Here are a few inspirational things that came across this week and I just had to share them!  Enjoy…

Hitchcock-inspired embroidery found on What, No Mints?

Reupholstered couch that’s kid and pet friendly?!  Yes ma’am!  From A Bit of Sunshine.

What’s better than adorable photos of sweet lil animals?! NOTHING!  Absolutely nothing!  I found a write up on Sharon Montrose on Shrimp Salad Circus and instanly fell in love with Sharon’s work.  She truely is a talented woman.  Vist both Sharon’s site and Shrimp Salad Circus for some more insite.

Hand-stitched Place cards – Christina Williams shows you that they are easier to make than you might think…

Happy Friday!  I love photography and all that goes with it.  I’m always snapping new shots of whatever throughout the week and thought to myself, why not share them?!  So, I decided to create {photo friday} to share what I’ve captured.  I’m so excited to see everything compiled in one place.  Let’s see where it goes.  Well, enough chit chat, enjoy…

Clockwise: sweet little fox that I saw in my mom’s neighborhood; Starbucks sign while visiting with a gal pal; My lil bro assisting in making fresh mozzarella at Johnson & Wales; My newest haircut – I love it!; Frankie and Tucker at the dog park for Frankie, Angel and Dimitri’s 3rd Birthday; a butterfly bouquet that my hubby, Ron, surprised me with.

I just love anything homemade and I love when you can make things for your pets, too!  Like me, I’m sure your pets are an extremely important part of your family, so why not treat them to something special like this?!  Our little Tucker Bean is turning 1 year old on Saturday and I was thinking of inviting everyone and their canine friends to the dog park for a little get-together!  Wouldn’t these treats be great in little ‘doggie bags?’ We celebrated Frankie, Angel and Dimitri’s 1 year birthday last year with a shindig at our place, so we thought we’d mix it up this year.
You can find the complete recipe and instructions over at Shared Sugar.  My mom and I simply love that site, because they share all sorts of yummies for everyone!  When you get a moment, browse their site and see what you can bake up tonight!  Enjoy!

Cpl. Molly, the Marines Mascot of 7 years, is retiring and letting 7 month old Pvt. Belleau Wood step in.

{Molly the mascot of Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego}

{Belleau Wood (left) the new mascot of Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (Molly Right)}

This is a tradition that goes back to 1939 with an English bulldog named James Jolly Plum Duff.  Belleau, this little “bundle of bounce,” was named after a World War I battle in France, and is already showing signs of that Marine Corps grit. ” ‘She’s really hardheaded on certain stuff,’ said Cpl. Shawn Dickens, her Marine handler.  For instance, ‘sit’ is solid. ‘Stay,’ well, that’s another tale.”  As for Molly, she will live her retirement in Texas with a Marine officer.

Happy Veterans’ Day to everyone and thank you to all of our brave troops for defending our country with pride.  We love you all and hope you all come home soon!  To my great friend, Sgt. Matthew Grogan, please be safe and we’ll see you for the Holidays!

Information gathered from Signon San Diego and The Poodle (and dog) Blog

I was talking on the phone with my mom last night and she was telling me about something she had seen on TV about healthy dog treats.  She had told me that you can give dogs green beans, peas, carrots, and even bananas!  This got me thinking more on the topic of healthy dogs & treats at home.  I found some great sites with recipes and tips to keep your dog fit and healthy.  These recipes would be a great activity to do indoors this winter with the kids!  Enjoy!

**Oh!  Before I forget, it is very very very important to remember to never ever give dogs grapes or raisins because they could be fatal!!!  Chocolate can also be fatal and you should never give dogs real bones, because they can splinter and your dog could choke!  Alcohol and hops are bad for dogs too, so don’t share that beer with them!**

Paw Rescue {A great list of food warnings and kitchen safety for your pets.  This site also has a great list of toxic foods too!!  Please take a moment at read}
*Toxic Foods and items for you dogs and cats (and other animals):
Fatty foods, chocolate, grapes, raisins, real bones (because of splinters), alcohol, bread dough, milk, salt, salty pork products, organ meat, tuna can be bad for cats hearts (I had no idea), avocado, tomatoes, nuts, rhubarb, onions, citrus fruits, too much soy is bad, caffeine, cough medicine, cigarettes (don’t smoke around them or leave your butts on the ground to be eaten, sponges (they like to chew them), self cleaning ovens let off toxic chemicals to any animal and may be very harmful to dogs/cats/birds/etc., and don’t let your dog drink from the toilet because if the germs don’t make your dog sick the chemicals will.

Dog Treat Cookbooks {Recipes for dog treats}
Bull Wrinkle {Recipes for dog treats}
Banana Carrot Muffin Dog Treats {A great recipe good enough for you to eat!  It has carrots and honey in the mix!}
Fruits and Veggies That Are Good For Your Dog {A list of fruits and vegetables that your dog can eat!  Just remember to cut up all fruits and veggies into bite-sized pieces so your dog doesn’t choke!!!}
The Real Owner {Explains the health benefits of veggies for dogs}

If you find any other great sites with animal recipes and/ or safety tips, please share with us in the comments section!  Thanks!

Here is a picture of my little Tucker Bean the day he came home from getting neutered (August 2009).  I felt so bad for taking him, but it was the responsible thing to do. I gave him a little scrap quilt that I made, and now him and Frankie Li fight over it every night before bed.

Ok, so my husband and I went on a small road trip last weekend to Fairplay, Colorado and we took our two Blue Heeler pups along for the ride.  Well, our youngest pup, Tucker Bean, gets car/motion sickness really bad.  I made sure not to feed him right before the trip and I purchased some Anxiety Reducer for Travel (I liked the kind in the tube vs. the tablet, Tucker just liked it off my finger and loved it!) from Petco thinking we would be okay.  All of a sudden Tucker starts drooling everywhere and pacing.  Then he begins to poo as he’s pacing!  My husband, Ron, had to pull over IMMEDIATELY without crashing.  We opened the back of our Jeep Liberty to find that Frankie Li, our 1 year old pup, had just stepped in her brother’s poo!  There we are on the side of the highway with a handful of tissues to clean the mess and nothing else!  We did the best we could and drove to a gas station so we could finish the cleanup and wash our hands. I ALWAYS have a bottle of hand sanitizer, but I switched purses and didn’t bring it along. When we opened the back of the Jeep again, we found that Tucker had vomited all over the back! Right then and there I said, “I’m creating a doggie car kit!”  This is what I put in mine:

1. Doggie Toys to keep your pups busy on long trips like these Boots & Barkley from Target
2. Lint Roller like this one from Scotch
3. Hand Sanitizer I thought I’d try this spray kind from Target
4. Tissues, paper towels (I like Viva because their super soft and absorbant), napkins
5. Antibacterial wipes to clean your hands or the inside of your car
6. Doggie bones for your pooch to nibble on like these ones from Pedigree
   
7. Towels, wash cloths, or Chickiedee’s absorbant burp cloths (I use them for Tucker’s drooling in the car)
8. Pet Carpet & Upholstery cleaner.  I like Odoban because it smells fabulous and you don’t have to wait 5 minutes before you wipe up the mess.  I purchased an empty travel spray bottle and filled it with the Odoban Carpet & Upholstery cleaner and added it to my kit.

Some other things in my doggie car kit are: doggie poo bags, plastic grocery sacks for trash and clean-up, puppy-potty mats to lay down wherever your pup is in the car, and a doggie water bowl with a water bottle of fresh water for your pup to drink.  All of this can be put into a small bag or box of any kind that you have laying around the house.

I hope that you will find this useful and never end up unprepares like we were!

I stumbled upon this blog post on the b-line this morning and thought that many of you would love it as much as I do!  It’s a DIY pet pouch that you can make and attach to your pups collar to hold things like your house key, a doggy-poo bag, etc. so you don’t have to carry it if you don’t have pockets.  I’m sure you can alter the size a tad to fit your lifestyle.  I don’t recommend ever putting a cell phone in a pouch around your dogs neck though.  It could be terrifying if it rang or vibrated while attached to them!  We don’t want our puppy-pals to be stressed out!  I think this is a fab project and it doesn’t seem to take much time at all. To make it a Green project, use some scrap fabric that you have laying around.  For example, an old t-shirt or old pair of funky PJ pants.

Tucker Bean

So, I have a super funny story to share with all of you!  My 4 1/2 month old puppy, Tucker Bean (above), just managed to open and empty a 9 Fl. Oz. bottle of Cat Nip!!!  Unsure of how much he ingested, I immediately grabbed the bottle to read the warning label… to my surprise there was none.  So I called the number on the back of the bottle and a kind woman answered.  I told her that I didn’t know how much he might have ingested, but I made him drink a lot of water to hopefully flush it out.  She gently responded by saying not to worry; Cat Nip is actually in the Mint family and it is not toxic or harmful.  The only thing is that he will be hyper for awhile.  When I said thank you and got off of the phone, I thought to myself, “Oh dear, he is already bouncing off the walls and now Cat Nip is added to the mix?!”  Needless to say this makes for an interesting afternoon…

I wanted to share this with you all because even if you think something is non-toxic for your pet or child, call and ask anyway.  It’s ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry!

Hey all!  This is a great link:   JULY FOURTH SAFETY CHECKLIST FROM HWAC you should check it out to ensure the safety and happiness of your animal friends this 4th of July!!!