Friday, July 30, 2021

Five Loves on Friday


Happy Friday, friends!


Linking up with Andrea and Erika for another round of Friday Favorites!


This week's loves will involve some misadventures, a bit of puppy talk, family fun, some sweet thoughtfulness, and more.  Let's get right to it! 


One  //  Family Movie Night

My girls signed up for a free trial of Paramount+ on Friday to watch A Quiet Place II for free.  Can't beat that!  If you haven't seen it and have wanted to, skip the ticket price or rental fee and sign up for a free trial.  (Then be sure set a reminder to cancel if you don't want to keep/pay for the service beyond that.)  They loved it and wanted us to all watch it together while we still had a streaming service that features it, so I suggested my favorite carb-y movie pairing, pizza, and we were ready for some Saturday night jump scare filled fun!


+


If you enjoyed A Quiet Place, I think you will like the sequel as well.  They didn't disappoint when carrying on this story.


There's something about family movie nights that make my heart so happy.  Getting cozy with those dearest to my heart,  enjoying a story in movie form together, add in some yumminess - and you've got a pretty great evening in my book!  



Two  //  Toffee's Spot

Just call her Sheldon, because she's officially got a "spot".  ;)  As I looked back at the photos on my phone from the past week I noticed just how often I photographed our girl on her new favorite couch cushion.  She can't get up on the couch herself so she gets me to pick her up with her cute puppy dog eyes and sits with me for a moment until she decides she'd like to be in "her spot".  Too cute! :D  I didn't know if we'd allow her on our couch, but she's an extremely low-shedding dog and our couch is past its prime and nearing its exit from our home anyway, so here she sits.  I love that she's made herself right at home here with us.







Cute little sweetie!




Three  //  The Misadventures of Date Night with a Dog

No, the date wasn't with the dog.  It was with my husband, but the dog was with us, thus this Love's title.  Over the years my parents have invited our girls to come for dinner and to spend a few hours with them on a weeknight evening now and then.  Typically this means a date night for Jason and I.  The other day when he heard about the girls' invitation to my parents' place he said, "Ooo!  We have a date night this week?!"  I answered, "Yes, but we'll be caring for Toffee, so do with that what you will."  :)  

Friends, it was the most comically chaotic "date"!    There was a work emergency that kept Jason's work phone ringing for the first hour after the girls left.  (I completely understand when things like that happen.  Thankfully it's rare, but I know if my husband was on the other end of the emergency I would want the person he was calling for help to be available to provide it.  His job pays our bills and affords me the great joy of being a full-time homemaker, so no complaint from me here.  Just an unexpected part of the night.)  Once that wrapped up we decided we'd get takeout from Texas Roadhouse.  I'm always up for a good steak.  While Jason picked up the food, I stayed home to get our puppy all settled in hopes of having a quiet and relaxing dinner for two.  That part went as planned.  I got her so cozy and sleepy.  When Jason pulled into the driveway and I put our lit'l fur baby into her puppy playpen on a soft doggy bed with a cozy little blanket.  Then stepping out of the dog playpen I whacked my foot, hard.  Ouch, ouch, ouch!  I startled Toffee, but she was still cozy at this point and fine.  I had a good laugh at myself, trying to be smooth when I'm clearly not and what is even more hilarious is that I thought that'd be the mishap of the night.  We got our dinner plated and went to sit down, but clumsy moment #2 followed when I tripped and knocked over a full glass of soda.  Splash!  Yikes.  I guess I need more sleep in my life.  As I was cleaning that up I had my back to Toffee and she began barking which is rare for her to do.  She normally only does that to notify us of a problem... uh, there was one, she was letting me know she needed to go potty.  We're using the bell method for potty training and there's no bell in the puppy playpen.  I hope no one is tallying up my failures.  But, the tally on messes being cleaned up before I could sit down to that delicious dinner was now two.  That food was getting colder by the minute.  Ha!  I finally got to sit down and with a half hearted attempt to document the date, snapped these photos...



Whenever my hubby and I eat at a steakhouse that offers delicious bread, whether dining in or takeout at home, Jason always cuts and butters bread for me and then some for himself.  It's the little things like this that make my heart sing.

We began eating when Toffee, now out of the playpen, rang the bells to let us know she needed to go outside.  This time Jason took her out.  With my blessing he had started eating as I cleaned, now I would eat while he was outside with Toffee.  We both scarfed down our delicious (semi-warm) food in shifts, had what I'll simply say was an eventful evening, then laughed about how differently our hopes were for the night vs. reality.

At the end of the evening when the girls arrived back home to a tuckered out dog and two yawning parents on the couch, I told Jason that it may have been a hard night, but there was no one else I would've rather spent it with than him.  I love that on any given day, come whatever may, I have Jason at my side.



Four  //  Thoughtfulness Warms My Heart 



As Jason prepped to head out on a work trip in another part of of our state we chatted about how fun it'd be to take a day trip date soon.  To my sweet surprise when I welcomed him home he had a stack of brochures in one hand and a brown paper package in the other.  The words, "I brought you a souvenir!" came just before his story of how our conversation prompted him to stop at an Iowa Welcome Center.  It warmed my heart to think that he went out of his way to go and pick up a stack of possibilities for us to flip through and plan a mini getaway for two.  Before daydreaming my way through sights and spots across our state, I opened that little bag with all the wonder and curiosity of a kid on Christmas morning.  The gift inside was far more meaningful than this snapshot can convey!  You see, I collect magnets.  Every time we visit a new place I seek out a gift shop to bring home a reminder of that day/place.  This scenic byway holds such a sweet spot in my heart for a few really special days we spent there last year during difficult times.  It's easily one of my home state faves, yet I would've never thought there'd be a place to stop 'n' shop for a magnet representing this beautiful byway as it stretches over 200 miles across wide open spaces, countryside, and through some cute lit'l small towns.  This simple and incredibly sweet item will not only be a treasured addition to my collection for the place it represents, but equally so for the thoughtfulness from which this gift made its way to me.  



Five  //  My Daughter's Earring Additions


For the longest time my oldest daughter, now just months from beginning her twenties (how is that possible?!), has wanted to add more piercings to her lovely lobes.  She added three this week and loves how it came out!  I'm happy for my jewelry loving sweetie as I'm sure she'll enjoy having new accessorizing possibilities.


Thanks so much for spending a bit of your day here with me today!  Wishing you a wonderful finale to July & a beautiful beginning to August!


Earlier This Week on Chatting Over Chocolate:

Direct Link to Post:  Trip Report Tuesday // South Dakota & Wyoming Trip 2021 Finale | Days 4 & 5


6 comments:

  1. Toffee is just so cute in her spot on the couch! The date night full of mishaps sounds kind of amusing to look back on. The Iowa brochure is so sweet! My daughter got a second piercing recently - just two in each ear now though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Toffee is so cute and I'm sure it's like having a baby in the house all over again. Love the earrings!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, the adventures to come! What a sweet week of looking back, and looking ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a date night; that is one of those nights that you'll be laughing over for years to come! We like to do pizza & movie nights too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry your date night didn't go as planned....but it's one I'm sure you'll remember! How sweet of your husband to get you the magnet and the brochures so you can plan your day date! And of course Toffee is so cute! Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your pup is so cute!! Giving me puppy fever haha ;) We collect magnets too! So fun to have those memories to look back on day after day!

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you today! I enjoy reading each and every comment I receive. (I do moderate them before they're published. Gotta keep it family friendly! ;)) Let's chat! B.Y.O.C. {Bring Your Own Chocolate!}