Tag Archives: happy

Doggy Daycare: A Day In The Life Of A Pampered Pooch

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Let’s face it, some pooches are so wonderful that they just deserve a day (and lifetime!) of pampering and luxury! Happily, there are plenty of products, places, and activities out there that can help you to make this happen. So read on for some fantastic suggestions of how to pamper your beloved pupper and make a wonderful day of it for the both of you:

Poodle Parlor: Number one on the list of things to do when you are pampering your pup is to take them to a grooming parlor. This is where they can get their coat trimmed, nails clipped, and get a nice bath, so that they are all ready to look their best on their special day.

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SO CUTE!!!

Canine Boutique: Of course, once they are all spick and span you are going to want to take them to the boutique, so that they have something nice to wear. Popular choices are a new collar or two. If your dog is particularly glamorous, they may appreciate one with rhinestones on it! Diva alert! Or perhaps it’s your dog’s birthday or gotcha day, so you’d like to buy them a whole new outfit, in which to be the bell of the ball? Hey, some people are really in to dressing their dogs!

Doggie Massage: Now, all that fun can be tiring for your pooch, so make sure that he gets a nice rest before you go on to the next part of the day. Perhaps a little nap is in order? Or if you want to go the whole hog, how about getting him a doggie massage? Just think if he enjoys a pat, he is going to adore a proper massage! You can have a go at this yourself with the help of this tutorial, or take him to a professional if your budget allows.

Treats and More Treats: No doggie pamper day is going to be complete without plenty of delicious treats for Fido. There are savory treats, sweet treats, and dog breath freshener treats available. Which are a treat for you, too! Remember, though, your pooch should not be eating human treats! Especially not chocolate as this is super dangerous for them and needs to be avoided at all costs! A trip to the vet should never be a part of a doggy pamper day.

Fun Activities: Once your puppy is refreshed and awake, then it’s time to show off their new haircut and clothes, and burn off some energy by going for a long walk. But if you think that you are limited to just walking your dog around the block where you live, then think again. There are a lot of activities that you can do to exercise your pooch. Including hiking, country walks, and even allowing them to go for a dip in the sea! Although if you choose the latter, you’ll probably want to wait to get then groomed after, not before.

Delicious Meals: Lastly, no perfect pup pampering day would be complete without a delicious meal or two for your dog. You can buy them their favorite pre-made dog food. Or you can cook them something special. You can even get chefs that specialize in dog food to whip something up if you’re feeling that way inclined and extra fancy. 😉

Dogs are the best thing that ever happened to humans, so make sure that you celebrate your pets properly every day with lots of love!

Hodge Podge Weekend Dinner

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Hodge Podge Weekend Dinner

Hey everyone and happy weekend! So yesterday I slaved away for the afternoon creating a hodge podge feast for dinner. We had a lot of odds and ends in the fridge and pantries that needed rid of so our meal consisted of a Minestrone soup compliments of our beloved Moosewood cookbook and then, I freestyled an avocado and black bean salad and a mozzarella ciabatta sandwich. Take a look at the finished products and then I will share my secret recipe for the avocado salad:

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In the fridge, I had a leftover avocado and lime from when I made guacamole last week. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with these, so I Googled avocado recipes to see if I could get some inspiration. I saw a recipe for an avocado and black bean salad but it looked incredibly lackluster, so I decided to just whip together something from my imagination and came up with the first picture seen above.

I was so pleased with the final result of my salad that, for once in my life, I actually wrote down how I made it so that I could share it with all of you. In my opinion, it looks like something that you could buy from the store and I was incredibly impressed with both its taste and overall appearance. This salad is perfect for eating plain, scooped up with tortilla chips, wrapped in a tortilla, or as a filling for fish tacos. Here is the recipe for my avocado and black bean salad creation:

  • 1/2 of a large avocado (if you go for a huge avocado like what was in my fridge, 1/2 is really all you need)
  • 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup cooked corn kernels (so happy to be rid of a leftover in my fridge!)
  • 1/2 of a tomato, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup red pepper, finely chopped
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
  • A few shakes of Morton Kosher salt
  • A few shakes of cayenne pepper
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Now, bear in mind that all of the above amounts are approximations and you can really add as much or as little of an ingredient as you want. Love tomato? Use the whole thing! Want it spicier? Add some chili powder and cumin. It’s totally up to you to personalize the salad and turn it into something that you and your whole family enjoys!

Interested in my recipe for mozzarella ciabatta sandwiches? Let me know in the comment section and I’ll publish that, too!

Overall, I am so happy with how my Hodge Podge Weekend Dinner turned out and the leftovers for days is definitely going to be nice! What dishes have you cooked or baked recently? Who is going to be making my avocado and black bean salad soon? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

A New Doggy Friend: The Importance Of Training

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A New Doggy Friend: The Importance Of Training

Make no mistake, when you invite a dog into your home, you’re inviting an entirely different species. Dog behavior is different than ours, and it is necessary for us to coexist. Training is one of the most important elements when it comes to raising a pup. It will form the basis of your relationship and will ensure a caring and fun life together.

Where Do You Start? Dogs are dogs, and we should embrace their spirit and instinct. This should be rewarded with regular treats and praise. However, destructive behavior must be dealt with in a caring but firm manner. Crate training is often seen as a good place to start. Crates can be purchased from sites such as http://indestructibledogtoys.org/dog-crates/. Introducing your puppy to them at an early age will provide them with an area of their own. Add some toys and blankets to the crate so that it feels safe and inviting. This is a place that your dog can go to if there are loud bangs or fireworks outside, etc. Crates can also help when it comes to toilet training. Confining your dog to a crate will train them to hold their bladder until you take them outside or go for a walk.

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DOGGO!!

Lots Of Love: Dogs, like humans, are social animals. They need others around them. Therefore, providing your dog with lots of love and attention will help them grow into happy, healthy pets. Just as they need to learn your ways, you will also need to adapt to their likes and behaviors. Dogs are essentially pack animals and will act accordingly.

Take them for regular walks and let them play with their favorite toys. Find ways to make it as fun as possible. Sites like huffingtonpost.com have lots of suggestions. Don’t leave them alone for long periods but let them understand your absence in short bursts. At first, get them used to you leaving the room for five or ten minutes and build up from there. Once they realize that you’re going to return, this will become more acceptable and tolerable to them.

Reward your dog for good behavior and just for being them (because dogs are great!). Treat them to a new toy and provide them with some healthy, tasty doggy treats. Keep them interested and curious by alternating their walks and trying new things. If you have the opportunity, take them camping and they will love you forever.

Simple Commands: Start with simple commands such as ‘sit’, ‘come’, and ‘down’. There are simple techniques that you can use yourself, without having to go to a class. The ‘come’ command is particularly important as it will ensure that your dog returns to you when you’re outdoors. This will keep them safe in potentially harmful situations such as when you’re near traffic, etc. Teaching your dog to ‘leave it’ is also important from a safety point of view. If he or she spots something that is potentially dangerous, mastering this command may save you a trip to the vet.

Training a dog takes time and patience, but it is an essential part of their maintenance. Tackling this early on will ensure that you both live comfortably and happily together, and that your dog has a loving and safe environment. HURRAY FOR DOGGOS!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Mia Toro Luggage

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Mia Toro Luggage

Hiii everyone and happy Hump Day! So this past weekend my mom and I went on a quick trip to TJMaxx just to get out of the house for a little bit. To be frank, the store was not looking all that great because of the transition from cold to warm weather clothing and the end of season clearance sales. But, despite this, I was still able to walk away with two things that I simply love. This includes the gorgeous Mia Toro Paris themed luggage seen below which will be absolutely perfect for my future trip to Europe. Take a look:

I have had my eye on this darling rolling luggage for literal months now but never much cared to by it because it was priced at a steep one hundred smackers. And after about a month or so of the luggage being at the store, it was gone. In my head, I thought that that was that and I would just have to settle for something less cute once my European travels are a go. It turns out that, four months later, I was wrong.

My mom was actually the one who spotted the Mia Toro baggage sitting among all of the other travel accessories, so a major shout out to her! And, even better, the price was slashed to fifty-six bucks, which I thought was totally reasonable. To put it lightly, I was completely TICKLED that some way, some how my beautiful luggage found its way back to me and at a fraction of the cost, to boot!

Needless to say, the luggage was coming home with me and my mom was kind enough to treat me to it since it was originally supposed to be one of my Christmas presents before it vanished into thin air. I think that this rolling suitcase is the most precious thing on the planet and I love absolutely everything about it. The size, colors, and pattern – *muah* c’est magnifique!

Nothing will be better than rolling into the airport with my Mia Toro Paris themed luggage in tow as Lil Red goes Europe! Love. Love. Freaking LOVE. It truly was my lucky day during that trip to TJs because I was also able to snag my FAVORITE skin care item – the Destiny Boutique Charcoal Face Bar.

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If you ever encounter this beauty bar, then I really encourage you to get it. I have been using the same bar since the middle of OCTOBER and it is still going strong!! My skin has never looked better thanks to the cleansing power of charcoal and because of the bar’s gigantic size, I’m sure that I’ll still be working on the same one for another few months. I’m so happy to have found another one to put in back stock and at six bucks per bar, I consider it a super steal! GREAT SUCCESS!!

Obviously, I’m beyond obsessed with my Mia Toro Luggage and can’t believe how lucky I got during my last trip to TJMaxx! What is your favorite score from TJs? What are some must see locations in Europe that I should check out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Happy Gotcha Day, Doggies!

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Happy Gotcha Day, Doggies!

Hi everyone and happy weekend! Yesterday was a special day because it was one of my precious pooch’s fourth Gotcha Day since we welcomed her into our family. Our Golden Retriever, Gem, has been such a wonderful, beautiful addition to our home and the love that my family has for her knows no bounds. Additionally, our little Terrier mix, Ollie, will be celebrating his first Gotcha Day coming up soon on February 13th so it will be an exciting few months to be a dog in the Mushenheim household!

Both of my pups were rescued through the amazing group that my mom, sister, and I volunteer for called Canine Lifeline. Gem and Ollie were both brought to Ohio from rural shelters in Kentucky and each became members of the family at first sight. Our rescue dogs bring so much joy to our home and are each true cases of ‘Who Rescued Who?’. Happy Gotcha Day to you, Gem! And almost little Ollie!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Also – if you are in Ohio and are interested in finding a new furever friend, then I encourage you to check out the pups at Canine Lifeline, where I’m sure you’ll find your new BFF! Not in Ohio but still want to help? CLL happily accepts donations and would greatly appreciate if you would spread the word! 🙂

What kind of pets do you have at your home? What is something unique or silly about your pet’s behaviors or appearance? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Exciting News!!

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Exciting News!!

Hey everyone and happy Hump Day! I have some very exciting news for my Think Spring Guest Bloggers Series that I just couldn’t wait to share. As you guys know, my friend Angela (who I wrote about yesterday) has a delightful little Etsy shop dedicated to homemade bath and body care goodies. And because Miss Angie and I are in cahoots with each other, I ran an idea by her to get her crafty self to participate in my series. So, I am very excited to share with you guys that as a Lil Red Exclusive, Angela will be creating a signature spring scent special for my readers as a part of the series.

The product will launch on her Etsy shop as well as through an article on lifewithlilred during the series. I am also hoping that we might be able to employ a special discount available to my readers! I am SO excited to see what Angela comes up with but I also want to hear your input, too. What scents do you think are perfect for spring? What is your favorite bath and body care item to treat yourself with? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: If you’re interested in participating in the guest bloggers series, shoot me an email at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com !

Graduation Pictures!

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Graduation Pictures!

Hi everyone and TGIF!! Yesterday was my big day – I graduated from college!! If you don’t already know, I just got my Associate of Arts degree from Cuyahoga Community College. The graduation ceremony was last night and it was great! It was barely over an hour, too, which was especially nice because I much prefer short and sweet over something long and drawn out. My (almost) entire family came out to watch me strut across the stage but unfortunately my dad was really sick and couldn’t make it. Luckily, there are some great pictures and videos to show him, including some of these:

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Walking across the stage to shake hands, kiss some babies, and get my diploma was freaking awesome. AND I was magna cum laude or however you spell it so that’s pretty cool, too! There will definitely be more pictures to come from the ceremony because they had a professional photographer taking pictures and I know he snapped some good ones!

Now, I have my graduation party to look forward to tomorrow! In the afternoon I will have an open house style get together at my home for my family, Special Olympics students, and some former teachers. Then, in the evening my friends and I will go to my favorite bar, the Cashmere Cricket, for some drinks and some good old fashioned white girl wasted tom foolery. I CAN’T WAIT!! I haven’t had a day dedicated just for me in a long time so it is going to be a lot of fun to bask in the glory of being a genius college graduate for the day!

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend and a fabulous day today! How did you celebrate your high school or college graduation? What drink(s) should I get tomorrow night to celebrate? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Graduation Day!

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Graduation Day!

Hi everyone and happy Thursday! Today is my big day! At six o’clock this evening, I will be walking across the stage at Cleveland State University to receive my Associate of Arts degree from Cuyahoga Community College. I AM SO EXCITED!! For exactly two years, I have worked my little ass off to obtain my degree and I am so proud of myself for finally achieving it with a killer grade point average to boot!

I have taken many wonderful classes and I have taken some that were complete shit. I have had some amazing professors but I’ve also had a few that have sucked on ice. However, I would not change my college experience for a thing. I did things my way, accomplished my degree on my time, and gained a plethora of new knowledge and skills that I never dreamed of having before.

Upon completion of school, I plan on dedicating my time from January to June completing my work for my job with the National Core Indicators. Then, I will begin looking for work in a group home or day program setting. I will then look forward to traveling around Summit County in Ohio to continue my work distributing the Adult Consumer Survey for those with mental and physical disabilities for the year 2017.

I have big plans for work but I also want to travel. I want to make time for me, myself, and I – and my family, friends, and boyfriend of course! After a year or so, I plan on going back to Tri-C to obtain my Associate of Science so that I can have a double associates degree. I am so excited and proud about how bright my future looks and I look forward to sharing all of the details with you guys every step of the way!

Hurray for my Graduation Day! Pictures will be up at some point this weekend of me looking snazzy in my cap and gown so please be on the look out! Until then, what was the mascot or nickname for your college or high school? How did you answer the question “what do you want to be when you grow up”? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Graduation Countdown!!

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Graduation Countdown!!

Hey everyone and TGIF! According to my handy dandy calendar, I only have TWENTY-SEVEN DAYS LEFT until I graduate. But who’s counting? The answer is ME. I have been literally staring down the clock every day just wishing for time to go by faster so I can tick another day off in my mental countdown. Unfortunately for this Lil Red, time seems to be dragging on for forever during this home stretch period.

I guess this is a good and a bad thing, though. With Christmas just around the corner, it is important for me to incorporate some online or real life holiday shopping into my homework and work schedule. When time really seems to be lagging, I just hop on the computer and check out the latest additions to my normal website stomping grounds. That doesn’t always mean that I’m shopping for other people, though! A combination of boredom and stir craziness always brings me back to sites like ModCloth and TJMaxx so that I can ogle at all things pretty!

I’m glad that this vortex of a twenty-seven day eternity is giving me some time to get my holiday shopping taken care of but, my goodness, I cannot wait for it to be over! Asides from the obvious of the excitement of walking across the stage in the ceremony, I am very excited for my graduation party! My family rarely has get togethers so I am thrilled to be able to host a celebration at my home for little old me!

The afternoon portion of my grad party will take place at Chez Red and will include my family, some former teachers, and my students and their parents from the Special Olympics. Then, in the evening I will be meeting up with my friends at my favorite bar, the Cashmere Cricket! It is going to be such fun, I can’t even handle it. The last get together that I had was for my twenty-second birthday this past summer but prior to that I have literally had nothing so an entire day dedicated to me, me, me is just what I need! (And, don’t tell anyone but I can’t even remember my birthday party so consider my evening out a redo!)

The Graduation Countdown is freaking ON and until it strikes zero, your girl will be freaking out! I hope everyone is having a super fab week and enjoys their weekend. Who has finished their holiday shopping already? What is on your holiday wish list? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Destiny Boutique Charcoal Face Bar

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Destiny Boutique Charcoal Face Bar

Helloooo everyone! I have been fond of charcoal based skin care products ever since I used one of Biore’s charcoal cleansers. We all have our woes about our skin and mine is having the literal worst blackheads around my five nose piercings. With the piercings and along with the fact that I am constantly touching my nose and readjusting them, it can be easy to see how pesky blackheads have made their home base on my nostrils. BUT I have been using a new beauty bar that I have a lot of faith in that I just have to tell you guys about. Check out my new bar from Destiny Boutique and then let’s discuss:

soapAs much as I love Biore products, I do think that they are a bit pricey and I do not always have a coupon handy to cut back the cost. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for an effective but inexpensive charcoal product and I believe to have found it in this beauty bar. I have become a big fan of using bar soap for my face with complexion bars and my body with soap from Appalachian Naturals. I think that they are so economical and long lasting that you just can’t go wrong with them. That’s why I was SO happy to have found this bar laying around in the beauty aisle of TJMaxx for a whole six bucks. Score!

As soon as I saw the bar, I just had to try it and this past week of using it has left me very pleased with my purchase. First of all, let’s talk about the size of this thing! I was so surprised to see how big it was when I took it out of the package. My last complexion bar lasted me about four months and was about half of this size so I am sure that I will have this bar for close to a year! Honestly, with this size I would have been more than okay spending more than six dollars on it so I really do think this was a steal.

Second of all, this bar is fantastically effective. Within the week, I have noticed a HUGE decrease in my blackhead count on both of my nostrils and they really seem to be staying away as opposed to working their way back. My skin also looks bright and healthy and feels smooth as can be. Not only is it proving to be a powerful blackhead fighter but its scent is so invigorating! This bar smells like peppermint which is one of my favorite skin/body care scents. It smells so good and fresh and I instantly feel more awake as soon as it hits my nostrils. This extra scent boost pick me up is perfect for my five thirty mornings to get to class on time!

I am looking forward to many more uses with my new Destiny Boutique Charcoal Face Bar. So far it has been working some skin care magic and I cannot recommend it enough! What is your must have skin care product? What are some of your skin care woes? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah