Project 52 l Week 21

Week 21 ; My Backyard

This is our backyard. What little of it there is, anyway.

Project 52 l Week 20

Week 20 ; Light

James has been working on his shadow box this week and figuring out a design, which means his blues have been out of the closet and out for me to see. It makes me sad that these will forever be sitting in a box and not available for wear again (because let's be honest here, I love a man in uniform and I think James looks super classy in his), but I understand why these would be such a big part of his box and what he wants to remember.

Before we went to bed one night, I looked at them from this angle and had to seriously convince myself that the better option was to wait until the next day to take this photo, when the natural light came back. I'm glad I did, because this is probably one of my favorite images I've taken to date.

Seeing these and knowing that all these pieces of clothing are soon to be retired is our light at the end of the tunnel. It's so close and so bright. 

Also, in case you missed it, this image also got chosen for this week's "eye candy!" The photographer who runs the group I'm in chooses a select few images each week that she think stood out. The choice can really be based off of anything, such as if it's a stunning image, the story behind it, creativity, etc. Regardless of what it's chosen for, it's selected out of hundreds of images, so you can imagine how excited I am to finally have one of my pictures designated as such!

My First Influenster VoxBox

I'm actually really excited to blog this post! About a month and a half ago, I signed up for a website (Influenster) where you take surveys and review products and in return, they send you products to test and try out so long as you should qualify for. And, it's absolutely FREE! No catch or anything, I promise.

A few days ago, I finally got my first box, called a VoxBox, and my first product to try and I was very pleasantly surprised. For one, it got here very quickly. Most people I've come across said it can take up to a month for it to show up, sometimes. Between when I took the qualification survey and when it showed up, it was less than a week. Imagine my shock when it showed up unexpectedly. The packaging was great, too. Very simple, but efficient and aesthetically pleasing. The only qualm I have is that my razor was already partially opened. The perforation on the back was already opening, but it  was just slight, it wasn't completely open, and it was still in the packaging completely, so no harm no foul. 

I love the compactness of it and that it's brightly colored, while still packing a shaving punch. It's not often that women can pack a 5 blade razor and have a lot of room left over in toiletry bags. I, myself, only take a one or two blade razor whenever we travel because I don't have the room to take a better one. We don't have any plans to travel soon, so I used it briefly in the shower the other day and just like all the other Venus razors I've used, it was a smooth and sharp shave. My legs are soft without cuts. I've always been a fan of Gillette, so I expected it to be the same quality. It is and I probably would purchase this on my own in the future.

Look out for more of these posts as more boxes come my way!

Weekend Festivities

Now that we have a very active puppy on our hands and warm weather, getting out of the house on the weekends is pretty much mandatory. To keep both ourselves and Talos from getting bored, we try to mix it up as much as we can. And with New York actually having a lot of outdoor activities during the warm months, it actually hasn't been that hard to do so. 

A couple weekends back, we took a trip to one of our favorite State Parks and hiked along this trail that goes around this huge and absolutely gorgeous gorge. Much to our dismay, there was still some snow on parts of the trial, but Talos actually loved it. Unfortunately for him, we're trying to get away from copious amounts of that stupid white stuff, so we let him enjoy it while he could. 

The following week, James had a day off from work, so we took a trip to the "beach." It's not a real beach, but that's what everyone here calls it. It's just a shore, but it's enjoyable enough. All three of us really enjoy being close to a body of water and not being completely landlocked. It was a beautiful day, too, so the spur of the moment trip went down and Talos LOVED it. We've discovered that one of his callings in life is digging. He probably spent a good half hour just digging a hole, us filling it back up, and then him digging it up again. He got so excited that both James and I were in hysterics. 

And then, the following day, we made a trip out to Sacket's Harbor. I absolutely love Sacket's. Beautiful doesn't do it justice. It's right on the lake with a cute, old feel block of downtown. There are all these old buildings and little beachy bungalows and it just has a perfect feel to it. A couple of our friends live out there, so we figured we'd ask and see if they wanted to get their puppy together with our pup and let them play/wear each other out. So, we headed out to the battlefield and let the two of them be derpy lab babies together and continued to be in hysterics because they're just two little off-brown balls of energy. 

Project 52 l Week 19

Week 19 ; Faces

We found this little guy during our trip to the shore and he had me obsessed within seconds, mainly because he was on his back and I was worried! Fear not, though. I rescued the little man and sent him back on his way.

And, of course, there will be more pictures from our "beach" trip to follow, soon!

Project 52 l Week 18

Week 18 ; Moody

The weather has been moody, so it only felt appropriate to capture a moment that matched our surroundings.

The Fifth Member of Team Armstrong: Talos

Now that we've finally decided on a name, I can blog this post! Meet Talos, the Rhodesian Ridgeback/Lab mix puppy we added to our family last week! After much deliberation, many visits to the pet store to see him, and several discussions, this boy became the fifth member of our family. 

It only took us 9 days (thanks to someone being super picky... cough James cough cough), but we've finally come up with a name we both feel is perfect for our little man: Talos. Not that we haven't come up with some phenomenal names, this is just the first one that seems, well, perfect. And here's why.

Talos is a Greek man made of bronze. Hence, our first liking of the name because Talos has a very bronze coat. Though seemingly black, his Rhodesian red is showing under and becoming more prominent day by day, emitting a bronze coloring. He was also a gift from Zeus to his lover, Europa, as a protector. We both absolutely loved this aspect. While James loves Talos to death, he is very much a Momma's boy. And when we run into things on our walks that he deems "scary," his first instinct is to get in front of me and protect me from danger. Lastly, the Greek Talos would throw rocks at any intruders on the island he was guarding, which is truly more than fitting for him seeing as he picks up and chews any rock that he can find. 

It just...fit. Every piece of it just fell into place with him. And he just fell into place with us. 

We were apprehensive about getting another puppy because our hearts still miss Atlas, very much, and we both agreed to not get a dog until California. But, you can't deny when things just line up. James had been eyeing Rhodesian Ridgebacks, but he wanted a mix. And then one just showed up without either of our knowledge. It was almost as if fate was calling to us. Both of us truly had a need for a puppy in our life. There's something about the unconditional love they give and how they're just so innocent. We've wanted to add a pup to our family for so long, but there's just been one thing or another that wasn't right. Now that we're settling and stable enough to give a puppy the patience and attention one needs, everything is just about right. And things seem so perfect. 

I don't think either of us could deny that life with Talos is so much more satisfying than life without him. It's been 9 days, but life 9 days ago just seems less unfulfilled than it does now. We're so happy with the decision we made and look forward to the years we have with him ahead.