1.31.2011

the close call

well as you probably could tell, i was m.i.a. last week and while i wanted to update you all, i was a little exhausted and overwhelmed with worry, so i waited. i told you about our newest little addition, bowie week before last and almost immediately things took a turn for the worse. you see, when we picked up bowie (actually, when we first visited him in the shelter) we noticed he had a cough.  the shelter attendees assured us they would hold onto him if they deemed it something contagious, if he had a fever, or if they thought it was something very serious.  since they released him to us on tuesday after his surgery, we thought nothing of it, but noticed the cough was still there.

 bowie at his first vet visit

the next day, we took him to our vet for his general wellness exam and i asked about the cough, when they took his temperature it was at 105, and the vet was very worried about that.  they took blood and other samples to run tests for canine influenza and distemper, and sent us home with some medicine and instructions for getting bowie healthy. on thursday, we were trying everything we knew how to get the poor little guy to eat but to almost no avail, and by the time i got home from work, things were much, much worse.  bowie was resting in his bed and when i went to go see if we wanted to go outside, he attempted to get out of bed and his hind legs all but gave out on him. (meanwhile, the cough is progressing into hacks and wheezing)  i was filled with worry. i took bowie to the vet immediately and she called for a chest x-ray. when she showed me the film, it revealed that his lungs were cloudy and filled with gunk; her prognosis was that whatever it is he first contracted, had now progressed into pneumonia.  all i could do was cry. for a little guy like bowie, especially given that he'd just come from the shelter and had surgery, this could be deadly. they gave him breathing treatments, injected a saline bag for hydration, and sent me home with more medicine, instructions, and truth be told, fear that he would die.

roxy being a good (tolerant) big sis letting bowie snuggle


for the next few days, i hand-fed bowie boiled chicken and steamed rice with broth, force fed him his medicine, and gave him all the love i could.  his recovery was nothing short of amazing. in those first few days, he gained strength, got to eating on his own, and started being a little more playful.  by the time monday rolled around, we went back to the vet and his fever had subsided and his lungs were clearing...but we were not out of the woods yet. we continued to monitor his cough (which sounded so yucky, but the vet assured me it was better to have the hacking than the wheezing), kept his activity light, and made sure to routinely give his medicines.

and here we are, two weeks (and many vet bills) later, and bowie is just about at 100%. he goes to the vet for his final (we hope) check on thursday to make sure everything is clear. i can't be more thankful for the kind, patient vets, techs and employees at our vet office, they were most understanding and caring with me throughout that whole ordeal. and they assured us that bowie was one lucky dog - if he would have stayed in the shelter, this could have gone unnoticed and he would have almost certainly died, they might have euthanized him, or he could have been adopted to a family who could not, or would not, have taken care of his illness.

we are so happy that bowie is back to his fun, ornery, playful, healthy self. and we hope to share many, many more stories (better, happier ones!!).

thanks for sticking around and reading, kisses from all of us :) xoxo

1.20.2011

you & me



how darling are these cards from yellow owl workshop?? just the perfect, simple thing i might need for valentine's day :)

oh and in case you want some more mushy love stuff, here's a sweet song by one of my favorite bands.

xoxo

1.19.2011

and bowie makes four

ok everybody, say hi to bowie!




last friday, stephen and i went to the dallas animal services shelter and saw this little scruff-a-muffin and just couldn't resist. in one of the initial photos we took of him, he looked just like david bowie, and so we decided to name him bowie. we've been wanting another dog for some time and he seemed like the perfect candidate; quiet, calm, and scruff for miles.

now, roxy has a little bit (ok a lot) of princess in her so i think it will take some getting used to, but she seems to be warming up fairly quickly. he came home yesterday and they sniff, wag and nap...and both walked wonderfully on their leashes last night.

so...were you surprised?? i hope so :) we're looking forward to many adventures with rox & bowie.

1.18.2011

i have a surprise for you!

but you don't get it till tomorrow...oh the suspense!

happy tuesday :)
xoxo

(photo)

1.14.2011

nobody dreamed you'd save the world

stephen and i just got the robert plant's band of joy album and it is amazing. i've searched high and low for videos and this is one of my favorites on the album...it's a low cover of "silver rider," haunting and beautiful.

enjoy :)



hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

xoxo

1.12.2011

mmmmmmmuffins

i made these little beauties last night - banana nut chocolate chip muffins. pretty much the easiest and tastiest muffins i've ever made from scratch.

1/2c butter, softened
1c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2c flour
1tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1c mashed bananas (about 1 or 2 bananas)
1/2c each of chopped walnuts and mini chocolate chips (optional)

mix butter, sugar and eggs. fold in flour, baking soda and salt (sifted together). add bananas, nuts and chips.

bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

and TA-DA! muffins :)

i eat them with milk at night or with some delicious fruit for breakfast.

hope you have a yummy day!

1.11.2011

hunter wellies

since there was a smidge of snow on the ground yesterday, i seized the opportunity to wear my new hunter welly boots :)

remember when i asked santa so sweetly for them? well he brought them in the most perfect color of aubergine and i love them! yay for snowy/rainy/any days that i can wear my wellies.

1.10.2011

lazy sunday

it snowed here yesterday (well as much snow as you can really get in dallas...) so we decided to stay in and be lazy...i made an executive decision not to get out of my mukluks all day and do nothing but cook, eat, sleep and read.



that is until stephen had the bright idea to go out to ikea...we made out like bandits at their sale and proceeded to come home and redo our entire living room.  so much for the lazy day!! the snow was not enough to get the schools closed so i'm at work wishing that it would snow just a little more so i can have a real "snow day" at home :)

how was your weekend??

1.07.2011

surprise date night

last night stephen surprised me by going on a fabulous little date! we started at oak cliff neighborhood gem, nova, which i highly recommend if you live here or are visiting dallas.  i mean, where else can you get salmon potato skins?! delicious. i had the shrimp pesto pizza (goat cheese? yes please!) and stephen devoured a most yummy bison burger.

salmon potato skins
shrimp pesto pizza
bison burger

then we ventured over to pinkberry for some dessert - may i recommend the new hazelnut crunch topping? droooooooool. 
after rolling out of our chairs, we wandered over to the magnolia theater to see true grit. now, i had high expectations for this movie - i'm a huge jeff bridges fan and love pretty much everything the coen brothers have ever done (yes, even the ladykillers) - but this far exceeded any of those expectations. it was amazing... and even if you don't think you'd love it, go see it, you will (i promise). 

it was the perfect little date night...and it still makes me swoon when stephen opens the car door for me :) 


1.06.2011

brridge

the pedestrian bridge has got to be one of my favorite things about tulsa.  when we lived there, stephen and i were just blocks away on riverside and would often take little walks there along the river and enjoy the scenery. honestly, it's not the prettiest site since the arkansas river is no gem and it's right by the old electricity public service co., but there is something about it's charm that always makes me feel like home. it was incredibly windy when we were there but i managed to snap a few fun shots on my iphone.





that's us in front of the tulsa "skyline."  i always love thinking about the quaint skyline there when we come back to dallas, it makes me smile :)

1.05.2011

price tower


since we were in tulsa a whopping 8 days, we decided to take a little adventure to the exciting town of bartlesville, ok.  well we didn't just go to visit the b'ville (though it did prove to be a much cuter town than expected), but the purpose of our trip was to stay at the lovely inn at price tower.

price tower is the one and only realized skyscraper designed by famed architect frank lloyd wright. originally commissioned to be built in new york city, the price tower was envisioned to be "the tree that left the crowded forest" and instead was built as corporate headquarters in bartlesville for oil tycoon harold c. price. some years later, the building was converted into a hotel and arts center where they display exhibits from artists, furniture designers and even fashion icons like edith head, among many more.

we actually had visited the arts center early in 2010 and thought of how neat it would be to stay there, and being a student at the school of architecture, stephen was able to get a killer deal on a room. so what the heck, right?? we had such a nice stay and the hotel is even more incredible than i'd imagined.  all of the furniture designed for the rooms kept the original vision of mr. wright, using natural materials, basing design on the triangle (lots of 30, 60 and 90 degrees) and incorporating copper into pretty much everything.





after marveling in the room, we ventured up to the top floor and enjoyed a drink and appetizer at the copper bar (and yes, the bar is actually copper) with the nicest bartender and a beautiful view.


and with the suggestion of many, we took to downtown bartlesville to have dinner at the most adorable restaurant, frank & lola's. this spot definitely exceeded my expectations (though i did have high hopes): the food, service, decor and overall ambiance was so great and perfect for our little getaway. they even had a trendy billiard room in the back filled with a great photo exhibit so we could play pool and enjoy the art while we waited for our table.



after our most amazing dinner, we had drinks at two sister's pub & grille and called it a night. it was really a wonderful and much needed escape for the mr. & me. i highly suggest, should you ever be visiting bartlesville (or are really just a huge architecture nerd, like us), that you at least visit the price tower and if you can, stay the night with frank lloyd wright!



(all photos by me except the first one, source)

1.04.2011

waking up to a new day



well happy new year friends!! i hope that your holidays were filled with love, happiness and fun...and hopefully not very much family drama :)

what's the first thing people ask you after the new year...what's your resolution, right? well i'm not gonna ask you that. i've decided there are only so many days in the year to promise to sit at my sewing machine, with my guitar, with my french books & tapes, or losing that last 5 lbs...so in lieu of a "resolution," i am just looking at 2011 as a year to be better to myself: my mind and body.  here's the thing: i like to eat, sit on my couch, sleep in and sometimes drink an entire bottle of wine by myself on a friday night with a good movie...so i'm definitely not going to promise to not do those things :) but i also like to practice yoga, take pictures, write, and keep in touch with family and friends, so i figure i'll just give my all in whatever i'm doing!

after reading alice's take on resolutions, i was inspired and comfortable with my decision... and i have a quote that i'm going to use as further inspiration...at least for now!

"far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in that gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - theodore roosevelt

so here's to 2011 *cheers*

(photo of my little roxy on new year's day...she's tuckered out)