Best Weekend Ever :)

This weekend was probably the best one that I've had for as long as I can remember. And the best part, was it was 3 days long... and every single day was equally as amazing!

The best parts of my weekend:

• Meeting new friends that I have a million things in common with :)
• Watching Hangover 2 and laughing until I cried
• Laying out by the pool with Sarah and Brittany (then having a lunch date here - so good!)
• Grilling out and drinking obnoxious amounts of ice cold beer
• Puppy play dates with Toby, Pete & Samson
• Buying this adorable top at Ruche (so many cute things to choose from!)

And my very favorite part...

Deciding that 9 to 5 jobs aren't for me -officially- and starting to look at hair & make up schools! (more on this later)

What did you do this weekend?

You may be a [crazy obsessed] dog person IF . . .

What you're about to read is a little list that I made up this morning after I was woken up by a tennis ball under my back, my covers stolen by my 70 lb boxer, and realizing that even though we have a king sized bed... I was somehow squished up against the wall with cramped legs. [Either way, I will always always always let my puppies sleep in the bed ;) ]

You may be a [crazy obsessed] dog person IF:

1. You allow your dogs to sleep in the bed, even at the cost of your own comfort. This usually means that your dog(s) will creep up to the top of the bed while you are sleeping, steal all of your pillows, take the blanket from you, and sprawl out to the point where there is little room for you. If you have a dog who loves toys, watch out for tennis balls... they don't feel that awesome once they're carelessly lodged behind your back or neck. Also, beware... you could wake up to a dog butt in your face.

2. When at a party, you pull out pictures of your dog(s) as if they're your children. This one happens a lot, especially thanks to whoever invented camera phones. People! My dog is just that cute! If you don't believe me, here, look at this tiny puppy slide show I've complied as cute puppy evidence.

3. Your dog(s) have multiple facebook albums or you have totally crossed over to the dark side and created them a facebook all their own. [our dogs don't have facebooks... but sean's dog in high school did have her own myspace ;) ]

4. When you're at a bar or other social place meeting people for the first time and some one asks you if you have children, you say yes. two actually. a really cute boxer named Samson and the most adorable schnoodle ever, Pete! wait... that's what you meant by 'children' right?

5. Your in-laws refer to your pups as 'grand-puppies' and your dog(s) know exactly who their going to see when you say, in a very high pitched and excited voice, ''let's go see grandma and grandpa!""

6. You make funny voices for your dogs and make them say funny things. Even when you have company. Come on, I know we aren't the only people who do this!

7. You laugh hysterically when your dog farts, even though it smells terrible!!!!!

8. Ok, this one isn't that crazy. At Christmas, your dog(s) have their very own stocking. Family members buy them gifts, and you find that most of the presents under the tree are for your pup(s). [i spent $80 on our pups stocking stuffers this year.... more than I spent on anyone else except Sean! ok... maybe a little crazy]

9. You have several ''I love my _____'' paw and/or bone shaped bumper stickers on your car. Mine wouldn't stick to my car because it's apparently all plastic [awesome!].... so ours are on our refrigerator.

10. Lastly, you may be a crazy obsessed dog person if your dog dresses better than you do. Pete know's what i'm talking about.

What crazy things do you do for your pets?

new hair :)

Yesterday I left work early and tried a new salon -- Bombshell -- and let me tell you, they did not disappoint! I wish I had a before picture, because you would be amazed at the difference... I'm going to start calling Carol ''Hair Goddess'' from now on, because she r e a l l y knows what she's doing! Before I came in, my hair was a two-toned mess and my roots and greys were downright embarrassing. I picked the color and it came out exactly like I wanted.... something that other stylists have failed to do in the past (hence trying a new place).

If you're in the Richmond area, I definitely recommend this place. It's affordable and the service is excellent; I felt like I was hanging out with a bunch of old friends! And when you walk in, it doesn't really feel like a salon... it feels more like a dressing room with big sofa's and chairs and vanity mirrors (did I mention it's a 50's pin up girl theme?!), I was in heaven! Everyone was really down to Earth, and I felt really comfortable and at home... I'll definitely be back!

P.S. - Why is it that every time I get my hair done, I want to become a stylist myself? The work environment is totally different than an office setting, and it seems like so much fun!

A Perfect Sunday.

This weekend was all around perfect, but my favorite day by far was Sunday. Usually, Sean wakes me up on Sunday morning with a really great breakfast and we spend the entire day in our pajamas watching movies, not putting actual clothes on until around 4:30 pm and heading over to his parents house for dinner on the grill. It was sunny, however, and I needed to break the routine (although I did still get homemade hash browns and a fresh omelet, thanks to Sean!).

Sean isn't really an ''outdoorsy'' person, but when it gets warm and sunny out I can't help but spend as much time as possible at the River... which we're lucky enough to live only about 5 minutes away from. I couldn't stand the thought of staying in my pajamas when it was so nice out, and even though all of my other friends had plans, I decided to pack up the pups and head out on my own.

I don't usually go places by myself. Once I attempted to eat at Panera alone and I finished my soup and sandwich in under 10 minutes and then got the hell out of there... eating alone is awkward. I figured, why not give it another shot... after all, bringing Pete and Samson meant I wouldn't really be alone anyway.

Best. Decision. Ever!

I packed up the car with water and dog treats, and started driving towards my favorite river spot on 42nd street....... only to find that it was blocked off for the weekend due to high/dangerous water. Disappointed, I decided to head towards Belle Isle, a small island in the city with pretty good rocks to lay out on.... the only issue I have with this location is parking sucks and it's always incredibly crowded. Sunday was no different.

We found a parking spot (wayyyyy too far away - not doing that again!) and after walking several blocks finally got to the river and spread out our blanket. There were a ton of people, but it was nice listening to this guy play his guitar (he sang all Beatles songs, who could complain?) and I'm always up for good people watching. Everyone on the river is super friendly, and some one gave my pups the ice out of their cooler on their way out (they needed it!) and another gave them each a bite of their sandwich. Needless to say, we were in heaven!

The water was pretty rough and nobody was allowed to get in over ankle deep, so we got hot pretty fast and once we ran out of water, headed home. I'm proud to say that we stayed for 3.5 hours before we were ready to leave, and I think I'll go back next weekend - the benefit of going by yourself is that you can come and go as you please. Usually, my friends are ready to leave by the time I'm just getting comfortable.

The walk back to the car was pure torture. Our car was parked at the top of this really huge hill, and halfway through Pete and Samson pulled me into the grass for a little break. We finally got home, and they spent the rest of the afternoon/night passed out!

I took a nap, too (it was glorious!)... and then Sean and I went out to this little place. We'd never been, and let me tell you - we will be back soon! Sean got meatloaf which was out-of-this-world and I had a veggie sandwich on sourdough break. Ohmygosh. We came home and watched 4 episodes of Freaks & Geeks... remember that show? We're obsessed all over again :)

I hope you had an amazing weekend - I'm getting my hair done tomorrow and I couldn't be more ready to be brunette again! Isn't it funny how simply changing your hair gives you such a confidence boost? I love it!

Guest Post!

I'm over at one of my favorite blogs today, Sometimes Sweet!

Come say hello and learn a little about River City :-)

xx, Kara



[baseball.]

Last night Sean and I took our very adorable [and surprisingly well behaved] pups to their very first baseball game! I know, I know... people do the strangest things with their animals. But it was really fun, and actually really bizarre having our pets with us in a place where they're normally not allowed. We met our friends Cara and Jason, along with their pup Biltmore, and enjoyed $8.00 beers, $5.00 hot dogs, and $7.00 curly fries. Gotta love expensive, greasy park food!

I can't say that Sean and I are ''sports people''... but it was nice sitting outside and looking at everyone's dogs. There were dogs in hula skirts, dogs that weighed more than we did, and tiny little puppies. We got little goody bags when we entered the park, and Pete & Samson watched the game and munched on treats - they were basically in heaven.

In other news... this week has been flying by at lightening speed (for me anyway)! Did you know that Saturday is supposedly the date of the Rapture? Ha ha... I don't really take fundamentalists seriously, but it sounds like a good excuse to live it up a little this weekend! My friend's having a pool party and I'm more than ready to cook out, swim, and relax with my friends this weekend. Are you doing anything fun?



fortune cookie.

A few weeks ago, Sean and I decided to order in Chineese and spend the night watching movies together. [isn't that the best way to spend a Friday night?]

Anyway. I was more than pleased when I opened up my fortune cookie and got this little bit of encouragement:

How did my cookie know that I was looking for a different job? And guess what... today I'm going on my first job interview in almost 2 years! I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited to branch out and try something new for a while. Hopefully this will be the first interview of many, and in a few weeks I'll be happily employed somewhere else :-)