wilsons first week home

good morning!  its been one week since wilson arrive and wilson is loving his first days home.  despite advice that he should only meet one person a day he didn't mind meeting lots of friends all last weekend! grammie and gramps came by and monica and germ had a sleep over! he met ann hughston and aunts carrie & rachel too! the little girls i babysit for down the street [own the girl wheaten we fell in love with] came over and played for a little bit on saturday evening and on monday, taylor and katie were added to his list of besties!

 monday morning he goes to this second vet appointment and if i may recommend to any one in atlanta with a pet, buckhead animal clinic was amazing! they are a walk in vet clinic so that they reduce the need for appointments, cancellations, etc and are first come, first serve. wilson gets his s-h-o-t-s [we spell the bad words haha] on monday and hopefully can get them all in one day and we won't need to come back for any more. he can't wait to play with his pet friends percy and ted!

he wins us over every day and there is no puppy [percy ties with him i guess] that is so lovable and hugs and kisses on you all the time. i would have to say the best part of the day is getting ready for work in the am, blow drying my hair with a puppy curled up at my feet.

we love wilson!

exhaustion sets in...



so this is what exhaustion feels like! although i am loving every second of wilson time i wish it wasn't a mommy and daddy effort every single time he needed to get out of his crate in the middle of the night. it is funny though how fast joe and i are able to jump out of bed at the mere whimper.  he is such a sweetie and how can you mind getting puppy kisses at 3am although waking up for walks in 15 degrees windy weather at 6am i could really do without but he loves them so much!

us watching sunday night tv haha

we are very excited though because next week he gets to go on some road trips and has an exciting week! to montgomery and then to meet percy and christmas only followed by new years at gill's lake house.

dinner night with katie and taylor

dinner night yesterday with katie and taylor was a success [despite caroline not being able to be there].  katie brought a yummy goat cheese, avocado, and mixed greens salad with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette and i made the joye family recipe of chicken divan [no mayo...no butter]

wilson has nothing to do with this meal but is so cute!!!

chicken divan

what you need...
4 large chicken breasts cooked
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
16 oz. light sour cream
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 oz. broccoliettes

what you do...
mix together soup, sour cream and cheese. pour mixture over chicken and broccoli in a 9 X 13 pan. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

red velvet cupcakes

katie and caroline are coming over tomorrow night for dinner to celebrate katie's birthday as well as meet wilson! for a birthday treat [what a good excuse!] we are having red velvet brownies! 


if you don't get southern living magazine, you should...though it may be "stuffy" at times the recipes are to die for!  in the december issue there were tons of great ideas! below is red velvet brownies with home made cream cheese frosting...amazing! 


what you need [for the brownies]...
1 (4 oz) bittersweet chocolate baking bar chopped up
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 oz bottle of red food coloring
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt


what to do...
preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  line the bottom of a 9x9 pan with foil so that you can get the brownies out of the pan.  lightly grease the foil.


microwave the chocolate and butter in a large bowl for 1-2 minutes or until melted/smooth stirring ever 30 seconds.  whisk in sugar.  add eggs one at a time.  gently stir in flour and next 4 ingredients.  pour mixture into the pan (foiled and greased).


bake for 44-48 minutes.  cool completely (2 hours) before removing from pan (if you rush this part they fall apart completely).


lift brownies from pan and frost with frosting (see below)...then finally cut them brownies and garnish if you'd like with white chocolate curls. 


what you need [for the frosting]...
8 ounces of softened cream cheese (1/3 less fat will do)
3 tbsp butter (softened)
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract


what to do...
beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy.  gradually add powdered sugar and salt until blended...stir in vanilla.  works best with the hand mixer vs. kitchen aid stand mixer!