Day Trip: Seaside

Tuesday my mom and I went on a spontaneous day trip to Seaside. It was so much fun. Just to go away from the city, smell the fresh sea air, have no pressures or worries to think about. My mom has been babysitting my sister's dog, so of course she joined us. 

Puppy Charolette "Charlie"

My momma

We ran around the beach, stopped at a restaurant and had clam chowder, and walked around the little shops. We stopped at this antique store and found this perfect jewelry case. I've been looking for one to put my earrings and rings in and this one was just perfect. 

Seaside is such a fun little town. Enough to do to keep everyone in the family entertained. Next time we go we'll be getting corn dogs and doing the bumper-cars. 

Gotta love day trips!

Seaside on Dwellable

My Husband's Hobbies

One thing I love about my husband is his curiosity. He loves trying new things and he is interested in a wide variety of hobbies.  I noticed his love of trying new things while we started dating. He would jump from one hobby to the next. Trying it for a while and then moving to next; like a new pair of shoes - wearing them everyday for a week straight and then moving to another new pair. At first I was a bit annoyed - his whole world would be consumed with this new hobby and then it would only last a few weeks. 

However, my annoyance turned to wonder. He is so quick to try something new and go at with full force. And I love this about him. Here are some of my hubby's favorite hobbies (and ones he has stuck with):

Beer Brewing:

This one is quite impressive. He started last winter and was a natural. His first batch, an Oatmeal Stout, was fantastic. He actually brewed all the beer for our wedding. Quite amazing this man. 

Photo be e[a] photography

Coffee:

This man drinks coffee like nobody's business. 

At church, at family gatherings, you won't see him without a mug o' coffee in his hand.

Pipe Smoking:

He started this back in college and I can see him doing this till he's 103. There is something sexy about a man with a pipe ;)

Wood Working:

This is one of his newest hobbies (and maybe my favorite). He has big dreams of the wood furniture and kitchen items he'll be making for our home.

3 of the spoons he has already made. I use them everyday. 

My hubby has lots of hobbies. And honestly I love it. He's taught me to go for it! Try new things. And if you fail who cares; if you don't like it, stop and do something else. He inspires me to do more with my free time and try new things. 

What hobbies do you have? What do you want to try? Go for it!

Tips for Spring Cleaning

Photo via Tumblr 

Clean. Organized. Fresh.

Everything we want to see (and smell) after a long bout of Spring Cleaning. Some dread this time of year. No one wants to see the grossness that built up behind the fridge. And others of us embrace this time. 

I tend to be a lover and a hater. Part of the Spring Cleaning involves re-organizing. Which, at times, involves out with the old and in with the new. Whichever category you fall into here are a few of my tips to make Spring Cleaning a little smoother (and more fun). 

1. Gather your supplies

In order to do this right we need our arsenal of equipment/products. Gather everything you might need (from ceiling to floor) before you begin. That helps to save time from running to bathroom (or kitchen,wherever you keep your supplies) to room because you need one more thing. 

2. Proper attire

I make sure I wear something that is comfortable. Squatting, bending, moving .. all things that will be involved in the cleaning process. I also make sure I am wearing items that can go straight into the laundry. 

3. Be Organized

Depending on how big your home is, you may tweek this tip. Since my apartment is small I like to do a task at a time. I.E. dust everything first in every room. Then move to cleaning countertops/tables...etc. If  your home is too big and you need to start with one room at a time, go for it. This brings me to number 4.

4. Be realistic

I have a small place with no kids yet. This means I should (and plan) on cleaning the whole apartment in one day. If your a mom..with three little ones...balancing cleaning with ballet practice...a few rooms a time is a realistic time frame. 

5. Play music

Grab your iPod if you are doing this around nap time, or blare your speakers (I prefer my Ellie Goulding station on Pandora). Having music makes you not go so crazy. It adds a little fun to the process. 

Embrace this time of year and the work that surrounds it. Look forward to the end result and how accomplished you will feel! 

Likes & Dislikes

~ Likes ~

* I am off today.

* My mom and I are going to the beach.

* Work this week went really well. 

* I ordered some more photo gifts from Shuttrefly.

(I really like this site)

* The bank wanted more of our info. Getting closer to getting the house! 

* Having fun with this guy. 

* Remembering our happy hour date with some good friends (and this passionfruit mojito! need to make it at home)

~ Dislikes ~

* It's not super sunny. 

* I work this Easter weekend. 

Hope everyone makes the most of this Tuesday!

 xo Leah

New Photo App

To be honest, I wanted an iPhone so badly so I could take better pictures. I treasure photos and to have a good phone to be able to snap some quickly and wherever was really important to me. 

This week I found a new app for editing pictures that I love! It's called Afterlight. It has so many great effects that create magical photos. 

Before:

After: 

My ring in the black and white:

Little Bonsai Before: 

After: 

It just makes the photo pop. I've been using it a lot and I totally suggest it. 

These photos aren't the best in showing how great it is (mainly cause I deleted a lot of the 'befores' so I don't have a lot to show) , but trust me and download it. You'll appreciate it. 

Fashion Show

Today I was able to attend my good friend Sierra Wasserman's senior portfolio show. She is graduating this week from the Art Institute of Portland; and she is headed to Europe this weekend to internship with a fashion design company in the Netherlands. 

She. Is. Talented.

I loved seeing her work and how much she glowed just being in her element. Her pieces were absolutely gorgeous. (I want her to be my personal designer/shopper). As I mentioned here she was able to tailor/create my wedding dress. 

I've known this young woman for 15 years now (yup, since 2nd grade) and I could not be more proud of what she has done with her life, and excited to see how this next adventure for her pans out. 

The talented Sierra: 

A dress she designed & created (birthday present please!): 

A photo of what she did to my dress (kind of feel like a model): 

Initial photo credit of me by e[a] photography

Some of her sketches: 

So proud to be her friend! 

Follow her on Instagram at @sierrawasserman

Lessons in Marriage #5: We Love Differently

This week Cory and I had a breakthrough with something. 

My work schedule allows many days off at home. Only working 3-4 days a week will allow that. And with all this time at home, I like to make sure the house is clean, the laundry is done, a good meal has been prepared, and the fridge is always stocked. Some little responsibilities I feel I have because of this time off. 

Recently though, I've been noticing more and more that on my work days when I come home to see the kitchen not-so-clean and clothes spewed all over the bedroom, I get a little frustrated. I make sure this house is nice, why can't he? Doesn't he notice that I would appreciate the dishes all cleaned and put away? These are some of the statements I make in my head. 

From Cory's perspective: Why does she come home in a bad mood? Can't she leave work at work? I always make sure I'm in a good mood when I arrive home, why can't she be?

Our breakthrough: We love each other in ways that we would want to be loved. We expect we'll get the same from our partner just because we do such things/act in such ways.

This week my prayer has been to do more of what I do just because I want to - not because I hope he'll do that on his days off. Learning this was huge for me, and for our marriage. If we want each other to do more of something, simply doing it ourselves is not enough. We need to tell them. 

Appreciate how our spouses love us and try our best to show them the love they expect. 

More in love with my husband this week because of learning this.

New Home Decor

With the possibility of owning our first home, my mind has been going this way and that with possible decor ideas. Pinterest has become a good help. Keeping my thoughts all in one place. The idea of new home decor is exciting a little daunting. A blank canvas. So much one can do with a whole home. 

Here are some things I am loving right now as inspiration for our new home. 

Living Room

Cory's parents gave us a piano that we are storing at my parents place. I can't wait to showcase some of our wedding photos on top of it along with some simple nicknacks like these:

Photo via Pinterest

We've decided that we are going to paint the walls gray (a little lighter than these). Saving up for a leather sectional already: 

Photo via Full House

I love how a display table is behind the couch. And that coffee table...Cory may have to make me it:

Photo via Pinterest

Kitchen

These bar stools would fit perfectly with the decor we are going for. And IKEA actually has them on sale right now: 

These are from World Market

New dish-ware may be in order too: 

Sugar bowl by the Still House

Bedroom

I would love this huge mirror above the dresser we already have:

Leather mirror by BBDW

We currently don't have bedside tables. 

When we do get a home, these will be early on purchases.

 I like how simple these look, and they display your books and little treasures so nicely:

Photo Via My Paradissi

Bathroom

A little toilet decor:

Photo via Design Sponge

It's been fun to start dreaming of how we could decorate this new home (fingers crossed we still get the one we've been pushing for). I can't wait to start making these dreams a reality. It'll be a challenging, fun adventure creating the home of our dreams. 

Fried Rice

This week someone at work had brought in some left-over fried rice. I have a big appetite on my work days and everything that people eat (even the hospital food) looks yummy. So when I saw those left-overs I immediately texted Cory and asked if he could whip some up for dinner.

When I came home the whole house smelt like Chinatown. I was so happy and excited for the little pleasure of fried rice. 

When my husband cooks a new dish, he always follows a recipe. For this first-time fried rice he used the America's Test Kitchen recipe for Indonesian Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng). 

It was AMAZING! It was so good, we ate it all! He ended up  making another batch the next day because of how delicious it was. The whole day I was expecting a simple, basic, few ingredient type of rice. But no, I got heavens version (seriously it was good). 

Photo Via America's Test Kitchen

One tip would be to make the rice the day before so as to make it a little quicker. We used brown rice and I think it added more flavor. From now on I know whenever we get take out I'll be having him make the side of fried rice. 

Don't forget your chopsticks!

Daffodil, Poppy, Rose....

No they aren't names (even though they could be cute little girls names), they're flowers. And my guilty pleasure of nature. 

I love flowers. 

I like mostly all types, and the brighter in color the better. Today is the first day of Spring and the sun is actually out. (Portland is being Bipolar, as usual, with the weather. Rain to shine from shine to rain) I went for a little walk around our neighborhood and found all these pretty blooms. My favorite flowers are Hydrangeas and Ranunculus. No hydrangeas yet, but so many other ones. 

And yes I like to match with the color of the flowers 

(it was a nice little accident)

What flowers do you like? 

Happy Spring!

xo Leah

Sister Love

This weekend my sister came to visit and we had a great time, as always. 

We spent Sunday evening walking around downtown, eating some happy hour at Henry's Tavern, perusing around Powell's and of course lots of girl talk.

(Yes we sometimes stop and take pics of ourselves.)

It was a lovely weekend and I'll be finishing it up tonight at my parents house for a nice little dinner. 

Family is awesome.