{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

 

What I'm Most Proud of Accomplishing Prior to the BIG 3-0

      As many of you probably recall I made a "30 Before 30" list last year...well I'm officially 30 now- it feels great btw. Here are the 5 loveliest things I'm most proud of accomplishing from that list!

{1} Visit New Zealand: tick!

(in NZ they say "tick it off your list" instead of "check")

     Since my dear friend, Sarah, returned to her homeland over four years ago I had wanted to visit NZ. Last fall I was at the gym stretching when I got a Travelzoo email alert that flights were on sale. Right then & there I knew I had to pull the trigger-- & what a great decision it was to do so.  It was fantastic to meet her growing family & explore the land of Kiwis land with my favorite travel buddy (aka: the boyfriend).

{2} Develop Sea of Lovely Branding

     Thanks to my artsy sister, Jenna, the Sea of Lovely logo was born.  And after much fine-tuning-- & cursing at WORD while formatting labels-- I developed a labeling process that I'm quite proud of.

{3} See My Family More Often

My sisters & I all live in different states while mom & pop are still in the Motherland 

(aka: MT). I cherish the fact that I was able to make Thanksgiving dinner for my parents- barring the minor turkey mishap- & spend Christmas under the same roof 

with the entire Lechner clan.

Turkey Day weekend

Christmas Day chaos at the cabin

Mom & Dad came for my Dirty 30!

{4} Give Only Handmade Gifts

While I didn't finish my plans for handmade 2011 Christmas gifts I can report significant strides since the turn of 2012.  Sea of Lovely gifts are out in full force!

Look Whoooooo's 1?
Baby Adele & her new "Owlivia" 

{5} Live 5 Minutes from Work

While going through some significant life changes in 2011 I also found my 

beloved vintage apartment. Very few things make me happier than being able to 

run home at lunch to say hi to my Willis :)

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

5 Reasons to Own a Willis!

He's my buddy through thick & thin, is always excited to see me come home & 

pretty much the most awesome dog ever. 

{1. Low Maintenance}

He't not finicky & doesn't require a comfy bed.
A wall to lean on is perfectly suitable.

{2. Perfect Model}

he makes my handmade goods look even better :)

{3.More Photoshoots}

How can you not love a pup that would pose like this?

{4. Pet Therapy}

Whether you've broken your ankle or simply had a crappy day at work
how can this face not instantly cheer you up?

{5. His Contortionist Cuddling Abilities}

just give him enough room to snuggle & he'll make it work

I hope these snaps make your day like they do mine.

cheers,

*lucy.

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

I spy daffodils...

I spy cherry blossoms...

I spy sunshine- intermittent, albeit...

{I SPY SPRING!}

            For whatever reason when Spring makes it's sluggish entrance I get the bug to start making fruity desserts. Perhaps it's in anticipation for the summer berries that are just around the corner. So today I'm switching my lovely focus to FOOD. These are my top 5 favorite fruit deserts. 

Pinterest peeps, be sure to pin these bad boys to your "recipes to try board" :)

{1} Pear Crisp

photo & recipe cred: The Pioneer Woman

served with salted caramel gelato= perfection

{2} Award Winning Peaches & Cream Pie

Find this recipe on allrecipes.com 

This has been a staple desert in my life for almost 6 years now.

I found it tastes best when made with cling peaches you buy in jars.

{3} Blackberry Cobbler

made by yours truly & also seen in my "Make It Work Kitchen" post
find the recipe here

Freeze those yummy berries from the Farmer's Market

& you can make this all year long.

{4} Blueberry Cream Dessert

photo & recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

People always want this recipe- 'nuf said.

{5} Oaty Rhubarb Streusel Bars

picture & recipe courtesy of BHG

Oh rhubarb...you're so underappreciated.

I'm thankful that my mom introduced us to how amazing strawberry rhubarb pie & jam is at a very young age. It's in season NOW so jump on it.

And with that I hope you all are recovering from your Easter-candy-induced-sugar coma quite well.

cheers,

*lucy. 

{Swimming in a Sea of Lovely}

About a year ago I decided on a brand for my crafty creations: Sea of Lovely. 

{Read about my inspiration for the name here.} 

Last week my vision came alive & Sea of Lovely labels were born.

My first label sewn into product!

supply roll-up cases: for makeup brushes, art supplies, etc.

Art credit goes to my baby sis, Jenna!!

cheers,

*lucy.

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}...from Down Under!

As the Kiwis say, Kia Ora!
To get back into my blogging routine I want to share with you my favorite 5 pics from our holiday in New Zealand (in no particular order):

{1} Favorite Sunset Snap

Taken at Onemana, Waikato (here)

{2} The View from Hot Water Beach

Read about this unique beach!!!

{3} Mr. Levi & Miss Zoe 

we'll count these as one photo :)

So fun to meet my friend's littles!!

Featuring Owlivia that I made for Zoe :)

{4} US

{5} My Favorite Kiwi & Me :)

Meet Sarah, my soul sister from NZ.
We became fast friends while she was travel nursing in the the States.
 I'm hoping it won't be another 4 years before I see her & her lovely family again!!

cheers,

*lucy.

Happy Valentine's Day From Willis & Me

In case you haven't noticed I really enjoy the free, customizable e-cards you can make on Smilebox!

We hope you have a great day with your honey or as a singleton. As for me, I'm spending Valentine's Day with a dear friend who is visiting from New Zealand!! What could be sweeter than spending Valentines with my favorite kiwi?! Luckily, the boyfriend understands ;)

cheers,

*lucy.

{5 Lovely Things on Monday}

Guilty as charged...my lovely Mondays have been on a bit of a hiatus.  Between working extra hours to pay the bills --until you all start ordering handmade goodies from me-- & life in general blogging has been neglected. I'm not proud of it but am prepared to redeem myself.  This Monday I want to share the plans I have for my living space.

{1} Chairs a la Craiglist

I snagged these antique chairs a while back on CL with plans for them to be my first experiment with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. If you aren't familiar with this product please refer to my very enthusiastic post about this amazing discovery.

Arles=vintage mustard shade that = LOVE.

{2} The Key to Even Cuter Chairs

Giving these chairs a fresh coat of paint will do wonders for them but this adorable fabric I snagged on sale @ www.fabrics.com to recover the seats will make them suitable for resale. However, I'm keeping them :)

{3} Cheery Prints

Have you noticed I have a thing for yellow? While I always have, I feel as though my newfound self has made me embrace bright hues even more. I'm going for a teal & yellow theme in my apt's living space along with some grey to keep it from getting too busy. 

Here's my palate:

{4} The Furniture

I'm in love with my coffee & console tables from World Market and my couch from LazyBoy (of call placed). I'm very proud to have a few pieces that aren't from a thrift store or handed down. Don't get me wrong, I love those things too but there's something to be said when you are able to purchase non-IKEA furniture; it feels so grown up ;)

{5} Sea of Lovely

Ok, so this really has nothing to do with my living room but I'm finally going to start making tags to put on my handmade items. Thanks to my baby sister, Jenna- the artist, I have this gorgeous logo!



What do you think?!! Adorable, right?



     With that being said I'm really going to start putting myself out there in the months to come so if you have any requests for things you'd like to see my make or possibly buy, let me know!!

*lucy.