The littlest spools...

I had these wooden spools just hanging around in my house. I think I got them at an antique store and figured I could do something cute with them. Well, it happened. 

I made little animals and shapes out of air dry clay. It was pretty easy to use. Once they were dry (mine sat here for over a month- whoops), you can paint them with acrylic paint.

I made this one look kinda like our little yellow house and our little pup. 

The rest were random.

Once the paint is dry, hot glue them on top of your spools. and wrap the spools with twine, string, or yarn to make them look complete. 

I feel like these would be cute to make for the holidays... Valentines Day, Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid...anything with a symbol that you could make out of clay. 

-Nicola & the little pup

We're backkkkkk...

I feel like we've been MIA for a while.  Probably because we have been! Summer has been way too fun and busy around here.  We've been living it up as much as possible. I planned to post some of our pictures, but as I looked through them I realized that there are quite a few (and by a few, I mean thousands- I have a problem). So I thought I'd spare you the downward scrolling and post our adventures in parts.

We started out with a little trip to California for a little summer fun with family and friends (Part 1). From there, I was lucky enough to go to Phuket, Thailand with some friends (Part 2).
And we've been keeping busy here in NC with crafts, gardening, eating, and exploring (Part 3).

Part 1:

 C A L I F O R N I A  aka. H O M E

We've been visiting, eating, and beaching our way through the summer.  

I know that was probably a picture overload... We had the best time with our friends and family. I have so many pictures, I could hardly choose which ones to post. 

To Be Continued...  

-Nicola & the little pup

The Latest

We've been busy over here. The house is FINALLY coming along (I'll post some pictures soon), some of my plants are FINALLY growing (Spring has sprung people),  I FINALLY got a haircut, & we've had some guests! Big news huh? :) 

The winter weather is on it's way out... which means my recent gardening attempts/additions are about to make this place look like the Biltmore (one can dream).  We have a few visitors coming in the next few weeks which will be a good reason to explore and eat our way through Raleigh. 

Here are some snapshots of the latest happenings...

My front yard was bumpin, for about a week. 

Our visitors were so fun! We had our friends June, Emy, Averie & their pup Margot over for a weekend. They drove down from Maryland to spend a few days with us. Emy and I were shopping and crafting our days away. I really didn't take many pictures... good thing Emy did! 

I mean, really?!

The Ahn's 

The cutest guest we've ever had stay here. (Sorry other guests)

Rob and Big.

Duke's Chapel

On campus at Duke

Smelling the flowers

The dog whisperer.

The cutest baby around. 

I have some more craft fun and home updates to come soon. But for now, we have more visitors coming to stay, and I have things to clean! 

-Nicola & the little pup

a little treat for a little pup

Zucchini “Pupcake” Recipe

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/4 cup of canola oil

1 cup of chicken stock

2 beaten eggs

1 cup of grated zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl (adding the zucchini last). Pour into cupcake liners until about 1/2 - 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Let them cool. Then pass them over to your pup. Make sure you peel off the paper first (or it might be ingested by the hungry dogs).  

-Nicola & the little pup

I'm a slacker...

I apologize for going missing for a few weeks.  Although I really have nothing to do over here in Raleigh (well aside for organize this house and figure out how to get places without my GPS), I have been busy. I have been exploring. It's been fun.

A recent walk around town led me to a cute neighborhood named "Historic Oakwood."  I have driven through many times, but this time Andrew's Aunt and I decided to take the dogs for a walk there. She's lucky that I didn't just break in to a home and re-locate my life that day. The homes were built around 1901... some even earlier. And many of them took YEARS to build. That seems crazy considering that these days you can get a house up in months. I love the area because it has beautiful, established gardens, charming details, and decorated porches. Is it too soon to sell my house and move? ; )

Don't mind the pictures... I only had my phone handy... next time, I'll bring a camera for some good shots.

Not sure I would choose pink and purple, but the neighborhood sure is fun to look at. 

There is a cute Inn located in the heart of the neighborhood. We went to check it out. Molly (the golden retriever) felt right at home. There are also a few cute restaurants and shops down there.

Oakwood Inn

My favorite part of the homes is the front porch! I love the different doors, address numbers, and details. I'm going to have to step up my game...

The best part was that we were able to go inside of a home that was being renovated. During our walk, we started chatting with a friendly man who was in charge of the construction going on in an adorable 1901 home. He let us in, told us about the homes down there, explained the historic home rules, and told us to come back to see it finished! Well, I don't mind if I do! :)

Every room had a fireplace. Old pine floors lined the house. Layers of vintage wallpaper were being stripped. The home was being updated and modernized, which was sad and exciting all at once. The new design would have a more open floor plan, but with original mantels, trimmings, and floors. 

Even the storm door is cute. 

I wish I had taken more pictures of the little gem. 

Ok, so the best part is that 14 of the homes have a Christmas open house... where you can walk through and check out the home and their holiday decor! Sign me up!

Anyone want to come with me ? :)

- Nicola & the Little Pup