puppy pawty-ing!

 [do you see the bday cupcake jealousy on the puppies faces?!!]

for the record!! this little pool, it was full of clean and clear water! and little by little, it got muddier and muddier.

 really, really cringe worthy for this girl seeing char  decide to lay completely down in the dirtiest of water.  

charlie's soon to be puppy cousin, yellah, turned three over the weekend and his momma made sure to throw him the very best of bday celebrations with all his human and animal bffs.  us girl humans, we like our celebrations! and we really love our puppy babes.  it makes me smile a good bit when i think about it all, especially since yellah's bday celebration took place at austin's daddy's house. he happens to have a big, big fenced in yard that was just so perfect and said it would be a-okay for us to take over for the day. i'm pretty sure that with him having two handsome sons, the hosting of an animals birthday was a new one for him. ha! welcome to the wonderful world of daughter-in-laws, mr hyatt! ;) so, the saturday bdaying weather was not as sunshiney as we had hoped it would be, but lucky for the wild ones, it did bring some rain drizzles and mud!! the muddier the better is their mantra. anyways! as soon as i heard that this paw-ty [its addicting, i can't stop saying it] was in the works, i was completely on board. and then! yellah's momma reminded me that not only was he turning three in doggie years, but!! twenty-one in people. YES!! i love a good bday milestone, especially 21st bdays. so i made a trip to my favorite little doggy bakery for some bowser beer for the furry party animals, just like last year. [and i'll have you know! those babies cost more than my ever classy trader joes wine!! they were really sipping on the good stuff. animal marketing, you get me every. time.] i tried my hand at some doggy pup-cake's, thanks to the magic of google and its overload of any and all information. all ingredients were regular old store bought items, and once everything was baked, our minds starting spinning with curiosity, wondering what the mystery food tasted like.  austin tried a teeny bite. and his verdict? they were a bit bland, ha! but i suppose you can't really give the puppies the good, good chocolate-y stuff. the frosting was a mix of peanut butter and greek yogurt, and really if peanut butter is involved, charlie will eat it. it was a pretty easy treat! maybe the hardest part of the entire process was choosing which cupcake cup i should buy. toy story or spiderman?! decisions! [i may have called austin from party city to get his opinion. spiderman won] the rest of us humans, dined on hot dogs and some adult bev's and it was a success! thanks for inviting us yellah [and parents!] we hope year three of your little lifey is the beeeeestest yet!

** peanut butter pup-cakes recipe:

recipe adapted from the scrumptious pumpkin

ingredients: 

• for the pupcakes:
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetended applesauce
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons honey

for the frosting:

• 3 tablespoons greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 table spoons creamy peanut butter

directions:

1. preheat over to 350 degrees
2. in medium bowl, wish together the flour and baking powder. add the veg oil, applesauce, egg and honey and whisk to combine. pour batter into cupcake tins - bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. to make the frosting, stir together the yogurt and peanut butter and spread on top of each pupcake before serving. 

charlie  approved.

road trip for one!

 

where it's at
by dustin lynch

late last thursday afternoon, my dearest brother mentioned he and band would be performing in Chattanooga that night. so you know, thanks for the major heads up!! but they were to go on at 10 pm, aaand Chattanooga is only about two hours from me. and! and! i happened to have Good Friday  off. so after much back and forth-ness, and a lot of running around post 5 pm workday, i oh sooo last minute decided to go. and all by my lonesome! i happened to be the only one out of all my loves who had the holiday off. but i am so, so happy i hightailed it and went! i can be a very a spur of the moment person, and i can also be a big planner. but when it involves seeing my long, not lost, but busy, brother i cannot say no, the go! go! part of me takes over. and to be honest! dustin lynch concerts, when they are juuust solely him and band, they are my favorite kind. the entire show is always so good, so much talent its incredible. and really only about 4% of me is saying that because my brother happens to play for dustin. the other 96%?? completely impartial! they recently released his newest song, where it's at, and ooh i play and play and plaaaay that one over and over again. so perfect for the warm weather that is back in our lives. so download! and colin, thank you for our late dinner sibling date afterwards and the convo and escorting me back to my hotel. you make me the moooost proud! and your life, it's too cool. xo!   ps. next time a day or two notice would make for a little less frantic me :) pps. the complimentary hotel b-fast did not hurt. 

a beautiful life

joshua 1:9, over and over. 

old manomet mems and a letter that never made it in time to the lovliest of nanas. but happy i got to lay it by her grave [and thankful TSA let this girl pass through after discovering sea glass and painted rocks in my suitcase]

so many beauties and so much love surrounded our nana and papa's grave

our most beautiful nana was escorted to God's hands last week by our incredibly missed and gentlemanly papa, the love of her life. there have been so many thoughts and feelings and prayers and hugs and smiles and tears shared between us all.  i am most certainly a feelings person, i wear them all on my sleeve, they are important, the highs and lows. and i am so thankful i was able to fly home last week and express just all those emotions that come with a death of a loved one with my parents and siblings and so many aunts and uncles and sweet, beautiful cousins. and in a letter i wrote to my nana that never made it in time.  [but oh it was read by her, that i know] 

there are those huge events that happen in your life, that hold such a special place in your heart, and sometimes for me, when they are occur, they feel much too sacred to share with the whole world yet.  and that is how i feel now. so i am short on words in this little outlet of mine, because so many seem so private. so sacred.  but  oh do i feel thankful and comforted to have had the opportunity to express them all with my family, the people who mean everything to me. our grandparents, they left behind a beautiful and incredibly close family, which i can imagine can be quite difficult when you have seven children, their spouses and nineteen grandchildren! but oh they did it. a close and loving family is what we are and what we will remain. and its something i dream of continuing, just as gracefully one day [just maaaybe not seven babes of my own!]

...our nana, she had a beautiful life. and i am so blessed to be one of hers. 4.7.14

bye bye march

so quick recap of life things! for the future me, reading this in a week or a month or a year from now.

1. evening sidewalk chalking while austin happily cleaned his tires and char ran free. the little things! you are our favorite and i can see this happening a whole lot this spring. and i like it. A LOT [said preferably like juan pablo]
2. girls pinkberry date and some bright pretties from my main man on the dreariest of days

3. rescued by first day of spring! and weeee were delighted.
4. sunbathing with my babe+nook+warm weather+orange in my drink! you complete me.

5. aaand after some sunning, we cooked out! hot dogs, top 10 fav warm weather food.
6. wedding things and non wedding things with a sweet bff of mine! [human girl is not pictured] but her puppy  is! [charlies energetic loving twin] and he was o-v-e-r all the boring talk and wanting to p-l-a-y. 

7. if  grilled cheese is on the menu. i reeeeally cant steer clear. at all. nothing saying i am 28 like grilled cheese and merlot. nothing!

8. puppy will shake for coffee. kind of how i will buy pjs that say i need coffee.

march!  you were a delicious one! beautiful happy weather, thanks for giving us a preview of your sweetness! all the strange rain and gloom and coldness, see ya next year!

happy april first! 

rabbit. rabbit. rabbit.

6 months!

back in november, my stone put the prettiest ring on it [me. i'm the it here!]  aand exactly six months from yesterday, i get to put a ring on him! and when the clock struck five-thirty yesterday evening, i got all goosebumpy and sentimental. and that's just me, six  months out! so my emotions the day of the wedding? they will be ever present i'm guessing! but at least they will be very, very happy ones!

so we celebrated with pf changs and our friends: sesame chicken, sushi, brown rice and lo mein and our tummys lived happily ever after

a bachelorette for my breastie!

the bridey to be

the cutest hostess and brains behind the bach/50 shades operation :)

over the weekend we had a surprise bachelorette party for one of my very best friends. [and my one and only breast friend thanks to three days and a lot pink] and at this party there might have been a pure romance lady there as well with a whole bunch  of things which actually went peeerfectly with the 50 shades of grey theme! celebrations are my thing and this one was a reeeally fun one and for the greatest of reasons! love and marriage and everything that awaits her in this next chapter of life! 

three years ago i wrote about a re-bachelorette party i had for my dearest breastie. and now! i get to write about being at her actual bachelorette. and that makes me just so, so happy! and a little teary eyed but in the best possible way.

so! like i believed three years ago, and even more so now today, we will all have our own, special happily ever after.  that i know because i've seen it in my life and hers and so many others. and for a lack of a better words, it. is. so. cool

[and yes there will be hardships and sucky things too but love and goodness always prevail!]

something brilliant

pictures stolen via group text from col 

my brother, he and friends were actually home in nash surprisingly for st patricks day this year, so celebrate they will! except, first bar they went into, full. and the next bar? fullll. so then it was decided that they would go to a mexican restaurant. and they would celebrate cinco de mayo. on st patricks day. and in return, st patricks day will be celebrated on cinco de mayo. even a holiday stickler like myself thinks its a such a brilliant idea. and also. it made me laugh quite a bit, so thanks for that col! ooooo-lay!