Obsessed.

Written by Shannon Leigh

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Somewhere to lay your head (part II)

Written by Shannon Leigh

I have a very large to do list. It's massive... 2, almost 3 pages long.

Whenever I think of something I'd like to accomplish (usually within the next few months) I write it down on my "master to do list" and when it's accomplished I get to scratch it off. Let's be honest, the scratching off part is really the fun part. I LIVE to scratch off the things on that list. Well that AND Jesus.

When Matt and I registered for our wedding we picked out these beautiful blue, silky pillows to go in our bedroom. They ended up not matching a thing in our bedroom (don't worry we got some in gold too) so we moved them to the living room. Everything was fine and dandy until little miss Izzy came into our lives about a year ago. Yes, Izzy is allowed on the couch and yes I am sure some of you out there are utterly appalled, but isn't that the great thing about being an adult? I get to make my own rules.

Those of you who are appalled by the dog being allowed on the couch you would be super offended by the condition of our once beautiful silky pillows. Let's just say a rawhide bone was not kind to the un-washable blue fabric. In fact they were disgusting. At the prompting of my husband and being super cheap myself, I decided to make some new pillows for our couches. This was on my to do list and now I can officially scratch it off.

I am loving the way they turned out.  They are a little bit vintage, a little bit rock n' roll.

The colored fabric squares were a fab find at an Antique store and I am SOO glad I came up with something for which I could use them. There are a lot more of those 2x2 inch squares... can't wait to use them for some other project.

They came in an old Brach's Chocolate Cherry box and the bottom of the box said... "Judy cut these when a little girl." That made me really happy. It made me think about who Judy is and how old she is. Judging by the fabrics, I would say she is in her mid- 50's.

I made them removable so they will be easily washed in case Izzy decided to chew her bone on them.

The little pillow was a total afterthought but I ended up liking it the best. It was made out of all of the scraps from the other pillows. Go figure I like that one the most.

Hopefully now when people come to visit they aren't totally disgusted by our "Izzified" pillows. 

Give me organization

Written by Shannon Leigh

preferably in a cute vintage suitcase (which I happen to have).{photo via: DIY magazine}

New Location

Written by Shannon Leigh

After church on Sunday, I took Matt to a new location for possible photo shoots (we only had a few short minutes).  I wanted to check out how the place photographed, so I made him pose for me (to his delight I'm sure).  They turned out AWESOME!  I cant wait to shoot some seniors here...

But in the mean time... here are Matt and I acting like 17-year-old seniors. 

Just a few photographs

Written by Shannon Leigh

Of a lonely adventure.  The way I prefer it.

I have many more pressing things to talk about...

But I can't get over President Obama's dog. Have you seen him? His name is Bo and he is ADORABLE. I am thinking Izzy might need a Portuguese Water Dog for a brother. Could you imagine our tiny little house with two crazy dogs. (Amber...He reminds me of Piper, don't you think?)

I am finally heading home tonight after a week of training in Chicago. The bad news is that I will be coming back tomorrow night to shoot another wedding on Saturday, this time with Matt Debackere. The good news is I get to shoot and hang with my bestie Brooke. Apparently I can't get enough of this city. I will be back every other week for 8 weeks or so.

I have lots of things to talk about but not a lot of time. I am looking forward to spending the night with my husband, something I haven't done in a week. It happens to be Dessert Thursday so I win in many ways tonight. The next 10 weeks are going to be NUTS with all of the traveling and weddings. I hope I'm up for it. I think I am.

Anyway, happy Thursday! Love you all.

Behold... pyrex

I went for a run with Izzy tonight. It felt really good to get my heart pumping.

I'm a sprinter by nature (a darn good sprinter). But I learned quickly that being fast doesn't really require skill. It just so happened that I had enough coordination to jump hurdles. Who knew?

The point is... I HATE running long distances and am very jealous of those who are naturals at it. I used to CRY on runs that were longer than 400 meters. If you don't believe me just ask Matt, I'm sure he'd love to tell you stories. In college we would run around Thompson Lake and before we were half way around the tears would fill my eyes and I'd usually have to stop and pull myself together. Matt always said that I didn't have the mental stamina, BUT I was determined to like running. Over the years I'm pretty sure I only went from hating it to tolerating it.

My cousin Lesley, a natural long distance runner, told me once that those who "disassociate" while exercising have a greater success rate. If by disassociate she means thinking about every painful step and wishing I were doing anything but this, then I am a super star. Unfortunately I don't think that's what she means. I've gotten better over time and now running a couple of miles isn't as much of a feat, but I should still learn to disassociate better.

Sorry for going off on a tangent.

A few weekends ago Matty and I went antiquing. We went to the surrounding towns and checked out all of the local shops. We weren't looking for anything in particular but I fell in love with this shop in St. Jo. The lighting was so great! I wish I would have taken more photos looking back.

This is also where I came across some reasonably priced PyREX. I have a small obsession with the stuff (and a growing collection). My mom and dad gave me the original yellow, green, red and blue nesting bowls for part of my college graduation gift. I had seen them in an antique shop with my mom and was pining after them, but they were so darn expensive. When it came time to register for our wedding, I pretty much based all of my kitchen accessories off of them (cue obnoxious bright colors). Matt tells me that I have a very "healthy" collection, which for him means it's practical and I don't spend too much money on them. This is true. I am VERY picky when it comes to my Pyrex (there is a LOT out there). I mostly like solids (I'm not into the patterned stuff) and I don't shop online. They can get pretty pricey but I hold out until I find the best deal. Sometimes I can even find them at thrift stores for dirt cheap. On top of that, I use them everyday. They aren't just decorative, they serve a purpose. Anyway I came across a set of four nesting bowls in colors I didn't have. I batted my eyelashes at my loving husband and we took them home with us. For a small fee of course.

Last Dessert Thursday...

We ate lots of pie.

We went to Merry Ann's downtown (It's slightly less dirty than the one on Neil St.) and ate to our hearts content. We always bring a book to read together but we were so busy eating, we didn't even crack it open. I'm already looking forward to this weeks' Thursday.

I am loving my new wide angle/macro lens by the way. I wasn't convinced at first. I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my prime (not much can when you have an f-stop of 1.4). After I used it for a few days it started growing on me. I'm starting to think it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Here's to many, many more happy days together.

"In Between"

The weather is finally catching up with my spring-cleaned house.  

To celebrate I bought some fresh flowers at the grocery store and scattered them around our house.  I didn't wear a coat to work today and I drove with my windows down.  I even wore shoes without socks.  I also bought some new candles so if my bargain blooms don't represent then I can count on some coconut lime.

Over the weekend Matty worked really hard on hanging some shelves above the buffet in our kitchen.  They look beautiful.  It gave me some great display space as well as freeing up the top of the buffet.

  

Today was the "in between" shopping trip.  You know the one where you are out of shampoo, mouth wash, dish detergent and an air filter for the furnace?  It is the trip that I particularly dread but is totally unavoidable and usually expensive.  I had to venture to wal-mart and go to the far corners of the universe to find what I needed.  Not finding what I needed on my own, I searched for an elusive employee who shrugged her shoulders and said "I think they are in that aisle over there."  Why thank you for that, pretty sure I couldn't have done that on my own. 

 Did you know that wal-mart doesn't carry cake flour?  I didn't, until today.  How am I supposed to make Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake without it?  I guess I'll have to go to a real grocery store tomorrow.  

Since I was on my last drop of shampoo it was one of the "in between" necessaries.  I stumbled upon Tea Tree Mint shampoo and conditioner by Organix.  I am usually a Sunsilk user but I felt like I needed a change.  The TTM had a tag on it that read "try me for free."  I am always up for a bargain so I put them in the cart.  All I have to do is send in the tag with my receipt and I get a full rebate!  So what if I did 2 different transactions in the 20 items or less lane.  I am sure the other "in between" shoppers appreciated my tardiness.  I am betting it will be months before I actually get the money back and I will have wasted 64 cents in stamps but I am hoping it will be worth it. Can't wait to try it out in the morning.  

If you MUST do your "in between" shopping this week, take a peak in the shampoo aisle.  You might just find a bargain! 

It Couldn't Have Been Better...

I'm serious.I had the BEST time. It makes me wish I lived right next to the slopes all winter long. (It doesn't hurt that I turned out to be a natural... I was skiing the black diamonds before lunch time). It was the perfect day for snow skiing. Warm enough to wear a light jacket, cold enough to keep the snow light and fluffy and ohhhh that sun. My face hasn't seen sun like that in a long, long time. Gives me butterflies just thinking about it.We were with great friends, we ate at great local restaurants (with live music), got wrinkly in great hot tubs, took GREAT photos, ate incredible Wisconsin cheese, and I got to spend some much needed time with the love of my life. Makes me look forward to next winter... Colorado anyone?

Anyway, here's a recap.

Skiing our little hearts out... I think all of us are a little sore...

A wall of hats?? We couldn't resist.

After the great workout we got on the slopes we were able to relax at a local pub for some

delish food and great entertainment. The place was called Erin's Snug Irish Pub

and Matt was eating up the 90's rock not to mention his burger.

Matt and I had brunch at the most darling downtown restaurant called "The Old Fashioned."

It was right across from the capital building downtown. Apparently it was voted the best food in Wisconsin last year, that's why we chose it. Matt and I laughed at our choices. They pretty much describes us to a T. He chose the super sweet Belgian Waffle and the refreshingly cold o.j. (freshly squeezed and opaque) and I opted for the savory eggs scramble with zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh Wisconsin cheese along with a piping hot coffee. I mean could we BE any more different? Both dishes were incredible!

A Few Things

That made me happy this morning...1. A newly brushed/de-matted Iz.
Since spending time with the shitzu cousins at my parents house over the holidays, Izzy's chest was one giant hairball caked in dog saliva. I brushed the heck out of her last night and now I can rub her belly without the risk of losing my hand in a snarl of hair.


2. Kashi waffles.So I started working out regularly about a month ago. Since doing so I have noticed that I have more energy and I am in an overall better mood. But man am I hungry and I mean all the time. Take this morning for example. I woke up at 7:00 (this is earlier than usual mind you) and my stomach was already growling like an angry polar bear ( This may or may not be a reference to Lost). So I toasted up some Kashi Honey Nut waffles and ate them with devotion. If you haven't tried these delightful breakfasty treats I suggest you visit your neighborhood grocer's freezer section.

3. Smucker's Strawberry Syrup to go on my Kashi waffles.
I am crazy over this stuff. Maybe that is why I've had breakfast for dinner 3 nights this week. They also have blueberry and blackberry flavors. The best part? Matt doesn't like it, so that means I get it all to myself. Mmmm, sticky goodness.