The Funnies

Dog Days of Summer

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m obsessed with dogs. Ruby, my family’s Chesapeake Bay Retriever, was almost 13 when she passed away. And while she was a huge part of the family, she preferred to spend her time swimming, running and getting dirty outdoors. It wasn’t until my college roommate Beth returned from home one weekend with Archie the coon hound, that I was introduced to the concept of an “inside dog.”

[Sidenote: You may be thinking, “She just showed up with a dog?” But, you have to understand, Beth is probably the most random, spontaneous person I know. One summer she bought a Pot Belly Pig at the All Good Music Festival. It’s a good thing someone talked her into returning it—if I was there I would have probably gotten one too!]

And although Archie was a little too big to be a lapdog, you definitely couldn’t tell him that. The bigger he got, the more he wanted to sit right on your lap. Dogs on the couch? Dogs eating people food? This opened my eyes to a whole new world of canine companionship!

When I moved home after college, I immediately started bugging my parents to get a dog. Luckily, in September ’05, my mom found a puppy on the side of the road. He had obviously been dropped off by someone who didn't want him. He was skinny, hungry, dirty, and he had a horrible gash on his tail. She and I fell in love immediately. My dad? Not so much... He found the new puppy downright annoying. He wanted a big tough dog that would ride in the back of his pick up truck, wade through the mud, and join him on 10 mile hikes through the Appalachian wilderness. Meanwhile, the new puppy pranced and hopped around in a very feminine way, and proudly sported the brightly colored bandanas I dressed him up in each day. To top it off, he was petrified of the truck, he wouldn't go near it!

There was absolutely nothing rugged about him and according to my dad—the puppy had to go!

However, my mom is not the kind of person who gives in easily. What she wants, she gets, so long story short—the puppy stayed! He was named Duke Dog, after my sister’s school mascot, The JMU Duke Dawg. Duke has come a long way since his puppy days, and he still has a long way to go. He’s been through Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Prep School and a 1-week, private, Dog-Training Boot Camp, and he still won’t listen. He pretty much does whatever the hell he wants, and my parents don’t necessarily try to stop him. They’ve already worn themselves out raising my sister and I... Classic “Third Child Syndrome.”

To give you an idea of what a day with Duke is like, I decided to share some pictures from the last time my mom and I took Duke Dog for a walk around the Lake. As usual, he was a handful. If I could bottle up his energy and sell it, I would be one rich girl. Think adderall, red bull, vodka and Prosac—all mixed up into one energy drink!

Here is video of Duke doing what he does best....

Acting INSANE!

I Love Her Style

Rachel Bilson RULES!







I've never seen Rachel Bilson act in an actual movie...but I have seen her dressed in a lot of totally incredible outfits.

I know absolutely nothing about her, except that she was on The OC and in the movie Jumper; but, for some reason I want to be her best friend. And it's not because I want to raid her closet-- although I'm open to that idea if she's down, too. She just seems like she'd be fun to hang out with. She's always smiling--and someone that cute with such superb style has got to be fun, right?

Rachel, if you're reading this..."Call me! We'll do lunch!"

A Good View

I spent the weekend at my parent's house. Here's a taste of how I spent my time.
I've been living in Baltimore for awhile now, and I definitely enjoy escaping "city-life" and returning to my laid-back hometown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Each time I visit, it gets harder to leave and every trip reminds me how lucky I am to have grown up in such a beautiful setting.
Here are 8 things I love about going home:

1. The Drive...as long as there's no traffic! It's a great way to clear my head and enjoy some good music. Almost There!!
2. The Dinners. On this particular night we had grilled striped bass, steamed clams, homemade honey-oat bread, fresh spinach salads with toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, and of course, lots of tomatoes and Peach Wine! Everything was FRESH and everything was WONDERFUL!
3. The Grillmaster. Watching my dad in his element is always a treat. Here he is chillin' and grillin' in style.
4. New Projects. Maybe I should have offered to help, but I had so much fun supervising my dad as he worked on expanding the patio. In this picture he was pulling up with a truckload of stone.
5. Flowers and Folliage. Too bad I didn't inherit my mom's green thumb. All my plants are fake.
6. Fresh Strawberries. You can pick them up at any one of the many roadside produce stands. Convenient and delicious.
7. Watersports. Here my dad is taking a break from mowing the lawn to throw out a few casts with his fly rod. He didn't catch anything, but at least he looked cool doing it.
8. DUKE DOG! Born to entertain, and an excellent cuddle-buddy, my sister and I agree, Duke is the little brother that we never had.

Just Lovely

Wedding Bliss

This weekend my Boyfriend and I attended his step cousin Missy's wedding in Mogadore, Ohio. And even though we got terribly lost on the way there, (thanks to the fact that his mom gave us the wrong address for his aunt and uncle's house) the wedding and the entire weekend were both ridiculously fun and extremely too short!

I've been to two weddings in the past nine months, but I was a bridesmaid in both, so it was nice to just go and enjoy the free food and open bar. There was nothing for me to worry about except how to get as many hors d'orves as possible to fit on one of those little plates and then which wine to try next. The food was excellent, I met a lot of my boyfriend's relatives, and then proceeded to tear up the dance floor until midnight when they practically had to kick us all out. I did the cha-cha slide, the electric slide, and anything else I could to prove that I am the whitest girl in America. I also enjoyed the surprise performance by the groom's little brother's band--it was a nice, personal touch.

I was excited to learn that the happy couple were actually high school sweethearts. The ceremony was even held at the Catholic church where they both went to high school. They started dating during their junior year and now, 10 years later, they finally got married. She is a nurse and he is a spine and neck technician (he holds the spine and keeps it safe during neck and back surgery--I know, "wow!")

Here are a few pictures from the big day.

The colors were white, green and yellow. I loved the tables and the centerpieces. It was very classy and elegant, yet unpretentious.
At the reception, your place card was attached to a cute light green box with party favors inside. Chocolate bars customized with the bride and groom's name and wedding date--Yum!
The centerpieces all varied in size and arrangement type. Ours was HUGE, which made it kinda hard to talk to the people across the table.
The cake was yummy. It was the first time that I actually ate cake at a wedding. I don't know why, but I always seem to miss out. Not this time though---I snagged two slices to make up for lost time!

Today's Inspiration

Once again, from FaceHunter...