LEMONHOLIDAY: puppies

Oh. My. Goodness. It seems like one million and one things have happened since I last checked in with you guys, and yet, it doesn't feel like that long ago. Time has flown by!
We made it into our new apartment pretty easily, but we still have our old place to clean up before we can say goodbye for good. The move took just a day and although we live on the third/top floor of our building, we managed to get everything in one piece. As far as our new place goes, it's been quite the change, but let me tell ya, we really, really love it here! The building was constructed in 1920 and you can tell. We have so many windows and natural light, which I've been taking advantage of to grow some herbs and lavender. Not to mention the location is amazing as it's just a 5-15 minute walk to all of our favorite places in Kansas City.
I've been spending a lot of time lately trying to get things unpacked, but it's really just come down to lack of shelving and storage at this point, so we're looking forward to our IKEA trip this Friday. So I do apologize for not sharing more of the new place quite yet. I want to make sure everything is put away, organized, and decorated before I show it off. You know...perfectionist stuff. ;)

I have had somewhat of a break from the moving thing, however. I spent all last week preparing for my very first pop-shop/craft booth for my friend Nicole Leth's fashion event. If you don't know Nicole or her brand Sex & Ice Cream, please please PLEASE check it out. You won't be sorry! (I plan on talking more about Nicole in a future post, so stay tuned!)
The event was on Friday and I will be honest, I was so intimidated by all of the art school kids and their cool booths. I was also extremely thankful to have Sean with me because had I been alone, I most likely would've left out of nervousness and embarrassment. We'd look at my stuff and then at each other and just unanimously feel so much dread because we were sure everyone (cool kids) would look at my pieces and be like, "Wow, really? I could do that. What a joke."
But to my genuine amazement, it wasn't like that at all. People were really into it and were completely shocked by my low prices. They asked for my business card and wanted to know where they could get more. It was an incredible feeling to have people look at my stuff and tell me they thought I was selling myself short with my low prices or that they wanted more information.
After the event, Sean and I walked to the car feeling so pumped up and enthusiastic about the future. Now we know I can do it, and people actually give a shit! We chattered excitedly about the possibility of doing more craft shows and events, more pop-up shops, and most importantly, the idea of opening my Etsy shop back up. I had been thinking a lot about opening it up before, but after the event, we knew there was no question.
So that's a huge deal, right? I'm so, so excited to get it up and running, and completely revamped. My hope is to have it open by the beginning of the summer, so look for that! I'll definitely keep everything updated here.

The last thing I wanted to share today is something I am just completely crazy, ecstatic about! Sean and I have a new member in our family!! We finally got a puppy!!!!! I know! I'm excited too! Her name is Phoebe and she's a Corgi/Australian Cattle Dog (aka Red Heeler) mix. She's very friendly, very sweet, and smart. She is literally everything a good dog could possibly be. It's kind of a story though. Sean and I have been talking about getting a dog for the past two years, and we knew it was something we wanted a long time before that. But our last landlord made it nearly impossible to have a dog ($400 non-refundable pet deposit + $100 per month added to the rent...which was already quite a bit for just a one bedroom). So we opted to wait, and now that we've moved, it became an option. So one thing you should know about me is that my favorite dog breed is a Corgi. I grew up with a Corgi/Collie mix and I've always known since then that I would one day have one. So I contacted a local Corgi breeder, I was placed on a waiting list and decided to wait and save up the $1000 so I could finally have my Corgi. But then this happened:

“I actually went to the shelter to get another dog, but he’d already been adopted. So I decided to do a lap around the...
Posted by Humans of New York on Saturday, April 18, 2015

I confronted Sean at dinner. "I want you to hear me out. I know we said we'd save up for the Corgi puppy, but I saw this thing on Humans of New York..." and I explained how shitty I felt about paying that much money for a puppy that will inevitably have an amazing home anywhere, versus adopting one out of the millions of dogs that nobody wants or has time for. Not to mention, we wouldn't be throwing $1000 away for just one dog. He agreed that it was something we should look into, so I headed to Craigslist and looked for potential dog friends.
Pages and pages later, I stumbled upon a post that explained the need to get rid of a Corgi/Red Heeler mix as soon as possible. I immediately texted the owner and she told me that the dog was rescued from an abusive neighbor who left her outside through the winter, and she was rarely fed or given water. "She's eight months old, and she gets really protective of her food, so her and my cat get into it a lot. But other than that, she's a great dog. We just can't keep her." I expected the over-protection of her food had to do with not being fed often from her original owner, but it wouldn't be an issue here. The rabbits don't care about her food. Sean and I talked about it and decided to meet the owners at their house to buy the dog. And oh. My. Gosh. This. Dog. She's absolutely perfect in every way!!!! She's super responsive and so intelligent, and sweet and amazing. We have had zero problems with her (other than she's going through her first heat right now which she can't help, poor thing. We plan to get her fixed as soon as it's over.). She's just a really, really great dog. And not to mention, she's very sweet with the rabbits. She gets curious and has tried to play a couple times, but Penny doesn't leave the cage and Milo doesn't care one bit. He just hates it when she chases him, but he'll go up to her and sniff and investigate. I mean, really, guys. We have a rabbit/puppy utopia up in here, and it's amazing!

Well, that's all for now! There's so much more I want to tell you, but I will share in good time. ;)
I hope you all are well, and happy, and healthy, and just wonderful. But of course you are, you're always wonderful!
Best wishes and love! <3

Milo on moving day. He's quite the helper.

Some stuff from the craft booth on Friday.

OMG GUYS. Nicole had hundreds of donuts and 200 McDonald's burgers!!!

I mean what kind of amazing person does this?! Nicole Leth, that's who!

Everyone chillin' before the catwalk.

Phoebe babyyyyy!!!!

Sean worked all day yesterday so I dropped him off and took the car to visit my mom up north. She lives in a small town just 30 minutes or so from the city and I always enjoy going up there since it is where she and the rest of my family grew up.

We had a nice day together watching The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, exchanging thoughts and ideas on Downton Abbey's upcoming season, and giving her morkie (a yorkie/maltese mix) Lily a bath.

Mom received some real Alaskan fish from some coworkers so she made us fish, spicy mayo, avocado, and tomato sandwiches with a side of homemade onion rings. It was all really yummy, and I was glad to have my mom's cooking again.

At around 7:30, I decided to go on my run. I try to take advantage of running in different surroundings when I can because it keeps me interested, so I brought my shoes and clothes to go on the trail by my mom's house. The trail is very pretty. It winds between open fields and forest and you can always see deer and cardinals and other wildlife out there. I had no idea, but apparently they built a hiking trail in the forest. I told Sean that next time we visit my mom, we should try it out. We love hiking!

I am familiar enough with the trail from years of riding bikes with my grandparents (they lived down the street from Mom for twenty years before recently selling their house and moving to the lake) so I knew what it looked like and how long it was.
Only, maybe not completely. I thought there was a turn off point where after a mile or so, you could head back home but maybe I missed it? Or maybe it just doesn't exist anymore? Because about two and a half miles in, I realized that there was no turn off and I was stuck on the trail until the end...which is nearly five miles.

I hit my wall at about three miles but I kept going, probably faster than normal actually, because it was getting dark and I started hearing weird sounds coming from the forest. I spent the 'run' only actually running a little under half the time. At this point, I can run for about a minute and half before my chest and my sides begin to punish me and then I stop for a minute to recover before running again.
But despite all that, it was still great fun. In the end, I did 4.63 miles in 1 hour and 27 minutes. I know that's probably pretty long for only four and a half miles, but this is coming from someone who never ever ran before just three or four weeks ago, so I am pretty proud of my progress.