Leather Dogs

Time for another Etsy find.  Leather Prince designs and creates these fun little key chains and coin purses. All handmade by a husband and wife team living in Taiwan....but they ship everywhere, so shop till your hearts content. At $17.50 for the key chains, they make an affordable and unique gift! They also have iphone holders (shown below) priced at $37.50.

...and they even do kitties....

My Little Studio

Happy Monday and Tuesday everyone. I hope you all had a very happy and safe 4th of July. My weekend was spent at an All-Star girl's softball game, a birthday party, and a night at home with friends and cheap sparklers. (They just don't make them like they used to)!

I was taking photos of my studio recently for a magazine submission and thought, why don't I share the pics with you guys?...give you a look-see into my little studio where I spend my days. I know it's going to look horribly cluttered to some of you, but all those things in there help keep me creative and smiling while I work. I have stuff from my travels, family items, vintage pieces, and artwork from some of my favorite Estians. If anyone spots something and wants to know where I got it, just send me an email or leave a comment here.

Have a great week and do a little "moon-walk" tomorrow in honor of Michael Jackson. Whatever you may think of him, you gotta admit he was tremendously talented. He brings back the best memories of growing up for me...of my bestfriend Regina trying to teach me to dance to the Jackson 5's music! If it weren't for her and Michael, I would have no rhythm today!

Mary Ann

Happy 4th of July--Keep Your Dogs Safe!

Since our yellow lab, Jasmine, has been such a great sport this past month (new puppies can be really trying for the "top dog"), I decided to hand over the writing reins to her today. Happy 4th! Ellen

Fireworks...Humans Love 'Em, Dogs Hate 'Em
This is my sixth year celebrating the 4th of July and I have to confess, it's not my favorite holiday. Yes, the flag bandana is nice and all, but the noise this holiday generates is more than a bit painful for me. You see, a dog's hearing is 10 times more sensitive than a human's. All those fireworks blasting away tend to sound like cannons going off in our ears. But we dogs understand...humans love fireworks and since we love our humans, here are three tips to help us get through this noisy weekend.

1) Leave Us at Home. I know, you've been working a lot and naturally want to spend more time with us this holiday weekend. Please resist the inclination to bring us to your local fireworks display. We won't mind if you leave us at home. Just trust me on this one...
2) Don't Lock Us in the Hot Car. This should be common sense, but I can't tell you how many well-intentioned humans have opted to leave their dogs in the car in order to save them from the stress of a fireworks display. Dogs can die within minutes, even with the windows cracked. So follow the first rule and we'll all be OK...
3) Keep Us Indoors. Like I said, we don't like the noise of fireworks. It hurts our ears and stresses us out. If we are left outside, even in a fenced-in yard, we may freak out and run away. For those of us who might get destructive, consider putting us in a crate or room where we can't hurt anything. Leave a radio or TV on to help us remain calm.

For more details on keeping dogs safe on the 4th of July, check out what the Dog Channel has to say. Oh, and one more thing... I know my feline brother, Kit Kat, doesn't like to admit fear of any kind, but cats don't like fireworks any more than dogs, so keep them inside this weekend. Have a safe July 4th weekend! Jasmine

YUM!

My first tomatoes of the season!

And Buddy, the next door neighbor, is trying to break in and steal them!

Mary Ann

Hope for Paws

A couple of weeks ago I came across a really fun blog called the Bedlam of Beefy.  If you want to smile on this monday morning, please visit him over at his site. Uncle Beefy, the author of this wonderfully quirky and fun blog wrote a story about a group called Hope for Paws. This wonderful couple has created an organization that is helping all kinds of animals find hope. The majority of their rescues are dogs and this is one of those stories: 

From Eldad & Audrey Hagar's Flickr page:

"We rescued Bradley from the Shelter last night, and today I took him to a neurologist. The doctor has only sad news for Bradley...

We agreed he should go to sleep and not suffer this severe hydrocephalus. (as you can see, his head is weirdly shaped due to a lot of fluids in his head/brain.) I didn't want to let him go yet, so from the vet I took Bradley to the beach, I sat with him, played with him, and I fed him many cheeseburgers and fried chicken. We sat there for two hours, and after that I took him to the vet's office right on the beach, and he went to sleep forever :-(

It was such a sad day...I cried like a baby for this little guy. Even now when I am typing these words, tears are coming to my eyes..."

If you are interested in reading more about their organization and even possibly helping Eldad & Audrey Hagar continue their rescue and humane work, please go to their website and think about buying their book "Hope for Paws." It's only $9.95 and all of the money goes towards their efforts to care for our animal friends. The book has a 100 pages of full color photos and stories of some of the many rescues that have come into their lives. And I can attest to the fact that the stories will make you smile, laugh, and sometimes cry. 

Mary Ann

Take Your Dog to Work Day

For those lucky souls who work out of their homes like Mary Ann and me, every day is Take Your Dog to Work Day®. But on Friday, June 26, everyone else is encouraged to bring their pooch to work to celebrate the 11th annual Take Your Dog to Work Day ®. Created by Pet Sitters International (PSI) in 1999, TYDTWDay® is designed to encourage people to adopt dogs from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs as well as to show what great companions dogs make.

The TYDTWDay® website is chock-full of information ranging from 10 Ways to Celebrate the Event to how to Win Over Your Boss. The 7 Rules for Success section includes tips like checking beforehand to see if any co-workers have pet allergies, puppy-proofing your workspace and making sure you have an exit strategy if your dog becomes nervous or withdrawn. In addition, you'll find a Pet Photo Contest and cool trivia about dogs scattered throughout the site.

So even if you can't take your dog to work this Friday, be sure to give him or her a little extra TLC that day. After all, dogs are truly our best friends! Ellen
Photo via iStockphoto

Fresh Peas from the Garden

I finally have some veggies from my garden that are ready to be eaten and my peas were the first to make it to dinner. I have to say there is nothing better than fresh fruit or vegetables plucked right off the vine or pulled up from the ground. Until I ate my first home-grown tomato, you couldn't get me near one! But now, a little coarse salt is all I need to consume one faster than you can say "dog." 

So far this season we've had blackberries, strawberries, lemons, leeks, chives, and even cauliflower (although that was mistakenly purchased instead of broccoli.) I also have a whole bunch of herbs that grow throughout the year. And although my gardening has taken a back seat the last couple of years, I still love to get out and play in the dirt. You can work off a lot of stress in a garden! And then there is that added benefit of yummy food!

These peas ended up in a pasta dish I made last weekend. I cooked some orzo pasta, chopped up some parsley, added aged gouda, parmesean, and even a little goat cheese, butter (oh so bad, but oh so tasty,) and some salt and pepper. The mint is only for looks....I really don't understand that traditional combination of mint and peas...but it looks good in photos!

Mary Ann