weather

What’s making me happy lately

Hello and happy Tuesday! I just wanted to pop in and share some things that have been making me happy lately. I’m just going to jump right in!

Lola with yarn

Lola1

Lola isn’t a typical dog in that she doesn’t like to play–not with toys, people, or dogs. Her favorite things are food, laying on the couch, and taking long walks. I was super surprised when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came over last week to teach me how to crochet and Lola was transfixed by the yarn. She didn’t do anything, but I could tell she was enthralled. The next day, she came inside after her morning bathroom break and ran over to my ball of yarn and started ripping it apart and playing with it! It was the cutest thing.

Date nights

Before Jimmy and I were married, we went on dates a few times a month because we only saw each other on the weekends. Now that we’re married and living together, we’re with each other all the time (yay!), but we tend to focus on house work or other activities in our free time. We went on a date night over the weekend for the first time in months, and it was spectacular. We used a gift card we were given for Red Lobster and then browsed around some local stores. Catching up over a meal we didn’t have to cook or clean up after was lovely, and we had a blast window shopping! Must do that more often 🙂

Doodling

24220618149_fa38b38bc7_z

I’ve been doodling each morning when I write in my journal and read my Bible. It’s a fun way to relax and express creativity. Also, I want a cat.

Enjoying the great outdoors

It’s so easy to stay cooped up in the winter when it’s cold outside. Thankfully I have Lola to give me the please walk me now look, which gets us outside each day. Even if we’re only out for ten minutes, I always feel great afterwards. Fresh air works wonders!

Work

24603926275_1aa076bf5a_z

I got to work from home (kind of!) for the first time last week. The family I work for is having their house renovated, so their kitchen is currently out of commission. I typically bake and cook for them each week, so I made some food in my kitchen and then dropped it off at their house. I made granola, bread, chili, meatballs, homemade pasta sauce, and spaghetti. The only downfall? I was totally unmotivated to cook dinner for Jimmy and I that night, haha.

Indoor gardening

24259872601_d9cec8e332_z

Last month, I mentioned that Jimmy and I bought new windows for our house. Jimmy, stud that he is, made a special windowsill in our kitchen for me to start an herb (and palm tree, ha) garden! I planted basil, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, and chives. Everything is starting to grow, and it makes me incredibly happy. I’m already dreaming of gardening outside in a few months. Can’t wait!

What’s making you happy lately?

Cats, cookies, and more

This post is going to be r-a-n-d-o-m. Sorry! First things first, I have to share this video of Jimmy!

Mine and Jimmy’s friend, Brett, studied cinematography at Point Park University and he purchased a new camera a while back. He decided to film Jimmy welding, with a little (furry) surprise at the end!

Speaking of furryness (<– totally not a word), I was crazy excited a few weeks ago when a new pet sitting client asked if I could watch his cats! I pet sit dogs on the daily, so getting to watch two cats was a nice treat. I took care of Taco and Huey this past week, and it was lovely.

IMG_5543 (1) IMG_5572

Taco and Huey are litter mates, which is pretty neat. They’re a little over a year old, and super playful. I adore cats, and miss living with my parents’ cats, Lily and Felix.

Speaking of work, I got to do something really fun last week. As I’ve mentioned before, I work as a personal assistant for a family. I do a little bit of everything–cooking, cleaning, bookkeeping, errands, baby sitting, etc.–and last week I had to make penguin cookies for the youngest child’s birthday party. I went on Pinterest, typed in “penguin cookies” and hoped for the best. I used two different recipes; one featured Oreos, and the other was made with crackers and peanut butter. They both looked pretty similar, though. Here’s they came out…

IMG_5523 IMG_5524

While I was making the cookies, I was listening to Christmas music and just jammin’ out with the family’s dog by my side. I kept thinking how blessed I feel that I get to do things like this for my job. When I graduated from college a year ago, I had no idea what was in store for me work-wise, but I would have laughed if you told me I’d be making penguin cookies in someone else’s house on a Friday afternoon. I can’t imagine life any other way right now, though!

Since we’re on the topic of food, I thought I’d share a soup recipe I recently made. I found this chicken and parsnip soup recipe online and gave it a whirl. Jimmy wasn’t a huge fan–I think the parsnips freaked him out–but I really enjoyed it. I loved that it was different than a basic chicken soup recipe because the parsnips added a nice kick. It goes great with corn muffins, but I’m probably biased because cornbread is one of my favorite foods.

Continuing with the randomness… guess what! Jimmy and I bought new windows for our house! They were much needed, and we can already feel a difference in heat retention overnight. Though, we didn’t have a problem with cold weather today. I took a snapshot on my phone of my weather app while I was walking Lola today.

IMG_5577

70 degrees in Pittsburgh. In December. Wow! I’ll take it 🙂

Alright, that’s enough randomness for today. I’m off to print cookie recipes. My mom and I are baking cookies together next weekend to assemble cookie trays to give to our neighbors as Christmas gifts. I’m so excited!

How is the weather where you live?
Tell me something random!