Doodle Snapshots: Goodbye Breaking Bad

Where are all my Breaking Bad fans out there?
Michael and I said goodbye in Style. We enjoyed yummy Heisenberg-ers ;) and a Breaking Bad inspired cocktail recipe from A Beautiful Mess. 
Dusty is loving the cooler weather lately. He is so happy hanging out on the patio!

xoxo 

Emily

September in Instagrams

Follow A Doodle Dose on Instagram!

Wow Can't believe it is already October 1st tomorrow! Happy one month BLOG-IVERSARY to A Doodle Dose! YAY! October is already jam packed with exciting adventures! To kick off this month we have visitors staying with us for the rest of the week. Traveling from all over, Germany, Georgia and even Michigan. We are excited to catch up with good friends and finally enjoy Michael's homemade beer! On the 13th Michael and I are celebrating our 5 YEAR anniversary with a trip to the Mountains for the fall colors. I am so excited! October is going to be a great month!

xoxo

Emily

Cinnamon Pumpkin Dog Treats

This week at our house we are getting in the mood for fall! Bring on pumpkin EVERYTHING! We have been enjoying yummy treats like pumpkin coffee syrup and pumpkin french toast, so why not share the pumpkin goodness with Dusty too!

I did a little Pinterest research and found all kinds of recipes for pumpkin flavored dog treats. After looking at a bunch of recipes I mixed up my own little concoction.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil 
• 1 Tbs. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. cinnamon (Fun fact: Cinnamon helps fight off infections. Dusty has allergies and gets ear infections all the time, I read here that cinnamon should help.)

Heat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together until dough forms. Spread on a floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick, cut with cookie cutters. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Dusty wasn't the only one who got to enjoy these tasty treats. They made our house smell so good that Michael and I were tempted to have a taste as well! :)

xoxo 

Emily

Doodle Snapshots: Falling for Fall

Happy fall!

Around here we are falling for fall. Lavender Iced Coffee, pumpkin french toast and autumn decorating is our life lately! Michael and I are on such strange work schedules that breakfast is usually the only meal we can enjoy together so we make it count. Hope you all had a good weekend, I have some fun things to share this week! :)

xoxo 

Emily

Teach Your Dog to "Say Cheese!"

By no means am I a professional photographer, but as you can see I really enjoy taking pictures. If you follow me on Instagram you will quickly realize, I am a crazy lady who posts way too many pictures of her dog. People tell me all the time how my dog Dusty is extremely photogenic and they are amazed how he actually looks at the camera. Let me tell you a little secret... he doesn't do that on his own, I trained him to "Say Cheese!". You can teach your dog to do the same!

Before you can teach your dog to "Say Cheese!" he/she should know a few basic commands. Sit and stay are the two I personally use the most for pictures. Down is another good one if you want your dog to look more relaxed. You can have your dog pose however you would like, sometimes I like to get fancy and tell Dusty to roll over, rest his head, hold something in his mouth or do other tricks he knows. This makes the picture look and feel more natural.

For example in this picture I gave Dusty the command "Paws Up".

Once your dog can pose on command it's time to bring out the treats(if you haven't already!). Anything works it doesn't necessarily need to be cheese. I give dusty store bought treats, homemade treats, cheese, and sometimes even cut up hot dogs. Every time Dusty gets a treat I say the word "Cheese" out loud. You can use any word you like, whatever works best for you and your dog. Eventually your dog will associate the word "cheese" as a reward for good behavior and they will do anything to get a treat!

Now when you are taking a family picture and the photographer tells everybody to "Say Cheese!" your dog will gladly look at the camera. It's that easy!

1. Pose
2. Say Cheese
3. Snap away!

Get creative and have fun! Your dog will do anything for a treat, so take advantage of that. In this picture you can see how I put a treat inside the flower to make it look like Dusty was smelling the flower.

You can try actions shots as well!

Can't wait to see all the pictures of your favorite furry friends!

xoxo

Emily

Doodle Snapshots

Every Monday I share a peak into our lives with silly photos!


Here is Dusty goofing around on one of our walks!

Yesterday Michael and I went to Treehouse Vineyards. Our first sort of date in forever! It was a last minute decision, but a great one! We had a blast.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xoxo 

Emily

Doodle Days: Reedy Creek Park

Michael chose the adventure this week, Reedy Creek Park. We took one of the trails around the nature center and then let Dusty play in the dog park for a little while. It was a cute place, SUPER busy! We are having fun just driving to all these parks around Charlotte. Gives us a chance just to see the different neighborhoods and even restaurants we want to try!

xoxo 

Emily

Doodle Snapshots

Snapshots of our life lately. Nothing fancy, we are working on saving money so leisurely walks with Dusty are usually the highlight of our day. But hey that just gives me more time to get this whole blog thing rolling! Exploring the city! We went to Romare Bearden Park, Charlotte's newest park as of Labor Day weekend 
Coffee Dates

Dusty loves to lounge around in the sunshine

On Sunday nights we are major couch potatoes, we watch Breaking Bad and Dexter!

I think I was having more fun than Dusty with bath time!

Also not pictured, found an awesome Mexican restaurant called La Unica! It was delicious! We are always on the hunt for authentic Mexican food, it's our favorite.

Hope you all had an awesome weekend!

xoxo

Emily

Doodle Days: Freedom Park

I decided to start a new weekly ritual with Michael and Dusty this month. Being fairly new to Charlotte there is a lot we still want to see. Each week we are going to choose a park that we have never been to and explore! This will give us a chance to get to know the area even more and BONUS Dusty gets to come with us! 

This week we chose Freedom Park. Loved it!


Do you have any new rituals planned for September?

xoxo

Emily

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Happy Labor Day weekend! I can't believe it is already September, summer just flew right by. I am excited for fall to come though. Ready for scarves, pumpkin spice lattes, and Dusty is looking forward to more walks. It has been so hot lately that we can barely take him on walks, he has so much fur that he overheats!

But September is looking awesome! I can't wait to share all of our adventures with you this month. Enjoy the long weekend! 

xoxo

Emily

There is a first for everything… My first BLOG post!

First things first, let me tell you a little bit about myself! My name is Emily, I currently live in Charlotte, North Carolina with my boyfriend Michael and my Goldendoodle Dusty. We just moved here in May this year. I grew up in Michigan and lived in the same house my entire life with my BIG family. I have three sisters and one brother along with eight of the craziest nieces and nephews I could ask for! I am the youngest of my siblings and my oldest nephew was born when I was just six years old. I love being an aunt and holidays when my entire family can be together are my favorite!

I have always been a creative person and I thank both my parents for introducing me to so many of my creative hobbies. My dad has a passion for photography and I learned mostly everything I know about photography from him. Growing up my mom was always sewing, knitting or crafting the latest trend and I loved helping her. A creative mind led me to my career as a hairdresser! I love to inspire people and make them feel beautiful. 

My current hobbies include photography, cooking, traveling, making crafts, training my doodle Dusty and now BLOGGING! I decided to start this blog after we moved. I have always want to be a blogger but never really knew what I would write about. After moving I realized that I was experiencing so many new things for the first time and I wanted to share my stories! 

Most of the things I enjoy doing are things Dusty can do with me. So that is what A Doodle Dose is all about. The adventures and first time experiences I have with Dusty in our new city, Charlotte!

Here are a few photos from of our favorite “Firsts” so far this year! 

First time moving

Our first place

First hike up Grandfather Mountain

Dusty's first adventure to the ocean!

xoxo
Emily