I'm Nikki, a creative old soul who loves tea time, tip-toeing through gardens, mounds of books, swaying to records, watercolors, sunset walks with our three yorkies, and star-gazing with Paul. This blog carries snippets of my life with just us two (five with Rusty, Lucy, & Ethel) - I hope it brings you happiness as you snuggle in with something warm and delicious and begin reading. Enjoy, friends!

the blog!

If I had to choose:

Rusty the Yorkipoo

It has already been 2 wonderful years since Paul and I made the impulsive decision to drive 2 hours down to the Iowa border to pick up an adorable yorkipoo to be our first dog. Which one were we going to get?? We had no clue. We just couldn’t wait to see one. We had found the website that day, randomly, late in the evening. We fell in love with the type of dog and Paul called them to see if there was any chance we could come down that night (it was already pushing 7pm) – they said yes and we hit the road!!

When we got there they said we could only see one dog at a time so they brought out Chili. He was a fiesty little puppy who had already learned how to jump out of the crate – he was only 3 months old! The owner said he was a little too smart for his own good and was prone to get into mischief. Needless to say, as soon as I saw him I knew he was ours. I knelt by the crate (even though he was perfectly capable of getting out on his own) and he immediately jumped in my arms, licked me as much as he could and then Paul took out his wallet. :)

On the way home we were figuring out what supplies we needed for this little love while also debating on a name (it was between Odie, Tramp, and Rusty) and when we got to civilization we stopped at a store to pick up a carrier, food, leash, collar, dishes, and a bed (I went in while Paul stayed with little love in the car). When we got home we pulled out the camera (thank goodness because I barely have any photos of him when he was just tiny thing!!) and got to know the newest member to our little family. We eventually picked a name (of course, Rusty :)) and the rest is history. We can’t imagine life without our little love and are so happy we made that impulsive decision that wonderful night.

Because this post is all about Rusty, it’s only logical that I share with you some fun tidbits about him…:) Enjoy!!

1. He enjoys his paws massaged. If you don’t understand that massaging is what he wants, he will brush his hand on you until you resort to massages.

2. He prefers small spaces to relax in. He is not an extravagant or high maintenance puppy. He refuses to use a bigger, better, more comfortable bed, but prefers his too small, battered, original bed.

3. Even if he doesn’t say it, he knows he can lean on us. Literally. When he’s about to go to sleep, he plops (and I really mean plop) as close as he can to the side of our leg, arm, butt, head (he’s really not picky at all) and then pushes himself even more into us until there is zero space between us. (We think this is why he loves his too-small-of-a-bed versus a large, spacious bed.)

4. He enjoys the comforts of food when we enjoy the comforts of food. If I don’t hang out in the kitchen for a small period of time, Rusty will not touch his food. Only when he sees me pull out the pots and pans will he start diving into his breakfast or dinner. I like to think he’s a gentlemen at heart and knows not to eat until the woman in his life has begun eating.

5. He learned to follow in his mom’s footsteps at a young age. When we brought him home he didn’t know how to climb stairs. So Momma and Rusty would hang out in the backyard and I would teach him how to climb them by putting his front legs up, then bringing his back legs up until he felt comfortable to do it on his own. Now instead of taking the stairs he literally flies off the deck. Like a flying squirrel.

6. He gives kisses on demand. This might be the thing I’m most proud of. When he gets treats (he even knows what it means when we spell it out – too smart for his own good) he first has to “Sit”, then “Lay”, then “Shake”, then “Kisses!!” When we say “Kisses!!” (we say it in a high pitched voice – don’t ask me why) he immediately jumps in the air and nails you on the face with a big, wet, smackaroo. :)

7. Sneezing is a way to express excitement. Pretty self explanatory. When new people come over, or when we come home after being gone an hour or 2 minutes, he sneezes…and smiles…and his tail should fall off from all of the excessive wagging. He has this ability to make anybody feel unbelievably special, as if you just made his entire year by walking through that door. :)

And to shake it up a bit on here, I have phone photos instead of my camera photos to share – he’s more in his element in these photos because as soon as I pull out my camera he goes into his model poses…what a rough life. :) If you enjoy looking at this little furball, feel free to follow me on Instagram – he pretty much dominates my photos.

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