When Clementine and Winston ran out of their latest tube of store bought toothpaste, I decided to try and make their next batch to save a little money. I used a simple recipe that called for only salt, baking soda, and vegetable glycerin. I’ll admit that I was a little worried they wouldn’t like it since I didn’t add any sort of meaty flavor to it, but they loved it just as much as their old expensive stuff! Maybe I’ll treat them next time and pick up some low sodium beef broth, like the recipe suggests. One thing’s for sure, though: my days of paying an arm and a leg for dog toothpaste are over.

Do you have a pet whose teeth you brush? If so, then maybe you should give this stuff a try as well!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the perfume giveaway!

We recently picked several peppers, a few tomatoes, and a pretty eggplant from our garden.

Using an Ezra Pound Cake Recipe, homegrown basil/tomatoes, and farmer's market mozzarella, Danielle made a delicious tomato pie on Tuesday night.

• Guide to Cooking Oils- Who knew corn oil was linked to breast and prostate cancer? Jeez!
• 17 Cool Treats for Your Dog- I’d never even considered freezing chicken and beef broth in ice cube trays for my sweet dogs, but I’m definitely going to now!
• And here’s the Fresh Tomato Pie with Basil Garlic Crust recipe.

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.

1. Foxy iPhone pouch- I don’t actually need this, but I’m a sucker for animal-adorned accessories.

2. Beautiful Turquoise Netti Pot- Maybe I can finally stop using my boring blue plastic one!

3. Subscription to Dog Fancy Magazine- I love dogs, and I love magazines. The end.

4. Subscription to Natural Health Magazine- I have a feeling that this magazine is gonna rock my world.

5. Jasmine & Grapefruit Organic Deodorant- I’ve been using a sample that I received of the Lemon Sage Deodorant that’s also Erbaviva for about a week, and I absolutely love it (Review is on the way)! I’m asking for a different scent for Christmas in the hopes that it’ll be slightly more feminine.

6. Lavanila Vanilla Coconut Perfume- I know, I know. I probably don’t need any more perfume, but the ingredients are too dreamy to pass up!

7. Benefit Badgal Eyeliner- I’m almost out, and I don’t have the patience or energy to seek out a new, more natural eyeliner right now.

8. Karen’s Botanicals Rehydrating Aloe Vera Lotion- I can’t get enough of this stuff; it’s the best moisturizer that I’ve ever used.

9. Candles, Candles, and More Candles- To quote their site, “Pacifica Soy Candles are handmade with vegetable soy wax, lead-free wicks and Pacifica’s signature perfume blends with essential and natural oils.”

Danielle suggested hanging them in the living room beside my painting of Clementine and Winston, and I was all for it.

Next in line are my friends Taylor (who has an adorable dog named Nellie) and Katie (who owns two beautiful dogs named Sam and Mia). I’m pretty excited; dogs are my favorite.

Several health and beauty related posts are on the way, I promise. Between looking for jobs and the frequent trips to target/marshalls/kroger/walmart, I haven’t had much spare time for posting anything more substantial than a picture with a few words. Things will settle down soon.

Who could be stressed out after looking at that?! I wanna squish that little guy. (Photo courtesy of Brent Howe)

As someone who refuses to watch the news, who abhors meeting new people, and who cringes at the mention of 2012, I can honestly say that I’m one of the most fearful people that I know. I’ve never cared for that flaw in my personality, and I’ve recently started to hate it.  So, logically, I’m going to something about it.  I’d guess that about 97% of the things that I worry about cannot be prevented, changed or stopped by me. That’s ridiculous, and it’s also really bad for my health. Did you know that people who worry about things that  they can’t control have very low numbers of antibodies in their blood?! —>  (Quick Steps to Stop Stress). Anyone without too much time on their hands would not even consider the things that I worry myself sick over, and this tells me that I desperately need to get a hobby. This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned needing a hobby in a post, but I tend to drop the ball when it comes to actually searching out things that I like. I also feel like I’ve been putting off any big changes in my routine until we move.  We’re moving on Thursday, and I’m no longer allowing procrastination to happen. Jogging while listening to my ipod sounds cooler than sitting on a couch and thinking about the economy any day of the week.  Stitching, yoga, biking, baking,  playing fetch with my dogs, and even looking at adorable pictures of puppies and kittens can and will become avenues for using excess energy in a positive way. As for meeting and making conversations with new people, that’s a fear that I’ll have to overcome the old fashioned way: by facing it.  Being in an entirely new place should definitely facilitate that, since I’ll be forced to make my own friends. I’m gonna have to overcome my social anxiety disorder eventually. I’m going to make myself talk to people first, regardless of how unnatural it may seem. Besides, I’m a pretty damn interesting and worthwhile person.

To ensure that this post isn’t entirely worthless:

I scrubbed my face with oatmeal last night. I poured a couple of tablespoons of it into my hands, mixed it with some water, and it made a slimy paste. I rubbed it all over my face until it dissolved/fell in the sink. It was messy, but it made my skin enviably soft. If your face is feeling kinda dull, then I totally recommend it.

Comfy Dog Oatmeal Shampoo- This stuff has Cocamidopropyl Betaine in it, which is a synthetic surfactant.  There are a few other questionable ingredients, but they appear to be pretty safe as a whole.  I’d rather the shampoo  work and have a few bad ingredients than not work and have all natural ingredients.

The precious little paw print was kind of a dealmaker.

Woof Wild Natural Dog Shampoo Bar- This shampoo bar has better ingredients than the Comfy Dog stuff, but I’m concerned that it will take an entire bar to bathe Clementine once (she’s furry).

Has anyone ever used these products on their pet? If so, did they work? I’d really appreciate some advice/suggestions regarding any natural pet shampoos. I’m lost, and my dogs are itchy.

the highlights:

Winter time is hat time.

I got to spend time with two of my sisters. They are big fun.

Would you look at those ears?!

Clementine had the time of her life.

His sad face is the reason he gets so much loving from strangers.

Winston was climbing on everything within reach of his stubby little legs.

We discovered a phallic rock.

Amidst all the beautiful nature, we found this rock that looked suspiciously like a penis.

He was higher up than the picture suggests.

Kirby got stuck on a rock wall for a minute.

She fell over and couldn't get up because of her dog backpack.

Yes, she has a dog backback. It carried her treats, portable bowl, and a small amount of water.

Our butts got dirty.

We got a chance to rough it like big strong men.

This cobbler was off the chain.

It consisted of blueberry pie filling, cherry pie filling, yellow cake mix, and butter. Yummm trans fat!

My boyfriend is a cutiepie.

He was totally posing for that picture.

Dismals Canyon was an impressively beautiful place. I took a number of pictures in an attempt to convey that, but they did not do it justice. For that reason, I have omitted said pictures from this post.