woo pig sooie

I've got my Razorback dish cloths out (I only use them during football season) jersey's are on my puppies and my red clothes are ready to be worn. It's football season yall! Woo PIG!!!!

I can't wait for tomorrow! I absolutely love football season! Enjoy your long weekend and GO HOGS!!!!

Snuggles

I've had a busy day today. It felt nice to be busy. The last few weeks I haven't had much going on. I woke up around my usual time and made some blueberry muffins. I buy those Betty Crocker ones that come in the little package for $1 and all you have to do is add half a cup of water. They're delicious! Seriously. I usually keep them in stock in my house because they're so easy to make and it feels like you made a special breakfast. Triple Berry is my favorite.
After breakfast and Kelly and Michael, I took the girls on a little walk. They loved it of course. It felt way hotter than 80 degrees though so we didn't stay out too long. I came home and got dressed then Jaclyn picked me up and we went to Fayetteville for lunch. Chipotle was our restaurant of choice. I really wish they would put one up here in Rogers. I love their salad with steak. It's so delicious to me. I never get anything but that when I eat there.
After lunch we went to check out Lola. Our friend, Anna, recently purchased Lola and we were anxious to check it out! I'm so proud and happy for my friend!! If you don't live here but are coming up for some games this season you must check Lola out. It's off Dickson street and is an amazing boutique!
After our little adventure in Fayetteville I came back home and snuggled on the sofa with my puppies until Scott came home from work. And by snuggle I mean they were extremely comfortable laying on top of me and I was not so comfortable.

Mornings

I've been on a kick where I've been making fruit smoothies for breakfast and they are D-lish! I know it's not a new invention and I don't know why I've never made them before but they are totally my new thing and I'm lovin it.

My go-to is strawberry, blueberry and pineapple. Just add a little crushed ice, throw it in a blender and you've got yourself a deliciously, nutritious breakfast! YUM!

Speaking of mornings this is what I get to deal with every day. The girls totally take over my pillow. I mean, hello! Do they not notice my head usually goes there? Do I move them? No. Spoiled rotten.

Today I met Jaclyn and Emerson at McAlisters for lunch. I got the french dip and a cup of chili. Kinda a weird combo but it was so good! What from McAlisters isn't though? I love that place.
Today has been good and really productive but now I'm zapped. It's just 8:30 but I'm about to get ready for bed! Hopefully my two little nuggets will share their pillow with me.

National Dog Day

I've been taking the girls on lots of bye bye trips when I'm running quick errands. Ivy LOVES it when I let her stick her head out of the window. She looks out of the window the entire time and I can see her little face in the rear view mirror and she looks so cute and happy! Madison liked it at first but then a huge truck drove beside us and made a loud noise and that did her in. It terrified her! But she really wants to be able to see out of the window still so she sits on the console and does this instead.

Cracks me up!
I had a fun weekend at the pool and hung out with some neighbors in my driveway on Saturday night. It's what we do here in Hyde Park. One of my closest friends, Jax, and her husband just bought a house in my neighborhood and moved in this weekend which was super duper exciting! We're about a two minute walk from one another and I love it!

Since today is National Dog Day I couldn't resist posting photos of my sweet little Madison and Ivy....since I never do that on here. These little nuggets have been extra spunky today. Some mornings I wake up and they're still asleep in the bed with us and sometimes they're in the living room playing. Today they were in the living room playing and I don't know why but it always makes me laugh when they do that.

Notta. Nothing

I've had a pretty lazy week. It's been beautiful outside but I haven't taken advantage of it. I plan on spending my weekend at the pool though. I miss it! It feels like I haven't hung out at the pool with my neighbors in a month.

Other than the pool we don't have a lot going on this weekend. We got together with Scott's dad tonight and had pizza at Mellow Mushroom. It was just okay to me. I'm a fan of Johnny Bruscos and apparently I'm spoiled by it.

The girls got a haircut this week and they look so precious! Poor Ivy shook and panted the entire drive there. I don't think she knew where we were going but we recently went to the vet so maybe she thought we were going back there. I felt so bad for her! She's gotten to where bye bye trips stress her out. Of course. Just add it to the list.
Tonight was one extremely boring Friday night. I think Scott and I are going to just go to bed now because there's nothing else to do. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

May All Your Pain....Be Champagne

We left Sausalito early in the morning and arrived in Napa just in time to have champagne for brunch! Our first stop was at Domaine Carneros and it ended up being my favorite!

The establishment was so beautiful! This place is different because they offer you a little menu where you can order cheese, caviar and charcuterie plates. Most wineries only have wine. I could have stayed here for hours sipping champagne and eating cheese. It's a must stop if you ever visit Napa!

This is my new favorite photo of me and Scott! I'm going to have to frame it in my house somewhere!!

We ate in Yountville which was my favorite little spot in the Napa area. We made it to a lot of wineries the first day. Mostly small ones because my Dad likes to get wine that you can't find in your local wine shop. After Domaine Carneros we went to Etude (awesome wine), Mumm, Pina, Cakebread, ZD, Robert Mondavi and Beringer. We passed by Menage a Trois and I suggested we pop in but Dad just laughed at me and kept driving. #winesnob

The next day we had an early appointment to meet with a winemaker at a smaller winery in the Russian River Valley called Small Vines. It was such an amazing experience! My Dad emails with them back and forth occasionally and they did a special tasting for us in the actual vineyard!!!!

We got to taste the grapes and they told us all about the process they go through to make their wine. It was SO interesting and one of my favorite parts of the trip! He's a sommelier which is super impressive to me. I want to be a sommelier. They were such a great couple and make amazing wine. It was a real pleasure to meet them. My Dad is trying to get them to come to Arkansas to do a wine club dinner so hopefully I'll see them again soon.

We stayed in the Russian River Valley that day and also visited Merry Edwards and Gary Farrell where we did a wine tour.
Later that evening we went to Rodney Strong to attend a Dave Koz jazz concert. Okay seriously, you can't go to Napa and not do a concert. We all had a blast!! It was so, so, so fun.

They had a couple of food trucks (and wine of course) and we sat there a couple of hours and listened to Dave Koz and the Summer Horns. I cannot rave enough about how fun this concert was! It was the perfect way to end our vacation!!

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Hey everyone! I'm got back from California yesterday and we had a great time! First let me start by bragging about the hotel we stayed at in Sausalito, The Inn Above Tide.

I highly recommend staying here if you're going to be visiting the San Francisco area. It was so beautiful and unique. It's the only hotel on the water and it has the most amazing view of the city. Every day from 5-7 they serve wine and cheese and it's divine! How neat is that? The breakfast was amazing!!! So many fresh fruits and cheeses and pastries. I kept forgetting to take photos of it and I'm kicking myself for that now! It was truly a unique and lovely experience. I hope I get the chance to go back and stay again some day!

We arrived a little after lunch on Wednesday and the first thing we did once we pulled into Sausalito was eat at a really delicious Mexican place called Salsalito Taco Shop. It was delicious but then again, Mexican food always is. After that we walked around the quaint little town and took photos by the Golden Gate Bridge!

We were pretty worn out from waking up at 4:30 am that morning so after dinner we called it a night. I'm pretty sure I was asleep by 9:30!
The next morning we were up and ready to go early so we could visit the Muir Woods. I was really looking forward to seeing it and it lived up to my expectations and then some!

It was a little chilly and I'm so glad my parents warned us about that! If you go you definitely want to wear semi-warm clothes.
It was amazing seeing the beauty of those trees that have been there for hundreds of years! We walked around for about 2 hours but I literally could have stayed all day.

They had this on a t-shirt in the gift shop and I thought it was really neat advice!

Once we were done exploring the Muir Woods we hopped in the car and headed towards San Francisco to explore the city!

Normally I would have thrown on some cuter shoes after walking through the woods but I'm clearly getting older because my tennies were super comfy and I just didn't care if my feet looked cute because "I didn't know anybody" there.

When we were at Ghirardelli there was a little cupcake shop next door called Kara's Cupcakes. How fun! You never see my name anywhere so we obviously had to take photos and get cupcakes!

After walking around the pier for a while we got back in the car and drove down Lombard street. Then we got to see The Painted Ladies which is one of the many things I think about when I think of SF. It was so cool getting to see them in person! If you don't think of Full House when you see them then something is wrong. Ha!!

Once I decided I got plenty of pictures of the pretty houses, we did a little shopping in Union Square and grabbed a burger from Burger Bar (in Macy's) for dinner. It hit the spot! After shopping we were worn out from our long day of touring the city so we drove back to Sausalito and hit the hay.
San Francisco was really neat! There's so many cool things to see and the weather is incredible! I had a really great time in SF.
The next morning we woke up and left Sausalito for wine country. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow!

Three Cupcakes

I've been running around all day getting ready for California! I'm SO excited to be going away on a vacation!!! I pampered myself with a mani/pedi today. I haven't gotten one in a really long time and it felt nice to do it! I have a couple of more things to throw together and I'll be all set and ready to head west. Can't wait!
So I've decided that it's a problem to follow Bliss Cupcakes on Instagram. They post mouth watering photos of their cupcakes all day and it's almost torture. I finally broke down today and went and bought not one, not two but three cupcakes!!!

Scott and I shared the butter toffee one (in the middle) and it was seriously the best cupcake I've ever had in my entire life. I'm not being dramatic. Scott agreed. It was so delicious! I have 2 more to tackle before we leave tomorrow but I have a feeling that won't be much of a challenge.

We had a really pleasant weekend! On Friday night Scott and I stayed in and rented Mud. It was a really good movie and it's neat that it all takes place in Arkansas. I would recommend watching it for sure. On Saturday I got to go to the pool because for the first time in a zillion weeks it wasn't raining. Later that evening we hung out with some neighbors until way past my bedtime! Sunday we went to church and then I came home and took a nap. My Sunday favorite. Naps are just better on Sundays don't you think?

I sure am going to miss my precious girls while I'm away but they probably won't miss me. They'll be having way too much fun playing with Gracie!!

Yearly Checkup

Today started out crazy! It technically began at 4 am when the extremely loud thunder woke all of us up. I flipped on the TV and tried to go back to sleep but it was nearly impossible. Once I'm up I'm usually up. I did fall back asleep for a little bit and dragged myself out of bed to get my day started when my alarm went off.

I jump started my day with a delicious bowl of oatmeal and some berries piled on top. Once I finished I hit the gym, let my MIL dog out to potty, grabbed a wrap from Slim Chickens (2nd day in a row that I've eaten there, whoopsie!!) came home, showered, then somehow managed to lay down with my two snuggle bugs and nap for 2 hours!
Once we woke up from our glorious nap I had to get the girls and take them to the vet for their annual checkup and shots.

They didn't really appreciate me taking them there and their eyes were as big as saucers the entire time. They were really good girls though and (thankfully) didn't make a peep when they got their shot. I was so worried they would cry, especially Ivy. I've been curious to know how much they weigh because it's been a long time since they've been on the scale. Ivy came in at 7 pounds even and Madison was 7.4 pounds. I figured they were probably around 7 pounds by now. Such big girls!
After we left the vet I decided to treat myself to a TCBY chocolate and vanilla swirl and the girls got to hang their head out of the car window for a little bit so it was a win, win for us all. Then the girls got an extra special treat by getting to go for a walk outside this evening. And to punish myself for my bad food behavior, I dropped them off at home after our 20 minute walk and continued walking around the neighborhood for an additional hour.

The girls are 100% healthy and I'm so very grateful for that! Love these two munchkins so much!!

Northern Cali

In exactly one week, I'm going to be heading west with Scott and my parents to Northern California! I'm SO, SO excited!! We're going to San Francisco first then end the week in wine country!!
The first few days we're actually going to stay in Salsalito--my parents favorite--and I can't wait.

For years I've heard how amazing Salsalito is and I'm glad I'm finally going to be able to experience it! We're staying here and it looks simply amazing!
My Dad has planned out all kinds of wonderful things for us to do. One thing I'm really looking forward to seeing is the Muir Woods!

After 2 days in San Fran we're taking off for Napa! Being the wine lover that I am, I'm beyond excited to go! I know my Dad has all of his favorite wineries on the agenda and I'm most looking forward to Mumm!!

Mumm makes awesome champagne in case you didn't know. It's probably my fav!
I can't wait to go! This trip is going to be all about good food and good wine. Cheers!

The Girls

What have the girls been up to this week you've wondered? Well, I'll tell ya.

They both got their favorite thing in the whole world---a new bone. (Bone is their favorite word) However, Madison's was better than Ivy's so Ivy pouted next to her while Madison chowed down. In case you didn't know, one bone is always better than the other one.
After a few minutes of torture Ivy decided she just couldn't take it anymore.

So Ivy decided she would help Madison eat her bone. And being the sweet sister that she is, Madison obliged.
We got new lifejackets in case we go on Pops and Gamma's boat this summer.

They've learned how to break through the baby gate no matter how good I think I fix it to where they can't. I guess they're tired of being put up when I leave but they haven't been doing anything bad so I'm letting them have it....for now.
They love peaches!!
They love going for walks!
Ivy has this new thing where she likes to get in my bathtub. (Not when I'm in it of course) I don't know why she started doing this or what she thinks is so fun about being in there but she probably hops in it a zillion times a day. I don't really mind it except she can't get out!! I'll hear a pitiful cry from across the house and I know it's my little Ivy, stuck in my bathtub. She's such a mess!

Night Out

Tonight we celebrated Jax's birthday at Table Mesa in Fayetteville! I've been to Table Mesa in Bentonville many times but this was my first time to go to the one in Fayetteville. The food was just as delicious! It's pretty hard to beat Mexican if you ask me.

After dinner we strolled over to 21 Amendment and hung out on the rooftop. It was so nice! The weather was amazing and the atmosphere was so cool. I enjoyed my night out with my friends! It always makes me happy when we all get together.

This one was short and sweet but I am zapped. Time for me to go to bed!!