Orlando & Lindsey

victory

2012-02-11T13:15:00.002-07:00

can you spy my christmans tree?

VICTORY.

pins of the week

2012-02-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

this week i love gold and white and brown...

find me on pinterest, i'd love to follow you!

friday letters

2012-02-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

darling baby boy,
you kicked your daddy today for the first time, woo hoo! the look on his face was priceless. thanks for sharing the love! mama's been feeling guilty for hogging all your kicks, it was about time we shared with papi.
love you more than all the stars,
mama

dear weeekend,
thank you, thank you, thank you for finally arriving. i haven't been this tired in weeks, you are a welcome sight for these sore {and so sleepy!} eyes.
love,
this tired girl

my orlando,
have i told you lately how much i adore you? more than you'll ever know, that's how much. i always knew i was going to love having your babies but i had no idea how much deeper i was going to fall for you, watching you feel your son kick for the first time. you are my very best friend.
kisses,
me

dear thursday night institute,
thanks for having refreshments after that great lesson, you made this pregnant girl's night. could you have refreshments next week too? gracias!
yours truly,
lindsey

dearest pregnancy cravings,
you have really stepped it up this week, and i'm mucho grateful. chocolate and ice cream are slowly making their way off the banished list and that makes me so happy! i've missed my sweets the past five months. welcome back my dears, welcome back.
happily yours,
pregnant me

dear freezer,
if you could please auto-stock with chocolate ice cream, i'd be most grateful. we never know when that elusive desire is going to strike and we need to be prepared!
appreciatively,
lindsey

to whom it may concern,
my christmas tree is still up. could someone please come take it down for me? i give up.
yours truly,
this quittter

dear fantasy basketball roster,
stop stressing my hubby out. he needs to win because then he'll be so happy. and i like it when he's happy because then i'm happy. you've been giving him a few rough weeks, and it's not cool. knock it off y'all, play like you mean it. thank you.
sincerely,
the wifey

lost my marbles

2012-02-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

all these lovely hormones have left me completely blank. i can't remember anything, nor can i think constructively or creatively to save my life. solid, cohesive, intelligent thoughts are now near impossible to come by, which means that my writing/blogging/conversating has taken a major hit.

maybe you've noticed?

today at work, for example, i asked the customer at my window how his day was going. he said it was fine and made some comment on the weather. i tried my best to form a relevent thought about the weather with which to respond, and when nothing- nothing, i tell you- came to mind, i resorted to asking him how his day was going. for the second time. {the weather is awful, in case you were wondering}

what was i saying? oh, right. yes. i've lost my marbles. i've actually really been missing all the stimulating ideas and conversations i used to have. it's tiring, all this not thinking.

so i picked up a book monday, hoping to cure my empty head with a good story.

it worked wonders.

i highly recommend this one, it's excellent. i loved the idea that the lines in our lives are the lines we draw ourselves- and what would happen if we didn't draw them at all?

now that's some delicious food for thought.

the view from here

2012-02-02T16:19:00.003-07:00

i think i'll take a picture like this every few weeks to mark the gradual disappearance of my feet...

i gave myself a pedicure last night and it was tough, what with all that bending. baby boy did not like being squished in such a way and he protested with quite a few kicks to my side. which totally made me smile and squish him more so he wouldn't stop. does this make me a bad mom already?

my patience string is half as long as it used to be, i've noticed. i can go from pleasant to upset in three seconds and over the silliest things too. like today, the rather large man who crammed himself on the already full elevator, squishing me into the corner and subjecting me to his odor for eight floors. if my eyes could shoot lasers, he would have been a toasty pile of ashes by floor quattro.

also, one i've lost it, it takes a rather long time to calm down. after the above elevator incident, i stomped into my apartment and immediately began slamming cupboards and throwing dirty laundry and filling the dishwasher with violent shoves. now, it's an hour later and i'm making myself sit here and write so i can stop being an angry maniac before my hubby comes home.

{side note: if you live in cleveland and you happen to walk by my building, watch your head. i might be throwing my christmas tree out the window one of these days. it seems to be the fastest way to get it OUT of my living room.}

you know what today was? today was a day i really really missed san diego. the sunshine, the ocean, the mexican food... sigh. i can't stop thinking about it and i miss it all like crazy.

is it too much to hope we end up back there someday?

this is us, lately

2012-01-29T16:31:00.002-07:00

- my christmas decorations are still up. at this point i'm debating whether i should keep trying {and failing} to squeeze in time to take them down, or just give up and leave them until we move in may...

- i spoke in our new singles branch today. it went ok, though i was a bit distracted by the baby kicking in my gut the entire time. i just want to stop and feel him everytime, but you can't exactly stop your talk in the middle to stare at your belly for ten minutes. people might think you're strange.

- orlando is adjusting to all the changes and responsibility wonderfully- he has become {in just one week!} really good at balancing school and family and church and friends and i'm quite impressed.

- for date night friday, orlando surprised me with dinner at a little mexican place called 'el jalapeno' and oh. my. goodness. it was the best mexican food i've had in months. i almost cried, i was so happy to really be eating good mexican food after a sad, seven month drought. we are probably going to make that our monthly date night out from now on, it was that good.

- the weather here is awful. cold and windy and gray, day after day. i cannot wait for spring to start showing her pretty face. if it were up to me, we would probably just skip february all together.

- i'm coming to utah at the end of march for a quick weekend visit and i'm really excited to show off this baby bump and see friends and family. sigh. utah, i miss you!

- we have started looking for a place to move into in may, and yesterday we toured the most awesome retro house i've ever seen. brown + cream + gold sparkles in the kitchen, a completely {ceiling to floor} turquoise bathroom, camel brown carpet, and a few really classic light fixtures to tie it all together. actually, i kind of loved it and all it's outdated charm. if they're willing to hold it for us until may, i would totally embrace the vintage and live there in a heartbeat. we'll see, we have lots of looking left to do, but it's high on my list of favorites for sure.

- i'll be 21 weeks along in this pregnancy tomorrow, and i'm feeling great so far. i'm equal parts very impatient for june and incredibly glad we have a few more months to get ready.

- baby boy has a very regular schedule. he starts kicking and rolling around 1pm and keeps it up pretty continually until around 9 or 10pm when i fall asleep. it's still pretty soft, so orlando hasn't been able to feel him yet, but i think he recognizes his daddy's voice cause he always kicks when orlando talks to him.

- i feel so connected to him, it's crazy. the other day, he hadn't kicked me all day and it was almost 4pm and i was getting a little worried because he's usually so constant. so i told him {in my head. i try not to talk to him out loud at work so as to not appear crazy} to kick me so i'd know he was ok and thirty seconds later, bump, he kicked me. i love it. i feel like we have this secret way of communicating, like he already knows me and i know him. have i mentioned that being pregnant is the best?

- i have been so sore the past week and a half. my hips are sore, my abs are sore, my thighs are sore- probably from all the stretching and expanding my body is doing to make room for this growing boy. i feel like i ran a marathon- all the time.

- i've been practicing my hypnobirthing relaxing daily and i love love love it. i once had a yoga class at byu and my favorite part was always the shavasana {the breathing and relaxation} at the end of the workout. that's exactly what hypnobirthing feels like to me. i'm so relaxed that i could fall asleep, but i don't because it feels so good to stay awake and just... be. i can't think of a better way to say it. i hope when it comes to birthing, i can really get into the relaxation state because it would be awesome to labor like that i think.

- most of my cravings are gone, except that i want mexican food all day, everyday. too bad we don't still live in san diego, that would have been perfection.

i just found...

2012-01-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

...a few random pictures from new year's eve weekend on my camera. i totally forgot we took these. {pregnancy brain!} we had so much fun with brian and mich'ele and their girls in freezing cincinatti! it was the perfect start to the new year.

20 weeks

2012-01-25T17:40:00.001-07:00

have i mentioned i love date night?

2012-01-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

even when i lose at trains, it's still my favorite night of the week.

resolution resolved: balancing life

2012-01-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

alaska- the epitome of serenity

you may remember, my new year's resolution for 2012 is to achieve a happy sense of balance in my life. with a new baby and career path {stay at home mama, hip hip hooray!}, law school and a big new calling in church for the hubby on our to-do list this year, i decided that i simply wasn't going to enjoy it all half as much if i didn't figure out a way to balance things out a bit better. i spend far too much time and energy on things that matter least and then i am left feeling frustrated and kicking myself for not seizing the moment or simply doing something more worthwhile. it's taken almost the whole month of january for me to figure out a game plan, but i really wanted to put more thought into this one. so i studied my days and identified places that i lack and ways to get better. gradually, a few consistancies emerged and voila! i have a game plan.* i tried to get it down to the simplest, most important and basic things so that i'm not overwhelmed. the whole point of this is not to become superwoman {reminder to self!}, it's to find a serene place in which life feels good and balanced and i can go to bed proud of what i did that day, even if it wasn't much.

spiritual balance
1. daily family prayer on our knees
2. daily personal prayer on my knees
3. daily scripture reading together
4. work on a change of heart- have a greater desire to give more of my time to the church and others
5. support orlando in his calling in every way. get to know the branch members, help him learn names, help at activities, send treats to long meetings, never complain about the time he spends serving

emotional balance
1. be a better listener. pregnancy has made me so spacey and i often find myself zoned out when orlando or my mom or a friend is talking. i need to pay attention to show i care
2. make time just for orlando. {sitting next to him on the couch while i pinterest does not count}
3. dress up more for hubby. shave legs regularly. makeup. lingere. perfume. the whole nine yards
4 call, email, text family and friends regularly. be involved in their lives and take time to let them know i love them

mental balance
1. read hypnobirthing books and listen to the cd with orlando. practice daily
2. read a novel, just for fun. when you finish it, start another
3. learn a new skill or craft- sewing is on the top of my list
4. keep up with both of my blogs. blog quality, not quantity

physical balance
1. don't forget to take prenantal vitamin daily
2. increase calcium intake- orange juice, milk, ice cream- twice daily
3. yoga stretch regularly before hypnobirthing relaxation + breathing practice

general balance
1. stop procrastinating simple tasks- if it can be done in five minutes or less then do it NOW
2. watch less tv. do any of the above instead
3. listen to more music. just about everything is better with music
4. tidy up the house more often {see number 1}
5. before baby boy arrives, simplify life. decide what to keep on my plate and what to dump. between orlando, family, friends, church, two blogs, facebook, pinterest, an etsy shop, a messy house, books to read, tv to watch, and general procrastination and laziness, lots of my time is spent in rather silly pursuits. and i don't want to miss a minute of family time with my hubby and baby because i'm wrapped up in something like facebook or teen mom. so. simplify life

*i'm fully aware that this whole plan really only works up til june when the baby arrives and then it will all get turned upside down. but my idea is that if these things are regular habits before baby comes, then a few of them will stick around even after baby boy changes life.

amazing news!

2012-01-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

do you remember this? i was trying to raise awareness and funds for charity: water's september campaign to buy a drilling rig for faster well-digging in africa. about eleven of us bloggers were offered the opportunity to blog about the september campaign, and the top four to bring in the most traffic would get their name engraved on the new rig.

well, i hadn't heard back from them since mid-october, so i wasn't super hopeful that i was one of the lucky four. but then yesterday i got this WONDERFUL email:

It's been a few months since your blog post about charity: water's September Campaign, but I wanted to let you know how much we appreciate your continued support. I'm so happy to let you know that your blog post was one that generated the most traffic to our site on September 30. This means that you've won the chance to have your name on the rig our September Campaign funded this past year for our partners in northern Ethiopia!

We’ll be in touch soon with more details. Once everything is ready to go, you will receive pictures and GPS coordinates so you can follow the impact of your efforts from village to village.

In case you missed it, check out our article about reaching our goal for September Campaign and what that means for the additional 40,000 people per year the rig will help: http://www.charitywater.org/blog/sept-2011-update/

We couldn't have done any of this without your support. I'm looking forward to seeing your name on the rig!

Best,
charity: water

i confess, i started crying when i read it. it's such an honor and i'm so excited about it! thank you thank you thank you so much to all of you who read the post and visited charity: water, or spread the word to family and friends, i couldn't have done it without you!

and a special thanks to my hubby for always encouraging and believing in me. love you!

for the little man

2012-01-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

whoever said baby girl stuff is cuter was wrong.

there is an endless supply of darling on here and i'm loving it all:

today was a little bit of both

2012-01-17T16:17:00.002-07:00

good:
-today after lunch, baby boy went CRAZY. it was the first time i had ever felt him move so much and it blew me away. already, his fun little personality is showing and i love it.
-husband totally could have let me have it today over some unnecessary spending i did and instead he just said that we both need to try and be better... thanks honey for being so so good to me.
-my pump and bottles and such came in the mail today. i love love love packages full of baby things, it's better than christmas.
-looking up plane tickets tonight for my visit to utah in march, yay!
-fifty degrees in cleveland today and i love it. can it be spring now? i'm so ready for the end of winter!
-19 weeks along, still have 21 to go before we MUST CHOOSE a name for baby boy...

bad:
-the three day weekend wore me out. i need another day to sleep off this headache, please.
-my christmas decorations are still up and it's driving me crazy. but i can't seem to find one solid hour to spend taking them down. ugh.
-we have plans for like the next eight days and i'm dying for just one evening to myself. to do what i want- like take down the christmas decorations.
-the less money we have, the more i keep seeing {darn pinterest!} that i need/want. i need a big refresher course in gratitude, i think.
-we just cannot agree on a name for the little one...

all in all, it's been a darn good day, i'd say :)

hypnobirthing + a request for birth stories

2012-01-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

even before i got pregnant, i was very interested in natural birthing methods. thanks to my byu professor, dr. hudson, i was really looking forward to experiencing birth in its' entirety. several few weeks ago we decided to go with hypnobirthing to prepare for little man's arrival, and i just got my book and cds in the mail- i'm so excited to start studying! i've decided to prepare for a natural birth, but not write out a detailed birth plan because i don't want to get too attached to 'my way' of doing things and then be super disappointed when baby throws wrinkles in my plan. because who knows? this birth could go by the book and turn out just like i hope. and it could go nuts. we won't know til we get there, right?

what i am planning:
no induction
no epidural
baby in my arms the second he's born

the end.

the rest, i'm going to wait and see when we get there. can i just say that i'm really really excited to do this?! sooooo excited!!!

now. i need help from you. my hypnobirthing book says that it's important to remove fear from labor and delivery in order to stay calm and relaxed the entire time. one way to do that is to surround yourself with positive birth stories that only encourage you to look forward to your own experience.

so tell me your stories! whether it was natural, epidural, induced, or a c-section, i want to hear all the good things you experienced when birthing your babies. what were your favorite parts? what do you highly recommend? i can't wait to hear all about it!

thanks!
xo

baby BOY leon!

2012-01-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

today was almost the happiest day of our lives. seriously, we have been grinning from ear to ear- so hard that our cheeks were hurting after a few hours from the joy on our faces.

we went in for our ultrasound like kids on christmas eve, giddy and nervous and incredibly excited. the technician checked placenta, brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, etc., while we got all sorts of excited over his little kicking feet and tiny fingers. he was moving all over the place and we loved watching him. seeing how little it took to get us that excited, the technician saved the best for last, pausing on the gender at the very end. as soon as she froze the frame, i instantly knew that the baby boy in my dreams was the same little one in my belly. orlando was still exclaiming in amazement over his quick little heartbeat and he didn't register at first what was 'hanging out' on the screen. the technician kindly pointed out the manly parts... and he realized he is having a son. i don't think i've ever loved orlando's face more than at that moment. all the happiness in the entire universe flooded over him in an instant and it showed. we were on cloud nine thousand. we squealed and laughed and cheered and kissed and hugged and clapped and {after getting up from the table} i may have done a little jig. happy just doesn't describe it. we are over the moon! of course, we were extra loud in our celebrations, so when we came out of the exam room, the entire clinic had stopped by to see what the commotion was about. like the new parents we are, we proudly showed off our little one's picture and exclaimed to all, 'it's a boy!!'

baby boy, we love you so much already!

vacation fantasy: a cure for the monday blues

2012-01-09T10:12:00.001-07:00

last night was a full on battle between this growing belly and i for a comfortable sleeping position. at the end of it all, the only casualty was sleep {baby and i made it out alive, thank heavens} which has made for one of the worst mondays in recent and distant memory. i feel sick and sluggish and mostly i just want to sit down and have a good cry. and why has that become the default reaction to everything? sigh. i have no idea, i just know it makes me feel better. and that it's slightly ridiculous to cry over overcooked eggs.

to cure my monday blues, i've been indulging in a few vacation fantasies- planning a dream babymoon {if i had a bottomless bank account} to take with my dear hubby. a few on the top of my list?

someplace beachy and warm, or a romantic european hideaway...

either one, i'm not picky. i'd cry in either place just fine.

miscellaneous

2012-01-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

today was a welcome relief. i'm not sure if it was just the post-holiday blues/exhaustion or what, but i had a really hard time staying awake at work this week. staying in bed with my hubby til eleven am, talking and snuggling and whatnot, was just what the doctor ordered. we ate brunch and ran errands, and then we couldn't help stopping by babies'r'us for a little window shopping. we are waiting until after wednesday to start our actual shopping {wednesday is the day we find out what we're having!} but it was fun to walk around and make hypothetical purchases for the little boy {or girl!}.

by the way, boy is my guess. i can see him perfectly in my dreams. he's a darling, perfect mix of orlando and i- dark curls and his daddy's eyes. my mouth and loud giggle. if i'm wrong and this baby turns out to be a girl, well then she'll be adorable and i guess our liitle boy will come along sometime later. either way, we'll be thrilled.

speaking of thrilled, orlando got awesome grades in his first law school semester, and i couldn't be more proud of him. he's working so hard and i love him for it. one semester down, only five more to go!

it's been nice to have things to celebrate this week. we've been going over our six month plan/budget and wow, it can get depressing fast. i always knew we'd be this poor when we started school, but knowing it isn't quite the same as living it. we're now officially on a 'ramen noodle budget' and it's an adventure in adjusting. good thing babies aren't expensive! ;)

baby wish list

2012-01-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

it's true, this is really just a big wish list, but hey, it's fun to dream. and it's especially fun to dream about all these teeny treasures...

i could go on and on forever and never get tired of looking at baby things!

starting off right

2012-01-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

-i felt the little one move yesterday for the first time! what a way to start off 2012. it was just a small roll, soft and calm, but oh it tugged at my heart strings. i can't wait for orlando to be able to feel him or her too. we are so smitten already.

-we drove down to cincinnatti this weekend to meet up with our dearest friends brian and mich'ele and their girls. we love them so much! we had a great time ringing in the new year with them and then sending them on their way to a new adventure in florida. you better believe we will be down south to visit soon.

-orlando has another week of winter break before law school starts up again, which means i get him all to myself all week. love it.

-in just 8 days we find out if we need to buy blue or pink, and we are getting so anxious. next wednesday could not come any sooner!

-the house is clean, the hubby is snuggled up next to me, and the world is full of fabulous possibilities. 2012 is starting off right, indeed.

it's all about balance

2011-12-30T20:13:00.001-07:00

i came to the realization yesterday that for years now i have been living with an incredibly false illusion of what stay-at-home-motherhood is going to be like. all this time, whenever i was feeling particularly stressed or busy or life was getting hectic and off-balance, i would tell myself that it wouldn't always be this way- that someday when i got to stay at home with a teeny baby, i'd have all the time in the world to read scriptures, clean my house, try fancy recipes, and craft up a storm.

then i got pregnant and suddenly reality- not my lovely imagination- is staring me straight in the uterus. which has been particularly rough this week, as i've been feeling like i'll never find balance in my life ever again. for months i've been sleeping and slacking and though i know its all for the greatest cause in the world, it's left everyday life in shambles a bit. house is a mess, dinner = anything microwaveable, and everything extra has completely fallen off the truck. it's only just been the last week or so that i've finally felt a little energy come back- only to find myself completely overwhelmed by all i want to do and all i should do.

yesterday, i tried my classic 'this will get easier when you can stay home with a baby' pep talk and it hit me- it won't! it will be better in a thousand million ways, but easier or less busy? don't count on it.

at first, this parcel of truth may or may not have given me a mini stress attack. but then i realized that it's less about having more time and more about making the most of the time i've got.

balance, that's the ticket.

that's my new years goal- this year, i want to find that happy place in which i can best balance everything most important to me. some things i may have to let go, but the most important ones, i'm going to knock out of the park.

welcome 2012!

boy or girl? vote!

2011-12-29T19:15:00.002-07:00

we get to find out whether this baby is a boy or girl on january 11 at 3 pm. trust me when i tell you, we're counting down the minutes. i have a hunch, but i'm not going to tell what it is because it might be completely off! what do you think?
vote on the sidebar- boy or girl? ----->

2011 roundup

2011-12-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

this year was a year of big changes and exciting adventures for us. phew, it makes me tired just thinking about it. but it's a good tired- that 'accomplished something big' kind of tired.

in january, we lived it up in san diego while we waited to hear back from all the law schools orlando applied to. ever so slowly, the acceptance and rejection letters started trickling in...

february was one of the best months of the year because i got a new camera and it was our yearly leon/conover family reunion. greg and kayla came to san diego for a week and we had a blast! can't wait til next year!

in march we spent weekends in mexico and i started watercoloring to keep distracted from the law school waiting game.

april brought summer to san diego and we made sure not to miss the first beach day of the year. and the at the very end of the month we got surprise news about law school and decided that we were moving- to cleveland, ohio!

may brought chaos. orlando had to be ready to leave for cleveland in just 2.5 weeks and it was decided that i would stay behind and pack and finish work until the end of june. befor he left, orlando was sealed to his parents in the san diego temple. and then after he left, my best friend kara came to visit to keep me company!

in june, stacy, brin and claire came for vacation and we had the most fun ever. it was a blast to have them as company! by the end of june i was ready to be with hubby and right before his birthday, i moved to cleveland and we were finally together again.

july saw us exploring our new city, having my mom over to help unpack and get settled, and orlando finishing his first law school class with an A.

august was hot and humid and quite the change for this utah girl. most of it was spent job searching and visiting family and friends in lovely utah for a wedding and a homecoming. then we had company here and we went to canada. plus we celebrated our third anniversary!

september was the start of law school semester uno and i finally found a job, hallelujah!

october was the best- we found out we were pregnant! we kept our secret for a few weeks, but finally let it out. we couldn't be more excited!

in november, i slept a lot and we counted our blessings and i opened my etsy shop of watercolors- a brave step for me!

december has been wonderful- between my birthday, finals, christmas, baby excitement, and remembering our Savior, it's been the perfect end to a great, busy, crazy year.

i hope your 2011 was just as great!

back on pinterest

2011-12-28T19:30:00.002-07:00

after weeks of avoiding my boards in favor of focusing on the holidays and company and such craziness, i finally got on and pinned a few favorites today. mmm, it feels good to be back...

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

christmas-ing

2011-12-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

orlando's brother and his family are visiting us for the holidays and we've had a blast christmas-ing together. i love having these peeps over, they're hilarious. the teasing and jokes are never ending when they're around. plus, it's especially nice to be around family when the holidays are making you homesick.

so far we've:

done the rock and roll hall of fame

toured downtown and cleveland state campus

eaten at hard rock cleveland & the corner alley

shopped til we dropped

visited the 25th street market

seen mission impossible 4

eaten lots of great junk food

had our christmas eve feast + present opening at midnight

watched every christmas movie every made

played quite a few competitive rounds of scattergories

still on our list:

lake erie

kirtland

great lakes science museum

cleveland museum of art

dinner at carrabba's

group hug, it's midnight at last!

hope your christmas has been just as wonderful!

merry christmas

2011-12-23T21:55:00.002-07:00

sometimes things don't happen but it's ok cause it's christmas

2011-12-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

our 12 days of CHRISTmas? fail. i got a bad cold a few days ago and orlando has been tucking me into bed even earlier than usual, in hopes that i'll recover in time for christmas festivities. everything else has pretty much fallen by the wayside. except for our christmas spirit of course. i'm so excited this year, i can hardly stand it. somehow i'm even more excited than last year and we have less presents and festive trappings than ever before.

so i guess we didn't fail on our 12 days of CHRISTmas- regardless of how little we have, the spirit of Christ has filled our little home and i lovelovelove this season like never before. i have twinkle lights and a warm home and a sweet husband who has been taking such tender care of me... my blessings are immeasurable and my heart is full.

welcome christmas.

the 12 days of CHRISTmas: day 6

2011-12-19T19:25:00.001-07:00

day 6

read charles dicken's 'a christmas carol'

we started reading dicken's 'a christmas carol' tonight. i love this classic story and it's message of living and loving and giving today, now, when and where you can. i love it! we're going to read a few chapters everyday til we finish. i'm excited to make this a yearly family tradition.

the weekend

2011-12-18T20:12:00.004-07:00

gyros and crepes at the market.

the first winter snow.

time with my hubby.

i love the weekend.

12 days of CHRISTmas: day 5

2011-12-18T20:00:00.002-07:00

day 5

write a letter thanking someone who has been a christ-like example to you
tonight we wrote thank you letters to people who have been a christ-like example to us. how grateful i am for those who share their testimonies and light to help me be a better person.

12 days of CHRISTmas: day 4

2011-12-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

day 4

listen to the mormon tabernacle choir christmas cd

while we got everything ready yesterday for our company to arrive today, we listened to this lovely cd of christmas classics. i love it so much. i love how the music and the spirit fill our home when we turn it up.

the 12 days of CHRISTmas: day 3

2011-12-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

can you believe christmas is in 9 days?!?! i cannot. crazy how it snuck up on me this year. we have family comming into town on sunday to stay with us and i haven't even started getting the house ready... good thing tomorrow is saturday!

day 3
write a note to someone who could use a little pick-me-up

for our third day of CHRISTmas{after a very fun, very free date night to see the new sherlock holmes movie- loved it!} we decided to write notes to a few people we knew could use some sunshine in their mailbox. it was nice to sit down together and be thoughtful about those we care for, to think about how we can help, and with a few lines of encouragement, pass on our love and support. this is definitely a habit i need to use year round to focus more on others instead of myself.

the 12 days of CHRISTmas: day 2

2011-12-15T20:36:00.004-07:00

day 2
listen to a christmas talk by an apostle
tonight we cuddled up together and listened to a talk by elder patrick kearon {it's in this month's ensign too} entitled 'come let us adore him.' it was wonderful to take a minute to be instructed by a servant of our heavenly father and to feel the spirit in our home.

my favorite part was when he talked about the shepherds, simeon and anna, and the wisemen, and he said "some received angelic visitations, and others acted on personal revelation. but each accepted the invitation to come to Him." we all receive revelation in our own way and timing, but regardless of how it comes, we all need to accept the invitation to come to Jesus Christ. and i love being reminded of that.

you can read the whole talk here.

the 12 days of CHRISTmas: day 1

2011-12-15T16:34:00.001-07:00

day one was yesterday, but i didn't have a minute to post it til now...

day 1
read luke chapter 2
we decided to start our twelve days of christmas off with a reading of the original christmas story. i love how luke and matthew {can't forget about the wisemen in matthew chapter 2, of course} beautifully phrase that wonderful night Christ was born and the days following. this year, i was especially touched by how 'mary held these things and pondered them in her heart' as a mother, i want to see the hand of the Lord in my life and my children's lives everyday, and i want to take a moment to ponder those things in my heart.

Nativity, Carl Bloch, c. 1875

heartbeat

2011-12-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

we heard our little one's heartbeat for the first time yesterday. it was a quick ba-bump ba-bump, 160 beats a minute. loud and clear, solid and strong, i've never loved a sound more.

feeling like...

2011-12-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

tonight my hubby is staying at the library studying late and i'm home watching friends reruns, perusing pinterest, and feeling a bit homesick for my snowy little utah. also feeling a bit like baby shopping. maybe i just need to go baby shopping in utah?

1, 2, 3, 4

repost: bffs

2011-12-13T16:47:00.001-07:00

i've been feeling a bit disconnected lately- from family, friends, and home. i think the holidays make me miss it all more. and this week i especially miss stacy and kara. i wrote this post about them january 16, 2011.

i just got off the phone with my best friend kara. that girl is the macaroni to my cheese.

she is amazing and i absolutely love her. we have been best friends for ten lovely years now and more then once, she has saved me. from pain, from mistakes, from myself, she's rescued me from it all. few things in my life have been as constant, as knowing and loving as she.

we were roommates for four years at byu before she left on her mission and i got married. sometimes i wish i could go back to cornerstone 22, just for a day, and be roomies again. to come home from class and wait impatiently for her to get off of work at jamba juice so we could sit in our living room and watch condo row come and go. and then order pizza and laugh while she and stace play with their pepperoni and we take pictures of our best 'nacho libre' faces. and at night talk her to sleep, cause she almost never made it through a conversation awake once she'd climbed under the covers. i miss it. looking back, i'm really grateful we had so many years before we moved on. now they mean the world to me, all those late nights spent going on 'midnight adventures' or staying up way too late laughing ourselves sore over michaelangelo and such.

all those late nights wouldn't have been the same if we didn't have stacy. that girl is the life of the party. she is hilarious and incerdibly inventive- i've never met anyone who wrote roommate notes like she did- you'd laugh for an hour over the fabulous note she left on the fridge. and then she'd come home and together you'd laugh about it all over again. she is also amazingly kind. when kara left on her mission, she was my rock. she loved me and made me laugh and cheered me up, and it has meant the world to me since. oh how i love her! sometimes, i wish i could go back to her morning bustling and her striped pajama pants. back to hearing a vibrant rendention of a broadway musical coming from the shower and blasting michael buble in the car. she is a treasure, that one.

how i miss them.

i was thinking about this tonight, and then i read this on c.jane's blog; 'I know that now I believe we are all part of one another. That's it's not that we will meet again, but that we have already met before' and i felt so full. full of love for them, full of missing them, full of the knowledge that i have that we have always been best friends- before this life and beyond.

i am crossing my fingers that we live near each other again someday so we can hold each other's babies and make each other laugh when there's tomato sauce on the carpet, but even if we don't, we will always have cornerstone 22. and forever. which is great by me.

love you girls.

14 weeks

2011-12-11T15:28:00.001-07:00

sneak peek: coming soon to the shop!

2011-12-10T18:55:00.001-07:00

in holiday reds and greens

every side of this season

2011-12-10T10:06:00.001-07:00

orlando and i had a talk the other night about how we celebrate this wonderful christmas season and how we want to make it a magical and Christ-centered time of year for our children. we are really good at the decorating and the present wrapping and the cookie making, but somehow we are not always really good about taking time out to focus on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. i think that both sides of christmas are important- we all need a little santa and the magic of the season, but we all really need to be spiritually uplifted this time of year too.

so this year, in an effort to be more spiritually uplifted, we are counting down the 12 days of CHRISTmas {starting wednesday} with a daily activity or lesson that is Christ-focused. i'm making our list of ideas today and i'm excited to get started! i'll share them here and if you think of anything to add, let me know.

all this talk about celebrating christmas with our kids has gotten me so excited. i can't wait to be santa claus and bake messy neighbor gifts and dress them up to act out the nativity scene on christmas eve. i've been pinning christmas ideas for weeks now- some to do this year and some to start when our kids arrive. my favorites:

the new bible movies on lds.org

a christmas book advent for the kiddos

peppermint cake roll, my favorite!

an activity advent for the family

christmas journals and wollen stockings

friday letters

2011-12-09T18:29:00.001-07:00

dear finals month,
didn't you used to be finals week? since when do you last an entire month?! since law school i guess. sigh. well, come if you must, but do not linger. come and go as quickly and painlessly as possible please.
not yours,
this overworked law school student's wife

dear general electric engineers,
for your next big project could you please come up with a fridge that automatically summons whatever food i'm craving? my fridge seems to be broken- all the food in it sounds gross right now. where is that randomly obscure flavor of ice cream when i need it?!
gratefully yours,
a hungry woman

dear 26th year of life,
i was worried we weren't going to get along, but already i think i love you. i can't wait for all that's coming my way this year! you're going to be my favorite yet, i think. cheers to us!
loves,
lindsey

dear iphone autocorrect,
thank you kindly for {incorrectly} correcting my words and causing me to swear at my husband over imessage this morning. that was really fun. not.
sternly yours,
this iphone user

dearest husband,
you are the most wonderful man on earth. thank you for studying all day and then coming home at night and warming up my toes, fetching me cold water, and tickling my arms til i fall asleep. i really should be waiting on you after your exhausting day at school, but instead you come home and insist on taking care of me. don't think for one second that i don't know how very very lucky i am to call you mine. i love you so much!
xoxo
wifey

dear saturday morning,
bless your heart, i love you so. i wait all week to sleep your hours away and i'm so glad you're finally here! see you tomorrow!
yours truly,
zzzzzzz

help me

2011-12-07T16:37:00.001-07:00

is it possible to be allergic to pregnancy? i sneeze at least 50 times a day now and it's getting old.

what is your favorite crib, stroller, carseat, baby carrier, etc???

we want to start buying diapers in advance- what size am i supposed to get?

have you tried hypnobirthing? did you like it?

what kind of questions should i take on our hospital tour?

is the glucose test optional or required? i really do not want to take it.

that's all i've got today, but if you think of anything else i need to know, please share the knowledge. gracias all!

best birthday

2011-12-06T15:32:00.001-07:00

snapshots of my 26th birthday weekend

i'm not sure how they do it, but every year orlando and my family and friends just keep making sure my birthday gets better and better. this year was so full and wonderful, i didn't even have a spare minute to be sad that i've joined the 'closer to 30 than 20' club.

orlando really went out of his way this year to make me feel special and pretty and so loved. he is such a sweetheart and i adore him with every spark of 26 year old life in me.

my favorite parts of this year's birthday celebration:

filling our apartment with birthday balloons, just for fun

a really sweet love note/blogpost from hubby on his blog

getting a baby book in the mail from my little brother

girl's night out with melissa for great food and soft baby things

christmas shopping together

birthday goodies- including a photography book, makeup, and a gorgeous anthro vase

my phone ringing and beeping with happy birthday wishes from friends and family all day

13 weeks pregnant on my birthday!

a huge birthday package from mom & dad

selling my first painting on etsy {squeal!}

pretending {like every year} that the christmas decorations are up just for my birthday

birthday dinner at carrabba's + a chick flick and snuggling up with my love after

every year i start anew is a good one, but with the promises of a new baby, parenthood with my best friend, and a year of law school done, this 26th year is going to be the very best, i can tell.

this pregnancy

2011-12-03T11:02:00.001-07:00

{the bump at 13 weeks}

how is it that something can be going by so fast and yet take eternity at the same time? i mean, doesn't that violate some law of physics? or something? that's how this pregnancy feels lately. i can't believe we're already to 13 weeks and yet the idea of waiting at least another 27 weeks to meet this baby is straight up torture.

anyone got any spare patience they want to share?

really though, i am loving being pregnant and {almost} everything that's come with it.

so far my most favorite things have been:
seeing the little one on the sonogram
the way orlando buries his face in my stomach and talks to our baby every night
how excited orlando gets to be a daddy
laying on the couch with orlando and talking about what he/she will look like and be like and how much we can't wait to love on him/her everyday
the excuse to bring snacks to church
nine o'clock bedtime
orlando's new dinner making skills
my weekly email that tells me what size of fruit our baby is
awesome pregnancy dreams {most of which have taken place at hogwarts}

my least favorite things:
always being hungry
my newfound dislike of chocolate
waking up in the middle of the night
being exhausted all the time
my increasingly tight and uncomfortable pants

i'm excited to bid farewell to the first trimester next week and get into all the second trimester energy and nesting and goodness... it's going to be a great {albeit slow} 27 weeks, i think.

i wanted to say thanks

2011-11-29T19:29:00.001-07:00

i just wanted to write a little note to everyone to say thank you for all the well wishes! it means so much to me that so many people are excited to meet our little one. we are over the moon happy about it all- thanks so much for adding to the excitement!

xoxo
this future mama

12 weeks

2011-11-27T16:57:00.001-07:00

baby leon

2011-11-25T17:09:00.001-07:00

we're having a baby!!!!

i'm so thrilled, i could shout it from the mountains!

we got to see the little one this morning and i can't even describe to you how much i love him or her already. we saw it rolling all around and kicking its little legs and sucking its fingers, and it waved at us too. he or she has the sweetest little profile and would not stop moving around. the nurse had a hard time getting the heart rate because the little one was moving so much! but she got it eventually- strong and healthy at 177 bpm. too early to tell if it's a boy or girl, but we counted 10 fingers and 10 toes and healthy organs- it kept rolling to face us, it was so darling. orlando and i couldn't stop smiling and squealing, it was the best morning of our lives.

the sweet details:

i'm almost 12 weeks along

the baby is due june 16th, 2012

i have been so lucky- no morning sickness, no nausea. i'm just more tired than ever before in my life.

so far, i crave cheeseburgers and apples- sweets almost never sound good. i love orange juice and barbeque potato chips and i cannot eat chocolate pudding- it makes me gag.

i've already got a baby belly! i've only put on two pounds, but since about week 8, i've been sticking out in front and it's been so hard to keep it secret!

orlando nicknamed the baby 'minion' after the little yellow guys on 'despicable me'

i can't wait to feel the little one move and to watch orlando be a daddy. also, i cannot wait to see what our baby looks like! the weeks are crawling by and i'm trying to be patient, but i honestly can't wait to meet our sweet baby!

thankful

2011-11-24T11:11:00.001-07:00

happy thanksgiving!

i've spent the morning in my pajamas, baking cheesecakes, and pondering the endless blessings that have been bestowed upon me this year. my heart is so grateful- for my husband & best friend, for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and guides me, for my parents and brothers, in-laws, dear friends, and for all the goodness these beloved people pour into my life everyday.

more than any year before, this year i can see the hand off the Lord in my life, the careful love with which He watches over me. more than anything, this year, i'm grateful that I know Him. that i know His plan for me and that i know He knows me. this precious knowledge is my light in the darkest hours, and with all my heart i'm grateful for it.

this man of mine

2011-11-20T17:30:00.001-07:00

this man of mine, he's the greatest

and now he has a blog!

check out

The Man Hour

new in the shop

2011-11-19T18:39:00.001-07:00

a couple of new pieces are up in the shop

all orders will mail in time for christmas if placed by 12.15.11

happy gifting!

birthday goodies

2011-11-19T15:20:00.001-07:00

i love having a december birthday. it's like having a pre-christmas christmas complete with presents and celebrations and the added bonus of cake and ice cream. yep, i have the best birthday of the year.

this year's birthday is going to be slightly tragic {i'm old!} but i'm sure orlando will help me forget the awful number i'm turning by making it absolutely wonderful. {countdown: 16 days!}

a few goodies on my birthday list this year:

thanksgiving pins

2011-11-17T19:19:00.001-07:00

i love love love thanksgiving, almost as much as christmas. what's not to love? it's all about remembering your blessings, being grateful, and spending time with family, eating a gorgeously delicious feast.

i can't stop pinning all these really great food pictures!

i'm really going to miss my family this year, wish we didn't have to be so far away for thanksgiving. i'm always a bit homesick for utah, but around the holidays i really really miss the people i love most.

i'm so grateful for all of them.

if you get to eat thanksgiving with your family this year, hug them tight!

gotta clean the bathroom

2011-11-16T16:05:00.001-07:00

the state of my bathroom is an honest indicator of how things are rolling around here, and let's just say.... it's not lookin' good today. the rest of the house is deceiving because even after a week like this week, the living room still gets picked up and the dishwasher gets loaded. but the bathroom, the poor bathrooom doesn't get a second glance. sigh.

are we sure it's only wednesday?

it's not that this week has been bad. no, bad is too strong a word, really. it's just been busy and stressful, with a handful of disappointing/frustrating moments, and a serious lack of husband&wife time. {chalk that up to law school year one} why is it that you can have a glorious three day weekend and then just three days later feel like you haven't had a decent break in months?

ces't la vie! really though, ces't une belle vie. life is good, even when it's stressful and busy. orlando loves his classes and works really hard to put in the time- oy the reading! the reading itself would do me in, i tell you. but he keeps at it, loving it all like kids love recess. i keep busy while he reads with work and my etsy shop, making thanksgiving plans, and obviously, avoiding cleaning the bathroom.

which, by the way, i have to go scrub now. wish me and my magic eraser luck!

now taking...

2011-11-14T16:40:00.001-07:00

custom orders!

lin & lou is now accepting custom orders- choose your size, colors and style, and you'll get an original watercolor in the mail- just in time for the holidays!

{order by december 1st to ensure speedy shipping}

email linandlouetsy@gmail.com to order!

three day weekends

2011-11-13T19:17:00.001-07:00

i can't make up my mind about three day weekends. partly, i absolutely love them because hello, four days of work and then three days of play is ah-may-zing! three mornings of sleeping in, more time with the hubby, extra free time for errands and projects- it's all really great when it comes to three day weekends. that is, until you get to sunday night. oh how i do not like sunday nights after a three day weekend! for some reason, the longer you are away from work, the harder it is to go back. sunday night, you watch the clock tick later and later and you know that it will soon be bedtime and then it will {way too soon!} be morning- monday morning to be exact. and maybe this thought makes you want to cry. it's a cruel cycle, am i right?

don't get me wrong, i like my job. i like it a lot actually. but after three days of sleeping in and free time all day, i'm spoiled and i don't want monday to ever come. but come it does, eh? {tangent- there are a lot of canadians here and they all say 'eh' all the time, it's awesome}

so this sunday night, i put on my happy face, ate a pound of grapes, and painted my nails 'smokin in havana'

bring it on, monday!

deck the halls

2011-11-11T19:44:00.001-07:00

every year, we get way too excited for christmas to wait til after thanksgiving to deck the halls. {plus it only adds to the festive-ness of thanksgiving, don't you think?}

so tonight for date night, we went out for our yearly ritual of picking out a new ornament for our tree and then we came home and decked our place out to the nines.

best date night ever.

ornament year one

ornament year two

ornament year three

ornament year four

hope your friday night was just as festive!

bitten by the christmas bug

2011-11-10T18:30:00.001-07:00

i've got christmas spirit baaaaad this year, people, and i'm not doing a single thing to get rid of it. i love it way too much! tomorrow {veteran's day, no work, woot!} i plan on decking all of our halls with bows of holly and mistletoe and everything else christmas cheery. i'm so excited! i'll post pictures when all is perfectly festive.

i found this little guy at bath and body works and just had to bring him home for the holidays.

he is sitting on my counter, filling my house with the sweet scent of a freshly cut christmas tree {find it here, it's AMAZING} and i'm sitting here, pinning wonderful christmas pins, and feeling happier than possibly i've ever felt in all my life. life is just so good, you know? the spirit of this season really gets to me and i can't help but feel completely overwhelmed with gratitude and joy and the excitement of a five year-old every year. it's my absolute favorite season, no contest.

this year will be a little different- no shopping or christmas lists for us first year law students {translation: us poor people}. instead, i hope to do a few quality things with orlando to celebrate the birth of our Savior, and i'm excited to fill his stocking with goodies. letters of love and gratitude will be sent to family and friends, and we will soak up this warm christmas spirit with lots of good food and together-ness {with no shortage of gravy}. honestly, i think it will be our best christmas yet.

a few favorite christmas pins: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

p.s. congratulations to our dearest friends, greg and kayla, whose twins arrived so safe, healthy and beautiful today! we love you guys!

p.p.s. four years ago today, orlando took me on our first date. i didn't know then that he was going to be my last first date, but oh i'm so happy he was. xoxo

a weekend of instagrams

2011-11-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

popcorn + football

working on my etsy shop

it smells like fall!

my $9 thrift store find

learn law. play dodgeball.

law school tournament

i heart stella & dot!

ANNOUNCEMENT! i finally did it...

2011-11-05T11:43:00.000-06:00

announcing...

the GRAND OPENING of

my etsy shop!!

{lin & lou? lindsey lou is a nickname i've had all my life and i thought it made a good shop title, short and sweet}

i have been playing with the idea of putting up my watercolors for awhile, but could never get past those pesky failure fears. then it hit me one day- if i do this shop for me, simply because i enjoy painting and i'm proud of my work, then it won't matter if it fails or succeeds because at the end of the day, i'll have had a great time just doing it.

so here it is:

{i have a few more paintings in varying stages of being finished and i hope to get them up in the shop this next week}

check it out {here} and if you like, spread the word!

thanks all,

xoxo

from all around, i liked these best

2011-11-03T17:58:00.001-06:00

{my favorite pin so far...}

did you see the article on the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints on the front page of cnn.com yesterday? was it bad of me to be excited we made it to the front page? i thought it was a positive look at how our church is growing and developing all over the world. read it here.

have you heard of the girl effect? it's one of my very favorite non-profit orgs and i'm super excited about their new challenge. read about it on my blog here.

i found this awesome salted caramel cupcake recipe that has me drooling, and also, it's a good post that got me thinking today.

you guys, my project list just keeps getting longer! it's all pinterest's fault, i'm telling you. how can you look at this and not want to make it?

i need babies over here, people, so i can take pictures like this and throw a little boy birthday party like this.

i am naturallly an optimist. it's usually pretty easy for me to see the brightside of things, and i can always find something to get excited about. but i'm also a worrier, and when it comes to worrying, {like with most things} i can get really into it. i definitely worry way too much. so i really liked this post by jo, it was a great way to visualize all my worrying and stress in the grand scheme of things.

here's hoping you have a great weekend! i'll be back here in a couple of days when i get the finishing touches set on the shop!
xoxo

has anyone seen where my week went?

2011-10-29T10:20:00.000-06:00

holy cow, a whole week gone all ready?! ahh! it flew by so fast, i completely missed it- has anyone seen where it went?! my to do list was, in short, very lengthy this week and i didn't get even half of it done- including the blogging, obviously.

sigh.

good thing there's another week coming right behind this one.

i've been busy busy not keeping my house clean and setting up the holiday displays at bath & body works {mmm, love it all!} and planning the ward halloween party {tonight, yay!}

tangent: this is what we are doing to our car for the trunk-or-treat tonight:

***post edit: our car was the best decorated and the kiddos LOVED it. orlando made it fun and a little scary by making our shark car {almost} bite their little hands off as they reached in the trunk for their treats, it was awesome. plenty of squeals and laughs tonight, i fell in love with halloween all over again.***

{end tangent and post edit}

and i've been busy working on a big project that has taken me over a year to get up the courage to actually do.

{sneak peek!}

stick around for the full announcement coming next week!

happy halloween to all, hope you have a fun trick-&-treat-filled weekend!

xoxo

tonight...

2011-10-22T21:50:00.005-06:00

i was craving mexican food like crazy tonight.
and since there's not a mexican eating establishment to be found here in cleveland, hubby grilled up some carne asada and i lathered on his amazing guacamole.

mmmm, thanks lovey!

fall table

2011-10-22T16:44:00.002-06:00

my weekend projects all put together:

cleveland: the 101

2011-10-22T09:44:00.001-06:00

speaking of living in cleveland, i've been wanting to journal a few or our favorite {and not-so favorite} things about our new city. after almost six months here:

we love

-the big city feeling, in a small city space

-it's packed with culture- little italy, chinatown- and there's a ton of diversity here

-the cleveland museum of art is gorgeous

-cleveland has some of the nicest people on earth

-the energy and busy-ness of downtown makes it a really fun place to live

-the rain is incredible here
-our amazing ward

-the perfect fall weather and changing leaves- oh the colors!

-steve's gyros
-the best spicy sweet wings ever
-west 25th street market- the freshest fruit, yum!

-cleveland-marshall school of law

-our view of the indian's stadium- fireworks all summer long from our living room windows

-the 'smile and ride free' trolly downtown

-the lovely lake in our backyard
-it's so close to everything- kirtland, niagara falls, toronto canada, new york, etc.

we don't love

-the humidity

-parking two blocks from our apartment- consequence of downtown living

-well-dressed people will randomly stand on a busy corner and ask for money, it's a little weird

-wal-mart. i hate the wal-mart here

-the wind. downtown is a terrible wind tunnel, right off the lake
-fire alarms going off in our apartment building at 3am
-the complete lack of good mexican food
-living downtown means all the shopping is a good twenty minute drive out
-no panda express or cafe rio or costa vida

home is wherever you decide to make it

2011-10-21T20:55:00.000-06:00

i found myself driving all over cleveland last weekend. i was supposed to be grocery/craft supply shopping, but i took a wrong turn and ended up down a street laden in huge fall trees, covered in a crunchy layer of gold, red and brown. it was enchanting. for the next hour i slowed down and wandered the hills, taking in the prettiest fall i've ever seen.

and it got me thinking about this place i'm living in, about moving and change and home.

when we moved to san diego, it was pretty hard at first. i thought i was totally prepared for the adventure, and my struggle with all the change surprised me. i was lonely and homesick and i missed the familiarity of dear little provo. but, it didn't take long before the beach, tacos, and weather perfection won me over and by the time we left, i was head over heels for that place.

moving to cleveland has surprised me in a lot of different ways. for one, when i get homesick here, i'm usually homesick for san diego. the first time i realized this, it almost knocked me over. i knew i loved it there, i didn't know it had become home. i always miss my family and friends and my mountians in utah because of course, that is home. i grew up there. i just never thought san diego would feel so much like home too.

i've also been surprised at how easy this move has been for me. i have yet to cry myself to sleep or wallow an evening away in loneliness. i'm busy and happy here. but i don't love cleveland like i did san diego and utah, not at all. though it could still happen, it has yet to burrow its way into my heart. so driving around the backroads and soaking up the fall, i couldn't help but wonder if i would ever think of this place as home. and what about the next place? how many homes can a girl have?

but then i thought that maybe it's not up to the mountains or the tacos or the fall leaves. maybe making a home and loving a place is up to me, more than anything else?

well then cleveland fall, welcome to my heart.

trying to pick one

2011-10-19T19:37:00.001-06:00

i love my new iphone. love love love it. i said i'd never go apple, but i did, and once you go apple you never go back. it's that awesome.

{thanks hubby for my early birthday present!}

so i've been looking for a case to go on my new best technological friend and i'm struggling to choose just one.

help me out here!

what do you think?

find them all here

p.s. i've got major bloggers block, sorry folks. it's one of those things that just does not come back on demand! hopefully it bounces back quicklike. until then, i'm going to go eat some ice cream and watch modern family with my magnificent hubby. later!

just couldn't stop watching...

2011-10-16T16:48:00.000-06:00

i definitely didn't get my project list done this weekend... i started my jars:

and sewed a table runner {pictures forthcoming} but that's it.

mostly because i got really hooked here and just couldn't get away.

i cried at least 23 times and watched almost every video they have. after 5.5 hours, i was peacefully, happily worn out.

you should go see what i'm talking about, i promise you'll love it too.

goals for next weekend:

finish jars

make paper bag flowers

write my own mormon profile

it's the weekend and i have a project list

2011-10-14T21:38:00.001-06:00

i've been looking forward to this weekend all month. for the first saturday in the last 4, i don't have to work at bath and body works tomorrow, and i'm super excited to get crafty and cross a few projects off my list. while orlando studies all day {you rock babe!} i'll be:

staying in from the rain and drinking this deliciousness:

making these:

and these {out of brown paper bags!}:

and a whole bunch of these for christmas:

and eating lots of this:

cheers to the weekend! hope yours is marvelous too...

a {more} colorful royal wedding

2011-10-13T17:20:00.000-06:00

like just about every girl on the planet, i swooned over william and kate's wedding earlier this year. i stayed up all night to watch it, gushed over her dress and his handsome uniform, and daydreamed about orlando somehow being suddenly elected the king of mexico, making me an instant princess.

if only, right?

much less public, but no less royal and gorgeous, was the royal wedding today in bhutan. did you hear about that one? only televised in bhutan {a tiny himalayan country}, the wedding wasn't an international headline so much, but it's a really big deal over there- and being a lover of royal weddings, i may confess, i was just as excited.

i think this one was just as stunning {and quite a bit more colorful!}

have you ever seen anything like this? i'm so intrigued by this culture! it's amazing.

they're a really sweet couple, i love it. and she is absolutely gorgeous.

greeting the public after the ceremony- oh how i love this little girl, she's darling!

incredible huh? i was blown away by the beautiful colors and old world tradition-feel of it all. i love it!

help me help guatemala babies

2011-10-13T16:33:00.000-06:00

hey all, do me a favor?

head on over to the other blog today to find out how you can help me help feed these gorgeous guatemalan babies.

on october 19, all donations to globalgiving will be matched by 30%!

columbus day, italian style

2011-10-12T18:41:00.001-06:00

did you know christopher columbus was italian? well he was. so to celebrate our columbus day holiday {and our one day off together this semester of law school!}, we headed back over to little italy for their annual columbus day festival and parade. it was fun and loud {those italians can seriously shout!} delicious and festive, we loved it.

the festival was hosted by the holy rosary church & the parade grand master- the church's priest.

just a few of our treats from the day. that yellow one on the right- best lemon cake i've ever ever put in my mouth. seriously. {i already took a cheesecake bite, oops!}

cleveland police department officers of italian descent

these three little boys in front of us are cousins and they were hilarious when the floats started throwing candy. made me so excited to bring kiddos to this someday.

the orlando bread truck was throwing out fresh loaves of bread, it was awesome.

happy columbus day!

birthday friend

2011-10-11T20:52:00.001-06:00

dear kara,

it's your birthday and i love you today more than ever ever. thanks for being such a best best friend.

xoxo

lindsey loo

little italy with friends

2011-10-08T21:47:00.000-06:00

friday night, we decided to introduce ourselves and our new friends, dan + ashley, to little italy. it's such a charming little neighborhood! live music, fantastic pizza, and good company made the night such a hit, we are already planning to go back. being dark and all, i only took a few pictures, but i'm excited to go back during the day and take some more. also, i want some more gelato. yum.

thanks guys for adventuring with us!

pins of the week

2011-10-08T21:21:00.001-06:00

a few of my favorite pins this week:

mustache ghost suckers tutorial

fall apple candles tutorial

simple christmas tree

crete, greece

love the skin you're in

2011-10-07T21:38:00.001-06:00

do you ever look back at your teenage self and wish that the today you could tell the then you a few things? i don't often because i rather like how i got to where i am today. but when i do wish i could, its usually to tell my then self something along the lines of don't worry, you'll grow into those teeth and you'll learn how to tame your hair, and you really should wash your face everyday. also, sunscreen should be your best friend.

i was treated to a facial this week {sigh, heavenly} and by the end, i was completely in love with my skin. it was soft and smooth, clear and even a little glowy. and it got me thinking that i wish i had learned a little sooner to embrace the skin i'm in, instead of always trying to tan it or cover it up or change it. all it really needs is a little love instead. all i really needed was a little love instead.

and since i can't really tell my teenage self this, i'm telling you. love your skin, love your self. embrace yourself a little more and watch a little glowy ease into your countenance.

and, if you really want to actually show your skin a little more love, try some of these. i get asked a lot what i use, so i'm spilling my secrets! different things work well for different skin, but i have tried and loved every one of these.

mary kay miracle set

having never been a mary kay fan, i was skeptical. but, i was introduced to this set just the other day, and i am a fast fan. my facial was amazing and two days later, my skin is still baby soft and smooth. the exfoliating cream was out of this world.

clinique dramatically different moisturizing cream & turnaround concentrate

this yellow moisturizing cream cannot be beat. i have been a loyal customer for going on ten years now. the turnaround concentrate is a new favorite- it really does leave your skin supple and radiant.

neutrogena healthy skin radiance cream

for a little whole body love, neutrogena is my number one. this lotion moisturizes and protects with spf 15 and it dries quick and is never greasy.

happy wednesday!

2011-10-06T20:46:00.002-06:00

this week has been a quick blur and in all the hustle, i almost forgot happy wednesdays! i only just remembered. so here it is on thursday. without further ado:

10 things making me happy

{right now}

1. i started my new job and i love it

2. i've been scheming about halloween costumes and party plans this week and it's getting me super excited
3. hubby brought home three bags of dove chocolate squares monday night

4. the rain has stopped finally and we're back to beautiful, sixty-five degree fall days

5. i ran two miles yesterday and i'm wonderfully sore today

6. my experiment of meatball and tomato pasta turned out heavenly yesterday
7. news that grandma johnson's breast cancer was caught early and is operable

8. my pretty new iphone came in the mail today

9. monday is a bank holiday which means i get the day off and i get paid for it. hello three day weekend!

10. melissa gave me a facial yesterday and my skin is gorgeous today

now if you'll excuse me, my new iphone and i have a date....

what to be?

2011-10-05T16:19:00.003-06:00

orlando and i have never dressed up for halloween, not once in all the years we've been together. i find this very sad. every year i declare that next year is going to be our year, but then october rolls around and we're busy and poor and once again, we do nothing. i am determined that this year, this will not be the case. so. help me think of something we can dress up as! because for all my determinations, i am drawing some big blanks over here... what are you dressing up as this year?

personally, i love this:

but orlando would never go for it. if it's not zorro or one of the x-men or something 'cool', he'll downright refuse to play along.

i just wish we had babies already so i could dress them up like this:

what are you dressing up your babies as this year?

up-to-the-date

2011-10-03T17:26:00.001-06:00

short and sweet and quick update:
i started my job at (guess i can tell now that i've started) key bank today and i am loooooving it! seriously, the ladies i work with are fabulous, the customers are nice, the atmosphere is fast and energetic, and the benefits {oh the benefits!} are amazing. i'm really excited to enjoy my job everyday. it's right by our apartment, so i can walk to and from work, orlando and i are right downtown by each other all day, so we can meet for lunch, and the hours {no late nights! no weekends!} are lovely. i'm feeling so incredibly blessed to have found this job. it was worth waiting for, for sure. i'm grateful Heavenly Father is watching out for us.

orlando is working hard, studying away, and he is really passionnate about what he's learning. it's fun to listen to him describe in great, excited detail what he's learning about. he has a good mind for the law too- i'm far too emotionally involved in everything to ever be able to make a logical, just conclusion, but he excells at it. he was elected treasurer of the hispanic student law association on campus and i'm a very proud wifey.

also, he bought me an iphone on a whim the other night (calling it an early birthday present}. lucky me!

cleveland is freezing, by the way. rain, wind, and forty degrees already and it's only october 3. i want to migrate south for the winter, please.

oh and stacy- i started hunger games yesterday and am equal parts horrified and mesmerized.

and that's us lately! now that i can't blog at work {he he} this might be less frequent, but i will do my best to keep it going strong. happy monday!

xo

charity: water September Campaign

2011-09-30T06:33:00.000-06:00

Do you ever feel like there's so many people to help and so many things to change that you might as well just not do any of it because you won't get it all done anyways? I think about this often. About looking outside myself, trying to help, making a positive difference... they're daunting thoughts, honestly. Its easy to make excuses, or put things off, waiting. Until next month. Until you have more money. Until you have more time. But it's clear that the world is in need and we can't keep waiting to help. Too many people are thirsty, starving and homeless. I've learned that the best thing to do is begin where you are. Start with the knowledge you have and grow from there. Give of your time, money, ideas and your whole self. And you'll come out of it a thousand times richer than when you started.

This is where charity: water comes in.
charity: water is a non-profit organization that works to bring clean water to the millions of people in developing countries who don't have this luxury, one clean well at a time. water is an incredibly valuable resource and having access to clean, safe water changes a village in more ways than one. A few facts from charity: water:

-Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
-90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are of children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable.
-A clean water project nearby means more than safe drinking water to women and children in developing nations; it means time, freedom and incentive to change their communities.

It is easy to see why clean water can elevate a village from one of poverty, disease and inequality to one that flourishes with education, opportunity, and healthy, long lives. This is the change charity: water strives to bring to these villages, this is the difference they are making. For the past five years, they have been funding drilling projects across developing countries like Liberia and Honduras and have successfully brought clean water to two million people.

Now they want to move even faster. The goal of their September Campaign is to raise enough money to buy a FS 250 Drilling Rig. This will enable them to dig 80 more wells and bring clean water to 40,000 more people- a year. This rig is the key to opening a literal floodgate of clean water for the people of Ethiopia, and I can't think of a better cause to donate our time, money and energy to this fall. PLUS, if they reach their goal, a donor will match it with a SECOND drilling rig! Even better!

You're all invited to join me in helping charity: water achieve their goal by the end of October! There are so many ways you can help:

1. Spread the word. Blog about it, facebook it, tweet it, morris code it. Anything and everything makes a difference!
2. Visit the charity: water September Campaign site to make a donation- 100% goes to the drilling rig. Also, you can go there to stay up-to-date on how the campaign is going.
3. Get buttons and banners here, watch the campaign trailer, and put them up on your blog or website.
4. Get invloved here by volunteering or starting your own fundraiser to raise money for the new rig. You could ask for donations to charity: water for your birthday this month or hold a yard sale- every little bit helps!

Begin where you are.

Don't wait for the easy moment. Make every moment count.
Start today.

darling + helpful

2011-09-29T12:36:00.000-06:00

i love h&m. they have been one of my favorite places to shop since i discovered we lived oh so close to one in san diego. at first i loved them for their cute, inexpensive clothes {still do} but now i also love them because they have paired up with UNICEF {united nations children's fund} to improve life and education for children around the world.

right now, 25% of the sales price from the ALL FOR CHILDREN collection will be donated to protect children's rights in bangladesh, which will help provide access to schools. 'we believe that children who learn how to read and write are better equipped to make informed choices about their future.' -h&m

not only are these clothes absolutely darling, but you can buy them knowing that because your children wear them, someone else's children get to go to school. what could be better?

stay tuned tomorrow, there's going to be a BIG post up here!

happy wednesday

2011-09-28T11:49:00.002-06:00

i've found myself incredibly inspired this past week. inspired by elder uchtdorf and my heavenly father, by pinterest, by orlando, by friends and family, by fall and the weather and the rythym of this city, by blogposts here and here... it's in the air, all over the place, and all i want to do is create and bake and meditate and discuss and pull it all in and wrap it up to keep for those days when i can't seem to find any.

of the many recipes and projects and goals i've got running happy-wild in my head, one of them i wanted to launch on this here blog. i'm calling it:

'happy wednesdays'

i find wednesday to often be the hardest day of the week, it being smack dab in the busy, tiring middle of things and i think it'll do a body & mind good to pause and embrace the little things, be grateful, and rejoice in the everyday once a week. so every wednesday i'll post a happy list- it can be anything, ANYTHING {the sky's the limit!} happy or lovely or of good report or praiseworthy and hopefully, it'll start here and spread a little sunshine and inspiration as it goes along.

so! what makes you happy?

send me your happy lists!

email me a list of the ten things making you happy right now {lindseyleon@gmail.com} and i'll post your lists, one a week, til we run out of happy things to list {unlikely!}

to kick start this party

10 things that are making me happy

recently:

1. the crisp chill in the air that says fall is definitely on it's way

2. warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast

3. new jewelry in my mailbox

4. two for one symphony bars at the cvs across the street

5. starting my new job on monday, so excited!

6. skype-ing family

7. exploring cleveland with orlando and finding a secret beach/lookout on lake erie

8. introducing new friends to pica gomies {mexican candies}

9. orlando + hulu + popcorn + snuggling on the couch

10. the awesome back massage i got from hubby last night

____________________________________________________

also, i really want to share a few irresistible gems:

next time we go to paris, we are so doing this!

i vow to clean my house better + be nicer to the environment with these

i am having way too much fun thinking up imaginary vacations...

i could decorate my whole house from this beauty

it's a sickness

2011-09-27T13:13:00.001-06:00

my favorite part of almost any project is the doing- not the finished product. which is partly good because even if my completed project turns out totally awful {which happens often} i still had a great time dong it and i'm happy. however, when it comes to some things, {i.e. my blog design, decorating my house, spicing/mixing up my wardrobe, watercoloring...} as soon as i've finished, all i want to do is start it all over again and do something different.

it's a sickness.

i just finished decorating my house and now all i can think about is what i want to do differently and when is too soon to redecorate?

see? sickness, i tell you.

darn budget won't let me redo it already, so i dream...

all images via pinterest

can i?

2011-09-26T10:51:00.000-06:00

one of my very favorite fall looks this year is the maxi skirt.

i would wear one every day, except i'm only 5'1... so i'm wondering, can i wear this?

or do you have to be of the taller variety to pull it off?

all photos from pinterest

another reason i love the gospel

2011-09-25T21:57:00.001-06:00

go here and listen to this and you will immediately feel what i mean.

the general relief society meeting was absolutely incredible this year. it was perfect for me, just what i needed to hear. i'm so grateful that our Heavenly Father loves His daughters so much, he sends these beautiful messages, just for us.

'No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you, with an infinite love.'
- Elder Uchtdorf

dinner & dessert

2011-09-23T11:12:00.001-06:00

it's been raining nonstop for a week here in cleveland and i have to say, i am loving it. it never rained like this in utah and san diego, and while i see how it could potentially get old if it did this every day, right now i am absolutely in love the rainy season here. it feels like fall and i am so ready for fall. i've been wearing lots of sweaters and scaves and making cozy dinners while we watch modern family and bones on hulu after our long days of school {orlando} and work/running errands {me}.

two of my greatest personal triumphs this week have been in the kitchen and i'm incredibly proud of myself, as cooking + working full time + me don't all get along too well. but this week i was victorious! we have two {new} most favorite rainy day recipes i've just got to share. these are our favorites because a) they cannot go wrong. throw it all in together and it will still taste divine, b) they are really delicious, and c) hello cozy comfort food!

chicken tortilla soup

overnight cinanmon rolls

so try them and love them and you're welcome :)

happy friday!

we don't actually eat here

2011-09-22T10:57:00.001-06:00

these days, our kitchen table is a desk, job application center, artist's studio, catch-all for the mail, law library.... anything but a kitchen table.

oh, but it represents progress! law school is moving onward and going well, i'm painting again, jobs are being found and, well we still don't open most of the mail. {who does? i remember wishing for the day when all the colorful papers in our mailbox would be for me instead of for my mother. can i take that back now?}

anyways, life is good around our kitchen table. fall is quickly on it's way and i can't wait for my first east coast autumn. i hope it's as spectacular as it sounds. this fall i really want to do lots of crafting & painting, bake lots of goodies, and take sunday evening drives in the hills to get the best leavesarechanging experience.

hopefully i'll have lots of fabulous recipes, completed projects, and fall-y pictures to share by the time the snow falls. by the way, did you know christmas is just 9 weeks away? does that make anyone else panic or is it just me?

muchos gracias

2011-09-21T13:53:00.000-06:00

just want to say a very big thank you to all of you who helped me, whether with words or comments or prayers or thoughts, during this rough summer. please know you made a big difference.

blessedly, i got some good job news today, {yay!} and i finally feel relief. we are going to make it.

WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT!

i'll post more details when everything is final, but for now i just wanted to say thanks.

happy wednesday!

missing

2011-09-20T14:43:00.003-06:00

i grew up a mountains girl, but our year in san diego may have converted me into an ocean girl. lately i've been missing the ocean more than i've ever missed my mountains....

here's hoping we live by the ocean again someday!

rollercoasters and shady places

2011-09-20T08:12:00.002-06:00

'life is a rollercoaster' is a common enough expression and as far as the continous ups and downs go, i would agree. but the speed, no. the speed of a rollercoaster, the rush and whoosh and screeech, the zero to a thousand in three seconds- these are nothing like real life.

life is rather more like a long hike is the wilderness {like unto the israelites, no?}. there are ups and downs, hills to dance across and dunes to race down, the wind streaking fast through your hair and the sunshine playing across your happy face. there are mountians to climb- some pleasantly challenging and invigorating, some almost kill you with their severe slopes and sharp cliffs. the scenery is ever changing, often gorgeous, though occasionally dusty and bleak. the weather is unpredictable and the trail is not always clear. and sometimes you just want to sit down and say 'i will not move, not another inch!'

but we keep on keeping on because we are certain that whatever we are hiking towards is worth it all.

what am i hiking towards? eternity with him.

more than ever before, i am certain that it is worth it all.

this time of my life has been a bit more desert than forest, more bleak than lovely. being unemployed for three months in a new, unfamiliar place has been hard on my self-esteem, my optimism, and our bank account all at once. but at the end of every dreary day, this man curls up next to me, kisses my face, and tells me that tomorrow, tomorrrow is the day. tomorrow will be the day that makes all this frustrating hiking in a seemingly endless wilderness worthwhile.

i always believe it of course, because he believes it. so i wait and wait all day for THE DAY to finally happen. and all day nothing happens. and i've been more and more puzzled by it all because it was SUPPOSED to happen already, right? i'm supposed to have found some shade by now aren't i? a waterfall, something?

and then it occured to me this morning that i'm waiting for for the wrong thing. i'm waiting for some singular AMAZING thing to happen that makes the whole struggle worthwhile, but i'm missing the something AMAZING that happens everyday. i'm so busy cursing the desert that i didn't notice the shade.

i'm missing the love that holds me every night and promises me an eternity of tomorrows.

thanks amor, for being my shade.

habits

2011-09-19T13:51:00.000-06:00

i used to bite my fingernails all the time growing up. now i only bite them when i'm watching scary movies.

when i can't find anything new to read, i always pick up harry potter book seven or pride and prejudice.

snowy days require a mug of hot chocolate. i have to have had at least one before bed or i can't sleep.

i avoid socks at all costs. i really don't like to wear them. ever.

i talk to myself when i'm alone in the car.

i get antsy and claustrobic if i don't have travel plans in the works.

every april i have the same reoccuring dream of being in paris in the springtime.

i always order ginger ale on airplanes.

i can't go anywhere without a lipgloss.

i love presents and surprises and will avoid figuring anything out early like the plague.

when i'm bored, i eat.

things i regularly buy more of even when i don't need any:
lipgloss
eyeshadow
eyeliner
any makeup really
chocolate
jewelry

three hours of church always makes me hungry. it doesn't matter what time church is held or if i ate right before- i'll still be hungry half-way through.

i prefer water over any other drink. i have always hated milk.

i don't doodle. instead, when i'm bored or distracted i make lists. lists of places to vacation, groceries to buy, things to get done, baby names, and the like.

i am in charge of channel surfing at our house. husband {whom i adore} channel surfs at the speed of a dead sloth. thusly, it's my job.

i'd rather watch a chick flick alone or with girlfriends than make husband sit through it. he's an excellent sport and some of them he actually likes, but i ususally spend the whole film worrying about whether or not he's miserable and then i don't enjoy myself.

after three years of marriage, i now look forward to our nightly sportscenter ritual.

chocolate cures every ailment in my book.
__________________________________________________________

now tell me yours!

something you can make out of happy tape

2011-09-18T18:55:00.000-06:00

a makeshift bandaid when you accidently use a potato peeler on your knuckle and all of your grown-up sized bandaids are gone...

homegrown, handmade or local: picture perfect

2011-09-18T18:48:00.001-06:00

one of the best local photographers in utah county: kayla brooke photography.

she's incredibly talented and she has an eye for great composition. plus she is a gem to work with- you'll have a hard time meeting anyone sweeter.

so for your next family pictures or engagements or whatever, call her up. you won't be dissappointed. i highly recommend her!

aaaaaand, that's all for my homegrown, handmade or local series this weeek peeps. if you enjoyed it, let me know and maybe i'll do another in the future. i'm always taking suggestions!

homegrown, handmade or local: more art cause it's my favorite

2011-09-17T10:05:00.000-06:00

one of my favorite utah county artists is j. kirk richards. the first time i saw his works, they were part of my favorite exhibit at the BYU MOA when i worked there- beholding salvation, it was called. and i haven't been able to forget him since. i love his painterly and simple style. it's art in its most basic form at the same time, it's incredibly powerful to me.

homegrown, handmade or local: party perfect

2011-09-16T14:02:00.000-06:00

one of my favorite party sites {founded in utah valley} is the lovely and fun, one charming party.

i'm in love with almost every single party on here and you will be too as soon as you see them.

you can find out how they put everything together, buy it straight from them, or you can just go and get ideas for your next party!

a few favorites:

a mermaid party

a NYC party

a camping party

a spa party

a county fair party

a berry party

fashion week + human rights

2011-09-16T07:06:00.000-06:00

Fashion Week Cancels Show of Uzbek Dictator’s Daughter

The daughter of Uzbekistan’s dictator planned to unveil her spring fashion line at New York City’s prestigious Fashion Week. But her show was canceled after Human Rights Watch and a coalition of like-minded organizations spotlighted her connection to her father’s tyrannical government.

Gulnara Karimova isn’t just the eldest daughter of Islam Karimov – Uzbekistan’s autocratic leader since the Soviet era – she also serves as the government’s ambassador to Spain and the United Nations, a high-level position in a regime known for imprisoning and torturing political opponents and rights activists. Her father’s government forces up to two million Uzbek children to leave school for two months each year to pick cotton – a fabric woven throughout Karimova’s designs.

Karimova maintains a jet-setter lifestyle, which includes making a pop video with Julio Iglesias and launching her fashion line “Guli.” But according to a cable released by Wikileaks, US diplomats said most Uzbeks view her as “a greedy, power-hungry individual who uses her father to crush business people or anyone else who stands in her way.”

To get her Fashion Week show canceled, Human Rights Watch reached out to senior management at IMG, the event organizer, and Fashion Week’s main sponsors, like Mercedes-Benz – providing examples of the abuses that our Uzbekistan researchers documented on the ground.

We planned our Fashion Week campaign together with like-minded organizations, such as the International Labor Rights Forum and the American Federation of Teachers, which have successfully convinced Gap, H&M, and other major retailers to pledge that they won’t buy Uzbek cotton.

Roughly two weeks before Karimova’s show, slated for today, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth spoke with IMG’s top management about the risks to the event’s reputation when someone who represents a highly abusive government is a participant.
IMG management responded positively to us and began to distance themselves and Fashion Week from Karimova.

We also contacted Fashion Week’s corporate sponsors, including Mercedes-Benz, as well as the fashion media and other journalists, about our concerns. We told them about how children working in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields – harvesting the country’s main cash crop – live in filthy conditions, often get sick, and work for little or no pay.

We also stressed how no one in Uzbekistan has been held accountable for the 2005 massacre in Andijan, when government troops opened fire on mostly unarmed protesters, killing hundreds. Many of the country’s journalists and human rights defenders are jailed, and prisoners routinely tortured. Uzbekistan’s clampdown on nongovernmental organizations is so widespread that, earlier this year, Uzbek authorities forced Human Rights Watch to close our office in the capital, Tashkent – the first time in our 33-year history that a government shut one of our offices. In years prior, Uzbekistan had also closed local operations of Freedom House, the Open Society Institute, BBC, Deutsche Welle, and many others.

On the opening day of Fashion Week, the New York Post ran a front-page story, pitched by Human Rights Watch, with a soon-to-be-classic headline, “Dressed to Kill: Daughter of Murderous Dictator to Unveil Spring Line at Fashion Week.” It ignited a wave of global media coverage.

An IMG spokesperson told the press that, “We’re horrified by the human-rights abuses in Uzbekistan, and hope that the attention Human Rights Watch generates is able to effect change in the country. We also hope to work hand-in-hand with Human Rights Watch during Fashion Week and beyond to challenge those in power in Uzbekistan to take action immediately.”
Daimler, the parent company of the event’s main sponsor, Mercedes-Benz, also publicly distanced itself from Karimova. A company spokesperson told the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung that “Daimler has no interest in providing an open platform for a person who has been proved guilty of violating human rights.”

As the pressure grew, IMG canceled her Fashion Week show.
Human Rights Watch is now working with IMG and the event’s sponsors, urging them to better vet their potential participants so that abusers don’t have Fashion Week as a platform.
It’s fitting that Fashion Week won’t showcase a designer who represents such a repressive government. It sends a strong message: abusers shouldn’t be allowed to launder their image at the expense of human rights.

15% off for you! a reader's treat

2011-09-15T08:59:00.003-06:00

as part of my 'homegrown, handmade or local' series, today i want to tell you about the CUTEST baby gift around. handmade in utah by my incredibly talented friend camille, tippy toppers are these incredibly darling little baby hats + some pretty cute ones for adults too. they're perfect for fall and winter!

if orlando would let me, i would but one of each for our future children.

{he's making me wait until there is actually a fetus on it's way. so not yet.}

anyways! especially for you, dear readers, 15% off any tippy topper order! stock up on christmas presents! and baby gifts! spoil your darling babies! spoil yourself!

to get the discount:

1. follow this blog so we know you're a reader

2. visit tippy toppers.com to place your order

3. use the code leonlikes at checkout to get your 15% off!

also, like tippy toppers on facebook to get in on new hats and deals!

homegrown, handmade or local: an artsy california favorite

2011-09-14T12:43:00.000-06:00

one of my favorite things about san diego was the availibility of original, moderately-priced art. my friend stacy and her husband came to visit and bought two huge original canvas oil paintings to keep and one for me- at less than $100 a piece! that's an incredible deal for something so beautiful and original. plus i love supporting local artists. {want one? visit the shops in old town san diego!}

another of my favorite ways to get a piece of original artwork is paul ferney's genius commission project. a local california artist {though living in paris for a year currently), paul will paint you an original oil work of any photograph you send him- for just $200. can you say ah-may-zing? he'so talented, i dream about buying one of these often. {i haven't yet, but it's on my list!} maybe when i have a newborn baby, i'll get one done...

gorgeous, yes?

homegrown, handmade or local: a cleveland favorite

2011-09-13T12:04:00.002-06:00

cleveland's west side market is the mesopotamia of homegrown, handmade and local. year round, over 200 stands sell anything from seafood and fruit to homemade butter, noodles and french crepes. there are flowers, desserts, jewelry, soaps, and a vintage clothing stand to top it all off.

our favorite stand:

best $8 meal i've ever ever eaten.

i'm telling you, this will change your life. steve's gyros have been featured on the food channel as the best gyros in america and they definitely got it right. it's this amazing mix of beef and lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and their perfect secret sauce, all rolled in a pita= heaven in food form.

the line is always at least thirty minutes long. last time, we met a group of people from michigan- they come to cleveland once a year, just for a gyro, they said.

they're that good.

if you're ever in cleveland, put this on top of your list of places to eat!

homegrown, handmade, or local

2011-09-12T13:51:00.002-06:00

while at the enormous and wonderfully diverse farmer's market here in cleveland, i couldn't stop thinking about how much i love buying handmade, homegrown, and local. i think its so much fun to shop for things that are original and authentic- and when people ask you where you got it, to smile and know they'll never find one just like yours.

and let me tell you- there are some incredible talents where i come from!

so, this week, i'm going to be featuring a few of my favorite handmade, homegrown, local talents.
{local if you live in utah county, cleveland, or san diego that is}

today, i want to share one of my favorite authenticities from utah county: native honey bags.

this provo girl {now living in cali} handmakes them and they are bea-u-tiful. they aren't cheap but they are incredibly well-made from 100% recycled material and durable too. orlando loves his man bag, and i've been drooling over a couple of these as of late...

you can shop online or find them at university mall in orem.

another utah county favorite is a band i've been talking far too much about lately {but i can't help it!}

imagine dragons

get their songs here and enjoy!

stay tuned for more local favorites!

good words

2011-09-11T19:19:00.005-06:00

via pinterest