Weekend Adventures: Hiking with the Dogs, Baking, & Food!

Happy Tuesday!

I talk about this every year. It’s the dog days of summer, and I’m feeling it. Every single August, I get myself into a rut. I feel unrested, I feel unmotivated, and I start feeling so blah. It’s like clockwork every year. All I’ve wanted to do is hang out with the dogs, bake, go on walks, and stay off the internet. This is why I haven’t been posting. Every time I get on my computer, I find something else to do. My new 1969 film camera arrived in the mail this morning, but I told myself I am NOT ALLOWED to play with it until I get this recap up. I also have some recipes to share, some travel blogs to catch up on, and some pre-fall gardening posts. I know I’ll find motivation here soon! Does anyone else feel the same way during the dog days of summer?

One thing I’ve been doing a lot of lately is baking! I’ve become obsessed with Sally’s Baking Addiction blog. Every time I make one of her recipes, they come fantastic. I decided to use up some apples I had in the house and made apple crumble cake. I also made the leftover batter into cupcakes. It was seriously delicious! I brought some over to the neighbors to enjoy as well.
I’ve been trying my best this year to keep the flowers alive. We had a super mild winter last year, which made bug season awful! The Japanese beetles and aphids have made their way through the entire neighborhood. I’m hoping we have a freezing winter and that my flowers come back stronger next year! It’s been work keeping them alive and blooming this summer. Now, my zinnias have been incredible! I’ll be writing a blog about them and talking about which seeds to plant for next year.
Another reason I haven’t been writing a lot because all I want to do is hang out with Tux and Leo! It’s just so hard not to go out and play, walk them, or sit and pet him. He’s officially lifting his leg now when you reach for his belly, and it melts my heart. If you haven’t seen the video of him wagging his tail and putting his hands on Kyle yet, please head to my Tux highlight on my Instagram! You’ll be in tears! It’s the sweetest thing. He’s settling into his new home better than we could have hoped for.

Remember a few months back when I planted sunflower seeds? Well, they’re blooming! I was really proud of my very first sunflower. Noo=w that I know I can grow them successfully, I’ll be planting rows of them behind my house next year. This year was definitely a trial and error for planting.
We’ve been keeping our routine with Tux by walking him in the mornings. He’s starting to get used to all the noises around us, and he LOVES the trails. If we are on the main sidewalk, he’ll pull us near the trail. Now that it’s “fake fall” season and the weather drops to around 65-degrees in the mornings, I like to sit outside and read while the dogs play. I finished B.A. Paris’s book “The Therapist” last week, and it was amazing. I absolutely loved the twist at the end! I wait impatiently for her books to be released.

The past few days, all we’ve been eating is salmon or tilapia in the air fryer! It’s so good and easy to make. I have the recipe on my TikTok and my Instagram Reels.

And yes, that’s Tux sitting in the living room!!

Last weekend, I spent the morning organizing my closet and getting rid of more items! Back when I lived in the townhome, I had THREE closets filled with my stuff. Now, this is all that I own. Life is less stressful this way. Putting laundry away is so much easier now. If I want something new, I have to get rid of something I have.
Tilapia and roasted veggies in the air fryer!
Tux has been SO PLAYFUL in the mornings! He makes these crying sounds, gets in his pounce pose, and runs around like a crazy dog! We love it! This post is just filled with happy Tux moments! He’s our whole world right now. Photos from Tux’s very first hike! He did so well.
He’s more confident on the trail than on sidewalks. I think he likes how quiet it is. He was brave and jumped up on the rocks by the water, and he looked so mesmerized. I have a feeling this was his first time seeing a big body of water. Showing him the world has been the best part. On Saturday evening, I took some engagement photos for a friend! I rode my bike out in the spot earlier in the day to check out the lighting/surrounding.

I’m glad I finally got the tires fixed on my bike because it’s been so fun to ride lately. I try to go early morning when it’s cooler outside. If you live in the Charlotte area, add Tega Cay Deli to your list! Kyle and I love this spot, and I can’t believe it took us so long to try it out. We got the Carolina sandwich with bacon on a wheat bagel. We also picked up their chicken salad and Italian pasta salad. We’ve already been back twice!

The weekend was full of hikes! We try to go really early in the morning, so it’s not too hot for them. Leo has been such a good brother showing Tux the ropes! If Tux seems afraid of something, we usually have Leo do it in front of him to show him that it’s safe. He was hesitant about the wood bridges until he saw Leo trot across them.
I’m back to my protein oat kick! I go back and forth between protein oats and yogurt parfaits. Kyle and I tried out MADO Paris in Rock Hill last Sunday for our coffee spot. We’ve been trying to go to a new place each week. We had the oat milk latte, and it was so good! They had amazing French desserts in there too. Last Sunday, I made chicken parm with cavatelli! I breaded the chicken with Italian bread crumbs, baked it, and topped it with tomato sauce, parmesan, basil, and garlic. I love easy 25-minute meals.

Some of you were shocked by this when I shared it on Instagram. I had Dairy Queen for the first time on Sunday! I had a mini Oreo and Butterfinger blizzard! IT WAS AMAZING!!! We had one growing up, but we never went there. I was always a McDonald’s McFlurry girl. Now, I get the hype! We stopped so I could see the horses on the way home. I’m so obsessed with these guys! Our furniture we ordered back in January FINALLY arrived! I LOVE IT.

Last Friday, I finished my book and ended the evening making some apple pie pastries with streusel on top.
A neighbor was looking for someone who could make a Cinderella cake for their daughter’s birthday party. Does anyone remember when I started blogging in 2010? I was obsessed with baking, and I still love it. I actually wanted that to be my career before blogging took off. I decided to break out my old baking tools, and I made this Cinderalla cake on Saturday morning! I kind of loveeeee how it turned out, and it was so fun to be back in my element! Kyle’s birthday is this weekend, so I’m going to make him a peanut butter drip cake. Stay tuned!

Look at Tux go!!!
Downtown Fort Mill now shuts down the streets during the weekends so that vendors and shops can bring their business to the main street! We loved walking around on Saturday afternoon. We had Chickpeasy on Wheels (my favorite) and some peanut butter gelato to end the perfect day! Waffle cone with peanut butter and cookies n cream geltao!

The weather was amazing last week! Leo had so many two a day walks. It was in the low 70s during the evenings, so after dinner I took him for a few miles. On Sunday we did a fun little painting project! We decided to go with Illusive green for an accent wall. I’ll show more photos soon!
It’s so cozy and warm! My boys! We ended the weekend with a donut and peach latte from Rock Hill Coffee Co. I love that we have different food trucks and vendors stop by the neighborhood! ️