Love your neighbors.

I have always craved a neighborhood environment where I could ask a neighbor for a cup of sugar, or sit out on my porch with them and talk or let my kids play at their houses. I believe I'm there now. It is warm today and we headed out to the porch after the sun stopped hitting it. The kids went down to Wendy's apartment. Their dog Hobbes is always over. She loves spoiling the kids (her Grandkids are in Seattle) and she welcomes them whenever they show up on her doorstep. She often sees us coming home and opens her door to give them a little treat. Her husband, Richard helped us pick oranges on Tuesday, more than enough to juice for a few fantastic glasses of OJ. Tiffany and I were sitting on the top porch and I decided to make some Goji Green Tea that I bought today at Whole Foods (It's amazing). That turned into a little picnic, complete with a set piece from Pee Wee Herman's play*. The kids and Earl ran upstairs and down hanging out as they pleased. It was incredibly communal and fun. I am so glad we are here.

Josiah enjoys some ice tea & grapes.

Mae surveys the bounty.

*Our neighbor's old roommate was the set designer for the play & she still had a few pieces sitting around. She has gifted Mae with a some cute items and she finally found something for Josiah: a crazy giraffe from Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Homemade Dog Treats

We have two neighboring apartments with dogs. The couple right next to us have the tiniest little chihuahua I've ever seen and what I'm guessing is a corgi mix. Our neighbors directly below us (bless their hearts, they get the brunt of two children running,  a dog leaping and cats jumping all day) have a sweet little pug named Hobbes. I decided to make some dog treats for them. The recipe is super simple and easy to do. The kids helped me. Earl sampled. Here's what they looked like:

Click the picture to zoom. I made really cute little labels using Victorian Clip art.

P.S. Please note the flowers in the picture, my sweet husband brought me flowers for no reason yesterday. :)