You and Me

Although N and I have been in our house for almost a year, its still a work in progress. Once we got our intial furniture and decorations set, we decided not to rush the rest and just pick up pieces as we found them. Our house is very contemporary: lots of dark wood and steel accents. We've picked up a few vintage pieces over the past year, and although I never thought of myself as a vintage-loving person, turns out, I do really LURVE vintage. (I'm not quite there on the vintage clothing though; I have to get over some ickiness issues first).

Anyway, late last year, I found these on etsy:

They took a while to get here (not unexpected), and I have to say, they are SO cute!! They're about an inch and a half tall, and look perfect sitting in a windowsill in our living room!!

Restless

Around this time every year, I start to get a little restless. Its January, the Browns are done, and there's still atleast 2 months until we start to see Spring. This is when I usually start planning trips. Last year, N and I went the all-inclusive route in the Dominican Republic. This year, I'm hoping we do something here:

Although the title says "shoestring", I will NOT be staying at hostels. If you've met me in real life, you know that I'm not the type of person to rough it. At all. I'm using the Lonely Planet guide more as a reference book to help us plan an itinerary, and then we'll use TripAdvisor to help pick our hotels. Right now I'm really drawn to Istanbul, although N and I really want to visit Prague as well. I love planning vacations; its the second-best thing to the vacation itself!!

Are you planning any trips in 2011?

Happy News!!

You may have noticed I haven't been blogging much lately. Truth is, I've been, well, uninspired. That's not to say I haven't been doing things (trying out restaurants, shopping), its just that most of these have been a bust. Since I try to keep this blog positive and upbeat, I've avoided talking about these things, but if you do want to hear about the things I do/buy/experience that I don't lurve too, please let me know and I will be happy to share.

That said, yesterday I received some very happy and exciting news. Its no secret that I love puppies. In the past year, I discovered that just having my own puppies was not enough; I wanted to help other puppies too. Rescuing Clair was step 1 in that process. And step 2 has developed over the past few months: I am now one of the newest Board Members for a charity that is very near and dear to my heart: Secondhand Mutts. Since I LUUUUUURRRRVVEEEE puppies and Secondhand Mutts, you will be hearing more about them in the future, but I promise not to overload you.

In the mean time, I do want to let you know about two fun events/fundraisers that Secondhand Mutts is hosting over the next month:

The first is a pancake breakfast, held at Post 58 in Tremont, on January 23. The event is being held in memory of Scramble, a heartworm positive dog that was rescued by Secondhand Mutts, and who passed away last year. The tickets are $12/adult, $5/child under 10, and include orange juice, all you can eat regular and chocolate-chip pancakes, coffee, and sausage (vegetarian options available too), and the funds will be used to benefit Secondhand Mutts.

The second event is a super fun event, with Secondhand Mutts teaming up with Friends of the Cleveland Kennel to host a Bowl-a-Thon at Madison Square Lanes in Lakewood. This event is being held on February 11, and more information is available here.

Both events are open to the public, so if you're looking for something fun to do on a weekend, that coincidentally happens to benefit some great causes, please come join me at these events! Hope to see you there!!!!

Bowled Over

Last week, I stopped by Crate and Barrel to browse. While there I picked up a set of these:

Parker bowls

I luuuuuurrrrvveee these bowls. I know, its more than a little odd to be this excited about kitchen stuff, but these bowls are really really great! I've used them every single day since I've owned them! They're the perfect size, and come in the super cute fun colors, that just so happen to perfectly complement my kitchen. LURVE!

What's your favorite kitchen item?

Danger: Carb Overload

For a very long time now, N has wanted a bread maker. I've resisted the idea for obvious reasons: I simply have no willpower when it comes to freshly baked bread. NONE! Well, this Christmas, N's parents finally gave him one:

Express Bread Maker, amazon

N made Italian herb and cheese bread last week. The results:

 

It was absolutely delicious. This bread maker could be the worst thing to ever happen to me. 

Busted

Scene: our home

N: What is that? Did you buy another purse?
Me: No, that's a purse organizer

(N opens container and pulls out 2 items)
N: No, that's definitely a purse. That's the size of your purse.
Me: No, that's not a purse. It goes IN the purse. See, it has no handles.

N: Is this something you saw on one of those "as seen on TV" things?

SO BUSTED!!!!

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Have you entered my contest yet? You could win a $25 Starbucks gift card!! Great way to start 2011!

A story to take you into the New Year

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you know that I keep things very light and fun here. Today, I'm going to deviate a little, but its for a really good cause. I'm going to tell you the story of a lost, sick puppy, and the city that came together to save him.

 This is what Rudy looked like when he was found

Rudy was found in a snowstorm in early December on a sorta-freeway. He had a chain around his neck, and it looked like his little nose had been frozen off. He was skinny and seemed like he had been wandering alone for a long, long time. With the help of some good samaritans, his rescuer Angie managed to lure him into her car. From there he was taken to the Cleveland APL for a quick check-up and then transferred to Secondhand Mutts. The volunteers at Secondhand Mutts took him to the vet, where he was diagnosed with an ear infection, lupus, and heartworm. The shelter made an appeal on facebook, and in the local news, and then an amazing thing happened:

Donations came pouring in from all over the city. People stopped by with food, blankets, and toys. And most of all, they came to spend time with Rudy, to help him heal and surround him with love.

Rudy with his guardian angel Angie

Less than 10 days after Rudy was found, a wonderful family stepped up to foster him, just in time for the holidays. And so, the poor lost dog ended up spending Christmas warm and safe in a loving home. Rudy still has a long way to go in his treatment, but the generosity that Cleveland has shown will ensure that he receives the best care available.

And this is why I love this city so much: We may be declared the "most miserable city" by some media outlets, but the truth is we're not. Sure, we may have crappy winter weather, and mediocre sports teams, and unemployment, and falling home prices, but when push comes to shove, we band together as a community, and find a way to help each other out. We're no strangers to adversity, but the beauty of Clevelanders is that it doesn't scare us. We tackle it head on, and don't stop fighting until we find a way out. So, if you had a bad 2010, keep your chin up. 2011 is another year, and things will be better. You're a Clevelander! Happy New Year!!!

If you'd like to know more about Rudy's story visit his page on Secondhand Mutts.