Today we are going down to utah, to not only celebrate our 'love'(i like the above photo)

but to go to hires big H, go to anthropologie, get a carmel apple at rocky mountain chocolate factory,carve pumpkins, go to target, and have fun and do whatever we want to do!

hopefully bryan comes home in this today. hopefully someone just offered for him to have this. i would look OUTSTANDING driving this.

a love photo for the 5 year lovebirds.

i need a chalkboard. so i can be organized. the only thing i would loose with a chalkboard is the chalk. but i am better then just hoping i find my planner or the letter from a bill that i wrote down and appointment on. lets hope.

“Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.” -audrey hepburn.

Do you want to know something else? my window is open as i sit at the computer and i can hear the wind blowing the leaves across the sidewalk and across the street! bless me!! fall is finally here.

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN! AND HAPPY FALL!

first photog:ritakonig domino magazine

2second photo:i think apartment therapy,

3rdly photo:taken by an onlooker at our wedding.

4th photo:http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/10/diy-project-jen-thompsons-screen-door-chalkboard.html#more-13357

dear oli,

thank you for the hat and book! we LOVE them! we hope to see you soon!

warm wishes,

bella

a picture i found that i love when we were dating taken at lagoon............
a photog of our reception.......

This week on October 30, 2008 bry and i will have been married 5 years! It is outstanding how much the time has gone by....! i found this quote that just fits bryan and i.....

"Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat." - Joanne Woodward

my friend sara wrote this to me about views. and i think it is beautiful. honest and strikes a chord with me. so i asked her if i could post it and she said yes ma'am. the above is a view from last years country living. i love this photo. this article was good. but this photo kind of reminds me of what i want my life to head out. when i am in my 50's i want to have raised my kids, i want them to be healthy and happy. i would like my own studio or shop converted from and old barn. i want to garden all day if i want too, and have my own rake....

"....I wanted to tell you about my favorite view. I feel really lucky to live in such a beautiful area that everywhere I look is a favorite view. But the best of all was when I was very first married. Do you remember our first apartment? Joe lived in it the summer before we got married and got it painted and fixed up. We lived in the attic of a beautiful old house just five houses away from the Logan temple, and out my window over the kitchen sink was the temple perfectly framed. It was so beautiful to see it at everytime of day in every season, I especially loved it when it was raining. At a certain time each evening the lights would come on and the white towers on each side would become an alien like glowing green. The real reason I loved it so much, was that when I was first married, I was working on overcoming a lot of fear. Mostly of the dark. I know that sounds dumb, but I was still a kid and afraid to live on my own in an apartment where the windows didn't lock, or even shut very well. But when I would get up in the night, I would just go to the kitchen and feel like I had my own personal night light from Heavenly Father. It was so comforting, I will never forget my favorite view. "

so here is one letter. one of my best gal pals, sara. sara is very talented with most everything. she wrote the most fabulous notes ever! and i have kept most of them, and sadly some of them are lost. they are works of art, funny, clever the whole bit. they are all that a letter should be. they are something to write about and something to cherish. we had math in the same hall in high school. and she would get the hall pass, and throw these notes in my unruly class. or we would meet in the hall and exchange notes, (both getting the bathroom pass,) or before class. anyways, i love these notes. love them, these letters, notes are another reason why i hope my house never catches on fire so they don't get burned. i am so glad we are friends. i have a great post from her about 'views.' hopefully she will let me share it! there is nothing better then having friends with a past.

"The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live. It is about the realities of what makes for an attractive, civilized, meaningful environment, not about fashion or what's in or what's out. This is not an easy job. "
Albert Hadley, The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer

"Design is more than meets the eye. Design is about communicating benefits. Design is not about designers. Design is not an ocean it's a fishbowl. Design is creating something you believe in. " -Chuck Green, Principal, Logic Arts Corporation

i love these quotes, and this house. it is so simple. i do believe a home should have your own kind of beauty no matter what it may be. the photos above from apartment therapy's fall color contest...

the above photos are from midwest #34. go here:http://contests.apartmenttherapy.com/2008/fall-colors/

somebody loves playing in my drawers!
my favorite vintage sheet i got in a 'sheet' trade with my mom. i gave her a new cookie sheet, she gave me this vintage sheet and we both are quite pleased.
mrs. owl is complete, and ready to be trick or treated.

my inspiration for this lovely monday. i love this studio. it is so calming and interesting. i love the closet, a good idea if you have no room for a studio and want one, just make a closet a studio! i love the green chalkboard, and mostly i love the view. i think i will start a post about view. what is your view? so email me or send a photo of your favorite view from your house or studio! i think it will be fun to see peoples favorite view of their home. no matter what it is! i think things like this are inspirational. it teaches us look at things in a different view.

photos: http://sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com/
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/082707sharilynstudio/01fromthedoorway

Sharilyn of lovelydesign

the harvest. taken from my car window.

my favorite book. ever. the berenstain bears and the messy room.

someone that makes me happy. a sleepy sunday.
a halloween costume.that doesn't fit, due to glue shrinkage.


our weekend in photos.

i love LOVe these windows!

friday news roundup:

summary of this week, a costly week in the leatham household.

1-our car broke down. $213 later she is a running....fingers crossed. however it was fun to drive old reliable (our old suby outback) that i really do love.

2-i bought some perscriptions with no insurance $103

3-and i payed bills. expensive ones. oouch!

4-b-dog will get a ticket in the mail for an illegal move. RATS!

new loves and highlights:

we one THREE dollars on a powerball ticket. we buy one a week! (a tradition i started just right now.) i can get another one free!

b-dog made his wonderful hot chocolate and we dipped vanilla wafers in it. it was outstanding!

b-dog and i had a gilmore girl, and new television from last week that we missed, catch up night. we stayed up until 11:30 p.m. and it was tough, my peepers almost couldn't handel it.

bella is taking a few steps and sitting down, and she loves to open cupboards and get into things she should not. and when i say no no, she keeps right on doing what she is doing.

i had a fun conversation with my sister #2 yesterday about important business. good thing i have rollover minutes!

photog via:http://www.designspongeonline.com/

fun hallowe'en table!

fun little witches curtain. photogs by martha stewart and associates.

i believe the holidays start with halloween. so for the first time i have been thinking about christmas and worried about money. the no money or very little money our student budget will allow. then i think about my sister who has lots of money and their kids get lots of gifts. and i was stressing thinking, i will never be like that. i am not saying she is doing anything bad at all. she is a giver, keep on reading. i just do not have that kind of budget. i do feel some pressure to give my baby a huge christmas. as a spoiled child i remember when all the christmas gifts were handed out i always wanted more, even though i got everything that i could have possibly wanted, i selfishly always wanted more and more and more. i read this today one of my daily reads. go here or :http://dandeedesigns.blogspot.com/ or go here to read:http://dandeedesigns.blogspot.com/search?q=nifty+gift+tags

here is the basic idea... your children get something they need, something they want, something to wear and something to read. then maybe some other little things that santa might bring. she also made really classy tags to go on the gifts. i love this idea. the only thing i thought was is this enough? is it enough for my children to have a good and happy christmas? do the need heaps and heaps of gifts? then i thought about my past christmas years and thought about. my parents picked a family in need every year. on christmas eve we wrapped presents and would go to their house and leave presents wrapped on the doorstep along with food and treats, and we would ring the doorbell and run. and it was the most amazing feeling to do that. to help others in need. i remember one year my oldest sister wanted to give her best new favorite sweater she got to a family that had an older daughter. and i thought are you crazy! i love that sweater! but what she knew and learned it is best to give then to receive. she to this day is still the same way. she bought 90 turkeys and delievered them to jesus saves in ogden, and she gives and gives and gives and gives. i hope to pass this too my children as well. to be givers, and not to worried about receiving. i want them to know why we celebrate christmas, but to believe and be excited about santa clause as well. so there is alot to think about, and i think it is a great idea to have things be more meaningful.

i LOVE these entry doors!
i love the red ottoman. white cupboards. i love the word cupboard, because it kind of is an interior design swear word.
and i love...love
i love LOVE the entry doors!

http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/101408hannah/01

i have this book, apartment living, by barbara buchholz and margaret crane.

anyway i love it, and i always think about this photo, this room. i love the

comfy couch and the family photos going up and down the wall. how neat for the children. i love the newlywed apartment at top, and the mixed patterns on the second picture.

here are some good motherhoodie thoughts:

"...children hear so many voices from so many directions. there are so few empty summer days. there are pressures to excel. it has become a challenge to let children be children. it has never been so important that children have a home that is a place of refuge, a place of peace, a place of unconditional love-even when the report card may not be what you hoped for."-marjorie hinckley

so i have been thinking about what makes a home cozy in the fall. here are some cozy things for me.....

the hum of the heater.
the wind blowing outside.
clean blankets to cuddle up and watch television or read.
sweaters.
lamps.
hot baths.
full cupboards, and fridges.

what are some of yours?

This past weekend i took bella and we went to utah. bryan stayed back for schooling duties. i went to the beauty parlor, and my mom and sister and i went to thriller. before i knew it the weekend was over and i was driving home in a big huge snowstorm, saturday morning. when i got home we hurried and got goods at the store and hunkered down and were cozy all night long, watching baseball, and drinking cocoa. then we woke up to this, and more wind and more snow! can you believe it?! i love the fall, and i want a good fall. the fall cannot be skipped this year if i have anything to say about it! i need my time walking in the leaves and watching them blow around in the wind. things need to be fallish, not snowish.

today i am thinking about.... why bella hates milk, and shuns it as though it were the plague.
i am thinking about people's homes.

Most of what you will create is for your enrichment or is a stepping stone to other better, more insightful work. Maybe once or twice in a lifetime you will be recognized with the kudos of the public, so in the meantime, create for yourself.--Don Hahn (Dancing Corn Dogs in the Night: Reawakening Your creative Spirit)

homes that are cozy. and lived in.

Yes, of course [this age] is materialistic, but the only way to counteract it is to create spiritual things. Don't worry yourself about the materialism too much. Create and stir other people to create!--Robert Frost

photo#1http://www.thekitchn.com/

photo #3East #13: Sary's High-Contrast Color

photo#2Midwest #2: Rachel's Bungalow of Bright Ideas

for the romantic, and just because a pink refrigerator should always

be admired. breast cancer awareness month this month!

a clever pantry door!

The tired and thirsty prospector threw himself down at the edge of the watering hole and started to drink. But then he looked around and saw skulls and bones everywhere. "Uh-oh," he thought. "This watering hole is reserved for skeletons." Jack Handey

Here's a good thing to do if you go to a party and you don't know anybody: First take out the garbage. Then go around and collect any extra garbage that people might have, like a crumpled napkin, and take that out too. Pretty soon people will want to meet the busy garbage guy. Jack Handey

i thought you all would enjoy these quotations.

photos via:http://www.countryliving.com/homes/how-to-get-the-look/ultimate-guide-kitchens-1008?click=pp

bellas trick or treat bag, don't look to close you will see my flaws,

i have to fix some things, but i think it turned out good for being a beginner and all.

bella loves chili, and loves to get it everywhere.

this is what i call, piggy tails gone crazy, and who knew a dollar ball could be so much fun! thanks for the tip sister 2.
good skills.

bryan was gone all weekend, so bella and i had a girls day out on saturday. we went to joanns fabrics, where she attracted many spectators, and friends, and did her very best to put her mouth on any part of the cart she was in. we ran through the rain, and that was hilarious to baby girl, i was just trying to keep her none wet, but she loved it. who knew i was so fun? after our outing, we came home, i made chili, and together we made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. we had a fun time together, laughing, dancing, and singing and eating. today has been nice to have b-dog home to be bossed around by both girls...but i think he missed us.

i have a thing for owlies.

friday news roundup

this weeks highlights:

-bryan getting his poster done for a conference tomorrow.

-baby girl finally complying to walk holding hands with one of us, and as long as it is still on 'her terms' meaning she can stop whenever she wants, with no warning.

-baby girl trying to learn to talk, open doors, and read to herself.

-i loved pranking my sister and leaving a message on her answering maching. a joke she does not think is funny, but i am still laughing.

-bryan made outstanding girl cheese sandwhiches with gruyere.

-the wind is blowing softly today and it is cloudy!

-the vice presidential debate was not as bad as i thought it was, and i consumed an entire bowl of popcorn. something i NEVER NEVER eat.

-the towel giveaway was a HUGE event. that ended with not one, but 2 winners.

-the baseball playoffs are one, with a red sox win, and a dodgers win. (although i am not a dodgers fan, the just need to win, for the managers sake.)

owl photog:
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/how-to/how-to-scrappy-owl-treat-bag-tutorial-063207

i love this! thank you martha stewart workers!

in my life i am reminded over and over again of what is really important in life. sometimes a trial happens, or sometimes it is through other people's experience, that remind me to live with a renewed purpose, and help me to grow stronger. in this day, in this time in our country it is so so easy to get caught up in watching television for hours, or our children playing video games for hours. or using the internet for hours, (me.) or just being caught up with what is so wrong in our lives that we forget that each of us individually are in control of our lives, and we choose what kind of life we have. meaning no matter what happens to us we each choose to have a happy life, a fulfilling one, with good memories and traditions. we create our life, no matter what our circumstances. it is something i am reminded over and over again.

i was reading my usual morning http://blog.cjanerun.com/ then i went to stephanies blog.http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/2007/10/october.html i read about how they celebrate the first of october. by watching the legend of sleepy hollow, and drink homemade apple cider and eat good doughnuts. a tradition i am going to copy. looking back their children have such fond memories of their parents. it is things like this that matter most. no matter what happens in my life. the life i will lead depends on my attitude, not my circumstances. a happy life is really how we choose to live and the memories that we make along the way, no matter what falls in our path.

photog:http://www.marthastewart.com/halloween-workshop-week4#

and the winners are......(i decided to pick two, after all it is hallowe'en time!)
abby and april! wahooooo! nonetheless those whose name did not get chosen, do not despair! look forward to the christmas drawing. however if you do want to purchase some, you can go to my 'shop' or email me and i will send them your way! danielleleatham@yahoo.com abby and april please email me your addresses and tell me which towel you would like and i will get them sent off! thanks everyone! what a spooktacular drawing!

photog:http://www.marthastewart.com