Weekend Happenings

What a weekend! I'm sitting at work at the start of my shift already contemplating closing my eyes for a 5 minute power nap, but I know that wouldn't be nearly enough for my greedy little sleep mechanism and would only cause me great amounts of grief for the rest of my workday. *sigh*....where do the weekends go?

Actually, my weekend was a pretty stinking good one as far as weekends go...I was just running around nonstop, so I didn't have much time to sit and recoup from last week's crazy schedule. It started off with taking my sweet puppy to her dog training classes...yay for a warehouse full of adorable fluffy canine cuteness! Now, before I go further, you must know that one of the most wonderful things in my life right now is my 2 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Wicket. Patrick and I "rescued" her from the pet store five months after we got married. Now, neither Patrick nor I had EVER been dog people. I spent my high school summers dog/house sitting and my best friend growing up had several sweet dogs we were constantly around, but to be honest, I didn't really like them at all...I actually found them quite hairy and smelly and annoying....but MAN did my mind change! We bought our baby on a whim with absolutely ZERO knowledge of dog care or what we had just gotten ourselves into...but I can confidently say that was the BEST spontaneous decision of my life! I love this sweet girl with everything I've got...two years into this she's still quite a handful, but Patrick and I absolutely adore her and she has kept us busy and entertained in the best way. We enrolled her in doggie classes (finally) and she's well on her way to being a little lady.

                                      This is our baby the week we brought her home <3

I spent the majority of my afternoon Friday crocheting Wicket a doggie sweater for valentine's day (crochet...another of my newfound passions), and she looks pretty darn schnazzy in it if I do say so myself.

 

Saturday morning, my mom picked my sister and me up (easy peasy since my sis and I recently bought houses only a mile apart) and we took a road trip up to Boulder to visit my cousin Jennifer who is in town for a dog training seminar (again with the dog training). We toured the Celestial Seasonings tea factory...a fantastic (and free!) tour for any of you that haven't visited. Apparently it's the only remaining tour that actually allows its guests out on the factory floor...up close and personal with all the machinery! You get to walk through the rows and rows of spices and herbs and tea leaves and let the aromas permeate your whole body. They invite you into their "Peppermint Room" to experience the almost painful, definitely intense fragrance of the peppermint, spearmint and catnip (yep catnip) in a super-concentrated setting. If you aren't much of a tea drinker before experiencing the tour, you almost certainly will be by the time you finish! After the tour, you can relax in the tea tasting room and enjoy literally every tea they produce...all for free! And for my fellow girls who enjoy a regular dose of "cute"...the gift shop is overflowing with adorable items for the home, tea-related or not! It's a good thing we were pressed for time, else I would have spent way more cash in there than my husband would like to hear about ;).

                              These are the only pictures they'd let us take...after the info
                  video and before walking out on the factory floor in our beaYOOtiful hairnets

                                             Jennifer (left) My sister Kayla (right)

 

Me (left)  Mom (right)

Once we were filled to the brim with hot herbal goodness, we set off into boulder to find some delicious local foodage. We ended up at a place called The Sink (on the recommendation of a local), which is a little hole-in-the-wall place that was actually featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives a while back. It was SO GOOD. Well, I suppose I was pretty insanely hungry by the time we ate, so a piece of cheese scraped off the sidewalk probably would've tasted awesome to me at that moment, but I ordered a turkey burger topped with green apple slices and warm, gooey Brie on top and I loved it! The rest of my fam really enjoyed everything they ordered as well, so we HIGHLY recommend if you ever find yourself wandering around the town of Boulder, CO with an empty stomach, check this place out!

When I finally returned Saturday night after a long drive home and dinner with a small group from church, I was surprised with my mom's piano waiting for me in my living room! My sweet hubby and my dad and my brother-in-law and his fam all moved it over to surprise me after my day out. I felt so special :). I've played the piano since I was 5 years old, so this particular piano has seen me through countless lessons and recitals and band practices and 'jam sessions' as my dad would like to call them....so when I got married and moved out, this piano was sorely missed. It'll be so nice to be able to play music in my home again :).

Yesterday after church, my buddy at work's sweet fiancée invited me to go wedding dress shopping with her and the girls. We spent hours and hours waiting to give our opinions (don't worry, she wanted them) on pretty much every dress in that boutique. I love doing stuff like this! I just love the atmosphere of all things wedding! I so appreciate her including me in her day :)...and I'm so glad she found the dress!!! Way to go, Sabrina.

So....after dress shopping and dinner and shopping for groceries and catching up on the Bachelor (our small group is doing a bachelor pool this season so patrick and i have to have our top 6 submitted tonight!), we crashed into bed WAY past our bedtime and barely woke up in time for work today! Well...Patrick doesn't work today (yay minor holidays!) so he'll be meeting me for lunch at MY work today! What a sweet hubby I have <3

                                                            Yay for sleepy puppies!