Hey friends!
How are you enjoying Summer?
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We’ve had another week of record-breaking hot temperatures and heat advisories.
Hoping the temperatures cool down here soon and that your weather is more tolerable!
Here’s what we’ve been up to since we saw you last Friday!
What we’ve been up to this week
What happened in New York
I’m happy to report Rich and Harrison safely concluded their drive from Montana to New York last Friday!
Here is Harrison’s first view of the big city!
Such a big difference from the mountains around Bozeman!
They had a fun adventure, but when they got to the college, they received unfortunate news about his apartment!
Long story short, the apartment above his flooded the day before they arrived, and the water leaked into his place.
So, he stayed with Rich at the hotel, and they spent the next couple of days exploring the college and Long Island!
The good news, he got into the apartment Monday morning and unloaded the car before taking his Dad to the airport.
The bad news, he discovered lots of problems with the apartment.
The reality, he’s getting a crash course in adulting!!
A sad day for our family
We are brokenhearted to tell you we said goodbye to Gracey on Tuesday!
It was hard, but we are glad she is no longer in pain or suffering!
This picture was taken in 2021, and words can’t express how much we will miss that sweet face!
For those of you who are new here, we had two Bichon Frise dogs that were brother and sister.
We lost Barkley in February, just shy of their sixteenth birthday.
We are so grateful to have had many wonderful years and happy memories with them!
What we’ve been doing on the blog
I know many of you love Summer and are holding on to it tightly.
Even though temperatures are scorching and the only comfortable place outdoors is in a pool, our minds are moving toward Fall!
As bloggers, it’s our job to show you seasonal content early.
Then, you’ll have time to duplicate it yourself.
So please forgive us if you’re not quite ready to make the jump yourself!
Ready or not, we shared our first Fall post of the season!
Time to start crafting for Fall
For those who love a fun DIY project, we shared a round-up of seven crafts you can make to decorate your home in the upcoming season!
These dried wheat arrangements were a big hit last year!
We hope you’ll take a few minutes to hop over and see how we made them and check out the other six Fall DIY projects!
Reverse Distress DIY
Do you remember the tissue box cover we bought at a thrift store?
You can see it and other treasures we found at a yard sale here!
It was brown and gold, but we painted it black and white!
Can you believe we got this distressed look without sanding?
To see how we did it, click here!
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Inspiration from around the web
Here are five inspiring posts we saw online this week!
1) If you have not been on vacation this year, you can plan tons of fun by staying home! Check out these fabulous tips to plan a staycation!
2) Do you love a great Dollar Tree DIY as much as we do? If so, hop over and look at this adorable knotted rope vase.
3) I’ve wanted to try the dried orange slice home decor trend that’s been around for the last couple of years. And now, I want to try dehydrating apples too!
4) Fall is quickly approaching! If you love to decorate for Autumn, you’ll want to see these 8 Fall Decorating Trends to look forward to in 2023!
5) I love to make pumpkins to decorate our home for Fall, and I’m always searching for unique ideas. These patina pumpkins from antique jello molds are the cutest!
A New Recipe to Try
Life has been so busy this summer, and I have been slacking off when it’s time to cook dinner!
I need to find a way to incorporate more vegetables into our weekly meal plans!
This yummy broccoli salad belongs in my recipe binder!
Favorite Seasonal Finds
Are you interested in buying some new items for Autumn? We hope you enjoy these early Fall home decor ideas from Hearth and Hand with Magnolia at Target.
Posts You Might Like From Our Archives
DIY
This is an oldie but goodie! See how our living room changed after doing Four Living Room Table Makeovers!
Organization
Do you have more clothes in your closet than you need or ever wear? We can help you learn How to Purge, Organize, and Store Your Clothes!
We hope you have the best week ever, and we look forward to seeing you back here next Friday!
Blessings, Donna and Rich
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Thank you so much for sharing my DIY knotted rope vase using Dollar Tree supplies! I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your second dog baby, Gracey. It’s amazing that you got 16 wonderful years with them. It’s weird how sometimes people will die soon after losing a spouse or someone they lived close with for many years. My cousin just passed and then her husband (both only 55) from a heart attack 2 mo. later. I wonder if it’s similar with dogs since Gracey just lost her brother. I know how your heart must be breaking! I’ve always been terrified of all dogs, even tiny ones, until we got our little morkie, Bella. She’s 3lbs at 8 years old. She developed a liver condition 2 years ago that is causing her to have horrific looking seizures. I’m not sure how good her quality of life is, since it seems like her head hurts all the time and she falls during them from the high back of the couch, sometimes biting her tongue causing blood to go everywhere. I’m sure we’ll have to put her down soon, which will be heartbreaking. She was the one who made me not afraid of dogs and actually love one. I hope that you & your hubby will be able to get another Bichon Frise, not to replace Gracey and Barkley, but to kind of soothe the pain of losing them and fill your home with love from man’s best friend again! On another note- I love those dried wheat vases! I think I’ll head over & pin them to make one or two of my own!
Hi Niki! Thank you for your kind words! I’m so sorry to hear about your dogs health issues. We get so attached to them and it is hard when their health starts failing! It’s a a very difficult decision to make, but I know you’ll do what’s best for your sweet dog! We are trying to adjust to life without them. It’s harder than I thought it would be! Lots of tears! Blessings to you and yours!
So sorry to read about the loss of Gracey, Donna! I know it must be really hard to lose them both so close together. They were totally adorable and I know your heart must ache. I’ll definitely be keeping you guys and Harrison in my prayers too. Gosh, what a tough way to start life in a new city! Even though it’s wild and crazy hot in Florida right now. It’s always good to have something fun to look forward to so I’m excited to ease into the season. It always goes by so fast! Hugs, CoCo
Thank you for your prayers CoCo, especially for Harrison! I am slowly getting used to life without Gracey by my side. It’s tough and I miss her a lot, she was a mommies girl! I hate to wish time away, but I’m done with these hot temps and ready for Fall to officially be here! Have a great week! Blessings, Donna
I am so sorry to hear about your loss of Gracey. It is so difficult to go through, I have lost many over the years, and my last pup I said was the last because I could not take the heartache. My husband kept pushing me to at least look at pups, and I kept saying no. Needless to say, he knew what I needed more than I did. Bentley arrived and was a pistol, the most, by far ornery pup I have ever had! After I got sick, he seemed to settle down a bit, and we are like frick and frack now. I never leave the house without him, I have to say I would be completely lost without him now. I talk to him, and I am telling you he understands every word. Since we were never blessed with children, he has become our child, and some may laugh or think we are crazy, but he lives the life here, just like any child we would have, spoiled as ever. He even throws temper tantrums. We have always treated all of our dogs as family members, but this one, it seems different. I know this is a difficult time. I just wish dogs lived as long as humans. I am sending my thoughts your way.
Hi Cara, thank you for your kind words! Sounds like your dog brings you so much joy! I wish our pets could live longer too! We were lucky to have 16 wonderful years. We are adjusting slowly. At this time we’re not planning to get anymore pets, I don’t want to go through this again. Thanks again! Blessings, Donna