high five for friday

linking up with lauren with high five for friday. 

she spoke about it at latte's and blogging and i thought it sounded like fun. 

here are my top five favorite things from this past week:



1.  chick-fil-a gave me a free breakfast on thursday morning. 

the calories dont count if i didnt have to pay for it, right?  

2.  mailey in all her cuddle glory!  she is the most to say the least.

3.  i heart being airport ride biotch to my besties!  not only is it a chance to be of service to my friends, but also i get to be the first hug hello or the last farewell.  so looking forward to spending more time with these ladies this weekend! 

4.  i love how much husband spoils our pups.  it wasnt even 80 degrees out and he made sure they had fresh, iced water.  he is such a softy!

5.  attending my very first blogger meetup.

cosleeping

my thoughts on cosleeping is that we need a bigger bed :)

summer lovin

two things i love most about the summertime this year ...

... this dress and mailey's new little brother!

when i walked in the door last tuesday evening, i was greeted by this little guy. he has no blood relation to mailey, but he looks like her mini me. we named him general omar bradley or the general, omar or obie for short. over the past year or so, mailey has really calmed down. she does a lot of laying around the house and backyard. omar is having none of that ... he hangs on her collar and just follows her around, playfully biting at her neck. we are having to get used to the constant "go time" attitude that comes with our little man.

as for this dress - i bought this for a backyard wedding and have fallen in love. i paid $14 at h&m and i have already gotten my monies worth. hello breezy cotton maxi dress ... and hello summer!!!

sunday with friends

last night keith, millie and pig came to see us

today, after church, we let the animals run around in the sun for a while.  

mailey loves when her pals come to visit

"people let me tell you bout my best friend"

turns out, pig is very photogenic.

here is an updated pic of husbands muttons.  click here to find out more about 

muttons on a mission and here to donate (select "muttons - mark benfield")

i hope you all had a sunday full of friends as well!

snow day, part deux

here are some picks from monday's snow:

mailey in her new sweater :)

da boys cooking some k-bobs 

me, "helping" da boys

k-bobs

work it!

mailey jumping up to catch a snowball

snow day linner at the rents

my little buttercup has the sweetest smile

some people think dogs cant smile ... 

... well here is my proof that they do.  

does your pet smile? 

day seven

ta da!  

redish hair

jean jacket: gap

white shirt: ny&co. 

skirt: thrifted (american apparel) 

socks & boots: target

husband making fun of my posing

puppy kisses :)

after church, husband and i headed downtown for lunch and a long walk with the pup.

what a fantastic day!!!

date night

last night, husband and i parked off of fayetteville street in downtown raleigh.  we walked around a bit and decided to dine at sitti.  we split the appetizer sampler while people watching thru the front windows.   afterwards, we stopped by fountain for dessert ... aka a glass of bourbon.

we walked around our city holding hands and laughing, just like you see in the movies.  it was absolutely delightful.  after stopping by harris teeter to pick up some chunky monkey and a redbox, we cuddled in bed to watch percy jackson & the olympians: the lightning thief.  *sigh* what a great night!

the pic above was taken on another date night with my friend tara.  we sat at boylan bridge and munched on onion rings until the sun set.  husband and i love to go there too because the patio is dog friendly.  there are always a lot of well behaved pups out there ... and then there is mailey :)

ps - i heart you raleigh!

morning time ...

every morning, i go into the bedroom before i leave for work.  i kiss husband on the forehead and tell him i love him and hope he has a great day.  

... 87% of the time, this is what i find:

it takes a lot of will power not to crawl back in bed and cuddle with them :)

... friends

update on the pup front:

they are officially friends.  i have to say im a bit surprised since mailey is usually such a bully.  they have played so well together.  the picture above is from our walk on saturday thru downtown raleigh.

i think mailey is going to be heartbroken when rudy leaves ...

friend or foe?

this evening we are introducing mailey to rudy. rudy will visiting for a week and i am hopeful that they will play well together. if they do, i will have cute pics to post of them frolicking in the back yard.

on a side note: husband and i finishing raking the yard this week. we filled 25 large trash bags with God only knows how many years worth of decomposing leaves. a friend has donated a small fire pit and grill ... the tiki torches will be in place soon and the hammock is always swinging. i think once this weather cools off, it will be time for a backyard cookout :)

getting settled

wow! its been a crazy couple of weeks.

a few thoughts:

• i hate moving
• i love moving
• i am a slack blogger

we have most of our stuff moved into the new place. now the battle is to find a place for everything and convincing mailey that its ok to poop and pee in the backyard. she was out there 45 minutes last night and refused. i think she is feeling more and more comfortable in the house, but she has no clue the backyard is there for her pleasure. hopefully, friday we will be able to get the fence repaired and let her loose more. then saturday will be spent making the yard a little more homey for her and us. we are looking forward to getting the apartment completely cleaned out this weekend and bringing home the vacuum cleaner!

mailey being stubborn

husband is on week 2 of school. i think cramming a semester worth of info into 5 weeks is a little overwhelming. because of the stress, he has been pulling on his beard and says its getting on his nerves ... so i think he is shaving it today :( on the plus side, its been a while since ive seen his hansom face. i wonder if he will have a massive tan line leaving a temporary shrine to the hair that once was.