saying goodbye to our sweet little snook.

I came home Friday to some very sad news for us, that our sweet little kitty, Snook, has gone to kitty heaven (which, for clarification, doesn't actually exist, but we'll pretend). From what we can conclude, he must have eaten something poisonous and it was too much for his little body. It's only been two months since we adopted him, but he really became our little buddy and both Landon and I are very sad to lose him. 

Whenever I woke up in the morning or came home from work each afternoon, Snook would crawl in my lap and nudge my chin with his nose. He always snuggled into my lap when I was working on my laptop. Sometimes we took naps together. Sometimes he liked to crawl into the bathroom sink. He was such a sweet, affectionate and cute little kitty, and I'm sad to lose what had become such a companion for me. 

As I told a friend the other day, we all have things we wish we were better at, and for me it's being generous and hospitable. Snook, as cheesy as it might sound, allowed me to care for him and be generous and hospitable to him. And that vulnerability doesn't sound so good now that he's gone, but I know that it's what we're supposed to do with our lives. Open our hearts, let the needy in (not just kitties, people too!), and meet their needs as we can.

So to our favorite little kitty, we miss you dearly. Thanks for brightening our days, ruining all of my curtains (you're forgiven), and helping me to open up. 

Instead of doing something productive this weekend, I made this to make myself feel better. You might think I'm ridiculous, but you wouldn't call out a grieving cat lady, would you?

xoxo.

happy friday.

xoxo.

the weekend.

 How was your weekend? Landon was in San Antonio for a track meet on Friday and Saturday, so it was just me and Snook. Most weekends when Landon is gone I sustain myself with cereal, toasted bagels and pasta. This weekend was no different as you can see from the photo! Also, did you know that pasta is approximately 20,000 times better with a dollop of sour cream on top? I thought everyone put sour cream on their pasta until I went to college and noticed that our cafeteria didn't set out sour cream with the marinara sauce. Anyways, it's golden. But then, I put sour cream on a lot of things. So much that Landon has started asking at most meals, "Do we put sour cream on this?" Charming. 

 Aside from carbohydrates, my weekend was also filled with getting some work done, planning for CookingThyme (check out the latest email here! so many fun classes!) and watching Snook try to open the window...

This is 100% unposed. I'm worried that he'll get too smart for us. 

Have a great week!

xoxo.

a-hem.

xoxo.

life lately: snook's portrait session.

 Isn't he the cutest? We sure like him. Currently, he's chasing chasing rain drops in vain as they fall down the window screen, skittishly ramming his head into the window each time. We're not planning to stop him anytime soon. 

Okay, so Snook didn't really have a formal portrait session, but I thought I'd share some more pictures of him since he's already looking less kitten-ish. 

Also, Landon added a Quiksilver sticker to his dish to make him feel more masculine (stickers=masculine?). Actually, it's so that we know to never eat from that piece of tupperware again. 

Long live Snook!

xoxo.

the weekend [ptl].

Friday, is that you? Is that really you? I can't believe the weekend is here.

Wanna know how I feel about it?

...

So happy I could just fling myself onto a moving train.

Okay, so there was actually no flinging involved in this photo and the train wasn't moving, but I am happy for the weekend. This has been a long, long, tiring week and I'm ready to relax!

And hang out with these two...

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

xoxo.

the [relaxing] weekend.

Oh Monday, are you here already? We had a great weekend that included (1) Mac and Cheese with Roasted Chicken and Goat Cheese; (2) A little snoozin'; (3) Fresh produce sent from Grandma Heath (can you say guacamole?!?); (4) Covering a Volleyball Banquet for work (hence the photos taken with a slightly nicer camera than mine...and by that I mean waaaay nicer); (5) A little portrait photography practice (taken by Landon); (6) A de-lish pad thai, thanks to this book (a birthday gift from Ry + Ash).

We also had some sweet little snowflakes last night, but I don't think they'll stick around for long.

How was your weekend? Have a fabulous Monday...

xoxo.

weekend highlights.

Landon was gone from Thursday through Sunday night for a track meet, so Snook and I held down the fort for the weekend. Our weekend consisted of (1) starting to part my hair down the middle for the first time since 7th grade; (2) kitty snuggles; (3) chocolate chip cookie making (recipe here); (4) Snook discovering that crawling into a grocery bag (through a tiny hole that we cut the DQ coupons on out of!) is a GREAT hideout spot; (5) chocolate chip cooking indulging; (6) more kitty snuggles

We welcomed Landon back at 7pm last night, I'm so happy to have him home for the next two weekends!

How was your weekend?

xoxo.

because it's monday...

...and most of us would probably prefer to be napping like Snook.

Happy Monday!

xoxo.

life lately: meet snook [the story of how we kinda, sorta, definitely adopted a kitty].

So, I'm not really a cat person. We couldn't have them growing up since my mom, sister and brother are allergic to cat hair, so we had the best outside dog that has ever stepped foot on this earth instead. But last week, we noticed the sweetest little stray kitty on our street who was just meow-ing and meow-ing for some food.

So we gave it some cream. And the rest is history. 

On Sunday afternoon, we decided it was time to give the kitty a name. Landon had the brilliant idea to bring out a map of Texas, drop a sharpie on it, and whatever city the sharpie landed on would be the kitty's name. Lo and behold, there is a SNOOK, Texas. Which is just one tiny letter away from Snooki, but I didn't ask to drop the sharpie again for fear that we'd end up with a name like "Stephenville" or "Buffalo Gap". So Snook it is. And is it any coincidence that Snook has the same coat of fur as Zeb (the aforementioned best dog ever)? I think not.

And sometimes, we find it napping in the neighbors yard.

Let me rephrase that.

Sometimes we find it napping in the booster-seat-on-top-of-four-tires in our neighbors yard. Naturally.

Well, Snook, we really like you, and I think your stomach would say the same for us. Thanks for being the best cat I've encountered since my BFF's big-bellied feline, Whiskers. I think we'll do well together, once you learn that the curtains are, in fact, not a rope swing.

xoxo.

P.S. Snook is fast asleep in my lap as I type this. Presh.