louie's one year adoptaversary

this is the first text thread i had with cory, after immediately seeing louie on a nearby rescue's facebook page.  we had been going back and forth about getting a dog for several months.  i've always had a love for schnauzers (i have my first dog, bently, to thank for that), and since "doodle" mixes are kind of the dog of the moment... i remember thinking that a schnauzer-poodle mix would be super cute.  And hark... two days later appeared louie on my facebook feed!  i immediately contacted the rescue, and after a few weeks of paperwork and a recovery period for louie to overcome bilateral ear infections and a severe flea/tick infestations due to neglect... he became ours on october 24, 2015.  

last weekend we celebrated louie's one-year adoptaversary!  i can't believe it's only been a year since he first sauntered through our front door (it's hard to remember what our home was like before we adopted him).  i remember expressing only one fear to cory before we adopted him... i hoped he liked to cuddle and wasn't one of those dogs who wasn't "into" people.  haha... let's just say, i got what i was looking for.  louie, you bring so much joy into our home and put a smile on our faces countless times each day.  i love your passion for car rides (especially when the windows are rolled down), your incessant need for constant belly rubs (even if it means by physical force), the fact that you sleep more than i do (that's impressive to say the least), the cute way you burp after you eat (coming from someone who HATES flatulence), and the way you grab your toys when you get excited and when you greet us with them when we come home from work each day.  we couldn't have asked for a better pup and we love sharing our home with you!  here's a few pics from louie's first adoptaversary:

louie took this celebration quite seriously!

he got a puffer jacket, a new toy, and some treats...

he only cared about the treats!

i used this recipe for his "pupcake"!

he loved it!  especially the frosting :)

happy adoptaversary, louie!  we can't wait for many more adoptaveraries to come!

pumpkin carvin'

one of my favorite halloween traditions (besides dressing up and eating way too many hershey's miniatures) is carving pumpkins.  every year, my parents would take me and my brother to a pumpkin patch (which in north florida, was normally just an abandoned parking lot with some old man selling pumpkins.  but hey, it didn't matter to us).  my brother and i would come up with our spookiest designs, carve them together in the dining room, and display them on our front porch until halloween was over.  cory and i have followed this tradition each year (check out this post from 2014 when i had red hair [kinda miss it], and this post from 2013), but he's had an extremely busy work schedule this week, and i honestly didn't think we were going to have a chance to carve pumpkins this year.  clearly he could sense my disappointment... last wednesday when i came home from work, cory had two pumpkins ready to carve and a six pack ready to drink waiting for me when i got home!  this man sure knows the way to my heart!  check out our creations below:

the inside of pumpkins look so cool!

louie wasn't to sure about this whole pumpkin carving thing...

my creation: a spooky castle (excuse my expression... this pumpkin was HEAVY!)

 husband's creation: a scary face with spiky teeth

i used this recipe for honey roasted pumpkin seeds!  they are delicious!  i baked at 325 for 30 minutes.