Lilly

Confession: Tyler and I are a little impulsive.

We were in Louisville last weekend so I could suffer through the Bar. Afterward, we decided to stick around and travel up the Bourbon Trail. We both needed some Bourbon after that whole experience.* (Bourbon barrel-filled posts are to follow, of course.)

Somehow, in the midst of this, we ended up becoming proud owners of a Siberian Husky. Maybe it was all that alcohol?*

Say hello to Lilly.

*This is a joke. Tyler and I can't drink bourbon without coughing and tearing up. We just really like taking tours.

The Garden's Always Greener

I've been feeling pretty proud of my garden lately. For example, I planted a mostly dead lettuce plant that I'd had at my house and the garden brought it right back to life!

Yum! And check out my adorable little beet plants!

My tomatoes are getting ready to start producing.

And I love the look of these baby eggplant plants!

All of this was thrilling to me, until I made a crucial mistake. I looked over at my neighbor's garden plot. Look at THIS!

Even the bees like their plants better.

I'll tell you, though, I think I've had my revenge. Stay tuned for a post about my tomato plant trying to strangle their strawberries.

My Niece is Pretty

This is my niece. She's really pretty.

She's funny, too!

And she's really cuddly.

I'm totally going to steal her someday. Do you think her parents will mind?

When Life Hands You Cherries

... make cherry jam!

I used this recipe from allrecipies.com.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups finely chopped or ground sour cherries 2 cups red raspberries

5 cups sugar 1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin

DIRECTIONS:

In a large kettle, combine cherries and raspberries; stir in sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add pectin; return to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Pour hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Adjust caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. If, like me, you're using sweet cherries, you may want to cut down on the sugar. My cherry jam turned out delicious, but intensely sweet. Tip: This homemade jam is a real hit at brunch parties. It makes you seem pretty legit.

Cherry Picking Good Time

Lucky us, we got to pick a boat load of cherries from my aunt's orchard!

Now, what to do with all these cherries? Stay tuned!

Things I Love About Family

Family is awesome for a million reasons, but here are a few of my current favorites.

1. Getting to borrow their pets.

I've mentioned how sad I am about my lack of pets, but snuggling my cousin's dog and petting my aunt's horses just about made up for it!

2. Getting to snuggle their babies.

I don't have my own baby either, but I got to spend lots and lots of time with this one!

3. Feeling proud of my genes.

Seriously, look at my cousin's eyes. I have those floating around in my gene pool somewhere!

And look at his handsome brother!

4. Brothers.

Don't you just love brothers? I'm so lucky I have one, too.

5. Grandparents.

I don't need to go into how awesome grandparents are. I'm sure everyone knows that. But look how especially awesome MY grandparents are! Also, see "Genes", above. I'm counting on inheriting my grandmother's gorgeous skin and my grandpa's talent for storytelling.

There's a lot to love here.

Your Cat Will Thank You

As I am currently being deprived of pets by my otherwise-very-nice landlord, I've been doing a lot of thinking about cats. I've been thinking about my future kittens and all the fun toys I will buy them. One thing I will NOT buy my cats is one of those terrible, ugly-carpet covered cat trees.

I mean, seriously. Could you imagine having THIS in your living room?? Never.

But, on the other hand, I bet a kitty would love climbing up there to escape dogs, kids, vacuum cleaners, and to generally watch you from above. What to do?

Well, look no further than Etsy to solve every one of your problems, this one included. Check out the most beautiful cat tree ever made!

I get that the $999 price tag is out of, well, pretty much everyone's price range, but don't give up! Ikea has this fun cat tree for only $49.99!

All the action with this one is in the back, which is good if you have a small space and don't want it to look too cluttered.

Yes, I know, it's not quite as awesome as the Etsy cat tree. But it's more modern, if you're into that sort of thing. And anyway, you can have this last cat tree for free:

Now that's the best cat tree of them all.