things that i am definitely super thankful for this week because life is good and i like it...

[you see, it takes us maybe 10 minutes to get to church but i still find a need to entertain myself on the way]

...the super cheap sale on balance bars this week at kroger to fuel our strange [yet balanced!] addictions

...a husband who's just sooo awesome. period.

...a metabolism that is somehow [??] still supporting my winter-induced baking habits

...the morning coffee that steven and i managed to have together on tuesday! that never happens on a weekday. literally. never. i'm still excited that it happened.

...the helpful worker man at the post office when i went to get a new passport and was trying so hard to be perfectly prepared, but i still wasn't

...my wonderful, fun, sweet and encouraging friends and family :)

...my spiffy new essie nail color that is so happily brightening up my fingertips!

...the spontaneous mexican girl time dinner date that i got to enjoy with my little april... because if you didn't know, spontaneous dates are way better than planned ones.

...the two days of sunshine earlier this week that have made all the rain so much easier to bear

...technology. like when steven's working late and i want to eat pasta with my family via facetime on ipad. or when i realize that my drivers license has been expired for two whole months [woops!] but yay, i can renew it online immediately! and having the ability to see and "meet" and connect with so many stinking cool and nice people out there through blogs and such... what a really neat world we have here! or you know, when i just need to do some online shopping.

...the fact that i am not anyone on teen mom 2... specifically jenelle... geeeeeesh.

---

here are also some things i would be thankful for... if i had them...

...magical powers. mostly for things like when i forget about my coffee and it gets cold and i need to reheat it but i'm nestled beneath my laptop and my fluff, which actually just happened, so i think it would just be convenient.

...these frye ballet flats... i'm just getting spoiled now... but i don't know, i maybe pictured myself walking around italy in them.

...piano playing skills... someday... someday...

au revoir, lovas! and happy fri.

sunshine, you complete me

[a little pit stop visit to farmhome yesterday]

the past two days have been so pretty here! it's just warmed my soul right up. i neeeeed refreshing days like these to get through these months because i'm so not good at winter once the holidays are gone. i start to feel drab and pent up and spend half of my thoughts on daydreams about my next escape to the condo followed by hot, summer days that lead into warm porch evenings. so, i'm always thankful for sunny reminders that the days are gradually getting longer again and soon enough we'll be basking in gorgeous, late evening sunsets every single night :) nevermind that it's still only january, i get so excited at my warm weather visions of bare feet and blooming flowers, i want to squeal and leap and i don't even care that it's raining again! woo! thank you, sunshine. you're the best ever.

when you need a boost of happy...

[like i did one gray day last week]


...a cupcake can surely help you with that!
[heart sprinkles are a bonus!]

and nooo, you won't be getting the side-eye from me
if you want to venture straight into traffic on a similar mission.
sometimes... it's just absolutely necessary. gigi's, you get me every time!

*also! i answered some fun questions over at boy loves girl,
so, if you want to read my uh-mazing and truly fascinating answers
to questions on life and broccoli, go and pay a little visit!
thanks again, lauren! [i mean, she is really such a doll!]

weekend highs! and maybe a few lows.

[jolly rancher, anyone? look at steven, he is so used to me.]

weekend highs...

• a date night with my love to get some mexican food, which i don't think i've had in months and that is far toooo long! chips & queso... that is my jam.
  
• some happy video chatting on saturday afternoon to catch up with my grandparents in pennsylvania
• a little break in temp from that freezing winter weather we were having
  
• having a husband that loves me even when i put on my snuggie and eat a bunch of jolly ranchers. that's pretty, right?
  
• the internet going down at steven's office so he couldn't leave me to do extra weekend work. sorry, charlie! no complaints here ;)
  
• a delicious potluck dinner with some of my faaavorite girls that had me smiling the whole drive home. [although, i really wish we'd snapped a picture together, darnit.]

and maaaybe just a few little lows such as...

• gray skies that made us feel laaazy
  
• night time storms that caused the weather people to keep me up all night in panic
• eating all the reds, greens, aaaand blues out of a bag of jolly ranchers... eww. sorry, teeth!
• not getting out of bed for church until i had 30 minutes to get ready because i was absorbed in my fluff rescue iphone game that i should never have downloaded. but i love it. it's bad.

so to conclude, let's just say we had a better weekend than heidi and seal. what a disappointment. i know we're all very concerned. but seriously. i'm over heidi anyway, and just look at how cute alessandra is with her bump!

some facts of life

[we've been catching each other couch dozing lately... clearly we are ready for the weekend.]

1. getting a lollipop at the doctor's office is not just for little kids. [they gave me a pink one!]
   
2. letting yourself drift off in an accidental couch doze is such a freeing feeling.
3. a bowl of oatmeal is like a big, warm hug for your stomach.
4. your bffs don't always have to be human.
5. kitties give good tummy massages. mine does, at least.
   
6. having a snuggie in the winter is completely worth the ridiculousness.
   
7. fridays, woowooo! fridays are the best.
8. suri's burn book... amen.

happy friiiiiiday!

fluffy turns four

ever since minnie's 1st birthday, we've carried on a little tradition of having our lovely neighbors come over for the evening with their pups and celebrating with a mini [well, minnie, i should say] puppy birthday party. this year, 3 years later, we had the added guest of minnie's uncle hank [steven's parents' newest addition who stayed the week with us], minus one puppy neighb, plus the cutest ever neighby baby! i also tried stepping up the puppy cake recipe a bit this year, and i thiiiink the fluffies were pleased. although, they seemed to like the past cakes just as well.

[maggie tried the cake... and confirmed that it is not really for human taste buds]

[presents for minnie... this is exactly why she thinks that all gifts are for her]

[naturally, hank wanted to test out his gift to minnie]

[note minnie's "can i just play with my toys now" face]

now, if we're being honest, i think that minnie would prefer to be the only fluff in attendance at her birthday party, with the exception of maybe her kitty [who is sure to hide when other pups show up]... but we humans need a reason to celebrate in january. and it's even more fun for us now, just for the sake of tradition. and i love that it reminds me that our dear neighbors have been our friends since minnie was just a baby fluff and we were just newlyweds. and now they have a real baby! and that is. the. most. fun. life is funny, the way it evolves. and oh, it is so so good.

it's minnie's birthday!

my little love is 4 years old today!

i can't even believe it's been nearly 4 whole years
since my fluffy soul mate first climbed into my lap
on her teensy month-old legs, cuddled up,
and started licking my hand in true minnie fashion.
i thought that we were going to be choosing a pup
that day, but really, i'm pretty sure minnie chose us.
which i now know is typical. she gets what she wants.
but fortunately, i tend to as well...
and here we all are, so fluffily ever after :)

happy birthday, minnie!

we love our baby wigglebottoms.
love, girl human, boy human, & kitty

dateypoo

after the past week, i was starting to feel a little bit like i hadn't seen my husbandface in like, a month. and of course that was not at all true, but i just felt like it was... because sometimes when steven's work weeks get extra busy, which they have lately, i get all anxious for some good, solid weekend time. so, while friday night you um, maaaybe could have found me rollin' into sonic with minnie at 11:30pm, in search of mozzarella sticks [i mean, who doesn't love mozzarella sticks?] as steven was already faaast asleep... saturday night meant a table for two with my most favorite person on this planet! yaaaaaaay yay.

i was a hap. py. girl. and then, naturally, we made a stop for a little frozen yogurt... and even though it was freezing cold outside [judging by my personal thermometer i'd say it was about -84 degrees fahrenheit] it was still just as delish and totally worth it. also, i think we've determined that j. alexander's has the best burgers ever. i'm not even a burger girl. sometimes i can be. but not usually. but their cheeseburgers? oh. so good.

so, thank you for the extra weekend attention and dateypoo, stevo. and sorry i get pouty when you work a lot. i'm so proud of all your hard work and how good you are at it. i love you, i love you, i loooove youuuu! [sung in will ferrell elf song voice, obviously.]

...and thank goodness for weekends or we'd have never managed to get our christmas tree down.

we should do this more often.

wednesday night was officially a girl date night
and i'm just not quite sure why we don't do this more often!
my dear april and i stayed in at her place and cooked together
instead of going out to eat, which was so much fun. i made
the famous scioscia family meatballs and then little miss april
changed my whole entire world with her amazing fudge pie.

i really love my time with this girl because our jokes might date
back to middle school, but to us they are still juuuust as funny.
she's that friend. like cory and shawn. [and steven is sooo topanga. yesss.]

so, we ate our yummy food, and maybe watched a little baaad tv.
[i'm pretty sure we're the only two people on earth that still watch one tree hill. and only because
we've watched since high school and that's just how super committed we are. but man, is it painful!]

and i'm thinking we're going to have to make this a more regular event
because there's nothing like an evening of girl bonding time. with pie!
and steven was delighted to get some leftovers out of the deal.

*aaaand maybe in the mean time we can work a bit on our
late night pie eating faces. clearly, they could use some work.
**slash we should obviously stick to bieber dancing.

home life lately

makin man food. makin girl food.


a minnie fluff. a sophie fluff.


a winter braid. a new vintage toy.


a very pitiful bath [minnie is not a fan.]


...followed by a nap in a blankey.


and some good ole mischief.

...just some typical january things, if you ask me.
we have so much warmth and sunshine inside our house,
now, if only we could get a little outside our house!
but judging by the snow flurries i'm seeing out my window
there's not too much hope for that today.



at least i've got my fluffies to keep me warm.
and i'm thinking stevo should probably leave work early today.
for, you know, safety reasons. juuuust sayin!

the bee for beauty shop

i was so excited to get to ship out a few more of my paintings this week from my little bee for beauty shop! this has all been so much fun for me, getting to start new projects, make little thank you cards, and have the post office workers recognize me when i skip on in! and every single sale has made me want to pop a bottle of champagne and dance around the room. i had no idea how much support and encouragement i would receive once i decided to sell my paintings, but it has been an incredible experience so far and i am thankful beyond words.

i'm trying to get back into the swing of things now, after all the holiday hubbub... and i've added a couple more new things to the shop. i've been playing with the word "love" on canvas lately, which i know is not an uncommon word to see, but sometimes it just strikes me how important love is. i love love. it's like, my very favorite thing ever. it's our deepest desire to have love in our lives. and we're called to love everybody, even people who are bad drivers and tacky dressers. i can always use a little reminder to love more. love is patient and it's kind and it's what life is all about. and that is why lately... i write love on things :)

so, that's my little shop update for now. i'm going to be working on some more little 8 x 10s soon, too, so check back for those. and yay! yay yay yay.

cause we are liiiiving in a material world...

...and right now, these are my favorites...

frye purse that santa surprised me with for christmas. santa should not have done that! but i love it so much. and i'd so much rather have one good leather purse [or three] for the entire rest of my life than 250 target purses that will inevitably just fall apart.

hermes 3000 mint green swiss typewriter from the late '60s that i just found yesterday at an antique shop. i saw her and i just had to have her! i've wanted one like her for so long. so, i asked how much she was and they were all "$50" and i was like "$35?" and then they said "$40?" and i was like "sure." and then it was determined that sarah has my hermes's baby and i have the mom. isn't that sweet? a family!

my frye melissa birthday boots. i know. i've mentioned them like, twice already but i'm still not over them because they just keep getting better now that they're all broken in and comfy. i put them on and they hug my feet and we live happily ever after. also, bootsies and pursey are my first ever frye love affairs and now i am totally sold. there's nothing like good leather stuff. really. nothing. [something that every horse girl knows.]

minnie would like to add that her favorite material item is currently her ropey. she loves her ropey more than she loves any of her other toys, even the ball. somehow this ropey has had an unusually long lifespan, so she is very bonded to it and is always looking for a ropey play partner.

so, i know that life isn't about material items. i feel like i have a pretty good grasp on that, actually, and i'm good with it. because remember, you can't take 'em with you when you go... but also, i figure we should probably enjoy them a lot as long as we're all here :) and oh, iiii do.

aaah, weekend

i feel like minnie and i got to escape from the world a little bit this weekend and indulge in some much needed relaxation. after such a busy last week of holiday-ing, i'm pretty sure even little minners was exhausted... and i know i was. so when steven decided to go hunting with a friend for the weekend, minnie & i headed to the farm to spend time at home with the fam. as it turns out, a little dose of r&r was just exactly what i needed the most! whew. amazing what a little rejuvenation can do. [i maybe did a little shopping, too, and that didn't hurt one bit.] i'm now feeling worlds better than i was last week and i sure hope minnie feels the same. she had nooo shortage of snuggles, after all. she is the snuggle queen.

[the holidays are over but the sparkly lights are still so happy.]

and, just because it's pretty much the last thing i need, i used
some of my down time to add another show addiction to my list.
once upon a time? i'm in love. my dvr is officially going to kill me.

thanks for the weekend love, mom & dad!

now for a re-energized and wonderful january.
although, no matter how hard i try i can't stop hoping that spring will hurry up!

a little date to the hot dog game

last night, i went on a little date with my hot boyfriend, steven, to the predators hockey game. woowee! while i'm not not not the greatest sports fan in the world, hockey i can do. [from time to time.] and also, while i love going on dates to almost anywhere... i may have had a little bit of a secret agenda for this one...

that's right. when i heard "game" i thought "hot dog" and my mind was made up. i was on a mission. and it's totally gross that i like hot dogs so much, given that i'm not much of a meat eater... but a good hot dog! well. there's nothing like it. and the best kind are always at sporting events. [and i swear that when i'm not making exceptions for hot dogs, donuts and pizza, my favs are really quinoa and asparagus and broccoli! really. it's true.]

also, i was surprised to find that our team is now yellow! who knew? not me. i was confused for just a second in the "which team is ours?" kind of way, but i caught on. go preds!

hey there, 2012. why don't you stay a while?

i can definitely say that i'm excited to be starting another beautiful year. i haven't always felt that way about starting new years, but this year i am totally ready. 2011 was such a great year for us. better than 2010 and way better than 2009. and while we're always growing through the fun things and the not so fun things, i think 2011 brought us more of the fun [yay!] and we've continued to grow in love and patience and optimism and faith... in balance and opportunity and spontaneity... less fear and more why not. i love the path that we've found ourselves on and i'm ready for more life adventures with that tall drink of handsome i luckily managed to snag about 9 years back. woooo! 2012, ba-ring it on.

we don't so much have set resolutions this year... but i always have a few goals to remember. in 2012, i *hope* we will...

-love... as much and as often as possible
-keep our sunglasses unscratched
-learn how to use the big camera better
-find beauty in everything
-keep enjoying gym dates. do a little more yoga.
-take an amazing italy trip... which we still have yet to plan
-drink. more. water. i say this every year!
-use coupons at the grocery store [always forget]
-doooon't worry. we're not in charge here, anyway.