puppy – Page 9 – forEVR and always

Visitors

December 17, 2012Leave a comment

This weekend Jay’s friends came to visit from Cali and boy did we party…seriously, I’m still tired! Here are some fun pictures from the weekend in Brooklyn with our friends…

FRIDAY

(out in manhattan for the night)

SATURDAY

(rondo in bed still at 11am…he was up playing until way too late)

(hanging before starting our day)

(rondo falling asleep sitting up in the sun)

(first stop of many at Spritzenhaus…the kale salad is seriously unreal)

(goofing around with em at surf bar for dinner)

(probably my favorite from the weekend. i somehow got the boys to take this one with the trees)

(last stop at lucky dog. rondo came for that one!)

Now it’s time to start my last week of work before the holidays!

xo-j

Home For Good Dogs/Looking Down On Us

December 14, 2012Leave a comment

I think you all know, not only by the name of the blog, we are kind of (ok totally) obsessed with our little Rondo. I thought today I would share the story of how we brought home this guy and the amazing work Home For Good Dogs is doing!

We had been looking for a puppy for a while….we used Pet Finder, looked through tons of sites, and sent countless emails to both shelters and breeders. Then one day Jay found Rondo (who was listed as a girl!) and we fell in love with his picture.

003 (the picture on pet finder of rondo)

Then life took a turn, as it does, and I lost my cousin. It couldn’t have been more tragic and is something I still can’t comprehend…the day after as we were making plans to travel home to be with my family, HFGD called and told me we were approved for Rondo (who at that time we thought was a girl and we were going to name Cholula). I told them I wouldn’t be able to come get him as we had a horrible loss in the family, but thank you so much…

As I was talking to Toni from HFGD (amazing woman!) it turned out HFGD is located in the town where my cousin lived. Again, I told her how I would love to meet the puppies, but I wouldn’t be able to. She understood, but as we were about to hang up she asked where I lived in NJ (about 45 minutes away from my cousins house and HFGD) and she said “no problem! we will just bring the dogs to that petsmart for you on Sunday”. And quick as that everything changed.

That weekend I went to meet up with Toni and the puppies. She picked them both up and that’s when we realized that though they were both listed as girls, one was most definitely a boy! I held them both and didn’t know how I could possibly decide who to bring home…then Rondo licked my face and I was sold.

I like to think my cousin was looking down (and even though she wasn’t a pet person) she sent us Rondo. I’m always calling Rondo my little heaven angel…

(rondo’s first day home sleepy in his bed)

I can’t say enough about the amazing work Home For Good Dogs does. They are non-profit full of loving, helpful, warm volunteers who only want the best for their adoptable dogs. Look at some of these cuties who need homes now…

Please take some time and like their Facebook to continue support for this wonderful place! If you know of anyone in the area looking for a loving pet to bring home please look to them! They have adoption events in Milburn throughout December.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and this story brings a little bit of light to your day, as Rondo does with us.

xo-j

3 Years

December 13, 2012December 13, 2012Leave a comment

Last night Jay and I went to dinner for our 3 year anniversary at Marlow & Sons. Everything was so delicious and it was really nice to go out to dinner alone (we’re so busy it doesn’t happen too much!). I took some pictures but they all turned out dark…bear with me here…

(duck leg with green apples, spinach, onion, and so many spices mmm. sweet sunchokes with bacon. crostini with feta, fennel, and red onion salad)

(my man loving his chicken/lemon/rice soup. if you know jay, you know his world revolves around soup. look at the concentration!)

(table settings, menu, chalkboard menu)

(attempt to take a picture of us)

It was a really nice night, followed by the 12.12.12 concert, a double overtime Celtics win, and this little guy doing this all on his own after a walk in the cold…

He cracks us up!

xo-j

Butterball Cookies

December 11, 2012Leave a comment

(rondo investigating the cookies…good thing they were covered!)

This weekend I made my favorite cookies for Christmas/Doug’s Birthday! They are so yummy and beyond easy. I thought I would share the recipe with you today.

What You Need

1 stick butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar + some for rolling
1 cup flour
1 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Directions

Preheat to 250

1. Cream the butter and powdered sugar together in mixing bowl

2. Make sure that is all mixed up well…

3. Now add the flour, vanilla, water, and nuts. Continue to mix…I use a spoon at first then my hands for this part because I think it works better than the mixer.

4. Once it is all mixed up start rolling the mixture into about tsp size balls…

5. Place balls on a cookie sheet. No need to space, they don’t rise. Cook for 30-40 minutes.

6. Get your powdered sugar ready for rolling! The second you take the cookies out of the oven, roll them into the sugar…

7. Let cool…and you are done! Tasty simple butterball cookies!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! One of our close family friends always made them for us when we were kids and they’ve been my favorite ever since!

xo-j

Lately…

December 6, 2012Leave a comment

Wild weeks at work mean lazy nights at home. I did however do some quality wrapping while Jay was out at his basketball game last night! Here are some things from around the city and home in the past couple days…

(walk in central park in the weird warm weather monday)

(columbus circle christmas shopping)

(snuggling my boy enjoying our tree)

(the rock tree is up! it really never gets old…the crowds do…but not the tree)

(my sweet boys playing together…they’re too cute)

yay almost friday!

xo-j

Thankful Thankful

November 25, 2012Leave a comment

I know it’s a bit after Thanksgiving, but if anything being home reminds me of all the things I’m thankful for…

I’m thankful for…

…my family…

…this little guy…

…having a wonderful home to go visit…

…and home looks like this…

…that it’s holiday season and I feel like I deserve to eat every kind of junk there is…and mom’s cooking too…

…and of course that it’s finally Christmas season and Jay and I are having our first Christmas living together…

(a million decorating and pictures of us to come)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and long weekend!

I ate so much!

November 19, 2012Leave a comment

This weekend we had a Friendsgiving over at Jay’s Sister’s house. We had a great time…and I ate way, way, way, too much…I ate so much I didn’t even take any pictures!

I did however make this wreath for Julie…I’ll do a DIY post at some point this week 🙂

In other news…

…my orchid is still blooming and has been for the past 7 months…I don’t know what I’m doing right this time! Maybe after you kill so many plants the universe finally lets you get one right.

…Rondo continues to be the cutest puppy on the planet…seriously…

…and Jay and I continue to be total weirdos…we like it this way.

Hope everyone is off to a great start on this short holiday week!

Lately…

November 14, 20121 Comment

Pictures from the past couple days/week from my phone (Jay’s too)…

(still a bit of fall left in the city)

(sunbather)

(power out in my office monday…only the radio city glow giving us light)

(that’s all for now folks 😉 )

Don’t judge a book (or soup)…

November 12, 20121 Comment

The problem with a puppy is you can’t say “come on just smile at the camera for me please”…well you can, and I tried, but it doesn’t work. This ^ is the result of countless attempts of a picture together on Friday…oh well!

(rondo in his winter coat / unreal pizza from Friday night)

This weekend was nice and lax. We went to the movies (NiteHawk if you’re ever in the area go! Awesome food and such a fun atmosphere!), saw some friends, played with the little guy, and enjoyed time at home together. I also made some lentil soup to have for lunch this week…

LENTIL SOUP RECIPE

This is one of my favorites. My Mom always made it and it’s just delicious. It may look ugly, but don’t judge…the taste is unmatched!

What you will need:

In the spirit of honesty, I used a can of diced tomatoes, 2 cups stock/5 cups water, a weird amount of black pepper, and some pickle juice on the top…yup…

First get those lentils going on the stove with the water/stock…they need to come to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on.

Next chop up the onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes (or open the can 😉 ) and put them all in a frying pan with a couple tbs of olive oil…

Let that cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add all your spices (thyme, basil, oregano, garlic, s&p)…

Mix the veg & spices together and let cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from heat until your beans are ready…

Once your beans are done, mix the vegetables and beans together. Then add the lemon juice and brown sugar…mix this all up, put the lid on, and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes (the longer the better, but make sure to stir).

Then top with some vinegar, or in my case pickle juice (about a tbs), and enjoy! It may not look beautiful but my goodness it is delicious…

The perfect winter meal!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

x0-j

Sandy/Halloween/NorthCarolina

November 5, 2012November 8, 20123 Comments

The past week has been difficult in the city. With the horrible devastation from the hurricane, lack of power, transportation, and flooding it has been a different kind of week for sure. Jay and I were so fortunate throughout the storm, with our only real issue being able to get to work (2 1/2 hour bus ride when it’s normally 20 minutes). I can’t stop thinking about all the families and hope that we can help somehow. Here are some pictures of our neighborhood and us at home from the days that followed…

(the NYC skyline with power out from our rooftop)

(working from home, rondo watching his first celtics game, crazy bus lines)

(rondo begging for my food, our park totally flooded, homemade ziti)

(comfy boy napping through the wind)

Before the hurricane was Halloween which was a great time! We got all dressed up and went to our friends party. Here are some pics from the night (Jay was Abu Nazir from Homeland and I was Khaleesi from Game of Thrones)…

This weekend after the storm and Halloween, I went to North Carolina to spend the weekend at ECU with my best friends! We went to a football game, saw all our old haunts, ate a crazy amount of Bojangles, and were really excited to all be back together. Here are some pics from the weekend…