Happy #NationalPuppyDay to you!!! Sandy, the wonderful woman who fostered, loved, and cared for our dog Maddy before we adopted her through Great Lakes Border Collie Rescue, was kind enough to share the above photo with us of Maddy as a young pup – my heart melts for those spots and those big ears! We are so lucky to share our lives with the amazing rescue dog that Maddy is, and before her with Melody (who was also a rescue dog), and we are looking forward to participating in this years HSHV Walk & Wag on May 19th and showing our support for the amazing work that our local Humane Society does.

“A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” – Josh Billings

We enjoyed an exciting weekend of March Madness watching (this shot and this dunk – wow!) and a fun St. Patrick’s Day last Saturday; we cheered on the Red Raiders with a Guinness in hand and are thrilled to see them advance to the Sweet 16! We were sure to wear our green (even Maddy)…and red and black (Wreck ‘Em!)…and we enjoyed a delicious, homemade, holiday-appropriate meal of Bangers and Mash with Irish Cheddar and Irish Soda Bread. By some miracle, my bracket isn’t completely busted yet and I’m holding out hope that the final game will be a matchup between Texas Tech and Michigan…anything can happen! This makes me laugh.

Much to my disbelief, somehow it’s March 1st today and it is definitely coming “in like a lion”; while it was 60 degrees here earlier this week, today we’re under a winter weather advisory with up to 6 inches of snow possible. I can only hope this means that March will be going “out like a lamb” and have treated myself to some lovely spring things from my local flower shop; I happily trudged through the slushy, snowy mess with some cheery daffodils in a pretty new pot this afternoon to soothe my frazzled winter nerves. Another thing I have to lift my spirits is my sweet, adorable Maddy – just look at this face below! And in 19 days it will officially be spring!

This Valentine’s Day I was hit with a stomach bug – yuck; however, we made the best of it and stayed home beside our cozy fire and enjoyed watching It Happened One Night (1934) (which, while old, was new to me), exchanged cards, and Ryan gave me a beautiful bouquet of roses (pictured above). Maddy was sure to let me know she loves me too with a few nose nibbles (this is NOT the most flattering angle for me, but she’s so sweet and I had to share); you’ve got to appreciate that puppy love! I hope your Valentine’s Day was filled with love and happy memories.

Ryan and I never watch NFL games, except of course once a year during the Super Bowl; we aren’t fans of any particular NFL team either, so it’s kind of nice to be a neutral party where that’s concerned. I have to say that this year’s game was quite enjoyable and, in my opinion, Justin Timberlake did not disappoint with the halftime show…I mean, that thing he does with the mic stand (I don’t care if it was tied down, it’s still the coolest) – wow! And then, of course, there are all the clever commercials; this one and this one (I’m a sucker for Dirty Dancing) were a few of my favorites this year. Honestly, for me, the highlight of my Super Bowl Sunday is watching the Puppy Bowl; I had fun creating my own Puppy Bowl trading cards (here and here) and I believe this year’s dogs were all rescues from different natural disaster zones which makes it even more heart-warming. Maddy seemed to enjoy watching too; here’s her pre-game warm up.

With a winter weather advisory in effect and 3-5 inches of snow accumulation possible here today, these sweet, pink blooms and this adorable pup make my home feel even cozier and all the more inviting. Also, I love that Maddy has a habit of crossing her legs when she’s laying down – she’s my little lady. I’m looking forward to heading home this evening and enjoying a hot bowl of Butternut Squash & Poblano Chili with Toasted Pepitas & Charred Lime for dinner, likely curled up by the fire with a movie on. The Breakfast Club just happened to be on last night so we watched it of course; maybe another John Hughes movie – Pretty in Pink, anyone?

Here we are in late January and it’s been a dark and dreary week filled with little sunshine, some rain, a few snowflakes, and some very thick fog; I can’t help but feel the urge to hibernate this time of year and these photos of Maddy dozing off on our rug reflect my current mood. For me, this makes all the things that make me feel cozy, warm, and comforted all the more appealing of course and I’ve been curling up right by my fireplace as often as I can. “Treat yo self!”, as they say. Per this article in The New Yorker, “Winter is the most hygge time of year” and I couldn’t agree more.

We recently celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary; I am endlessly thankful for my marriage and the partner I have in Ryan! We enjoyed some delicious dining out last weekend (Bigalora for brunch, Cafe Zola for dinner, and the Allen Rumsey Supper Club for drinks) and treated ourselves to a yummy recreation of our wedding cake for dessert (Cakes by Rubina).

The high temp today is 10, with an actual low of -5, and with the current wind chill it feels like -8; for the next two days our high is supposed to hover somewhere around 10 and we’re expecting more snow on Sunday. While the fresh-fallen snow is lovely to look at, from the comfort of my own warm home, it isn’t all that fun to walk outside into when the highs are this low in my opinion #winterainteasy. All those slow-rise mornings and days spent lounging around in my sweatpants in front of my fireplace have me mourning the end of the holiday break; Maddy seemed opposed to it too when Ryan was working on catching up on some emails yesterday (pictured below), ha! Luckily, tomorrow is Friday and I’ll have another weekend ahead of me to lounge to my heart’s content. The cold weather and snow don’t seem to faze Maddy though; she delights in bounding around in it, which you can see for yourself in this video here. We’ve also discovered her love for the heat vents inside the house, which is quite comical to witness as she scoots herself underneath the furniture in order to place herself right on top of the heat vent and naps the day away…just be sure you have a warm blanket and you’re all set.

We spent a cozy Christmas at home by the fire here in Michigan this week. To my delight, it snowed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day too and I got that white Christmas I was hoping for; it was beautiful! Temps have now dropped to frigid highs in the teens here and I’m extra grateful for having this time away from work where I’m able to stay in my warm bed a bit longer and linger by my fireplace at home for as long as I like. I hope you all enjoyed a warm, cozy Christmas too and are enjoying what’s left of 2017.