Anniversary Dinner

Ryan and I celebrated our 5th anniversary at Millstone Tea Room. We have been there a few times, but it has been at least a year and a half. For those of you that have never been, the drive out is amazing with views of the mountains all around you! We pulled up to the restaurant and deliciousness ensued. Rich, golden yellow walls with dark, rustic wood trim are accented by old sepia and black and white matted photographs. The restaurant is small, only allowing room for about 10 small copper topped tables. Fresh, spring flowers from their neighboring gardens decorated the tables. The garden is also where they grow seasonal produce to incorporate into their menu. Can we say YUM!? For an appetizer, we shared the shrimp tempura with Asian slaw and dipping sauces, one spicy and one soy sauce based. Then, came the Spanish Gazpacho soup with fresh tomatoes, cracked pepper, and garlic flavors exploding in your mouth as you ate it. I chose the crab cakes with creamed corn garnished with tomatoes and basil. Ryan had the ribeye with the three cheese macaroni and cheese on the side. Since I had passed on the wine, we ordered two deserts (yes!) strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream and cinnamon pecan bread pudding served warm with homemade vanilla ice cream. As we clinked our spoons to celebrate the last 5 years of marriage we knew the best was yet to come!

Work

Does anyone else out there like to wait until the last possible minute to get ready for work? I'm doing that now. Sometimes I feel that if I wait just one or two more minutes I can somehow cheat work. Thinking, "Hmm...I've never waited this long to get in the shower before. Wonder if I can make it?!" Weird, huh? Yeah, mostly I am just feeling that I should have gotten going about 10 minutes ago. Oops...

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Everyone can read the back of a book or find a synopsis, so I'm not going to summarize for you. I really liked Edgar and his dogs. One of my favorite parts had to be Edgar's time with Henry. I found this book interesting, although it left me feeling a little luke warm. I think the author's writing style is right up my alley - not overly flowery, but poignant all the same in its almost simplistic style. I loved how adept the author was at pinpointing human emotions. However, it left me feeling slightly blah - like I had expected it to turn out just the way it did. But, not in a relieved, that was great way. In more of a I spent too much time sifting through pages to find out what I already knew. I would really like to give this book 3.5 stars.


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Puppyhood

Having a puppy is like having a toddler, adorable, yet exhausting at times. Never having had a puppy before a lot of things are new to me. Frankly, I get a big kick out of having a dog. Here are some of the things I love about puppyhood:

*Being woken up off the couch to the sound of deep inhalations sniffing your head, begging you to get up.
*Walking around with his gigantic paws which are way to big for him right now
*Hank laying on his side, stretching his legs together in a pike position
*Floogers, it is quite amazing to see just how long his drool can get!
*Wagging tail - which starts up if you look at him, or talk to him, or love on him
*Running around the house with a toy in his mouth acting like he has the best thing in the world and that everyone should take notice - which of course, we could really care less about your disgusting rope thingy
*Hank hugs - sit down, open your arms, and you will see what I mean. How can a day be bad when you have a Cassanewfa around?

Outlander

Outlander happens to be the first book in a series that tells the story of Claire, a woman sent back in time to Scotland circa 1745. It is there she meets Jamie, a beefy clansman, and well, you can probably see where this is going. Together, they face their share of adventure and romance. When I read the back of this book I thought there would be no way I would read all 627 pages. What I discovered was two characters I loved from the start (sorry Bella and Edward, you have nothing on Claire and Jamie) and a plot that takes you on quite a journey. Guess I am more of a historical fiction fan than I thought.

If you liked The Other Boelyn Girl you will love this book, too!

Headaches & Design Dilemmas

I have a headache today. Not a severe migraine or anything, just a little one. Enough to make me think about it. I'm thinking that the root of this headache might be because of my design dilemmas. As I have become quarantined to my own home this summer because of my bouncing, baby boy Hank, I have realized that we have come to a design standstill on a few projects. Just little things here and there that I have wanted to finish. Examples include, but are not limited to: finding drapes for our bedroom and dining room, finding a rug for the dining room, deciding on/framing/hanging Ryan's photography, and finally picking out the rest of our living room furniture. I have been lacking a little inspiration, but sometimes when I look around things don't seem as finished as they could. The good news is that I couldn't be happier with the things we have done so far - patience and not settling are key! So, like today, when I go out hoping to remedy all of my design dilemmas and come back with the letters E, A, and T to hang up in the kitchen. I should not feel stressed or overwhelmed by all of the things left to do, but happy about the small changes I did today. (I also got a cute wind chime for the back deck!)

Dog Days of Summer

I'm back in the blogosphere, and boy does it feel good! Lots of things have been going on at the Knapp house since I last posted. Most importantly, we have a new addition to our family, Hank the Newfoundland.

If I had to describe him in just a few words it would be: big, furry, cuddly, slobbery, happy, drool baby. Yes. That is what he is, and we love him for it!

So far, he sleeps, poops, pees, plays, eats, drinks, cuddles, repeat! The summer is flying by at an alarming rate, yet I continue to be amazed at my productiveness. Usually by this point teachers are planted firmly on the couch, eating popcorn, drinking Ginger Ale, and watching all 6 seasons of Sex in the City. Oh wait, that was me last summer. (It was delicious!)

This summer is quite different. I spend my days alternating between taking care of my Newfbaby, appeasing and stroking my cat's ego, and running around like a crazy woman trying to get all of the laundry, housework, and errands done before the beast awakens. Did I mention that now things like vacuuming and mopping are no longer optional tasks for the week? Yes, mopping is a must once a week (see drool and slobber above) and where I used to get away with picking up large dust bunnies in the hope that I could wait to vacuum until next week I am now vacuuming at least once a week as having two furbabies keep the dust bunnies tumbling by at an alarming rate.
Oh, and did I mention that owning a newf means that jeans you would normally wear three, four, or ten times in a row (oh stop making that face, we all do it) must be washed after every use. Sigh, I guess I'm growing up. Having this dog has made me start accepting the responsibilities I should have accepted 5 years ago when I graduated from college. So for all of you who are rolling your eyes and patting yourself on the back thinking that you have always had these things under control and your house and laundry are always perfect...newsflash...I just got out of 5 years of housework while you were slaving away! *wink*

Yes, these are the dog days of summer, just not quite in the way I anticipated.