Suggestions please!

Last weekend was an inspiring weekend! My Mom, Michael and I spent Saturday together exploring the fabulous  Monticello Antiques store on Stark followed by a trip to William Sonoma and Elephants. The antique store had so many interesting pretty things, it made me want a bigger house! I only ended up buying one thing; an old Edgar Allen Poe book which, I am going to use to make my Halloween Cards (I will explain in a later post). We found some very random things (that I would never want), one of which was a stuffed cat - with a fan blowing right on it causing it's fur blow. Can you say creepy?

The suggestions I am asking for are regarding my purchase from William Sonoma. Mike and I got a very generous gift card for our wedding and I went in with a plan. I was going to get a food processor, a cookie sheet, and a grill pan. My plan was quickly destroyed by my lovely Mother who had other things in mind. After showing her each thing I intended to purchase, she replied by saying, "You can buy that at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon." True. Then she convinced me to buy something I would never normally buy if I had not had a gift card. The end result was a beautiful slate colored, cast iron, enamel pot. I must admit, I have wanted one for quite some time but have always been to cheap to buy one (they are spendy). So now I have this amazing new addition to my kitchen and I don't quite know what to do with it. My mom has told me it's great for roasts, but does anyone have any other ideas?

Oh Sampson...

Oh married life...Now that the wedding has finally come and gone there is a chance I can get back to life as I used to know it. Oh wait...on our one week anniversary - after much begging and convincing, Michael and I took home our very own furry little monster. It is crazy how "at the right place at the right time" we were. I don't even know how we ended up at the PetSmart on 82nd, but we did. Our little Sampson didn't even make it into the cage before I scooped him up and knew he was mine...I mean...ours (especially when it comes to picking up his mess in the backyard).

He loves flowers...eating and smelling them.

Daisy looks huge now compared to Sampson. She has been playing with him very nicely. Sampson loved going over to Mom and Dad's and exploring in the huge backyard.

He was a rescue puppy and is a little small due to having Parvo in his first months of life. This is a very contagious and sever virus that can be caught by puppies who have not yet had their shots. Our tough puppy made it through with the help of his amazing Foster Mommy Tracy who has been so helpful to us so far in our journey as dog owners. When we first took him home we were a little concerned with his lack of energy and were worried that he wouldn't be the outgoing, fun-loving dog we wanted. Then comes Monday morning when I wake up at the crack of dawn for work to a barking, running, tail wagging puppy who really wanted some quality play time! Our worries of having an energyless puppy have now been replaced with worries about chewed up shoes, and knocked over garbage cans as well as getting our fingers bitten off!

Long story short, we are so in love with him and although at 2am when I hear his little cries from the end of our bed and I think to myself, "WHAT DID WE DO!?", I still love coming home to him every day and taking that stubborn leash-hater on his nightly walks!

Sampson trying to prevent getting "leashed". We promise, it's not as horrible as it sounds.

This is what he does when we try to take him for a walk. He is getting much better.

He is just like a baby, if we want him to sleep, we just put him in the car and he's out like a light!