who's who?

So Victoria and I, separately and unbeknownst to the other, went onto instyle.com and did a little Fall Fashion designing - future wardrobe wishes and inspiration. 

Its fun and truth-telling.

who's who? answer below

a:

 b:

What I found is I'll dress pretty much the same, fashion trends or not, for as long as I'll get away with it. I can't help myself. Victoria, in her amazing way of putting clothes on and looking amazing, will pull anything from her closet and make a creative and inspirational look that could walk the runway each season. I'm a huge fan of hers.

As if you couldn't guess: Victoria's fall fashion is first, mine is second.

I love jeans, always have, always will. Can't help it. Started as a kid wearing the hand-me-downs of my older BROTHER and I loved it. Tom-boy to the core, trying to make it more feminine, classic, loving the 50's and 60's.

Victoria, borrowing from her mother's closet, classic, loving fashions from the 70's.

She loves the Mary Tyler Moore show:

I love Mary Tyler Moore in the Dick Van Dyke Show:

And thats what makes us Lace & Leaf. She's Lace - pretty, fabulous, feminine and classic.
I'm Leaf - pretty, fabulous, feminine and classic. Alike but different.

-L

One of the BEST days.

Last week Laura and I had one of the best days that we can remember.  We met up in the early afternoon to explore some of my favorite thrift stores in the neighborhood, and ended up finding so many treasures at my local American Way that is was hard not to get back to the house immediately to decorate.  The wheels had started turning and we decided that my bedroom would get it's 2nd makeover! ;)  Yes, I know that I had just posted a blog about redecorating my bedroom but hey i'm a girl and we like change (that might be why i don't remember my natural hair color).  ;)

And the day begins... 

Laura found this great piece of fabric, I can't wait to see what she decides to do with it.  There were talks of making an ipad cover for her husband, but knowing her she will use every last scrap of that fabric to create some of the most wonderful homemade treasures. 

You know me and lace, I just couldn't pass this up at only 4.99.  This would be the design project of the day!

Pretty sure she has something in mind with this piece of fabric!  She also snatched an AWESOME hammock that I can't wait for her to show you!

Well once again this is the before picture of my bedroom... and yes it definitely looks lived in. ;)

And the AFTER! Whoohoo for lace headboards!  This was Laura's brilliant idea to make a headboard out of that lace curtain we found and i must say it adds the perfect amount of feminine to my room. I'm in love. 

We switched around the frames and tacked up a space for my hats on the  wall adjacent to the windows. 

We picked up these cute succulents at Ikea for only 1.99 and that silver pot was .79 cents, I thought they went perfect with my family photos!

We found this lovely Aloe plant also at Ikea for only 2.99, and the plant pot for only 1.99!

;)

This monster of a scarf man was in the corner of my room making it feel very small.  So I decided to give him a new home in my closet where he would be at home with the winter coats.

Now the corner is free to be a work space/desk.  I loove how open it makes my room feel!

I had been wanting to use this rug since I picked it up last christmas and it was Laura's great idea to put it at the end of my bed. i love it!   Hope this has inspired you to seek out some fun vintage finds of your own!  -V xoxo

babble: 8 anniversaries

Yesterday, the 9th day of August in the year 2011, we celebrated 8 years of marriage. 

Yes, that's right. 8 years. 

Not old enough to drink, barely old enough to vote but wise enough to chose each other.   

Each year we celebrate our life together in odd ways - camping in wine country (i.e. no showering and sharing your small sleeping bag with your dog), walking 18 miles each day around San Francisco (forgetting walking shoes and buying a new cute pair of shoes, for "walking" aka looking awesome), working (like this year) and celebrating the Saturday before with hoarded wine from previous camping trips and purchasing a live lobster, which totally creeped me out. We've gone out for a fancy dinner once or twice, but honestly, I love the way we celebrate each year whether it be camping or watching Star Trek till we fall asleep.

People often ask me about marriage and relationships and dating... like I'm intelligent and insightful or something. And even if they don't come right out and ask me questions, we usually fall on the subject somehow. I think its because the way I'm looking at my then new husband in our wedding pictures pictures is the way I look at him now, the sparkle in my eye is there even when I'm just talking about him. I have spent this entire week so full of thankfulness and sheer happiness and ... peace. More of all of those than usual. 

This years anniversary isn't kinda ironic like the 5th when we realized we were halfway to 10 - sarcastic wow - or year 1 when you realize for the first time that you've gotten yourself married - dramatic gasp. It was comfortable and fun and just...          right.

So, if you were to ask me the key, the answer, the honest-to-goodness holy grail of how to have a great marriage, 

I couldn't tell you what that is.

One of those things. All of those things...

And maybe I'd say, 

"choose wisely, for while the true grail will bring you life, the false grail will take it from you."

I don't use Indiana Jones quotes as my daily devotional or anything, but there is some wisdom to it - walk with me here.

You know that the people you spend time with leave a mark on you - good, bad or otherwise. So why would you date, court and marry someone who doesn't leave you better than you were without them? 

So what if they are really ridiculously good looking? So what if they tell you sweet nothings that make you feel amazing when they are near but fade the moment they leave? So what if they neither build you up or break you down but just let you be? 

Choose wisely. Only be with that person who brings you life. 

8 years. 

And that's just the married part. 

High school sweethearts who can't remember when they started dating but it was somewhere around junior year. 

And lucky me, he's really ridiculously good looking. 

I can't say enough about how much my husband has given me through all our million years together. I love him. I just do. 

-L

What a nice thing to say.

Today i received a lovely lovely lovely kind little write up about the new EP and I wanted to share it with you. ;)  You can read it here http://soundsthatmatter.com/2011/08/09/victoria-clemmons-3/

I hope in some small way the music that I create means something to each of you.

Thank you for listening and supporting, i can't tell you how much it means to me.  I love all of you and you CAN do what you set out to do. Believe in yourself, I already do.  ;)

-V xo