Dog Mom Top 5

Those of you who know me know that it was only a matter of time before I posted a dog post! I can't help myself.

 

 

Ollie

 

We adopted Ollie on Feb 2, 2013 from Pet Supermarket. They were hosting an offsite adoption event for The Columbus Animal Care and Control Center. We had not planned on getting a dog that day. (Well, Jordan hadn't.) But I saw the pictures of the puppies on their Facebook Page and knew I had to go see them. She was the first one I noticed in the play pen sleeping. She looked so fluffy and reminded me of our black lab we had growing up, Molly. I scooped her up and never put her down. After about 10 minutes of me ooing and ahhing and rubbing my face all over her fur, Jordan said, "So what are you going to name her?" This photo was taken right after that:

 

 

And then she grew...



 

 

After months of training, a bout of worms, one trip home to Illinois, two trips to Florida, a million trips to Flat Rock Park to swim, 6 collars and a million poop bags later, we have an 8 month old baby who has stolen the hearts of everyone who's met her. She is the apple of our eyes and all that junk that I won't go into.  

 

 

And yes, she is spoiled beyond reason.

 So here are my Dog Mom Top Five 

 

1.) Guardian Angel Pets Ebay Store

These folks rock. They personalize their collars, leashes, harnesses and service dog vests to almost any color you can imagine. Their items are ridiculously cheap. And what little they do charge, part is donated to service animals. I bought Ollie a teal collar with pink lettering the first time. She loved it so much she ate it. Yesterday we received our new one, which is lime green with hot pink lettering. At a total of $12.50 shipped. 3 days from order to door. Love them.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Pet Supermarket

This is the store we adopted Ollie at. We love them for so many reasons. They are always beyond helpful and eager to meet your pet and spoil them. They allow us to hold our training sessions there and even help participate. They push healthier dog food on you (this sounds obnoxious but they really do care). They host offsite adoptions almost every weekend. They do not sell puppies or kitties, only (usually) non adoptable animals such as fish and hamsters. Every 10 bags of dog food you buy you get a free one. I could really go on and on. They really are a great company.

 

3.) Dentley's Rawhide Munchy Chunk Granola Chips

The ingredient list: Sweet Potato, Beef Rawhide, Oats, Carrots, Peanuts, Peanut Protein Powder, Dried Bananas, Rice Flour, Potassium Sorbate

Need I say more? No, but I will. They are really hard, and they help clean the teeth. Ask anyone who has seen my dog's mouth. They last a longer than a regular treat.

 

4.) TJ Maxx and Marshall's

I always buy my poop bags, shampoo and toys here. They are cheaper and better quality than Wal-Mart etc. Plus it gives me an excuse to go.....

 

5.) Kong

I'm sure you've either heard of or already own a Kong. The original is what we have. They now have all kinds of different "indestructible" toys. They have their critics, of course, but I think they are amazing. Our favorite Kong recipe is Peanut Butter Glue. We fill it with dog food, then pour melted peanut butter inside and freeze it. Hours of entertainment. For Ollie and us. The sounds she makes when she's eating it are hilarious.

 



 

There are a few of our favorite thingssssss

 

And here are some sweet pictures of Ollie and her Daddy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Company Spotlight: The Honest Company (ALERT: cheap bulk diapers!)

I follow Jessica Alba on Instagram. I noticed she mentioned that she founded The Honest Company. I had never heard of it, so I looked into it. Turns out, they are amazing.

 

What most impressed me were the bundles they offer. They are a monthly subscription. The one that caught my eye was the Diapers and Wipes Bundle. This includes 6 jumbo packs of diapers and 4 packs of wipes per month. ($79.00)

 

 

Did I mention they are eco-friendly, free of lotions, fragrance and latex. Plus, they come in these adorable designs:

 

 

Here's how they compare in price to name brand diapers (price per diaper):

 

Honest Company: 18 cents

Huggies: 19 cents

Luvs: 17 cents

Huggies Little Movers: 25 cents

 

Overall, I think this is an awesome deal. They will replace your unused diapers for ones of the correct size, as well.  And what a great idea for a baby shower gift for a group friends to go in on?

 

Other bundles include The Cleaning Bundle. This is $35.95 a month. It includes 5 products of your choice and is also a subscription type bundle.

 

 

 

Each bundle is available in a free sample, $5.95 shipping.

 

Check out the website and let me know what you think!

 

 

 



Weekend Foodventures

My husband loves to say that I don't cook anymore. And I'll admit, I don't cook nearly as much as I used to. I miss it. Before I found my job, I could keep laundry caught up, clean the house, walk the puppy, prepare dinner and wear makeup. Let's be honest, none of those things really happen anymore. That's just life in America, I guess. Sometimes I wonder when I have time to breathe. Thus forms the food and cleaning weekends. This weekend we:

Friday: went to the cheap movie theatre ($5 for both! It's the little things) and ate out.

Saturday: I made biscuits and gravy (J calls them B and Gs), home made pizza for dinner and brownies. The brownies went with us to a house party we attended. Still warm. Sighhh. 

Sunday: Ate breakfast out, took Ollie to visit some dog friends, and did a little shopping at Target, or heaven, and Fresh Market. 

The only problem with Fresh Market is this: it looks really healthy and fancy. Then you get to the giant cheese selection. I mean wheels the size of muddin' tires. All butter croissants, gelato and barrels of chocolates. Olive bar, wine corner and black cherry soda. So it's a foodie heaven. Then you check out and you realize you have filled your cart with these things and are poor newly weds. That still counts as a date though, right?

Pizza Recipe

This is how I make pizza. I'm not saying it's the right way. I'm not saying I do everything perfectly or it always turns out amazing. But most of the time, it's pretty damn good. 

I start with dough: I usually make it from scratch, let it rise forever and ever, beat the shit out of it, so on. But this time I bought the Pubix deli premade dough ball. I roll out my dough with a glass because I don't have a rolling pin.

While the dough is prepping, I sautee whatever needs it. We like baby bellas and carmelized onions. I use real butter and brown sugar to carmelize. I think the molasses sets it off. Jordan likes me to add sausage, which I had precooked from the B and Gs.

Here's where it gets weird...

We love ricotta. We love pesto. I was out of ricotta and needed a substitute for white sauce. I mixed these together and found out that the sour cream turns into a ricotta like texture when baked. 

The cheese I use is a block of whole milk mozzarella sliced/chunked into pieces and placed on like a mosaic. Then add toppings. 

Take in the yum!

Then baked at 400 until it's done and......

It's not pretty. It spilled over. But it tasted amazing. 

And it's sneaky. Where are you going?

Notice I didn't add measurements or amounts. This is because I believe everyone likes their pizza different. We try new toppings all the time. That's the fun of pizza!

Next is the garlic pork roast...our store always has little pork roasts on sale. I buy up the clearance ones and freeze them for crock pot taco meat. But this time I tried something new. I actually hate roasts, so this was for Jordan. It's pretty self explanatory.

Yum!

Last but not least, we had a fruity weekend. 

Here's the brownie recipe I swear by....

Until next weekend foodventure!