Blessings

Sunday my church had blessing of the animals in honor of St. Francis.  Well, how could I not go to this?!  Edgar had the honor of having Wooley blessed; I had to keep Lyonn and Madelaine in their preppy green carrier for their own safety (soooo many doggies).  Strangest thing on the way home Wooley (keeping in mind that he's blind, has arthritis, elderly) hopped out of the carrier and place his front paws on my shoulders, then tried to climb over the seat.  hhhhhhmmmmm, I think he knew that he had been blessed!

View of this very crowded event.  Blessing took place at the cross in the center.

Edgar and Wooley after the blessing.

Wooley with the 'blessing card"

The Lyonn was happy to be blessed!

Little Madelaine received her blessing!

Prepped For Fall!

I had to make the most of the first weekend of fall!  The weather FINALLY cooled off (YAY!) a bit, so a trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning was pleasant and almost-crisp.  My home is ready (actually I was quite surprised during a run that afternoon that it is the ONLY home on my street with pumpkins...hhhhmmmm).  The pumpkins will get a second life after Thanksgiving.  I'll cook the small ones (the small yellow and the blue and white ones) and make either bread/muffins or soup (love pumpkin soup!) and Edgar will give the large ones to his family for their horses (I'm told the horses LOVE them). 

So, not only contributing to the fiscal life of family-owned pumpkin patch, but also recyling and repurposing pumpkins! 

this cow spoke and asked for a bottle, Edgar was willing to oblige!

Ready for fall!

Fall Blessing!

WELCOME FALL!

Welcome!

I bought my home brand new 7-years ago today!  Ironic that I chose today to roll out my Home Blog, right?  This was not planned, it was onlny as I am writing this post that I realized it!  

3-years ago, my home became our home as my fiance and I combined our respective homes into this one.  We have multiples of everything!  During the first few months we sold, donated and stored our way into a cohesive abode and I am still working to make various pieces of furniture 'fit'.  It seems somewhat irresponsible to get rid of expensive pieces just because they don't fit; they may work in a future home! 

Because I bought the home while it was being built, I was able to choose the granite, flooring, and incredibly enough, the builder had added a loft above the dining room which adds an entire room to the house.  I've been working on my home for years, between work and school, trying with very limited knowledge to make it spectaular.  I've discovered some very creative bloggers out there who have really inspired me to try some projects that I otherwise would not have.  As you may have guessed TIME is always the issue for me, not having enough of it, but I work in projects between work and studying.

Since I did not have to deal with problem areas, you might say I've had clean canvas on which to work.  So while I have done alot, there is much more to be done.  I walk through the rooms and think about what project I want to attack start next!

Jewelrey Giveaway!

Ms. Lindsey at Being Mrs. Cullins, is hosting a fabulous giveaway from Tramonti!  Visit her blog because it is adorable, as is she, and you can enter the contest! 

How gorgeous is this?!

This is a company that believes in giving back; It is a company with this sort of philosophy that I love to support!

"The Cause: Since its founding in 2007, Tramonti has been a company dedicated to giving a percentage of its profits to a different charity each year. Tramonti has chosen The Gladney Center for Adoption as its charity of choice for 2009" (from Tramonti's Etsy site)

Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday Wooley! {update}

Tonight we're celebrating Tealle-Wooley's 12th birthday (meet Wooley on the left side of the blog!).  I'll have pictures of his 'party' tomorrow.  I'll also have more pictures of other items as well including an outfit with BOOTS! yay! The weather actually cooled a few degrees and I wore boots yesterday! I've been really remiss this week about posting.  Wooley is probably the reason for that. 

Wooley is at the very end of his life, so this little birthday is really a celebration for me more than anything.  12-years is a very long time to have something in your life that is a huge part of it.  He is the same age as my soon-to-be stepson and he's referred to as 'Drew's brother'.  Edgar has even interchanged the names (ie:  "do you want me to give Drew some carrot juice, I mean Wooley")

**too funny!**

A bit about Wooley.  I rescued him from a pet store where he had been dropped in front of in Newport Beach, CA, the Fashion Island Shopping Center (why would anyone just drop of an angora?!).  I was at the pet store picking up food for my new baby Lop rabbit, Paige, that I had just adopted 2 months prior.  The pet store folks did not know how to deal with Wooley's angora wool and he was just a mess; but at least they were providing a temporary home.  I fell in love and agonized over him for about a week.  When I went back to check on him, he was still there, wool still a mess and his big blue eyes had a look of horror and sadness. 

After I took him home, much to my absolute dismay, the two bunnies did not get along at all and had to be kept separate.  I bought all sorts of bunny books and tried to bond them for a year; however, strangely enough, they became best friends. 

So when Paige *went to heaven* 4 years ago, Wooley started to become ill.  He started having teeth problems and sinus problems.  However, he has been happy and we saw how hard he fought to live after major dental surgery and a tumor removal in August 2008.  We couldn't believe it (I could, but Edgar was amazed at the strength he showed).  In January 2009, he developed cataracts as a result of the dreaded E Cuniculi virus and has been blind for 9-months.  

He's starting to show a weakness in the past week, and I know his time is short. He only weighs 2lbs even though I feed him a high caloric food twice a day.   I'm watching for that sign that he is ready because I had decided long ago that easing his transition will be the best gift I can give to him. 

As to not to sound sooooo depressing on this day of celebration, at lunch time I'm going to go pick up some balloons and ingredients for flourless chocolate cupcakes (for me and Edgar, the bunnies get an oatmeal-carrot cupcake creation that I've made just for them).  I searched for Peter Rabbit decorations, but couldn't not find them and it was too late to order on-line, so I found some blue and chocolate French inspired decorations.  It is fiscal 2010 madness here the office, and in an effort to maintian a level of professional decorum, I will NOT be sharing this blessed event! haha (no, not even a sign on my door announcing it, although I seriously thought about it...)

So please indulge me as a post our party pictures !

You may know that I have hypoglycemia from my teenage years of not eating anything (tee hee, oh to be able to do that now!haha), so I'm always modifying receipes so that I can eat healthy and stay awake.  This is a great receipe (from Martha! big happy squeal from me, love Martha ;-) for Flour-less Chocolate Cupcakes, yum!  Of course for the sugar, I'll use Splenda, but it is great and for anyone who wants to decrease their gluten and/or sugar, this is a fabulous holiday party desert!  It has the chocoholic-Edgar seal of approval (he's a foodie-snob, so that's saying ALOT!!)  You can use vanilla yogurt, ice cream or whip cream (regular or fat free) for topping!  Dogs can't have chocolate, can bunnies?!  I can't afford to find out with these 3 (hi Dr. Knox! - she's my vet, whom I've gotten to know quite well!).

from Martha's website.

Cupcake oatmeal and carrot cakes...yummy if you are a rabbit!

Yes, I've taught my 'child' to sit properly on chairs!

...before we set something on fire....

Thank you for celebrating Wooley's life with us!

And a big thank you to Ms. Lindsay ;-) at Being Mrs. Cullins for her wonderful movie suggestion of Miss Potter with Renee Zellweger.  Our local Blockbuster said they did not stock it, but I will find it or oder it from Amazon over the weekend! I love Beatrix Potter! If you haven't visited Being Mrs. Cullins, please do so, it's a wonderful blog and she's having a giveaway!

Effortless Style

I was inspired by A New York Girl's post "Effortless Style".  It was a really well-written (ie: could easily be in Vogue!) and she discussed the art of having effortless style.  Ms. NY Girl basically discussed what my philosphy in life is as well:   How can one go out and be supportive and nurturing to others if she is hating herself and does not possess confidence?  Fashion can help us feel good about ourselves even in difficult times.  I think effortless style really gives us that boost of confidence that we need. We are sometimes surrounded by much negativity and people who may be very interested in seeing us fail, but confidence in ourselves and give us the ability to go out and make the most of our skills and abilities. 

Like many of us, I workout hard - long runs, Lotte Burke Pilates, yoga, try to have a healthy diet, and I want to feel strong and look and feel good in all the fashions I spend my hard-earned money on! When I feel like I look good, I'm happy. If I'm happy and I'm willing to go that extra mile for someone else.

I admire classic women who just seem to know how to dress in a tasteful manner.  Yesterday I had not planned my outfit, but I do felt like I have that  level of  'effortless style'. I was running late and quickly chose a trusted black Anne Klein skirt, black patent pumps from Nordstom and a cream Forever blouse with ruffles topped with a Banana black patent belt. Of course the blouse could have been neatly tucked into the skirt, but I must have been feeling a bit mad-men-ish! It seems that I have been well-received (outfit-wise, haha!) in two meetings, while doing erronds at lunchtime and passing some colleagues in the hallway. I could have also worn a black leather trench-style coat or the new black trench from DKNY that purchased for fall, however, it was STILL 80 degrees; maybe next time!

Isn't nice when we can achieve effortlessly what has taken so much work to actually get to this point. Here is wishing everyone a confident, stylish day!

front courtyard with Wooley!

Giveaway!

If you haven't already, stop by Blonde Ambition's blog.  Ms. Blonde Ambition is having a great giveaway:  A lovely scarf, your choice of two colors.

How nice, a new friend!

Entries are accepted until October 15th, so visit soon!