A Home for the Holidays

This post is a little overdue.

Originally, I wanted to share some holiday recipes suitable for family coming “Home for the Holidays”, but then my Stella passed right before Thanksgiving and the past few weeks have been a blur. Today I want to share with you my house guests this holiday season, instead!

Backstory: In the deep, dark hole of mourning,  I was contacted by The Cavalier Rescue about two weeks ago. Two giant fluff monster blenheims were being surrendered to rescue and with the holidays approaching, the list of available foster homes was quite sparse. The list of available foster homes willing to take in an extremely bonded pair was practically non-existent. Knowing my broken-hearted status, they thought that it might be a nice distraction from the absence Stella left behind when the holidays would surely make me sad and….. they were desperate for a foster home.

I agreed to give it a whirl and drove to Mississippi to secure and provide a warm and cozy home for Farrah and Darling this holiday season. Their journey would cross several states getting them from Georgia to Alabama for vetting and then to me in Louisiana. Rescue is quite literally the best thing to happen to these girls.

Overbred and overfed, these girls have some issues that they’ll need to work through before they’re available for adoption. While both need to lose a significant amount of weight, Darling, the chubbier of the two required a mesh implant during her spay due to multiple, multiple c-sections. Farrah had an umbilical hernia repair during her spay. She also has a blown ACL, an old injury that will need to be monitored once she’s lost some weight in terms of whether or not surgery is necessary. They also came to me with UTIs and ear infections, so yay me.

Despite their laundry list of health issues, you won’t meet a more darling pair of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. We’ve been calling them “the love sponges” because they are seriously soaking up every bit of affection you will allow. And while they don’t replace the memory of my beloved Stella, they’ve kept me from wallowing in my sorrow on a daily basis.

I thought it more appropriate to share them with you rather than a recipe….to me, they are a true meaning of a home for the holidays.

In honor of their temporary stay, I hired a Santa to come to my house.

And before you think I’m entirely insane, every year, the Knights of Columbus at my in-law’s church do Santa sessions for a modest donation. So yes, “Santa” is also my father in law! I get all the photos my little heart desires and the church gets much-needed resources to continue to serve the community.

 Between the Stella sadness and my husband heading out of town for the LSU bowl game at the end of the month, I had already decided not to put my giant Christmas tree up this year.  It always seems like a ton of work to take down and by not putting up the tree it would allow for a slower, more minimalist approach to Christmas.

Without the tree, though, I’d need to figure out where to plop Santa. My mantle would play double duty this year and surprisingly, I’m in love with the simplicity. And, I don’t have to worry about the girls going potty on my tree skirt….because there isn’t one!

My Charlie Brown trees were added so I wouldn’t be completely treeless and the polka dotted throw blanket (both from Wayfair) provided just enough colorful pop of holiday happiness without being in your face Christmas decor.

You’ll likely see that throw blanket again for Valentine’s Day, too.

I’m so pleased with how well the girls posed with Santa and having him here provided the perfect opportunity for them to ask for a home of their very own.

And, because they’re not called the “Kissing Cavaliers” for nothing, they did not disappoint.

These girls are seriously the most ridiculously adorable pups and they will make a wonderful addition to any family once they’re available for adoption.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry KISSmas.

PS: My trio also got in on the Santa Paws action. Because, duh.

Milo (6), Murphy (5) and Tucker (9).