gift of caramels

I post a lot about making caramels and my experiments with caramels. I've been looking for ways to package them a little nicer, so when I took some down to my dad as  gift, this is what I came up with.

There is a mix of chocolate covered caramels and shortbread caramels (topped in chocolate) in the box. I've been told that I should try selling them, so there will probably be more experimentation in packaging!

a dog on the road - packing

I promised an update on how taking Grizzly with us to Illinois went, so here's part 1!

Obstacle 1: We had to pack all the dog's stuff

This wasn't as much of a pain as I thought it would be, honestly. I mean, we did take his bed, his food, his bowls, and two leashes, but it wasn't that much. At home, his food is conveniently stored in a medium plastic bin, so it was pretty easy to pick up and take, and we were able to fit his leashes in there as well.

a dog on the road - intro

So, I mentioned in a previous post that we decided to take Grizzly with us on our road trip to IL. This meant 3 big obstacles.

1. We had to pack all the dog's stuff.

    

2. We needed to figure out how to keep him contained in the car.

3. Grizzly needed to behave in a hotel room

To keep this from being the longest post ever, I'll write about each big thing separately over the next few days. :)

trip to IL

 One of the things that's a real bummer about living far away from our families is that we don't get to see them very often due to the 1000 miles in between us. The other bummer is that when we do go visit, the prep work can be kind of a pain!

I am the over-planning type, so I like to make lists and pre-pack everything that I can. We will be in Illinois for nine days...that's a lot of packing!

I have posted before about how I want to get away from wearing jeans and t-shirts everyday, so that makes packing to go anywhere a little harder. I can't just throw nine t-shirts in my bag and call that good!!

The weather in Illinois is also completely different than it is here...hot and humid in the summer...all the time.

To add another element to the packing - I have the ability to work remotely, so I will be doing that the first couple days we are in Illinois, to minimize the amount of vacation days I have to take. This means I have to bring my laptop, as well as a couple other things I need to be able to work remotely.

We have also decided to take Grizzly with us to IL, so we'll have to make sure we pack everything he needs!

On a lighter note, I can't wait to see my family! I haven't seen a lot of them since August!