Puppy Birthday Pictures and Some Yummy Doggy Snacks

Our little emperor (he's named after Charlemagne) turned 4 on June 11th, and he spent a quiet and cozy day with most of his favorite people at his grandmom and grandpop's house.  :-) 

His grandpop picked out a birthday gift for him, and I made him some special treats.  We all got a kick out of watching him "open" his gifts after supper.  While he obviously didn't understand WHY he was the center of attention, I'm pretty sure he thought all was finally right with the world when all eyes were on him!  And that makes my little fur-momma heart happy!

I found this recipe for Sweet Potato Dog Chews on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and immediately decided that they would be a perfect birthday gift.  Charley is a really strong chewer, and LOVES rawhide.  But he ended up chewing them way too fast, and ingesting way too much for such a tiny system.  And it got kinda gross.  But I figured these might be easier for him to digest and hopefully he won't get all clogged and sick. I really hope this turns out to be a good thing for him to chew on without the side effects from rawhide.

I made the recipe pretty much as the recipe is written.  I think the blog post is really good and easy-to-follow, and in the end, there is a lot of room for variation in these.  Also, I made two sweet potatoes worth of chews, which cost me a grand total of... $1.42.  Not too shabby!

Now, on to the adorableness...

Grandpop offering a gift bag to the birthday boy...

He's kinda scared of tissue paper.

Opening the package... since he has opposable thumbs and Charley doesn't.

It's open and Charley cannot WAIT!

AWFULLY excited about his new bone!

He loves it... just look at that adoring gaze..

Dehydrated Sweet Potato Chew

He devoured it very soon after this :-)

So, bottom lines: our dog is awesome and cute, and this recipe is easy and seems to be a hit with the canine people. :-) 

Always,

Katie

Coffee and Conversation #13: Why "Always, Katie"?

I am joining a link-up today called "Coffee and Conversation." All of the bloggers who want to join the conversation are given a prompt - a prompt that requires some thought and sometimes some soul-baring. I love that they're not all fluffy, but that we can actually learn some really cool things about our BlogLand neighbors. This week's prompt is:

What's the meaning behind your blog title and why? Do you believe you have upheld the meaning's purpose?

I mention the meaning of “Always, Katie” in the introduction section of my Etsy shop (which is closed for the summer due to travel), but I don’t believe I’ve ever really explained the name here.

For several years, I have signed all of my written correspondence “Always, Katie,” “Love always, Katie” or simply “Always.” They started out as almost instinctive, but when I really thought about why that is my go-to sign-off, it seemed that to me, these phrases express the constancy I strive for in my close relationships… that I will always love, support, warmly regard, pray for, walk with, think of, and/or stand beside my friends, family and others in my circle. 

A fairly good-sized sample of people I love!

I decided to name my jewelry business after my favorite sign-off, because my favorite part of the business is all of the different kinds of communication that are involved.

• I communicate with my friends, family, customers, and potential customers through this blog.

• I communicate with my customers to create custom pieces or help them pick out ready-made-pieces.

• Art is a form of communication in itself. While I usually involve my customer in the creative process, the finished piece still communicates something of me as the artist.

• Often, my customers gift the jewelry they buy from me to someone they love – which is another form of communication. They are communicating their thanks, love, well-wishes, or other feelings.

• Whoever is the final owner of jewelry I make uses it to communicate with the world. They may communicate their love of certain colors, their pride in their family, their stylishness, or even their devotion or connection to certain causes, sports or teams.

Domestic Violence Awareness

And much like the written communication I have with my friends and family, I want to convey to my customers and potential customers that I care about them as more than customers, and that I am available to them for jewelry and non-jewelry related needs. I like building relationships with my customers, and have made real and lasting friends because of my jewelry and my blog. 

Made for a repeat-customer-turned-friend's wedding!

It’s no great secret to my long-time followers that my blogging in this space has been sporadic and gone through some evolutions. But I feel that I have still upheld the purpose of the meaning and goals of this blog, as the changes reflect my own changes and struggles. It’s a little bit cringe-inducing to look back on my early days of blogging, and I have considered deleting all posts before some (still undetermined) point, but the learning curve and growing pains are part of my blogging and business story and are reflective of my personal story. So for now, the awkward beginning posts can stay ;-) 

Made for a friend to give her sister (another friend)!

I am currently trying to reach out and make connections and friends in the blogging community, as my needs right now are more for a sense of belonging than for jewelry customers. (Not that I wouldn’t take custom work, of course, haha!) I hope that when I am ready to reopen and rededicate myself to my shop, I will have some traffic. But even if “Always, Katie” the brand is never very successful, I hope that I will have developed a group of friends in BlogLand with whom I can laugh, mourn, celebrate, strive, pray, and encourage each other. Always.

Always,
Katie

Blog Lovin'

Just a real quick pop-in post to let anyone following this blog know that they can follow me on Blog Lovin'... I guess GFC is going away or changing or something?  Anyway, I'm really loving following the blogs I follow over there... it's a neat set-up! 

Always,
Katie

PS: Tonight, we celebrated the birthday of the cutest puppy ever.  Be looking for pictures of adorableness (and see what I made for him) in the next week or so!

Recipe Review: Peanut Butter Honey Cookies {from Hungry Brownie}

I have found several yummy recipes on Pinterest, but recently I found THE YUMMIEST.  If you like peanut butter and cookies and amazingness, you need to make these cookies.  There really aren’t many ingredients, and if your peanut butter jar is fairly new, you probably have everything you need in the kitchen right now.  When I made them the first time, I only had enough honey for a half-batch, but the recipe halves very easily and I still made about 15 good-sized cookies.  I also only had creamy peanut butter the first time and they still turned out delicious. 

The flavor is rich and peanut buttery, but in a deeper, less sugary kind of way.  And the texture, ohmygoodness, guys… the texture.  This cannot be oversold.  They are soft, but not falling-apart soft, slightly chewy but not tough.  They are seriously the cookies dreams are made of.  

The second time I made them, I used crunchy peanut butter like the recipe calls for, and they seemed like entirely different - but equally delish - cookies. They are a little puffier and crumbly this way, and obviously they have crunchy nuts in them.  Either way, this recipe is a winner! 

Here is the recipe, straight from Elaine at Hungry Brownie:

"Ingredients

2 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter, at room temperature

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

On a low speed, beat the peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and honey. Blend for a minute until mixed, then slowly add the flour and mix well.

Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix on low speed until just blended, about 25 seconds.

Scoop the dough (about 2 tablespoons) onto the baking sheets with 1 to 2 inches apart. Do not press down on the dough.

Bake one cookie sheet at a time for about 13-15 minutes or until slightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer for a cooling rack to completely cool.

Enjoy the cookies!"

Elaine takes beautiful pictures of her beautiful recipes, so I’m borrowing hers.  The above picture of the peanut butter cookies is mine… the rest are hers.

She suggested that if I liked these cookies, I should check out her Cinnamon Honey Banana Bread.  I’ve peeked at the recipe, and it does look fantastic.  It’s on my to-do list for sure! 

So are her Nutella Thumbprint Cookies.  

And Walnut Crusted Chicken.

Now… go follow her blog, then head to the kitchen or grocery store.  You need these peanut butter cookies, like, now.  ;-)

Always,

Katie