Cake Balls

While at home, I made some delicious Red Velvet Cake Balls, recipe from Alex!

They didn't last very long :)

Fur Baby Friday: Life and Times of Alison and Justin

Get ready for one good looking family...dog included! Alison looks shockingly like Carrie Underwood, and she is one of the sweetest bloggers I know. Her baby, Cruz, is seriously adorable and I think Alison loves her as much as I love my Maisy (which is saying A LOT!)

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Well Hello! Alison here from Life and Times of Alison & Justin.

I am so excited to be apart of Julie's Fur Baby Friday series. 

Our fur baby is Cruz. She is a 2 year old yellow lab. She pretty much rocks our world.

My family has always grown up with dogs and to be more precise labs.

So when Justin met me and his family had never had a dog, he quickly realized life with me meant life with a dog and most likely a lab.

Before our wedding {June 2009} I started scouring the internet for breeders in our area that were having litters that would be ready to go home around the time we got home from our honeymoon.

 We knew we wanted a female lab, I wanted a chocolate and Justin wanted a yellow so we decided we would just see what we could find. I somehow ended up finding a wonderful lady on kijiji named Bonnie who had just had a litter and the timing would be perfect.

Long story short: I hounded this lady with an excess amount of messages, found out she had 1 female left, I begged her to save her for us, she did, we went to meet Cruz a few days after our wedding, fell in love and picked her up the day after we got home from our honeymoon.

 The rest is history and life would not be the same without her.

Cruz loves the water. My family has a lake cabin and Cruz is at her happy place when we are at the lake. She loves to play fetch and will play from sun rise to sun down.

She also loves sticks.

 Is pretty darn beautiful if you ask me!

 She often gets to lick our ice cream bowls. Which she thinks is pretty awesome.

 She also once thought we left the remainder of a carrot cake on the counter for her. 

Smart girl though, she went for the icing only!

I also once came home to this one day.

 Destroyed her bed, my book, 2 pairs of my sandals...

She blogged about it, you can read it here.

 She may not always be in my good books but she is a mama's girl.

And it never takes long to forgive her.

Justin worked tirelessly with her on tricks so we are proud to say that Cruz can sit, lay down, stay, catch a treat off her nose {most of the time}, leave it and you put treats on her paws-tell her to leave it and then won't take them until you say ok. She does not like being on her back so the roll over trick or the play dead isn't her favorite but sometimes will humour Justin with them.

That's all! Thank for having us Julie. You can read more about Cruz (pretty much daily!) over at my blog!

Happy Friday!

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All of their gorgeous family photos has me itching to get some done! Cruz is seriously photogenic. Cruz and I definitely have one thing in common- go straight for the cream cheese icing! :)

And guess what? It's Alison's birthday!!! Happy Birthday, pretty lady!
Thanks so much for being here, Alison! 

A Little Blog Break

First of all, thank you all SO MUCH for all of the sweet comments you left about my Mamaw. They really meant the world to me and my family. I am so blessed to have made real friends like y'all through blogging. 

So, Mamaw is scheduled to have an MRI on Friday and surgery on Wednesday. Luckily, I was already planning to go home tomorrow (Thursday) through Tuesday, so I extended my trip through Friday so I could stay for the surgery. I am SO HAPPY that I get to be there for it. 

Besides the Fur Baby Friday post this week, I don't think I'll be blogging or commenting much for the next week or so. I'll miss you all but I am looking forward to spending a lot of time with my amazing family :)

Getting Real

*This post is very different from how I usually write....just to warn you.*

I need to vent. My family has been through so much crap the past couple of years medical wise, and I just found out there's been another diagnosis. My sweet, beautiful, loving Mamaw just found out that she has breast cancer. We don't know any specifics yet...she goes in tomorrow to determine the treatment plan. 

I'll be honest, when my mom told me today, my first reaction was anger. First my mom, now Mamaw? My two favorite women in the whole world are having to deal with this awful illness...and it just makes me angry. They don't deserve this. It's terrifying and I just wish our family would get a little break from all of this.

And to make it even worse, I now live across the country from them. I think I've handled the distance pretty well so far (better than I expected), considering this is my first time living outside of Georgia, but when I found out this news, all I wanted to do was to be at home. I want to be at all of those appointments with them. I want to go to Sunday brunch with Mamaw and Pawpaw every week like we always have. I should be there.

I know I am supposed to be here in California, supporting my husband and starting this new part of our lives, and I'm happy to be here most of the time....but it's times like these where I just ache to be in Atlanta. It's where my heart is.

Fur Baby Friday: Moments with the Mays

I am so excited about today's guest post! I have known Laura for as long as I can remember. We grew up in the same neighborhood and at least half of my wardrobe growing up was Laura's hand-me-downs. So it was really special when she offered to let me wear her veil on my wedding day! 

Laura is the epitome of a good dog-mom, and I guarantee you will love all of her babies! 

 

Hey y'all! I'm Laura from Moments with the Mays. I've known Julie since we were both little. Our moms are great friends and I am the same age as her brother, Matt! We actually went to quite a few high school dances together. :) Julie asked me to do a guest post for her new series about furbabies and I happily accepted! I love my furbabies! 

Let me start by introducing you to my three sweet pups...

JACK - He was my first baby. He was born on August 2, 2004. I walked into a pet store my sophomore year of college and about died when I saw him. Jack was the teeniest chihuahua I had ever seen! It was love at first sight and he was my instant sidekick. His real name is Jacques Cartier Moore May (no worries, y'all...Ben adopted him after we got married. Ha!) but I keep it simple with "Jack." He rules the roost, has super high anxiety, is quite high maintenance, and has more personality than 100 dogs combined.

HUDSON - Hudson was a neighborhood stray during my senior year (part deux) at Ole Miss. We had lots of them but he was the only one that was a) not super skiddish and b) not aggressive. Huddy was so skinny when he started hanging around our house. My roommates & I gave him water and started feeding him random food from our kitchen. Then, we made a pallet on our porch and he slept there every single night. I convinced Ben to keep him in his backyard when our neighbors threatened to take him to the local high-kill shelter. Hudson had an embedded collar when we first found him & has a nasty throat scar that proves his tough puppy life. Huddy is the most gentle & loving dog I've ever met. Love his heart!

ELLIE - Ben & I walked in to Petsmart one Saturday to pick up dog food. We left with Ellie. (Note to self: never get dog food on Saturdays.) We could have spotted her a mile a way...she looked just like Hudson. It was her last chance at adoption & I couldn't handle the guilt of knowing she would be put down...so we took her home! Ellie & Hudson were instant best friends and have been attached at the hip ever since. Ellie is our wild child. She has a lot of energy & keeps Hudson busy running around in the backyard. Ellie is my baby girl and loves to sneak up on the couch to snuggle. She completed our furry family!

I love all of my dogs. They really are like my children. Ben & I had our first baby, Grayson, last September. I was so worried about how all the dogs would react. Would they be jealous? Would they be sad? Would they act aggressive? I was stressed.

Y'all? My dogs are rockstars. They have adjusted to this new life with a baby brother so well. All 3 have behaved well & not really acted jealous...Hudson in particular. Hudson loves his baby.  When Julie asked me to guest post I immediately knew I wanted to talk about Huddy and his boy.

 

Grayson already has such a strong bond with Hudson. Watching the 2 of them interact & seeing how much Hudson adores my baby boy melts my heart. They are truly best friends. Hudson is the first to run to G's door when he cries. Hudson is the first dog to run in the nursery every morning to greet Grayson. When we walk through the door G get the biggest smile on his face as soon as he sees his buddy, Hudson. It reminds me so much of the relationship I had with my childhood dog, Maggie. I know that Grayson will have that same relationship with Hudson & that makes my heart happy. 

Okay, that's all I've got! I hope I didn't bore you guys...I love to brag on my kids--furry or not! If you want to see some more cute pictures of "puppy love," head on over to my blog! Thanks Julie for having me! :)

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Laura, seeing Hudson and Grayson together is seriously the sweetest thing! I love that they are truly best friends :) Thanks so much for the beyond adorable pictures!

Premiere Week!

That's right...possibly my favorite week of the year is here! PREMIERE WEEK!

I am a self-professed TV addict, and I am so happy my favorite shows are finally back! Here's what my DVR will be recording for me this season:

Sunday, 9/18

(I LOVE me some award shows)

Monday, 9/19

(Maybe...I usually watch towards the end of the season)

(I cannot wait to see what happens!!)

Tuesday, 9/20

(The hand in front is a friend of mine from high school! How awesome is that!? Angela has a dream job at Fox!)

(I'm gonna give this one a try...and I just saw that they have the first episode for free on iTunes!)

Wednesday, 9/21

(YES! My favorite!!! I love Cam!)

Thursday, 9/22

(Not as good as it used to be, but I still love it....I will NOT love it when Derek leaves though)

(Same with this...I'm not sure what it'll be like with Michael Scott gone)

Sunday, 9/25

(The final season!)

(Fascinating!)

Sunday, 10/2

(One of my very favorites)

Tuesday, 10/4

(Can't wait to see what happens after the proposal!)

Sunday, 10/16

(Soooo good....most of you probably think I'm a little crazy for this one!)

So what are y'all looking forward to most? Any shows that I missed? What new shows do you think will be good?

Thoughts on Bach Pad

So last night was the finale! They actually covered a little bit of everything, but here's what you didn't see...

First of all, ME! I mentioned last week that they didn't film our section of the audience very much, but I didn't mind at all since we had a great view of everything. But, I made it on camera :)

Clearly, no one would ever recognize me on there, since I am lurking in the shadows...Oh, you see the lady and guy in the first row? That's Michelle Money's mom and brother!

Several people have asked how I got tickets. Basically, I was watching it last Monday night and remembered that they were filming the next day. So I went to the Bachelor Pad website, sent them an email, and didn't expect to hear back. I got a response about 20 minutes later and then did a happy dance all around the house. This was at like 11:00 and I had so much to do! Doug helped me pick out an outfit, and then I couldn't sleep. I finally fell asleep at 2am and had to wake up at 5. I went by myself (I'm so cool) because Doug had work, but I made friends with the girls sitting next to me so it was all good :)

So here are my thoughts on the finale:

-The discussion between Ames and Jackie was painful for everyone. It was so sad for her because she was looking for answers, and he was stuttering and started to cry.

-At one point in filming, Ames snuck out to go to the bathroom. But he forgot to turn his microphone off :) We heard everything! They finally realized what happened when there was a big flush!

-Whatever you've heard about the fight between Graham and Justin, I think Justin deserved it. He was such a jerk to everyone and definitely gave Michelle (and Graham) a really hard time. He told the final four that he thought none of them deserved to be up there....he basically just loves being the villain. 

-The person I was most interested to see was Jake. I wanted to see how he really acted when the cameras weren't rolling, and I wasn't surprised at all. He came in with a smirk on his face and didn't talk to any of the other contestants. Jake and Vienna actually 'made up' on the show and hugged it out, but they didn't show that.

-The whole proposal story was so lame! Ugh! I was SO MAD that Michael had to find out that way. I've heard that the show told Holly to not tell Michael so they would get it on air. Would you think I was crazy if I cried during that? Because I did. It was so sad!!

-Michael is, by far, my favorite person to ever be on any Bachelor show. He was absolutely hilarious and they took out so many of his funny remarks! 

-Gia is the tiniest person I've ever seen.

-William was adorable. I wasn't a big fan of his from what he did on Ashley's season, but I realized he's just a stupid boy. Whenever he disagreed with what someone was saying, he would turn around and whisper things to our section and we would laugh during a serious moment.

-Graham told Michelle that he had something for her, and bent down and looked like he was going to propose. But he gave her a rose, and then gave a bouquet to her mom. It was really sweet- they both came over and hugged her family. Chris Harrison asked what their relationship status is...I don't know why they didn't show this part! Everyone was confused by their answer- Graham said Michelle is going to New York soon to be with him. So we didn't know if that was a visit or if she's moving there. But either way, they definitely seemed like a couple. 

-I was so surprised to see how unscripted it was. It was constant conversation, and they only re-shot a couple things where the audio wasn't great. 

-The audience was really mad by the end. We were in the studio for 8 hours. They gave us one bathroom break about 3 hours in, but only let about 30 people go. We couldn't go for the rest of the time, and we didn't get any food or water. We were grumpy, to say the least. Not cool, ABC.

-Chris Harrison actually surprised me the most. I didn't have a great impression of him going into it, but he was actually nice and really funny. And he isn't afraid to call the contestants out...like when he told Vienna she could leave and he'd call her a cab :)

-After filming was finished, we got to meet all of them. I chose to only meet the people I actually liked, since I would have nothing to say to someone like Vienna or Kasey. I met:

-Ben

-Michael (LOVE him)

-Ella (she is my favorite girl on the show- she was SO sweet)

-Kirk 

-Gia

-Ames (so sweet, so awkward)

-Jackie

-Erica Rose (hilarious)

-Michelle

-Graham

-William

It was an awesome experience and I definitely want to go to the Bachelor finale in the spring! Anyone wanna join me? :)

Fur Baby Friday: Mackey Madness

I have a very special treat for y'all today! When I decided to start a series, I immediately knew I wanted it to be about animals. If you have ever read my blog, you know how obsessed I am with Maisy and Pep (and with animals in general).

So today, I am starting my new series, Fur Baby Friday! It's basically an excuse to talk about how cute your pets are. I plan to do a mix of guest posters and my own posts about my babies. 

My blog bestie, Megan, is kicking it off for me! I recently met Megan and her 3 fur babies, and I have to say, Maisy and I were smitten with them all! Just wait til you see pictures of them as puppies! Take it away, Meg!

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Well hello there "smitten" readers! Megan here, coming over from Mackey Madness. 

Julie and I are FOR REAL best friends, not just blog best friends. We had the chance to meet each other about a month ago and it.was.phenomenal. Except I wanted to cry when she left me. : ( I'm so honored to be starting off her new series today! I love my fur babies and pretty much just any fur babies in general. 

I have three precious little bunnies these days. And by bunnies I mean puppies, clearly. 

Diesel (pit bull), Cashmere (lab), and Radar (golden retriever). 

I bought my first house in 2009 and decided, "Hey, I need two huge puppies now." I ended up with Diesel and Cashmere. They came home with me on the very same day and they have been best friends ever since.

Such little baby bunnies. 

We just welcomed Radar into the family about two months ago. He is my husband's K9 Search and Rescue dog. Radar is just over 1 year old and Diesel and Cashmere are a little over 2 years old. 

It's quite a handful with three 60+ pound fur babies in the house, but we wouldn't have it any other way. They are constantly getting under my feet, shedding, and bringing in dirt, but the love, friendship, and laughter that they provide is quite invaluable. I love seeing their different personalities and I love their interactions with each other. 

Cashmere is the princess of the family. She hates to go outside and she wants her belly rubbed at all times. Pretty smart girl, huh? She doesn't like to play rough at all. She prefers the boys to play together and she just runs around them and barks, pretending like she's in on the scuffle. It's adorable. : ) She is always full of energy and is up for playing/walking/running at ALL times. 

This is her getting cleaned, but she thinks it's a belly rub. 

Diesel is the leader. He thinks that he rules the house and he gets pretty upset if he doesn't get his way. Lazy is pretty much the perfect word to describe him. He is the cutest sleeper and I would say 75% of the pictures I take of him are sleeping. He looks like he could be tough and vicious, but he is a major momma's boy and hides behind me when he's scared, which happens frequently. He doesn't believe in playing with toys...he demolishes them and eats them. And then he ends up with colored poop. At least it makes it pretty? ; ) 

Yes, he likes to use a pillow. 

Radar is the "talent" of the family. He can sit, lay, speak, stay, and find missing persons. If that doesn't deserve a big ole bone, I don't know what does. He has such a happy, friendly personality and loves to be around new people. He has become quick friends with Diesel (to our delight) and they love to rough house and bite on each other. He is a major toy lover and is prone to obsess over anything that squeaks or squeals. 

And I'm done. : ) 

Want more of my fabulous pups? Come on over to my blog and y'all will see them pretty frequently! Promise. Thanks so much for having me, Julie! I can't wait to read more from this series!

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They are so adorable!! I wish y'all lived closer so we could have puppy play dates all the time! Maisy really misses Radar :)

Now y'all leave Megan some love!