Painting Pup Portraits in Acrylics

This past week my sis invited me to her house for a painting day. It was my first time painting pup portraits with acrylics, and it was a lot of fun.

Before we starting painting though, I had to get some kisses from my sister's adorable pup Stella.

She wasn't totally thrilled with being a model for my photography, but she looks so darn cute on this turquoise chair... I couldn't resist snapping some pics of her! (Because: turquoise. And what's better than dogs + turquoise!?)

When You Ask the Universe For Something, Be Specific

A couple of years ago, I saw a turquoise gnome in someone's front yard. I know you're not supposed to covet your neighbor's goods... but, damn, I coveted that gnome in my heart...

Mainly because I'm obsessed with the color turquoise, as this photo demonstrates...

A New Adventure in Old Town

The hubs and I are members with the Temecula Olive Oil Company (their oils are fantastic!), so once per quarter I get an email that our oils are available. Rita always comes along with me to pick them up at Old Town - a historic State Park, here in San Diego, considered to be "the birthplace of California."

We've been many times, and we always take a nice walk before stopping in at TOOC, which is dog-friendly so Rita always comes along in and gets a treat.

Well, this time when we were walking around waiting for TOOC to open, I noticed a shaded grassy area and, since it was a hot day, we headed over.

The first thing I noticed were the beautiful jacaranda trees. (So pretty! But so messy!)

A Little Adventure In Big Bear Lake

Recently we went to Big Bear Lake, which is only about 2 1/2 hours from San Diego, for a quick getaway. Big Bear was very dog-friendly, with leashed dogs welcome on the trails and on many restaurant patios.

There seems to be a by-law in Big Bear that there must be one carved wooden bear for at least every other house. (This guy was one of my favorites.)