Yes, I know, Dogiversary is not a word. But it was a year ago today that I got Bella! Which means that a few days before that was pretty much the worst day ever when I lost Maggie, who was a black lab, and the love of my life. But Bella has been such a joy for the past year! In honor of her Dogiversary, I took her to Petsmart and got her a new toy (on clearance for $2.99), and to Three Dog Bakery and got her a little doggie carrot cake.
Thank you Bella, you saved my heart!!!
I got this leash at JoAnn’s for $1.99.
It’s for Bella, of course! Love that face!
Did I mention the hugs? She gives the best hugs! Don’t believe me?
I won my first giveaway! Yay! Diane at Cottage Wishes had a Spring Giveaway going on and I won it! It was for a free My Memories Suite. My Memories is an online scrapbooking software, and I am not much of a scrapbooker, but I do love pretty paper so I was beyond thrilled to win. I finally had a chance to mess around with it today and here is what I came up with:
It’s kind of a girly layout with pictures of Bella and me from our day at the beach. It is really cool so far. You can do layouts, print them out, and save as a pdf. Stay tuned for more…
When out to brunch with my mom (Happy Mother’s Day, Rosie!) I found a little boutique named Bella. Since Bella is my dog’s name, I knew I had to get something! I got a little roll-on perfume called Bella Soul. It smells wonderful! I decided it could be my mother’s day gift from Bella. A gift from Bella, that is the brand Bella, from a store known as Bella? Perfect, Happy Mother’s Day to me! Bella, Bella, Bella!
Today is Bella’s first birthday! She got lots of toys and a birthday cake from Three Dog Bakery:
So fun! And I made a martini which I am calling a Bellatini. I’ll post the recipe tomorrow. But for now here she is:
So pretty! And she makes me happy 
Happy Birthday Bella! You are a blessing in my life!
Normally on weekends I stay home, do projects, clean, etc. Exciting, huh? Today I was feeling cooped up! It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny, a nice contrast to all of the rain we have had this week. I needed a day away! So we decided to head to the coast. We took Bella for a nice long hike at Solitice Canyon and then to the ocean!
I wish I could say she loved it. Truth is it freaked her out quite a bit. Imagine seeing something of that magnitude for the first time.
She did fine though. Here she is:
Today was fun, good for the soul, and totally free (aside from the few bucks in gas to get there)!
Bella’s new duckie. It was a bargain too! It was 60% off at JoAnn’s.
Every weekend, weather permitting, Bella and I go to Eaton Canyon (we call it Water Walk). It is a beautiful 190 acre nature preserve just 5 minutes from my house! It is absolutely gorgeous and is like being in another world. We hike in for about a half an hour to get to our spot. Bella loves it!
So do I!
This is our spot:
We climb down to the water and Bella jumps right in!
I took some video earlier today. It rained yesterday so the water was flowing: Water Walk. This is transformational for me. Whatever kind of week I have had, the fresh air, flowing water, and exercise seem to turn things around and I leave there feeling relaxed and rejuvinated. I have many God moments there as well. It is such a great balance and definitely helps keep me sane. And did I mention it was free?