Puppy Woes

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So.

About a week ago, our happy, energetic Coach was underfoot.

Like, the poor guy got stepped on.

It was bound to happen at some point. Coach is always in motion. Please refer to exhibits A, B and C:

This is why Coach is usually sleeping in my pictures 🙂

A consequence of constantly being in motion is he’s constantly jumping up around people as they walk. He loves people. Can’t wait to greet them and get some attention. But he doesn’t seem to realize the danger of being an 8 lb. dog running around the feet of grown humans!

Yikes.

A loud yelp and a limp first alerted us to his injury. I freaked. Did he break a bone? Tear, rip or pull something? Was his hip out of place (Australian shepherds often have hip-related health issues)?

So many things to worry about. But he was running around on 3 legs in no time and didn’t show much distress when we, ahem, examined, his injured leg (We watched a Youtube video about leg injuries in dogs. Instant expertise achieved). So, we unhappily decided to leave him home for a few hours so we wouldn’t miss too much work before taking him to the vet. I think we were hoping he’d show some improvement by the time we were home. Our Youtube education taught us that puppies often acquire soft tissue injuries after playing too rough, but they typically bounce back quickly.

I got stuck in a meeting 🙁 but Justin headed home to check on him a few hours later. He was still limping, so off to the vet they went. An x-ray and consultation later, I heard he’d possibly broken his growth plate and could need a splint for a month. Oh em gee. I started worrying about needing to cancel our upcoming Napa vacation, how we’d pay a $500 vet bill in December (a week before Christmas), whether he’d heal well enough – a broken growth plate can result in uneven leg length…oh dear.

Luckily, I got a call from the hubs about a half hour after I’d started my stressing telling me the vet thought some swelling had obscured the x-ray image. She didn’t think there was a break. She was sending the image off for a second opinion and putting Coach on on some anti-inflammatories, but she didn’t think a splint would be necessary. The bill went down to $315. As much as I make in a week, but less than half a grand.

That, my friends, is positive reinforcement for my worry habit ;).

So glad the pup is fully recovered. He didn’t even need a full week of anti-inflamitories-ness. Prescription. Whatever it is. He’s back to his usual nonsense. Check out his latest and greatest:

Oxbow Public Market

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Just got back from a few days in Napa.

Ah. So nice to get away!

Every time we’re there, we make sure to stop by Oxbow.

It’s a foodie’s dream. A culinary wonderland.

Juicy Juice Bar (the Sweet Treat juice is my fav: beets, apples, carrots and spinach) with my mother-in-law, Nina! 🙂

Hog Island Oyster Company (the Sweetwaters are delish).

Kara’s Cupcakes (Jboat loves the sweet vanilla cupcakes).

Ritual Coffee (coffees tend to be sweeter and more floral than other roasters’ profiles).

And a great all natural grocery / produce section.

Even some locally-made pretties!

If you make your way to Oxbow, here are a few other places to check out:

1. Gott’s Roadside – Yummy burgers and shakes. The white pistachio milkshake is a must!

2. The Olive Press – The blood orange olive oil is so good!

3. Three Twins Ice Cream – Great branding and ice cream sandwiches 🙂

And during the warmer parts of the year, there’s a great farmers’ market out in the parking lot!

Now if only we had one in the Sacramento area…

 

I’m Dreaming of a Redwood Christmas

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Have you ever seen redwoods in the snow?

Not giant sequoias in Yosemite or King’s Canyon, but sequoia semprovirens.

I guess it doesn’t happen often because of the relatively low elevation redwoods typically grow in. But it does happen.

Photo by Michael Nichols

And it’s easiest to get photos of this amazingness at Del Norte Redwood State Park near Cresent City. One of my favorites.

Here are a few shots I got there this summer. Since I’ve got redwoods on the brain.

Highway 101 runs through the park, with campgrounds to the east and steep bluffs to the west, leading to the Pacific. Which means lots of fog on the road, but not in your camp 🙂

A few more from Patrick’s Point State Park and Humboldt Lagoons State Park, near Trinidad.

Sorry, I haven’t edited these. Never got around to it. That is my finger in the upper right 🙂

Snow in the redwoods, Santa. Make it happen for 2013!

The Boatman Living Room at Christmastime

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It’s that time of year…

And we’re not often home during the Christmas season. So when I decorate, it’s pretty minimalistic. Here are a few little details I added to our living room to jazz it up for Christmastime 🙂

Our mantel! We got this guy last year. There was an electric fireplace insert in it, but the hubs pulled it out. It was piney-gross, so I painted it with Ann Sloan’s Chalk Paint in the color Pure. I haven’t waxed it since we may or may not make a floating mantel out of it. Not sure yet. But the stockings are hung here for Christmas 🙂

Details of the mantel. Two turtle doves 😉 “Marshmallow Fireside” candle from Bath and Body Works in a snowflake votive cover from Target last year. Next to some festively colored books Jboat and I have collected. The one closest to the candle is called I Dare You! written by William H. Danforth. It’s a great read.

We always struggle over whether or not to get a tree for Christmas. Last year, we bought a live tree and planted it in our yard afterwards. It died. So no more of that. And who really wants to spend $50 on a cut tree? So we went with this fake tree from Target. It’s only 4 1/2 feet tall, so I raised it on a box or two before adding some burlap as the skirt. It’s pre-lite, which is awesome, and a cinch to put together.

I decorate the tree with miniature red and gold bulbs (probably for Target as well), snowflake ornaments from Crate and Barrel, twine garland (DIY) and a ribbon topper (aka a bow 🙂 ).

And on top of our (temporary) side table, I put a vase with assorted bulbs near the usual drift wood and candle.

The coffee table tray gets a seasonal facelift, too. The candies are white chocolate peppermint M&Ms and the candle is called “Fireside” from Bath and Body Works. I made the candle surround out of ribbon.

The lovely red garland around the TV (might be kind of corny, but I had to put it somewhere) is from Crate and Barrel. The little red frames hold clippings from Trader Joe’s annual Christmas brown paper grocery bags 🙂

It’s not much, but there’s our little bit of Christmas round the living room!

My Photos Are Not For Sale

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Have you heard?

Instagram’s changed its privacy policy and its terms of service. After January 16, 2013, whether you opt in or not, Instagram reserves the right to use your likeness, profile and even your pictures in deals with advertising companies, agencies and campaigns.

What?!

Really? Instagram is so out of line on this one. The idea that because it is a free service, it can use its members photos free of charge is ridiculous. That’s like Blogspot suddenly deciding to publish its users writings as its own for profit.

Of course, Instagram claims this is all a big misunderstanding. I don’t believe it until the TOS and PP have been revised and re-released. Until then, the issue is there isn’t really anything quite like Instagram. Eye’Em is ok, but it’s very slow and the user interface isn’t as easy to use. Many IGers will probably stay, which further validates Instagram’s decision to abuse copyright laws.

What can we do? I personally am deleting my account. Sad, but true. Not that I think Instagram would use my account in an ad, but just on principle. And, for all of the professional photographers who have an account. It hurts their business. That is unacceptable. But, Instagram is a part of Big Industry now, so anything is justifiable if profitable.

I’d encourage you to consider deleting your account as well. Or watermarking your photos before posting them. And adding the hashtag #notforsale to each post. Unless something changes.

Now, I’m off to try an figure out Eye’Em. Give me patience 😉

Pray for Newtown

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I was planning on a different type of post today.

But because of the shooting in Newtown, CT…

I’ve changed my mind. Listen to this song if you’re feeling the same heartache so many of us around the country are feeling.

Or if you just like a great tune.

 

Brooke Fraser – Flags

Come, tell me your trouble

I’m not your answer

But I’m a listening ear

Reality has left you reeling

All facts and no feeling

No faith and all fear

I don’t know why a good man will fall

While a wicked one stands

And our lives blow about

Like flags on the land

Who’s at fault is not important

Good intentions lie dormant

And we’re all to blame

While apathy acts like an ally

My enemy and I are one and the same

I don’t know why the innocents fall

While the monsters still stand

And our lives blow about

Like flags on the land

I don’t know why our words are so proud

Yet their promise so thin

And our lives blow about

Like flags in the wind

You who mourn will be comforted

You who hunger will hunger no more

All the last shall be first, of this I am sure

You who weep now will laugh again

All you lonely be lonely no more

Yes, the last will be first, of this I’m sure

I don’t know why the innocents fall

While the monsters stand

I don’t know why the little ones thirst

But I know the last shall be first

I know the last shall be first

I know the last shall be first

Please take a moment today to pray for all those affected by this tragedy.
(Photo found here)

A Fan of the Fan

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So, if I show you something, do you promise you won’t judge/be grossed out?

Here it goes…

That, my friends, is the wall of our full bath.

I know. I know. Gross.

Our older home has 1.5 bathrooms. And, go figure, only the half-bath has a fan in it. Ya, ’cause running the sink makes it super steamy in there.

Our full bath is original to the home and though it’s been beautifully upgraded with travertine and granite, a boob light manned the spot of an ever-so-necessary fan. Ugh. Gross.

It’s been on my radar ever since we bought the place and my dream is now a reality! My husband tackled the old plaster ceiling and installed a bathroom fan from Home Depot for $20ish.

We chose a high powered fan over a quiet fan, but I think it was a good choice. And the bathroom is no longer McSteamy after a shower (Did you catch that Grey’s Anatomy reference? Yes? Then we can be friends :)). The days of showering in the winter with the window open are over! And, now I can paint!

Well, after I wash down those gross walls 🙁

To be continued!

Wedding Details

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Oh weddings…beautiful, stressful, emotional things. So intimate and personal – a clear reflection of the couple and their relationship (If done well…in my opinion :)). There are caterers to hire, photographers to meet with, bakers to book. And then, there are the crazy people. Who decide to do it themselves.

So JBoat and I are a couple of those crazies. And we DIY’ed nearly our entire wedding. All the way down to the playlist of music played for dancing during the reception and the edits made to our wedding footage. No regrets, though…well, maybe one. I wish I’d had time to DIY my flowers (My mom was the voice of reason there)!

One of my favorite projects we tackled for the wedding was the printed materials. All of the printed materials were designed, printed, cut, embellished, etc by yours truly and the hubs. Check them out!

 

(Photos above were taken by Tori Wible of TW Photography)

(A few of the fonts we used include Lobster 2.0 {Which you can download for free}, Rockwell and Garage Gothic.)

Justin and my brother-in-law, Garrett (who is web-talented-beyond-belief) also created our website (well, mostly Garrett ;)).

Yes, we still have it up. Yes, it is outdated for sure. Yes, it will stay that way 🙂 I’m not ready change it/take it down just yet!