Ender's first birthday is the day before Thanksgiving, so we thought we'd throw him a party a little early and avoid the holiday craziness in everyone's schedules. We joke that we didn't have any friends in Charlotte until we got a dog, and even though it sounds ridiculous, it's actually true--so it was fitting that our Charlotte best friends and their pups all came over for an afternoon of treats and celebration.

We decided on a circus theme, so I ordered some decorations from this suite on Minted--I dreamed that the dogs would wear the paper crowns but kept realistically low expectations, and I was totally surprised by how easily they wore them. Like me, they'll do almost anything for popcorn.

It was so funny and cute and everything worked out exactly the way I hoped it would. I'm about to share a ton of photos with you, so before I get into that I thought I'd list the party details, because I'm still giggling about all of them:

• Puppy Party invitations that I addressed to each dog.
• Decorations from the suite I linked to above: Bunting Banner, Circle Garlands, Table Signs, Cupcake Toppers, Party Crowns, and Mini Notecard Favors.
• Dog birthday cake from Canine Cafe in Charotte. We got the peanut butter banana flavor because the woman who runs the place said it was "paws down the favorite." I also grabbed a few freshly baked dog biscuits while I was picking up the cake and put them in little cellophane bags with blue ribbon as party favors.
• Champagne cocktails with cotton candy.
• Circus-themed snacks included hot dogs, popcorn, salted peanuts in the shell, and cupcakes.
• The other drinks I got were chosen strictly based on how much their labels made me feel like I was at the circus: Not Your Father's Root Beer in bottles and a bunch of PBR in cans.

This post is brought to you in partnership with Minted.

Photos by Rémy Thurston for Freckled Italian.

I'm a big fan of crock pot dinners because they make me feel really productive in just a couple of minutes: throw some stuff in there, turn it on, and check something off your to-do list. You only need a few ingredients for this one, which we just ate straight up in a bowl with a couple of toppings, but you could throw it over rice or make tacos out of it, too.

I wanted to call this one Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas, but I think fajitas need a lot of butter and a really hot skillet, so we're calling it "Crock Pot Mexcian Chicken." It's delicious, and really pretty when topped with some avocado and a wedge of lime.

Ingredients: 

• 1-1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons (or one of those little envelopes) taco seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Toppings: more onion, sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, lime wedges

Instructions: 

1. Place vegetables at the bottom of your crock pot. 
2. Layer chicken on top and season with taco seasoning. Turn the chicken over and repeat.
3. Turn crock pot on to high for 3 hours. 
4. After time is up, remove chicken and shred or chop. Put it back in the crock pot and keep warm until serving.

Do you have any travels planned over the next few months? 

I'm excited that we don't have anywhere to be until mid-December, but after that we're going on a little vacation to Miami and Key West in February! I've never been to either place yet, so if you have any recommendations or favorite spots, I'd love to hear them.

What have you been watching and/or reading lately? 

I am pretty deep into a binge of Grey's Anatomy this fall. I've only seen through season 4 so things are starting to get new for me, even though I've seen pretty much every spoiler out there, which is making me wonder why I'm even putting myself through all of these emotions is almost everyone is going to end up dead by the end. Every fall I end up really obsessed with a show--last year was Gilmore Girls, which is just so perfect for autumn.

I haven't been reading too much but I have a list of things I want to get through this fall/winter: A Moveable Feast, This Side of Paradise, and a lot of poetry by Mary Oliver. There are so many books out there that I'm halfway through, I'd like to finish all of those before January.

How do you shake off a blogging slump? 

I used to have an answer for this one but lately I'm not so sure! Even when I post regularly and I'm happy with the content I'm sharing, I always feel a little "slumpy," like I could be doing a lot more, and better. I think my best advice for any kind of slump, whether it be writing or blogging or whatever, is to temporarily lower your standards. It sounds bad, but sometimes just getting something out is better than waiting for everything to be perfect. Because most of the time, things aren't going to be perfect.

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Now it's your turn--I want to know about your travels and Netflix habits! And if you have more questions, let me know and I'll include them in my next Q+A post.

Photo by Sarah Gatrell.