One Year Ago | Bell and Whiskers

My life was changed by someone. She was small and scared and curled up in the back of her cage. Her neon green eyes stared at me sadly. I remember the first time I held her in my arms. She just collapsed into a ragdoll shape and molded herself into the crease of my elbow.

My then-husband and I took her into the "get acquainted" room where she was more concerned with finding a good place on us to snuggle up than she was with playing. She'd walk back and forth between our two laps, getting nice and cozy.

I texted my dad a picture of her. His response: "Just looking, right?"

At the time, we were just looking. The Humane Society has always been a place that I've frequented to visit with the animals, looking forward to the day when I could adopt. I had no idea that, upon setting foot inside the Humane Society that day, I would find my forever friend.

Her name was “Bella.” She was a one year and nine month old short-haired tortoiseshell cat.

She filled my heart with joy that day.

"Well, let's go fill out the paperwork" he said.

"What?! Really?" was my response.

I guess I had always kind of blocked the whole ‘actual adopting’ idea out of my head. I had figured I'd be visiting these homeless animals for years before I'd be able to adopt one of my own. I was wrong. The more we sat there and spent time with "Bella," the more she fit right into our hearts.

He went and got the paperwork, we filled it out, took the card out from the outside of "Bella's" cage, they gave us a box, we paid a small fee, and she was ours. Bella had a new family. Someone who'd never give her away.

Bella soon became Stella. It fit her perfectly.

For the next few days, Stella was quiet, scared, and didn't do much - including eating, drinking, or using the litter box. Finally, she warmed up to us and the rest is history!

During the rough months of my life, I truly felt the bond between Stella and I grow. It may sound crazy for those of you who don't have a pet, but I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She’s been my little shadow; my Toto running after me everywhere I go. Waking up every morning to her all snuggled up beside me with those sweet, green eyes just makes my day.

The reason I’m writing this today is because yesterday marked one year since I adopted Stella. She has been such a joyful addition to my life and I’m excited for many more years with her :)

For all the times she’s reached over to my hand, woken me up in the middle of night by coughing in my face {yes, this really happened}, for all the boxes and presents she’s so willingly helped me unwrap {because she can’t wait to sit on the tissue paper}, and for all the times she’s just been there by my side, I love her with all my heart :)

Weekend–But really I’m just excited for The Bachelorette

Because I went to the dentist Friday afternoon and had sore gums for the rest of the evening {blog post on that to come}, I thought it would be best to take it easy this weekend and just relax. That said, it wasn’t the most eventful of weekends. But, I do have a few pictures to share with you!

Never in my life did I ever think I’d wear Vans shoes after the 1990’s. But, they’re all the rage in Utah so I’m trying to jump on the fad bandwagon… but failing miserably. I think this is the second time I’ve ever worn them.

P.S. Is there anywhere good to thrift in the Salt Lake City area? Because everywhere I’ve gone has pretty much been a flop.

I’m sure you’d be very surprised {sarcasm} to read that a portion of my weekend was spent at The Humane Society. I know, I know. Look at this little guy named Ted. He’s a brown-haired cairn terrier and let me just tell you this… I LOVE cairn terriers! I’ve gone back and forth about if I got a little dog, what kind it would be. Pomeranian? Cairn terrier? Mini Australian Shepherd? In case this dog looks familiar, he probably reminds you of Toto from The Wizard of Oz. That’s because Toto was a cairn terrier! Look at that little face!! He is going to be a great “watch dog” for someone :) He loves to just be on the look-out!

I don’t know what it is about Rottweilers but I’ve always had a fascination with them. Okay, I think it might be because of the Carl books. Did anyone else read those growing up??

{via}

Carl was a sweet, little dog in the books. While I know life isn’t like what we read or see on TV, this Rottweiler/lab mix named Bubba was definitely a sweetie. He loved playing catch and The Humane Society claims he knows a lot of his commands. Hmm… maybe he was just a little rusty with “sit.”

The good news is that the number of dogs at The Humane Society has decreased these past couple weeks. In fact, I’ve never seen it so bare before! I’m hoping this means, not only is the number of adoptions going up, but the number of homeless pets is going down too!

Oh, and I also watched The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All {and could not get enough of the hilarious bloopers!} Which means… THE FINALE IS TONIGHT!! Who do you want Ashley to say “yes” to? I’m hoping for JP. While I wouldn’t be upset with Ben because it seems like she has a great connection with both of the guys, the love and camaraderie just really seems to be there between Ashley and JP :) We shall see!!

How was your weekend? How did you enjoy your last weekend of July? Scary, right??

Kittens, Tigers, and Cheetahs–Oh My!

No, I did not go to the zoo this weekend nor on an African safari. I have a feeling this scaredy-cat would be afraid to go on a safari, anyway. Because of the hyenas, of course.

Speaking of hyenas… what ARE they? A type of cat? Bear? Wolf? Clearly I will have to do some research. Just know that Googling “hyena” is not a pleasant sight. Enough said.

Wow. Back to the topic. This weekend we spent an evening at a park. I had my hair in a ponytail which never happens, but I must admit, I’m proud of this poof :)

Come to think of it, bears were around this weekend as well. Climbing trees…

I was not a happy camper once I saw how high up in the tree he was. Let’s just say my future kids will NOT be tree climbers, for the sake of my own heart rate.

There were also questions to pass the time like, “Would you rather be a tulip or a daisy?” to which my husband answered “daisy.” So fitting. And, “If you could be any animal, what would you be?”

Husband: A gazelle

Me: A cheetah

Clearly, I would be winning the battle in the African savannas. Yes?

Oh, and there was a pretty killer sunset. Sunsets are my favorite in case you couldn’t tell from the blog title :) If you didn’t read my most recent Fill in the Blank Friday post, I shared a little bit of my heart about sunsets there as well so check it out here.

I’m sure you’re wondering where the tiger is going to fit into all of this. Well, we made our bi-weekly(ish) trip to the Humane Society and it was there that I spotted the tiger hanging out in the dog kennels.

This was the best picture I could get of our friend Scrappy, the tiger. Okay, so he was really a pit bull but do you see the resemblance? I’m pretty sure if they don’t know what the dog is mixed with they just say, “Pit Bull/Mix.” Not just because I’m almost positive that this guy Scrappy here is part tiger, but because we took out another dog that looked like a small German Shepherd mixed with a Husky yet, you guessed it… “Pit Bull/Mix.” Hmm, okay.

I know my last post had something to do with kitties and this one has something to do with kittens, but I just can’t help myself. I don’t think you’d be able to either if you saw this…

This sweet little angel fell fast asleep in my arms after playing with my necklace and my face :) She wasn’t very pleased when I tried putting her back in the cage without waking her. The most precious “mews” escaped from her tiny mouth but I watched as she quickly fell asleep again with her siblings. It’s no nice to know these kittens have a foster home each night until they’re adopted :)

Later that night I also stopped by the mall to “ooh!” and “aah” over MAC make-up, Michael Kors watches, and Marc Jacobs handbags. “Window shopping” is only so much fun. I want the real deal! Anyone seen the movie Salt? We Redboxed that this weekend and I was pretty impressed… until the very ending. Seriously?

How were your weekends, friends? Oh, and… if you could be any animal what would YOU be? ;)

 

Photos: Disney , Davidson

Warm Weekend

FINALLY we have seen a warm(ish) weekend here in Utah! Friday was "eh" -- Saturday was nice but later cooled off once the clouds blew in -- and Sunday was warm! I could definitely get used to this! A lot of eating took place this weekend. That needs to stop.


First off, I'd like to let you in on a little fun fact about me. Some of you may already know. I am obsessed with turquoise/teal/aqua. That is probably an understatement. I took a little picture here while we were on our way out to let you know how I color coordinate... all the time. Nails. iPhone cover. Make-up bag. Wallet. I'm sorry I'm not sorry...

Okay, now back to the weekend -- Friday was pretty relaxed. My "husby" (my form of hubby) was craving In N Out. What's new? Since I'm doing the whole pescatarian thing now and didn't want the grilled cheese, I chose to sit patiently while Husby ate his protein style double-double. I also thought I should help him with some of his fries. Right? Next up was Plato's Closet, the "today's fashions" consignment-esque shop. I had never been before and have now found a new favorite place. I love a good bargain. Great bargains are even better. We were In N Out (no pun intended) of there in 10 minutes then it was off to dinner #2 for yours truly! We went to Zupa's. If you don't have Zupa's where you live, it's this soup, salad, panini eatery. Everything there is delish. I got the "Mangoberry" salad with their amazing lobster bisque soup. The best part about Zupa's is that every order comes with a complimentary chocolate-dipped strawberry. Heavenly!

In case you're wondering, that little stream runs right through our neighborhood :)


Saturday was a good day. It was warm in the afternoon so I was excited to finally be able to put some shorts on! It's the little things, my friends. It's the little things. I did a little bargain shopping while Husby was working and we met back up for a picnic later on. It was about 3:00 at this point. We were both starving but knew dinner would be in a few hours so didn't want too much. We didn't have the healthiest snack/lunch. Let's just say it involved Slurpees. Don't worry -- I will be going to the gym all week long.


Our picnic was not the classiest either. There was no picnic basket or even blanket for that matter. And, here's the best part... it was located on a strip of grass in a parking lot. Awesome, right? There was a little "tent sale" going on in a shopping center right by us and I thought it'd be fun to stop by so we went, parked, and before going in, we ate on the grass. Ha, gotta love it! Oh, I left out an important detail -- The Humane Society was set up at a grocery store we were at earlier. They had adorable kittens and dogs. Ya'll -- RESCUE animals! There are so many poor animals out there without homes. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Blog post to come on that :)

Yes, we are an old married couple and match our clothes...


Sunday we went to church, caught some rays and read The Secret on our deck, and spent some time with Husby's family where I passed on the hamburgers, had corn on the cob, and listened to a pretty heated political debate courtesy of my husband. Oh, boy. This weekend also consisted of a lot, and I mean a lot, of playtime with Stella girl. She's back to the lively little cat she was pre-surgery!! I seriously treat her like she is my child. What did you all do this weekend?