Leona Lane

WRITE A LIST OF GOOD THINGS

I was thinking the other day about how some of the best things can't be captured with a photograph. And I also had the perfect blank notebook I'd been waiting to start filling. (Does anyone have the problem of not wanting to "mess up" a notebook? or is that just me...) And I was thinking about how much I love writing lists, and how I typically suck at traditional journaling. Maybe I like lists because they are quick, maybe because you don't have to think as much about making your thoughts cohesive. Because my pen can keep up with my brain that way? Who knows. But I decided to fill it with bunches and bunches of lists. And maybe some random thoughts, musings or the perfect quote. But mostly lists.

And I decided the very best place to start would be with a list of good things. At first I thought I would add to it slowly, one good thing a day. But when I started writing, I kept thinking of other good things that I didn't want to try and remember later. So I decided to fill the whole page. And by the time I was done, I was actually pretty happy. A nice surprise. So if you're a little down, I would encourage you to try it. Grab a sheet of paper, and just start writing down all the good things you can think of. Here's mine.

Warm clothes from the dryer
Hot coffee
The way cold air makes you feel alive
A piece of good bread with butter
Cute leggings
The way the inside of a brand new sweatshirt feels
Pancakes made on a cast iron griddle
Getting a hug
A cat that wants to see you
Candles, always candles
The smell of a wood burning stove
The sound of vinyl playing
A good long walk
Real apple cider
Stepping on leaves
Mulled wine
The sound of rain on the roof
A good book that you just can't put down
Looking through old photographs
Hearing your song on the radio
Getting a letter in the mail
A perfectly warm evening
Crossing things off lists
A clean kitchen
Finding something awesome at the thrift store
Seeing an old friend

Happy Monday friends. Think of something happy today!

Memorial Day Camping (Part One)

We just got back from our seventh annual Memorial Day camping trip. We had an awesome time with some of our most favorite friends. I am happy to report that little Lucy is a great camper! We had a far better time than Matt or I ever imagined.

I don't have a lenghtly post planned for today, but I wanted to quickly check in. This week might be a little quiet around here. In addition to the Memorial day trip, Renae is continuing her Scamp trip for another week. (Lucky girl!) I will be looking at her instagram photos with envy! I know that she hopes to do some blogging, but internet connections, as well as her computer, have been a bit unreliable. I'm secretly glad she's able to truly unplug and have a real vacation!

I love some of the photos from our trip and I can't wait to share more, once I get them all organized. For now, I will leave you with a cute photo of my Lucy girl, who loves her Bumbo, sitting around a campfire, eating avocado and riding in a backpack. We truly could not love her more!

UNPLUG | At The Beach

We haven't been venturing out too much on weeknights recently. I think the winter weather and daily grind just managed to sap all of our adventurous spirit for awhile. But recently, we've had a string of lovely days here in Seattle - and I've been trying to soak it all up! Spring brings such a fresh, clean energy with it that I totally love - everything is new and vibrant. 

This week, the warm weather and the beach were calling my name. So after dinner, Joe and I ran down to Golden Gardens - just in time for the sunset! Now that we both have cameras its fun to just meander together. We walked down the beach, looking at rocks, the sun reflecting on the water, and a weird dead fish. We watched people having a bonfire, lighting sparklers and finishing up a game of volleyball. And then found the coolest jungle-gym that I've seen since in at least a decade. We were all over it in a flash - it totally reminded me off the cool wooden playgrounds from my childhood. Hot lava monster anyone?

Camping | Larrabee State Park

Last weekend we took the Scamper out for it's first camping trip! We headed up to Larrabee State Park near Bellingham - random fact, Larrabee State Park is Washington's first State Park, established in 1915. We headed out Friday after work, taking the scenic route, quite literally... the campground is on Chuckanut Drive which hugs the coastline, it was the first time I'd ever gone that way, and it was gorgeous! Would highly recommend it!!

The weather was still a bit cold and rainy, which wasn't great... but we found out that the Scamp does indeed keep us pretty warm and dry! And we still had a nice relaxing weekend! Our friends Jeremy and Corlana came out to the campsite one night and we all huddled around the fire, roasted things and chatted. We also got to meet another couple that lives in Bellingham which was a nice a surprise!

On Saturday, we hung out in the Scamp, made some chemex coffee, reorganized things - can't wait to get it totally dialed in! We also checked out the beach and explored Bellingham. We found a fun antique mall, I managed to only walk out with two treasures - a cute mid-century footstool and a little retro garbage bin. Sunday we squeezed in a quick hike before heading home. All in all, a nice little getaway! And now I'm really looking forward to our next trip coming up in May!!

Thoughts on Unplugged Inspiration

Like most twenty-somethings these days I probably have a slightly unhealthy interest in Pinterest. In college I could waste hours on Facebook and apparently I have traded that time-wasting-scrolling-activity-of-choice in for Pinterest instead. I think it's a pretty safe assumption with 50+ boards and over 2000 pins. Eek. With that tally you'd think I would be endlessly inspired... well, unfortunately, that's not exactly how it works.

Aside from my recent stint on night shift, I've actually been trying to spend less time online looking for inspiration and turning to the real world instead. I've been noticing that tangible experiences are way more inspiring and likely to jump start a project or spark an idea for me than screen time. I've been haunting my local thrift store, taking walks and getting outside more, slowly making my way through my stack of magazines. Any of those activities or a brainstorming session at a coffee shop with notebook in hand seem to work well. So does unburying my desk or trying to find things around the house to donate.

One thing I've been working on this year has been cooking more. I'm count myself really fortunate that Joe has traditionally been the cook at our house - I'm the baker! But since we are both working full time again, I've been trying to do a little more. We have a few go-to recipes that I've gotten pretty good out, so I've started branching out a little. My favorite place for new recipes these days is our Bon Appetit and Sunset magazines. There is just something about a shiny new magazine that makes me want to bring the food to life. I've found some keepers recently, so I thought I'd pass them along to you guys! 

Salmon with Snap Peas, Bacon and Mint from the last issue of Sunset. This was really good, the bacon adds some extra deliciousness! It's really nice for a spring evening, Joe said it was worth a repeat! 

And this quino salad was inspired by an article in Bon Appetit called 'Lunch al Desko'. It had a bunch of good ideas for spicing up brown bag lunches. I used quinoa, added the spicy garlic chickpeas and roasted cherry tomatos. Then I added some young greens, mozarella cheese, basil and lemony vinegrette. I'm looking forward to trying more lunch bowl variations and some of their other ideas! Take the Bon Appetit quiz to find your perfect lunch bowl!