First year

Why is this a tradition? Here is the piece of wedding cake we saved. It has been in the freezer and made the trip to Catskills in the glove compartment- doesn't that sound sooo appetizing? But it was really tasty! We loved our caterer.

The cottage we stayed in was near these beautiful farmstands in the Schohairie Valley.
And we picked raspberries- yum, yum, yum. We had a raspberry bush in our yard when I was a kid and I feel really nostalgic when I eat them.

Cottage

This is the little cottage we stayed in over the weekend. There were hammocks, a creek, and an outdoor shower! Totally dreamy.
On Saturday morning everything was covered in mist. Sparks was in our faces at 6am, begging to go out and play.
It looks like the set of a fantasy movie...

Catskills

We visited a friend who has the most beautiful farmhouse. She has many fields, a huge garden and tater patch, and this pond. This is Frankie, her pup- she likes Sparks. He is really ambivalent about dogs, weirdo.
But he loves, LOVES to swim.
And he would drive too, if he were in London....

Birthday

So , Mr. has the double whammy of a birthday and anniversary in the same week. However, first anniversary is paper and he was a little freaked out about those rules. So this is what greeted me on my birthday.We didn't have dinner reservations till 9:30 and I had to wait all day.Worth the wait. A new classmate is turning 22 tomorrow and I guess it is better to be a decade older if you are getting Tiffany.

Bye bye summer

For the last weekend of summer, we went to the beach. In NY it is hard to find a beach that allows dogs. So we went to Jersey. The northern-most part of the Jersey Shore is Sandy Hook. It has an Atlantic side and bayside- dogs are only allowed on the bayside. Sandy Hook also has some similarities to Governor's Island. At the very tip the there is a lighthouse and military outposts. The Coast Guard still uses it- but it has a similar ghost town feel to it. Empty buildings, morter batteries and a line of matching officers houses.

We had fun swimming with Sparks. But, he gets sooo excited and so restless, it isn't very relaxing.

School started yesterday and it was very exciting- all the classes I think will be challenging and interesting. It is strange to be in school again and I actually feel really out of it. My classmates seem to come from all over, some are musicians and some are young and have come straight from undergrad. The classes are very discussion based and it forces people to rather social. There is already a bit of reading and I still have two more classes today to start. I am not sure if I will have any time to blog or any time to do fun things to blog about. So I am off to read my assignments....

Market bags

Okay, I guess I am obsessed with bags...I have never been obsessed before. I usually function like this- get a bag (or a pair of jeans, or shoes, etc) I like and use it until it just falls apart. I have literally had to throw sneakers into a dumpster to tear myself away from the ragged things. So I have one purse and suddenly about 7 shopping bags! T. has sewn me half and I have knitted the other half. I have also made a number of them for friends and family. It is a very easy pattern- but I love to do it. In a small way, I feel like I really am spreading my personal battle against plastic bags, plus they are pretty.

T. sewed these veggie bags for me and I LOVE them!! They are for items that need their own bag, like beans and peaches. The work wonderfully and people think they are so cute- which they are.
This bag is for my mom.
I know you have been wondering why there haven't been more pics of Sparks lately. So here you are. He has no good reason for his absence- no big project he is working on...By the way, this isn't our couch. Ours is being repaired and this is the loaner they sent us. I feel like we may never see our little beige couch again. In revenge- we are allowing Sparks to sit on the mismatched thing and get his hairs all over it.

Booties

This is the Bootie of the Week gift for a friend of mine who is preggers with her first baby.