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?

I was delighted to read that drinking 8 to 14 glasses of red wine per week might reduce a person’s risk of developing a cold.

I read this interesting and inspirational article about the Whooping Crane being reintroduced in Louisiana.

I learned what Clementine and Winston’s tails might be trying to tell me, and I loved that the hypothetical dog in the article is named Norton.

I came across some hot tips for reusing junk mail. I never even considered giving clothing catalogs second lives as shredded packing material; how neat!

This article about pet toxins was full of information that I’d already heard (and those who’ve had pets for a while might agree with me) , but it would certainly be helpful to a new pet owner or someone who is pet-sitting for a weekend. Still, xylitol being toxic to dogs was news to me, so even confident pet owners probably shouldn’t overlook the article completely.

I read an article that discussed 6 Foods That Weaken Bones, and I questioned the article’s credibility when it suggested drinking milk as an alternative to soft drinks.

To avoid having a text only post, here’s a sweet picture. Clementine is often willing to pose when she sees me with a camera, and I love that about her (even if I have to occasionally wag a stick to hold her attention).

Image Courtesy of Ecostoreusa.com

Below is my review for one of the two products that Eco Store USA generously sent me. Clementine and Winston both have especially dry and itchy skin during the winter months, so I was hoping that this Hypoallergenic Shampoo would provide them with some relief.

Ingredients (provided at ecostoreusa.com)- “Aqua (water), Coco Glucoside,  Aloe Vera (certified organic), Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Glyceryl Oleate, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, Panthenol, Botanical extract blend of Chamomile,Calendula and Sage, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Neem Oil, Sodium Chloride (sea salt), Honey, Honey and Almond Natural Fragrance, Citric Acid.

I couldn’t find this product in the Cosmetic Safety Database, so I searched each ingredient individually. Below are the ingredients that either have large data gaps, are not in the database, or have a hazard score that is higher than a 3.

data gaps or not in database: Coco Glucoside (large data gap), Calendula Extract (large data gap), Sage Extract (large data gap), Sodium Cocoamphoacetate (large data gap), Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Oat Protein (not in database), Neem Oil (large data gap), Honey and Almond Natural Fragrance (not in database, and my concern with this ingredient is that it contains the word fragrance…and that sometimes means bad news).

above a three: Polysorbate 20 (4-7, depending on product usage)

Some great things about this product:

1. It’s cruelty-free.

2. It’s formulated without toxic petrochemicals, lauryl/laureth sulfates, propylene glycol, dyes, artificial perfumes, parabens, cocamide DEA, and cocomidopropyl betaine.

3. The bottle is #1 Plastic, which means that I can recycle it in Lake Charles.

Product Description ( also provided at ecostoreusa.com)- “Gentle on itchy, sensitive skin, our Herbal Fresh Shampoo is expertly designed to penetrate safely into the skin where it is most effective.  Mild enough for frequent use.  Safe for dogs, cats, puppies and kittens over 6 weeks of age. 12 ounces.”

Price-$9.50 for 12 fluid oz.

Performance-  My only problem with this shampoo is that it’s a lot thinner than other pet shampoos that I’ve used. It isn’t a deal breaker or anything, but I do have to use an awful lot each time I bathe Clem and Winston in order to adequately coat their fur. I feel like I’ve already used a fourth of the bottle after only bathing them three times each. Aside from that, I love it. It makes their fur super soft and their skin actually does seem to be soothed after bath time.

Scent- The scent of this shampoo isn’t overwhelming, and I like that. It smells a lot like Dr. Bronner’s Almond Liquid Soap, which is always a good thing in my book. I love the way that some of the Pet Head products smell in the bottle (particularly the Passion Fruit Shampoo and the Furtastic Creme Rinse), but the scents are unusually potent outside of the bottle and they make my dogs smell like humans, which makes me inexplicably uncomfortable. I think that simple scents, like almond, are perfect for pets.

Rating- I try to only use products on my animals that I’d be comfortable using on myself, so the frequent data gaps and one questionable ingredient cost this product two points. I subtracted another point because of how thin the shampoo is. 7/10 it is!

Would I purchase this item again?-  I’d like to find out a little more about the ingredients with data gaps, but anything that makes my sweet doggies itch less is essentially a-okay with me. I will likely buy another bottle.

*This product was provided by Eco Store USA, but the opinions were provided by me. Count on it!

Oh yeah! Here are some pictures from yesterday’s picnic:

Chip time is my favorite time.

Yaaay picnic!

This is Danielle's pretty sheet that we used. Also, I think there's a sprout from my Roly Poly sandwich in this picture.

Some say that I stand like a toddler.

I'm giving that sweet view a thumbs up, obviously.

I have no idea why or how this picture happened.

I learned that I am embarrassingly bad at frisbee.

Obligatory sweet picture..with sun eyes.