I love my parents and am always thankful for them. I have the best ones ever. Period. You should be jealous. But seriously, they’ve always been very supportive and great role models for everything from relationships to how to deal with crappy situations to good work ethic. They’re awesome and that’s that. But today what I’m most grateful for is that I can pay them back in little ways every now and then for their awesomeness.

They’re spending this weekend at a nice little bed & breakfast in Wilmington. They helped us out so much with our back yard, making it beautiful and accommodating for our wedding. They spent countless weekends months before October 1st driving two and a half hours from their house to ours (and then back!) so they could help us spread mulch, trim limbs and branches, build steps, move stuff, and plant flowers. So, to say thank you, we paid for them to have a nice little weekend away all to themselves. They stopped by this afternoon for lunch to break up their trip a bit and it’s always so nice to get to see them. Even if it’s only for a few hours. I forgot to take a photo for the blog while they were here, so I’ll leave you with the one we took while on vacation together this summer in D.C.

So thanks, Mom and Dad. I love you and am forever grateful to have you in my life!

Mia Sophia and Chico Antonio – our two little furbabies.

These are my babies. They make the world a little brighter, even on days when they don’t feel like behaving and I get really frustrated with them.  One thing that I will always look forward to is coming home from work each day to frantic, eager, wet and happy puppy kisses.  Nothing beats a puppy kiss, that’s for sure.

Mia has been here for almost a month now and she seems to be settling in fairly well. I think she’s still getting used to the schedule and Chico is still getting used to her. Just about every evening now they’ll play-fight on the couch, even though we keep telling them to do that in the floor and not on us. But at least they play well together.

Tonight I think they were feeling a little more lovey than usual. They sat with me until Nick got home and then they took their turns jumping up into his arms to be held and petted by him. Now they’re cuddling with us on the couch. Adorable!

So I just want to say that I truly believe if you don’t know the unconditional love of a dog, then you’re really missing out on something incredibly amazing.

I’ve only recently been introduced to Thai food. Pad Thai is my favorite… I would never pass it up!  My latest quick and easy go-to recipe is Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps from Women’s Health magazine. They’re very similar to the appetizers you get at P.F. Changs restaurant (or any Asian restaurant, really) and they’re very delicious.  Here’s a quick overview of how to make them: