The blogs that inspire me

I love subscribing to inspiring blogs, it's like getting a fun package in the mail every morning! These ladies are all incredibly talented, some of them are businesses, some of them are documentaries of life. So take some time to peruse this list, I'll update the list as I find them. 

Elm Street Life

The Pleated Poppy

Under the Sycamore

Migonis Home

Motley Mama

The Saga of a Twenty-Something

E Tells Tales

Peanut Butter Fingers

The Scribble Pad

Life Rearranged

Lisa Leonard Designs

Allora Handmade

Tales of Me and the Husband

The Nesting Place 

Design Sponge

J's Everyday Fashion

Jones Design Company

Gussy Sews 

Yep, They Are All Mine

 Loves of Life

The Daybook

Welcome to the gOOd Life

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Girly Notes

Also, wedding pictures were received last week, so be on the look out for a picture heavy post of lots of pretty moments!

Wedding vs. Marriage

Wedding: the act or an instance of blending or joining, especially opposite or contrasting elements.

Marriage: a relationship in which two people have pledged themselves to each other in the manner of a husband and wife

AKA

Wedding: Party

Marriage: Lifetime

There are 6 days left before the wedding now, and I think Sam and I would agree that, yes, we are nervous... but maybe not for the reasons that you would expect. 

• Have you ever planned a party where you invited EVERY ONE THAT MATTERS MOST IN YOUR LIFE?? Maybe it's a girl thing, but we've spent the past 8 months and 6 days planning a celebration that I am praying will look cohesive, taste phenomenal, be entertaining, and most importantly, reflect the type of people that Sam and I are...now that I've just written all that, it sounds vain, but hopefully you understand what I mean. 
• Sam and I moved into our new home on June 8, which means we've been living together for a little over a month now, and I'll tell you what - he's the best roommate I've ever had! He's wipes the counters, washes all his dishes, folds his laundry, works in the yard, builds me furniture, I even caught him with the vacuum!  Needless to say, I'm not nervous at all about living with a man.
• I'm nervous that it's going to be 102 degrees on our wedding day and that I might faint...literally. And that our guests might faint too....gosh that would be awful.
• I'm excited to be done planning the wedding, so I can spend time learning how to quilt, opening an Etsy store, preparing for our cruise in January, making curtains for our home, and finally decorating with something other than my old college decorations. 
• I'm nervous that I might kill every single plant that I ever plant now that we have room for a garden and a front and back yard.
• I'm excited to try new recipes in our new Dutch Over (Thanks Bill & Viki!)
• But mostly, I'm excited that I get to do all of these things with Sam, my best friend, partner in crime, and true love.

 But all that aside, what's the best advice you were given on your wedding day? I'd love to know! So leave it in a comment at the bottom of the post!

And here's some pictures to get your Monday going:

 A wedding sneak peak: pretty little pink bags for a surprise for all of you!

 Another ThrowBack! That's little ME, my beautiful Aunt Janet on her wedding day, and my Mom in the background!

 Brownies for Sam's Birthday on Friday

 Sam's sweet hat.....

 Our first ripe cherry tomatoe!

 Our blooming squash!

 A LARGE canyon, just south of the Grand Canyon, where Sam will be hunting this year.

 Weston joined us on our adventure this weekend

 We saw a javalina, along with TONS of elk and antelope (sorry, no pics) a snake, wild horses, jack rabbits, and prairie dogs.

 Sam's favorite thing to do is look through glass

 And Kona's favorite thing to do is sit in Sam's lap while he drives.

 Weston and Sam teaming up to hunt prairie dogs.

And that's it folks! As a reminder, Dad's campaign on Kickstarter has 24 days left, we've got 11 pledges, but we need many more! Please take a moment to check out his product:

HERE

Also, with the wedding being this weekend, if you need directions, or have any questions, please email me at leah.whitney @ gmail dot com! 

  

How am I doing?

2 weeks from tomorrow I will offically become Leah Whitney Heffelfinger.

Craziness.

I've been getting this question a lot: Are you nervous?

Answer: No. I'm 100% ready to become Sam's wife. Yes. I'm nervous excited to see the plans that we've made for our wedding weekend come together. 

I think it's a good thing that I'm more nervous about the actual day than the lifetime that's ahead of us. 

Is Sam nervous? 

I think he would say the same thing - though I don't think he will care too much if the flowers are the wrong shade of pink or a groomsman forgets a tie...

So, other than the fact that my new signature looks like a 5th grader is signing my name, I'm doing great! Sam and I are ready to commit ourselves to each and to God, and begin this new chapter in our lives. We've got the love and support of our families and dear friends. And to add a cherry on top, we're each others BESTIES! What better way to spend a lifetime than with your best friend?! 

I'm rambling...I was thinking about writing a post about my feelings about getting married, but all that I could come up with when I sat down at the computer was... I'm Fine! I'm not nervous. I'm so excited! I LOVE Sam. And he LOVES me. And we're GETTING HITCHED in 16 days! 

HOLY. CRAP. 

Once we get married, I do have one slight problem that I'd like to share with you... the name of this blog is Sam and Leah Get Hitched...do I change it to Sam and Leah GOT Hitched...? Doesn't really have a nice ring to it. 

I've been brainstorming some ideas, but I'd love you advice. 

I want to continue this blog after the wedding to document our adventures, show you what we're building, post some awesome new recipe that I found, and of course add to all the ways that Kona sleeps. 

So, how about you give me some ideas, huh? That's a great idea! Lots of brains are better than just mine! 

Alright, let's wrap up this mumbo jumbo of a post with some pictures of the week, shall we???

1. We're makin' stuff! Before and Afer pics to come soon!

2. I taught myself some basic embroidery skills so I could use some of those Pinterest ideas.

3. Date Night with my #1 Man! 

4. Beverages.

5. Oh, he forgets his name, so he wears this shirt :) Isn't he a cutey!?

6. Sneak Peek: the ties for the wedding!

7. The 5th grade version of my signature - good grief is it long!

8. Oh, didn't you want to see this picture twice?? Sorry about that!

Have a fun weekend everyone!

California Dreaming...

Good Monday Afternoon to everyone! Sam and I and Weston and Kona spent a glorious weekend in sunny California visiting my parents and attending a family reunion. We left Flagstaff at the butt-crack of dawn to get to Paso Robles in time for my dress fitting. The good thing about leaving that early was this incredible view:

We're getting down to the wire in terms of days left until the wedding, so we took this time in Paso Robles to visit our photographer, Cindy Franklin, check out the Loading Chute (wedding venue - since Sam hadn't seen it yet), have a final dress fitting, and meet with our pastor. 

Kona and I had the pleasure of sharing the backseat of the truck.... not the most comfortable 10 hours of my life, but what can you do??

Saturday was spent in Morro Bay with the family for kayaking and fish tacos. For fear of losing my camera and/or phone to the Pacific Ocean, I didn't take any photos, but I know someone did --- Hey Family! If you have photos of this weekend can you share them with me?? 

That's dog beach, north of Morro Bay. Gorgeous day, but the family reunion was on the schedule so we didn't get to stop. 

The reunion consisted of:

card games

tacos

sausage casserole

tidepools

wedding shower

and quizzing Sam on all the new faces 

Lots of fun!

 

We even had some time to lounge around my parent's house with their dogs, Rusty (right) and Honey (left) that's Kona in the middle. And yes, they are professional beggars, not spoiled at all :)

And finally, the weekend had to come to an end.... I taught a 6am cycle class this morning, and got to work by 8. Time to get back in the groove of things until the wedding. 27 more days! 

But on a brighter note, I got to bring home my old friend! It's been a while since we've been together, so we're planning on getting reacquainted this weekend!

And the question of the day:

Once Sam and I are officially HITCHED, what should we change the name of the blog to?

Leave a comment at the bottom of the page!

40 days and other things.

Yikes, I'm a slacker - I guess between moving and being out of town last weekend, it's been a busy 2 weeks. And we haven't had internet at the house until Monday - so I've got some catch up to do.


First off, we're officially all moved in as of last Tuesday, such a relief. And we are pretty much all unpacked too - just some storage issues to work out and little things like that. We purchased a BBQ on Friday night, and enjoyed some yummy pork chops last night....anyway, before I start rambling, here's the run down of the past week or so:


Sam and I went our seperate ways last weekend - He took some of his man-friends up to Mancos, CO for a bachelor/boys weekend, and I went to Phoenix with my lady-friends for a girls weekend - we also met up with Chris, Sam's Mom, and Aunt Sarah, for a pseudo bridal shower brunch. With all of our friends and family living so far away, and the wedding sneaking up on us (40 days!) plus moving into our home, and all that comes  with a new home, we decided against any formal bachelor/bachelorette party and wedding/bridal shower -- so this worked out nicely. I don't have any pictures from the boy's trip, but here's a few from my girls weekend:

Oh, we stayed at the Biltmore Hotel - Ashley (MOH) planned most of the weekend with the help of the other girls - they are all sooo incredibly amazing - couldn't ask for better friends! That's Steffi and I hanging by the pool.

And here we have Bethany and Ashley... unfortunately Emily couldn't make it this weekend...but she was there in our hearts! 

The pool had a swim-up bar, so of course we had to take advantage of that - Pina Colada's - YES, PLEASE!

Ashley crafted these adorable shirts for the girls (Emily, I've got yours here, if I get time I'll mail it to you this week). On the front they said "Bridesmaid" and on the back they have their name. Mine said "Bride" on the front, and the back said "Soon to be: Mrs. Heffelfinger"! And Ashley also decked me out with a sash and a boa. We went to a piano bar --- cause we're super classy like that. 


Ok, I'm out of pictures from the weekend, but here's what's been going on around here:

Sam is such a sweetheart - he bought me my very own sander! And I took it straightaway to my coffee table and then I coated it with an awesome bright teal paint! LOVE IT! I added the beautiful tray that Grandma Ellie (my Dad's mom) gave Sam and I for our wedding (it's actually a carving board, but with the lack of storage in the house, and for how beautiful it is, it needed a home in a special spot) I added a picture of Kona, a succulent, and a book on travel --- to show our worldly we are :) haha. 


And the back yard needs some TLC, but we've been playing ladder ball out there most evenings - practicing for the wedding - you should start practicing too, cause Sam and I are getting pretty good! (Though I've yet to actually win....)

We've got a cute little park around the corner from the house, and conveniently it's also near where Weston is living for the summer, so we met up there this week. The boys played some 2 on 2 and Kona learned that she can't fetch a basketball. 

I've been crafting it up this week too - my cousin, Kylie, is leaving for a semester abroad in Australia in a week, so I sewed her a little clutch in her fav color - orange! I also ordered some chalk pens (awesome stuff!) for some wedding projects. 

And finally, this weekend we decided to hold a yard sale. Since we combined both of our stuff, we suddenly had two of lots of things. We did pretty good - paid for about 1/2 of the BBQ that we bought, or about 1/3 of the TV that we want to get haha. I also put my green thumb on and planted some flowers and a tomato plant.


My next project is to finish decorating the living room - any suggestions? 


Also, we'll be in Paso Robles on July 12 for the weekend, if you want to hangout, let us know! 


Leave us a comment too!! 

What's going on around here:

Let's catch up! Grab a drink, get some coffee, happy hour margs?? Yes, please. 

Sam and I miss those of you that we don't see on a regular basis, we really truly do. So to catch you up on what's been going on around here, here's a sneak peak into our lives: (feel free to catch us up on your life too! Comments taken at the bottom!)

Our neighbors, Chris and Erin, got this ADORABLE puppy named Remi. What a butter ball - Kona and Remi will be the best of friends when Remi gets bigger!

As most of you know, I, Leah, work at a waste water treatment plant. What's that, you say??? Basically we take sewage..YUCK and turn it into reuse water...COOL! The best part about work is the wonderful flowers we grow in the lawn out front...if that tells you anything about how much I like my job...my favorite part is the flowers... Umm, Yea. 

Last week I got on a sewing kick: item #1, my first apron, #2 a clutch for a friend, #3 a clutch to match Grandma's wedding day outfit, #4 a keychain wallet for me! If you want something made for you, call me! I have a ton of fabric, an excess of zippers, and I really like to sew!

Look at this safety savvy girl! Literally, she rides in the car like this, all. the. time.

On the way home from work last week, a truck in front of my decided it no longer needed the cover to the tool box in the bed of it's truck, and kindly threw it down the highway (75mph, mind you!). And long story short, the cover of the tool box met up with the bumper of my Forester - they didn't get along. 

Do you know what this is??? If you don't, then be prepared to find out on 8/11 when you come boot scootin at the Heffelfinger/Powell wedding! 

Leave us a message, what was your week like? Come on folks, this bloggin thing works two ways, I post, you comment! We miss you and want to know what's going on! 

XOXO - Happy Monday

Memorial Weekend... Day 2...Arizona/Utah Heffelfinger Adventure Cont.

Welcome to day 2 of our Memorial Weekend. Yesterday we left off on the drive to Utah with those wicked awesome socks that I was wearing...jealousy struck you hard when you saw those, I know. 

So here we go:

As we are leaving Arizona and crossing over the Utah boarder, we ran into this beauty...Lotto, Guns, Ammo, and Beer..sounds like a scary combination...but hey, whatever makes you smile huh??

NOTE: In Utah you can only buy liquor, i.e. anything other than beer, in a liquor store, which are hard to come by...not that we needed to find one, but that's why the border towns carry so much. Also, all alcoholic beverages in Utah must have a lower percentage of alcohol in them...so even when you do buy your liquor, the same bottle of whatever it is purchased in Arizona will have a higher alcohol content....Now you know!

And here we are! Welcome to Utah folks! If you want to find us on the map, this is highway 89 driving out of Kanab, Utah.

 Pretty. Can't complain about a drive like this!

Ok, bad blogger that I am, missed taking pictures of an entire town that we stopped in...sorry.... but here is Sam enjoying a vanilla shake from a drive-thru diner in Panguitch, Utah. Cool town! Tiny, but incredibly full of character. We walked down Main St. where it seemed they were having a town-wide garage sale. We picked up two beautiful blue mason jars that will be used at the wedding. Such kind people, full of American pride on this Memorial Weekend! If you ever get the chance, drive through this sleepy little town, grab a shake, and go antiquing!

From Panguitch, we continued driving up highway 89, then took off to the East on highway 62, towards the 24, then the 25....got it? At least,  I think it went something like that....Sam will be the first to admit that I'm not the best co-pilot...but anyway, final destination for day 2 was Fishlake. This is one of Sam's favorite family vacationing spots. The following pictures were mostly taken from the car because 

it. was. freezing.

Like 40 degrees in the afternoon and below freezing that night.

It was like an ocean out on Fishlake! Look at those whitecaps! Brrr....

This might be an exaggerated picture of the dark clouds that surrounded us that night due to my poor photography skills, but this picture does depict an excellent example of how I personally felt about the weather.

 Snow!? At the end of May.....not a fan.

View from the campsite the next morning - pretty rays of sun shining on the valley floor.

 The view of Fishlake from the road that we camped off of the next morning.

Fishlake, obviously a beautiful spot, I wish we could have spent more time fishing, letting Kona swim, and enjoying the beauty, but coldness doesn't make me happy, especially not in the early stages of summer, so we made our way down the mountain into Dixie National Forest, stopping along the way in an sheltered area to whip up some pancakes. 

Another side note: We set up the back seat of Sam's truck with blankets for Kona to sleep on - she gets half the back seat all to her self - the other side gets piled up with our bags, clothes, jackets, etc - things we'd rather not have dog fur all over... but where does Kona choose to sleep???? Right on top of all our stuff....of course.

 Kitchen camp box makes some delish pancakes.

As you can see by my happy face - I'm always a happier camper after breakfast.

Alright, I technically shouldn't have posted the pictures of breakfast - that's the beginning of day 3. But please enjoy our drive into Utah, our freezing adventures at Fishlake, our travel conditions, and our pancakes. 

Tomorrow our pictures will take us to some pretty neat places - much warmer places too. So stay tuned.

Happy Wednesday! 

And the last side note --- remember the surprise I mentioned a while back about something periwinkle???? Cross your fingers for some good news about that surprise in the coming 1-2 weeks!!! Yipee!