Cherry blossom festival and the flea market

a few weekends ago there was a japanese cherry blossom festival downtown. i was pretty excited about it, i heard about it at happy japan, and they said it would be really fun. it was kind of a bummer though.




i shoulda worn a costume. that might have made it more fun.

i had my first onigiri. i've been wanting to start making these for my bento. (i've been really lazy and haven't done any boxes since february. 

the happy japan booth had lots of cute stuff. but the prices were crazy! the totoro phone charms were 10 bucks! the SAME ones i bought for 3.50 at the store. dumb. 

omg this was so awesome! it has sensors all over it's body and reacts when you touch it! it leans into your hand when you pet it. what an awesome invention.

i almost asked this girl where she got that cute skirt. i love it!

travis got a bun and i got some mochi (it was really good) and we left for the flea market. i was sad that the festival was so lame. 

at the flea market my favorite section was finally open! the horse barns always have such good stuff!

old metal fort!




yes. that is a john malkovich nesting doll. it had john cusack and cameron diaz inside. the gy had NO IDEA what we were talking about when we asked about it. why didn't i buy it? why does it even exist?

stopped for a snack. what a creative spelling of pretzel.

i was so excited about this nacho cheese. but it was so sick and thin! and that pretzel was so freaking salty. blech.

dog section! i found a little glass dog that is exactly like one my great grandfather had at his house.


troll animals! so ugly!

this was so cool! i wonder what the deal is. is it some kind of reproduction/decorating thing?

that seems really dangerous.

guess what i bought out of this picture. haha.

i kind of want to buy this bed for phyllis. how cute would she look sleeping in it?

travis said we should get her his stroller. cute.

Milo and Otis

while i was on my mini vacation one of the projects i tackled was finally getting the rest of my stuff from my parents house. it has been almost 3 years since i moved out so i guess it was time. one of the things i found (among 50 pounds of drawings and art supplies) was this book that i bought at the scholastic book fair when i was in kindergarten:

Milo and otis has been one of my favorite movies for as long as i can remember.(for a while travis had the theme as his ringtone when i called him) what is weird to me now is i was never interested in getting a pug even after viewing this movie approximately 1000 times. i actually haven't watched it again since becoming pug crazy so we're watching it today before we go to work. and on man now it's even cuter.

it's from japan, and was originally called Koneko monogatari . Have you seen it? The idea is a cat and dog are best friends. curious cat gets into a box and gets swept down a river. his dog friend follows him, and they have adventures and grow up. it is probably the cutest movie i've ever seen. and dudley more is the narrator and does all the voices. I especially love his mother cat voice. and the part where the fox is swimming and singing. i like to sing like that in the shower to make travis laugh. 

i think my favorite thing now is the fact that the pugs are the "farm dogs." probably the worst choice you could make for a farm dog. and there is the weird bear fighting scene where the poor pug has to swim and fight a baby bear. and the animals giving birth kind of disturbed me as a little kid. and now i can tell how the dog and cat change (otis is sometimes obviously a girl). but i still love it. and i can see phyllis and rose in otis and see how scared that poor dog is out in the ocean on the rock, and riding on the turtle trying not to fall off.

Pugs in the Park: March Meetup

the march pugs in the park was the best meetup i've been too yet. the weather was fantastic so a lot of people showed up, including a TINY four month old pug puppy! i didn't get any pictures of her because she was CRAZY and wouldn't sit still for a second. but i definitely cuddled the little darling every time she ran by me.

phyllis loves all the attention she gets at the meetups. pugs in general get a lot of attention if you take them out, but a three legged pug gets even more. she has definitely forced me to be less shy. 

the lady hugging the pugs is so funny. i have no idea what her name is (her dogs are bella and oreo). she is really into meetup and kisses all over every dog there. i really like her. 

google poses majestically on the rock wall.

phyllis isn't quite so stunning. haha.

jasper peeking around travis' hairy leg.

ernie is travis' favorite.

we retreated to the shade for a while because it was too hot in the sun for the pugs. that the only thing i do no like about pugs. they can't handle very warm temperatures so you have to keep them home most of the summer.

Travis Turns 26

we have internet again! and it's WIRELESS. i feel so fancy. my parents had aol dial up and we've been stealing wireless or using that stupid verizon plug in thing since we got married. i'm very excited. we're both on the internet at the SAME TIME. it's a novelty for us for sure. i have over 700 blog entries on my blog lovin feed to catch up with. oh internet, i love you.

so now i've got a lot of catch up on! here are some pictures from travis' birthday. he turned 26 this year. it was the usual, shopping and tattoos. and this precious gremlin:




phyllis has started to feel like she needs to leave the house with us every time we go. gone are the days she laid down quietly on our bed or on the couch, ready to sleep until we get home.

but now she barks at me. it is pretty stinking cute. she has a tiny bark.

as a treat i went with him to the goodwill outlet, his favorite place.

we dug through tons of stuff. i definitely have to be in the mood to go there. but you can find great stuff for pennies!

some stuff in our cart. if we go together we always end up with tons of books. i didn't end up getting the shoes. i already have pink converse. i was just excited to find something in my size.

we ate lunch at travis' favorite restaurant. this place is the reason we haven't given up fish yet.

ran into a friend. somehow no matter when we are in downtown franklin, we always run into him.

yuuuummmmmmm fish and chips! so good. i always burn my mouth because i can't wait.

birthday boy.

we went to a little gardening store that has suddenly gotten really cute. i was inspired to make a terrarium later in the week. it's not as cute as that though.


i'm really interested in getting one of these. i could have plants inside! that the cats wouldn't eat!
we had about two hours to kill so travis wanted to go to one of our favorite antique malls.

how lucky am i to have a husband whose fondest wish is to antique with me?



i kinda want tobuy that jackalope. i still haven't decided how i feel about owning taxidermy.

i got to meet this dog! she is a japanese chin and her name is sooki! i SCREAMED when i saw her. how embarrassing. but her owner was impressed i knew the breed. i'm a dog dork.


travis really wants a hat like this. it was too small. thankfully.

this is what we got. i'm glad i got presents for travis' birthday. haha.

time for his appointment! we're one session away from finishing his half sleeve! hopefully.

jason put a tv in his room. travis made that face for most of the session. haha.

crystal stopped by and we went to get cupcakes. they accidentally matched her outfit.

we played the game where you have to get something on each page tattooed on your body. it is almost as fun as the you have to make out with one of these people game.


apparently under the arm is a terrible spot. great. that's what i'm getting done next!

i showed this to travis and jason so they would laugh. but i would totally get that.

here is what he got worked on. about 5 hours straight! the last sessions are the hardest i think because it doesn't seem like a lot changes, just lots and lots of detail work. the cat was my idea.

then we put phyllis in a backpack. after travis took a shower we went to see tombstone (part of the retro series at a local theater). i was complaining about it, but it was actually pretty good.