winnie cooper

So remember when I told you that we started fostering? Well we have already failed at that and this little lady is now our winnie cooper

She was found last summer as a stray with her puppies. All of her puppies were adopted last year and she had been waiting for her home. It's now with us.

She is my #1 cuddler and we love her so much.

i heart pets

i had a couple of pet portrait orders over the past few months. this first one was actually a gift from one of my friends to a musician that i totally enjoy listening to. it's crazy to think this is hanging in his house right now!

and here's a cat.

mozer

yes, this is why our couch is dirty and stained, but how can you resist this face?

camping at tobyhanna

we found ourselves with a free weekend, which just so happened to have perfect weather. we ended up at tobyhanna state park, which had the absolute best camping spots, right on a lake. moz loved it, and so did we.
since moz has such bad knees, we can't really hike when we take him. but this spot was perfect since it was right on a lake. there were fun things to see and do right there.


we also had some great food. hot dogs...

beef stew...



and sausage and pancakes...


it was fun.

we also checked out a lake house that is for sale. it is super awesome, but needs A LOT of work. we're thinking about it....

spring

although it's not officially spring until tomorrow, this week has 100% felt like spring. our first flowers of the year have bloomed.

the hydrangea had buds, and hopefully it blooms this year.

and moz got a new collar. he took off really hard while dave was holding the leash and he totally busted his collar and broke it.

snow, snow and more snow

we had lots and lots of snow saturday, about 2ft! and they're calling for another 8-20" tuesday night-wednesday night. snow day!

dave made a delicious breakfast.

and we made mimosas.

i did some quilting.

and walking with moz.

and then another delicious meal.

a great weekend indeed.

nuts

moz and i both love nuts. we were chillin the other night, enjoying some nuts together.

but today i came home to this.

a pasta box AND nuts all over the floor. bad dog.

and sad holidays

sadly, we came home from our holiday travels to a tragic situation. we could tell something was wrong right away when punch wasn't waiting for us and he hadn't eaten all of his food. i went upstairs to see if he was in his favorite spot and he was sitting on the floor of the guest bedroom. something didn't look right and so i tried to get him to walk to me and realized he couldn't use his hind legs. long story short, we had to make the decision to put him down. it was heartbreaking. the vet thinks that he had a tumor that was affecting his spinal cord and paralyzing his hind legs. there was not a whole lot that they could do for him. at least he had 11 years full of life.

RIP otto "monkeypunch". you were the best cat.

happy halloween!

we have one costume for moz and we torture him every year by trying to put it on him. it's always a struggle, but the pictures are worth it. haha.

we might make his wear the cape for a couple hours, it's too cute and he doesn't seem to mind it.

happy halloween!

getting ready...

we've been cooking and cleaning all day to get ready for our mother's day brunch tomorrow.

here's the menu:

-peach bellini's
-bloody mary's
-cranberry orange scones (recipe below)
-plain scones (recipe below)
-lox and bagels
-mushroom and leek quiche
-ham and asparagus quiche
-waffles with a berry compote
-tiramisu trifle (recipe below)




i plan on using lots of vintage to decorate and serve (these snack trays are available here).


this scone recipe is amazing. i made them one day with week for work and everyone raved. i have to admit that the only reason i have plain and orange cranberry scones is that the first batch i made last night i forgot the orange and cranberry... i amaze myself sometimes, not in a good way.

orange cranberry scones (recipe available at allrecipes.com here.)

ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 dried cranberries
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
zest of 1/2 orange

directions:
adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

in a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in dried cranberries.

in a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth, add orange zest.

using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (the dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)

place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. sprinkle with a couple tbsp sugar. use a sharp knife to cut into 12 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. bake until golden, about 15 minutes. cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.




tiramisu trifle (based on recipe from allrecipes.com here) i was going to make the cake, but they didn't cooperate and come out of the pans nicely, so i made it into a trifle.

ingredients:
CAKE
vanilla cake mix (i used trader joe's brand) and ingredients from box
about 1/2 cup espresso

FILLING:
1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

FROSTING:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur

GARNISH:
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease and flour 2 (9 inch) pans.

prepare the cake mix according to package directions and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. brew about 1/2 cup espresso and set aside.

filling: in beat the mascarpone, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur beat until smooth.

frosting: beat the cream, 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur until stiff. fold 1/2 cup of cream mixture into filling mixture.

assembly: tear apart the cake (or chop) and place 1/2 of it in a trifle bowl. add the layer of filling. add a layer of 1/2 the frosting. add the rest of the cake and then top with the remaining frosting. run a vegetable peeler on the edge of a chocolate bar to top with chocolate curls. refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

and this is what punch was doing all day...

decisions, decisions...

moz hasn't been walking right ever since the day after my birthday party when we were playing with him and a balloon. he loves to jump and snap at them. the next day he didn't use his leg at all (the one that just had surgery last year) and so we were hoping he just sprained something. no such luck. he now has a luxating patella (knee cap that pops out) on the leg that JUST had surgery 6 months ago. it is the same surgery that he had on his other leg when he was one. he's not quite six and will need his third surgery. we are really torn (no pun intended) about what to do this time. the surgeon recommends surgery, of course, but he never really recovered fully the first time around and he already has arthritis in all legs. plus the risk of going under again scares me and another 2 months of recovery will be hellish. but he's only 5 and hopefully has at least that much time left and if we don't get the surgery it means only very short walks and no running, jumping and all of the things he loves to do. it is a hard decision. and we don't know what to do. and are hoping that his new thing will not be tearing something twice a year! but one thing is for sure, he is on a diet again. he gained 5 lbs in the last couple months. what a tub of love.
so does anyone have any advice about what you would do?

sad moz

moz had his surgery on wednesday to fix his knee, he tore his crucient ligament (like the ACL on the person). we picked him up yesterday and he was so out of it, i don't even think he knew who we were! but i guess if i was on fentanyl, morphine and tramadol i wouldn't know my parents either.
the first night was rough, he cried non-stop so none of really got any sleep. it's so sad to know your pet is in that much pain and you can't do anything about it.
i took a 1/2 day today so I could spend most of the day with him. judging by the amount of whining and noises he's making, he seems to be feeling a bit better, so that is great.

pets

so we have two pets, moz and punch. they are the cutest. as i type this moz, the dog, scolded punch the cat. he was going to pull his claws on the couch, as he loves to do, and moz barked at him and then ran up to him. punch stopped in his tracks. what an enforcer. i'm sure that doesn't happen when we're not home.