family portraits

source

source

I first came across the idea of getting a family portrait when I was reading Oh Joy! and Joy wrote a post about the two family portraits she has on display in her house. I love these prints and think they are such a good idea for any home. Then, the other day I found an old post from Design Sponge talking about a few places on Etsy that do family portraits, all for reasonable prices. I decided that I wanted my own family portrait and found Lisa from My Little Buffalo. I love her portraits and feel like they best fit my style. The only problem I have now is figuring out if I want a picture of just me and Reggie, or one of me, both the dogs and the bf! I will let you know what I decided to do and hopefully show you what it looks like after I order it.

reggie's birthday

Reggie's first birthday is on Sunday, September 8th 2013. I love this little guy more than anything and I think it's safe to say he has been an awesome first dog.

Happy Birthday Reginald J. Barker!

dream living room

via Home Goods

Love this living room. This is exactly how I would design my space if I could... :)

when it's not a good fit

I have a new job that I started about three weeks ago. This was part of the reason I was absent for the last month- that and the fact that I am terrible at being a consistent blogger. Since I have started this new job I haven't gotten very much sleep, I work 10+ hour days and had to work on a huge project two weekends ago, and I haven't been able to run any errands because I am either busy or tired from being busy... And you know what? I am so happy!

Before this I worked as a contractor for a large financial institution. I found the job through my dad who has been working for this bank for about 10 years. He loves working there, so I figured I would too. He actually told me not to take the job after I received my offer because he didn't think it would be a good fit for me. In fact, most people I knew told me not to take the job. But I was getting a raise! And this was a huge company that wanted me to work for them! So I took the job thinking it was going to be an amazing experience and really enhance my career. 

Three months into my 18 month contract working at this financial institution, I knew I had made a mistake. I could go into all the things that made me unhappy at this company but it doesn't matter. Bottom line, it wasn't a good fit. To say working here was a disaster wouldn't be completely inaccurate, but I also am glad that I did it. For one, I learned that I am more of a small company, start-up girl. I worked at a great start-up out of college and while I loved working there, I didn't fully appreciated the team outings, free lunches, or friends that I made while I was there. I mean how could I? I had nothing to compare it to. 

The other reason I am thankful for this experience is that I learned the importance of walking away when something is not a good fit. Growing up I was not allowed to quit anything. I remember signing up for a bowling league when I was in Kindergarten and absolutely HATING it. I would cry before, during, and after every practice but my mom wouldn't let me quit, which was a good lesson. But I also think there's value in knowing when to quit. I think that if I had left after working for 3 months that would have been a mistake. But a year and 4 months of being unhappy? That was enough time to figure out I couldn't make this work.

In the end it all worked out. I got some experience, met a few awesome coworkers, found a new job that is a much better fit, and I am so so happy.

Have you ever worked at a job that wasn't a good fit? What did you do? 

art

I found this new Etsy shop courtesy of one of my favorite bloggers, Jess Lively. Kari is a very unique photographer and I am loving all of her prints. Even though I am trying not to buy a lot of new items for my apartment I decided I couldn't pass up these two prints. Now I just need to decide how I want to frame them and where to put them in my room!

Frenchie Friday

Sorry for the photo dump, it's been a while since I've posted on the blog. I don't know the last time I was this excited for the weekend. Cheers to Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

frenchie update

My mom's neighbor bought Reggie's half sister :)

Hello friends,

I've never been a great blogger because I will post regularly for a few months and then I stop completely for long periods of time. My apologies for the absence, there hasn't been a whole lot going on in my life or the pups up until recently.

Reggie just got neutered today. I wasn't going to have this done because he has already been to the vet a number of times in the last few months ($$$)  but he had to be put under and have a scope check out his esophagus after the vet found a "mysterious object" when he had xrays done this weekend after threw up and wasn't eating. The vet said he probably just had the stomach flu or ate something poisonous but they were concerned about what they saw in the xray. $1,200 of my emergency fund later I find out that he just has extra skin in his esophagus and that they just left it because it isn't hurting him. I am relieved to know he's okay but it is frustrating that I had to spend so much money to to hear he has extra skin in his throat.

It's good to have him home and I'm not sure if it's because he's on a lot of medication right now but he has so much energy and just wants to play. Don't dogs hurt and feel tired after they get neutered? At least he is feeling well :)

frenchie friday

Hi all! It's been a few weeks since I have done a Frenchie Friday post around here. Not because I haven't had some fun times with the pups or any good pictures, but mostly because I have been super busy running and have neglected this poor little blog. Sad day...anyway, the last time I posted about the dogs I mentioned they were having some skin/paw issues. Thankfully, they are all healed now and hopefully will be healthy and happy for the rest of the summer :)

In very exciting news, Reggie finished his obedience training with SF Puppy Prep! I'm not sure if I mentioned I was taking him but I signed him with a lot of urging from the bf. Reggie is a really good dog with the sweetest personality, but he is also really stubborn and since I have not owned a dog before I was pretty stressed out trying to train him. At 7 months old he was still regularly having accidents in the house, pulling on his leash on walks, and just not listening very well over all. Now that the training is done he has grown up a lot and listens so much better and hasn't had an accident in the house since we started. For those of you thinking of training I would encourage it because it really teaches you to connect with your dog and helped out a lot. Plus, now he can give "high-fives" which is freaking adorable :)