Tricky Tricky

Sometimes, when she won't come over on her own accord, I like to lure my coworker (Maggie the dog) over to my desk with a treat and then snatch her up and make her take pictures with me.  

I'm pretty sure that she's grown hip to my tricks but the treats continue to prove to be too delicious to pass up... and I think that secretly she finds the cuddles delicious as well.

Friday!

This week FLEW by.  I'm still at the office trying to finish up a newsletter and prep for Monday's trip to Orlando.  Yeah not sure if I mentioned it or not but I'm off to my first business trip next week!  HELLOOOOOO PER DIEM!

Today's been busy but with the help of the following mellow Friday music mix I've managed to say pretty "zenned out":

The Rabbit, the Bat, and the Reindeer - Dr. Dog

Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes

Sun Down - Nik Freitas

House Built for Two - Delta Spirit

Goin' Home - Dan Auerbach

Ball of the Dead Rat - The Teeth

Listen My Son - The Unseen Ghost 

It was a pretty good week but I'm definitely looking forward to some downtime this weekend.  The only thing that makes me a little sad to say good-bye to the work week is knowing I won't see my  office buddy for a few days...

She left for Happy Hour a few hours ago and already it's been terribly lonely not having a moppety puppy to cuddle when the whim strikes!

But productivity has been higher.

Speaking of which... off I go to finish up!

Happy Friday and a merry weekend!

Scruff Thursday

For this week's Scruff Thursday I am overjoyed to be bringing you not one but TWO very different honorees.

Up first (and continuing the "YAY live music!" thing I seem to have going on) is a delightfully beard-ful bluegrass band out of Portland.  Last Friday I went with friends to see the Renegade Stringband play at the High Dive in Fremont and there was so much right with the entire experience...

1) Their music was absolutely fantastic.  When their set ended I was so upset I considered starting a spirited slow clap for more.
2) The majority of the band members were sporting some seriously luscious face-locks.
Yeah I said face-locks... as in locks of hair on your face... as in beards.
The non-bearded member, i.e. the female lead vocalist, made up for her lack of scruff with a seriously enviable set of pipes.  
3) One of the people I went with, Heather, is actually friends with a member of the band.   Um, hello easy access to post performance photo session...

Clearly Caitlin, Heather, and I had to get in on the action.

To my friends in Portland, yes you Caitlin, Elizabeth, and Jeff, the Renegade Stringband is playing at the Mt. Tabor Theatre on February 11th.  If you don't have anything going on that night... now you do!

As promised I have yet another Scruff Thursday feature this week.  When Food On My Dog found it's way onto my computer screen I could not resist paying it forward by sharing it on my little piece of the interwebs. 

The title, Food On My Dog, pretty much sums of the purpose of the Tumblr (which might be the most ridiculous or most genius thing I've ever seen.  I think I will err on the side of "most genius" but I do understand if my readers disagree)  If you need further description, however, I will quote the creator, "This is a blog where I post pictures of food on my dog."

The subject of the Tumblr is a Staffordshire Terrier and American Bulldog mix named Tiger.  And while all the photographs of her balancing edibles on her head are peculiarly enjoyable my favorites are probably the ones featuring a taco, a slice of pizza, and king crab legs.

Yeah... so pretty incredible.  But don't take my word for it... foodonmydog.tumblr.com

Hope you're having a great Thursday.  If you're not I recommended finding an animal, taking your lunch, and balancing said lunch on aforementioned animal!

Scruff Thursday!

The interwebs are seriously so overflowing with scruff-tastic images!  This week I once again felt compelled to share a tumblr instead of posting any sort of original fur/face-fuzz picture and I think you will thank me.

Today I bring to you something truly innovative and remarkable... Beards&Fur.  Yeah that's right... you asked for it (or at least I did)... bearded dudes with sweet, cuddly, furballs!!!

What day is it?  It's Cat-urday!  Bwahaha! 

A bicycle built for... a bear and a spare?

I won't even attempt at making a funny quip here.  That's just plain ole' hot. 

While perusing the images I heard myself ask aloud, "Ooooh I wonder if they have those pictures I saw of Jon Hamm with his dog?" Yeah, that's right.  Seeing photos of Jon Hamm and his dog have absolutely made my day on an occasion or two.  

While Beards&Fur is plentiful in the "dude and his corgi" or "beardo with a rabbit" arena (delightful, simply delightful!) they are wanting when it comes to celebrity hunks and their pups.

So here's the final Scruff Thursday image that I am sharing with you today.  I hunted it down for your viewing pleasure.  Feast your eyes on Jon Hamm and his dog Cora (yeah I know her name... what about it?):

via People.com (where else?)... oh yeah Jack McBrayer's in there too.

Happy Almost Friday Everyone!  See ya' tomorrow!

Scruff Thursday : The Inauguration

After some thought I decided I needed to start at least one weekly themed posting.  Some bloggers have "Music Monday" or "End of Week Instagram Roundups".  Those are nice and all but I wanted to do something near and dear to me.  What is something that I would not get tired of blogging about one day a week, week after week.  Let's be honest, the answer came pretty quickly: Scruffy men and scruffy animals.  So with no further ado allow me to introduce to you the first winner of the weekly "Scruff Thursday" awards!

You saw her featured not too long ago here and here but her animal scruff deserves further representation on this here blog.  I am here to formally recognizing Miss Millie for exceptional skills at cuddliness and fuzziness.  Thank you Mille for all you bring to the "World of Scruff".

Hope your Thursdays are scruff-tastic!

Christmas Dinner Has Been Brought To You By Pinterest

Pinterest, for those of you not in the know, is essentially where social networking and virtual inspiration boards meet. Pinterest allows you to organize images in different "boards" for your own reference but it also allows you to share these images with other "pinners". Like so many internet-y things it is addicting and as a result time consuming. In my short time on Pinterest I have already "pinned" over 500 images and have no plans of slowing down. I choose images to pin on my boards for a variety of reasons but I mostly select pictures of outfits to copy, DIY projects to attempt, and recipes to cook. The problem that I run into, however, is that instead of spending my time trying out the ideas that I've already pinned I scour the internet for more things to pin and subsequently never actually try doing.

A side note: I am also this way with books. I will buy 4 books at a time. Read one of them. And then instead of reading any of the three remaining books I will head back to the bookstore to buy four new ones and start the process of not reading them all over again.

But back to the topic at hand... Pinterest and the problems it presents. Before heading down to California for the holiday I told my mom that I would cook Christmas dinner. I prepared last years Thanksgiving feast and this year, because there were so many other people who wanted to get their hands dirty, I missed having total and absolute control over the menu and preparation (you'll see this is a theme when you combine me and any sort of entertaining/cooking/decorating endeavor). I was having a hard time deciding what I would concoct for the family. I am mainly vegetarian (I eat the fishies on occasion) whereas they are carnivorous beasts and so finding something that everyone will be happy with can be difficult. I decided this could be a perfect time to actually try out some of my pinned recipes. And so I did! I like to call the endeavor "Christmas Dinner Has Been Brought To You By Pinterest". Here's what I decided to make...

{no need to knead bread dough. recipe available at joie de vivre}

{pear, blue cheese and walnut salad! yum!

maple syrup vinaigrette recipe available at drizzle and dip }

{butternut squash with ginger & cilantro recipe available at rachelraymag}

{simple salmon baking technique from the pioneer woman. I added a little dill and lemon to mine!}

With some patience (the bread takes 14+ hours to make from start to finish) and a little help from my sous chefs...

I have to say I was pretty pleased with the final product...
The bread was definitely my favorite part of the meal. For one it was SUPER tasty and for two I had never been successful at baking bread from scratch... UNTIL NOW! Taking that first bite of fluffy, carb-y goodness and realizing that I had in fact baked a real loaf of bread stirred up feeling of accomplishment paramount to those I had when completing my first marathon. Strange? Maybe. Factual? Oh yes.


Just looking at the picture illustrating the fruit of my labor is making me tired. I am off to finish my day at work and then take a much needed post holiday nap!



Merry 2 days after Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Weekend Update

The weekend was great... way too short... but great. Saturday morning friends, Alexis and Mark to be exact, and I got up bright and early and headed 4.5 hours south (and a little east) to Scio, Oregon for the wedding of my very first college roommate Annie. After the festivities subsided we drove back up i5 and we crashed with one of my nearest and dearest friends Caitlin and her other half Jeff. There I watched my first episode of Community (oh how I laughed) followed by what is quite possibly the best concept for a show ever... Puppies vs. Babies. "What the what?" you ask. Well I'll tell you what is the what... it's the best viral videos of puppies up against the cutest videos of babies and a panel of "judges" decides who's the cutest! Yeah, another reason I should consider getting cable.

I had made a pretty sweet mix for the drive down to Oregon but our chauffeur did not have an auxiliary outlet in his Chevrolet Malibu (say it with me, "WHAT THE WHAT?!"). Luckily I got home with enough time yesterday to go on a walk and enjoy my craftsmanship. Here's what I listened to:

Knots - Jeremy Messersmith
Santa Fe - Beirut
Lonely Boy - The Black Keys
Silly Fathers - Rubblebucket (*my new addiction!)
Stranger - Dr. Dog
Fish Sticks - Heligoats
The Honest Truth - Typhoon
Little River - The Tallest Man On Earth

K.I.T.
Amanda

Oh an P.S. head over to a grimm tale and check out this week's photo swap! So excited to have participated!

Puppy Love

Yesterday I really wanted to post. I swear. But I was feeling mono-y. For those of you unfamiliar with the term "mono-y" it refers to the soul sucking exhaustion that goes along with having "the kissing disease". Last week definitely took its toll on my health (and I'm sure that Friday's merriment did nothing to help). Today I'm still feeling a little run down but certainly on the up-and-up.

Complaining aside I do have to admit that Sunday I had the best pick me up imaginable. Even better than the glorious sun that graced us with its presence on Sunday. What's better than a sunny day in Seattle? Puppy sitting an 8-month-old corgi, that's what!! To get me back on a posting roll I am going to start by entertaining my readers with pictures of the adorable nubbin-legged ball of fluff that kept me smiling all day!

"Hi. I'm cuter than you are. Do my bidding!"

Sister obliges but says, "I think I'm just as cute". Puppy's face clearly indicates his disagreement.

Corgi butt!!

It's tiring running around all day when you only have nubs for legs... being the handsomest dog in all the land is pretty exhausting too.

Can't wait for another play date with puppy-face!