Weekend 5.18.13

This is the last day to enter to win a free PawBox! 

We had a busy weekend, but a great one because it included driving up to see my sister-in-law receive her PhD. I spent Friday morning with my baking pants on, whipping up some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and brown bottom cupcakes. 

The latter were inspired by Meg at Borrowed Heaven, I read about them on her blog last week and the concept of a cupcake with the frosting 'in' the cupcake stuck with me and seemed like a good option for traveling. I used this recipe and doubled it for a larger crowd. They turned out great-- for some reason my cupcakes rarely fluff up on top, instead they sink down in the middle a bit, but they still tasted great.

My absolute favorite part of any cookie baking experience is sneaking a taste {or ten} from the mixer once the butter, sugars and vanilla extract are combined, but before the eggs go in. 

For the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies I always use the recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli white chocolate chip bag because it's simple and delicious. If I had to pick a favorite cookie, these would be them. I was sure to save a dozen of these to keep at home...plus we may have stolen a couple from the box on the car ride up. 

Any time I'm in the kitchen you can bet my little partner in crime isn't far away.

{those eyes melt my heart}

Sunday was rainy and overcast. We were both exhausted from the drive the day before and Casey was tired from a day spent at "Grandma and Grandpa's" so we all slept until almost 10 am, which is unheard of for me. Matt had pre-purchased tickets to see the new Star Trek movie at 11 so we quickly got ready and headed out to see it. I'm not a huge Star Trek fan, but I do enjoy the new movies and Benedict Cumberbatch is a great villain.

The rest of the day was spent eating scones and drinking tea/coffee while catching up on our DVR, grocery shopping and making dinner. Cooking together is one of my favorite activities and we hadn't been doing it much lately so it felt nice to be in the kitchen together. We made this veggie burger recipe and sweet potato fries, the perfect, quiet end to a busy weekend.

How was your weekend?

PawBox Review & Giveaway

I was given the opportunity to try out PawBox, a subscription box for dogs which includes "four to five luxury product samples from high-end brands every month," as well as product information and helpful tips and tricks for pet parents. While PawBox is currently only available for dogs, PawBox for cats is in the works and coming soon (cat moms can visit that link to sign up to be notified when it goes live!).

Pricing for PawBox is reasonable, just $10 including shipping & handling and you can cancel at any time. They also offer three month subscriptions for $30, or a yearly subscription for $110-- the best deal, with a one-month savings. 

Our first box came back in February and had a Valentine's Day theme. Unfortunately I am a spaz and accidentally deleted the photos I took of Casey opening the box, but I did manage to salvage a shot of the goods:

The box included a Natural Balance dog food roll sample, Chicken Trail Blazin' Bits from Feelgood, a sample of Silver Lining #36 Skin and Coat support supplements, an "I Love My Dog" heart magnet, and a cute giraffe print squeaky toy from Zanies. I appreciated all of the information included in the box so I knew exactly what we were getting.

We had a surprise last month when we came home to another PawBox on our doorstep one rainy afternoon in April. I love the packaging, the paw prints are adorable and if you were to order a box as a gift for someone all you would have to do is add a bow!

By this time Casey expects that any packages we receive are for him so he couldn't wait to get into it. 

I did make him pause for a photo.

{that snake tongue cracks me up every time}

Once I helped him open it he had a blast sticking his snout through the tissue paper to investigate the contents. 

He was satisfied with what he found; this fuzzy orange bone has become a favorite of his, he'll randomly appear by my side holding it in his mouth while we're at home, ready to play. There was also a duck toy by the same company missing from these pictures because it was already in his bed. 

While Casey amused himself with squeaking the toys and sniffing the treats (a Nutrabar protein bar and a Bark Bar), I checked out the Complete Calm supplements from GreenDog Naturals and the emergency pet rescue sticker.

We've used these supplements twice during some particularly loud spring thunder storms which make Casey especially nervous, and they did seem to help him calm down enough to sleep, as opposed to the pacing, heavy breathing and shaking reaction that he usually has to thunder storms.

Every home with a pet/pets should have emergency rescue stickers in the windows. We have one in our front window, so I'm happy to have this one to put in the back.

Overall, PawBox was a hit in our household. I think the price is more than reasonable for the products that come in the box, and Casey has enjoyed the treats and toys so much. A huge thank you to PawBox for providing us with these fantastic treats!

Now I'd like to pass on the fun by offering one A Day in A Joyful Life reader a chance to win one month of PawBox! Enter below, the giveaway will end on Tuesday, May 21st. Good luck! 

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Mother's Day

Aside from allergies, the scent of lilacs is one of the most tell-tale signs that Spring has arrived; and a more welcome one, at that. The house where I grew up has a huge lilac tree in our side yard so this weekend when we visited my mom (and dad) I cut a few branches to take home.

As a newlywed, small vases for flowers were not high on our list of must-have items so I opt instead to put a few stems into cute bottles I've collected (though if you ask my husband, he might use the term "hoarded").

I'm not a mother, but I do have a kind husband and a sweet puppy who showed their appreciation for taking care of them both with an adorable card, a gift card to Starbucks, and this delicious-smelling candle from Papyrus.

All in all I would say it was a lovely Mother's Day weekend.