First Few Photos...

Breaking my blog silence...to bring you some photos from our session with the totally fabulous Jenny Jimenez - she is amazing! These are just the first few but I had to share, it's our first "forealsies" photos together. Pearl was quite a ham, very photogenic, I'm sure you'll agree :)

Ask MansionMogul XI!

You Guys, the painting project I mention here has foreals been on my to-do list for OVER 4 years. Ridiculous.

And here's a link to Bunnies for Birthdays. So cute! Also: Via Tribunali.

Now I'm all outta questions for Ask MansionMogul so shoot me some more Y'All!

Cubicle Craft

I decided I'm going to start calling these "cubicle crafts" - so to all my peeps stuck in an office right now, here is another delightful one to help pass the time - enjoy! {via Craft}

Download the pieces to cut out and create a Paper Nyan Cat Machine here. If you have no idea what this is in reference to, and you're bored, then check this out.

Our Dog, a Weirdo

I'm back from Cali! Lots of pics to post as per ushe, but until I get to them I thought I'd share this little gem I found on my camera from a bit ago:

We took Pearl over to the future in-laws house and you know what? That little bugger went and found a giant mud puddle, walked right into it, and then decided to LAY DOWN in it. Like, for a long time. The other dogs were looking at her like, "Dude...no". But that's how Pearl rolls, never ever acting like a normal dog.

I thought she looked like a black and white cookie:

Thankfully we had a grooming appointment shortly after this incident!

Pearl's First Bath

Most of the time, I feel like whenever I spend money I am all, "UGH, another $__ out the window"...but when I picked up Pearl from the groomer last week all I kept thinking was "Best Money We Ever Spent". I'm pretty sure Pearl had never been groomed before. I had no idea what a hot mess she was until we got her back all fluffy and clean and pretty! She is so soft right now, and they put the CUTEST little bows on her ears. The bows even had tiny "pearls" on them. They got me! Money well spent.

She was kinda over the photo session in this pic.

So fresh and so clean!

Thanks, Bark in Style!

Chance of Sun, Clouds & Showers

How are we liking this lovely May weather, Y'all?! Ok it's about to be June and if we don't get some dryer, warmer weather I'm gonna go ape$#!t and buy a bunch of outdoor heaters and install an overhang to totally enclose our backyard. Because there is NO WAY I'm missing out on all the bbq to be had this Summer.

We literally dusted off our grill to use for the first time since over a year ago. SAD! But anyway, we went to fancy pants A&J Meats and got this Maui marinated flank steak and Garlic Shrimp and dayum, it was real good:

Alright. Time to stop by the pet store. I'm on the hunt for a medium-sized doggie raincoat for this fool:

No joke. She needs a raincoat.

Woah: Hawk's Nest Cam

Live web cam of a Hawk's nest.

Poor Little Conehead

You Guys: she haaaaaaaaates this thing. HATES it. But lil' Pearl somehow got a tiny scratch on her eye that got infected and now she has to wear the cone for a few days while it heals. Poor thing! It's really hard to make her wear it when I know she's so miserable. She's gonna feel so happy when it finally comes off though!

Dog: Check!

Yesterday we met this sweet lil' lady and brought her home!

Her name is "Pearl" and she's a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix (we think). She is only 6 months old so still a bit puppy-like but very loving and well behaved! She spent most of her life outside in Yakima when the police found her, and a NW rescue group brought her out here.

We knew she was the right dog for us because she was so friendly and happy when we met her yesterday. Her and I already went on a lil' jog/walk this morning and she did great! We saw a German Shepherd that was practicing "wait" with flying colors and I told Pearl that's who she'll be looking up to - we're hoping to get into some canine behavior classes so she can use her skillz! (She brought Keene ONE slipper this morning, we'll work up to her bringing the pair of them :)

Images that are making me happy right now

Big Sur, CA {via FavoriteThingsBlog}

{via ClutteredGypsy}

{via TinyWhiteDaisies}

THE FRECKLES! {via SimplySeleta}

This takes all the manliness out of the bbq, but how cute! {via EmmelinesBlogg}

A Bit of a Re-Cap:

The Bar Exam is over. My cohab studied like a madman and wrote 24 essays in 2.5 days. And now he's free! So this weekend we went out to celebrate with some people who also deserve a lot of credit for his success: his 'rents. They took us to John Howie Steak in Bellevue. That place was OFF THA HOOK good. Oy I was dying.

Take a gander at this spread...just the amuse buche they brought out was AHMAZING.

And a salt tier? White, pink, black salt. The black salt was the fave at our table, but I liked the pink.

Scrimps. SO GOOD! Perfect spiciness! I would go back just for these.

Heirloom Tomato Salad. Just look at it. It's a rainbow. It was to die for.

The chowder/bisque. Keene's parents said this was "the best soup they've ever had". Seriously.

My filet mignon "french onion style" - fabulous.

Lobstah tail. I helped Keene finish a ton of this. How did that happen?

Steak Salad - look how huge this is!

Cheesecake. It was good, but everything else was so awesome it really out shined it.

After I win the lottery we're going here every day!

The celebrating/recovery did not stop all weekend. Keene and I took my baby Mysty to The Totem for some grub. Mysty was cracking me up with her whole head out the window looking windblown in the morning fog.

So dramatic!

Thick bacon is BACK, baby.

Also lots of people in my life are movin' on up in the world! We helped our cute newleywed friends move to everybody's favorite new neighborhood, West Seattle. Here's Ally and Brandon and their dog Charlie :)

Ok and today I totally forgot to document but friends from DC, David and Stephi were in town and we  had brunch at Pike Place! I'd never been to the Athenian but after today I'm thinking that it's my new fave. I miss our East Coast buddies, it was so good to catch up with them (they are also recent bar exam survivors).

Y'all it was a busy busy weekend full of good friends and times. What was your favorite thing you did this weekend?

CUTE IMO

I'm sure this is only supercute to ME because Mysty is my (family's) dog, but look! Vacuuming was happening and apparently she's terrified of the vacuum? She insisted on climbing into my lap while I was TRYING TO BLOG even though she is sooo not lap dog size. It was really pitiful and cute. She's ok now, vacuum is put away!

What the -

My mom took these this morning - this is a Heron, right? What the heck is it doing in Everett, WA? I mean, I know it's near the sound and all...but that bird needs to know it's in the suburbZ! How funny. And weird :)

Hot Manse of the Day: Giraffe Manor

Check. It. Out, People: let's party at Giraffe Manor. The next time I go on an East African Safari, I will def be staying here!

"The Giraffe Manor is surrounded by 140 acres of indigenous forest just outside Kenya's capital, Nairobi. As well as the giraffe, the property is also home to many species of birds, large families of warthogs and the elusive Bush Buck...The Rothschild giraffe lost much of their natural habitat in western Kenya and faced extinction. In 1974, two highly endangered Rothschild giraffe were moved onto the estate where their future generations have thrived and live today...The Giraffe Manor is modeled on a Scottish hunting lodge with views of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the south and the Ngong Hills to the west...Travelers from all over the world now make The Giraffe Manor part of their East African safari, the only place in the world where you can enjoy the breathtaking experience of feeding and photographing the giraffe over the breakfast table and at the front door."