We recently jetted 0ff [drove] to our action-packed [relaxed] anniversary weekend in Paris [Seven Springs, PA]. On our itinerary? Eat, drink, sleep, Kentucky Derby, repeat [except for that part about the Derby, that only happened once].

Near Seven Springs Mountain Resort, you see a lot of this:

Trees, winding mountain roads and scenic vistas. Since it's still pretty early in the summer [late in the spring?], most of the trees were just getting their bright-green first leaves. The earth has come alive again! [This winter, I wasn't sure it would!]

Byron did the driving. He is very serious about driving.

See? More trees and winding roads.

One of our day trips was to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Built in the 1930s by Wright for the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh [of department store fame], Fallingwater is arguably Wright's most famous piece of architecture. It was even on the cover of Time Magazine in 1938!

It's a quick daytrip from the city, and really close to Seven Springs. If you haven't been, you should go! The tour is interesting, the house is amazing, and the grounds are beautiful!

If I could only raise the ceilings of the whole house (they're really low) and scrounge up many millions of dollars, I could live there! Living right above the falls on Bear Run makes the whole house like nature's best white noise machine!

The rest of our anniversary trip consisted of multiple buffets at the resort, watching the Derby, and trips to CW Klay Winery and Glade's Pike Winery [I'm in love with Glade's Pike's Seyval Blanc!].

All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing weekend and I can't wait to do it again!

xoxo

My, my! How things have changed.

Here's a picture taken just after "Snowpocalypse", on February 6, 2010. The pine tree was bent over, the picnic table was groaning under two feet of snow, and the snow was WAY deeper than a beagle is tall.

Really takes you back, doesn't it?

Let's move on.

Here are a few pictures taken April 10, 2010.

It seems, after all that snow melted, there were two beagles hiding under the snow! Wonder how long they were out there? ;)

Isn't it amazing what 8 weeks will do for a space?

Stay tuned for more springtime pictures coming soon!

xo

There are many benefits to owning your own single-family home. Ability to make important decisions, investment into your future, more space and amenities. But one benefit that doesn't get talked about much? The ability to have a backyard cookout with your family.

Byron likes to use a charcoal chimney for our grill. I hate the taste of "Match Light" charcoal so we use the untreated kind.

After getting the charcoal all fired up, Byron dumps it in the grill and we're ready to go.

The beef was marinated in salt and pepper, lemon juice and soy sauce. Yummy!

(Please note the beagle footprints on the picnic table. They think it is their own personal jungle gym.)

If you were wondering, this was indeed WAY too much meat for the two of us. I don't know what I was thinking. I headed to San Diego the next week, so Byron had pre-grilled leftovers!

Here's Part II of our wine reviews! We wrote about a red previously, here. Now, since the weather has warmed up, we tried a white (the things we do for our readers!).

A favorite of our friend Laura, Hogue Riesling comes highly-recommended.

This wine does not disappoint! We drank this lovely bottle with our first grilled steaks of the season. This wine is sweet, light, and very drinkable! And it's a bargain (we probably paid $8.99 or so). Another bonus of this bottle is that it is a twist-off top. While not as fancy as a cork, it's perfect for a picnic or tailgate when you might not have a corkscrew.

We'd definitely drink this bottle again, and you should too!

Salud!

Inspired by Michelle over at Blissful Musings, I wanted to post some art I've found on Etsy. I love the look of screen-printed posters and prints. Someday, if I can ever make up my mind, I'd love to buy a few for around the house!

Up first, a lovely sentiment from jessgonacha. A good reminder for the whole family. (5x7 for $8)

Up next, the ubiquitous "Keep Calm and Carry On" from pressureless. This one has been making the rounds on the home design blogs for a few years now. But I love the idea and design! (16x20 for $17.50)

Here's a light-hearted take on beagle-themed art! This one is super cute (from strawberryluna), but I can't figure out where I would put it! Suggestions? (11x14 for $16)

In honor of my new last name, here's a great hand-drawn monogram from jenskelley! Depending on the shade of blue, this would be great in our dining room or kitchen. I already have several "J"s around the house, maybe it's time to branch out! (8x10 for $15)

This one would be great in our kitchen! It's light green (which is the accent color in our grey and white kitchen) and features Fruit! :) (from luckybluebirdart - 8x10 for $16)

I really have to credit Michelle for the next one! I love a good gin and tonic and this would look great in our kitchen! (from dearcolleen - 6x7 for $19).





What do you think? Have any favorites? I can't wait to pick one (or a few) of these out for our house! Are there any other etsy sellers that you love?

Scenes from the Dog Park.

Location:

Hartwood Acres Off-Leash Area

Cast of Characters:

Dusty - 9 month-old yellow lab - parents are Kate and Adam
Finley - 1.5 year-old puggle - parents are Megan and Tom
Mocha - 4 year-old beagle - parents are us!

As you all know, we've been working on getting our bedroom put together. We've posted about it before here and here. One big piece that is missing, however, is the headboard.

Bedroom by JeniRae on Polyvore.com

Here are some of the beds I've been stalking online. Now, if were were millionaires, we would buy Pottery Barn for all of our stuff (that and Restoration Hardware). The bed below is gorgeous, and I'm sure well-made, but seriously, who buys this stuff??

Pottery Barn Hudson Bed - $1,599

Here's another PB product, a comparative steal at $400 cheaper...

Pottery Barn Farmhouse Bed - $1,199

Let's come back to reality now... here's the Tar-jay knock-off. We're now down in the 3-figure price range instead of the 4-figure (a place I'm a little more comfortable). This bed is well-reviewed and popular but being from Target, the quality and durability may be questionable.

Target Avington Bed - $199

It seems to be a good price, so this is actually a viable option for us! But, there's one more option below...

Farmhouse Queen from www.knockoffwood.blogspot.com - ~$120

Knock-Off Wood is a website written and maintained by a woman named Ana. She posts step-by-step plans and materials lists for wooden projects with simple designs. Basically, she reverse-engineers the plans and often bases her designs off of Pottery Barn originals. She claims the bed above can be made from pine for about $120. In this way, you can be sure what your product is made of, and finish it however you see fit (like the antiqued look above).

Byron and I are actually considering taking on this project. We'd have to rent an air-nailer and buy a few other things, but it seems simple enough. Take a look at the plans in the link above and let us know what you think. Do you think we can do it?