About a year-and-a-half ago, I was itching to rescue a dog. Somehow, I managed to talk the fiance into humoring the idea. Then suddenly, this little guy was ours.

It was pretty scary at first. Sure I knew the basics since I had a dog growing up, but fiance never owned a cat or a dog and this was a whole new adventure for him. Neither of us really knew how this was going to turn out.

I don’t think either of us slept the first week Loui was with us. With every tiny move he made, I jumped up and ran over to his little doggie bed. Of course, it was never anything serious or anything at all… I just couldn’t stop worrying. (I’m sure this comes as no surprise.)

And after countless road trips to and from San Antonio and moving twice (including to a new city), Loui has settled in perfectly with the two of us together, all under one roof. We’re one happy family–and he’s our little cuddlebug.

Happy birthday to the guy who is the greatest and sweetest addition to our lives, who is the perfect couch potato partner, who gives infinite kisses and loves us unconditionally. We love you.

Happy Wednesday to YOU! I hope your week is going well so far. The best part? We’re just two days away from the weekend!

This week, I’m mumbling about lots of stuff. From food and travel to shopping and social media, my brain is buzzing with great goodies to share.

Drum roll please…

Fall Sales

The Social Network

Doggie Lobster Halloween Costume

Orzo Pasta

Mexico

From top to bottom:

- I have been finding the BEST deals on great items for fall lately. In the past week, the GAP and Banana Republic have been extremely good to me–transforming me and my wardrobe into quite the fall fabulous pair.

- Last weekend I saw The Social Network and I must admit, I was fully expecting a Mark Zuckerberg hate-fest (more-or-less). In reality, it was actually quite interesting and taught me a lot more about the site we all frequent multiple times a day. I like these behind-the-scenes, how-everything-began type of films.

- This will be Loui‘s first Halloween with us and clearly, he needs a costume. After a little searching, we stumbled upon the doggie lobster costume and let me tell you… IT’S AWESOME. We love it. He hates it. Whatever.

- I recently bought a container of whole wheat orzo pasta and love it! It’s so easy to make and tastes divine. Right now I’m finishing up my leftovers of Greek-inspired orzo with cucumber, feta, cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives. Deeeeelish.

- Last but certainly not least, I’m daydreaming about my upcoming trip to Mexico! Boyfriend and I just booked our winter getaway to the beach. I can’t wait to have fun in the sun, bury my toes in the sand, jump into the ocean, relax, drink frothy umbrella drinks and spend quality time with my man.

What are you mumbling about this week?

- L

When I was a little girl, I was terrified of dogs. And I mean, TERRIFIED.

That is, until my parents got a little terrier named Stormy. She was a feisty little thing–she wasn’t a very social dog, followed us around a little but was mostly a lone ranger, and she wasn’t much of a lap dog. Nonetheless, I developed a strong love of dogs because of her, and I dearly miss the pitter-pattering of her paws against the hardwood floor every time I visit my parents’ home.

Then last April, boyfriend and I spent months desperately searching for a dog to rescue. We hoped to find a little hypoallergenic, playful, healthy, happy, lovable dog to give a home.

And along came Loui.

Now several months later, this little man rules our lives and requires more attention than we could possibly have ever imagined. But let’s be honest, we give him all the attention he seeks (and more) because he is truly the cutest thing on the face of this planet.

Besides his crazy habits, needy behavior, love of toys and squirrels, hatred of bikes and runners, desire to throw objects around the room at early hours of the morning, sweet face and big smile, Loui also loves to go on walks. (Duh, he’s a dog.)

He gets four walks per day: first thing in the morning, lunch time, early evening, before bed.

And yesterday was the scariest walk of all time.

As we headed home from our long walk around the neighborhood in the early evening, Loui was attacked. A huge gray dog with the scariest face I’ve ever seen, ran straight out of his owner’s front yard and went right for Loui. I stood there trying not to panic as I watched this dog run ferociously across the street. Needless to say, this dog clearly didn’t want to play with Loui. Instead, he growled and barked and immediately chomped down on Loui’s little neck.

My motherly instinct immediately kicked in as I scooped Loui up and pushed the other dog away. Meanwhile, the owners of the dog ran over to me as I sat in the grass in utter shock from what I just experienced. Thankfully the owners could not have been nicer and truly felt sorry for the event that had just occurred. Loui surprisingly walked away without a single scratch or drop of blood. We then proceeded to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and head home.

Of course, until dog altercation number two occurred.

As we neared the gate to my apartment, I saw two big dogs running loose inside the complex. No leashes. They immediately spotted Loui on the sidewalk and darted straight toward us. One managed to squeeze herself under the gate and run up to us at full speed. Of course, at this point I grabbed Loui and freaked out on the owner of the leash-less dogs, screaming about how they should (obviously) be on leashes, while simultaneously trying to protect Loui, yet again.

I learned two lessons on our walk yesterday.

A) Don’t walk past the house with the crazy dog ever again.
B) Always, and I mean always, keep your dog on a leash.

Thankfully no one was hurt and Loui is his usual happy self today. He’s such a tough little dude.

I, on the other hand, am still recovering.

- L

For the past week, I have been a madwoman. My head has been spinning out of control and every day has been a challenge–the work seems never-ending, free time non-existent, sleep has disappeared and stress levels have skyrocketed.

And now it’s Friday.

Normally I would be planning on grabbing drinks with friends, seeing family, going to the movies or doing something fun and spectacular with my Friday night. But frankly, none of those options sound like a good idea.

Instead, this big mug of PG Tips and typing away on my MacBook with Loui by my side are the perfect combination to relax my brain and relieve my stress.

It’s pure heaven.

Tomorrow I’m off to a local arts fair where I fully intend on indulging in fried food filled with hundreds (okay, thousands) of calories and snow cones that turn my entire mouth bright blue.

I hope you’re doing something to decompress from the week. It’s the weekend–breathe.

- L

I realized that I haven’t posted pictures of little Loui pup in a while. And then I remembered that I have a gazillion pictures of this little furball on my iPhone.

So let the iPhone puppy pic dump commence! Enjoy.

He greets me when I come home.

He loves to take naps.

He patiently waits to play.

He passes out after playtime.

He gives lots of sloppy, wet kisses.

I love him.

- L

Congrats on getting through the week! It’s FRIDAY!

Honestly, I’m pretty surprised I made it to Friday without pulling all of my hair out. Check out what this week has included:

- Houston heatwave (slash thunderstorms).
- Work overload. <– understatement
- European vacation preparation.
- Reality TV deprivation.
- Enormous lack of sleep.
- Never-ending to-do lists.
- Zero time for workouts.
- Bills.

Sounds pretty unbearable, right?

I did, however, manage to sneak in some fun this week and meet this lovely lady for some tasty wine and snacks. And let me tell you, boy did I need a drink. We went here and truth be told, this place never disappoints. If you live in Houston, GO THERE. Oh, but avoid the ketchup at all costs–they make it in-house and even the waiter told us to steer clear of it. To put it gently, it’s nothing like Heinz. Otherwise, BIG thumbs up on the menu and wine. Delish.

Can you believe it’s almost AUGUST? How are we already in the eighth month of the year?

Hey 2010, SLOW DOWN.

And since I love, love, LOVE the summertime–and this weekend’s going to be 100+ degrees (no, I’m NOT kidding)–I plan on enjoying every last bit of summer outside (with occasional dips in the pool and trips for snow cones) while it lasts.

So what’s on this weekend’s agenda?

- Margaritas + fajitas.
- Loui + dog park.
- Loui + grooming.
- Sun + pool + friends.
- Haircut.
- Dinner and movie date with good gal pal.
- Friend’s engagement brunch.
- Shopping for European vacation.
- Finish current book: Eat, Pray, Love.
- Anything else my little heart desires.

Oh, and I’m seeing Dinner for Schmucks on my gal-pal date because it looks HILARIOUS.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Whatever you do, I hope it’s FABULOUS. Cheers!

- L

Everyone always says “things come in threes.”

The past week has certainly tested my patience. And it all began last Friday…

#1

I was at the office when I suddenly noticed I had missed four calls from the bf. He left one message. Of course, I frantically listened, wondering what could possibly be so important that he called me four times in a row. Didn’t see this one coming… car accident. Car is totaled. I’m at the corner of ____ and ____.

Come now.

If you know me at all, you know I’m not the kind of gal who remains calm in stressful situations. We’re always taught to remain calm and collected, think things through, try to be as rational as possible and evaluate the situation at hand. Not me. I run around like a crazy woman, grab my purse, cry like a baby, drive like a madwoman (I know, I know) then arrive at the scene. I’m a complete and utter mess. Bf on the other hand is cool, collected, rational and trying to calm ME down. One would think I was actually IN the car accident considering how distraught I was. I really know how to make a situation better.

After bf proceeded to shake my shoulders and snap me back to reality–relentlessly repeating GET A GRIP, LAURIE–I went ahead and cleaned out his totaled car, talked with the tow truck driver, spoke on the phone with the bf’s parents (lucky for them, they were on vacation) and got my you-know-what together so I could actually be helpful.

To make a long story short, car was totaled but bf was fine. Phew.

#2

The best part about #1 was that the VERY NEXT MORNING bf was supposed to move to a new city for dental school. Yep, we had to pack up a U-haul just a few hours after the car was totaled and head out of town. As if him moving away wasn’t already hard enough for me to deal with. Somehow we managed to get to his parents house so he could grab one of their cars for the time being.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to load the U-haul. After a couple hours of Texas summer heat and kolaches as sustenance, we managed to finish packing up the truck and headed out of town. After arriving at our destination, unloading the U-haul, unpacking boxes and boxes and more boxes, putting things in their place and remembering to breathe somewhere in between… before I knew it, it was Sunday evening.

Time to say goodbye. And I flew home.

#3

After #2 happened, I was pretty sure that was the worst of it and everything would be thumbs up from there. Little did I know I was totally wrong.

Tuesday evening rolled around and I was walking this little guy. We’re about to go back inside after our walk when I suddenly lose hold of him, he sprints out of the complex, under the gate and out into the street. In my pjs and flip-flops, I hurriedly chase after him, slipping on the steps and falling to the ground. Again, if you know me at all–I’m a klutz by nature. This is the part when I explain how much I cried and held my foot and ankle praying I didn’t break it (but totally thinking I had). Luckily Loui came back to me thinking “uh oh, sorry Mom.”

Well folks, I have a torn ligament in my foot and a sprained ankle. And I get to wear this for three weeks.

Yep, THREE.

——–

Moral of the story? Things come in threes.

——–

Well, that and don’t chase after your dog when he runs away. It’s a game and I totally fell for it.
(pun intended)

- L

Boyfriend and I had been looking for a dog for quite some time. We were on the search for a hypoallergenic dog (preferably not a mixed breed) that wasn’t a puppy but wasn’t very old either. We trekked around the city for several months visiting nearly every rescue we could find. But we kept coming up short.

Then last Friday we got a phone call about a 2.5-year-old silver miniature schnauzer named Smokey. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the most ideal timing considering boyfriend was just about to leave town for the weekend. Nonetheless, we returned the call and from the sound of it, he seemed pretty awesome. We requested pics to be e-mailed immediately and upon opening them, I started crying. I know, seems a bit over dramatic (and it probably is) but that’s how much I loved the little man right off the bat. He was perfect. This cute, cuddly, furry fuzzball of a dog was looking for a new home.

I rushed out to the rescue to meet him that afternoon and quickly fell in doggie love. He was precious. This sweet, happy pup seemed absolutely perfect. But could I really make this decision with boyfriend hundreds of miles away? So, I slept on it. Or so I thought… I got home and couldn’t sleep all night. I got up the next morning and hurried over to the rescue once more to see him. After an hour or two of signing paperwork, calling the boyfriend, playing outside and getting licked all over my hands, face and feet, it was done.

HE WAS OURS.

We scheduled Smokey for surgery (which of course, he still isn’t very happy about) and boyfriend–who had returned from his weekend trip–and I picked him up the following evening. He was super groggy from the anesthesia and probably doesn’t even remember his first night at home, but bringing him home was such a great feeling. The past week has most definitely been a learning experience (and a true test of our patience) but we’re all coming along great. Little Smokey (whose name has since changed to Loui) is full of love, life and most of all lots and lots of sweet kisses.

Meet Loui.

- L