Dog-A-Holics Anonymous

Hello from Chicago! Dan and I are here this weekend visiting friends. A whirlwind trip through the Windy City and we're going to have a great time.

Just a quick post to show you this very fun and practical tote bag I found on Dog-A-Holics. Yes, by now you should all know that I am and most likely will always be a very true and unashamed dog-a-holic.

This simple canvas tote features some of the best dog parks in Chicago. The bags are also available with dog parks in New York and Los Angeles. How cool are these!

Notes On Cute

Dan just emailed me this short note: "Gus just climbed onto the couch and spooned Charly. It was beyond cute." Man o' man do I wish I had been home to see that! I'm telling you, these dogs are amazing. One minute they're tackling each other to the death, and the next minute they're spooning!!

These sofa pillows from KarenHilton Designs are SOOOOOOO great. The bright colors and bold designs are really edgy, but at the same time totally cute.

Paris Je T'aime

Gus did the most amazing thing yesterday... He and Charly had been wrestling for about a full uninterrupted 15 minutes, with Charly losing the whole time, when Gus all of a sudden rolled over in absolute defeat, letting Charly have at him. It was remarkable to watch such a powerful dog, a pitbull that could easily snap his little brother's hind legs in two, let the little one win.

We live in a town house and the association probably wouldn't let us put this super frenchy plaque above our house number. But I love this sign and the nostalgia it brings back for Paris. Check out The French Number Company and all of their authentic signs and plaques.

I'll Take The Fancy Feast Instead

Jenna from The Lemonade Stand stopped by House and Hound yesterday and gave us a heads up: they've got some hilarious doggie placemats for sale!

If you don't own a dog you may think placemats for pups are ridiculous and useless, but let me tell you... they are essential. If you've ever watched Gus eat or drink, you know why. No matter what, he manages to get food and water all over the floor. Somehow a placemat helps keep it under control.

Downward Dog

Dan's mother sent me this fascinating article over the weekend about pampered dogs in Japan. Actually, pampered is an understatement... these puppies are downright spoiled! Check out "It's A Dog's Life", just don't show your canine friend 'cause he'll be hopping the next plane to Tokyo before you can say SIT!

For those of you who are into Yoga, here's a cute mat I found at perpetual kid. If you don't live in Japan and can't bring your dog with you to yoga class, this is the next best thing.

Turning Heads

Oh, how did I miss this last week? I read Design Sponge almost daily, sometimes several times a day, but somehow I managed to miss this post featuring fantastic wrapping paper by Whigby. I love this very urban pet wrap titled "Heads Of State". I also love that these Whigby products are made from recycled paper and water-based ink.

Inspiration Part Three

Schnau 'Bout It

I would like to credit Daniel for coming up with today's post title. He has a talent for being awfully witty, a skill that I seem to lack most of the time. I just can't think fast enough.

This Schnauzer card is from Clever Violet over at Etsy. I love the bright purple background and the inscription at the top : "if awsomeness was a commodity you'd be rich". This card is available in custom colors and I think it would be very cool to buy several copies in different background colors, then frame them and hang'em up side by side to create a modern slightly psychedelic look.

Dan, this Schnau is speaking to you! I think you're awesome, the most awesomest. Thank you for coming to my rescue when I need a clever post title.

Pug Shot

When I saw this throw pillow at Z Gallery I immediately thought of this hilarious article I read a year ago in The Onion newspaper: Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs. I laughed so much I cried when I read this piece, but the truth is that pugs can have some pretty extensive genetic health issues including Luxating Patella, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Pigmentary Keratitis, Elongated Soft Palate, Stenotic Nares, and Pug Dog Encephalitis. Despite their potential for what The Onion calls "dog malfunction", pugs continue to be one of the most popular breeds in the United States. Obviously! It's impossible to resist their soft snorting, gargantuous wrinkles, and curlycue tail.

I Love It

Oh my gosh! I came across the wonderful artwork of Keiko Yagishita this weekend at Art-A-Whirl in Northeast Minneapolis, and I love it!! I saw her screenprints exhibited in jewelry designer Karin Jacobson's studio at the Northrup King Building, and I was immediately taken aback by the large and colorful illustrations of Pit Bulls, Labradors, and Terriers. Keiko's work is so fun and full of energy. These prints would make a great addition to anybody's modern art collection or hip decor.

Smile!

I ordered a bunch of photographs a couple of days ago from iPhoto, but I haven't received them yet. I'm getting really impatient, because I've only seen my photoshopped work on the computer screen, and I'm anxious to see what the photos of Gus and Charly look like on paper.

Today I thought I'd share two more of these photos with you. Here's hoping they look just as good when I get them in the mail on Monday. I'm also sharing another cute picture frame I found on Pictured Pets. This one would look great in a black and white themed room.

Row Row Row Your Boat

Good Morning! It's Friday and I'm so excited for the weekend. It looks like spring is finally here in Minneapolis and we're looking forward to enjoying some time outdoors. It's been so nice this week, but most of us with office jobs haven't been able to frolick about as much as we'd like. We've got the weekend though, and we're gonna live it up! Daniel and I are planning on attending a picnic hosted by a friend of ours at her beach house on Lake Pepin, one of the most beautiful spots in the state of Minnesota. If we were dogs, here's what we'd look like this weekend:

This is a print from Stephen Huneck's gallery Dog Mountain. A self-taught sculptor and painter, Huneck creates beautiful artwork that has been featured in countless galleries, magazines, and books. This particular print seems to capture the wonder of dogs so simply. They'll do anything for their friends, and every day I'm awe struck by their fierce loyalty.

Inspiration Part Two

Wipe Your Paws

Daniel's sister has this antique daschund boot scraper on her front porch that I thought I would post about today. I don't think I've ever seen anybody scrape their boots on the poor doxie, but it's a nice welcoming piece for their front entry. I found a similar one at the John Wright Company. This one doesn't have that worn out vintage look, but I still like it.

Grab The Leash

Ok, so I have become completely obsessed with Photoshop. I am having so much fun learning how to use it, and I can't stop. Yesterday I spent another 5 hours glued to my computer. Dan had to literally turn the computer off in order to get me to go to bed. I now have about 25 photographs that I've altered and the effects are amazing! The retouched photos look infintely better than the straight-out-of-camera shots.

I came across this vintage leash holder from My Knapsack Dreams while searching for picture frames yesterday. I love the simple cottage look of this piece. It seems like I'm always trying to find a place to stash all of the dog products collecting in our house. Usually the leashes end up in the corner on the floor in our entry way.

Click Click Click Click Camera

I spent at least 5 hours on the computer yesterday, photoshopping photographs I took of Gus and Charly earlier this winter. I'm just now learning how to use this magnificent program called Photoshop 7.0 to enhance my somewhat elementary photography skills.

As an interior designer, I use Photoshop to render my perspective drawings of interiors. This helps my clients visualize their future kitchen, bathroom, or living room. But I haven't had the opportunity to explore Photoshop for photography until now, and I have only one person to thank for that: Ree, The Pioneer Woman. She has inspired me to take my amateur photographs to the next level, with help from her simple and easy to understand Photoshop tutorials.

I've posted a couple of the photos I worked on yesterday. Today I need to get these printed and find appropriate picture frames. Here's one I found at 2 Paw Prints. It's a hand altered bone picture frame that I think is really cute.

Grandpuppies

In honor of my mother on Mother's Day, I'm posting about this bumper sticker I found on Cafe Press. If you knew my mom you would know why this sticker is so perfect for her. If you don't know her, I'll tell you why.

See, Charly and Gus are so very much loved that Dan and I have had to set up a joint custody agreement with my mother, so she can get her weekly dose of puppies. These boys are lucky because they visit grandma's house two or three times a week, and even get to sleep over. We're lucky too because she takes them whenever we go out of town, or just need a break from walking them in these 20 below zero Minnesota winters.

So all of this puppy time gives her hours and hours of stories to tell anybody who will listen. In fact, my mom will tells everybody about our dogs, whether they want to hear about them or not. She can't live another day without this sticker.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Last weekend was my dad's 60th birthday, and to celebrate, we had a small family brunch at our house. This weekend, tonight, we're having a slightly larger birthday party for family AND friends. I waited until the second birthday party to give my father his birthday present, which means I have some wrapping to do this afternoon before the party. The problem is, wrapping presents was never a major priority in my family growing up, and I never really learned how to

do it.

I didn't care much about my lack of wrapping present skills, until my brother brought home Alicia, his girlfriend, now wife. Alicia is a professional when it comes to wrapping gifts, and though my brother used to be worse at this art than me, with her help he's become much much better. So now, whenever I have a gift to wrap, I end up fretting about how much worse it will look than the gift Bruno and Alicia are wrapping. Maybe I should call her up and see if she'll wrap some presents for me today.

I'm so excited to post about this very special wrapping paper from Whimsy Press. I've been searching for tasteful dog wrapping paper for quite some time now, and this wrapping is by far the best I've seen. Whimsy Press is a team of graphic designers and art directors who produce and sell their own line of paper goods, including wrapping paper, notebooks, and ribbon. All of the products at Whimsy are made of substantial, high quality paper, and if you suck at wrapping presents like me, you'll still have the coolest looking gift at the party.

Walk The Dog

I may just be the luckiest girl in the world. Yesterday I posted about my love for Schnauzers and coffee. I'm a terrible morning person, and if it weren't for my dogs and Daniel, there'd be no way to get me out of bed earlier than 9 a.m. Gus and Charly wake me up gently, snuggling at my feet, and I am so thankful for Daniel, my partner and our resident barrista. For him, getting up at 6 a.m. is effortless if not automatic, and by the time he wakes me up an hour later, he's already taken a shower, walked the dogs, and made me coffee.

Sadly enough, Daniel flew off to Providence, Rhode Island last night on a business trip, and left me to fend for myself this morning. After hitting the snooze button multiple times, I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed at 6:45, in order to walk those darn (READ adorable) dogs. Please note: our morning stroll was NOT fueled by coffee, as the barrista took the morning off.

Today's post was inspired by this blanket from Mungo and Maude titled "Walk The Dog". I would have preferred to sleep in a little longer, but sometimes a girls gotta do what she's gotta do.

Inspiration

How About A Double Vanilla Latte?

Two of my favorite things in this whole world are my Miniature Schnauzer Charly, and a good strong cup of coffee. Nothing makes me happier than waking up in the morning with Charly at the foot of our bed, and Daniel in the kitchen brewing up a fresh pot of java.

I love this original Schnauzer Cafe painting by Ken Bailey. If I could I'd buy it today and hang it up in our kitchen, but there's no wall spac efor it. Maybe someday I'll have a big beautiful kitchen and I'll hang this piece up right above the coffee maker.

Spring Showers

Can you believe this? I know it sounds silly, but yesterday, after a beautiful warm spring day (we haven't had very many of these up here this year) it began to rain, and I thought, YES! I hope it rains and keeps raining tomorrow too. If it keeps raining, then I can write about these awsome rain boots I found last week at KooKoo Bear Kids.

Well, it rained all night, but this morning the sun is out and I checked the weather and it's going to be 65 degrees and mostly clear all day. But I don't care! I'm still going to post about these rain boots. KooKoo Bear Kids offers furniture, room decor, bedding, clothing, and accessories all for kids. But I liked the site because they also offer some cute things for adults. Like these rain boots. And if you're not too shy you can buy the matching umbrella too!

Car Troubles

Our car saga continues... In October of last year, Daniel and I decided to trade in his old and rusty Mercury sedan for a newer, more reliable, and larger car. We ended up with a brand new Toyota Rav4, which we had decided would be perfect. In all honesty, I think what drove us to get this SUV was the fact that hauling the dogs around the city would be made so much easier by this car. The fact is that Gus is a big time shedder, he loves to pace back and forth in the car when he's in the back seat, and he gets dog hair everywhere. We also have Charly, who calmy sits in the back seat, but gets crushed by Gus every time he falls over after a sharp turn on the road. We were looking for a car where we could basically stick the dogs in the trunk and not see them or hear them until we reached our destination. Safe right? So after deliberating for some time between a hatchback and a smaller SUV, we chose the SUV, thinking we could still fit actual people in our back seats AND haul the dogs around in the open cargo space at the same time, all without a big hairy mess. For the first month, everything was fantastic. Gus and Charly loved the trunk. We bought a large tempurpedic type mat and they were both relaxing like babies on every ride. Our dream had come true.

And then it hadn't: I began having terrible upper back pain. After several months we realized that the front seats of this car were horribly uncomfortable, and my back was getting worse and worse. Now the dogs were relaxed in the trunk, but I was moving every which way trying to find comfort. I tried every single seat position the car had. I bought several expensive back pillows at the back store for additional support. And still, my back pain continued. It came to the point when I had to stop driving the car altogether. After a few weeks respite I got myself into the passenger seat and a day later my back was hurting again. I decided I couldn't get back into the car, ever. And now we're trying to sell it.

In the mean time, I'm driving my mom's Chevy Aveo. As if we needed more car problems, the airconditioning in my Honda Civic suddenly stopped functioning, and the windows and locks haven't worked in almost an entire year. Therefor, Gus and Charly are riding in the back seats of a small car once again, which has me searching for a back seat cover that'll hide all that dog hair, and won't fall off every time Gus gets up to look out the window.

I found this back seat hammock at Bark Slope. The machine washable luxurious microvelvet fabric is super comfortable for your dogs, and easy to clean for you. The nylon straps attach securly to the front and back seat headrests, so the cover won't slip and slide around. I think Gus and Charly will love it. I just hope we can sell the SUV.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

If you have a crazy dog like me, then there's no need for an alarm clock. But for those of you who don't, then this is for you. Check out how adorable and fun these alarm clocks are. And the best part.....no annoying buzz! When this alarm goes off you'll hear "Ruff-ruff, ruff-ruff" or "Meow, Meow" or "Ribbit-ribbit-ribbit".

Buy these at The Land Of Nod, a division of Crate & Barrel. You won't find your standard baby pink and blue products here but you will find fun, retro style decor options for your little one!

Monday Monday

It is inevitably a Monday morning, and all I want to do is get back into bed. It was so difficult to get up today... I actually thought about calling in sick, so I could sleep in a little (read ALOT) longer and then spend the rest of the day outside with Gus and Charly. We've had three continuous days of sunshine and warmer weather, which, after 5 months of winter and a basically non-existent spring, are making more than a few of us work hounds contemplate ditching class today.

For those of you who have kids, I'm posting this adorable bedroom set from Freckles Irresistable Homewares For Kids. If I had children, I know I would have packed them off to school this morning, then snuck into their bedrooms for a midmorning nap under these covers.

Hot Diggity Dogs!

My friends Denise and Jason have been thinking about adopting a dog. Ever since she was 8 years old, Denise has wanted a Beagle named Bubba. She's not sure why she chose this breed, and now, some 20 years later, she's reading up on dogs, trying to figure out whether Bubba will be Beagle, or some other breed of pup. Denise is from New York, she's chic, fashionable, and totally adorable. Although they've taken a brief hiatus from life in New York (San Francisco, CA has been there home for the past year and a half), Denise and Jason both know they'll wind up back there eventually, sooner rather than later. I was thinking about the perfect dog for Denise and Jason, and mentioned to them that I think they'd look great wearing a Daschund! These hot dogs seem to be all over the place lately. They're small, cute, a bit edgy, and they're perfect for apartment living in the big city. Daschund's love to play, and they're quite clever.... a necessary quality if you want to be friends with J and D. Life's never boring with these two, and I think a rambunctious little hot dog bun would be a fantastic addition to their family. Of course Denise may not be able to get over her life long dream of owning a Beagle.

I found these great pillows at Modern Dose. Maybe I'll send Denise a pair of these for her birthday this year. Aren't they cute?

New Yorkers

I have a special love for New York dogs. Gus, our Pit Bull mix, is a New York rescue. He was hit by a truck on a street corner in The Bronx, and left for dead on the side of the road. A kind passerby rescued the poor injured stray puppy, and took him to an animal hospital, where Gus endured surgery and months of recovery. Gus's story and how he came to be part of our family is a long and inspiring tale for another post. But suffice is to say that Gussy was a stray dog in the Big Apple, saved by the kindness of strangers.

I love this Boston Terrier card from Beau Ideal. Jill creates hand screen printed cards, stationary & art prints inspired by her own love for dogs. The best part about her work is that 30 percent of the proceeds from every dog card purchased will be donated to a NYC animal shelter. And when I think of that, all I can see is my tired and scared stray puppy, who by some stroke of New York magic, became a part of our lives.