Monday, June 30, 2014

Monday again!

Rio judging me
 Ever have one of those weekends that seems to last forever, yet nothing on the to do list gets done? Yep that's the weekend I had. Here's what I should have done this weekend:

Sat:
Bring in car for service
Stop at Target
Ride and tend to the Equine
Dinner at Dad's
Braid Horses

Sun:
Farmer's Market
Ride and tend to the Equine
CLEAN THE HOUSE
Take out stall windows for summer
Squeeze in some pool time
Laundry
Run

Actually... now that I spell it all out, most of that did get done. Except for the CLEAN THE HOUSE, take out the windows, and go for a run parts. I guess all-in-all that's not so bad!

Saturday I knew was going to be a LONG DAY. Yep, capital letters LONG. I had a 9 am appointment for my car at the dealership which is about 35 minutes away. Obviously I had to stop for coffee too. Thankfully it was a relatively quick wait while they topped off some fluids and gave Betty a wash and I was at Target by around 10:30. I had stopped in at the Target in Saratoga last weekend when I was there for the horse show. I was shocked to see a Starbucks inside the Target! But all the girls at the show insisted that all Targets have a Starbucks. So my main reason for visiting this weekend was to verify whether or not that was true. Well folks, I'm sad to report, that is not true. No SBucks at my local(ish) Target. Sad Face. I still managed to spend a bunch of money on things I didn't really need. That always seems to happen there!

After Target, I went back home to hang out with the dogs and horses. I decided to take an hour to enjoy the sunshine at the pool. Somehow I was super matchy:



The horses enjoyed some lunch while I was being lazy. Around 1 PM I went out to the barn to work Jamp and tend to Rio and Ducky. They were just as happy as I was to enjoy some sunshine and each other.


After riding, I headed over to my Dad's house for some family time and a delicious meal. It's so fun watching my little niece getting to be a big girl! She eats what we eat (more or less) already and is toddling around like a champ! So cute. Can't wait to get her on a pony!

Once my belly was full, I had a full night ahead of braiding horses. I had 6 of them to do, which meant I would expect to be done around 2:30 AM. LONG NIGHT! Here are the before and after photos:












I actually was finished right around 2:15 am and was home just after 2:30. Snuggled the pugs for a little bit, then headed off to dreamland! I woke up around 9:30 Sunday morning. Let the Pugs out, then got a text from the pool guy that he was there to work on the pool. I said thanks for the heads up and let him know the pugs were outside, and not to let them out of the fenced area. So what does he do? Leaves the gate open. So in my jammies (sweatpants and a not entirely opaque white tank UGH!) I went on a frantic run around my property hunting for Artie. I was so sure he'd run out into the road, but I couldn't find him ANYWHERE. He usually comes when you call, but he wasn't. Terrifying! Eventually he turned up at the door, and looked at me like I was the crazy one. Damn kids.
Once I was dressed and all the four leggeds were accounted for, I headed into town to get some fresh produce at the farmer's market. We have a GREAT market every Sunday in the summer. Next time I will take pics of the delicious items I got, but I forgot to this time. Here's the entrance though:

Yep, we have cupcakes at the Farmer's Market!
After stuffing my face full of farm fresh goodness, I headed home to ride Jamp and Ducky and hang out with Rio. Ducky is still in his "I'm a tree" phase, so really I just sunbathed on him.



Once the barn was all cleaned up and the horses all settled in, I straightened up the house and threw some laundry in. Then I sat like a lazy bum by the pool for an hour. I even went swimming for a little bit! That was about it for the weekend. Other than finishing laundry and feeding all the animals.

What did you do this weekend? Do you have a weird talent you can make money doing like braiding?




Thursday, June 26, 2014

Thursday's Threads, and a bonus: What I Wore Wednesday

I really loved my outfit yesterday, so in addition to Thursday's Threads this week, I'm also bringing you What I Wore Wednesday. So let's start with yesterday!

It's finally actually Summer, so the white jeans and tanks are out in full effect! Let's start at the top:

Tank: Pink Rose $9.99 from TJ Maxx online

When I ordered this, I actually thought it was navy and white. As an admitted mint-a-holic, you can imagine my excitement when it arrived in MINT and navy! Yay!! New favorite top maybe?

Pants: Rue 21 $9.99 on clearance last year






Belt: C. Wonder $34.99 for the belt and $9.99 (on sale!) for the buckle:

For some reason this photo appears like I have it on upside down, but in real life it's the same either way. Funny angle I guess. Anyway, I LOVE THIS BELT AND BUCKLE SO MUCH! Also the belt is reversible to white. So much to love. Possibly my best purchase this summer.

Shoes: Enzo Angiolini... I don't remember what I paid for these, but I got them at 6pm.com at the end of last summer.

I should have done a better close up of these. Those mint parts are stone (or maybe faux stones) and they have little gold flecks in them. SO PRETTY! I love them at least as much as the belt. Possibly a little more.

Wednesday Arm Party:


On the left: Equestrian Bangle from C. Wonder, white and thin mint initial bangles from Baublebar, and lastly my trusty watch.
On the right: A Bit Cuff and a stirrup bangle from Baublebar, a horseshoe cuff from Sloane Ranger, and another bit bracelet from Baublebar. I call this my pony stack!

Ok, so that was Wednesday's outfit, let's look at today!


I know, I know, mint two days in a row! Whatever, I love the color so much! Let's start at the bottom this time:

Shoes: Nine West flip flops in Nude $19.99 at the outlet!


Basic, comfy, good quality. Sometimes simple is best!

Pants: Rue 21 $9.99.

These are actually the same pants I wore yesterday, but in mint instead of white. They are super inexpensive, but SO COMFY. They do stretch quite a lot throughout the day though, which can be both good and bad.

Top: Monteau Los Angeles $15.99 TJ Maxx (or possibly Marshalls. I got it last year)


I love that this is a neutral shade as it can work with so many colors! I chose to layer a cami underneath that matches my pants, but sometimes I'll just do a neutral underneath it as well. This is one of the few peplum tops that actually hits in the right spot on me. Often they're just a little too high. Which is odd since I'm so short.

On the wrists:



I kept it somewhat simple today. An enamel and gold chain bracelet and the mint initial bangle accompany my watch today (all bracelets today from Baublebar). On the right hand is a a leather wrap bracelet with ENORMOUS gold discs and rhinestones on it. So fun! I tried to stack some others with this one, but it looked best on its own.

Which outfit do you like better? Are you mint obsessed like me? What are you wearing today?










Wednesday, June 25, 2014

June Barkbox


After the May BarkBox, I was emailed a survey which I took. At the end of the survey they had a spot for comments. I mentioned that I had always been reluctant to sign up because one of my pups has some food allergies, but that they had done a great job in sending things she could eat. I meant it in a complimentary manner, but to my surprise this was in my June BarkBox:



Imagine that?! They not only read those things, but they apply them! Nice work BarkBox!  So here's what we got!

Silly Bums:
 Haha! This is hilarious. It's a monkey butt. It squeaks and crinkles and the dogs love it!
Here's Artie rolling on it:


Pet Qwerks Toys Red Frog


This one's a squeaker, P loves it!

Healthy Dogma Blissful Banana Chips


We haven't opened these yet, but I kind of want to eat them myself. They look just like the human version. I'm not entirely sure how they differ....

Hare of the Dog Rabbit Treats:


We haven't tried these just yet either, but I can imagine they'll be enjoyed by both kiddos.

Another great Barkbox! I only have a few months left of BarkBox, but I have a feeling we'll be renewing.


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Truthful Tuesday

Well friends, this week I'm going to admit to feeling uncertain. I showed you yesterday an odd photo of Rio's face. I also sent that photo to my vets, and they concur that he's likely having a relapse. Though not uncommon, it's disconcerting as he's still on the medication. Which means it's not working. He seems otherwise fairly healthy this time, as in, nothing on his face is paralyzed, and he's able to move around comfortably. But likely it will get worse. I'm waiting to hear from the Cornell vets about our next plan of attack. I know there are some other meds out there, so I'm assuming we'll switch to one of those and see what happens.
This new situation has actually made me feel very comfortable in my decision to keep Rio home with me, rather than send him off to live a life of retirement out in an open field somewhere. I think he needs to be close where he can be monitored carefully.
On the other hand, I am questioning my plans for Jamp for the remainder of the summer. My plan was to take him to VT for two shows in August. However, I feel like I need to stay close to Rio. I'm not sure how much longer I'll have with him, and I don't want to leave for 10 days in August not knowing what I'll return home to. On the third hand (or maybe a foot?), Jampy is 15 and not showing him much this summer is also somewhat wasteful for him. I guess maybe I'll look for some shows close to home, so I can try and do what's best for both of them. 
So that's my conflict for today. First world problems, I realize. For me, these horses are my family, and it's hard to know what's right sometimes.
I shall leave you with some adorable photos of the herd. (which kind of leads to an actual confession: I take obscene amounts of Rio photos every day.)