Snow Day!

Winter Storm Jonas hit the northeast this past weekend, dumping two feet of snow on Jersey and NYC. I was scheduled to work Saturday and Sunday, but both shifts were cancelled due to the weather as well as a "travel ban" in Hoboken — and this California girl got to experience her first snow day! Truly, it was much like any other lazy Saturday: We stayed in, watched too much TV, cooked yummy food (G baked chocolate chip cookies!), I worked on my calligraphy, and we snuggled with the dogs. The hubs and I also got a lot of laughs watching our pups hobble around in their brightly colored booties, which they were not yet accustomed to, and explore the snow on our balcony. (Thank goodness for that balcony! We didn't have to venture outside while the blizzard was at its blustery peak.) The snowfall was mostly restricted to Saturday and, even though it is now Tuesday, there are still mounds of snow lining the streets and sidewalks as well as a pretty, white dusting on the neighborhood rooftops. Considering I've only been in falling snow twice before (during a college internship in Washington, D.C.), it was quite the sight to see. It was like a scene out of a movie, watching the snow slowly bury the cars on the street outside our apartment building and, the next day, watching neighbors dutifully shovel the sidewalk. We are most certainly not in California, anymore! The snow was coming down hard and fast and it was smart to stay inside, but a small part of me wishes we had ventured out into the storm, if only for a few minutes. But I'm sure we'll have another chance to play in the snow, make snow angels and build a snowman. Winter has only — finally — just arrived.

Breathe and Reboot

This week seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. Actually, make that the last two weeks. Which is kind of a good thing, seeing as my Coastie hubby is still stuck with his boat in dry dock, only returning home to our new, still-unsettled apartment for all-too-quick weekend visits. (At this point, I feel like I live in New Jersey and he lives in Rhode Island.) His absence is a little more bearable when I'm busy. 

And I have been fairly busy since the movers finally delivered our stuff on the last day of June. Almost every day last week I spent knee deep in cardboard and packing paper, opening and unloading as many boxes as I could. (And, sadly, cataloging broken and damaged goods for claims forms—yippee! Military moves are FUN.) G and I then enjoyed a low-key Fourth of July weekend, with a picnic on our balcony and watching the fireworks from our apartment, before he had to travel back to RI Sunday night. 

When I awoke Monday morning I proceeded to write a laundry list of things to do in the week ahead. (Laundry not being one of them, but in hindsight it should have been on the list.) Now that it's Friday, I'm looking at those scribbled tasks and feeling like I didn't get nearly all the things I wanted to accomplished. Sure, I inventoried all the stuff we have and don't need that can be donated and set up a pickup with the Salvation Army. I researched local vets and groomers and scheduled an appointment for our furbabies to get clean. (Jasper is in desperate need of a bath and a good brushing.) And, happily, I applied to two magazine jobs—which, to be honest, commanded most of my energy and focus the last three days. 

As a result, there are still many boxes left to unpack and rooms to organize and claims forms to submit. Plus, there is so much content I have been planning to share here, including our road trip from Florida to Jersey, our first adventure into NYC, recipe and wedding posts... So stay tuned. But for now, I'm going to hit pause on my stress, pick just one more task to tackle and then be proud of what I did get done this week. 

Sometimes you just gotta breathe and reboot. And when all else fails to quell the overwhelm: Puppy snuggles. Works like a charm.

(Top image of our new doormat from Target,

bottom photo of my little unpacking helper)

A Married Thanksgiving

I was so busy cooking in the kitchen yesterday that I didn't even have a chance to pop on in and wish the blogging world a happy Thanksgiving! But I do hope you had a wonderful day. Ours was great. We had a lot of dishes to make-- everything was homemade from scratch with the exception of my pie crust-- and it got a little stressful at the end, just with the timing. That's almost the hardest part, isn't it? Making sure everything is done and ready at the same time. But I told myself and G not to freak because, hey, it's just us! There's no one to impress, and we're not keeping anyone waiting but ourselves :)

Fortunately, despite my worries that the holiday would be lonely or sad as just the two of us, it was anything but. I think the fact that our full menu kept our minds and hands busy helped, but it was truly nice to just sit down to an abundant table filled with food, cheers to each other and enjoy one another's company. Plus, after dinner, there was no pressure to sit and make small talk or feel bad for wanting to just crash on the couch. The hubs immediately got up and changed out of his jeans and into some sweat pants. The perks of a low-key holiday at home!

All but one of the dishes we made were new-to-us recipes and I'm pleased to report that everything came out delicious. The cornbread and ciabatta stuffing with spicy sausage and pecans, which I made the day before, was a big hit (G said, to my delight, "Wow, this is really good stuffing!" after his first bite), and the "best ever" green bean casserole, cooked in our Lodge cast iron skillet, was far superior to the condensed-soup kind. The turkey was tasty thanks to an herb paste smeared over and under the skin and the slightly-sweet, onion-heavy gravy was so good it was addicting, I dolloped it on almost everything. My mom's sweet potato puree was a nice taste of home (and yummy for breakfast this morning). 

Next Thanksgiving, I'll hold back a little on the orange juice and zest in the cranberry sauce (or just use a smaller orange as ours was huge!) and I might try another mashed potato recipe. This one was good, but not out-of-this-world amazing like I hoped. We didn't use a potato ricer or food mill though, just a standard masher, so maybe that's the secret.

Finally, dessert. G seemed to love the 3-in-1 Apple-Pumpkin-Pecan Pie since he had two slices (even while claiming to be already full). The pie didn't set up perfectly but the flavor was there. I'm still an apple pie girl though. And the hubs still favors pumpkin. The battle continues!

I set the table with some of our wedding "china": colorful plates from Anthropologie, green rocks glasses from Bed, Bath & Beyond, gold-stemmed flatware and handblown pink wine glasses from Crate & Barrel. I also busted out the hand-painted lavender champagne flutes we toasted with on our wedding day. Tea lights were placed in vintage glasses that were part of our wedding decor, too. It felt good to put to use all these extra special items.

One tradition that I enjoyed when I spent Thanksgiving with G's aunt and uncle, and extended family, a few years ago was when, after dinner, everyone took turns sharing what they were thankful for. I know this is something many families do but it was new for me. I remember being so nervous. G and I were still young in our relationship and I had just met many of the people around the table for the first time, but everyone was so warm, welcoming and lovely. I'm paraphrasing now but, I shared how thankful I was to be around such good energy and how thankful I was to have G in my life. I started tearing up as I spoke, a mixture of nerves and true emotion, and even though I was mildly embarrassed at the time the moment has remained a wonderful memory on my heart and I like to think it endeared me to the family and solidified my place in it, even early on.

So last night, I placed on each of our plates a paper and pen so we could record what we are thankful for this year. After dinner we took a minute to jot down our thoughts and then we read them to each other. Not surprisingly our thoughts were almost exactly the same! I look forward to making this a tradition for us each Thanksgiving, and my heart swells at the idea of our children one day sitting around the table and sharing with us what they are grateful for.

Full of good food and good wine, the hubs passed out around 11 o'clock, but I was still wide awake. I stayed up with the pups, though they quickly fell asleep as well, most likely thanks to the large chicken jerky treats and several bites of turkey we fed them (it was their Thanksgiving, too!). Jasper, a little cuddle monster, conked out in my arms in a food coma.

Yep, a good day was had by all.

Dog Days : A Field Trip to Fort De Soto Park

Yesterday afternoon, GT and I took our fur babies on a little field trip. We leashed up our dynamic duo, hopped in the car and ventured over to Fort De Soto Park to check out the Paw Playground and Beach, a dog-friendly place we had attempted to visit after first moving to Florida, until our plans were foiled by several toll roads and a pay-to-park fee for which we were completely unprepared. This time, we made sure to bring plenty of change and cash and made it successfully to the beach.

Cali absolutely adores the beach. It is probably her favorite place in the world. She loves swimming in the water, running on the sand, playing with all the other four-legged beach-goers. And it seems that she may enjoy the warm Gulf Coast waters more than the chilly Pacific. Several times Cali would just wade into the surf and stand there, a big silly grin on her face. It was like the best bath of her life.

Jasper, on the other hand, had a different experience. Since he's just a puppy, yesterday was his first time at the beach and his reaction was funny to watch. When we first stepped onto the sand you could see his little mind at work as he ran through a litany of emotions: confused, excited, nervous. You could tell he was thinking, "Where am I and what am I supposed to do?" In these situations, it helps that Jasper has a big sis to show him the ropes and he slowly warmed up to the environment, especially when I put my feet in the waves and gave him a few encouraging "atta boys" as he inched closer to the water's edge.

Our little one was having a good time until another young (but larger) pup came over to play. Jasper was up for it but he quickly got stepped on and became frightened. The playful pooch continued to pounce at Jasper, who by that point was so overwhelmed that he felt cornered and backed into the ocean he still wasn't so sure about... A wave came down on him and he was drenched. After that, Jasper realized the water wasn't going to hurt him but he was just done. Ready to go home. He kept jumping on my legs begging to be picked up. With two thoroughly soaked dogs, we decided it was time to head out, rinse off and get some food, for us and for them. But more on that later. 

For now, here's a few more of my favorite shots from our beach trip (this crazy proud dog mom took 150 photos!), if you'd like to see...

Weekend Recap : Pup Crawl

On Saturday, the four of us—the hubs and I, plus our two furry kids—participated in a Pup Crawl! A fundraiser for the Pet Pal Animal Shelter, the "pup" crawl was just like a "pub" crawl but with four-legged companions as our drinking buddies. 

I signed us up after spotting a LivingSocial deal for the event, and I'm so glad I did. We had a blast! It got us out and about, walking around, checking out new places, meeting new faces, and it did the same for the dogs. The Pup Crawl had a fabulous turnout (better than I ever expected) and was a wonderful socializing experience for all of us.

[ The face I make when Jasper makes a jump for my beer, mid-photo no less. Little beggar! ]

We explored five dog-friendly bars in downtown St. Petersburg, starting at World of Beer. We then hit up Cafe Del Mar, The Kitchen and The One Night Stand before ending the night at The Ale and the Witch. We humans enjoyed one drink at each bar while the dogs got plenty of attention and treats, as each stop on the crawl featured a "biscuit bar" sponsored by a local pet-related business: One Lucky Dog, Woof Gang Bakery, St. Petersbark, Pawsitively Posh Pooch and Pet Food Warehouse.

Jasper, being just a 4-month-old pup, was a bit overwhelmed at times. He hasn't been around so many people and dogs before, so there were a couple times while walking through the crowds when he would just lie down and not move if he wasn't comfortable, which would garner laughs from all who saw this little act of defiance. But overall Jasper did well and seemed to have a good time. He definitely got lots of "oohs" and "aahhs" from passersby, with everyone exclaiming how gosh darn cute he is and asking his breed (a Biewer Yorkie, if you're wondering). 

Don't worry, Cali got lots of love, too. People always tell us how beautiful she is, with her reddish coat and big, chocolatey brown eyes. Since she is almost 6 years old, she was very calm and well-behaved around all the other dogs. She was completely tuckered out by about 9 o'clock though. Cali's an old lady! But even the ever-energetic Jasper was sleepy at the end.

We lucked out when GT ran into one of his Coast Guard colleagues at the very first stop. We spent the rest of the night hanging out with him and his wife, and her friend. After months of not meeting any potential new friends here in St. Pete, I personally was very glad to chat for a few hours with some nice, fun-loving and welcoming women—who love dogs, and bars, to boot!

A few more photos from the day, if you'd like to see...

[ Sitting nice for daddy, in order to get some treats, of course. ] 

[ Jasper with another Biewer he met at One Night Stand. 
Wearing a dress and bow, the mature misses was named Gucci. ]

Hope you had a wonderful weekend, too! Do you have pets? Ever been on a Pup Crawl?

Almost Friends

Pupdate: Cali, our nearly 6-year-old Lab mix, and Jasper, our new, spunky 3-month-old Biewer Yorkie puppy are starting to settle into their dog-sibling roles.

Jasper has mastered the art of the annoying younger brother, with his hyperactive and curious personality, his constant "play with me" pleas. Cali is perfectly cast as the aloof older sister, who doesn't appreciate the yipping and nipping for a round of rough-housing at 6:30 a.m., nor is she too keen on sharing her personal space with a pipsqueak.

Nevertheless, after about two weeks together, and considerable work on my part, this undeniably "odd couple" is inching towards "almost friends" territory. Playing together, chasing each other, snoozing on the couch in close proximity... even chewing bones in the same bed the other day! It was such a great moment I had to capture some (read: a lot) photographic and video proof. The moment started with Jasper trying to steal Cali's large, big girl rawhide (naturally), but once I gave him his appropriately-sized puppy bone, everyone was happy.

They are a handful at times—together and separately; yes, even the six-year-old pooch!—but I love my little yin-and-yang fur family.

Puppy Love : Meet Jasper!

Exciting (and adorable) news to share today! Yesterday, my husband and I welcomed a new furbaby into our family. Meet Jasper!

Jasper is a nearly 3-month-old Biewer Yorkie. He's inquisitive, friendly, playful... and a little feisty at times :) But he loves to cuddle, too.

GT and I have been thinking and talking about getting another pooch for quite awhile. And we had been actively searching since moving to St. Pete. When we saw Jasper's happy little face, we couldn't resist—and knew we had found the right match!

Our almost 6-year-old Lab mix Cali hasn't quite warmed up to Jasper just yet. Though she is much, much bigger (and has been around small dogs before), she is a bit afraid and hesitant to interact and, yes, a little jealous. Jasper would love to play with Cali and he has made a few attempts, but Cali needs some more time to adjust to her new little brother.

Last night was our first together, and it was rough and restless—for us and the dogs! Jasper decided he wanted to play, go potty (not always in the correct place), and chew everything he could get his baby teeth on. Sleep was limited from about 1 a.m. until almost 8 in the morning, when he finally conked out in a silky-soft heap of fur on top of one of daddy's old shirts. Ah, the joys of puppy-parenthood.

I'm sure there will be many more potty accidents and a few sleepless nights ahead. But we are overjoyed by the new addition to our lives! We are already addicted to Jasper snuggles.

(I'm sharing many more photos of Jasper on Instagram!)