Smile! You're eating Pancakes!

Matt and I have a disagreement. I say the new design of the Hungry Jack syrup spill-proof pour spout looks like a smiley-face.. and that they did that on purpose. Because eating pancakes and the like makes people happy- duh. Matthew just thinks it's design is to better serve the sticky substance an escape from the bottle. What do you think?






Uh huh. That's what I thought.

Deck the halls with bells of holly....

Yay for Christmas decor projects! Today is the first snowfall of the year... Even though I would hardly say it's "snowing". And I had nothing to do, but that of what I wanted to. So, I decided to work on (and finish) and project I've been not-so-patiently awaiting.

You see, about 45 miles from here, in a tiny little town called Bristol, there is some amazing thrifting and antiquing. Last time I was there I stumbled upon a zip-lock filled with OLD Christmas postcards. SO cool! Some of them date all the way back to 1902. I have always loved old things. I like to imagine the people they used to belong to. What their lives were like. The stories formed around the specific item. So, I bought them. Duh. And then... I made this...







Fa la la la la, la la la laaaaa.

I've decided...

... to follow Jesus... (remember that song??... that's not really what I'm deciding. Already did that)

I've decided that I'm TERRIBLE at remembering to write blogs. I have tons of things to blog on, and maybe sometime this weekend I'll find that time to catch myself up. But until then, I came up with an idea (whilst in the shower; that seems to be where I do most of my inventive thinking)

I will 'Status Blog'. We've got Facebook and Twitter and who knows what else out there to help us inform the world of what we're doing that very second. So, I'm going to blog that way. Just here and there... to get myself back in the groove of things.

Ready for the first one??

Last night I rolled around on my living room floor while asking my husband if he would still love me if I was only a torso. His response was very practical and level headed for the matter of my question. He said "Yeah, you'd be really easy to get around". I'm not sure now, when I read what I just wrote, if he meant easier to WALK around because I would be shorter, or easier to MOVE from place to place... Either way, it was a good thing to know- He would still love me if I was just a torso.

L0V3

It really is crazy to think about how fast the time passes. I've been pondering this all day, and wanted to share with you.. whomever you may be... A little about this past year.

One year ago today, in just a few hours time, I was headed to a coffee date with one Matthew Leonard. Red Rooster was the place to be- they had open mic night going on. Matt's coffee came in a sweet world map printed cup (which I kept) and we talked and learned about each other for 4 hours. I left that date feeling like I was in the right place at the right time for the first time in a while.

You see, Matt found me when I wasn't looking. He found me when I didn't think I could be seen. But he found me, and saw me. And has been a rock in my life ever since.

This last year has been full of hard times. A lot of hard times. And Matt hasn't wavered. Even when I thought he had every reason to get out of our relationship, he stuck by my side. And at the end of the day reminded me how much he loved me.

The amazing thing? That I've learned how much you can learn by going through hard times with someone! I think that's great. It's hard, and sometimes easier to give up. But pressing through is SO worth it! This past year spent with him has been sweet, fun, tough, rewarding, exciting, and just the beginning to our future together :) In 18 days I will marry that Matt Leonard who took me out for coffee one year ago... and I am thrilled!

I LOVE you, Matt! Forever.

{Breaking Habit}

I have a tendency to grab a snack whenever I have things to do on the computer. Actually, I have that tendency no matter what I'm doing. But seeing as I have a wedding coming up I'm trying to break that horrid habit.


I just put this sticky note on my desktop.


Of course I won't completely quit eating. That would be absurd! But you get the idea.

Ok. Off to lift the weights or... walk. {suddenly I feel ill at this idea} Happy Sunday!

the friday night.

Since what seems to be the entire world knows by now that I'm going to be marrying the most amazing and Godly man for me, I thought everyone would probably appreciate "the Story" :) You know; how it happened. Words that were exchanged, and all the fun and exciting details in between! So here you go...


Last week Matt suggested using this past weekend to have a Date Night. These are common for us. We try to do them on a regular basis- which I love! He had also mentioned how it could be in celebration for our nine-month anniversary. Had I really given thought to this, I would have remembered that we've never specifically celebrated any anniversary, and nine months is sort of a random number to start. So anyway, back to the main story...

We has been wanting to try making our own sushi, so we decided that this would be the perfect Date Night event! We purchased everything needed and got to work. It was SO fun, and I think we did a pretty good job considering it was our first time! After we made four sushi rolls, we set the table with our fun sushi-dinner wear and dug in! It was DELISH! Matt had also made this super good cucumber salad. Cucumbers, mock-crab, white wine vinegar. So good!

After we were finished eating we just chatted for a few minutes. Matt said he should probably give me my card. "Um. What? You were serious about celebrating our anniversary?! I don't have anything for you!" (That was exactly what I said) He said it's really ok, it's just a homemade card. (I always give him a hard time about how much money he spends on cards from the store when homemade are way better :) On the front of the card were two stick-people. Holding hands, and one was saying 'Woo Hoo. Nine Months' (lol) When I opened the card there was a disc labeled 9 Months of Elise. And of course I wanted to watch it right away!

Keep in mind, I have NO IDEA where this is all going. Matt is sweet, something so thoughtful was not out of the ordinary for him. Let me just tell you.. The video was SO sweet! It made me tear up and laugh. It was full of pictures of our journey so far and sweet thoughts from mine truly. I wish I could get it to upload for all to see, but I'm still working on that. Anyway, at the end of the video Matt was saying that I make him feel so lucky. All while showing pictures from our trip to Vegas (where I wasn't so lucky) and then said "Would you do my the honor... and make me even luckier?????" Followed by the last picture of the video which was him holding the ring. Ah! "Is this a real thing?" (Again, exactly what I said) He retrieved the ring from a couch-side drawer, got down on one knee, and shakily said I love you.

I wish you all could have been a fly on the wall! I'm sure my facial expressions were hilarious and fun. I could not get over how sparkly my ring was! And every morning since I wake up and still think it's so sparkly and beautiful!

I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with Matthew Leonard- and can't wait even more for what our Lord has in store for us! I leave you with pictures from our evening...













I better get planning! Love!

It's almost time...

I think everyone already knows. Because I'm too excited to keep it to myself- JULIA IS COMING TO VISIT! 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY! AH! In honor of her coming, I've officially created a 'Spare 'Oom'. I wanted to name it even- "Weary Traveler" hehe... But I think it's inviting enough that she'll get that from it without a sign on the door :)

The room originally had one wall and the ceiling dark blue with the rest of the walls a nice contrasting light blue. I'm not too keen on blue. However, I found the CUTEST drapes at Salvies that happened to match the light blue. So I painted the dark blue plain white.



Before and after + the curtains. Note to self: Never paint a ceiling again! SO hard!






Complete :)(Not shown: one corner that holds an old guitar of my dad's and a very vintage briefcase/luggage piece) Pretty cute for a house that's made from mostly plastic, vinyl, and 70's wallpaper!

Can't wait for you to get here, my friend! Long awaited talks, laughs, cries, hugs and... well, you get the picture. See you not soon enough!