a cat, cookies, and creative crafts!

dearies,

it's been awhile and i hope this finds you well. lots to catch up on from this end so i will just jump right in!

after almost a decade of successfully stalling on my part, we adopted a cat back in february from our local feline rescue here in fountain hills. we had begun volunteering for fearless kitty rescue together as a family, which seemed to be a genius way for me to give the family their feline fix, while avoiding the actual acquisition of a pet.

however, the proverbial joke was on me.

there is a saying that you don't pick the pet, the pet picks you, and now i can totally vouch for the accuracy of that statement. our beloved oscar made it clear, on our second volunteering appointment, that it would be nice to come and live with us, permanently. to the utter shock of mr. dearie and the dearie daughters, i happily agreed.

it helped that i felt an instant connection to this uber-handsome cat when i first laid eyes on him, and he cemented the deal by giving me a gentle love bite on my chin during that meet and greet. oscar is an older chap, large in size, with a super soft coat, who appeared to be a bit of an eccentric oddball. for example, he would growl like a dog whenever anyone would approach his room at the rescue, even if they were out of his line of sight. he is the perfect match for us because our entire family are eccentric oddballs, too.

oscar/oski/oscar-bo-bosker has been with us for over three months now and none of us, including me, can imagine life without this 15 lb. lovebug who enjoys regularly laying right on us or right next to our faces when we sleep.

the family still volunteers regularly at fearless kitty rescue (i write up the incoming cat bios) but being that oscar is the "king-cat of the castle" cat, it conveniently nixes us taking home any of the other rescues we might end up falling in love with. oscar is definitely one smart and calculating cat!

are you looking for a super easy and delicious cookie recipe that comes together in a flash? silly question, of course you are! well then, check out my quick and delicious amaretto cookie recipe. i make these frequently, sometime even before the girls head off to school early in the morning, that's how quick and easy they are. they also make a great gift too.

mr. dearie and i are particularly fond of enjoying a few with our morning coffee. it really is hard to eat just one and i dare you to try!

in other news, i've decided to try my hand at all the many crafty things i've wanted to do for years now but have not gotten around to yet. like many of you i'm sure, i have so many pins saved over on pinterest as well as infinite ideas inside my head.

if not now, when...right?

fountain hills hosts a number of arts and crafts festivals and fairs every year that are quite popular and highly attended. i have entertained the idea of having my own darling dearie booth at these festivals since we moved here, and that is what my summer and fall are going to be devoted to: finally working out all those necessary details to make it become a reality.

a current project involves painting on fabric in the hopes of bringing back my own version of the vintage tourist skirts of mid-century mexico. this first one-of-a-kind skirt is allowing me to test drive different paints, work on my technique and imagery, and then ideal laundering for care tags. and just like i did with my first mash-up dresses, i'll "test drive" this first skirt out in the world to see how it wears for every day activities, and any public response before tweaking and perhaps creating any more.

i hope you are having a fabulous summer! it is officially summer break in the sonoran desert which means its ideal weather to stay indoors to read and create. it will be monsoon season in just over a week! while i figure out my upcoming art fair booth and offerings, the dearie daughters are enjoying sleeping in, reading up a storm, swimming in our pool, and perfecting their paper clay crafting techniques.

also, please let me know if you try making my amaretto cookie recipe, and don't forget to leave a comment on my missives page with the recipe letting me know what you thought of it!

until my next missive...

xoxo,

darling