I actually read the article I’m about to share a while back, but since  I’m still pretty busy with school and don’t have a lot of time to compose anything original…today seemed like an okay time to bring it out.

Like me, I’m sure you guys spend 94% of your lives searching for new and frightening scenarios to worry about, so why not add these 5 Pet Poisons to your list? Since each item on the list can easily find its way into your purse, accidentally poisoning your pet has never been easier!

On the real, though. As if I needed another reason to dislike tobacco, artificial sweetener, and OTC medication…

Maxine, the chunky angel pictured above, once literally spent hours trying to paw her way into my purse because she smelled Orbit gum. We’ve both wised up since then–she no longer spends an entire day pursuing a single piece of gum, and I no longer buy gum with artificial sweetener.

While taking a week-long break from classes, I’ve decided to also take a week-long break from blogging. I’ll be devoting my days to books and essays for school and my nights to good times. Just popping in to let you know I’ll be back next Monday with reviews and the like. See ya!

I received the sweetest salve samples in the mail yesterday, and I can’t wait to try the little guys! Keep your eyes peeled for the reviews; I’m sure they’ll be worth sharing.

P.S. Here’s proof that Clementine is an angel sent from above:

That smile could brighten the darkest of days.

My friend Hannah visited recently, and she left a big, beautiful pumpkin behind when she returned home. Since then, I’ve been brainstorming ways to put it to good use. Halloween’s over, so carving it seems kind of silly. I did just come across an article about the health benefits of pumpkins for dogs, though, so making pumpkin dog treats might be in order.

Below are a few pumpkin dog treat recipes I’ve found:

• Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats
• Halloween Pumpkin Dog Treats
• Pumpkin Dog Cookies
• Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treats

I noticed that all of these recipes call for canned pumpkin, but maybe I could just purée my own? That should work.

Maybe I’ll even toast my own pumpkin seeds, since dogs can apparently eat those as well.

Any tried and true dog treat recipes you’d like to share? Clementine and Winston would really appreciate it!

Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Also, Clementine eats watermelon like a human and I want the whole world to know-

She's too sweet.

A few articles:

• 49 Uses for Tea- My tea collection is currently out of control. Maybe I can put some of the more boring black ones to use.
• Is Ketchup Healthy? The obvious answer to this question is no, but I’ll probably always love it (and hate myself for it).
• Eat This, Not That! Nutrition Facts Wanna get your weekend started off right by being disgusted with the state of the world?

My dogs are basically like furry children to me, so taking care of them is something that comes pretty naturally. Still, sometimes baths are more trouble than they’re worth. If Clementine and Winston aren’t smelling their best and I don’t have a lot of time to spare, then dry shampoo is kind of a life saver.

Ingredients (provided at eco-me.com)- “Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), Zea Mays (Corn Starch), Grapefruit, Clary Sage essential oils.”

I couldn’t locate this product in the Cosmetics Database, so I’ve linked to each ingredient individually above. I was pleased to discover that all of the ingredients have hazard scores of 0.

Some great things about this product:

1.  It’s free of parabens, dyes, chemical preservatives, synthetic fragrances, surfactants, and detergents.

2. It’s cruelty-free.

3. It comes in a #1 plastic container, which can easily be recycled in Lake Charles.

Product Description(provided at petco.com)- ”Natural formula is safe and gentle on your pet’s skin and coat. Eco-Me Grapefruit Sage Natural Dry Dog Shampoo will leave your pet’s fur smooth, soft and clean. Simply sprinkle the dry shampoo on your dog’s coat and wipe away residue with a damp towel. A great solution for keeping your dog’s fur clean and smooth between grooms. The grapefruit sage scent will keep your dog smelling fresh and clean. Our chemical free formula is made with natural, safe ingredients so you can feel good about using it on your pet.”

Price-around $9.99 for a 16 oz. tub, but I got mine from T.J. Maxx for $5!

Performance- This product can be a little messy, but it’s definitely worth the clean-up since sweeping up the leftover powder takes all of 30 seconds. The holes in the lid make shaking the shampoo onto your dog’s coat as easy as possible, and once their fur is coated you simply rub or comb it in and then wipe off the excess! Your dog/dogs will be smelling fresh for days!

Scent- Kirby says this shampoo smells like fruity pebbles. Danielle says it smells like hominy. I say it smells like a little of both.

Rating- 9/10. I subtracted 1 point since it isn’t exactly cheap at full price.

Image Source

While on vacation in June, I found the above dog biscuits at T.J. Maxx for only 4 dollars. The ingredients and price were too good to pass up, so I bought them and brought them home as a present for Clementine and Winston (Actually, I think my mom paid for them on the condition that I would tell the dogs they were a gift from their grandmother. She also bought them some natural dry shampoo I’ll be reviewing in the near future. She’s sweet like that). Anyway, when I opened the box of treats to let the dogs try one or two, I was initially disappointed by how small they were. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I definitely thought they’d be bigger than dime-sized. The size actually worked out for the best, though. I can give Clem and Winston three or four of these little guys in a row without spoiling their dinner, and I think they kind of love getting more than one treat at a time. And since the treats are free of artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, it’s not even like I’m giving them junk food! Quite the contrary, actually. Oats and flax, two ingredients found in these treats, are actually good for dogs!

They’re my favorites.

Ingredients (provided at piggypaint.com)-”Water, acrylates copolymers, butoxy diglycol, Neolone 950. May contain mica, red 34 lake, ultramarines, titanium dioxide, iron oxide pigments.”

None of Piggy Paint’s products are in the Cosmetics Database, so I’ve linked to each ingredient above. I couldn’t locate Neolone 950 in the database, but that ingredient isn’t actually listed with the others on my bottle. In its place is Methylisothiazolinone, which has a hazard score of 6. After doing a little research, I found that these are two different names for the same ingredient. Apparently, Neolone 950/Methylisothiazolinone is a common preservative used to replace parabens. This ingredient is the only one in Piggy Paint with a hazard score above a 3. It isn’t ideal, but I find it much more acceptable than most Sally Hansen polishes, which typically have ingredient lists that are three times as long and include around 7 ingredients with hazard scores above 3.

Some great things about this product:

1.  It’s free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate and acetone.

2.  It’s cruelty-free.

Product Description(also provided at piggypaint.com)- “Piggy Paint is specially formulated from God’s natural ingredients and dries to a hard, durable finish. There are  no toxic chemicals; it’s free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate and acetone.”

Price- around $8.99 for a o.5 fl. oz. bottle.

Performance- I painted my toenails with this polish just before going to the beach, and it held up surprisingly well to the sand and the chlorinated pool water. It only chipped a few times throughout the week, and a little polish and a blow dryer to the formerly chipped area remedied the situation each time. With my old polish (formaldehyde resin and all), I would’ve likely experienced no chipping at all, but I’ll take chipped polish over horrible ingredients any day. I have noticed that the polish is much more resistant to chipping when I use a blowdryer afterwards, as opposed to just waiting a few minutes and running out the door. Also, the color pictured above (which is the same picture from the Piggy Paint website) is a few shades lighter than my bottle of Sea-quin, which is less of a pale blue and more of a turquoise. Like this:

Scent- This polish hardly has a scent at all, but I’d compare the light scent that it does have with acrylic paint. It’s much less offensive than typical nail polishes, and I didn’t get light-headed once while painting my nails. For me, this is an accomplishment worth mentioning.

Rating- 8/10. I’m subtracting 1 point for the questionable ingredient and another because it’s slightly less chip resistant than polishes I’ve used in the past.

Would I purchase this item again? Absolutely! I’d like to try a new shade when I run out of Sea-quin, though. I have my eye on Sometimes Sweet and Tea Party for Two. I’d also like to buy some Puppy Paint for Clementine (specifically Fire Hydrant Fun), but something tells me Kirby might object. He tends to ruin my fun with his voice of reason.

Image Source

• I recently received a free sample of Arbonne’s Protein Shake Mix in Vanilla, and it tastes just like the the delicious vanilla frappes I used to buy at a coffee shop in Tupelo where an embarrassing amount of my teenage life was wasted. And with ingredients like Co Q10, alfalfa, ginseng, and flax seed, this shake mix makes those frappes seem like a joke.
• A few days ago, friend Jacqui sent me a link to an eye-opening blog post about the potentially dangerous female obsession with beauty products.  It’s called Why Cleopatra was a Hippie, and you should read it. Get ready for truth bombs like this: “I’m sure Cleopatra knew what she was doing when she lined her eyes and painted her lips.  The difference is her makeup was plant based, not synthesized and developed in laboratories by scientists wearing face masks.”

Enjoy your Tuesday, friends! If weather permits, a trip to the park might be in order. Is there anything dreamier than a Tuesday picnic with a cute boy and a couple of dogs?

Unrelated: If you’re into browsing vintage treasures, then you should probably check out my new Etsy shop, Feelin’ Fancy Vintage. You might find a little somethin’ somethin’.

I finally got around to making and using the All-Natural Fabric Softener that I recently posted about wanting to try. Not only was it super easy to make, but it also might be a match made in heaven with my homemade lavender dryer sheets. The barely there scent of lemons combined with the rich lavender scent is near perfect!

Lemon Juice, Baking Soda, & Cold Water

Making this fabric softener is as simple as combining the above ingredients in something that has a lid, like a large jar, and shaking the covered container.  Proportion-wise, you’ll need the juice of four lemons (or around two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice, which was a complete guess on my part), one teaspoon of baking soda, and two cups of cold water. Pour the mixture in with your laundry when it begins its final rinse cycle, and get ready for some seriously soft clothes/sheets/towels!

I wish you could see how they smell and feel.

Below are a few pictures that were taken this past Saturday at a party/picnic in the park. My friend Allie organized a small get-together to celebrate her dog Zeus’ birthday, and fun times were had by all!

Here's Zeus, the birthday boy. Isn't he cute?