Doing more with less

This year I’ve decided to keep my resolutions simple. Less of an attempt to reach specific goals and more of an attempt to give more of myself to those around me. More eye contact Less technology More recipes Fewer restaurants More risks Less fear More sweat Fewer excuses More focus Less multitasking More dog walks […]

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Love Languages and Christmas Cookies

holiday cookies, christmas, sugar cookies, royal icing, christmas cookies, baking, iced cookies

It’s hard to believe another Christmas is already upon us. A chance to look back on the past year and celebrate your accomplishments. A chance to look forward and make resolutions for the coming year. And a chance to visit that familiar self-induced hell of cookie decorating. Just kidding. Kind of. They say people fit into […]

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Holiday Greetings

greater swiss mountain dog, swissy, finn, christmas card, christmas, holiday, dog,

Happy Holidays! I’ll begin this holiday greeting by apologizing for cheating you all out of a printed Christmas card this year. Especially because opening holiday cards and hanging them up is one of my favorite traditions and I may or may not still have all of yours from the past four years in a storage box because recycling them would […]

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A Christmas wish

greater swiss mountain dog, puppy, finn, swissy, gsmd, dog,

Dear Santa, This is Finnegan Murphy here. You may not have our new address because my family moved to a place where there is no snow in the wintertime. If anyone will understand my situation it’s you. I’m a Swiss MOUNTAIN dog for goodness sake. I live for snow. I like to pounce in the […]

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Awkward Family Photos

family photographs, children, photography, springfield, illinois, old state capital, christmas cards, holiday, boys

Every year around this time, my sister off-handily asks me to bring my camera home to “take a couple of pictures of the boys for a Christmas card.” Seems easy enough, right? Well it used to be. Back before said boys knew what capturing a decent photograph entailed. Things like real clothes, real smiles and real […]

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Thanksgiving replay

holiday cranberry salsa, cranberry relish, thanksgiving, christmas appetizers, cranberry side dish

Happy Thanksgiving week! In honor of the upcoming holiday and because I just realized that the post I was going to share with you today is nearly identical to the one I wrote exactly one year ago today, I’m re-posting it for your enjoyment. Because what is Thanksgiving than a chance to eat the exact same […]

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Sand Art

siesta key crystal classic, sand sculptures, sand castles, siesta key beach, crystal classic, florida, vacation, margaritaville

Before I begin this post I’d like to issue a disclaimer for my readers to the north. Disclaimer: this post references 80-degree weather in November but is in no way intended to be a gloat, brag or the like. I braved enough winters in the Midwest to be empathetic during this time. Please accept my […]

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For the love of bridal mags

5 ways I'm failing at wedding planning, wedding, bridal magazines, bride, wedding planning tips

One of the perks of being newly engaged is receiving a plethora of bridal magazines to kick off your planning process. Oh sure there is that whole formal establishment of your life partner and all but you and I both know that all anyone cares about are the details. And they seem to take serious concern […]

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