Will Having a Dog Make Your Life Better?

If you've ever read my blog before, you probably know how I feel about dogs. So you obviously know the answer to the above question is a resounding yes. So really, we could just call it a day and all go home, but then that would be missing out on an opportunity to talk about dogs and show you my favorite dog gifs, which is basically what I live for.

So on we go.

They make you go outside more.

When I work from home, sometimes an entire day will pass before I realize that I haven't stepped foot outside my apartment. And that's just sad. Having a dog means you have to go outside. And sure, it's annoying to have to wake up and trod Gatsby outside, but fresh air and sunshine is good for everyone.

Dogs help with loneliness. 

I am by myself all. the. time. And as silly as it seems, having a puppy around makes that so much better. That could also be because I most definitely treat my dog like a person, but hey, to each their own.

Dogs can make you feel safer.

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In my case, this is probably ridiculous, because Gatsby weighs practically nothing, and I'm pretty sure if someone broke into my house and gave him a treat, he would act like the dog above.

But if he hears someone at the door, he gives his scariest bark, and that makes me feel like no one will break in to see how big (tiny) he is.

They teach you responsibility.   

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Having a dog is a big deal. If you don't feed them, they won't get food. If you don't play with them, they won't get exercise. If you don't take them to the vet, no one else is going to make sure they take the right medicine and stay healthy. It's up to you. I think that being in charge of another living being at some point is a good practice for everyone to learn.

They up the happiness level in your life by at least three thousand percent. 

They love you and think you're the greatest thing that has ever happened and they live for the moment you get home from work. And if that doesn't make your life better, I don't know what will.

Why do you think dogs make your life better?

10 Reasons You Absolutely Need a Puppy.

Okay, so you're trying to decide if you want to take the leap and get a dog or not. You've made a pros and cons list and you're just torn. No worries, I'm here to solve this dilemma for you.

You need a dog. 

I've compiled a list of reasons why. You're welcome.

1. Your happiness depends on it. Let's just go ahead and get this one out of the way. Such great happiness awaits you, you have no idea.

2. They think you're amazing, no matter what. Miss a deadline? Screw up at work? Fail a test? It doesn't matter to them. Fill their food bowl up? Trophies! Oscars! All the awards for you!

3. You automatically have something to blog/instagram/tweet about. Had a bad hair day for the last four days? No worries, your cute pup always looks good. Instagram away.

4. They teach you responsibility. Forget getting a job. You want to learn responsibility? Get a puppy. It turns out, keeping something alive, happy, and comfortable actually takes a lot of effort.

5. They understand that sometimes you don't want to talk. And sometimes you want to talk a lot. I have a husband. If I come home happy and talkative, or sad and quiet, or angry and very talkative..well, his mood is going to change based on that. Dogs don't care. "You had a great day? Here, play fetch with me. You had a terrible day? Here, play fetch with me."

6. They give you something to look forward to. I have a pretty long commute home from work, and my husband usually works later than I do. Instead of coming home to an empty house, it's so much fun coming home to someone who's been waiting all day for you and acts like you just won best person of the whole year by coming home to them. Sloppy kisses all around!

7. Built in snuggle buddy for life. I mean, come on.

8. They're good practice for kids. My dog has started this really cute thing where he wakes up at 4:00AM and starts barking until you get up. If I thought I was ready for a kid, this would be a real quick smack back to reality.

9. They make a great excuse. Don't want to go out tonight? "Oh, sorry. I would love to, but I need to let my dog out."

10. They just make your life better, it's as simple as that. Anyone who has ever had a dog knows that your life is just happier when there's a little furry friend involved.

What would you add to this list?

H A P P Y F R I D A Y : vacation + new blogs.

1. After today, Chris is off for an entire week! When he normally only takes an hour or two off every day, a whole week feels like an eternity.  I am so excited!

2. I found the picture I was talking about in this post. 

so tiny and snuggly!

3. The new Pretty Lovely Littles goodies will be out in ten days! I've been finishing everything up this week, and let me tell you...I have never been so excited about new products before. These are, hands down, my favorite that have ever been in the shop.  Pssst: keep an eye out, because there may be a few pre-order items listed this weekend!

4.  Megan has started a NEW BLOG in addition to her photography blog.  She is a beautiful writer and I highly recommend following along. If not for her writing, then for the hilarious pictures she posts of her 101 pound dog who thinks he's the size of Gatsby.

5. It's Friday.  I'm drinking a cup of coffee.  The laundry is going and there are candles burning.  Sometimes it's the littlest things that make you happy to be alive.

What made you happy to be alive this week?

How To: Convince Your Husband To Buy You a Puppy.

I was so excited when we got Gatsby in November, I never blogged about how we got Gatsby.  Since my husband was 100% team no-puppy-ever, I bring you..

SIX STEPS TO CONVINCE YOUR HUSBAND YOU NEED A PUPPY.

Step One: Ask for a puppy every single day. 

I started asking for a puppy the day after we got back from our honeymoon, and I didn't stop.  I rationalized why we needed one.  I made pros and cons lists--the con was always "too much happiness" or something like that.  If it was a day that ended in Y, it was a day I was going to ask for a puppy.

Step Two: Start sending him pictures of really cute puppies. 

Did you know pinterest has an entire animal section?  Hello, tiny puppy in a boot.  Work your magic.

Step Three: Find yourself in a situation where there are a lot of puppies. 

We were driving home from church and passed a man holding a sign that said "Puppy Sale."  So naturally, I screamed excitedly until he turned the car around. Since I married the greatest guy ever, he eventually did turn the car around.  We walked into the pet store, and our conversation went something like this:

Chris: You do understand that we're not getting a puppy today, right?
Me: Mmhmm.
Chris: Seriously, don't get attached to anything.  We're not leaving here with a puppy.
Me: Okay, okay. Wait, is that a fox?

Step Four:  Fall in Love. 

I have always been dead set on wanting a lab.  I grew up with labs and I think they're just the sweetest puppies in the world.  But I walked over to look at this one puppy because I kind of thought that maybe he was a fox and not a puppy. I put my hand on the glass AND HE PUT HIS PAW UP AGAINST MY HAND LIKE WE WERE IN THE MOVIES.

Chris: He's cute.  Come on, let's go eat.
Me: Falling in love. 
Chris: Chels...
Me: He wants to come home with me.
Chris: No, he doesn't.  He likes it here. He told me.  Let's go.
Random pet store lady: Would you like a private cuddle room with this dog? 
Me: !!!!!!!
Chris: silently shooting expletives at this woman with his brain. 

Step Five: Get your husband to also fall in love. Also, get a private cuddle room, if at all possible. 

Me: He has to come home with us.
Chris: No, no he doesn't.  We're not getting a dog.
Hands dog over to chris, and whom he promptly snuggles up to.
Chris: Well, maybe we can get a dog next year.
Dog starts making whimpering noises.
Chris: Maybe if he's still here after Christmas, we can talk about it.
Me: Dies on the inside as I have to give the puppy, who I've already named Gatsby, back to the pet store lady.  Also shoots eye daggers at the people casually waiting by my private cuddle room, looking at my dog. 

Step Six: Turn into a crazy person. 

But really.  I had taken a picture of Gatsby snuggling with me, and I sent it to Chris about 170432 times a day.  Then I called the pet store to see if he was still there, and they told me that was going home to his new family once they came to pick him up.  Heartbroken, I rationalized that maybe his new family wouldn't like him and would return him, or maybe they'd forget to pick him up, so I obsessively called the pet store every hour and asked if he was there. Psycho.

Little did I know, Chris had called the pet store and told them that he was trying to surprise his wife, but his wife was a crazy person who was going to keep calling, so they should just tell me the puppy was gone.

Step Seven: Try not to die of happiness when your husband surprises you with a tiny little fox with a christmas bow on his head. 

And we all lived happily ever after.  Until Gatsby at my favorite shoes.  Now we just peacefully coexist. 

A Very Helpful Little Fox.

Once upon a time, I captured a wild fox and told everyone he was a puppy.

Little did I know how helpful he would be with chores around the house!

Like folding laundry laying on top of warm laundry....

...and helping with the dishes trying to blend in with the dishwasher so maybe I'll accidentally give him some dirty plates instead.

He's great at giving me a hand with scrubbing the tub very bad about understanding personal space...

...and is especially good at scrubbing hard to reach places I'm not sure what his plan with this toothbrush was, but he looks very untrusting. 

But, of course, his favorite activity is blogging. 

Also, remember those rooftop pictures I posted a few weeks ago?  We got that apartment!  Annnnnd we're moving there on Saturday.  Please, ask me how much of my house is packed.  I'll give you a hint:  the answer is zero percent.

I'm off to spend the week in packing frenzy, and trying to convince this puppy to pull his weight around here.

Does your dog get involved while you're getting stuff done? 

w h i l e   y o u ' r e   h e r e :

Happy to be Alive, Because: No More Studying & A Flower Discount

1.  Christopher's exam is  o v e r !  We have been hanging out so much that I think my heart might explode from sheer happiness.  PSA:  If you're going to get married, marry someone who you makes you that happy just by spending time with them.

2.  When he came home from his exam, this is what the walls looked like:

"Such done.  Wow.  So finish.  Relax."

3.  And then I got this picture: 

4. We went apartment hunting yesterday!  All.  Day.  Long.  I guess the reason this is on the list is because it means we'll (hopefully!) have a new place downtown soon.  That, and I'm glad that I married  someone that after eight hours of tours and questions and information together, I still want to be married to him.  That's a big deal.  If you don't believe me, go see nine apartments in a row.  Nope.

That's the rooftop at one of the apartments. One can dream, right?! 

5.  My pretty friend Jordyn did a photo shoot with some headbands from my shop, and she looks absolutely stunning.  If you still haven't looked at her pictures, you need to do that immediately.  You will want to drop whatever you're doing and go find yourself a tulle skirt and some flowers for your hair because she makes it look so fantastic.  I can help you with the flowers in your hair part, and you can even take 22% off in her honor with the code TAYLORSWIFT.

What made you happy to be alive this week?

w h i l e   y o u ' r e  h e r e :

Worth approximately 7,000 words.

Also known as: life lately according to instagram. 

This is what any type of computer work looks like these days...

...and I don't mind one bit. 

 Crafting. 

All day, every day. 

 Memphis Tigers with my three favorite guys.

I don't think there has ever been a single photo that sums up our personalities as accurately as this one does. 

My best friends:  the furry and the non-furry versions. 

Happy Wednesday! What's the best thing that's happened to you so far this week?

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Because Laundry Can Wait.

My house is so incredibly messy.

I know we're supposed to put our best face forward in blogland, where other people will read about our lives, but my house is really, really messy.

I have craft stuff from my shop sprawled out in at least three rooms, there are at least three loads of dishes waiting to be done, and I really, really need to do laundry.

But sometimes it's important to know the difference between what you need to do...and what you need to do.  Yes, I need to do laundry.  Dishes.  Vacuum.  But I need to curl up with my pups and drink a cup of tea.  To have a glass of wine with my husband and ask him how his day was.  To ignore the laundry and dishes and mess and just watch a movie together instead.  Really, if my life were over tomorrow, would I regret not doing the laundry?  No.  But I might regret not spending enough time doing the things that really mattered.

So today, I'll enjoy how good this life is.  I'll remember how amazing it is to be married to your best friend.  I'll recall how good it feels to get lost in a book.  I'll remind myself how happy my little fox makes me.  I'll enjoy the day to day.  The little things, and the big things too.

Because laundry can wait.

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Saying Goodbye to November and Hello to something much cuter.

Say hello to the newest member of my tiny family:

His name is Gatsby, and he is perfect. 

I'm looking forward to every bit of December even more now that I know I get to spend it with this little guy. 

So, goodbye, November. 

Goodbye to Thanksgiving.

Goodbye to a perfect day of turkey and the Macy's Day Parade with my favorite people in the world.

Goodbye to watching anything other that Christmas movies. 

Goodbye to listening anything other than Christmas music. 

Goodbye to all my adorable fall decorations. 

Hello, December.

Hello to my first married Christmas season. 

Hello to lots of fun Christmas adventures with our new little family. 

Hello to decorations and turning the house into a winter wonderland. 

Hello to new adventures.

Hello to Christmas shopping and sneaking around buying presents. 

Hello to Christmas music and movies and desserts all day every day. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year! 

Happy December! What are your favorite things about this month? Say hello to December at Nestful of Love today!

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