cooking with kitty

If you give a toddler a chocolate chip, she might force you to make Muddy Buddies. (Or puppy chow or trash or whatever you call it.) & that might be a lie, because it might have all been my idea. A delicious idea.

a new year's day walk

^^ We took a little afternoon walk around my parents' neighborhood with a golden doodle & a toddler who were going a little stir crazy. ^^

^^ (This is the face of said golden doodle who is a little terrified of said toddler's hugs) ^^

^^ Little Kitty, mini style blogger? ^^

^^ Discovering ^^

^^ Every baby has a new way to pronounce my name, & hers is "Kessyy." ^^

^^ Just... spinning. You know. ^^

 ^^ Seriously, is he a dad yet? No? ^^

 ^^ I mean, but honestly. I can't wait until it's our baby on his shoulders, because her little overjoyed smile is just the best. ^^

 ^^ Really, we're so excited for the Someday ahead that involves puppies & babies. 

In the mean time, we'll stay content with our parents' dogs & our siblings' kiddos. ^^

this month - january

MAKING - fresh, whole, homemade breakfasts & dinners

CRAVING - Chick-Fil-A, which is fortunately not accessible in the city

PLAYING - Joshua Radin's new album (Onward & Sideways)

LISTENING TO - the Stuff You Should Know Podcast to make city walks go faster

READING - *now accepting book recommendations, before I read a Jane Austen book for the 47th time*

WATCHING - Into the Woods on an upcoming date night! EEE!

WEARING - all the long sweaters & tall socks, in an effort to survive my walk to work

LEARNING - that it really does snow more in Washington, DC than in Norfolk, VA

GOING TO - Richmond (let's just assume this is happening at least once a month every month)

WORKING ON - structuring my days, maximizing productivity

OBSESSED WITH - Satsuki Shibuya's artwork

PLANNING - Our 2015 travels & budgeting thusly

RESEARCHING - how to bring my half-dead philodendron back to life

HOPING - to be more consistent with this little blog, my annual resolution

STARTING - to clean up the desktop of Jared's mac, which I have been cluttering since August

FINISHING - editing our Europe photos (still) & 2014 recap posts

(This Month posts inspired by the bleubird blog - Join in the fun! Share the link to your This Month post in the comments!)

wearing - 50/50

cardigan - Target // socks & jeans - H&M // button down - Madewell // boots - Old Navy

That's it! Outfit #50! Taken on New Year's Eve, with puffy eyes (it's still a little sad around here, re: my last post) & polka dot socks. I thought it was fitting to end with what has become my staple outfit this year, which is half-purposefully an updated version of Outfit #1. (Please appreciate that I wore the same socks, because I had to wash those puppies last night just to make sure I had them on for these pictures this morning.)

I won't wax poetic too much, because I have a recap post in the works that will allow me to reflect on "what was the point of all this" & lol at some of the ridiculousness that these posts have produced. But we can go ahead & lol at my PEACE OUT, OUTFIT POSTS! portrait ^^ up there & high five that it's the first & only peace sign that made it into this series.

In the meantime! We are heading back down to VA (again) for our real Christmas(ish) vacation -- The one we had planned on taking before we decided to drive down for Christmas day. We'll be there for five whole days, which should be a perfect amount of R&R after we both spent the holidays working our booties off in good ol' Georgetown. *gag* It's definitely a well-earned break.

I'm off to finish packing bags & straightening up an apartment. Have the happiest (& safest) of New Year's, everyone! Cheers to 2015!

big red

I am very blessed in that isn't very often that I sit down to write a post that I know is going to make me cry. With such a heavy sigh, & a heavier heart, I started my day today knowing that my family will be saying a final goodbye to our sweet golden retriever, Emma. 

This polaroid was taken by a younger sister (yeaaars ago) who found my camera & went on her merry way taking snaps around the house. I was so annoyed when I discovered this, as polaroid film isn't cheap or easy to come by. But now, all these years later, this picture is priceless.

Affectionately deemed Big Red by my cousin, Emma never really did fit the golden retriever mold. She was big. & she was red. & she never did quite understand the boundaries of her own front yard. But true to her breed, and above all of her other characteristics, that dog adored her family. & we loved her right back.

It's such a funny thing... The way we choose to bring these pets into our lives, knowing the bond that will form between us & the inevitable goodbye that looms ahead at a distant point in the future. It doesn't seem fair that we outlive them, especially since their fountain of unconditional love would flow for all of eternity if they had the choice. But we're richer people because of them. There is a lot to be learned from the devotion they exude, all day & every day.

I don't know how to end this post, but that's probably because I just really hate endings. So, I'll just say this: We'll miss you, Em. Thanks for being the bear that could always find an open hand to push your head under. You are loved.