Friday's Fancies- Color Crush!

Happy Friday, loves!!

My weekend went by far too quickly...

Although... I did get some shopping in. SQUEE! Mainly things I needed- make-up for work, some new running shoes** (they are so kick booty!! I'll talk about them in an upcoming post about my training for the princess half), the blender for my soon to be regular morning smoothies, and some fabric for some projects I have planned. 

This "weekend" also marked a big event in the life of Bentley bones. In the words of my person and I-

Shim got spootered!!!

Thats right... baby boy got snip snipped. 

He's doing very well though and only seemed to be in a little pain on Day 2. Other than that, he's eating and drinking normally and it is a challenge and a half to keep his activity to a minimum.

Now, since it is Friday, and I somehow managed to get my act together- I'm linking up to {av} over at {long distance loving} for another Friday's Fancies!!

This week's fun is themed "Color Crush!"

...I think I went a little over board.

For one thing, I couldn't pick just one color.

So I did a little coral and a little green.

It's like a melon!

Friday's Fancies Color Crush by kryssialma featuring leather handbags

Someday- hopefully sooner than later, my closet will actually reflect the sort of things I post in these Friday's Fancies boards...

Every time I put together these boards, I get so sad I can't wake up the next morning and find these things in my closet... Life should seriously work that way. 

"If you blog it, it will come."

...

No?

Ok then!

I hope everyone is looking forward to their weekend and has plans to relax and enjoy it with the ones you love! I'll be back at work- making sure everyone else's r and r time is filled with magic!

Till next time, loves!

Dear Motivation...

Where the poop did you go?!?!?!

First things first- I've been a terrible, terrible blogger since I brought home the puppy... :/ Please forgive my absence! I even lost a follower over it, whoops! Such is life! Things come up and spending time with a growing and very impressionable pup sort of took precedence. (**Side note: puppy is doing great! He's pretty much completely housebroken, has never whined overnight in his crate, and he already knows "sit" and "stay"... and he's 10 weeks old today!!**) No more puppy talk... until maybe the end of the post when I throw in a bonus pic for fun!

Now back to my rant on lack of motivation-

In this particular case I'm talking about the motivation to get off my lazy bum and work out! Before I went on vacation, I was a fitness freak! I was eating great, I had gotten through half of p90x and had just started up on Insanity. I made it half way to my goal and planned to get right back to it when we got home...

...it's been almost 20 days...

So again, I ask- Dear Motivation, Where the poop did you go?!? How is it that I was so committed and determined last month and suddenly have become a lazy, lazy bum of a couch dweller?! 

As I often do when I need some inspiration, I turned to Pinterest. Here's a sampling of the gems I came across  on my "Search for the path back to fit!" I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! All via my Let's Get Physical pin board...

HELP me out, lovelies!!!! What do you guys do to motivate yourselves? How do you get to the gym on days you just want to sit on the couch?! Any little tips and ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks for sticking around through my little dry spell! I promise to try to be around more often again. So to end on a happy/smiley/squealey note-

Fur babies just make things all better... It's no wonder I can't get off the couch!

Till next time...

A Pet-centric Window Shopping Spree...

If anyone is surprised this weeks window shopping is solely focused on pet goodness, you clearly haven't been by recently...

Day 3 of Bentley being home and so far so good! I was so worried about crate training and house breaking but *knock on wood* we lucked out and got ourselves a pretty kick ass pup!

He took to his crate IMMEDIATELY if not sooner. Why wouldn't he, though? It's the home of his comfy bed, best toys, and where he gets treats and food! I was surprised that he loved his bed too. I feel like pet beds are often for the owners benefit. We buy them thinking- "This is adorable and I'm being so thoughtful investing in a comfy spot for my furry friend," but the pet will inevitably take to a random spot on the tile before going anywhere near said bed. Not the case with Bentley bug. even when he falls asleep off the bed it's only a matter of time before he rearranges himself further back. His crate is SO much his little place, that when we're playing with him, once he's had enough he just walks into the room and straight into his crate. It's perfect!

House breaking has been a breeze so far. I have no doubt I've just officially jinxed myself... I mean, the little guy is 8 weeks old! He's bound to have accidents at some point. Sure have had to take him out at 6 am! But it's easy to tell that he's whining because he has to go potty when he DOES NOT whine otherwise. (Except a couple whimpers when he's having crazy eyes-half-open dreams). I was so concerned about waking neighbors because puppies apparently whine all night when they first come home. Bentley sleeps. Unless he has to go potty, or he's eating, or wants to play. And when I haven't woken up in time, he goes potty on his puppy pads. Thank all that is good for this little blessing in the process. Still working on getting up and down the stairs to go potty though. And burying his face in this grass. Worms are not puppy food!

As for the puppies and cats, I'm proud to say there's been NO hostile behavior or body language. The cats are just really curious but not quite prepared to play with him. There's been no barking or hissing and no negative posturing on either end! I'm really looking forward to the cats not being (for lack of a better word) scaredy cats and actually enjoying their new playmate. I'm sure it's only a matter of time...

And without further ado- My pet-centric window shopping spree...

1. Headless Horseman Halloween Costume- the person gave me the green light for pet halloween costumes and I could not be more sad that this doesn't come in a smaller size!! Target has ADORABLE pet costumes. Quite frankly, Target has everything. I'm on the lookout though!

2. Kitty Cat Pirate Hat- Arrrrrrrrrrgh! Cats do not do as well with costumes but holy goodness, if I wouldn't love to see Rusty in this hat... I'm starting to sound like a crazy lady...

3. Martha Stewart Puppy Harness- I am beyond obsessed with her line at PetSmart. It doesn't help that the puppy model is a Boston...

4. Martha's Puppy Robe- I am very aware this is completely unnecessary. If I only "bought" necessary things during my window shopping sprees, these posts would cease to exist!

5. Martha Pet Food Scoopers- All things Martha Stewart Pets. In my house. Now.

6. Awesome Cat Tower- Overpriced? Yes! Would this stop the cats from sleeping on top of the fridge and kitchen counters? Hell no!

Ahh pointless pet products! How I love you all! I do spoil the zoo we've got but I'm not remotely this crazy. Besides- I've learned quickly that if puppies have a whole lot of toys they are less likely to disturb your stuff. Like the Dog Whisperer taught me- just redirect the behavior! It absolutely works.

Do you all have any pointless goodies for your pets? Please share so I don't feel as bad :)

Until next time...

August ain't so bad...

I cannot believe August is almost over...

It's been one hell of a month people! Lots of stuff going on and no sign of it stopping any time soon. It's crazy to think this year is going by so quickly. 

I'm incredibly blessed to- 

*work at a job I love (even if I have days where I want to turn to crying kids in the audience and stop the show till they shut up), 

*have a ridiculously loving and caring person (even if every once in a blue moon he makes me want to rip my hair out ok, let's be serious I make him want to rip his hair out... I have no idea how he's so patient all the time! And I thought I was good!), 

*and have the most considerate and attentive friends and family a girl could ask for (even though half the time I'd rather relax at home with my kitties!)

Point is- this month, like the year so far, knock on wood, has been chock full of smiles. I thought I'd share some of the highlights of the month so far. 

1. No matter what he says, my person LOVES my our cat Rusty... it always makes me smile seeing them love on each other...

2. I had a little boy (who I solely approached during show because he kept picking his wedgie and I thought is was hilarious) tell me "This was the best stage thing I ever saw!!" Gahh my heart!

3. I started a new job!! I'll be putting up more on this later, but basically I get to have a blast a couple nights a week, singing and dancing while tourists eat dinner. Drunk guests think I'm hilarious!

4. I finally bought my camera! :) Man, I love that thing! 

5. I started Insanity... I don't know if any of you have tried it but this workout program is very appropriately named! But- I'm officially halfway to my weight loss goal! I really wanted to make it all the way before the cruise but I'm going to celebrate my progress so far and keep thinking positively that I'll finish dropping these extra pounds.

 6. Got to celebrate my Broder's birthday!! Nothing says "you're another year older" like breakfast at Cracker Barrel and drinks at an Irish Pub!

I love us...

7. Thanks to my couponing efforts, I've been to the grocery store maybe a third as often! Actually... I kind of miss it. I jump at the chance to go to Publix when we run out of milk- I am so special!

8. We met our newest baby- Bentley! Just 2 weeks before we bring him home...

9. Finally- I just took the step over 50 followers! :) Just in this past month I went from maybe 8 to over 50. Sure it's a baby step in comparison to some other blogs out there- but this is my journey. I'm so glad you guys are following along and I could not be happier when I get comments from you all. You guys rock and thank you for making this month the most exciting of my blogging adventure.

Just because I like you guys so much, I decided to start giving back. I'm working on a little giveaway for next month, but for now I've added a new page to the blog- Freebies. So far, you can find the recipe cards I made a while back when I finally got around to organizing all my recipes! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...

How's the month going for all of you? 

Window shopping spree- A Smorgasboard!

Another Thursday... Hooray!

Before I get to the good stuff (who doesn't love a free for all window shopping spree?!) I just want to touch on a little something.

This morning I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Bleh! I don't like when people say this and put negative energy out there! This happens from time to time though, and I think it's almost necessary so we're forced to sort of take a minute to press our reset button. We often get so caught up in thinking or obsessing over the most random, minuscule  things, we lose sight of the amazing things happening in our present day to day life. I've been counting down to vacation, looking forward to bringing home Bentley, just constantly thinking about what's next, that I wasn't appreciating right now. So I took a deep breath this morning and reminded myself. I'm so blessed to have the life I have and the people in it that I do. I never mean to take it for granted but we all do sometimes. There's no way to be perfect in this and I'm not going to pretend I won't probably get back caught up in the dumb stuff in an hour. But right now, in this moment, I'm grateful for what I've got- and life couldn't be better. :)

Now that the gush is out of the way-

Window Shopping Spree time!!

I'm not gonna lie, I sat down at my computer today and had NO CLUE what I'd want this week. So I just started randomly searching things. I think that's apparent in the random arrangement of this weeks shtuff!

1. A Boatload of awesome quilting fabric- I am OBSESSED with the Fat Quarter Shop and I almost always find exactly what I'm looking for when I stop by their site. Even if I have no clue that I'm looking for it! Right now, I really want to get cracking on a Halloween quilt and some cozy quilts for our furry children!

2. Another Fossil bag?!- Is it that apparent that I love Fossil bags? I was in the store the other day and had to seriously restrain myself while the person bought a watch. This is the Weekender... Yes, I would love to galavant on weekend trips with that on my arm!

3. Cute peeler set- My sole purpose for wanting this set is to make zucchini "pasta"... I think that's reason enough! Italian food with limited carbs? Not an issue when it includes one of my favorite veggies! Bring it on!

4. Bow tie dog collar- EEEEeeeek, Squeeee and all sorts of other "How flipping adorable is that" sounds. Too bad this was vetoed about as soon as the page loaded... P.S. You're no fun anymore! Bentley would ROCK a bow tie. And I wouldn't make him wear it all the time! Only when he needs to be fancy. Duh! At least I'm not trying to put sweaters or bling on him!! (No offense meant to those of you that may regularly dress your pets... whoops...)

5. Ball Mason Jars- Random, you say? Have you been on pinterest lately?!? There's probably a zillion different projects begging to be made that call for mason jars. I have none, therefore buying some would only be logical!

6. Martha Stewart Craft Hutch- I LOVE craft storage. Stick Martha Stewart's name on it and I love it even more! Put a chalkboard on the door- my goodness, could it get any better?!? Amazing!

There you have it my lovelies! This weeks ever so random objects of my affection. Any of them strike your fancy?

You should know, I did do a fair amount of actual shopping this week- solely vacation based! I'm saving it all for the trip but next week there may be a special Window Shopping Spree- vacation edition in preparation to gear up!

Until next time!

That post I was talking about...

Gahhhh!!! :)

Sorry it took me a few days to get around to posting this. As always, schedules are busy around here and let's be honest, I wanted to build up the anticipation! So what, pray tell, is the big news?!

Nope, no ring to speak of (Sorry Abuelita!) and no baby anywhere in the remotely near future (you're out of your damn mind if that's what you thought it was! Geesh!) No house, no move-

but it's big!

Actually, it's not. It's tiny now and will only ever get to about 24 pounds.

:)

Meet Bentley.

Yup! The person and I are the parents of a new baby Boston Terrier.Squuueeeeee!!! After 5 months of reading, and research, and searching, and weighing options- we found our perfect pup! It was such a challenge because we REALLY wanted to bring a dog into our little family but we had to make sure it was the right kind that would *hopefully* get along with the cats, both rescues one of which definitely went through something serious before she ended up with me. We'll get to bring him home the 2nd week of September, right when we get back from our vacation. We're busy as all hell getting ready for that but holy poot I cannot wait! 

How flipping cute is he?! With his one random spot! It may be considered an imperfection in the crazy breed world, but it was one of the things that made him perfect to us!

That's Bentley asleep on my lap and his two brothers scoping out the situation.

He looks so much tinier on daddy's leg compared to mine!

My person after we officially decided this little guy was the one for us... :) I can't quite decide which is cuter... It's the combination that really just makes me want to vomit from the adorableness.

Puppy's sleep- A LOT! We got to meet the puppies long enough to see how they interacted with each other, with things around them, and even when feeding with their mother. This was so helpful! We read Cesar Millan's book How to Raise the Perfect Dog and one of the first things he talks about is choosing the puppy with the right energy for you. He talks about how, though completely adorable, the puppy that is the first to run up to you and run around checking things out is more than likely (more than definitely is more like it) the high energy type that will possibly have behavioral issues and be much more difficult to train. These dogs will require excess amounts of training and for our first dog together, living in an apartment- high energy= probably not the direction we should be heading in. 

There will be time for that kind of craziness later on. :p 

One of the puppies was all over the place. He kept coming back to sit right between my legs but it was never for longer than a minute at a time. He was right back to running around and was even biting at my shirt. Thanks Cesar, for the heads up! Not our dog! The second was somewhere between the two but there was just something about the little pudgy puppy with the spot on his head that we fell in love with. He seemed to have his mother's calm, good nature. He'd wake up, interact with us for a few minutes, and go right back to his napping.

Yeah... we definitely picked the right puppy. 

It's one of those things, we just knew he was supposed to be ours.

:)

Picking a name took a very long list and a whole lot of back and forth. He actually mentioned Bentley first which was strange because I was JUST thinking of bringing up that name that same morning. 

Fate. It just fit and we both knew it.

Expect to see much, much more of this little Bentley guy come September when he finally comes home and turns the apartment upside down! That's when the real adventure begins!

Cannot wait.

Remind me to buy one of those Bissel Spot Cleaner things before September...

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