Leah's Favorite Things

I can’t believe I’ve done 13 of these videos.
How embarrassing.
I feel sorry for you all!
Ha!
But really I do.

Okay…so here are my boots!
Got them at Francesca’s.
Do you guys know that store?
Way cuter than I thought it was gonna be.
Good thing Natalie was with me or I never would have gone in and scored my boots!

Here are the wool knee socks from H&M.
They’re not itchy

And I’ll link to all our weekend adventures next week along with before and after pictures of my bed makeover.
Well, the bed makeover pictures might take a little longer as we still need to finish sanding AND painting.
But the upside of Natalie only being here till the 9th is that we only have till the 9th to get the bed done.
Nothing like a deadline to help move along the process!

I’m linking up with Bex today…go visit the rest of the Thursday Latelies gang!

Hi my friends!
How was your Wednesday?
Mine was pretty good.
Started off with a great Pure Barre class.
And I even dragged Natalie along.
Awesome.
Although, I have a strict rule…don’t look at her.
She giggles a lot.
And if I look at her in the middle of a tuck I will most likely burst into uncontrollable giggles.
No good.

My night will hopefully end with some Middle, Modern Family and Revenge.
If they’re new this week.
And if Revenge even comes on tonight.
In the age of the DVR my TV guide memorization isn’t as good as it used to be.

And because I have little exciting to share with you…besides the awesome pair of boots I found today (which I will share tomorrow during Thursday Latelies)…I’ll share with you the list of items that I need to purchase.

Mascara from Aveda named “Mosscara“.
Pioneer Woman recommended it forever ago and Esther is a fan of their hair products so I thought I’d try it.
Did you know its fragrance free?
Score!

Probiotics
Good for the tummy.

And instead of buying those items…I’ve blogged about buying them.
Which took 100 times longer.
Smart Leah…smart.
 

Sup my friends?
How was your weekend?

Saturday us girls ditched the husb and spent the day at Stanford.
Had ourselves a little picnic in the Oval Park.

Natalie enjoyed the grass.

We did a little America’s Next Top Model photo shoot.

Found a ginormous praying mantis.

And made some funny faces.

Stanford was playing UW on Saturday and also celebrating multiple years of reunions.
Campus was a lively place.
Fun stuff.
Except for the part where Natalie’s a Husky and UW ended up getting spanked.
Bummer.

But  a highlight of the day…totally getting paparazzied during our picnic!
A guy came up and asked if he could take our picture…he said he takes pictures of beautiful things for his website.
And I know…that sounds kind of creepy.
But it totally wasnt…he was very kind and didn’t come off as a creeper.
And guess what…we made the cut and actually made it on his site.
See!
Kinda cool to have such a candid shot of us and on something other than an iphone.

Hope you all had a great weekend.
And cause I’ve been super lame about posting my menu plan…let me share a recipe we made for dinner tonight.
Courtesy of Pinterest.
Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes.
Yum!

Yay for Natalie being here!!
Going to be such a fun three weeks!
Here is a link to her ministry…Studio Del Creador!

Yay for haircuts and not looking like a ragamuffin.
If you’re ever in the Seattle/Mill Creek area and need a haircut…Celsius is a great salon.
Although, I looked for my hair dresser and don’t see her listed as a stylist any longer
Sad.
She was awesome.
Last time I spoke with her she and her husband had just adopted a baby.
Maybe she quit and is spending a lot of time with her little.

And because I’ve really been lame at mentioning Bex the last, oh I dont know, six of so Thursday Latelies…here is her site!
Go and check out all the other lovely ladies and listen to what they are thankful for!

I’m fully aware that all you’ve been getting these days is Thursday Latelies videos.
This is a blog Leah…not a vlog!
Sorry friends.
I’ve been lazy.

I worked on a post last night but my laptop and wordpress was pissin me off big time.
Please excuse my language.
Husb said it was more than likely user error…which it probably was.
I became cranky quickly and gave up.
Maybe I shouldn’t watch the GOP debates so close to blogging.

They rile me up!
In both good and bad ways.
My poor husband.

In other news…I am still madly in love with my homemade chai mocha.

I even had a hot one today.
Pure bliss.

Last night I made lasagna soup for dinner.
I’ve told you before…but it deserves to be restated.
That’s some good stuff.

It’s best served at the table with a smokin hot husband!
Boogiddy Boogiddy Boogiddy, Amen
And incase you don’t know that reference…check this out.

And last…check out my lovely bouquet.
The flowers have since died…but those cute little pumpkin seed pods are going strong.
That has so far been the extent of my fall decor.
Although, soon I’ll have to trek down to Costco to purchase a load of candy.
We have a feeling we will be over run with tricker treaters for the first time in our married life.
Should be fun.

Okay…I’ll be back tomorrow with a Thursday Latelie.
Although, Im sure most of you wont read this until Thursday anyhow as I am not only a bad blogger but an evening blogger.
Whatev

We celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary weekend before last.
Wanna know my big request?
A vanilla coke from sonic.
For the record…I would like to point out how low maintenance that request is.
Yes, sonic is 40 mins away.
And it was the prelude to a day spent on the beach in Carmel.
And at the end of this month two friends will be visiting me for a spa retreat.
But still…that vanilla coke…I’m pretty sure that gets me major wife points.
Oh yeah…wives don’t get points.
We dole them out.
Shucks

Moving on.
Look what came in the mail last week!

After much thought I finally ordered this chenille duvet cover from Linen Source.
Months ago, maybe even a year ago, Tasha and I were diggin through the antique stores in Snohomish when I came across a beautiful white chenille bed spread.
I left the poor thing in the store and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.
I even looked for one at the Farm Chicks show with no luck.
Darby and Erika to the rescue!
Darby posted about her duvet cover and was even kind enough to link to the source.
I would go to the site, put it in my shopping basket and then close the window.
Then months later Erika posted about her beach vacation and included a picture of the very same chenille duvet.
I decided to finally pull the trigger.

So far…I’m glad I did.
I have a whole big plan for a master bedroom makeover.
Allow me to list my plans.

• Sand and paint our bed (with the help of my sweet missionary/artist friend Natalie!)
• paint my $2.50 metal bookcase (I’m going to use it as a dresser of sorts)
• buy baskets for metal bookcase
• beg husband to hang pictures
• beg husband to hang mirror on back of closet door
• find some curtains
• beg husband to hang curtains
• dye my white shabby chic comforter (this is still up in the air…its too big to fit in my washing machine so I’m not sure how to go about this)
• buy a few cute pillows off etsy
• organize closet (metal bookcase with help with this)

Gaia Herbs is the brand of black elderberry syrup I use. I’ve seen other brands but this is the only one I’ve tried. I love it!
Have you tried Chobani yogurt? What did you think? I liked it.

I couldn’t find the inspiration picture for the wrap bracelet on the Chan Luu website.
Thankfully I still have it pinned
So this was our inspiration

Here is the homemade version!

Not bad for a first attempt.
And in all honestly, I think it looks way better in person
Go see Tasha for directions on how to make your own.

I’m making stew for dinner tonight.
I grew up eating this dish.
My mom makes a mean stew served over rice.
Wanna know two other reasons I love it?
It’s easy.

And it hardly dirties any dishes.

Please excuse my kitchen’s wierd bathroom like tile.
I haven’t a clue what went through the mind of the guy who remodeled our little rental home.

Also, on account that I’m battling a cold and don’t feel like doing much I decided to finally bust out the Jane Eyre dvd Netflix sent me weeks ago.
Why did I wait so long?
It was so good!

You guys have got to make this chai concentrate!
And then make this chocolate syrup.
It will take you an hour to make both…tops.
And then at the end of the hour you’ll have yourself a delicious beverage.
And enough concentrate and syrup to keep you going through the weekend.
A few quick tips: Bex is right about decreasing the sugar in the chocolate syrup recipe…I only used 1 cup sugar. I also added her suggested 1/4 teaspoon salt. Chocolate and salt are a heavenly combination.

Chai Mocha – one part chai concentrate, one part milk, tablespoon chocolate syrup (or to taste). Add ice or heat up depending on how your feeling. Always top with whip cream!
Of course you could always ditch the chocolate and just make yourself a chai latte.
Because you’ve just made some kick ass chai.
But really? Why would you do that?
Chai Mocha baby.
It’s all about the Chai Mocha.
Also, you better come back here and let me know how you liked it.
Have I been bossy enough?
Allow me to repent by recommending a sermon

Luke 22:338 Jesus, Tough and Tender
And incase you missed my earlier blog post and have no idea what I’m talking about when I say machine gun preacher or enslaved children…go here to watch the trailer.

Did any of you watch it?
Thoughts?