DIY dog bed

I'm usually not a fan of spending tons of money on things that I need but aren't made in an appealing way. Dog beds definitely fall into this category as they are usually some ugly green or blue, or in a masculine print like a plaid. Don't get me wrong about plaids - I like them when they're done well but usually this doesn't apply to affordable dog beds. So since people don't seem to manufacture inexpensive, attractive dog beds, I've made my own. I got this hairbrained idea when I adopted Gracie a few years back and came up with a somewhat-stylish and a bit lopsided round bed with a fun brown and white fabric.

Gracie and the original DIY bed

Of course then, I had to enlist my mom to do the sewing b/c I had no sewing machine and didn't know how to use a sewing machine. But that is not the case today! My dad, being the oh-so-thoughtful man he is, gave me a sewing machine for Christmas and I have been looking forward to using it. I finally used it for the first time this week on a DIY dog bed. Because this was my first attempt at sewing with the machine, I used a set of old brown curtains (Chip insisted on black-out style curtains in our apartment bedroom in a previous life) to make the bed. I had some leftover fabric from Gracie's first bed and added a stripe to make it less blah.

The most recent DIY bed

But now that I'm feeling pretty good about the sewing machine and the bed-making, I'm going to use this fabric to make a cover for the new and original dog beds. Very exciting.

Cooking like a (the) pioneer woman

If you watch the Today show, which I do not, you would know that the Pioneer Woman or Ree Drummond was on the show this morning. I only know b/c I follow her blog. Since we moved to Texas I think its only fitting to follow her blog - she lives on a ranch in OK, with a pretty cool family (she refers to her husband as Marlboro man), raising cows and cooking up some yummy food. Also, I follow her blog b/c I've always had a fascination with farms, ranches, cows, horses, etc. Do you know the best part about where we live now? Just behind our neighborhood, on our walk route around the canals is a farm with two horses, two goats, various other animals and a real STEER. Yes, with huge horns and everything. Its pretty awesome. So as you can see, its only natural that I would like the Pioneer Woman's blog b/c it combines something I love doing with ranch life! We've tried a few of Pioneer Woman's recipes and they have all turned out well. This week we tried her raspberry cream pie and last week we tried the grilled chicken with lemon basil pasta. Both were quite good and I'm sure we will continue using her yummy recipes. An added bonus is that she takes lovely photos of the cooking process! (We didn't take any pictures but here are some from the Pioneer Woman herself).

Pioneer Woman

Pioneer Woman

Furry family member update

The Houston Humane Society has been down a vet for a day or so and are not sure when they will be able to get the new furry family member spayed. So, hopefully we'll pick her up tomorrow, but it might be as late as next week. Hopefully its soon! We'll keep you updated!

Around our house

Upcoming projects:

1. Deciding on fabric for our headboard but likely getting the materials in the next week or so to start that project.
2. Working on a DIY dog bed and dog bed covers for our existing slew of beds. Thought it would be an easy way of introducing the sewing machine into my life.
3. Finalizing a few colors for various rooms in our house including our half bath and then hopefully doing some painting.
4. And last but not least - bringing home our new furry family member!!

We have spent a good deal of the last three days searching out the perfect addition to our little family. And when I say searching, we had multiple trips to the SPCA and the Houston Humane Society. Who knew it would be so difficult to find another family member. But we were successful (or at least we hope). A yet-to-be-named doggie will be joining us tomorrow! :) She is being spayed today (poor thing) and we are going to pick her up tomorrow. So keep your eyes peeled for pictures, hopefully at least one without her cone.