Fall Fun

Hey,

Despite the CRAZY schedules we have had lately, the hubs and I have done some sort of "Family Fall Fun" both last weekend and this weekend!

Last Sunday we enjoyed a pup friendly patio dinner at Alegria Mexican Restaurant and then went to a pumpkin patch with our little pumpkin! Yes we are both in T-shirts!! It's crazy that it was so warm outside that wearing jeans made us hot! And yes Stella is wearing a cute lil pumpkin dress - courtesy of her Nana Joy Joy - a gift from her Birthday Party!! 





This Sunday we were gonna do the haunted house thing, but its freezing outside (typical Tennessee weather) and so we decided to stay in next to our fireplace and make our award winning chili (we won a cook off last year) and carve our pumpkins! I wish we had cameras on us sometimes. It was funny. The hubs wanted to do everything freehand. I would rather not be so ancient and use a template. Me + "carving" a pumpkin just don't mix! But since the hubs is actually quite the artist, he won. Obviously his is the skeleton and mine and Stella's is the little paw. My pumpkin is so little that you can see the candle a little too much. Booo!



Stella didn't help much. She slept 99% of the time and then got up long enough to try and eat all the pumpkin we scooped out! HaHa! Had I been thinking I would have put her in her little skeleton sweater! But she wore it yesterday :)




Halloween is on Wednesday this year and I may be working an early shift. If so, we may actually hand out candy together for the FIRST time! We've always had to work or lived in a loft in years past! Our new house is in a nice neighborhood, in an area that I would expect to be pretty high traffic with trick or treaters.

Handing out candy is one of my FAVORITE memories growing up. Walking into my Granny's house after school and smelling the fresh popcorn she spent ALL DAY popping and bagging into little paper halloween bags. I can still smell it, still see her smile, still hear her complaining about how much work it was and how she "wasn't going to do it next year" (but always did), I can still see the silver mixing bowls she separated the candy into and sat next to the door. She always told me to make sure and give the older kids (that were too old and shouldn't be trick or treating) a piece of gum or smarties and save the "good stuff" for the little ones. Haha!

Oh how I miss her and her heart so full of love. She couldn't afford to buy all that candy, but did every year.
I also miss that time. When parents could trust a stranger handing their child freshly cooked homemade popcorn :-(

Here is to memories and the "good ole days"!! Happy Halloween from The Green's :)

XoXo
Mrs. Green

It's A Dog's Life ....

Hey Everyone,

If you saw my post last week then you know our little girls first birthday party got rained out. Despite my frustration with the inaccurate forecast that called for severe weather (it didn't rain - not even a drop) we couldn't have asked for a better date to re-schedule!! It was seriously the PERFECT fall day! A little windy, but upper 60's and sunny!

Some people probably think I'm crazy for going "all out" for a dog, but the hubs and I aren't sure if we ever want kids, so this may be the only "1st Birthday" we ever throw. Actually I know I'm totally not crazy. For a while now the market for dog anything has been huge!! I mean, my dogs tutu dress she wore in our wedding cost just as much (if not more) than my bridesmaids dresses! We have several places to choose from in town that make doggie baked goods - the one I went to - that is ALL they do! There are thousands of websites, etsy pages and locals that dedicate their designs - totally to dogs!! Our favorite at the time is Baxter Boo! You can find great coupon codes online and if you sign up for emails you get all kinds of deals sent to you! However, I will say her Pawdicures, like the one she got for her party, are cheaper than mine! Only 5 bucks at Petsmart :)

For the party, I knew I wanted to have an overall "Dog" theme going on.  I was torn between pink and red and sassy or sweet. I ended up going with a little splash of both. I used several shades of pink and mixed some animal print in with princess themed items - it was a huge hit! To keep with the dog theme, we had everything from a "hot DOG bar", to snacks labeled "puppy chow - DIG in"  and a spiked human punch named "Toilet Water!! I tried to think about every detail without being too obsessive and overboard (Yes .. I wanted to do even more).
Here are a few more pictures! I hope you enjoy, steal pin some of these ideas and pamper your pooch on his/her big day too!!

FOOD
Using very simple decor (an 8 foot table draped with a simple plastic table cloth and pink zebra print balloons) I pulled off a cute little "dog themed" food set up. A Hot Dog Bar being the main "food" item, followed by Rawhides & Cheese (Mac & Cheese) and  Puppy Chow (Chips and Dip)! Each food item had a dog theme name and was marked with home made signs. The signs were made using really think glitter paper, pink sticky notes and a pink sharpie. I would recommend using tent cards (or folding card stock), pre-cut labels you can print on and your computer. Unless you  have a steady hand, paper cutter great handwriting and lots of time - it would just be "neater". That is what I wanted to do, but we moved into our new house 3 weeks before this party and didn't have our printer hooked up yet. I did the best I could on several lunch breaks at work!

One end was for the humans and the other for the VIP's (Very Important Pups). The VIP end had a bowl of Stella's Favorite Snacks and special dog friendly pupcakes made at the dog bakery mentioned above. There was one for each guest and one big one for the b-day girl!   To put emphasis on the Stella's cupcake - I put it in a cheap silver dog dish! The display was a cake stand I already owned.

DRINKS AND SWEETS
The adults had their own "pupcakes". I ordered them in pink and white from our local Kroger (by the way everyone said they were better than a certain designer cupcake joint in town). To give them a little something, I then added some little princess themed toppers I found at a craft store and put a baby pic of Stella on pre-made card stock that said ""

Erika & Aaron enjoying cupcakes! 

 

My favorite part about this was the cupcake display! Instead of buying one of those cheap looking cupcake towers for 20 bucks or more - I bought some cute wrapping paper and wrapped one medium shoebox and one printer paper box lid and - - voila! You could add as many layers to this as you want to make it even more grand! All for less than 4 bucks!

We decided to give the human punch a kick and a name! To go with the theme, we named the UV Vodka based punch - "Toilet Water"!

We also served Stella's Speciality Puptini Shots!! We found a great recipe using Pinnacle Cake and actual cake mix!! Since I have to be Gluten Free we used Betty Crocker Gluten Free White Cake Mix. We literally couldn't make them fast enough!!

BIRTHDAY CAKE MARTINI RECIPE (Per Shot):
1 oz PInnacle Cake Vodka
1 tsp. dry vanilla cake mix (we used betty crocker gluten free)
1/2 oz. chocolate liqueur
1/2 oz. half & half

Shake with ice and strain into a shot glass. Top with whipped cream and/or sprinkles

DOGGIE BAGS
Each VIP (Very Important Paw) had a "doggie bag" to take home. Inside was a cute little tennis ball, a rawhide, milk bones and another treat! We used a picture frame from our house and put baby pictures of our dog in it, with a sign thanking Stella's guests for coming to her PAWty :)

HUMANE SOCIETY DONATIONS
Instead of bringing Stella gifts, we asked that everyone bring a donation for our local Humane Society. We found out what their urgent needs were and asked people to bring those specific items. People brought everything from dog or cat food and kitty litter, to peanut butter, treats, collars and even cash!! We can't wait to walk in with all this stuff!!

The dogs ran around our yard like crazy, the humans socialized and played corn hole and aside from a few people stepping in hidden poo from one of the dozen guests  - it was an overall good time!!! I'm not sure who had more fun at this DOG Birthday party ... those with two legs or four?! Here are a few more pics of the Birthday Princess for you to enjoy! I also want to give a HUGE shout out to      for her pink birthday tutu. You will see it in several pictures below! Erica normally only makes tutu's for non furry children and this was her FIRST attempt at a doggie tutu! I think everyone should hit her up with requests! She is so good!! Stella's shirt and "necklace" come from the fave store I mentioned above - Baxter Boo!

XoXo
Mrs Green
**None of these pictures on this blog can be taken from this site without linking my blog as the source**

Stella with her mommy, daddy and yummy pupcake! And JUST LOOK at that tiny little custom tutu from our friend at Tiny Diva Tutu's! Order one for your furry or human baby here:   http://www.facebook.com/TinyDivaTutus

Dad & Daughter - hehe

Uncle Sully, Mrs. Green and Stella

She didn't want anything to do with that hat! 

Trying to hide her bone from all the other guests :)

This picture cracks me up! Playtime with a couple VIP's

This picture is extra special. This is Stella with her birth mom and dad and their human parents :) 

Crystal and Mona

Stella's birth mom & dad 

Aunt Shelly, Molly, Mama & Stella 

Last - but not least - Stella's cousin Tuff sent a picture with a sign from him (and her cat cousins) since they were not able to come to town :) 

You Dip, I Dip, We Dip

Hey Everyone,

I am the MASTER at pinning yummy recipes from Pinterest and then never making them!

I've tried a few and they have all been great, but the one I made for a snack today was SO easy, healthy and delish, I thought I'd blog about it quickly!

Excuse the ugly "desk" pic - but that is where I was trying to grab a quick bite! 

This is Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip! I am dipping bananas in it but apples would be amazing I bet!  I only wanted a little bit, so I used a small cup of vanilla greek yogurt (just the larger individual ones you get in the store) and 1 tbs peanut butter and mixed well. But here is the recipe for if you were having a party or something.

• 1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
• 2 cups assorted fruit (bananas, strawberries and apple)

      Mix well and enjoy! 

MUCH lower fat than just using peanut butter and can you imagine how much more protein because of the greek yogurt!

Yummmm,
Mrs. Green

And the most challanging part of marriage is .....

Hey All,

"Talking about problems calms women down -- but for men, it riles them up". - Exert from a study on marriage.

Raise your hand if you can relate to that one?! 

In our vows, I told my husband that I knew that every moment wouldn't be as perfect that one, but I'd sure try.  I'd say any and all of you married people out there agree. It's your wish. It's your goal. It's your desire...to always be as happy as you are in that moment that you say "I Do". But so is life I guess. The devil attempts to get into our hearts or minds, stress causes harsh words, you get comfortable, etc. Even the most "perfect" couples bicker. But what do most people even fight about?!

I read on a webpage (that asked their readers) - What are the most challenging part of being marriage?  Here is how it broke down.

Do you all agree with the results? What do you and our significant other "fight" about and how do you reach a conclusion? Are you like most women.. and talking helps? Or are you like most men..and it only makes you angrier?

I have to say I agree. My husband and I really do get along and see eye to eye on just about everything - but any issue we have ever had have centered around Communication. And it's true - I like to talk about it - He does NOT. 

I have interviewed several elderly people (still married) in my career and I'd always ask them the secret to a long marriage. Almost all would say "Don't go to bed mad". But then again when I think about it .. I'm pretty sure all of the elderly people that said that....were women, haha.

So what is the perfect "meet in the middle"??

Geez ... couldn't the big man upstairs just have wired us to think the same? haha.

XoXo
Mrs. Green

Weather Woes = Birthday Party NO's

Hey Everyone ...

This weekend our little girl Stella (our dog) turned one :)  This was her as a baby. Omg .. I tear up every time I see that tiny little face!!

Since Stella's birth mom and dad are our friends dogs - we were lucky enough to be able to start visiting her the week she was born!! This was sweet Stella before her little eyes were even open! I know, freaking precious, right?

 Obviously we are those people that treat their animals like real kids. I mean - the first two weeks we had her,  I taught her the ropes. You know, who the important designers are, I.E. - What we NEVER chew on under any circumstance, haha! (I love this picture .. look how it looks like she is totally paying attention)

Yeah, I know people may think we are crazy, but I honestly don't understand why people have animals and treat them any less?

Anyway, if you know me, then you know I wanted to throw the cutest little puppy party that my "just moved into a new house" budget could handle! After several nights of little to no sleep, I had it all ready to go! The majority of our house was free of boxes and organized, I borrowed outdoor tables & chairs, bought or made all the dog decor, ordered special pupcakes, planned dog themed food, Stella even got a fresh PAWdicure....

Then .. it happens. The weather man calls for rain. Not just rain, but scattered "down pours" and even severe weather later in the day. First I moved the party up three hours because it looked as if it wasn't going to start until late afternoon, then with MUCH hesitation (umm, isn't October suppose to be the driest month of the year) I decided to postpone it because I was told that the rain was going to come earlier. Dogs, rain, mud, at an all outdoor party - does not equal much fun.

Wel...what happens?! I wake up on Sunday to wet grass from a MORNING shower, but an otherwise perfect day! Seriously, the closer it got to our original 3pm party time, the prettier it got! They cancelled all warnings for "severe weather" or any rain at all for that matter.

I guess the entire day wasn't a loss. We ended up on Taps pup friendly patio with four of our great friends for an amazing "stuffed burger". Stella's "Aunt Steph" bought her a doggie cake (thankfully the dog bakery said we the pupcakes we bought for the party will stay fresh in a fridge) and Stella got to wear part of her bday party outfit :)

 I can't wait to post pics of the pup party next week! Rain chances or not - it's gonna happen! Looking on the bright side, this just gives me more time to plans some more cheesy puppy themed stuff, right?! :)




XoXo,
Mrs. Green

Hard In The PAINT

Hey All,

Finally - last night I was able to attend DAYGLOW - the world's largest paint party!! I am always proud of my husband. He works soooo hard to throw some of the BEST events Nashville has ever had. This is the second time he has been one of the people behind this particular party. The last time time he had DAYGLOW - I was here - get painted in a different way, haha!

Ya see, the last time he hosted DAYGLOW, it was the weekend of our wedding! I didn't want to take the chance of all that neon paint NOT coming out of my blonde hair. Not to mention I had friends and family in town and a pretty long to-do list to take care of! 

This time around I wasn't going to miss out on the fun!! DAYGLOW actually came to Nashville two other times before I finally "got it". I always wondered what would be fun about being smashed into a crowd of kids and getting covered in paint. Well .. let's just say .. I totally get it now!!! It was one of the most fun nights I've ever had in Nashville! It was freezing and it rained - but no one cared! To give you a tiny idea ... this was me and one of my best friends Adam at the beginning of the night ...

This is me after one paint blast ...

These are from later, after plenty more paint was blasted out into the crowd!

And when I saw crowd - I mean CROWD! Some 6,000 (ish) people came out for this. My husband worked nearly 30 hours straight. I'd say it was worth it!! Seriously, check out this video! I'm somewhere in the crowd!

The result?! This is me at the end of the night .. after the last blast and when I finally got home.  Look at my hair?!?! It literally felt like it was going to break off it was so stiff!!

The good news - I only had to shower once - and not a drop of paint left on my body :) I was back to blonde and snoozing with the pup in no time  :)

Have you ever gone "Hard In The Paint" - if not - you are missing out!!!!!

XoXo
Mrs. Green