Bloggin' Ladies: Harper's Happenings

Happy Tuesday, friends! This week's Bloggin' Lady is Mandy from Harper's Happenings (and other various places across the internet, as you'll soon find out!) She is hilarious, sarcastic, and an awesome writer. She has the CUTEST baby girl (with the cutest name) AND she's pretty nice, too. I hope you love her as much as I do! <3

Name+Age+Site/Blog

Mandy, 29, and i have a few corners of the internet! i blog about my life and daughter at www.harpershappenings.com, i blog about fun stuff for kids at www.kidletblog.com and i sell vintage and gently used goodies at www.opal.bigcartel.com! even i'm tired after typing all that.

What is something interesting about you? i absolutely hate loud noises and being startled. unfortunately i told my husband this when we first met, and one of his favorite things to do is jump out and scare me at random times. it sounds harmless, but being scared like that makes me cry on the spot. then i laugh and hit him. hard.

Why did you begin blogging? i had a little blog while i was pregnant that like 6 people read. after Harper came along i wanted a place to talk about her and keep friends and family up to date, so when she was about 3 months old i started Harper's Happenings. people started finding it and reading and it has taken off from there. i adore blogging and the community it creates. makes me warm and fuzzy!

How long have you been blogging? whoops, jumped ahead of myself in the last one. about 2 years give or take and whether we count my pregnancy blog (which i don't). :)

Who is your inspiration for writing? so far, Harper has been my biggest inspiration. but anderson cooper once inspired a post. and bugs, narhwals, the bloggess, my love of thrifting and my friends and family have done it, too.

Where do you get your ideas? the shower. seriously - all my ideas come to me there. when i'm not in the shower, i get a lot of ideas while driving. you know, all the places i can't write them down. 

Do you have any advice that you want to share with fellow lady bloggers? my biggest advice is to blog because you love it. do it for you and no one else. try not to worry about how many comments or hits you get, just pour yourself onto the pages of your space on the internet. you'll be so happy you did when you look back on it.

What is one thing you are looking forward to most in your future (blog or otherwise)? having more kids (SOMEDAY), using blogging to help others, trying to find (even more) happiness doing what i love. i turn 30 next year and i actually feel wonderful about it - so much to look forward to in a fresh new decade! i could do without these gray hairs, though.

[Thanks, Mandy! <3 Stephanie]

Sunday Letters

This week's Sunday Letter goes to someone I don't talk to as much as I would like to.

Dear Bethany,

It's probably not obvious, but I think about you a lot! We have known each other for 17 years, making you my absolute oldest friend/sister. I miss when we were younger, and we used to make up ridiculous games to play, forcing our brothers to do "homework." Which in the end, turned out to be good practice for me (and Tony, considering I taught him how to write his name) as a teacher, haha! I miss being as inseparable as we were before we both got boyfriends and started college. I just plain miss you!! Let's try to spend more time together. What do you say?  Love you!!

Stephanie

***

This weekend has been pretty great! Yesterday I had a full day shift at Petsmart, and it was absolutely exhausting. Then, we went to our final Thanksgiving celebration for Nick's dad's side of the family, which was also a birthday celebration for Nick's dad! (He and Guillermo share the same birthday :) ) I ended up sleeping the evening away and reading + writing blogs for next couple of Bloggin' Ladies posts last night.

Today, we went to Nick's dad's house for a bit, and then to Skyline for dinner. THEN to my parents house for a bit. It was a relaxing day AND I finally finished Goblet of Fire! So excited to start Order of the Phoenix! 

Happy Sunday, friends! <3 S

Wishlist!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, all you naysayers can officially agree that it's the Christmas season. I'm here to share my wishlist with you :) So, HA.

1. Taylor Swift CDs. I am a new fan of hers, and, duh, I want to listen more.

2. Amazon gift card so I can has bookz.

3. All things Vera Bradley in Baroqe (minus and purses/handbags because, ew.)

4. Forget Me Knot ring. I have wanted one of these for years. SO pretty.

5. 21 in. iMac, please. Thanks.

6. A brother for Guillermo.

7. A Guillermo who uses all four of his legs! This is what I want MOST.

8. All the Harry Potter movies for my own personal collection.

9. That pretty green case for my Kindle.

10. Vegetarian Times and The Vegetarian Journal

11. SO many books I want to read.

12. TOMS in red. I have been coveting these for MONTHS.

P.s. It's Guillermo's birthday, today. Happy first birthday, Guillermo! Love, mom. <3

Guillermo + Physical Therapy

I am really excited because I just got off the phone with Guillermo's doctor, and while his incision is healing up really well, he is still not using his leg at all. She gave me some awesome tips to help get him learning about his leg again, and ALSO told me about a great place here in Cincinnati that offers Aquatic Fitness for dogs. Apparently, it's a resort/spa for dogs, and they have a huge swimming pool:

Here, they can attach floats to our little guy, and get him swimming and using full range of motion in his bad leg. The doctor told me that since they took away the source of pain, the only problem he is having is remembering how to use his leg. This place is pretty expensive (about $50 per half hour of swim time) but I really, truly think it's worth it, otherwise there would have been no reason to get the surgery. 

I can't wait to talk Nick into it (hehe) and get Guillermo mobile, again! 

Happy Black Friday, all!! <3

Hello, Thanksgiving!

Hello, lovely, lovely readers! First, I would like to direct your attention to the makeover that Femmena Mala has recently undergone. While I LOVED the header that Amy made for me a few weeks ago, I was feeling a little guilty about using a design that was not mine, and also using a premade blogger template. So? I got to work. Last night, I was up until 3 am waiting for Nick's Christmas present to go on sale, and in the meantime I did tons of research. I created the banner, modified a TON of html on the template, and, the thing I am most proud of, I created those little tabs that you see right under the header photo :) (go ahead, click 'em!) I am so excited that I did all of this on my own, and I am really eager to keep designing from here on out!

Also! If you are interested in looking at past Bloggin' Ladies features, they are all right up there, too. Moving on to more important things....

Today was spent eating lots of foods with first, Nick's family, and then mine! Lynzie shared her YUMMY tofurkey with me, complete with vegan stuffing, stew, and some delicious little apple + cranberry cake thingy. THEN we stopped at home to see the puppy for a little bit before heading to my parents' house. My mom's cooking is always delicious, and we had yet more food! I spent the rest of my time there reading by the fire while Nick watched a movie with my brother and uncles. I still have TWO more Thanksgiving celebrations to take part in (tomorrow for my dad's side of the family, and Saturday for Nick's dad's side). I am really looking forward to tomorrow because my aunt, whom is also vegetarian, is making some special dishes for us :)

ALSO! I have been wanting to blog about this ALL day. Last night was my first official shift at the groom shop and... I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I was thinking working with people and not puppies for the last 6.5 years! I LOVE it. The people there are SO nice, and I am loving hanging around all the adorable animals. I wish, wish, wish I had pictures to show. SO cute.

I will leave you with a video that my dad sent me via Facebook, today. I have had problems with anxiety associated with being by myself every since I started college, so this really resonated with me. Let me know what you guys think :)

I am thankful for...

1. the best, best, best boyfriend in the world <3

2. Harry Potter, of course. Are you guys annoyed yet?

3. the best little sister/mini-me a girl could ask for

4. the most amazing Chihuahua son in the universe

5. my Kindle

6. my awesome family, they are the BEST.

7. holidays. i love to go overboard. terribly overboard.

8. my Macbook

9. blog friends - what a great community to be a part of!

10. peppermint mocha lattes - DELICIOUS

11. netflix, what would i do without you?

12. my best friend in the world, Lauren K. Taphorn

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

What are you thankful for?

Sunday Letters [on Tuesday] and other things.

REPOST!!** Duh, guys. I totally forgot to add the Sunday Letter part.... Scroll to the bottom to see that ;)

So. I am sorry that I haven't been much of a presence, here, lately. But I have been so busy!

Before I continue, I want to make sure everyone checks out the interview/feature for Bloggin' Ladies that I posted earlier today here. The post is on Ilene from much love, illy. She is the best, and I think you will all find it very inspirational!

Anyhoo. I am feeling really sleepy today because last night I worked until midnight, and couldn't sleep until about three a.m. You can believe that I am exhausted, and after I take my puppy for a walk and get in a little HP time, I am going to take a loooooong nap. Followed by a trip home to see the fam, and then meeting Nick back at his place to do some grocery shopping. His work is having a potluck tomorrow so I am going to help him make some of that guacamole I told you all about to share with his work buddies!

Later, we're going to cuddle up and watch this week's Dexter. If you've already watched it, don't leave any spoilers in the comments, please! I love this season. I can't wait to see how it plays out. 

Yesterday, my supervisor from UC came to observe me, and it went really, really well! The kids were very well behaved. Granted, they knew he was coming, and I maaaaay have bribed them with candy. Bob seemed to really like my lesson, and kept going on and on about how engaged they were. He said it was really nice to see me smiling so much (which is probably because I am always so nervous for his visits, that I can't manage to smile!)

Also, side note? I am LOVING GoF. I know I have read it before, but I am remembering so many awesome things about these books, and have become slightly obsessed. 

I really want to blog about my plans for Nick's Christmas present, because I am so, SO excited about it, but at the risk of him reading this post, I better leave it out. But, just so you know, he is going to be one HAPPY boyfriend on Christmas morning. Eee!! 

Also? I made it to 30 days with no soda. Yesterday was the official day, and I am really excited! It was the perfect way to stop altogether considering if I started drinking it again, now, the last thirty days would have been pretty silly. So, go me! :) 

Sunday Letters....*

This week's letter goes to "someone I wish I could meet.."

Dear Grandma, via 1953,

Grandma, you are 18 years old, and probably about to start nursing school. You're about to meet Grandpa, and a lot of things in your life are going to change. Are you excited to become a nurse? It would be incredible to be friends with the 18 year old version of you; I know we would have so much in common. Thank you for all of the things you do for me, 30 years from now. You are amazing, and an incredible role model. I love you.

Stephanie

Bloggin' Ladies: Much Love, Illy.

Tuesday, again! This week, it's Ilene from much love, illy! :) She is super sweet, and so talented. I can't wait to order one of her headbands once the holidays are over!

Name + Age + Blog/Site

Ilene Gamboa, age 26/
blog - www.muchlove-illy.blogspot.com 

and my shop link - www.muchloveilly.etsy.com

What is something interesting about you? 

Hmmm...I'm a Navy brat so traveled the world for most of my life and never lived in the same place for very long. Probably why I get antsy every couple of years - I still get the bug to keep moving every now and then! 

Why did you begin blogging?/ How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging probably back in college when there was xanga but I didn't keep up with it very well. Then I opened up a tumblr but it was a rather personal one and the site never let anyone comment if they wanted to - so to keep in touch with other family and friends, i decided to open up a blogspot one. It originally started out to keep in touch with my sister (who got married and moved away to a far off land called Iowa) and also to keep up with college friends and the rest of my family in SC. And as my etsy shop grew, I used the blog to announce new designs and such. I also love blogging about fashion and other random online finds. It's almost like my online bulletin board! 

Who is your inspiration for writing? 

My inspiration for writing is the everyday person. I love writing as if I'm carrying a conversation with him or her at a coffee shop. But as in an actual person, Jo March (ever since I was a little girl) was my inspiration. I also am inspired by the writings of Ann Lamont. Though I do not agree with all of her ideas, I am so inspired by her passion and by her ability to write. 

Where do you get your ideas?

From the everyday. Everything from the mundane to the exciting. My brain also never stops working. I feel like when I walk around (even when going to the grocery store or to some quiet field), I go with my senses ready to catch any spark of creativity. 

Do you have any advice that you want to share with fellow lady bloggers?

Write because you love it. Don't try to be like anyone else. Be inspired by the work of others but just be you and write to your readers like they are in the room with you.  

What is one thing you are looking forward to most in your future (blog or otherwise)?

I'm very much looking forward to marrying my best friend in the whole world in the next year! 

[my week in words + photos]

1. Snuggling with Guillermo while Nick was at work. 2. The amazing package I got in the mail from Russty, a fellow blogger! 3. Harry Potter obsession, Chamber of Secrets. 4. Starting Goblet of Fire! Favorite part so far: portkeys! 5. Parent teacher conferences on Thursday. FOUR showed up, so HP obsession ensued. 6. Peppermint Mocha Latte (and the awesome parking spot I got, right in front of SBUX). 7. Lesson planning like MAD. 8. Preparing to send off the package to my CH,WH partner! 9.Guillermo wearing his new sweater, handmade by Russty :) 10. Downloading AWESOME HP desktops for Wednesday Wonders!

***

SHEW. Just so you know? This post is long. And wordy. You have been warned. 

It has been a looooong week. And by long? I mean LONG. I can't qualify this statement by saying anything other than.... I am eagerly awaiting Thanksgiving. Not mostly for the time spent with family. Not mostly for the yummy food I will get to consume (mostly carefree-ly). But for the glorious spectacular miserable five days away from West High. The kids really, really, really tried my patience this week.

Monday my supervisor from UC is coming to observe me, and after warning the bell he'll be sitting in on, they told me, in so many words, that they were going to make me look like a complete idiot. I kid you not. These stories I tell you are real. In order to combat this threat, and being that this bell (5th) is my worst as far as behavior, Holly and I devised a plan to get the students out of the room that are incredibly, unabashedly, shamelessly disrespectful and disruptive. Luckily, two of the worst ones will be out of town. SHEW [again].

My main time wasters occupiers this week when I wasn't concerning myself with planning a super awesome lesson that occupies + engages (while making me look awesome) these kids has been one of three things:

1. Guillermo
2. Harry Potter
3. Sleep

Basically? I have had an incredibly long week and have had no energy to do anything awesome [including the sweet HP themed Wednesday Wonders post I had planned]. Sad, I know.

HOWEVER. I am up to Year 4 in the HP series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is when the series really starts to get good for me, because in grade school + high school, I read the first three books 10-12 times, but once the fourth book came out, I was only reading them about 3-4 times. This means that I remember much less from the second half-ish of the series, making re-reading them far more awesome.

That's all  I have for tonight. Guillermo, Nick, and I love you all. <3 S

Bloggin' Ladies: Sometimes Sweet

Yay, Tuesday! This has seriously become one of my favorite blogging days of the week, because I get to learn so much more about the ladies I read all the time. This week, it's Danielle from Sometimes Sweet. She is basically the sweetest and most helpful girl, ever, and is so, so cute! 

 

Name+Age+Site/Blog: 

Danielle, 28 years old, http://sometimessweet.blogspot.com

What is something interesting about you? 

Hmm, well I am about to become a first time Mom, that's pretty interesting to me!  My son is due in a week, so he could arrive any day now. 

Why did you begin blogging? 

I've always blogged, way back into the 90s with livejournal, and for me it's a wonderful creative outlet.  I love having a place to document my life, and I think that is probably the best thing about keeping a journal, and what prompted me to begin one in the first place.  It's so wonderful to be able to look back and know where you've been; in a way it's a good indicator of where you are going.

How long have you been blogging? 

10+ years, but about 3 on blogspot.

Who is your inspiration for writing? 

My inspiration can be found everywhere.  I'm a former English teacher so I find inspiration in many different types of literature and authors, and also from my friends' blogging endeavors.  

Where do you get your ideas? Somewhere inside this little head of mine!  My brain is always going.

Do you have any advice that you want to share with fellow lady bloggers? 

Be yourself; be genuine...that's the best advice I could give any blogger. Oh, and write about what YOU like, not about what you think you should be writing about. 

What is one thing you are looking forward to most in your future (blog or otherwise)? 

Hmm, blog-wise I'd say just basically documenting this next chapter of having a son.  And to add on that but move into "real life," I'm so excited to see my husband as a Dad, and I am really looking forward to all of this "newness."  It's SO exciting.

 

Thanks, Danielle! Check her out, guys. She is awesome! 

Sunday Letters [on Monday] + a cute Chihuahua

I am here, on Monday, to do a Sunday Letter! This week it goes to... an internet friend!

Dear Internet Friends: (Ilene, Kate, Crystal, Danielle M., Danielle H., Mandy and Mandy again, Jamie, and anyone else I may have forgotten, there are so many!)

I couldn't pick just one, because so many of you have helped me so much since starting this blogging journey, and I have met so many awesome, interesting, and smart ladies. I am so thankful that you all have taken time out of your busy schedules and lives to say kind words and to lead me in the right direction! I also want to thank you all for giving me so much inspiration when blogging. I get so many ideas from all of the blogs I read, and it's all thanks to you lovely ladies!

Love,

Stephanie

I have so much to do today...*

I really have little time to be writing this blog, but I wanted to let all of you know that Guillermo got his stitches out on Saturday, and the little guy is doing really great! Right now, he is curled up under a blanket on my lap while I type. He has been so snuggly and cute, and I can tell he is so happy to not have to wear his cone anymore! 

Happy Monday, friends! 

**image via weheartit

Maybe I am a little weird...

but typing is a whole more fun when your finger nails are freshly painted.

I didn't get to share on Thursday, but I had a DELICIOUS veg lunch from the culinary department of Dater, the adjoining school to the one I am teaching. It was a salad bar and vegetarian minestrone for only $6. 

Don't mind that the salad is half eaten - I was already diggin' in before I thought to snap a picture. The chef and students in the culinary arts class are seriously so talented. Everything I have eaten from there is so delicious, and they ALWAYS offer a vegetarian option. A couple weeks ago they had a portabella soup and omg. It was delicious. 

Today, Nick and I took Guillermo to the vet to get his little stitches removed. Other than being so so scared, he did really well! Everyone said he looked pretty chubby (from laying around so much!) but other than that, he is healing up nicely and they vet said it will take a whole month before he starts getting comfortable using his leg completely. Poor little guy.

Before the vet, Nick and I traveled to St. Bernard to have a consultation about getting dreads in his hair. Then we went to Kroger for some Starbucks - I had a Peppermint Mocha Latte and Nick had a Gingerbread Latte. They were both so delicious, in part because of the pretty red holiday cups! 

After Starbucks, we walked over to WaldenBooks and picked up the second Harry Potter in paperback so that I could keep reading! I have all of the books in hardcover, but after reading some of them them 8-10 times (during gradeschool/high school), there are a few that are completely falling apart and utterly non usable. SO! Perfect excuse to gift myself the paperback collection, too! 

P.S. Those glasses I am wearing? New! I can't find a great picture, or really take one of myself because of the light in this apartment, but I love them! They are two shades of purple, and so so pretty.

Happy Saturday, friends! 

I heart Harry Potter.

It is FINALLY Friday. Well, pseudo-Friday!

It's been a long week this week, and we are off school tomorrow for Veteran's Day. I am so excited to sleep in tomorrow with Nick and the puppy son. I really, REALLY can't wait! AND! Even better: Nick is off work today for the holiday, so even though I have orientation for Petsmart tonight until 7:30, we will get to spend a few more hours together than usual :) Speaking of Petsmart, I am really excited tonight to start orientation. I can't wait to learn about what I'll be doing in the groom shop. I'll definitely be sure to update later or tomorrow what I find out!

I posted a little while ago a book list. In that post, I talked about how we are reading the book Night in my AA class for their long independent portfolio piece. The first few pages were really hard to get interested in, but after I got past that, the book is SO good. It's very said and graphic, but very interesting and I don't want to stop reading at all. So that I don't get too far ahead of the class, I started re reading (for about the 10th time..) the Harry Potter series. Hello? Why haven't I done this since high school??

Seriously? HP is intoxicating. It was in high school, and it still is now. It totally makes me want to buy some cloaks, a wand, and a pretty, pretty white Owl and name it Hedwig. Doesn't Hogwarts truly exist? Seriously, I would even live in a cupboard under the stairs for a while if it meant I could someday end up at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm only halfway through Year 1, and my favorite part, so far, is when Harry gets to go shopping for all of his school supplies, and is discovering all things magic for the first time. 

What is your favorite part of the Harry Potter series?

I am really, really hungry, so I can't wait for lunch today! (Vegetarian Minestrone and a salad, yum!!) Hope you all have a great Thursday/pseudo-Friday :) xoxo stephanie

Wednesday.. not so wonderous

I realize, it IS Wednesday, today, but I have bad news - I was a slacker and didn't collect pictures for this week's Wednesday Wonders. I am disappointed in myself, also. Sad face.

You had to have noticed, though, that Femmena Mala has a new look! I wanted to change it with the season, and probably will change it up again in the near but slightly distant future :)

The above banner is courtesy of Amy from amyshmamey.

She SO graciously offered to make this banner for me for free a couple of days ago, and I am so happy with the way it turned out! I think it really makes the place look Autumn-y :) Thanks, Amy! <3

This week has been kind of frustrating. I really try my hardest to be upbeat here, and I rarely make space to write anything negative, simply because so many journals in the past have turned into that. However, I have been feeling really down lately, and I am not entirely sure why. I think it may have part to do with the fact that I spent all of this weekend alone in the apartment, and I thrive on being around people. I wanted to go home to spend time with my parents, Cate, and Tony, but I felt terrible leaving Guillermo alone after his surgery. 

Nick has also been having a rough time at work the past few days, and it might be rubbing of on me a little, too. Hopefully, I can get through this week and recharge over the weekend. I try hard not to let myself get down, and I haven't done too great of a job this week. 

What do you all do when you're feeling down?

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday. <3

Happy Tuesday!

First! Make sure you all catch my feature from this morning on Shawni from A Spoonful of Love here!

I am having a really great day, today! So far, I have just been at school, and I DO have class tonight, but I am still pretty chipper :) I just spent a good amount of time catching up on blogs and getting that infamous Google Reader bold number down to zero. It's one of my favorite things to be able to read excellent posts and "star" them to check out again, later! Especially when it comes to the 2398 vegan/vegetarian blogs I am subscribed to ;)

Here are just a few of the posts I have starred since I began using Google Reader. I am a huge fan of finding new recipes and trying things out, so that's mostly what they are:

I am really excited to try out the these three most recent of my starred posts: "How to make brown sugar," "Pumpkin pizza," and "zucchini and chickpea burgers!" I am lucky that Nick is so open to trying whatever I make, even if it's a bite or two. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking a lot about Sophie Kinsella and her Shopaholic series. Well, I finally finished it, and the final book was just as great as the previous five, and the end leave plenty of room for a seventh book, so I am really excited! After I finished that book, in about three days, I started on one of the other Madeline Wickham (Sophie Kinsella's pseudonym) books I own but haven't read: Sleeping Arrangements.

The book was pretty good, but not what I was expecting from SK. However, I would still recommend it :) 

Also: I am teaching The Crucible to my AA kids, as I said last week, and they are really struggling with it. However, this is the first time I have read it at all, and I am loving it. I think it's really eerie and perfect for the fall season - and it's really interesting! We are also watching the 2004 film version alongside it, to make sure that the kids are understanding what they are reading. 

Lastly - Petsmart called today to formally offer me the spot in.... their groom shop! It was between that and Pet Care, which is their umbrella term for the part of the store that deals with fish, birds, reptiles, etc. and while I would have accepted it graciously, I was really hoping for the groom shop position. This means I get to work with puppies - every day! I am SO excited, since animals would totally be my profession if I weren't teaching. Yay!! 

Hope you all have a lovely Tuesday, I am off to mail Jaelynn from Pardon My Ffrench a thank you package for sponsoring me this month! 

<3 S

Bloggin' Ladies: A Spoonful of Love

Tuesday means Bloggin' Ladies! This week's feature is Shawni - she's a terribly sweet, helpful, and caring blogger who crafts like crazy and blogs about it. Enjoy her, please :) 

Name+Age+Site/Blog

Shawni Marie, 27 years young, aspoonfuloflove.blogspot.com

What is something interesting about you? 

I have a huge heart. Too big sometimes. But I love to share it. With anyone. No matter what.

When did you begin blogging? 

Let's see... about 2 years ago on tumblr. But I have only been on blogspot for about 4 months and i have met the most AMAZING people through it.

Who is your inspiration for writing? 

People. My life. Anything I want to share with others really...

Where do you get your ideas?

I ask a lot of questions to other bloggers and see what's inspiring them. Also, I find my crafts inspiring me a lot lately and wanting to share those.

Do you have any advice that you want to share with fellow lady bloggers?

Follow your heart and be TRUE to who you are. Don't follow trends, make them follow you. If you have a heart of gold, you'll be loved in the end. By someone. By people who stuck with you. That's all that matters.

What is one thing you are looking forward to most in your future (blog or otherwise)?

Opening my Etsy shoppe. I can't wait to share my bookmarks with the world. If no one buys them,  I will just start selling them for a penny. Because I just don't care about the money, I care about giving people a little piece of my heart.

Thanks, Shawni! <3

As promised...* + Sunday Letters!

As promised, here is my little guy wearing his cone. He only wears it when we aren't with him, and I had to go to Kroger earlier to buy some ingredients to make pumpkin cranberry scones! 

He is so cute. This is what his ears looked like when he was a baby baby. <3

Here's the scones I made earlier! For my first try, they turned out really well and I am super happy with them! I also made some cinnamon butter to spread on them and before I baked them, I sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on the stop. Yum! 

Sunday Letters...*

Dear ex-boyfriends,

Thank you for showing me what a boyfriend shouldn't be. Thank you for teaching me how to remember who I am in a relationship. Thank you for teaching me confidence and resilience. Most of all, thank you for teaching me what love isn't so that when I found it, I knew the difference.

Love,

Stephanie

Puppy Love + other types of love, too

Hello! Happy Sunday!

I tried to get a decent picture of the Chihuahua son, especially in his poor little cone, but it was impossible. He's gonna have to wear it again, anyways, so I'll be sure to update later with some proper pictures!

On the same topic, he is doing SO MUCH better. He hasn't started using his leg to walk, yet, but he is using it to scratch his ears, again (which was really hard for him at first!) and he has started laying on his bad side, too! He cries every now when he is really uncomfortable, but he's getting lots of rest and and sleep. Right now, he has his head buried in a cardigan of mine on the couch, snoozing away!

In other news, I have been having ridiculous dreams lately. I think they might have something to do with the fact that I haven't had soda in 15 days (WOOP!). I had a dream a week or two ago about bubble tea, which I have never had, but looks SO delicious. So, I have taken to asking my twitter peeps 83843 questions about it and one of them was gracious enough to help me find a place in Cincinnati that sells it! I plan on going to the Tea n' Bowl on Tuesday before class at UC to get one to try for myself!

See? Don't these look delicious??? I need to try one, asap.

I have also been having dreams about coffee!! I love the warming qualities and taste of coffee, but I hate that it makes me have the jitters, so unless I have the option to get decaf, then I usually don't drink it. Which is REALLY unfortunate considering Nick got this Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks a couple weeks ago and it was omgsogood. I had a dream about the very thing, and have been fighting the urge to buy a coffee on the way to school in the mornings, because I always end up regretting it when the cup is empty and my hands are shaking! 

But seriously? I am having a hard time saying no.

Also...*

I am really excited about tonight because Nick only works until 5 and I don't have to leave for work immediately after he gets here like I did last night. I spent the entire day cooped up in this apartment while Nick was working so Guillermo wasn't alone. It was SO boring! I think I have exhausted every interesting movie choice on Netflix. 

ANYWAYS, tonight Nick and I are having another Chipotle date and we are going to watch The Book of Eli (which is our first movie from Netflix, yay!). Possibly we will then watch the new episode of Dexter, which I have been completely obsessed with this season. Basically, I am just excited to have company! Hope you all have a lovely Sunday and a great Monday! 

xoxo S

P.s. I bought a Cosmopolitan this weekend to satiate my boredom and in it I read that The Bell Jar is being turned into a movie! I cannot wait to learn more, and will definitely share once I get some more deets!