Outfit & Pup :: Crazy In Love

I love dogs. I love dog related things. So why not put them all together in one post? This new tee from Anthropologie went perfect with my new custom Teemo necklace from Crave Jewelry design! Plus, it's been awhile since I have had both pups in the photos. While visiting Cincinnati, my pups have the time in my life in my parents yard ( which has some strange strain of grass that turns brown in the winter making it super attractive - kidding - but cushy ) sniffing new scents, barking at every thing that passes, and in general being pups on vacation. See that bay window in my parents house in the background of some of these? Teemo just lounges in it all day. You can see how thrilled he is to be modeling in these photos - stupid momma ruining his relaxation spree.

hat :: handmade remixed

creature feature tee :: anthropologie

astral swing skirt :: anthropologie remixed

tights :: old navy

kate spade x keds :: via zappos remixed

rings :: kate spade & kiel mead remixed

necklace :: c/o crave jewelry design remixed

Re-purposing Simple Syrup

There was this one time I had a life and style blog, and I made TONS and tons of simple syrup. There were four jars in my fridge, and I really couldn't drink that many cocktails. Oh wait. That time is now. And seriously - what happens when you  have leftover simple syrup and want it to be something more interesting? Easy! Here are two ways to infuse some flavor into the already made simple syrup without having to cook up a whole additional batch. 

Herbs

An herb like mint or rosemary infuses well without the heat, just place and leave in for a few days in the fridge. Don't have the extra time? Use a muddler with the leaves in a large bowl and strain back into the jar!

Extracts

Adding extract is a great way to add flavor, especially with common flavors like mint and vanilla. I'm finding adding one of these two extracts is the best thing ever - particularly vanilla when mixed with whiskey!

Favorites :: #BarkBoxGifts

Have you heard of subscription boxes for dogs? There are tons of beauty ones, foodie ones, and some other types, but as I am not big on surprises, only the pups get a dog box. Raynor and Teemo have a tendency to go through toys and treats like a kid with candy. Teemo is chewer - always looking for the next bone or chew toy to destroy so any treats for dogs are his thing. Raynor is a tugger, a fetcher, and really any game that requires being a bit rough on the toys. Their holiday dog gift from BarkBox arrived early, so we figured we would let them have at it with our own 'mini Christmas' since we will be out of town on actual Christmas.

What exactly IS BarkBox? It's a monthly dog box where each month, your pups get a box of goodies. No more pet store trips, no more shopping online trying to figure out what to get - just lots of things to try each month and figure out what works best. I like this model because I get more for the money, the dogs get new things each month instead of our normal model, and 10% of the profit from my sale goes towards dog shelters and rescues.They don't repeat products, they don't send out anything with funky, unnatural ingredients, and all are tested and carefully picked by a team inside. Our box included some fun things. Here's what was what and who liked what in our pups.

Here's an example bark box. I was super happy mine had none of the blue shredded paper. That stuff makes a huge mess!

The stuff :: Total value, Around $35 (BarkBox is $29, $24, $19 a month depending on your plan)

Bocce's Bakery Truffle Mac & Cheese Treats SRP $7.40 // PetSafe Pogo Plush Toy SRP $13

Twistix Wheat Free Dental Treats SRP $5.95 // Nootie YumZies in Cheese SRP $7.99

Teemo NEEDED some dental treats - he used to get Greenies, but as they have wheat in them, he can't have them anymore because Raynor can't. The Twistix were the best thing in the box - Teemo is cute, but man, does his breath smell awful. Like, not dog breath awful, just, I cannot explain to you. Raynor ignored the treats and went for the toy, which she loves as it's a snuggly toy that she can play fetch with - her favorite. Let's see how long until Teemo destroys it. The treats were nice - the truffle mac and cheese made me jealous as they smell really darn good. The YumZies didn't interest the pups as much and were the only thing they kind of put off to eat/play with the other things. It is definitely worth the surprise - and this one was a good one!

If you are thinking about this for a gift - act fast if you want it to arrive! I already got a gift subscription for some lucky pups - this makes such a great gift for dogs! For December only, BarkBox will be offering extended shipping open until Dec. 17 at midnight (PDT) for a $5 surcharge. Regular shipping cut off is December 10th. You can get 10% off right now by using this link.

 

If you looking to get holiday gift for dogs, I really suggest this - even just one month to try it out - as my dogs LOVED the surprise, and I myself enjoyed the variety of products I hadn't really heard of before. Plus, seeing my pups get gifts is the best! Get 10% off by using this link to BarkBox!

This post was written on behalf of the BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network for BarkBox. This indicates I am being compensated for helping spread the word about BarkBox, although the opinions and ideas expressed are my purely own. For more information - read the disclosure of this blog.

Outfit & City :: Philadelphia, Again

Jason and I went to Philadelphia on our actual birthday date to enjoy something crazy - a $100 cheesesteak at Barclay Prime. My father in law knew we had seen it on TV and were interested, and got us a gift card to cover it. Such a fun gift - the man knows us well. So we got a little dressed up in my new Anthropologie heels and Fossil memoir flap purse and went for a drink in the city, then a fabulous dinner. Was it worth $100? No, probably not. I got terribly sick after (go figure), but I did really enjoy it while we were there. We weren't even able to finish it - but we definitely finished the most delicious bottle of champagne that came with it!

shirt :: gap remixed

skirt :: anthropologie remixed

foxfire wedges :: anthropologie

memoir flap novel satchel :: c/o fossil

rings :: kate spade & Gorjana griffin remixed

bracelet :: kate spade remixed

Sponsor Spotlight

Nicole Marie Paperie has the cutest selection of holiday cards - be sure to check her stuff out if you are looking for some cute holiday cards, or just stationary!

Crave Jewelry Design is probably my all time favorite jewelry company (I'm very sentimental about things, and one of her necklaces is one of my oldest now and favorite). There is a giveaway going on right now - go enter it!

Katie of the Wildwood Flowergirl has a sweet blog with lots of cute outfits and a country feel.

Sara of Swing the Day Away has one of my favorite styles -be sure to check out her recent outfit posts inspired by the houses of Harry Potter.

Megan of The Magpie is always in some of the best color combinations I have ever seen. I love her blog's clean and straight forward feel.

Outfit :: Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

Christmas! Our tree is up - we have been decorating - and we are getting lights up! Here's some photos of an outfit I wore while running errands and decorating our home for the holidays. Just a quickie little post - our Canon broke, and we are having SO many issues with photos lately. We were without a camera over Thanksgiving in Cincinnati, and just now in the process of selling our lenses and changing our entire lineup around.

headband :: anthropologie remixed

demin jacket :: mossimo via target remixed

strapless dress :: flying tomato remixed

scarf :: target

kate spade x keds :: via zappos remixed

rings :: gojana griffin remixed

Cocktail :: Candy Cantini

Christmas cocktails are always harder for me! I love me a good Grasshopper, but what about a non-ice cream, less sugar-crazed, but still sweet drink? That's where this yummy FAIR Quinoa vodka inspired me. I wanted to something traditional - like a martini - with a yummy twist. And so was born, the Candy Can-tini.

FAIR Quinoa vodka is the first line of fair trade spirits, which means it's good for the world. It's also pretty tasty - in comparison to the normal vodka brands you'll see on the shelves, I'd say this is on par with some of the mid range ones. It's got a little more flavor - kind of a bite to it - but really is just a vodka that's distilled from quinoa and other than sounding different, it isn't weird or tasteless. Definitely suitable for cocktails where you can add flavor and make it do what you want - hence the peppermint!