Today is National Puppy Day! It's all about celebrating puppies and encouraging adoption.

While my dogs are no longer puppies, they often act like they are still puppies. Nothing beats Teemo's face when he is sticking it out a car window, or Raynor when she is bounding around with a new toy. I've had over 5 years with Raynor and over 4 now with Teemo, and there isn't a moment that goes by that I am so happy I adopted them. They are both mutts - Teemo is not a full corgi, nor are we even sure that Raynor is a 'bagle hound'. But they both have wonderful personalities.

 I wanted to show some 'throwbacks' to the puppy days (or as close as I ever saw Raynor and Teemo to being puppies - I got them at about 5 months and 10 months). One of the big things that has changed with Raynor is her health. Moving away from Ohio (where she was allergic to the type of grass and birch trees) combined with finding a food that benefits her coat and is manufactured well, Raynor looks better than ever and has had barely any vet appointments outside of her checkups. You can see, she's got a beautiful coat now!

Petcurean's Now Fresh line is manufactured well, plus it contains actual meat and veggies, so the dogs have done amazingly well on it. It's not overly fatty or unbalanced either - both pets have easily maintained their weights. You can read more about Raynor and Teemo's switch to Now Fresh here.

 Lately, they have been some sleepy southern dogs though. Here are the more recent 'my dogs love the couch' collection I seem to have been photographing.

I've got a lot of thanks to give here - especially when it comes to my puppies. See, I wasn't really every supposed to get Raynor or Teemo when I did.

Jason and I had just moved out of our second, tiny apartment into a home with a yard. Both my mom and Jason explicitly told me 'don't move to get a dog.' I moved to get a dog (also we really needed more room) but a few short months later, we found ourselves with a crazed basset mix from rural Kentucky ruling our lives. For my family giving into me too easily, I give thanks.

Next was Teemo, the 'foster' dog. Jason and I had began fostering that year and had a few dogs in the home before I found a corgi mix on Petfinder while we were drinking at Cheeseburger in Paradise. While Jason was feeling happy from the sugary alcohol concoctions, I showed him a few photos of this corgi with the big ears, and he agreed to let me meet him. The exception? I had to bring the crazy queen basset, who usually scared off little dogs and is a total alpha. I was fortunate that the tiny corgi (Teemo's gained like 15 pounds since I got him) was just as crazy as Raynor, and totally submissive. My parents, actually no one, thought we should be getting a second dog, so he became our 'foster'. For finding the perfect pair to my queen, I give thanks.

I also love that my dogs, despite their shortcomings, get along well with others. I love seeing them on walks with my mother-in-law's 6 pound maltese, Lucy. For their ability not to trample the little one, I give thanks.

I also give thanks that these two are in good health - they eat a nice food, drink lots of water, and eat very few treats. I give thanks to Petcurean for coming up with a new recipe for their adult food that didn't make them sick (a lot of times just switching flavors can mess up your dog, by the way) and that these pups gobbled up like no tomorrow. The new fish recipe with trout and salmon is great for them - although the smell, I've got to admit, smells like trout and salmon, so while not great, you know it's really in there!

I was really excited to get to try out a few interactive toys for Teemo. Teemo is the kind of dog that doesn't play normal dog games like tug or fetch. He used to get a lot exercise by getting his dinner in this weird kibble ball, but now that he's back with our other dog Raynor, she steals it from him and eats it all, so that doesn't work. It was due time Teemo got some toys to play around with, especially ones that would keep him interested with his 'puppy currency' - food. Planet Dog provided Teemo and I with some cool new interactive toys to try and get him moving. The 'food' we used were treats also given to us by Planet Dog - a nice surprise I wasn't expecting. Puppy treats are hard for us - we only use wheat free - and these were wheat free and sounded delicious - PB&J with blueberries. It was hard keeping Teemo away for this photo - he's right out of the frame of the shot while I'm repeating 'leave it'.

We received a few different toys - I was excited to see what Teemo would end up loving the most. He got really excited about this mint flavored ball, presumably because it has a really strong smell (my whole entire first floor smells minty fresh!). Not only does it smell good (and help Teemo's breath issue!), but it floats and bounces. He runs like I've never seen him to fetch it (his version of fetch, by the way, is get the ball, hide under a chair, and chew it) so our other pup didn't get a chance at getting it. The best part of this ball? 100% of the proceeds go to their non-profit charity for canine service programs.

Next up was the Snoop Interactive toy - the one I was most excited about when I talked with Planet Dog. This new toy seemed interesting - and I wasn't too sure exactly what it was going to be. Basically, this is a semi-circle with two layers and a hole in the center you fill. The treats go in between the two layers and come back out of the hole. This was Teemo's preferred toy as he understood what to do with it quickly and the reward came quicker than with the Mazee.

The Mazee is by far the most interesting interactive toy I've seen - I love that you can see the treats inside because one of our issue with toys where treats are stuffed in is they easily get stuck and you cannot tell. This one was great because Teemo could see and smell the treats - he immediately started pawing at this one and rolling it around ferociously. When the treats didn't tumble out as quickly, he returned to nuzzling the Snoop around while Raynor took the lead of rolling the Mazee all about. And let's be clear, Teemo is my little reviewer here and the star of this blog (he is 'my' dog afterall), but Raynor ('Jason's' dog) enjoyed these too. She figured out the Mazee a lot faster than Teemo and that is her preferred toy.

The big thing to note is these aren't chew toys and you have to make sure you store these after play as most pups (at least mine) will tend to chew on them after since they smell and taste like treats. They aren't meant for chewing, and while durable, they aren't durable enough for crazy chewing. I have seen Teemo tear through an insane amount of things for a dog with an inch overbite, and I am careful to store these in the closet on a high shelf when they are stuffed with treats.

This post is marked with the tag sponsored. This indicates I received a product in exchange for review, although the opinions and ideas expressed are my purely own. I do not suggest products I do not believe my readers would enjoy also. For more information - read the disclosure of this blog.

Here's a perfect wedding related post amongst all the posts from our 'un-anniversary' trip. I believe that it's always a good time to celebrate considering I have someone willing to live with me / put up with me / love me. I'm also really excited that my girl Becki has found her match. Becki and her beau Jeremiah have popped up quite a few times here on the blog (from her engagement last October to her bridal shower last week).  It's always wonderful to see a friend in love. I am MORE than excited for her wedding, so planning out a good gift is more than essential. There's always a registry of course.....

photo by : best day ever (these are my dear friends, their house is seriously amazing)

Here are some of my Target registry picks for my friends. They live in a beautiful, Victorian (I believe?) home and have all of the cutest trinkets and things. Becki's always been an artist - her first major in college was photography - and always has the most creative ideas for her living spaces. Jeremiah is quite the handyman (I mean, he made a fish tank out of an old television set) and is always creating new things for their home.

threshold towels (i seriously love these, we own them) // stoneware canister and lid  // key bottle opener 

umbra bird photo clips // panasonic lumix camera

I love the idea of 'being yourself, together'. Definitely each person in any relationship brings something unique to the table. My gift idea combines my artistic girl Becki being represented with a high-end point and shoot camera - an Panasonic Lumix (just like the camera I used for years before we got our DSLR). It was a great camera for all of our various trips. For Jeremiah, I wanted something handy that also could capture a memory. I always see little memos and photos hanging around their house, and thought a message board would be perfect! But, none of them were really 'them'. I loved the idea of giving a DIY away as a gift. So I've grabbed a few items from my local Target and crafted a little shopping list from it!

Shutterbug + Handyman Gift, Target Shopping List :

Panasonic Lumix 14.1 Point & Shoot Camera

Framed Cork Board
Chalkboard Paint
1 or 2 Colors Acrylic Paint
Sponge Brush
Painter's Tape
Push Pins & Chalk

You will also need : A printer to print the DIY instructions

Grab the PDF instructions for this DIY by clicking here!

Go ahead - print the PDF, and either gift this to someone to make together as a couple or try it out yourself with your beau!

Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target.

Target Wedding

This post was sponsored by Target. This indicates I received payment in exchange for content, although the opinions and ideas expressed are my own. For more information - read the disclosure of this blog. #TargetWedding & #sponsored required tags by the sponsor.

I was really inspired by this episode of Breakfast After Dark from I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® breakfast burritos always intrigue me, but I'm not huge on burritos. When I brought that I wanted to make these up to my husband, we suggested we do a twist on it based on one of his favorite dishes, huevos rancheros. Except he wanted to switch out the ranchero sauce with a corn salsa. I was into this idea, so we used the instructions from this breakfast burrito recipe to get an idea of how to move forward. Here's our edited recipe.

Huevos Con Salsa de Maíz (Eggs With Corn Salsa) - 2 Servings

Heavily Adapted from Toasted Breakfast Burrito via I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! 

A bit ago, One Rewards Treats sent me a few bags of their pet treat samples. I had requested these over any other treats I had ever seen and passed on. You see, I've mentioned it before, but Raynor might be allergic to the world. Grass, wheat, birch trees - you name it. Dust. Seriously. It's hard to find dog treats that she seems to enjoy that are also a-okay for her to eat. I'm amazed to find so many popular pet treats full of grains and things she can't eat - no greenies for my dogs! So when I was approached about one ingredient dog treats, it sparked my interest.

One thing I like about these is that they are small. Basically just cubes of dehydrated meat, they smell enough to get a dog's attention and would be great for training. Both of my dogs became suddenly very obedient when I pulled a few out of the bag, each diving into their own array of 'tricks I know.' Which looks like a messed up circus since Teemo's default is beg and Raynor's default is turning in a circle.

The packaging suggests I top their kibble off with some One Rewards for an extra treat. There is a guideline on the back of the package for how many bits per weight a dog can have a day - which is actually quite a bit! I used that as a guideline, minus what I had already fed them, and added to their other foods. Raynor was quite happy - her Nulo kibble also gets topped with Missing Link and a bit of olive oil to strengthen her nails. Teemo was like a kid pulling the marshmellows out of Lucky Charms. That overbite works wonders for getting the good stuff out first.

 

Overall, I'm really happy with these treats. I've gotten an array of treats that Raynor will downright ignore and sit unused in the treat bin for a year until I realize she hates them. We went through the first bag of these in about 2 weeks - record for us! I keep them by our apartment door and use them to get the pups to sit before we go outside so I can get their leads on in a more orderly manner! If you are interested you can visit their website for more information.

This post was written on behalf of One Rewards. While I received product in exchange for writing this post, the opinions and ideas expressed are my own - and my dogs for this matter. For more information - read the disclosure of this blog. 

One thing I love about having Jason home is the ability to decide on a whim to go out on a date night and random Target trip just because. After a run in the not-quite-rain, we decided to treat ourselves to Asian food and chocolates at Target. The weather is beginning to warm up a bit, but it's quite nippy so a scarf and jacket are really necessary, especially with the wind. This jersey scarf from Skip N Whistle has been perfect to wear with everything - I've been wearing it to work really often to keep warm. Plus, it's got a vintage rolliflex printed on it, perfect for the photographer in me. They have a lot of other prints - from cats to astronauts - that are really fun. You can check them out here.

jacket :: target remixed

tee :: urban outfitters remixed

camera scarf :: c/o skip & whistle

take the a line skirt :: modcloth

hydrangea heels :: seychelles

mad hatter tote :: baby lit via fab.com

cat ears ring :: c/o oasap remixed