March 7th, 2002 - December 27th, 2017 🌈

We are beyond heartbroken. Our sweet little Bosco passed over the rainbow bridge early Wednesday morning. He went peacefully at home on his bed with his favorite blankets and I was right by his side comforting him. My heart is shattered into a million pieces and the house is so lonely without him. I literally have a pit in my stomach and pain in my heart.

It wouldn’t be kidney disease that took him, but congestive heart failure.

After a few months of ups and downs, I truly believe he was ready to be pain free. We noticed his health started to decline over the weekend, but he held on for one more Christmas together. There are even a few of his presents still wrapped under the tree. :( We took him to the vet on Tuesday but she wasn't very optimistic and after an xray, he had a lot of fluid in his lungs. We immediately started medicine to try and drain them and hoped it would work over the coming days. We came home and he was pretty tired out from a long day and Brandon went to work. As the night went on, I noticed his breathing was even more abnormal and I just knew it was his time. The hardest part was being alone and the frantic call I had to make to Brandon. He rushed home from work but he was too late. Our sweet boy was gone.

Bosco, thank you for the almost 16 years of love, happiness and memories you brought to our lives. We hope you are already enjoying all the donuts and chicken you can eat and are keeping all of our family members and fur friends in heaven company. You will live in our hearts forever until we meet again one day....

You no longer greet me as I walk through the door.
You're not there to make me smile, to make me laugh anymore.
Life seems quiet without you, you were far more than a pet.
You were a family member, a friend... a loving soul I'll never forget.
It will take time to heal - for the silence to go away.
I still listen for you, and miss you every day.
You were such a great companion, constant, loyal and true.
My heart will always wear, the pawprints left by you.
-Teri Harrison

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays
'Cause no matter how far away you roam
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays you can't beat home sweet home!

Last Friday we headed up to Maryland to visit my sister-in-law and have a festive Holiday weekend. I've been wanting to visit DC during the Christmas season for 3 years now, basically since she moved there. (She lives in Frederick which is a super charming town and a short drive to DC) We finally found a weekend when everyone was off  and made it happen! (my sister drove in from Pittsburgh too!) So here's a little (but lengthy) recap...

Happy Wednesday friends! Can you believe we're almost a week into December? And there are only 19 days until Christmas?! Since everything in your house is done up and festive, why not add a little cheer and Holiday spirit to your desktops as well? Links to download below. Enjoy!

As a kid, we had an artificial one and I loved it! With colorful lights, gold garland and filled with all our childhood ornaments - it definitely wouldn't be instagram worthy these days, but it was so pretty to us! And since Brandon and I've have had 8 (married) Christmases together, we've had a mix of real and fake. We went the fake route the last 3 years though because we went Florida for two weeks and I didn't want it to die.

But this year, we got a real tree!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Just wanted to do some catching up and share some photos that have been living on my camera roll... ;)

Happy (early) Thanksgiving, friends! I know turkey day is tomorrow, but I wanted to share some of my favorite small shops, just in case you'll be working on that Christmas list this weekend. ;)

I've always had a soft spot for artists and small business because I know a lot of time, passion and purpose goes into everything they do & create. I know we're all gonna go to the mall and the big box stores, but let's not forget the little guys this Holiday season.... or all year long for that matter! ;)

So grab some coffee (or hot cocoa) and start browsing! Plus I'm sure many will be having sales since small business Saturday is also coming up! ;)

Guys, I opened an Etsy shop! Now you can get my prints as printables for only $5!!

And yes, I know I'm pretty late to the Etsy game and there are already tons of people selling printables, but I'm still super excited to offer this as an affordable option to buy my designs.

How has it been two weeks since my last Sunday coffee? I really don't even know where the last two weeks went. I was under the weather for a few days (feeling better now!), but still. The days are just flying by! So grab your cup of coffee (or tea) and let’s do this!

I have a little treat for you guys today. I know a lot of people have Christmas on the brain, but I'm here to share a little Thanksgiving printable for your home.

I actually used this quote on the desktop wallpapers and thought it would make a perfect art printable too. It's a nice reminder to have during the Holidays... and the design is simple and versatile enough that you could keep it up all year long. ;) Plus, it comes in two colors and two sizes; black or rust in 8x10 or 11x14.

So, we technically don't live in the Outer Banks. We're about 35-40 minutes but we spend a heck of a lot of time up there! We live in a small town with little to do, so we'll head to the beach if we have errands to run or want to do something "fun". We're hoping that next year we can find a cute house a little closer, but honestly I don't mind the drive.

The sound of the waves excites my spirit and soothes my soul. I love stopping for coffee at my favorite little shop and I'll just sit on the sand or walk the shore, even if it's just for 5 minutes. And like I mentioned in a previous post, we're still adjusting to a new routine. So it felt really good to get some beach time in. Especially this time of year, the empty beaches and evening light have me looking like the heart-eye emoji.

Our only real limit is ourselves.
Don’t let fear and doubt keep you from your happiness.

A little Monday motivation for ya. ;)
Let's have a great week!

So I did a little baking over the weekend and sweet goodness is this bread yummy! I know I'm not the only one who looks forward to all the Pumpkin goodies this time of year. And yes, it might be #basic, but ya know what? I don't care! ;)

This is actually my favorite banana bread recipe just tweaked a little - by adding pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice! So if you're one of the few that doesn't like pumpkin, just make banana bread! It's so delicious and I think you should really give it a try!

And so what if I ate half the loaf by myself! #noshame

Guess it's more like an afternoon pick-me up since this is going up a little later than planned.... oh, well. ;) How was your week? It was a busy one around and I don't even know where the time went. Now we're enjoying a lazy, rainy Sunday.

I thought I would start this "coffee talk" series because I enjoy reading similar posts on other blogs. I'm aiming for weekly, but it might be bi-weekly and it's just a way to hopefully connect better with you guys! So grab your cup of coffee (or tea) and let’s do this!

Happy Wednesday friends! Being that Fall has already arrived and Halloween is next week (I seriously don’t know where the last month went!?), I thought I’d make a free wallpaper for you to pretty up those screens of yours. It always feels like the fall season goes by too quickly (they already have Christmas stuff out!) so I'm going to try and not wish it away and enjoy all the Fall feels for the next month!

Weekends are for doing all the Fall things!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous so we ventured out to get some pumpkins! In the past, we've gone to an actual patch (where you cut the ones you want off the vine) but this year we wanted to bring Bosco along, so we just hit up a few little roadside markets! I have two favorites that I love going to for baked goods and produce, and their pumpkin selection did not disappoint! We’re talking every type of pumpkin you could imagine, from tiny to giant and so many different color variations!

Can you believe that October is half way over? It's just starting to feel like Fall here in North Carolina.

Even though we're on a bit of spending freeze over here, I'm still crushin' on all sorts of warm and cozy things, both for me and for the home... and I really think that sweatshirt belongs in my closet!

And I can assure you, I would never spend $100 on a scarf. I can still admire though! ;)


Any items at the top of your wish list?

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Go shopping! No affiliate links used!
Throw Blanket • Face Mist • Coffee Mug • Serving Board • Sweatshirt
Scarf • Ring • Shoes • Vase

Since I'm trying to get back into this whole blogging thing, I thought it would be fun to do a slightly more personal post to get to know me better. I actually love reading these types of posts about other bloggers and learning about their quirks. So here’s 10 pretty random, light hearted facts about me:

01.
I took French for four years in high school and remember nothing! haha I would really love to try and learn it again!

02.
Disney movies are my favorite! Especially the classics, but even at 32, if it’s animated or has animals, grab the popcorn! And yes, I will tear up at the sad scenes.

03.
I'm also a sucker for the cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies.

04.
I didn’t start drinking coffee until my late 20s. My Nana came for a weekend visit and she needed her morning cup, so I went and bought a coffee maker and coffee. I blame her for my addiction.

It’s easy to fear the unknown and I'm one that will shy away from change.
Changes can be scary, but they also create the chance for new opportunities & happiness.

Words I will try to remember, even when this new path gets a little bumpy.

Change.

It was really that simple. I needed a fresh start.

I started blogging way back in 2010 as Creative Index. (If you made the jump from over there, thank you!) :) It was just a place to catalog my thoughts and connect with other creatives. There was no real thought behind the name and I definitely didn't think of it as a brand”... it was just my little corner of the web to ramble on and play with blog designs.

During one of my blogging ruts, I decided to open my Society6 shop. I had some prints I designed so I thought I would create an account and sell them to make some extra money! (If you’re unfamiliar, Society6 helps independent artists sell their work. S6 will print/ship items for you and you get a % of the sale.) I didn't have any real expectations and my first 3 months I only made $36! I thought about throwing in the towel, but I didn't. I just kept swimming ;)

Hello, hello!! You do not need to adjust your screen. I promise that you’re in the right place. The blogging hiatus is finally over!

Welcome to Union Shore! My new online space for all things creative, inspiring & fun! I took a long blogging break last year I finally feel like I'm ready to try again! Creative Index had a good run (almost 6 years!), but I'm honestly ready to put it in the past. I thought long and hard about changing the name and it’s something I believe my heart and business needed. (more on the re-brand coming soon)