First planter plates, parties, and guests

One of my most favorite things about living in the house is still the sound system. I haven't used the gigantic bath tub yet, because the nights have been so warm, so I'm guessing that'll be a winter time thing! Shower parties for real, though, and tooth brushing parties before and after sleep. YES.

But my second favorite thing is my planter box! We've been using my harvested herbs for meals, and I am seriously so excited about it. So excited that I don't mind standing out in the yard to cut back and water my plants, even with all the spiders and bees (ew).

Garlic and rosemary chicken thighs

Parsley dry rub chicken

Cilantro chipotle mayo for Portobello burgers

Caprese salad

Matt has been loving his new cast iron griddle thing. And all of these plates use my plants!!!! We also had our first large gathering of friends for the Pacquaio vs. Mayweather fight. It went well, and we put all this space to good use! And then a few days later, we did a smaller (about half the attendance) Cinco de Mayo party. I was actually surprised at how any people came by after work, considering the drive...

We've had furry guests over, too! Everyone is getting puppies, and Forrest is really LOVES having playtime buddies. It's great that he's not territorial, and he'll share everything (unless he's grumpy... which was only on moving day, and after hikes). 

Mr. Walla Walla Wiggles

   

Mr. MONSTER!!

So far so good. Although, I must admit that we haven't really cleaned anything aside from the kitchen. That is... a daunting task to say the least. 

Beat the Bridge 8K & Puppy Class

This weekend was SO EVENTFUL!

On Saturday, we took Forrest to his first puppy training class... followed by puppy play time! Spin moves for hours, and the instructors said he has "the zooms" because he LOVES to run. Such a little fireball. All of the big dogs wanted to play with him, while Matt and I were petting the other fluffy puppies! I don't know who enjoyed it more, us or Forrest. =) By the time we left puppy playtime, Forrest was pooped. He was falling asleep sitting up in the car.

Early Sunday morning was the Beat the Bridge 8k! My first 8k ever, and only my second run... ever. WE BEAT THE BRIDGE!!! And now I am exhausted, still, even though I slept early last night (and the rest of the day Sunday). I should probably train before I try another 8k, huh?

Baby Forrest

After months of throwing around the idea of having a dog, and months of trying to figure out an amazing birthday gift for Matt, I decided we should kill two birds with one stone! So I adopted Forrest, a beagle mix puppy, from a local shelter. Technically he belongs to Matt, but I'm sure we will raise him and love him together.

We picked him up on Saturday, 5/3 from Puyallup and he is just the sweetest. I actually met him the weekend before at the Seattle Pet Expo, where I submitted an application to adopt! The rescue people said it would take exactly two weeks for Forrest to warm up, but by the time we got back to Seattle he was all lovey and warmed up - tail wagging every which way.

Just after signing the adoption papers!

His first selfie :)

The first play thing in his new home!

Playing with his spam toy, which he carries like a purse

Cuddles!

At first he only barked at his reflection, and was pretty quiet through the first few days. Now that we are fully acquainted, he has started whining and barking... but I'm definitely ignoring this behavior because I don't want any bad habits forming. He was barking at the vet's office also, but only at the dogs and not at the cat he was sitting next to. What an odd puppy!

He's so sweet most of the time, and just wants to cuddle and be close to his humans. There are moments of mischief when he steals shoes or doesn't listen, but overall he's pretty well-behaved for having some beagle in him. His accidents the first few days wreaked, and even though we cleaned everything our apartment does not quite smell as fresh. I suspect it never will. He is now used to the potty pads, thank goodness! He's funny, he doesn't like to eat by himself but he doesn't like to poo or pee when someone is looking. That guy is definitely a character.

I totally came home from lunch on Wednesday, and the building had shut off the water for maintenance. Of course that's the one day that Forrest poops in his kennel. And I have no water to clean everything. I used anti-bac wipes to sanitize things as best I could before returning to work, and tried not to have an anxiety meltdown from the poo bacteria everywhere. I felt SO MUCH better when I got home and was able to clean everything, and we gave Forrest a bath for the first time. What a HUGE relief. Especially because Matt left for Boston on Wednesday night and is gone through the weekend.

So now that Matt isn't here to keep an eye on Forrest when I'm busy, it can get stressful. Yesterday, I left Forrest in the kitchen with the baby gate up and went to shower. In the shower I heard his collar jingling.. and I was thinking wow I shouldn't be able to hear that from the bathroom if he's in the kitchen. So I run out of the bathroom and find Forrest under the couch chewing one of my socks. He loosened one corner of the baby gate and jumped over. I'm so glad he didn't chew an electrical wire instead! I've since adjusted the baby gate and triple check every time I leave him in there to make sure it won't budge. Since then I keep thinking I'm going to wake up one morning and Forrest will have escaped his kennel and pooped on my pillow or something. He's seriously adorbs and totally worth it, but this is going to be a looooong week.