Puppy Love

Our family had to recently make the decision to put our 10 year old golden retriever/lab mix LILY down. 

 

 

After noticing some inconsistencies and abnormalities for a few weeks my Dad took Lily to the vet only to learn she had multiple tumors inside of her.

 

This news rocked our family – how could our sweet Lily be sick, there was no way!? 

My brother and I both came home that weekend to be by her side and give her lots of loving. It was hard to accept that things were going to happen so quickly, especially because she looked great and was acting so normal. A lot of tears were shed that weekend and Lily received some really great love and attention (as if this wasn’t the norm every time we saw her).

As the vet had predicted her health began to quickly decline and on a Saturday her breathing was becoming extremely labored. My parents had to make the tough call, as we had all agreed we didn’t want Lily to suffer.  

As you can well imagine our whole family took losing Lily very hard. If you've ever had a dog you know they become part of the family. Their unconditional love, excitement when you walk in the door and wet kisses are unmatched. 

Lily was a boat dog, we couldn't keep her out of the water, she sensed when we were getting close to throwing in the anchor and got super excited. 

 

 

She was a city dog, going into Philadelphia often to live with my brother for periods of time and strutting her stuff down the street.

 

Lily was a vacuum cleaner, helping clean up the floors before, during and after dinner. 

 

 

 

She was also quite the doggie athlete. She had the frisbee thing down and could catch just about anything in her mouth (food was her favorite). 

 

 

 

But most of all Lily was a lover. There was nothing better than being greeted by Lily at the door. Her excitement was like no other, tail wagging, crying with joy and circling you for love and attention. 

 

 

Lily had some unique markings on her that I will always remember. The tip of her tail was white, she had a white patch on her forehead and a freckle on her nose (I swear). 

 

 

My dear sweet Lily, you were such an important part of our family and you will forever be missed. We hope doggie heaven is full of peanut butter, tennis balls, socks and a pool for you to swim in. Thank you for bringing such joy (and wet kisses) to our lives for 10 great years. 

 

foooooood

Dude, I don't know about you, but lately all I can think about is eating food. Healthy food, junk food, melty food, chocolate food.

Here are a few recipes that I've made recently that I'm still thinking about.

Raw Cookie Dough Bars from Averie Cooks

 

Quiche with Herbs and Goat Cheese from New York Times Cooking

Dim Sum Dumplings from Ali Babka

And here are a few that have caught my eye, either via Pinterest, or my Bloglovin feed.

Brownie Batter Dip from The Farm Girl

Homemade Honey Oat Bread from Bakingdom

Fried Green Tomatoes over Basil-Goat Cheese Grits from Eats Well With Others

White Pizza Grilled Cheese from Kitchen Treaty

Lasagna Soup from Cooking Classy

Now, go get a snack, because if you're like me, this has been a little bit like torture.

til the cinnamon rolls,

Em

Warming Up for Winter

"They" say Sweater Weather is Better Weather - I beg to differ, but if you can't beat 'em join 'em! 

I've officially turned over my closet from spring/summer to fall/winter. Boots and sweaters are already being utilized (brrrrr!)

Here are some looks I'm loving for the season. 

 Every wardrobe should include 1 chic flannel! 

 I'm looking to add a fun pair of leggings to my collection this season - these are super cool!

 Sweaters with a little bit of print.

 For me fur vests will always be a staple in my wardrobe. They are super cozy and if done right can be super fashionable! 

As for a girls best friend ... her shoes, here are some styles I would like to add to the collection or have added already. 

Picked these bad boys up at DSW a few weeks ago. Super comfortable, not too pricey and very practical. 

 I'm loving these - I'm looking to add a nude color boot to my collection this year - a color that goes with everything. 

 I think these booties are rad! A bit edgy, while still being a bit on the neutral side. 

What styles are you loving this season? Are you looking to add anything to your wardrobe like I am? 

If you're like me, you never need an excuse to shop - happy style hunting! 

Is it Friday yet?!

As Em mentioned we are shaking things up a bit here on Three Girls Three Cities, she'll be posting on Tuesday's and I'll be talking to you on Thursday's.

Ever have one of those weeks where you're literally counting down the days to the weekend? Yep, that's the kind of week I'm having this week. Very hectic, and Friday can't come soon enough.

Any fun weekend plans?

I'm playing in a touch football game this weekend at Giant's Stadium to benefit the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. I'm pumped - we had a blast playing last year and this year we're playing in the second session of the day under the light (tomboy alert!)

Whatever your plans I hope you have an awesome weekend - I'll be back next Thursday, hopefully a little less stressed out! 

how was your weekend?

Why yes, it's me, Em, talking to you on a Tuesday! We're going to switch to a Tuesday/Thursday posting schedule and yours truly will be posting on Tuesdays with Loni takin' Thursdays.

My weekend was filled with:

1. roadtrips

2. family

3. memories

4. yummy food

5. and a big Eagles win

Doesn't get much better than that, huh?

How was yours??

til the pretzel twists,
Em

to be or not to be...

It seems to be Halloween week here on three girls three cities! You know you're a mom when the costume decisions you're facing are about fairies, or ballerinas, or grasshoppers (Sally) and Harry Potter, or The Dude, or Mickey Mouse (Graham). For the record, its a flower star sparkle fairy for Sally and Potter for Graham. Now that the selection has been made, we've moved on to the planning and execution stages. I will be DIY-ing a tulle fairy skirt (I'll post pics, obvi) and a sparkle star wand, along with a Gryffindor tie and a for-pictures-only wizard wand (Graham cannot be trusted with pokey objects - but...he made need it for self-defense against the sparkle star wand).

I'll pop on one of two headbands - cat ears or Minnie Mouse and do make-up accordingly and call it a costume. Last year, we had a Halloween costume birthday party for Graham, it was so fun to see the costumes that everyone came up with. There's nothing as fun as a Halloween party. It is by far my favorite occasion to decorate for.

Pinterest monster door come to life

Speaking of which, how soon in October do you decorate for Halloween? I wait until we're two weeks out, because I also love fall decorations and don't want to have to switch them out so soon after having put them up (on the autumnal equinox).

What does your Halloween look like? Trick or treating? A big friends costume party? Eating chili, watching Hocus Pocus, and sipping hot cocoa while passing out candy?

til the pumpkin spices,
Em

Decisions, Decisions ...

With Halloween quickly approaching my co-worker (and friend) and I are trying to decide what to dress up as for work. 

Boy have I come a long way (in the conservative) direction since my days of dressing up for Halloween in college. Each year we would insert the work "sexy" in front of whatever costume we had decided on. One year, sexy devils and an angel, another sexy professions (I was a doctor, if you call a skimpy lab coat and a red bra a costume), sexy army girls ... well you get the point. 

Thinking now a bit more conservative, but still fun we're playing around with the idea of super hero's (since we clearly possess super powers to get everything done in a day!)

Maybe Superwoman, maybe Wonder Woman, or maybe both. We're also toying with the idea of Thing 1 and Thing 2. You see we're very similar and people in the office sometimes confuses one of us for the other. 

 

Whatever we finally decide on, I'm looking forward to dressing up and having fun with it - I love Halloween! 

Are you planning on dressing up? Going to any parties? What was your all-time favorite costume?

 

I tried, I really did

I made homemade flavored coffee creamer, because the ingredient list in the store-bought is somewhat off-putting. But you know what. it just didn't work. It didn't really lighten my coffee, unless I wanted to dump 4 tablespoons in there, but thats a lot of sweetened condensed milk first thing in the morning. Nope. I tried, I really did. Bring on the International Delight French Vanilla.

not what my coffee looked like

I'm mildly concerned about my kids drinking milk from cows treated with growth hormone. I tried to do the organic, DHA-fortified stuff, but frankly, we drink too much milk and its too darn expensive. So, I've settled for regular milk, but I do make sure that the label says that its from untreated cows. I tried, I really did. Super earth-mother I am not.

I put on my trusty Old Navy chambray shirt, with my new J. Crew Factory dark wash matchstick jeans (hello markdowns + 65% off!). And then I immediately took off my trusty chambray shirt and put on a striped tee. I tried, I really did. I'm just not down with (or able to pull off) the denim on denim.

Have you given something a go, and it didn't work out? Or did it? What was it?

til the star bursts,
Em

What Are You Watching?

What shows are you watching this fall? There are so many great ones both new and returning. My DVR is starting to get full and I love it!

I'll start with the new shows I'm excited about. 

Gotham (Monday's at 8 on Fox) - Great show, and I've only watched the first episode. I'm a big Batman fan, so to hit rewind and go back to the beginning of Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon and several of DC Comics' villains, including Catwoman, the Penguin and the Riddler is super cool.

How to Get Away With Murder (Thursday's at 10 on ABC) -  This show has me intrigued and I want to give the first couple episodes a try. 

The following are some of my favorite returning shows. 

The Blacklist (Monday's at 10 on NBC) - This show has it all, drama, an ongoing story-line and James Spader's wittiness. 

Boardwalk Empire  (Sunday's at 9 on HBO) - While I feel this season is dragging a bit, and I've felt that way about other seasons, I've watched this series since the beginning and it's the last season so I'll continue to watch. 

Homeland (Sunday's at 9 on Showtime - starts 10/5) - This show is just unreal!! The roller coaster ride the writers have taken us on each season is incredible and now that (spoiler alert) Brody is dead I can't wait to see what direction this seasons will go in. 

Nashville (Wednesday's at 10 on ABC) - My love for country music completely drew me to this show from day one. I find myself downloading music from the show and in awe of some of the talent on the show. It's also nice to watch Connie Britton again after I watched her for years on Friday Night Lights (great show!) 

Revenge (Sunday's at 10 on ABC) - I can't wait to see what happens this season, as last years finale left us dangling on the edge of the cliff. Previews for the show also have left you scratching your head wondering what will happen. 

I'm also a reality junkie (there I admitted it). The Real Housewives (only some of them) are my guilty pleasure.  I also love The Voice and this seasons new judges Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams. 

TGFTDVR (thank god for the DVR).

Whatever you're watching this season - enjoy!