Oh, Monday.

Good morning lovelies!

Mondays can be rough, and this Monday decided to come at me swinging. I woke to a barking puppy (the usual) to find my downstairs destroyed. The Sunday paper scattered across the house, a chewed redbox movie, and my favorite Guinness coasters laying in a mangled pile of cardboard shreds amongst other things. Luckily, Miss Riley got it all out of her system early today, so she's passed out in a corner now and I was able to clean up the mess pretty quickly.

So what's a girl to do? I decided to decompress by doing some early morning blog reading- and oh there are some LOVELY things out there today. I saw over at J Crew Aficionada that there is a 20% off and free shipping promo going on today on knits and tees. Not that I didn't just buy things there (twice) this weekend, but my new favorite racerback tanks were on sale for $19.50 (review soon!). I lived in the navy version of this all weekend.

Source: jcrew.com via Devon on Pinterest

Next up on the blog roll- Dilly Dallas. I adore Dallas Shaw's style, but can never afford the pretty things she displays on her blog. Today, an early preview of a desk styling post came up and a picture caught my eye- mercury glass! My bridal brain is in love with all things sparkly and "vintage" and I've been lusting over the idea of finding some treasures at a flea market. Well- Dallas made it easy. These votives are from West Elm, and only $5 a piece! Free shipping sweetened the deal- so my little fingers clicked on the shopping cart. A little cluster of 3 will look so pretty on my mantle or corner of my desk (once I clean the darned thing up).

Source: westelm.com via Devon on Pinterest

Now that I've had my coffee and my credit card is safely tucked away, I should probably get onto the important things of the day (like tending to my sunburn. more on that later). Have a happy Monday!

one year and a ton of fur

Easter 2010 - I love her fat little puppy legs!

Yesterday marked our "one year" with Miss Riley in our lives! One year of chewed socks, lint rollers, belly rubs and the sweetest puppy face. The boy and I don't know what our lives would be like without her, and we don't ever want to go back!

Last night, Riley got a special treat, long walks with each of us, and watched part of the game in bed with us (we almost made it a year keeping her out!). It was a perfect little family.

Back to the Real World

And it.is.COLD.

I tried to bring a little sunshine back from Florida, but I think it ran away somewhere around Savannah, GA haha. Spring break was exactly what the boy, Riley and I needed, and I'm sad it's over. Luckily- Riley reminded me to take pictures so everyone could see what we were up to!

Long car rides are perfect for naps.

We went to Auburn (the boy is an alum) and toured the campus with friends (meet Isabel!)

Sunning by the pool

And hanging out with family (meet Guinness!)

The captain was kind enough to take us on a boat ride (Riley's first!)

One of the Captain's other boats, MeiMei

Somehow, I managed to not take pictures of any food. Mostly because it was all AMAZING! Authentic tamales, delicious tuna in downtown Naples, roasted Cuban pork, and cool ice cream to help escape the heat. On the drive back, we found the most amazing BBQ place right outside Savannah- Wiley's Championship BBQ. If you're hungry and driving down 95- this place it worth the 10 minute detour. The boy and I stuffed ourselves with sweet tea, fried pickles, and the BBQ sampler plus extra bones (ribs. mmmmmm). Not only was the food out of this world- the people (servers and patrons!) were the nicest :) Riley loved getting head scratches and belly rubs from other diners as they walked by.

Now, we're home and settled. We made a Costco run this morning and hit the gym (oh that was interesting). This week, I'm getting back into the real world and visiting a few wedding venues- I'm nervous!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Maybe a few of you are on Spring Break too :)

Wedding Wednesday- sneak peak!

A little low quality sneak peak from yesterday's photo shoot (this is definitely my favorite).

Thank you to my wonderful future sister in law for taking the time to capture our goofiness :) ChristineLynn Photography

Tuckered Out.

We had a great weekend, full of yard work, playing outside, and helping others (our best friends bought a house!). I'm exhausted from the weekend, and think Riley put it best:

Thankfully, I'm more inspired than ever because of the beautiful weather :) Bring on the sunshine and projects!

Snow Day!

I hope everyone in the north east has dug their cars out and can safely travel now! We got hit with around 10 inches Wednesday into Thursday. Since Delaware thinks snow plows are a novel idea, I'm surprised we're getting around without too many issues right now.

The good/GREAT thing about the snow? SNOW DAYS! I got lucky and had 2 (one early dismissal and one full out snow day), and I used them to their fullest. Snow hikes with Riley and the boy, lots of shoveling and car cleaning, drunk lunches with friends, fuzzy blankets and lots of home cooked winter meals. 

Here are a few shots of our winter hike along the river...

I will bend, but not break

my favorites :)

For dinner, I made 2 of the boy's favorite things: black beans and brussel sprouts. ok, I know, weird combo. Actually, it's a VERY dangerous combo (hehe)- but it was delicious!

I never thought I'd like brussel sprouts- but my mom turned me on to the trendy idea of roasting them with lots of salt and pepper. I used Ina Garten's recipe found here. {my alterations look like this}

Fresh cut sprouts! The finished product disappeared quickly :)

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts {for 2, I use a 10 oz pkg}
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt{or more!!}
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves {I like to halve mine}. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt ( I like these salty like French fries){me too!!}, and serve immediately.

The black beans are insanely easy to make, and muy delicioso! Unfortunately, they go faster than Speedy Gonzalas. I have to remember to take a picture next time for the blog! I'll save that recipe for later :)

They're calling for more snow today... hopefully only a little. My shoulders are sore from clearing off the cars! Stay warm!

She's all grown up!

Riley turns one today! I can't believe I've had this little fur ball in my life for over 9 months now. She's taken over and makes us so happy every day (even if she does eat stuff).

It's my birthday, pay attention to me!

She's celebrated the big day so far with a scoop of vanilla ice cream after breakfast, lots of long walks, chowing down on 2 pairs of my underwear, belly rubs, and a good cuddle session with the boy. Tonight, she'll get her gifts (2 toys- one she can destroy, the other will hopefully last for a bit) and more belly rubs than she'll know what to do with.

Happiness is a warm puppy.  ~Charles M. Schulz

Smooth Criminal...

Wanted: Female Yellow Lab who ate my Uggs while I was getting ready for work this morning.

We believe the Suspect is Riley J. Connoisseur of fine chewing sticks that holds a past record of chewing the corner of a new couch.

Mugshot:

Evidence:

The hole. Please excuse my awfully done mani.

Yup- the Uggs are done. Well, mostly. I was getting ready this morning and thought "uh oh, the house is too quiet." I made my way downstairs....and well, you saw the pictures. Riley was innocently perched on her doggie bed, Ugg in mouth.

I was upset, but had to laugh. The boy HATES my Uggs. He's constantly pretending to throw them away, give them to the puppy, or insulting them. I immediately called him to let him know his wish came true! haha He actually felt bad and said "I guess I know what you're getting for Valentine's Day". 

I'm not a full on Ugg wearing kind of girl. I've had these for 5 years now and originally got them because I had to stand outside in the Penn State Winter (brrrr!). Now, they mostly come out around the house, to walk the dog, and the few and far between grocery shopping run.

And really, how can you be mad at a face like this?

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! See you in 2011 :)

 

Meet Miss Riley

There is a very special little girl in my life- Riley! Ok, she's not so much a girl as a female dog...but any dog lovers will agree with me. She's my little buddy and I can't imagine life without her (Although, being able to sleep in on Sundays would be amazing).

She'll be on here a good bit- mostly for things she eats. Yes, she's a good girl, but at almost 11 months, she's still a puppy. We've lost shoes, socks, important paperwork (address change forms, anyone?), and the corner of my beloved couch.

But how can you be mad at a face like this?