A Very Busy Celebratory Weekend

First I have to say that today is something of a sad day.  It would have been Tubby's 15th  birthday

We were blessed to get 14 years with him but of course we miss him everyday.  Tubby was my first dog and my husband and I received him as a wedding gift from my Dad, who passed away just over 4 years ago.    Tubby was a very special dog and if it weren't for him I certainly wouldn't be the dog lover I am today.  However, despite the sadness of this day, this is a happy post, which is appropriate because Tubby was a very happy boy.    I also apologize because this is a loooong post.   We had a big weekend this past week and I have lots of stuff to share.  

Friday night we went out for a dinner to celebrate my 38th birthday a day early ( I still can't believe Im 38 where did the time go!)  We went to Top's Diner and Newark which is an amazing retro diner and pretty famous.  It was voted best Diner in New Jersey and New Jersey has more diners then any other state.

I ate this! (texas fries) and a milk shake.  

Saturday morning we went for a walk with the dogs.  This was pretty much the hilight of the day because Ping came along and walked better then she has in months!  Every since her dental she is a like a new dog.

  I decided it was Easter all weekend so I dressed up in a 1940s style dress from Hey Day Vintage and a 1940s hat from Fab Gabs.  The same outfit I wore last Easter Sunday.

I wanted to go thrift shopping so we went to Unique Thrift pretty much the only decent  thrift store near our home. 

 Sadly we didn't find anything that great.  I did get a souvenir state plate and a small pyrex for five bucks.

We got our first bubble teas of Spring too.  I love bubble tea.

When we got home the dogs had fun playing in the yard

While the cats snoopervised my making the hash brown casserole for Easter breakfast.  Spot was particularly interested.

I was very lucky and my fabulous husband gave me the best birthday gifts ever, all Star Trek stuff from my Amazon wish list.  I got two commemorative plates ( and there vintage from the early 1980s)

I was especially excited that the books came with certificates of authenticity.  Those crack me up:

Two books: Fun With Kirk and Spock, which is hilarious, and the Star Trek Visual Dictionary.   

I also got a Captain Kirk wine bottle stopper which is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

We had Sushi for dinner and we ate the Lays Wasabi chips I've been saving for a month.  They are so hard to find but delicious:

And it goes without saying we watched Star Trek.  As  if all this wasn't enough I got this brownie and peanut butter ice cream cake from Milk Sugar Love

Proof I have the best husband every.

All that was only Saturday.  On Sunday we gave the dogs and cats their Easter baskets:

They got a ton of treats because one of our favorite Pet shops, Canis Minor, closed and had a going out of business sale (sniff) and a lamb chop toy thats nearly as big as Bob.

Spot was the only cat interested in the Easter basket.

 He also had fun cleaning out the remains of the hash brown casserole after we transfered it to a tupper ware.

Then we got dressed for one of my favorite events of the year the New York City Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival on 5th Ave., the very same parade made famous in the Fred Astaire and Judy Garland musical.

I wore a light green 1930s dress and a hat from Lady Eve's Millinery, the same outfit I wore to last years Jazz Age Lawn Party.  It's one of my favorite outfits and its hard to find events to wear it too but its perfect for the Easter Parade.

The dogs all had costumes from Pug Possessed.  Weasley had a Fred Astaire style top hat.

Ping had an Easter bonnet.

and Fry and Tuvok had bunny suits 

The parade is super crowded and we new it be too much for Bob who has never been comfortable with strangers.   We did take a cute picture of him in bunny ears before we left.

The parade was really amazing.  If you ever want to know what it is like to be a celebrity at a movie premier dress your dogs in Deb's Pug Possessed outfits and go to the Easter Parade.  Tons of people took their picture and everyone said how cute they where.  The craziness started as soon as we got out of the car.  The Halal cart men, those are street food carts that sell Middle Eastern meat, where greatly amused by the dogs outfits and it escalated from there.

Honestly these pictures really don't give a good idea of how many people where taking their picture, it was insane.  

In particular there where a lot of kids at the parade who loved seeing the dogs in their costumes which was very sweet.

This adorable little boy was giving out flowers and was very excited to give one to Ping.

Weasley in particular really basked in the attention

Tuvok was a tiny bit shy and wanted to be carried the whole time, at one point he even started to fall asleep, which is crazy considering the noise and crowds.   

We saw a few other dogs but not as many as I expected.  There was a 17 year old chihuahua

A very well dressed Shih Tzu

and a French Bulldog puppy

Of course there were tons of amazing hats

One big hilight was me was that this supremely stylish lady, the one of the right, from the blog Idiosynchractic Fashionistas complimented me on my hat.
I have long admired her style so I was very flattered.  

It was such a fun day I can't wait to return next year.  I hope everyone else had a fabulous Easter weekend!