wedding season packaging

cherry blossoms 2009

love is in bloom and wedding season is upon us! my family members and friends are all taking the plunge. if you've read liveleah before you know that i live in a studio and have no room for storage. except for shoes. there is always room for shoes.

as in the past, i've been sticking to the classic brown craft paper and use embellishments to personalize and pretty things up.


for my soon to be cousin-in-law's bridal shower, her sister sent these pretty invitations:


with a few sheets of paper, and a ribbon to match her wedding colors, here is her present:
... oh and it's green too! yay.

to do in washington dc: torpedo factory

*edited for grammar. when i get excited i don't pay attention! go go go!

every second thursday, the torpedo factory opens it's doors to the public. now, i've been there before but it was always closed so i never understood how great this place is. the factory has 82 studios, 6 galleries and an art school. tonight, for the public viewing, the artists were there after hours and had special add-ons for the guests including: a singer with a guitar, wine, cheese, and flowers for valentine's day.

anyway, within 10 minutes of being there i fell in love and bought my first pieces of art. they were made by a lovely ceramic artist named diana chamberlain. she makes these gorgeous dress sculptures that sometimes double as vases. besides the fancy, fancy shapes, sometimes she embosses the ceramics with gorgeous, delicate, french lace and then reglazes the lace trim in blue or black.

needless to say, with my current love for all things french, i went a little nuts in the store. to my credit though, i bought pieces that i could use instead of just stare at and squeal. besides, we ended talking to some artists about the economy and i felt great buying from the creator and not the 'man'. i now own the 4 coasters and the trivet below. don't they look great against my dark dining room table?

coasters & trivet by diana chamberlain

ps. i also fell in love with the book ends show located in the target gallery. the things that the artists made with books is AMAZING. i highly suggest that you visit it if you can; they are only there until the 22nd. and if you go, check out the rolodex. i'm still reeling and really, really want to buy it. sigh. santa, please? (this picture does it no justice. no justice.)

care packages

it's been a long time since i've posted anything creative on here - probably because i haven't any time to pretend martha.

this week, i was fortunate to see my friend, stacy - with no 'e', on her way to her new residence in the sunshine state from the garden state. and while our visit was limited to just one hour, i was able to send her on her way with a care package for the long drive ahead. in it were her favorites: reese's pieces, sour patch kids, some organic snacks aptly named 'pirates booty' and of course, her favorite pita chips aptly spelled with no 'e'. all of it was packed in a beach bucket for her to use upon going to the beach of course -- which by the way is ten minutes from her new house.


as i was saving this photo away into my goodies file, i remembered that i never posted these pictures of other care packages that i've left for visitors to casa leah.

while i was away in africa, m&g stayed at my condo for a weekend to celebrate the cherry blossoms.

a weekend package consisting of all kinds of salty and sweets... along with my keys.

towels and l'occitane bath stuffs set on the bed for the visitors.

by the way, i found a friend of a friend who is a photographer who will teach me how to use my new camera. oh, and apparently, according to her, i received a GREAT camera. better pictures to come for sure!

my little corner of paradise

For those of you that have graced my abode, you've noticed (and probably bugged me about) the hot pink notes taped to the unfilled frames over my couch.

Yes, I moved in here over a year ago. Yes, I just fixed the frames yesterday. Yes, they are a little crooked. Most of the frames are made for table tops and I have yet to pull off the leg in the back. Hey, something is better than nothing! I'll fix the crookedness when I can move the couch out of the way without risk of hurting myself.

The frames took me a year to fill only because I wasn't sure what types of photos (or artwork) that I would put in them. Finally, I decided to fill them with images that I've taken on my travels. I had a set plan with a plethora of images around the nation and Europe. Then I booked a trip to Ireland and decided to wait. I was ready to print and finish this, and then Africa happened. Before my surgery, I finally ordered some prints and hung them up after the hailstorm from yesterday woke me up from my percocet induced nap.

I plan on going to South America next spring so these photos will most likely change (or not) but these are my favorites (most have been featured on this site already).



clockwise from the top:

• hornbill in the early morning | livingstone, zambia - april 2008
  
• st. basil's cathedral | moscow, russia - may 2006
• poet on arbat street | moscow, russia - may 2006
  
• liwa & her baby ele | livingstone, zambia - april 2008
  
• the zambezi river at sunset | livingstone, zambia - april 2008
  
• belle triste - jewel on barbed wire | louisville, kentucky - june 2008
  
• wheels in bunratty village | county clare, ireland - september 2007
  
• the rynek - iron mask | krakow, poland - may 2006
  
• victoria falls | livingstone, zambia - april 2008
  
• carrick-a-rede bridge | north antrim, ireland - september 2007
  

center:

• girl with her mother | kigali, rwanda - march 2008
  
• pots in a corner | louisville, kentucky - may 2006
• blarney castle | blarney, ireland - september 2007
  

Happy Peep-ster!

I'm on my way out to my family's Easter Egg-stravaganza. My family is crazy and crazy big. Just think the Bradys x 5. at every holiday. and child's birthday. until they turn 18. or... forever (my parents still throw me birthday dinners and invite the extended fam. I'm telling you, B-R-A-D-Y, just Filipino). At last count, the expected arrival at today's event is 41 adults (with a potential of a+ 5), 20 kids and at least 60 eggs filled with candy (and money). I'm excited for our little ones, but tired just thinking about it.

Anyway, I wanted to give a shout out to my cousins and friends who entered the Washington Post's Peep Show Diorama Contest. The contest is all about re-creating events in history or pop culture using Peeps (I mean, that's all they are really good for - because they are SHA-nasty [b & j that was for you]. I was dying to join this year, but alas, no time and I had a severe lack of focus. My many, many ideas spanned the following: "Peeps, I hate peeps " from the Indiana Jones movie - the part where opens the door and sees snakes all over the ground to Peeps on a Plane to Peepstock and to my favorite of "Addicted to Peep" a la Robert Palmer. Maybe next year...

Anyway, my friends were featured on CBS Sunday Morning this morning, in print in the Sunday Source and on Washington Post online (it's a flash file so I haven't figured out to paste here - it's entry #5). They were genius and used the following video as inspiration and became finalists. I'm so proud (of the peep diorama; i'm a little skeptical about the so-called exercise program in this Cebuano jail)! Check it out.


The inspiration (as if you haven't seen this a million times already - at least it's still hilarious for the 75th time):

Ok, gotta go deliver my potluck dish. Just a simple pasta carbonara a la leah - sans egg (one of the kids has an allergy). It's probably the simplest pasta dish ever; and with 50 people showing up, that's a lot of bacon. It only took me an hour to do this but now my studio and everything in it, clothes included, smells like bacon. According to Kitas' friend Matt, girls should wear bacon smelling perfume to attract men. I'd rather not test this theory- so I'm going to go see if I can find a warehouse sized bottle of febreze instead.

it's all about the packaging

today is one of my godchildren's birthdays. yes, one out of... eight (i think). and much like christmas, i have to be really smart about not only what i buy for the kiddies but also how i package the goods.

i love thoughtful, heartfelt packaging that is simple and pretty -- nothing that screams commercialism such as a TV cartoon character (usually, that's the toy that's inside). also, in my tiny, little home, i don't have room to store 5 rolls of paper appropriate for birthdays for boys, birthdays for girls, birthdays for adults, and showers galore. and i can't bring myself to throw it away after one use; that's just wasteful. i'm sure it wouldn't that be a big deal, but my adult friends probably don't want thomas, dora, or "bun in the oven" paper tarnishing their journals, powertools, or various fashion forward pieces.

my solution? brown paper.

and while it can be done wrong (think: UPS package), it's very easy to do right for every occasion. it's pretty classic.




a simple ribbon and some faux caligraphy make this box pop.







the toy on top is part gift, part finishing touch.




this was for a baby shower. cute "bug" touches, but not over the top B-A-B-Y!

christmas 2008
last year, i went nuts with loads of ribbon. while it was really pretty, the younger kids couldn't untie the ribbon by themselves. this year, i decided to go simple and use silver bows with a metallic, handwritten 'label'. just a little sparkle goes a long way.

because i can't sit still

i've been running around the past two weeks preparing for christmas and all that it entails. one day, i'll wake up and realize that i'm really, really tired. but for now, i'm unintentionally keeping up with that drumming, pink bunny.

earlier this month, i found out that not only have i exceeded my minimum hours of work for the year, i've exceeded them by more than 3 months of regular time (i know, i know). so i decided that today would be a day off at a coffeeshop to blog, drink coffee, people watch and spend some time with a great friend. all things accomplished + an added bonus of finishing off some stuff for work (i know, i know - but i'm totally wanting to leave early this week).

anyway, now that christmas is over, i'm catching up on photos and blogs. so, here are leah's christmas pretties in review:

my first christmas at 1404: new house = new decorations. didn' think to take closeups of the tree or decor. the tree is decorated with gold garland, matte plum ornaments, shiny plum ornaments, and large matte magenta ornaments with velvet detailing. hanging from the window are rhinestone-ish snowflakes from restoration hardware; the mama version (more than a foot in diameter) is hanging on my door like a wreath. miniature vintage-y stockings with button accents are hanging from the window sill. also, the theme for this year's presents and cards was crafty brown, with simple silver accents.

now that i'm an official homeowner, christmas presents have been an exercise of creativity. i have a huge family; and as often as people have suggested that i do this - i think i would be lynched if i passed out cookies to all 19 kids that i, as a responsible tita, must indulge. instead, my friends got the brunt of my humbugness (but not because i don't love them - just because i don't want to be homeless 10 months into my mortgage and they understand). though if you have any inkling of justleah, you know i love to cook - especially for people.

goodie of the year: peppermint bark a la leah. used ghiradelli 60% cacao. in the usual leah fashion, i made this more complicated than it needed to be and ended up with goopy snowflakes but in the end remembered to KISS. i even had extra to top off some brownies for a merry little pot luck.

christmas parties in 1404: one friday night, had an impromptu wine and cheese party with wine, brie, and a last minute crab dip. yumm-o! with another set of friends, had our monthly dinner which coincided with my annual christmas dinner party. for appetizers, we had warm brie with fresh honey comb and figs. cooked a meal of lamb in a rosemary butter reduction, couscous, and roasted vegetables. no pictures because we were hungry. also had lots of wine and present exchanging.

best use of my free time this season: volunteering. i've always been big on volunteering but have let it fall by the wayside since the job has taken over my life. the past year, i've tried to be a little more generous with my time and have gotten involved fully with my local red cross chapter. besides chairing a committee for the waterfront festival, i joined red cross volunteers from the dc area to sort cards for wounded soldiers. it was only 3 hours of my time, but it means the world to a soldier with a bullet in his leg. above are a few of the cutest cards that some kids from the midwest made. also, finally got to wrap presents for juvenile diabetes. i love to wrap presents so as nerdy as it sounds, i had tons of fun doing that but didn't have time to document it as it was on the 23rd and i was surrounded by harried shoppers.

most fun to be around during christmas: janiya. jj has always been really cute but at this age of 2 and a half, she's talking and understanding the world around her. it's pretty awesome to see her comprehend and have the ability to have conversations with her. she's an incredibly well behaved child and it's always heartwarming to her hear say thank you and i love you at the perfect moments. and don't even get me started on our bleary-eyed christmas morning present opening... too freaking cute!


tomorrow is back to the daily grind but i'm hoping that my creativity sparks back up before the new year.

hope you had a great holiday season!

ps. i just spent 6 hours at tryst and have gone through 1 sandwich, 2 cappucinos, 6 strawberries (with a whole lot of nutella), and 2 servers; one of which went from wearing a scarf around her neck, to wearing it as a headband, and finally to an armband around her elbow. i think i should leave now.

just in cases

things i enjoy about living on the 14th floor:

• the view of the washington monument... ok , it's only the tip but it's still in my view - on a clear day
  
• that goes for the air force memorial too.
  
• my july 4th party = full view of the fireworks sans crowds and parking issues
  
• i can see if 395 is backed up
  
• the roar of 395 isn't as loud on this floor
  
• i don't feel guilty taking the elevator (i did when i lived on 5)
  
• the neighbors i have on this floor are friendly -- but keep to themselves

things that aren't so great about living on the 14th floor:

• i can see various motels, 4 mile run, and gas stations along with my monument view
  
• it's a pain in the ass when you forget something in your car
  
• it's really the 13th floor, and certain people won't let you forget it
  
• when there is a fire, you have to walk down 14th flights of stairs, not knowing where the fire really is
  

so, there was a fire in my building today. as far as i know, there was a some renovation work - possibly electric - on the 15th floor and it caught fire. the only damage was to the 15th and 16th floors; there was no one injured so that's fine. it's a little scary that my safety (and my things) are at the mercy of my neighbors watchful (or not-so-watchful) eyes. i guess that's my risk in owning a condo right?

in a effort not to be a stupid girl during what could have been a tragic incident, i decided that i would go down as is, with only my phone and keys in hand. yeah... did i mention that i went out funleah style last night and decided to have a lazy sunday in my pajamas? fourteen floors is a long way if you have to escape something. and i'm not about to be known as the girl who died in the fire because she stayed to change her clothes. there are less stupid things that i could die from. you know, like skydiving.

it was fun(ny) to see my neighbors in the lobby showered and dressed, or even coming home from lunch or church, while my lazy ass was in pajamas and had mussed hair. i mean, seriously, it's a filipino mother's nightmare. [insert your filipino mother's version about why girls should always have matching bra and panties here] and if you're not filipino, ask one of your friends during a happy hour. it's ridiculous and somewhat hilarious.

although not a fun event and certainly not how i wanted to spend 2 hours of my afternoon, laughing about my mom's "rule" helped keep my head on straight while most others were worried about elderly neighbors, pets they left behind or their stuff. i really must check on my fire extinguisher... and get new pajamas.