Madsen Cycles Cargo Bikes

Totally I am grateful for pure LUCK! I won the Link-Back contest for Madsen Cycles Cargo Bikes. And in 2-3 weeks or so, this exact bike will arrive at my front door.  Click on the photo or HERE to check out their awesome website. I can not wait to take Charlie around for a spin.

 

 

Imagine this girl with Blond hair and the lab about 60 pounds smaller and you have me on my new bike

one day when I have kids I can buckle them here on the seat.  Maybe I will sit in the bucket and make Paul drive me, Jack (the doberman) and Charlie around.  That would be so much fun.

Click HERE  to read Madsen Cycle's post about me winning the bike.  Yeah!  Goodie Goodie Gumdrops.  I couldn't be more excited. What a great Christmas Present.  Everyone should buy one of these bikes--cause I know you are going to want one when you see how dang cute Charlie is riding in the back with Jack.

Thank You Madsen Cycles.  This is such an awesome feeling- I am tickled with joy and a bit giddy too.

Monogram Corkboard

 

I really like this and want to make a big S one.

Click here to get the tutorial.

image and tutorial via the ever fabulous Martha Stewart.

Today I am grateful to have great S names.  Sutliff and Stone.  I really like my married last name... Stone.  It is a nice solid last name. I like to think that Leah Stone sounds important or maybe even famous-like. There was nothing wrong with my maiden name-I will always be a Sutliff.  It is a bit of a unique last name and a pain in the butt to spell over the phone, but I love my family and my heritage.  So here's to families and honoring your name.

It is definately better than the name Iona Knipl.  Click to read the NY Times article about worst last names.

Or check out this one.  Ha- don't mess with these ladies.

Busy Day

Today was hectic- but I will say that I am grateful to be busy.  I like to feel productive and that I have a purpose. So for that I am grateful. Since I am too busy to post anything about myself enjoy this great post of WTF posters.

These hilarious posters were right up my alley.
(Via Happy Mundane)

Sundays and Jo

Today I am grateful for Sundays.  Sunday is such a great day for doing nothing.  Thank you Sundays for coming around each and every week.

I am also grateful for Jo. Happy Birthday!  I hope you did something awesome (like ditch church).  Love you.Since I can't be there to celebrate with you just imagine that I did all of this for you:

Here is your festively fall table

And this beautiful fall birthday cake (Thanksgiving desserts HERE including this gorgeous carmelized apple spice cake)


 
And I decorated your porch like this.


And we did this just so you could wear your cowboy boots.  We actually rode the horses too, we didn't just sleep on them and give them Eskimo kisses.

Happy B-Day.
xoxo

Cute Monster Mittens

Today I am grateful for the kids in my life that remind me of the joys of being a kid.  I would like to make these for Christmas. These are by Martha Stewart.  Thanks Martha for always having such great gift ideas.  Make these for your little monsters this Christmas.  Click here for the tutorial.

 

And to my little monster nephew Ian--Good Luck at your Championship Game. 

Great Minds Think Alike

Today I am grateful for Best Friends.  One of my dearest friend's birthday is this weekend-you know who you are-and I am always amazed by our similar interests. For the longest time I have wanted to post about this country farmhouse that I love. I even bookmarked the photos, which are exactly the same as the ones my friend Jo just posted on her blog Little Jo Home.  I think Jo beautifully describes one of my secret little passions, to live the quiet country life.  And then I think about all the quiet in the country and my alter ego says YOU WOULD GO CRAZY and so I dream of living in Manhattan. So there you have it.  In honor of my conflicting worlds, I give you a couple of photos.

The Emerson Farm

Check out the rest of the photo shoot of the Farm here.

And ah-Beautiful NYC

Central Park in the Winter

The beautiful Lincoln Center

Does anyone recognize this?  This is the street Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City) lived on.

(And on a side note-Jo you wear those cowboy boots with pride - cowboy boots will always make me feel sexy).

No School Today

Today I am grateful that it was 60 degrees outside, sunny, crisp, and I don't have school today! Yeah me (I did have to teach singing though, but that is way more fun than school!)

My Mother

Today is my mother's birthday.  I am so grateful for her.  My parents left yesterday to fly back home to Utah and it was sad to see them go.  We had such a wonderful time together laughing and sight-seeing and going out to yummy restaurants and watching movies. 

One of my favorite things about my mom is her contagious laugh.  It is enough to make you laugh so hard you almost pee your pants.  Sometimes she laughs at the most ridiculous things and she wont stop for like ten minutes and for the next 2 hours she bursts into spells of laughter because she can't stop thinking about whatever it is she found so funny.

My mom had 5 kids-can you believe it-I don't even know if I can handle having one and she had 5 and to top that off she had all 5 kids without drugs.  Needless to say, my mom is one tough cookie.  A great example of this is when we lived in Michigan, I had to have been like 5 or 6 years old,  my mother made tuna macaroni casserole.  My oldest sister and a pill at the time as she was going through her pubescent years of her life said "Mom that is disgusting. I am not eating that." Mind you to set the scene my mom isn't a lover of cooking, so if she made a meal you better be proud of her and grateful cause she did it out of love for her family and not cause she loved to cook. So my mom was a bit fed up by my sister and just walked behind her and dumped the whole pan of food on her head. My sister was covered from head to toe in tuna macaroni.  Way to go Mom!  I learned right then and there to eat whatever I am served.  So thanks for that and thanks for being so great.

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you.

old fashioned wedding reception ideas

Today I am grateful that my night class was canceled tonight so I got to go home early and catch up on some homework (and who am I kidding--I also got to catch Gossip Girl).

This is a bit random but I thought I would share it. I found Post from Ruffledblog .
This is a very cute wedding reception idea and a LDS wedding to boot.  I really like the sundae bar idea and the photo booth idea.

Jace and Alex’s wedding, captured by Darla Roze Photography, brought the outside in with gorgeous garden details. In addition to the garden feel, there were tons of sweet details like a sundae bar fashioned after an old fashion ice cream parlor, a fun DIY photo booth, and a recurring silhouette motif. 






I am in love with paper laterns. We put lights and lanterns up in the room to give it an outside feel.


How adorable is her Ice Cream Parlour dessert table? You can download the templates courtesy of Amy from Eat Drink Chic blog!








I wanted a photo booth where the guests could put on some vintage props, use picture frames and capture a picture of them at our wedding. The DIY program we used was See Monkey. It was the perfect program to set up using a laptop, camera and tripod and printer. Guest snapped pictures, it printed two sets on a 4×6 sheet. One they left in the guest book with a note to us and the other they took home to remember the fun evening.


Relax and enjoy everything…you plan forever and then in one day its all over, so just enjoy it!

Wedding Vendors (Salt Lake City, UT):
Photographer: Darla Roze Photography / Ceremony Venue: Salt Lake City Temple / Reception Venue: Thanksgiving Point / Florist: Lora Bingham- Thanksgiving Point / Caterer: Thanksgiving Point / Cake: Marilyn Jenkins- 801-224-4086 / Photobooth: See Monkey / Bride’s Dress: The Perfect Dress / Silhouettes: Petit Debutant

Bad Game and an Awesome Game

Today I am grateful that I didn't pay $200 a seat to go to the University of Utah vs. TCU game yesterday.  It was a sad game to watch- actually a bit painful.

I am also grateful that my awesome nephew Ian rocks at football and helped his team make it to the championship game next Saturday.  Way to go Ian. I wish I could have been there to see it.  I really miss that- I would dare say it is the thing I miss most about living away.

Ian started the game off with a touchdown.  Ian scored the last TD (video at the bottom) to end the game with a 27 to 6 win.

Next up; Skyline...
  Ian is the one on the right.  Rock on Ian.

Go UTES

Today I am grateful that the Utah vs. TCU game is on ESPN so I can watch it here in Virginia.  Go UTES!

Clothes

Today I am grateful for fabulous clothes and how I can put on a beautiful or funky or dark or colorful outfit to express myself.  

Paul thinks that I mostly dress weird, but to that I say "oh well."  Speaking of dressing weird, I am not sure what exactly Princess Di is trying to express here.  Maybe she was having an awkward day so she thought she should dress the part.   I love you Princess Di, but seriously this look is not your best.  I do love your green slicker boots though.  I don't really love how your pants are hiked up to your bosom. 

 

Have a Great Weekend.  Today Paul, the dogs, my parents and I are heading up to Gettysburg.  I am so excited.

Little Stinker Charlie Pants

Isn't this a fabulous idea for a wedding or a big event?  I love the organic, green factor of this design.  Actually, I wanted to do something like this for my wedding, so Paul and I got like 6 large square containers and I started growing wheat grass in our apartment.  Charlie (my adorable min-pin) had just arrived as our new little addition and so he was confused by all the grass growing in the house.  He decided he should pee on it, and pee on it he did.  I kept trying to get him to stop, I even moved the grass up on a table, but he just climbed up there and peed.  Needless to say I had to throw them all out cause they reeked of dog urine and had dead patches.  Thanks Charlie.


This leads me to my grateful moment for today.

I am grateful to remember funny and obscure moments in life and to take the time to laugh, smile, and shake my head.

What funny moments make you laugh?

Walking

There is something magical about walking.  I love to go walking.  I even walked a marathon once.

Today I am grateful for being able to take the time to enjoy the outdoors and walk around with my parents and the dogs. 

I just smile as the leaves crunch under my feet while the sun shines on my face and the crisp air brushes upon my skin.  Thank you God for making autumn and thank you that I have 2 legs that work.  Sometimes it is so easy to get wrapped up in the daily grind of feeling frustrated about weight or wanting to look a certain way, but it is nice to stop from time to time and say "you know what I have it pretty good and my body is great just the way it is, cause it can get me from one place to another and I am ALIVE."

Go on a walk today.
xoxo

Autumn Leaves

Today I am grateful for the beautiful Virginia fall weather.

My parents and me with the dogs in Williamsburg, Virginia on Halloween.

Can you see this deer? He was in my yard today. It is just so magical to see such a beautiful creature.

 

Have you heard of Eva Cassidy?  She is amazing-her voice is so smooth and full of emotional.  I could just listen to her all of the time.

Check out Eva's version of Autumn Leaves.

Beautiful Thanksgiving Tables via Pottery Barn

I love Pottery Barn and all of its great decorating ideas.  Check out these beautiful ideas for tables for the holidays.

     

I also want to try to do 30 days of what I am thankful for since it is the season of gratitude.

Today I am grateful for my parents. 

I am so lucky. I have truly the greatest, most supportive, loving, caring, considerate, helpful, thoughtful, fun, the list goes on and on, parents.  Thank you for being so great to Paul and me.  My parents are here this week to spend time with us and to see the DC area. They have never been out here before and we are having such a great time.

Click here to see my cute parents when they got married. Love you Mom and Dad.