Puppy Cut

Not much to report over here... I've got some exciting new jewelry pieces on the horizon, but I'm still waiting for all of my supplies to arrive.

In the meantime, I brought little man to get a haircut. He looks like a completely different dog!

Look at those perky little ears!

Needless to say, he found the entire process to be exhausting, and after eating and drinking, he's spent the rest of the evening asleep on the couch.

zzzz...

Hopefully I'll be getting those supplies soon, and I'll be able to add my new pieces to my Etsy shop before Valentine's Day (fingers crossed). They're going to be worth the wait!

Another Snow Day

It's been wonderfully Wintery and snowy over the last few days.  Not just the old waking up to a blanket of snow, but the really cozy, satisfying snowing-through-lunch or snowing-through-hot-chocolate-breaks.  Just glorious.

So usually when it snows, I start roasting squash like there's no tomorrow.  The same way, I suppose, that my friends & family back East run to the store for the staples -- bread, milk, eggs.  But I wasn't prepared, and I ran out of squashes to roast on the first day of snow, so I had to move on to the next best thing -- making kale and putting it in things.

L: Kale chips with sea salt and garlic.
R: Soup with rice, celery, garbanzo beans, carrots,  and of course kale; topped with scallions.

Even the pets got into the cuddling mood.  It should be noted that Ike & Olivia have NEVER been this close to one another without growling-snarling-swiping, so this was quite exciting for ol' Momma.

L: Ike & Olivia
R: Beatrice the hamster

I've been taking more than my usual hot chocolate breaks, thanks to the vegan-friendly Starbucks hot cocoa mixes I recently found.  Life-savers, really.

Lots of packages to ship out today!  It's a good thing to be staying busy, even though I wouldn't argue with another lazy day on the couch, under blankets, watching horrible TLC shows on Netflix.

I hope everyone reading this is staying warm and cozy, and getting to enjoy some nice Winter weather, too.

A Nice Day to be Inside

Recipe: Roasted Butternut Alfredo

Do cute dogs make you smile?

I know, this is ridiculous...

ridiculously cute, of course!

As if my dog weren't cute enough, I went and put him in his skeleton jammies.  He took it upon himself to sit down on the pillow like it was a little doggy-sized recliner, and to watch his neighbors walking by through the window.

I hope y'all had a fun weekend?  Mine was... eventful (we'll leave it at that).  One of my Chicago Flag Necklaces went off on its way to China on Saturday, and that's pretty cool, isn't it?  I've officially crossed international borders!

Chicago Flag Necklace

I think I'm going to hang a map near my desk, with those red pins to stick in to every state my jewelry is shipped to.  I've always wanted to stick pins into a map for some good reason, so there it is.

Lovely Day

Dave & Ike walking toward the Lake

Today was a lovely lovely lovely day.  Dave and I took Ike for a walk down to the Lake, and we had a picnic of cheese & sausages on crackers.  Ike had a few bites, too, of course.

Is that a cracker?

Umm... Dad... I can haz the cracker?

It smells so awesome!

Nom nom nom... mmm... cracker...

The wind made it a little chilly, but I was determined to not let that bother me, so it was short-sleeves all the way!  I put on the brightest colors I could find, and thoroughly enjoyed the 59-degree day.  My friends and family in VA have no idea how good they have it, sometimes.  ;)

Lovin' on the pups.

But seriously, I always say, no one loves and appreciates Summer more than a Chicagoan.  Once you get through the nonsense that is our Winter -- and it's usually far worse than what we were workin' with this year -- you can't help but love, adore, appreciate, and enjoy every moment you get in the warm sunshine.

My two guys.

The Best Thing I Ate This Week

The reality of eating in my house... there will always, always, be a cute lil' doggy watching, waiting, hoping to get a tasty morsel.

Ooh, this cheeseburger hit the spot!  Mayo, onions, bacon & mustard for toppings.  Oh, and fries, cooked in bacon fat.  Mm-hmm.  That's right.

I realize that I'm calling this "the best thing I ate this week", and it's only Monday.  It was really that good!

Ike agrees, it was tasty.  :)

Friday, I'm in Love

Aww...

Ike always makes me smile, especially when he's snoring.

New Project - Walnut Necklaces

I'm working on an interesting project, we'll see how it turns out... So far, it's been a little messy.  I think tomorrow I'll see what I can add to them to make them more like mini-dioramas.  Until then... walnuts, toothpicks, and resin.  ;)

Meanwhile, tonight it's Ike reminding us of the importance of having a place to rest our chin.

Walk around the neighborhood

What a nice night.  :)

When this dog's person saw Ike, she turned around and just about RAN down the street.
Hehehe... did Ike scare them?

Olivia reminds us all of the importance of having a nice place to rest your chin.

Ike, People Watching

You know, there are mommy bloggers... and then, I suppose, there are doggy bloggers.  Doggy-mommy bloggers.  :)

Ike is a magic man -- he magically makes me smile when I have the "winter blues", and he magically gets me outside, in the fresh air, walking around and feeling better when I think I really don't want to.  He's really cute, too.  Magically cute.  :)

He's got the right idea, too, because there are a lot of interesting things going on out there today.

There was a guy singing along to his opera record,

and a punk rock kid following a couple and playing songs behind them on his harmonica,

and a woman dropping her dogs leash and shouting "Sorry!  Oh Sh**!" as her dog proceeded to... well, to get about two feet away, and then just stand there sniffing another dog.  (Five minutes later, she dropped the leash again, and shouted "Are you kidding me!?"  Everyone on the sidewalk is watching.)

This is Ike, enjoying his day from the window:

http://vimeo.com/34861038

Ike at Work

Sitting on my lap wasn't good enough, Ike had to be on the desk.

When will it snow?

So far, no snow... just rain.  It's pretty, but not as pretty as "the white stuff".

Ike got a nice warm toweling down when he came in all soggy-doggy.

Tonight after work, I picked up our lovely (and so fragrant) rosemary tree.  The dining room smells fantastic, and I think the tree itself is quite pretty.  It's the perfect size, too.  :)