and went on a long walk at a golf course with my parent's dogs. It was a really relaxing afternoon and a lot of fun. 

Sunday: We had Cory's parents over for a lunch. We ended up spending the whole afternoon planning a family vacation we're going to take at the end of September. Let's just say - it was a very fun and productive luncheon. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of this lunch. But here are some photos of our dads. 

(This was such a special moment)

(I absolutely love this photo below)

Cory & I are so blessed with fathers who truly love us, and show it. They both have taught us how to work hard for what we want; love ourselves and never be ashamed of what we love to do; they've taught us to love others and be giving. 

I am so blessed to have a father like my dad. And now I have a second Dad to learn from as well. 

Here is to you Dad and Father-in-law! 

We love you,

Leah & Cory

This Week

1. My neice in our new truck
2. Needing to make this for my in-laws anniversary party
3. Attempting to make these for a little get-together this weekend 
4. New Found Fun
5. Dreaming of this backyard*

6.Saying Farewell
7. Dinner = Best Lasagna Ever by Pioneer Woman
8. Finally finished this for work
9. This inspired me this week
10. Summer Fruit = Happy Day

This week has been great. Busy, but great. *As to that back yard - it is the backyard of our soon-to-be (I'm very hopeful) new backyard at our home! I snapped the photo while the Arborist was inspecting some of the trees. Things are moving forward and it makes my heart so happy!

(more on the house later).

Hope everyone has a lovely week!

Relational Drought

This week my sister sent me an exerpt from this devotional. Man did this hit me hard. My relationship with the Lord is something that I treasure. I know it is He who has blessed me immensley with my life and everything good that has come from it.

So why don't I give Him enough of my time? When it comes to the time I give Him, one-to-one, diving into His word, getting to know Him, how He wants me to be,  I stink. Like big time.

 In other words, I don't give Him nearly the time He deserves.

To some up the devotional:

* Relationships worth keeping require committment & communication

* Imagine your relationship as a flower in a pot -> it needs to be watered

* That which is not watered, loved, given attention to, will wither

I think the metaphor is a great one. Just like we take the time to water our gardens, or our little house plants, we need to spend the time "watering" our relationship with our maker. All He wants from us is our attention and our praise. It is He who has given me way more than I deserve. He has helped me through hard times and provided for me when I least expected it. The field of flowers above need time, attention, love, and devotion, to bloom and become the flowers they were made to be. 

I feel sad to think that I don't give Him enough of my one-on-one time. 

After all, He was my first love and I need to continue to develop my relationship with Him.

What areas of your life are a little "drought-like"? What has caused this drought and how can we each get past it? Remember, He loves you, and craves your attention. 

Out with the old. In with the new. (sort of)

My husband has a love for everything old. If it's antique, he's in. There is something about the looks of things that were made back in the day that just seem to draw us in.

When I first started dating Cory he drove a 1974 Mini Cooper. It was deep blue in color and caught the attention of many as we drove down the streets of Portland. It was a fun car. And sort of just that.

Upon getting married his thinking shifted towards wanting a more practical vehicle. (Oh how I love that man - no doing on my part, it was all his own thinking). This made me happy. I'm more of a "keep it practical and keep it safe" kind of girl. But of course my husband wasn't going to get any old car or truck. His heart was set on an old pick-up truck. And that I was even more excited about. (My man loves to keep things interesting)

He made sure not to buy a truck until we had sold the mini. After 2 months of having it up for sale, the mini sold on Friday. It was a bittersweet moment. I was sad to see it go. It represented the summer I fell I love. However, it was time for it to go so we could move on to the next adventure.

On Saturday the beaut below came up for sale. After I got off work we drove together to take a look at it. After an inspection by the hubs, it was ours.

I'm looking forward to this summer with this truck. We will have new adventures and memories to make in it.

Anyone say drive-thru movie?? :)

Last Weekend: Manzanita, Or.

Last weekend we went to Manzanita Oregon. Its a teeny little coastal town in between Cannon Beach and Rockaway Beach. We stayed in a rental house with my in-laws. It was the first time I've vacationed with all of them and I think it was a success. 

We played on the beach, went out for coffee every morning, hung around in the hot-tub, and played lots of board games. The perfect vacation in my mind. 

One thing I love about this location along the Oregon Coast, is the proximity to some great sites. You have Oswald West State Park known for its great beach and excellent surfing (yes I did say surfing in Oregon), you have Ecola State Park , the ever famous Haystack Rock (below 2 photos) , and some great camping sites.

This picture below is so goofy - we look like total beach nerds ! :)

Like father like son

Probably the largest burger I've every consumed. I'd recommend this restaurant: Big Wave Cafe.

It was a great little time away with family. 

Hope your weekend was nice! I'm loving this sun we're having right now! 

North Manzanita on Dwellable