Friday Things
1. Today is Duke’s 4th Birthday!!
Happy birthday to this sweet, sweet dog who is loyal beyond words. Last year, within the course of a month, he lost his very best friend (and only friend he had ever known), and then welcomed a new baby brother to the family. He honestly adapted so much better than I ever imagined possible, and continues to be a best buddy to both of the boys. We’re going to shower him with snuggles and extra treats today!
2. If you read last week’s weekend dish, then you saw that I had pretty much cried uncle on the week after Joseph came down with a cold on Friday. Well, by Saturday morning (after a looooooong night), we learned that he didn’t just have a cold, he had croup. He’s still fighting off a little bit of a runny nose and intermittent cough, but he’s doing MUCH better. He did, however, pass on the nasty illness to my husband, who has been sick all week. Dominic and I were each slightly under the weather for a day and seem to have powered through, so fingers crossed that this has been the worst of it!
I looked at my phone and I haven’t taken a single photo since Monday… there’s been a lot of snot sucking, nose wiping, and couch time going on here, womp womp. Such a sad, sick little guy (but he got to watch more TV than usual, so win for him!)…
3. As a result of getting hardly any sleep Friday night and taking care of a pretty sick kiddo on Saturday, for the first time in my adult life, I was asleep before dark on Saturday night. I remember being a kid in the summer and going to sleep when it was still light out, but it felt so super strange to do it now. HOWEVER! My gosh did I feel good when I got up on Sunday morning, even though my sleep was broken up by a 2am snuggle session in Joseph’s room.
4. If you read any of Jennifer Weiner’s books and picked up the paperback version of her new book, Hungry Heart, the cover may have looked familiar to you. Homemade Hostess Cupcakes, anyone?! How fun is that?! This had been in the works for a few months, so it was super exciting to actually see it in print!
5. This is the third summer we’ve been in our house, and every single year, robins build two nests under our deck, one on each side. There is currently a mother sitting on eggs in one and newly hatched chicks in the other. The other day we were playing with the boys in the basement and through the window were able to watch the mama bring food in to the chicks. I absolutely adore this every single year; it makes me absurdly happy.
6. So happy that Pennsylvania has passed a bill that establishes much stiffer punishments for animal cruelty. 👏🏻
7. I’m ready for Wimbledon to start on Monday! I’m in my summer sports slump!
8. This story gives me so many goosebumps… an umpire who was set to work the Pittsburgh Pirates game last night was walking over one of (the many) bridges downtown after getting lunch, and saw a woman about to jump. He basically saved her life, and the story is incredible.
9. We’re through episode seven in House of Cards, and it has gotten SO GOOD. It started so slowly, but they’ve definitely made up for it!
10. TGIF! I hope you have a partner in crime to share the weekend with! 😉
Congrats on the book cover! That’s a nice testament to both your baking and photography skills. I predict a run on Hostess cupcakes (unless Jennifer included your recipe in her book).
This photo of Dominic and Duke is priceless😀
Happy birthday to your dog. Your baby is so adorable
We follow Speranza Animal Rescue and love Libre!! My daughter and I went to the rescue last year and had the pleasure of meeting Janine and Dr. Pryor! They are both amazing people. I hope your followers will check Speranza out on FB and support them. Janine is a true angel with dogs (pigs and cows, too) that are truly unloved both others. 💙
My husband and I started watching House of Cards after you mentioned it here a few weeks ago…we are now almost to season three and completely obsessed! It’s rare that we find a show we both agree on, so we love having this one together. Thanks for the recommendation!
How cool robins build nests under your deck. Wildlife is so cool, especially baby animals. We’ve had baby ducks, bunnies, squirrels, birds, skunks, and groundhogs. So cute!
So sorry to hear the family was sick. No fun not getting any sleep. Happy to hear they are getting better. Cute pictures of the boys, especially Dominic with Duke. Happy Birthday to Duke. He is a sweet dog and a good champion.
Keep giving us updates on you and the family. Love to see them.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I look forward to reading your blog, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. So much good information! With all the negative news, I know I can always turn to your site to see how much GOOD there is in this world. Thank you for sharing your GREAT recipes and for sharing your family stories. You are such a treasure!
At my previous home I had a family of swallows that made a nest in my front porch for several years. I was always pleased when “the swallows came back” every year.
Love your website, family and stories!!
The picture of your baby and dog looking through the door windows is the most adorable photograph I have seen in a a while. Thanks for the smile!!!
Happy Birthday Duke! Hope everyone everyone is well soon.
Congrats on having your cupcake on the cover! HOW COOL!
Sorry about the croup….eeek! I hope you have a great weekend and get some rest!
I’m so sorry that Joseph has been sick all week and that your husband got it – hate when the kiddos get sick. Happy Birthday to Duke – he is an excellent doggie! The story about the umpire in Pittsburgh was pretty great – I love those kind of human interest stories and with the news would focus on positive things more often. The boys are looking fabulous as usual! They are such handsome boys. Have a great weekend!
SUCH A CUTE PUPPERS! Our last dog was a Golden and man Charlie was a good dog.
Do you have any plans of having your own cookbook published ? Please, please please say YES, I would be the first in line😁
Congratulations on the book cover photo! That’s pretty cool!
I can’t believe Duke is 4!! Or that it’s the 3rd summer in your new house!! Both seemed like yesterday! Congratulations!
I usually try to keep my opinions to myself but I think Duke needs a new live-in dog friend! He misses Einstein.
I second that emotion. Not that you don’t already have your hands full enough as is, but Duke looks like he could use a pup pal.
JOEY, YOU ARE ALREADY A HEARTBREAKER…………………!
Marie C.
That last photo is just sooo cute!!
Rebecca
xx
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