Behr.

These are from a couple weeks ago, after we got back from vacation. I was taking some in-progress photos of a project I'm working on (coming soon!) and he decided to sit still and look at the camera.

Beach & Pool at Paradisus : Punta Cana

The beach at our resort, Paradisus, in Punta Cana was by far the best beach we have ever had the pleasure of enjoying while on vacation. While it really may not look like much, I think that might be the key.

Growing up, I spent a ton of time swimming in the good ole Lake Minnetonka... As I grew up there was a lot less playing in the water with my imagination and more just relaxing either on floating rafts, in a canoe, or a friend's boat. Being on shore lost its edge over time and until this trip, never really spent more than 5 minutes in the water along the shore in the past 10+ years.

Here the sand was perfect. The water was a bit cold at first, until you make the full body plunge. The waves were fantastic. Bill and I haven't spend much time at all actually in water during our relationship, but I think he would have played in the waves for hours if allowed to. The shore was shallow very far out and the waves ranged from fairly small to fairly large, at least to those of us used to lakes. We both had a great time jumping through the waves and trying not to get rolled under by the big ones.

Even just laying out was great. It was usually fairly quiet even though there were a lot of people. We quickly figured out when we needed to be out to get chairs. I got some reading done and really enjoyed the nice, warm sun which had been absent in our extra, super long winter.

The pool was nice too, but it was always busy. It was harder to find chairs, but it did have the swim up bar and a 'burger stand'. There was also usually a fairly entertaining group of people playing volleyball in the water at the one end as well.

Going through our photos and editing the few here, I want to go back already. Vacations are usually very love hate for me because I like the comforts of my home so much, I hate being away. At the same time, this place was so fantastic that I felt that less than usual.

Spring is Showing!

Spring is finally showing...

Tulips

Tulips

Lilac Bush Buds

A bulb we have out front, I can never remember the name. They're extra tiny this year.

Tree Out Front

Let's just say I have a lot of yard work on my never ending to do list....

I've also been working on a project involving stain and it is not going well... This is a partial reason for the lack of posting as of late. And an extremely busy schedule...

Nap Time.

Behr usually prefers to sleep on the couch, our bed, or a couple of select chairs throughout the house... Yesterday, he actually napped on his Molly Mutt bed and I was able to take a couple of decent shots of him.

Unfortunately Behr's awesome black & white chevron print is no more, but they have quite a few other equally stylish options.

Mother's Day Prepped and Ready to Rock

For possibly the first time in my entire life, I was prepared for Mother's Day an ENTIRE WEEK before the day. That is a record people!

I had remembered some cute little bird houses at Crate & Barrel at a reasonable price for buying multiples. We searched that store high and low before tracking down one of their fantastic employees, because that store was crazy busy. Sadly they were out. In store only for sale, being phased out. No go.  They had another very cute option, but at $49.95 on sale I wasn't feeling a purchase of multiples. We love the moms but I'm not really sure I would even spend that much on a bird house for myself...

We then made our way to Target, probably because we needed milk.... seriously we go through SO much milk and their are only two of us. I wonder what will happen when we create another milk loving being... I figured since Target is all garden and patio season right now, it might be worth checking to see if they had anything of interest. Low and behold, they had three of these bad boys for $9.99.

Yes, I purchased all three. I needed one too...

I then proceeded to buy 200 greeting cards as well. Ok, I really purchased seven. Five for mother's day -- a mom, a stepmom, two grandmas, and one step grandma -- and two birthday cards for the week after. Really I should have purchased more cards at the time -- like one mother's day card for my sister (who is currently brewing a bundle of joy in her belly), an anniversary card for Bill, and a birthday card for his birthday next week. Then I also have a bachelorette party and a wedding and a.... seriously, it's greeting card season. I should buy stock.

I just wanted to share, because if you're stuck as to what to get your mom, I think it's a great option. If she hates birds and doesn't believe in outdoors, the bird house route probably won't work though. I'm also super proud that I will not be scrambling like a crazy lady about what to do the day before.

I should start planning father's day while I'm at it...!