For those of you still finishing up your holiday shopping, I thought I’d share a few gift ideas for the animals and animal lovers in your life. Our fur babies give us so much unconditional love, comfort, loyalty, and companionship throughout the year, so why not spoil them a little bit? I can assure you that Eleanor & Celia would be thrilled to receive many of these items (as would I).

1. Temporary Tattoos $9.23, 2. Hanging Cuddle Pod $19.99, 3. Star Wars Catnip Toy $3.00, 4. Inflatable Unicorn Horn $6.99, 5. Cat’s Trapeze $79.99, 6. Cat Cave $79.00, 7. Fox Terrier Toy $10, 8. Organic Catnip $10, 9. Grumpy Cat Snow Globe $16, 10. Custom Pet Portrait, price varies, 11. Cat Clothes Hanger $12

1.  Ombre Dog Collar $56, 2. Thug Life Hoodie $40, 3. Burt’s Bees Paw & Nose Lotion $12.99, 4. Custom Laser Cut Dog Tags $15.99, 5. Neon Raglan Shirt $12, 6. Bow Tie $20, 7. Canvas Gnome Toy $8, 8. Zombie Foot Dog Toy $10.49, 9. Dog Treats $10.46, 10. Arrowhead Leash $26, 11. Dog Beers Pint Glass $8

I’ve got my eye on that hanging cuddle pod for Celia, the zombie foot for Eleanor, and the custom watercolor painting for Mike D me. Now get to spoiling your fur beasts, even though they’d probably be just as happy with a few balls of crumpled wrapping paper and some belly rubs (but doesn’t that make you want to spoil them even more?).

PSST!  Tomorrow, Tuesday 12/17/2013, is the LAST DAY to order  from my shop for guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve. Everything in the shop ships for FREE to anywhere in the U.S.! Do you have any Detroit, New York, Paris, or Italy lovers on your shopping list? I’ve got you covered!

xoxo

I can hardly believe it, but Miss Eleanor Rigby is now one year old.

*cries*

THEY GROW UP SO FAST.

Eleanor weighed only two pounds when we brought her home, but still managed to turned our world inside out. She’s been a demanding and challenging puppy, but also hilarious, intelligent, sensitive, curious, and so loveable. She’s an innocent little soul and can convey so much emotion with her little bearded face.

And she cuddles like it’s her job.

We taught her how to sit, lay down, drop it (hello napkins and mail!) and go to her crate & mat on demand. Coming when called is a different story. Let’s just say Mike D and I have become highly skilled at tag teaming a very swift chihuahua.

She’s a tidy little pup, and wipes her feet on the mat when she comes in from outside. She grooms herself like a cat, and her paws often smell like fritos? Such a mystery.

If you follow me on instagram, you are aware that her fashion choices are SO MAJ.

Yet she is also very gangsta.

She once ate a very important old newspaper, so don’t think she’s not well read.

Oh you know, just an original insert from the Detroit News in 1969 about the U.S. landing on the moon. No big deal. Hope it tasted good.

She & Celia are slowly learning to coexist peacefully due to my intense couple’s therapy sessions. We focus mainly on trust issues and how to not be an asshole to each other.

They’re still learning.

And guys, I’m not normally so sappy, but humor me with this one.

A few weeks ago on a lazy Friday night, Mike D and I snuggled up on the couch for a movie. Eleanor jumped onto my lap, burrowed herself under the blanket and drifted off to sleep. Moments later, Celia tentatively and carefully climbed onto Mike D’s lap, curled into a ball and purred herself to sleep. Now. This is a rare occasion for both animals to lay next to each other, so as you can imagine, Mike D and I were doing a lot of whisper OMG’s and excitedly (but quietly) gesturing back and forth between them. Then out of nowhere I pretty much lost my shit. My heart nearly imploded from all the love that was on that couch. It may seem silly considering this family of four is 50% four legged, but they bring me so much happiness.

HASHTAG I LOVE THESE GOOFBALLS.

Happy birthday my little muffin.

xoxo

Back in August,  Mike D and I hosted an old timey themed soiree, which was the most glamorous party in the history of time.

I’m pretty sure.

And yeah, I’m a leeeetle late in posting this, but better late than never right?

As I’ve mentioned before, I was recently handed down an assortment of antique serveware, drinkware, and barware that originally belonged to my grandparents, so we  decided it was a good excuse to throw a shindig and put all that great stuff to use.

Conveniently, two of our good friends, Dennis & Daniel, are craft cocktail extraordinaires so we hired them to provide the libations for the party.

Spoiler alert – THEY KILLED IT.

After sending them our budget and an estimated number of guests, they devised a proposal for 3 cocktail options and a punch.  The proposal outlined all of the itemized expenses and detailed what they would be responsible for bringing the day of the party, which was almost everything- the booze, syrups, ingredients, glasses, and ice.  The only things we needed to supply were clear punch cups, a punch bowl, cocktail straws, and space in the kitchen near the sink to set up their drink station.  Also included in the proposal were several other options/recommendations with price breakdowns in case we wanted to increase or decrease the budget, which was very helpful.   Once we finalized the plan over email, I designed the drink menu in photoshop.

I printed out several copies on 5 by 7 card stock, inked the edges to make them look aged, and dispersed them throughout the house for guests to peruse.

If anyone is wondering,  the font I used is Bellerose which reminded me of silent film title cards.

The spirits, and believe me I tried them all, were OUTSTANDING.   Dennis & Daniel truly have a passion for the art of craft cocktails and it shows in the quality of each and every drink.   Everyone was pretty much gushing over the drinks all night.

No theme party is complete without a soundtrack, and long have I pined for a reason to make an old timey playlist.  I have a huge collection of old music from the 1920’s through the 1960’s on vinyl, however a few days before the party I dropped my record player while rearranging the dining room.  Drats!  I broke the connector thingy that holds the electrical cord, and despite my efforts, I couldn’t fix it, nor did I have time to have it repaired before the party.   So instead I put together an itunes playlist which included Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, The Andrews Sisters, The Count Basie Orchestra, Hank Williams, Glenn Miller, and much more.  I wasn’t shooting for any specific decade as a theme, just an overall swingy old fashioned jazzy vibe.  If you want to be technical, that is.

For the hors d’oeuvres I stuck to finger foods, because tiny food served on cocktail picks  seems very nostalgic to me.  That assumption is likely  influenced by having watched both Edward Scissorhands & Mermaids 5,000 times during my childhood.

Sidebar:  Does anyone else picture the opening scene of Mermaids (cue to 2:07 mark in that video) every time this song is played on American Horror Story?

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  Get out of my head Winona!

These mini caprese bites are always a hit and I make them for almost every party.    Just buy a package of marinated mozzarella balls,  grape tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves.  Thread each ingredient through a cocktail pick, drizzle with remaining oil from the container of mozzarella,  and you’re done.  Badaboom badabing.

Red pepper slices with dollops of hummus.

Italian sausage, spicy pepper jack cheese and green olives (I also made a tray in which I omitted the Italian sausage for my vegetarian friends).

I prepared mini “taco cups” by filling Tostito scoop chips with guacamole, cheese and black olives, but I forgot to take a picture.  Here is a similar idea.

The ubiquitous lemon drop candies, which I personally find to be repugnant, but are pretty and remind me of old ladies.

When hosting an old timey party, one would be remiss in not including a tray of cigarettes, because we all know smoking wasn’t dangerous until the late 1970’s.   In fact, even today, if you are smoking while pretending to exist in an era prior to 1975, the carcinogens actually have no negative effect on your body.

I hope my hyperbole was not lost on you.

Dennis & Daniel, craft cocktail BROFESSIONALS, in my kitchen doin’ their thang.

Here are some more shots of my extremely good looking friends, being jolly & gay.

Once again I failed at getting photos of half of our guests, the only photo of me is blurry, and I didn’t get a single shot of Mike D in his old timey getup which is a disaster in and of itself.  He was very proud of his vest.  One of these days I’ll get better, but this time I’ll blame it on the booze.

At least Eleanor Rigby had her shit together.

She entertained our guests with her adorable stage acts such as “watch how I remove all the fuzz from this tennis ball” and “watch me run away with this shoe”.

In summation, it was an incredibly fun night and our favorite party to date.   If you’re looking for  unique cocktail recipes for your next gathering or tips and techniques for perfecting your craft cocktail skillz,  I highly recommend you check out Detroit Saloon League’s blog.  Additionally, they can help you devise a unique drink menu for a party or event (hello wedding receptions!) and can even provide full service drink catering like they did for us if you’re located in the Detroit area.

Psst!

I  finally made my way through all of the vintage goodness that I recently inherited, and I simply cannot keep it all.

[But I did keep a lot].

The items you see below, and more, are now for sale in my friend Heather’s booth inside The Rustbelt Market in Ferndale.  There is much more than what I have pictured below, including some really pretty glass & milk glass decanters.   Everyone needs a fancy bar setup in their house, amiright?!  So go get you some!  The Rustbelt Market is open every Saturday & Sunday from 11am to 7pm.  Check their website for extended holiday hours as well.  Heather’s booth, where my stuff is being sold,  is called Painted Lady Trashions.  She’ll take very good care of you.

You know you want that Lady Schick Facial Mister for your white elephant Christmas party.

xoxo.

Here’s a little peak at some of the things that have been happening with the bevy of antique splendor that wandered into my house over the summer.

These metal chairs made my heart sing when I first laid eyes upon them, but were in no shape for immediate use.   They were rusting, chipping, and in much need of a facelift.

Observe.

So a facelift they received.  First I sanded down all the rusty and chipped spots.

And then I remembered how much I hate sanding (so much).

Once sanded and wiped down,  I applied two coats of Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer to prevent further rusting and chipping.

After priming, I applied two coats of Rustoleum Stops Rust Gloss Protective Enamel in Semi-Gloss White.

Then BAM.  Chairs were sexified.

Whatever, no big deal.  They’re just my favorite thing ever.  Big whoop.

Another fabulous thing I received was my late great grandmother’s dressing table which I decided to use as a sideboard in the dining room.  I removed the attached mirror and hung a different mirror above it (to make it look less like a dressing table).   The finish is quite worn, but it’s fine by me.  It’s a 90 year old dressing table so I’m OK with it looking so.

I had the bright idea of storing my records in the area where the bench would normally sit,  but once I placed them in there, it just looked messy.

Conundrums.

In an act of desperation I grabbed this guy.

And four Ikea casters.

And married them.

Like a DIY Champion.

Shazam.  Foxy vinyl storage on wheels!

And now a miniature fur beast for scale.

Before you dare think she poses nicely,  please know that most of her photos tend to be of this variety.

And then she eats my props.

What a jerk.  But enough of that nonsense.   Let us gaze upon the finished product.

Sweet mother of pearl, it worked.

Although you may notice the weight of my records is causing the bottom plank to bow.  Crapballz!   I’ll reinforce that at some point in the future.  For now let’s just ignore it.

Oh! And my 45’s fit perfectly in one of the dressing table’s drawers.

All my problems?  Solved.

xoxo

Allow me to introduce to you Miss Eleanor Rigby, who breezed into our life on Friday the 13th.

While perusing Petfinder last Friday, I came across her little mug and decided we should meet immediately. I set up an appointment to see her right after work. I figured that if we bonded I would bring Mike D to meet her the following morning. Well, we rendezvoused Friday evening and it was love at first sight. I knew if I didn’t take her home right away, someone else would. This pup was clearly special.

So home she came. Mike D arrived several hours later to find me on the sofa with a sleeping fur baby on my chest and I was all nonchalantly “Oh hey dude, I adopted us a puppy. Hope dat’s cool”.

He took one look at her and was sold. That Mike D is really the best. He’s so accepting of my ways. And never disrespectful.

Cuz his mama taught that.

But back to the little turd burglar. She is a chihuahua mixed with maltese (we think), born on 2/2/2012.  Her favorite pastimes include chewing on everything, cuddling, chasing balls, jumping, pooping in the living room, and running around like an asshole.

Puppies are mother f*cking crazy.

The house training, the chewing, the crate training, the running under foot, oh my lands.

Oh, but the puppy breath.  And the puppy cuddles. And squeaky little yawns. I die for those.

Celia, our beloved feline of 9 years is not sure what to make of this little beast. Her routine has been to stare, cautiously approach, sniff, give the stink eye, and walk away. We are giving Celia plenty of individual attention and when the pup isn’t listening, we whisper in her ear that she’s still our favorite.

[She knows]

Eleanor is itsy bitsy, currently weighing in at 2.5 lbs, but growing so quick. I learned yesterday that she can no longer squeeze her little body through the gap in the baby gate which makes me simultaneously relieved and sad. Is this what real moms experience when their human babies grow? Happiness and sadness all rolled into one confusing emotion?  STOP GROWING SO FAST.

Anywho, the takeaway from all this blabbity bloo is that she is really effing adorable.

Observe.

Now leave her alone, she’s exhausted.