Leona Lane

Our 20 Favorite Posts from 2013

2013... Our first entire year of blogging here at Leona Lane. And what a year. Weddings, Babies, new jobs and new houses.. We had some giveaways, introduced some Guest Bloggers- Amy, and Rachel.. And kept oh, so busy! You may have seen Renae's Best of 2013 post yesterday, and Jenn's today. This afternoon I thought I'd do a round-up of all our favorite blog posts from this year! And man, has it been a crazy one... How fun it is to look back through all our posts from the year, and re-live the wonderful, hectic, awesome stressful-ness of 2013. I'll have to be honest... 2013 I'm glad you're almost over. You've been a tough one. 

1. A Tea Party- Jenn started 2013 off with this adorable tea party baby shower! 

2. Our new puppy- Nate and I started the year off with this crazy animal... And although she's destroyed sooo many things around the house, and parts of the house itself, we still love her. She's been a good addition to 2013. 

3. Hello Portland- Renae took a little trip to Portland in January, and stayed in the awesome Ace Hotel! I'm still slightly envious...

 4. Fun Photo Wall- I love this Photo Wall that Jenn made for a special little girl in her life.. Check it out!

 5. Mini Pecan Pies- I loooooove Pecan Pie! Thankfully, Renae also makes a mean pecan pie. How cute are these little babies!? She also shares a full-size pecan pie recipe here.   

6. The BEST announcement!!!!- Here's the official Leona Lane post to announce that Jenn is pregnant! So exciting! And what a cute chalkboard sign! 

7. Renae's House Tour- I still am sad that Renae moved back to the other side of the state... Here's her lovely house tour from right before she moved! I miss that house! 

8. Bridal Showers- May was a fun, busy month for me.. I had two Bridal showers! The first one was thrown by Renae and Rachel, and was magical! 

The second was given by some amazing work buddies, and was just as awesome as the first! I have the best family and friends! 

9. Earl Grey Cake- Of course, a bridal shower wouldn't be complete without an amazing cake. And Renae (again) went above and beyond... This cake was so good!

10. Photobooth Guest Book- I will always treasure this photobooth guest book Renae made from my Bridal shower.. Its the sweetest, funniest thing to look at! 

11. Jenn's Fridge Makeover- I love this post about Jenn's Washi tape fridge makeover! What a fun way to make your kitchen brighter! 

July was BY FAR the best month of 2013. For so many reasons... 

12. Jenn's Baby Showers- Jenn had two baby showers this month, the first one  was hosted by our good friend Aileen, and I'm so glad I was able to go over to Seattle for it, the weekend before our wedding! 

The second one was given by Jenn's work friends, on a rooftop! How awesome! 

13. DIY Baby Onesies- For Jenn's baby shower, we all made her DIY onesies! Check this post out for more details on using fabric paint! 

14. Fourth of July Cake- I had so much fun making this 4th of July cake! And its Gluten Free! 

15. Our Wedding!!!- Of course, July was my favorite because of our wedding... And so many other things. I love this picture of Renae, Jenn and I! You can see all the photos from our wedding here, here, and here.

16. Our Honeymoon- We spent an amazing week in Cabo for our honeymoon! You can see more pictures here. 

17. Lucy's Nursery- How colorful and fun is this baby girls nursery!? 

18. Lucy!!- I still have yet to meet this little lady, but thanks to this blog, I feel like I already know her! 

19. Packing Tape Transfer Art- Renae made some really cool art, check it out! 

20. Renae's House Tour- Renae shared photos of her new place, and it looks so cozy! But I still miss her here in Spokane :) 

I'm so excited for 2014. I have a few goals I'll share here eventually, and some big plans. Hopefully this time next year I'll be able to say 2014, you were my favorite so far :)

Best of 2013 - Jenn

This is my second year doing this project and it is one of my favorites! I rounded up a collection of photos; many of my favorite moments from 2013. This serves as the last double-page spread in my Project Life album. As I chose photos, I made sure to pretty much include everyone in my life that I love, in some way or another. That way, as you glance at this spread as a whole, you can really see the wonderful year we have had, and there is a nice balance of family and friends.

It's been an amazing year. Amazing, but hard. I was sick for nine months of this year, and have had a newborn the past three months. So it's safe to say that 2013 was a year of exhaustion. But it was also a year of celebration, as  you will see in the following photos.

best new family members: Well that would be Lucy & Jaela of course. Our family was blessed with two new girls this year, which is just awesome. My brother & Josie welcomed Jaela into the world in April, and of course my daughter Lucy was born in September. My parents are thrilled to be grandparents this year!

best & most amazing accomplishment: Half of my husband's year was committed to this race! In June, he completed his first ironman. I am still so proud of these 140 miles of swimming, biking and running.

best baby shower: I must admit I had a few showers, but I will mention this one because it was super sweet. Just eight close friends, creative decor, delicious food and a fun craft. What could be better? I also got some adorable clothes for my baby girl.

best performance: this picture was included in tribute to my grandpa Dorpat, who passed away in May. We had a fun-filled celebratory funeral for him, which included most of my extended family. It was a sad time of course, but so amazing to see so much family from far away. This photo captures a silly performance that my grandpa and his three brothers always did at family reunions.

best room: We spent many weekends preparing for Lucy's arrival, and most of them were focused on cleaning out and re-organizing our spare bedroom. Once the clutter was taken care of, we had a blast painting and decorating her little space. I just love the bright colors!

best girl's night: This was an awsome night in January spent with three best friends. Not often that Renae, Anne-Marie and I get together, but when we do, there is sure to be mischief and fun.

best camping trip: Despite being 33 weeks pregnant and extremely miserable, this trip was a blast. I floated a river for the first time, and spent lots of quality time eating bacon with Matt's cousins. What could be better in the summer?

best news: The day I found out that my baby was a girl was one of the best days of my life. It was not that I did not want a boy, but discovering her gender really made the pregancy real. I was actually going to have a baby. For real.

best purchase: This infant seat was by far the best $50 we have spent on our little girl. She gets endless enternainment from the little birdies! Best of all it provides a nice seat for her to hang out in and look at the world. This way we don't have to hold her every minute.

best rooftop party: My manager threw me an AWESOME party on the rooftop of her building in downtown Seattle. The view was amazing of course, but I also loved hanging out with these awesome ladies that work at my office.

best birth: This day was by far the best and worst day of my life. I got no sleep, I pushed for 3.5 hours, and nursed for probably 5. It was crazy and painful and overwhelming. But this was the day I got to meet my baby girl. She was covered with white slime, but still so, so beautiful. And chubby! I loved her little rolls, right from the beginning.

best photo: I decided that of all the photos this year, this one is my favorite. I love that nearly all of my best friends are present in the photo. I love that the reflection in the window captures the entire room. I love that even though I was told to limit visitors and get some rest, I decided to share the joy of our baby girl with so many close friends. This day was life changing, and I'm so glad I have this photo, even with all the imperfections.

best reunion: My sister came home from Germany and she got to meet baby Jaela for the first time! It is really awesome that we are both Aunties to this little girl. I can't wait until she comes home and meets Lucy!

best triathlon: My S-I-L Hannah did her first sprint triathlon in Chelan this summer! I was pregnant (obviously) so I did not get to participate, but it was still fun to cheer her on! I did the same race in 2012, which was my first triathlon. Hopefully next year I will do it again. It's a really fun race, and we love Chelan in the summer.

best vacation: This list would not be complete without highlighting our favorite vacation! This year in March we were able to fly to Cabo san Lucas for a whole week! I was thirteen weeks pregnant, and this was the exact vacation I needed. All we did was lay on the beach and eat guacamole. I always say that this was the only week of my whole pregnancy that I wasn't nauseous. The sunshine must have done the trick!

So there you go. 2013 in a nutshell. If you are interested, you can check out a similar post from 2012 here. This pretty much wraps up Project Life 2013. I only need to finish one more week and then I'm done! I'm glad I've kept up with this project all year long (for the third year!) I hope to share more of my finished book in the next few weeks.

Best of 2013 | Renae

Wow! I think it's safe to say 2013 has been a little crazy for our house. Joe, Malcolm and I have survived two moves. We lived apart for a few months. We've lived in three different places and downsized by fifty percent. Joe and I both have new full-time jobs. It's so interesting to look back over the year and see all the changes that have happened. It's been all kinds of crazy - and I am so happy to be settling into a new normal now! Our new place is working out really well, I'm so glad to have found a good fit for us in Seattle. And needless to say, I'm really looking forward to 2014 with whatever it brings!

I've gathered some of my favorite pictures from 2013, and I can't imagine writing a "Best Of 2013" post without starting with my parents! They've made our multiple moves possible (literally), provided much needed moral support and have been there for us through everything this year! Thanks Mom & Dad, You're the Best! And the rest are in no particular order. Here goes...

Best Parents | Best Hike | Best Plants | Best Husband

Best Start to the New Year | Best Cousin | Best Hotel | Best Photobooth

 Best Saturday Morning | Best Poem | Best Snow Day | Best of Friends

 Best Color Crush | Best Day Dream | Best Night at the Ballet | Best State Park

 Best Day Thrifting | Best Selfie | Best Conservatory | Best Traffic Circle

 Best Scenery| Best Hawthorne Tree | Best Brainstorming Sess | Best Entertainment

 Best Bloggers | Best Party | Best PSL | Best Tent-Trailer Ever

 Best Dad | Best Chocolates | Best Plant Store | Best Coffee Date with Mom

 Best Spot to Blog | Best Family Photo | Best Baby Shower | Best Crazy Moment

Best Camping Moment | Best Latte | Best New Job | Best Evening

 Best Photo | Best Fall Color | Best Grandpa Kitty | Best New Coffee Shop

 Best Wedding | Best Girls Night Out | Best Road Trip | Best Donut Date

Best Popsicle Making Session | Best Funny Cat Pic | Best House Warming Gift | Best of Evo

 Best New Baby | Best Cat/Coffee Selfie | Best Transition Place | Best Color

 Best Fire | Best Day at Camp | Best Tradition | Best Coffee Date 

Thanks for taking a trip through 2013 with me! Looking forward to 2014 and everything it brings!! Jenn will be sharing her best of 2013 tomorrow and Sarah some our favorite posts! 

No. 42 The Little Things

In the midst of illness, craziness at work and the usual fast pace of the holidays, it was really nice to have one morning that was simple, relaxing and fun. We joined a group of friends for coffee on Christmas Eve, and in the process we discovered a really awesome coffee shop! It's called Storyville, and it's on the second story of the main building at Pike Place Market. What a find! Don't you just love those beautiful arched windows?

I really liked the atmosphere in this place, and the latte was delicious. But mostly I enjoyed quality time with good friends. I love that the space is big and comfy enough for a group to sit down and chat for awhile. We will hopefully be spending time here again soon. If you are local to Seattle I would suggest checking it out!

Photo Friday: Red & Green

This Friday our prompt is "Red & Green." This could be very Christmas-y, or not at all, you decide! Please share a red & green photo on Instagram with the hashtag #photofridaywithleonalane. We love seeing what you guys come up with!

"Christmas this year for me was a little unusual in that Matt and I were both sick with a tummy bug for a few days. Not very festive at all! Fortunately I did go to a Christmas Party on Sunday night, and that's where I took my photo. The tree was very colorful, but all the decorations were very traditional red and green. I love the beauty of greenery with the pop of red stars. So classic!" -Jenn

"I love this old red & green ski hat! It has been very well loved and I'm hoping to redo the pompom on the end this winter! Until I get around to that, I love how festive and wintery it looks hanging up. It origonally belonged to my aunt, she and my mom had matching ones from the year that they lived in Vermont as kids. Then when I was in junior high, I found it in my Grandma's basement and adopted it. I don't think it ever left my side during the winter months, I absolutely loved it! I was so happy to find it again when we unpacked this year!" - Renae

"You might have seen this post I did recently of my holiday decor.. I'm still loving these green wine bottles with red candles. Those red taper candles remind me so much of Grandma, she always had them out on holidays. I think I'll leave them out a week longer to keep the cheer going around here."  -Sarah

Thank you as usualy for letting us share our photos. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday week! I am looking forward to an awesome weekend full of relaxation, and then another short work week next week. It's hard to believe that this year is almost over!