Piper's One!

Piper turned one!!!

In one whole year she has managed to almost be 100% potty trained, she has learned how to sit, and she has managed to find her way into our bed every night... right between Ian and I. 

(I know... judge away... It's terrible and one of these days we are going to fix that. hehe)

Piper is extremely needy, loves her routines and her favorite spot is on the couch wrapped in a comfy blanket... just like me.

Although she listens to me and shows me affection sometimes... like when she licks my face at 6am because she has to go to the potty... Ian is her favorite. I can't really explain it, but he is.

Piper still has a bum leg, but we stretch it with her and do her doctor prescribed "water therapy" in the bath tub. I kid you not.

Although I had every intention of baking Piper doggy cake for her birthday, I got all "working mom" and decided to pick her up a frosted "diva" treat from the pet store instead. I justified it like this... we were already at the pet store... and even the treat was too big for my less-than-5-pound dog. Baking a cake that only she could eat really didn't make any sense. (#workingmomproblems)

Here are a few pics from our big bash. :)

XO!

my dirty secret: green envy

Pardon the interruption on the closing summer ceremonies. I need to call myself out.

I have green envy. Nope, I'm not talking about our landscaping this time.

I grew up green.

(I'm talking about earth-friendly kind! But unfortunately, the kissing kind too. #latebloomerproblems)

My mom is as green as they come. She uses things until they can't be used. And then she uses them a little bit longer. Accordingly, we were expected to follow her green-ery.

We saved cool whips containers, butter containers, spaghetti sauce jars, popsicle sticks...the list goes on and on.

We recycled everything. even toilet paper. juuust kidding.

But one habit my mom couldn't quite control was my extreme use of (bobby pins and) paper towels.

In my defense, I was really really busy in my teen years. For example, (let me stand on my soapbox for a sec) I balanced 3 jobs, a centerfold (careful now....) editor for the school newspaper, cheerleading, a competition show choir, various other organizations, social commitments as well as a small (depending on who you ask) case of OCD and germ phobia. (and spiders and raw meat).

I didn't have time to keep track of whether dish towels (that look like they survived a nuclear bomb) had been washed recently or not.

Paper towels or die. That was my motto to remain sane.

As I have proceeded through life, this paper towel obsession seems to have gotten worse, but I think that it's grown relative to the amount of domestic responsibilities that have increased?

Now, I am in control of dish towel washing (and replacing as necessary). I use a dish towel to dry off the dishes after they run through the dishwasher. Then it goes to the washing machine. I use a different dish towel that hangs on my oven for drying washed hands, but I can only stand to see the same one for a few days before it gets sent to the washer too.

I use paper towels when piper has accidents, cleaning up after raw meat and most food prep, and after washing my hands when dealing with raw meat, or giving piper a (salmonella filled) treat.

I use paper towels when cleaning with harsh chemicals in my shower, and even not-so-harsh chemicals cleaning the toilet and the rest of the bathroom.

I use paper towels to dry off the veggies that come out of our garden.

I'm sure I am forgetting some...

Before I show you the next picture...keep in mind that we fill our recycling bin (on the right) twice as fast as we fill our trashcan.

(drumroll please...)

You can't tell from the picture, but it is (not tightly) filled 3/4 of the way with paper towels (and some onion peels and tomato cores..wait until you see what I have been cooking up!). We go through a huge sam's club pack of paper towels once a month.

Do you have any ideas to help me wean myself off?!

I should probably just trust that my washing machine could handle cleaning dish towels and rags with chemicals and dirt... and salmonella, right?

free-me-from-this!
XO

Closing Ceremonies of Summer: complaints and cocktails

So long summer.

Growing up, my friend Emily alway said her favorite season was fall. I thought she was crazy. sorry Em. (She really, really likes fall... her birthday, her husbands birthday, her wedding anniversary and her son's birthday!!!)

Summer was my favorite. We had summers off... sort of. I worked. a lot. But, I always managed to find time for pool parties, movies and going to the mall with friends. Summer seemed relaxing.

Now, the summer is filled with the same full time work schedule as the rest of the year, except jam packed with weddings, showers, family events, and weekend trips. During the week we to try to cram cleaning, chores, paying bills and yard work between sleeping and working, and then almost every weekend we are off on another adventure. poor me, right?

And, is it just me or are summers getting hotter? There have been very few weekends that it has been bearable to sit out in the sun (with sunscreen of course)!

camping in Traverse City

(It was a little cooler in Traverse City, which is why we are bundled up in the above photo. More on Traverse city soon...)

This post is one big complaint so far, isn't it?

Don't get me wrong, I am VERY thankful for the invitations to weddings and showers. I am SO thankful for the weekend trips away camping or visiting friends and family. I really am. I wouldn't have it any other way! But, now that things are winding down, I am beyond exhausted.

Summer has been good to us in so many ways, but it also has been a tad stressful. I changed jobs, and my commute is done-zo (thank goodness!). However, with a new job comes a learning curve. I'm trying to learn all the car lingo as fast as I can... and it goes a little like this... power stroke, dually, bearing and bed liners.

Also, Piper, our little yorkie friend, has kept us on our toes. Piper is finally communicating better about telling us when she has to potty. (yay!) However, Piper had an accident and she dislocated her knee. The animal hospital that was referred to us wanted to charge $2500. Luckily, we shopped around and found a closer hospital that charged about $700. phew. She is healing, but we have been assigned some stretches to do with her so she will start using her leg again. She is getting around very well on 3 legs though!

pre-surgery

Lastly, we had a little health scare. Everything turned out to be OK. But the roller coaster continued when we were improperly billed a very large sum of money from the hospital.

Needless to say, I am ready for fall. Emily, you weren't crazy. I get it. 

I'm ready for the colder weather. (Especially, now that I am not commuting in the snow!) I'm ready to bundle up, and snuggle on the couch with Piper and Ian. I'm ready for the good shows to start up again on TV. I'm ready for butternut squash soup and pumpkin everything.

I know Piper accidents and health scares can happen any season, but things will slow down. We only have two weekends planned out for this month, a weekend in Indy and a weekend in Chicago. How wonderful.

Wow, if you are still reading, this didn't seem much like a ceremony, did it? I am going to do my closing ceremony in a few posts, because I had a full summer of events that needs to be properly over-shared.

To begin the ceremony, if you are under the age of 21, pop open a bottle of sparking white grape juice and enjoy!

If you are over the age of 21, you can continue reading.

Inspired a wonderful raspberry champagne drink I had enjoyed at lunch with friends in Carmel, IN in early summer, I decided to look up how to re-create it for a party we were planning. I looked it up and was delighted to find that the drink was one of Oprah's (my bff) favorite things.

It's a tough recipe. (jk)

All you need is chilled Champagne and Chambord (raspberry liquor).

I didn't follow Oprah's recipe, because although I'm a perfectionist, I'm also impatient. Why take the time to measure? I just poured a little bit of Chambord in the flute, filled the rest with Champagne, stir and throw a raspberry in.

(shallow bonus: the drink matches my dining room. hehe.)

If you prefer sweet drinks, then use a bottle of sweet sparkling wine. If you prefer a more tart drink, use Champagne that says Brut, Extra dry or Dry (here is a cheat sheet for Champagne).

Also, we forgot raspberries the day of the party, but I realized I had a bag of mixed berries in our freezer. I used the raspberries out of the bag and it worked out great, and kept the drink chilled longer!

Well, that's it for now. Hoping to join you again soon with some camping tips, weekend trips, and some other fun summer things.

XO