{almost officially summer}

It is hard to believe, we have been living here for officially 2 weeks!

Our home is so perfect for us, Coco is in love with her back yard.
It's more unbelievable that I haven't started a garden yet!

I'm shooting for a raised garden. I have everything I need...I'm more curious to see if my usually well behaved dog is going to behave herself around my precious plants.

This time last year I had basil, and one giant tomato plant.
I eventually tried cucumbers and watermelons.

With all the rain and intense thunderstorms, I haven't really had to time race out there and start planting.

But thankfully my sweetheart and I have some free time on our hands, while I wrap up my first summer class.

I will never have a summer class again in June!!

P.S.-We are less than a year away from our wedding day! So much to plan! 

{rio, brasil}

Olá.
I already feel like I was in Rio a lifetime ago.
It was only a month ago that I arrived in Brazil.
& for the next nine days, so many school lectures, tours, and hilarious moments happened.

Too many to count, but here are my favorite.

 Christ the Redeemer. There is a small church under the feet of Jesus. I said my prayers, got up to leave. A Brazilian woman asked to pray over me (so translated a Brazilian pastor). What an experience, being blessed by two people I would never see again on Mother's Day. After praying for my mother, the lady sang a beautiful song. Can't help but wonder how this sweet, blessed Brazilian lady is doing.

Curious George. Came to see a few of us on our way to Sugar Loaf.

Favelas. Home to many, owned by one. The poor and middle class live here illegally on government land, with conditions that would be looked down on in the U.S. The cable cars are meant to help with transportation. Many children don't go to school; it takes too long to get there. You can see a layer of pollution on the horizon. Very mixed feelings about this picture, but a view to remember forever.

Cannon ball fruit! The inside looks like a coconut mixed with an avocado. I had to research what it was when I got back, not even the Brazilians we asked knew what it was.

If you ever have the chance to visit Brazil, you should! I don't speak spanish, but definitely picked up on important words. Hello, bathroom, please, thank you, goodbye, no nuts (allergies!!), water, and a couple others.

Tchau

{long time..}

It has been so long.
I didn't even get the chance to announce I was going to Brazil!
& I am already back.

& we are all ready to purchase and move into our new home. {surprise!}

So much is happening all at once. I want to share, but time flies so quickly!
I hope to share soon!

{Dash of Coco}

one, two, and puppy makes three

Since starting to blending our two lives into one, we've added one more to the mix.
My two best friends came over one night for a girls night/birthday celebration {yes, I'm one year older}, and she happened to find this cute little pup on a rescue shelter's website.

I fell in love. I didn't have to beg my sweetheart, she was definitely meant for us.
In four long days, we brought 9 week old Coco home with us!

signed the papers, we're a family of three!

It's so hard to believe that was three weeks ago.
So much has happened since then. She turned out to be a sick pup with the coccidia parasite and went down from 13 to 10 pounds. But thanks to Halfway There Rescue again, she felt much better within a week.

She's now 21 pounds and 3 months old. She knows how to sit, and she is learning how to 'come here' and 'shake'. She hasn't had an accident inside for a week and she hasn't chewed on much except her toys {knock on wood}!

More adventures to come, featuring Coco Chanel!

Thanks again, to Halfway There Rescue who traveled to Ohio to rescue Coco from parvo at 5 weeks old. I had no idea how much this puppy would change my life!

{ties that bind}

For spring break, my sweetheart and I went on our first tent camping trip together. The camping trip may have been one of the worst we've ever been on with coyotes, howling wind, and temperatures below freezing. We were determined to stay positive, and now I know why he was being so optimistic!

We were relaxing beside a calm lake, on a beautifully sunny day after a very long hike.
He caught me by surprise, and asked me the most beautiful question, "Will you marry me?"

Life has been so busy and beautifully hectic since then!
We may have been dating for three years, but I am so excited to be bound even closer together. 

{out of touch}

Hanging Rock Waterfall

Sometimes life seems to happen all at once.
March has been one of those beautiful months for us.
So many amazing things have happened in just a few days.
Anniversary, birthdays, and something new to celebrate.

& I didn't even know that this blog has officially reached over 1,000 views!
I can't wait to share so much more!

without cable

Life without cable isn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be.
We didn't watch much tv during the week anyway. Some of the shows we watched weren't guilty pleasures, and we didn't watch them regularly. They were just more interesting than whatever else was on. Probably turning our brain to sludge.

why get rid of cable? 
We were paying $58 dollars for cable, and the service wasn't really great since some channels weren't always available and other channels would freeze. Also, we were charged a random $25, and tried to dispute the claim {and they claimed they couldn't see the charge...but it was on our bank statement?} for almost four months. So we had enough.

what do we do without cable? 
First, with some of these rabbit ears that are on sale, we pick up the basic channels. The basic channels are nbc, abc, fox, and cbs. We do get the bachelor, and a few other shows that are popular.

I have a hulu account to watch some other shows like Grey's Anatomy, Raising Hope, and Modern family.

We decided to get netflix {check to see if you can get a free month trial}, and we pay $7 a month to watch our favorite shows like How I Met Your Mother and White Collar. We just found the show White Collar. It is so good! There are lots of movies, and maybe we will check out a few more tv shows. Right now, I'm just stuck on White Collar.

For the shows that cable gets that we can't watch, we usually hang out with friends. I really love the show Pretty Little Liars, just like every other high school girl. I always meet up with two of my best friends and watch it together. Obviously I can't host the party, but thankfully my friends like me enough to see me every Tuesday! & if we can't get together on Tuesdays, I'll just watch the show online the next day.

pros
We save almost $700 dollars per year!
I can watch all of the shows I care about
I get to see my friends more often

cons
watch shows on a delay {usually only a day}
watch them on a laptop {but you can hook your laptop up to a tv if you have a newer one}
your show may not be online
rainy days can affect your rabbit ears

We're happy with our decision. With rabbit ears, hulu, netflix, and most shows being posted on the network's website, there's really no need for cable!