Ahh, the Weekend

With a busy week at work and a major project still looming at home, I'm glad the weekend is almost here. And I'm especially glad that we don't have many plans. If Monday morning comes and our biggest accomplishment was taking the pup for a stroll by the lake, I'll be quite pleased.

Have a great weekend!

Photo from here. 

Love

Love can be grand gestures -- roses and gifts and declarations of devotion. But sometimes the most beautiful signs of love are small, regular moments made special because you're together. The latter was the type of weekend I got to spend with my husband and our dog. A particularly nice point was yesterday when the sun was shining, the snow was melting and we went for a walk. It was perfect.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Photos by me.

It's Here!

On Friday, I was giddy knowing that I had a full weekend coming up with absolutely no plans. My husband and I had protected it against any commitments and were looking forward to unwinding and relaxing. And on our doorstep that afternoon was a new cover for our sofa from Bemz that I had almost forgotten we had ordered. Bonus!

One of our first purchases as newlyweds in California was a bold blue Karlanda sofa from Ikea. It's held up surprisingly well over the years and we still love it. The only problem was the cover had faded into a dull navy, so it was time for a change. We considered a lot of different colors but ultimately chose a medium gray. It actually brightens up the living room -- and the pup seems to approve, too. It's a nice step toward getting the room how we want it. Next up, replacing two old black chairs with a sofa or loveseat and swapping out some pillows, lamps and artwork to add color and pattern. It's always an ongoing process, isn't it?

Photo by me.

My Baby

A huge reason why I love being home is our little pup. She makes everything, even just hanging out in the living room, more interesting, fun, lively and cute. My goodness, I love her!

Photos by my husband (on his iPhone).

Yes Please!

I have a little daydream and it involves bicycling. I love to bike -- the way it feels to travel so fast, the perspective one gets from seeing things from this vantage point, the gratitute that comes with traversing a distance using your own two legs.

Now, I have a perfectly good mountain-type bike from college. And it's great. But it's not part of my daydream. No, this happy vision features a bike that's a little less utilitarian and a lot more stylish and fun. Basically it's the new Liberty of London for Target bicycle. Seriously, it's beautiful.

And it brings me to the next part of my daydream: adding a wicker basket to the front of the bike for my pup to sit in when we go on rides. Is she trained for such an activity? Well, no. However, this is my daydream and in it she loves sitting in the basket and going for rides with me. And until I get this lovely bike and attach a basket and try taking her for a ride, I'm not going to bother thinking otherwise. That's the beauty of daydreams, right?

Dog Tired

What a day! What a week! Whew, I am beat and so glad the weekend is starting. Currently my plans are: husband, dog, me, couch ... and that's all. Anything beyond that doesn't really matter right now. 

Wishing everyone a cozy, relaxing, wonderful weekend!

Photo from here.

A Perfect Mix

The weekend's winding down but I have a huge smile on my face because this has been a fantastic two days. It brought the ideal mix -- for me, anyway -- of going out, staying in, relaxing and getting stuff done around the house.

And today my husband and I pampered our little pooch with a big walk and a trip to her favorite pet store for treats. So I think she had a good weekend, too.

Photo by me.

Thankful Thursday

Today, I feel overwhelmingly grateful for home.

Not just my physical house, although I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how much I do love it. I love how we're little by little fixing it up and making it our own. I love how it's this oasis of comfort no matter what's going on in the rest of the world. All day, I kept thinking about how I wanted to walk in and curl up in a blanket by the fireplace while it's chilly and drizzly outside.

But as much as I crave being in my house, it's the others that also call it home that are really the best. My husband and pup make my life so wonderful, and I can't think of much nicer than spending time with them at home. Whether cuddled inside or romping in the backyard -- as they're doing in this photo -- it doesn't matter. What matters is that we're here.

Since we've been away the past few weekends, he and I have expressed how much we are looking forward to this week and weekend, just being at home together with the dog. We've been carefully guarding the upcoming weekend, not saying yes to any invitations out just yet and not making too many plans. I think we both recognize how much the three of us just want to be together ... and be together at home. And I think that's a beautiful thing.

Photo by me.

Lazy Day

I have the day off and I'm happy to report it's been a beautifully lazy one so far.

The sun was shining, so I grabbed the dog, a towel, a pillow and some magazines and hit the backyard. Delightful!

Here's a photo I snapped of the pup. (I altered the pic using Poladroid, which gives digital photos that cool, vintagey look, as well as the white frame. It's really quite fun to use. You drag and drop a photo into the program and it spits out a "Polaroid," which you can watch develop on your computer screen. But beware -- it's addicting!)

Photo by me.