My Life in Blog Years

One of the many questions asked (by newbies like me) about BlogPaws is do pets come to the weekend long conference and are they able to participate with their owners?  Well even though I did not bring Luna or Penny to the event – although I wish I had - I already knew the answer. The answer is YES! Pets were everywhere and they even took over the parking lot and performed tricks for us like Tillman, the World's most famous dog, and Norman, the scooter dog. Tillman and Norman started the memorable weekend off with a demonstration of their special talents which included; skateboarding, scooter riding, and balloon popping.

All types of animals were allowed everywhere in the hotel except for the public food outlets – Starbucks, the bar and restaurant.  However, they were welcome in ALL the BlogPaws conference rooms, including the meal rooms and the ball rooms!  Here is Sally from It's A Weinerful Life, and Chester and Gretel from You Did What With Your Weiner.

Not only were all types of animals present at the conference but there were different types of animals too.  There were little dogs and big dogs -

- cute dogs -

- shaggy dogs -

- dogs dressed in costumes -

- people and cats dressed in costumes -

- ferrets -

- flat ones-

- and just plain weird looking ones.

Some dogs attended workshops with their owners -

- some dogs got bored-

- and all dogs attended lunches and dinners!

Too call this a blog conference and not a DOG conference is beyond me as it was apparent that they ruled the place that weekend!
I would like to thank the lovely photographer Becka for allowing me to use these photos.  My camera did not fit into my carry-on bag, and my cell phone wasn’t cutting it, so thank you again Becka for the great photos!  More photos of BlogPaws can be seen at Becka’s Facbook page.

Whew… I am finally back from Blog Paws, and let me just say what a wonderful weekend that was.  I feel like I have come back with the right tools to become a better blogger and I am excited to put forth the changes I have wanted to do for a while.  I am excited and pumped, and have probably had too much coffee this morning while writing this post.  Oh well.
So without further ado, let’s start off this week with a great giveaway from Heartspeak.  Debbie is the person behind Heartspeak and the creator of the Heartspeak Message Card Collection. These cards are more than just greeting cards; they are beautiful keepsakes that would make absolutely wonderful gifts for any family member or friend.  Heartspeak is crafted on tree-free, fair trade, handmade paper and each image is hand drawn by extraordinary artist’s photo references of authentic pets and situations.


Heartspeak ETSY
One winner will receive 4 cards of their choice!  The winner can choose any cards she/he wishes from Heartspeak's vast selection, and that includes choices from both the Journey and In Spirit Collections.
We have several ways to enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below; as always, you can enter with as many or as few methods as you like. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian mailing addresses. The giveaway starts on June 25th and ends at 12:01am Western on July 1^st. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: Heartspak is providing the prize for this giveaway; we were not compensated for running this giveaway

 Winner of a $50 CafePress coupon code!

 

CafePress is… Janet Miller!  Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who entered!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Blog Paws is finally here and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be going this year.  The key for me not being able to go in the past has always been location and timing of the event (and myself) so with me not working and living just one state away I absolutely had to go.  Plus, I bought my ticket last year right after the event so I practically paid nothing for the ticket.  I am looking forward to being able to personally connect with other pet bloggers, to meet the faces of some of my favorite blogs, and hope to further my knowledge about the details that it takes to be a better blogger.  Wish me luck!

 If you enjoy shopping for unique gifts that express people's unique personalities, then you will surely find them at CafePress.  You'll find thousands of unique designs on every topic you can imagine- from cute flip flops, funny t shirts & stickers, to all sorts of merchandise and pretty much anything dog related you can think of.  You can also make your own personalized gifts using their design tool which allows you the ability to add photos, text, and images, to even creating designs or logos from scratch.

Here is a quick snapshot about CafePress-

•  Founded in 1999, CafePress is the leader in on-demand printing


• The CafePress.com web site averages 11 million unique visits per month


• Approximately 2000 new, independent shops join the CafePress.com network each day


• Roughly 45,000 new, unique products are added each day


• Their users have created a catalog of over 250 million unique products


• CafePress will print each item as it's ordered, and products usually ship within 24 hours.


• CafePress also allows you to set up online shops for free where you can design & sell your own creatively designed merchandise. 

The Review

For this review I received (after spending many hours on their website looking through merchandise) a Bling Dachshund Framed Tile, Golden Retriever Choice Framed Tile, and a Ceramic Tile Coaster with the print of my favorite artists- Gustav Klimt.
The framed ceramic tile images were designed by different artists, but both have been constructed with a stained cherry wood with rounded edges and offer two holes for wall mounting.  The frame measures 6" X 6" x 0.5" with 4.25" X 4.25" tile.  Both tiles are absolutely flawless and beautiful and I am having a hard time finding their perfect location in my home.




The tile Coaster measures 4.25" x 4.25" and 1/6-inch thick. The Images are applied with a polyester resin that accepts dye as part of the coating, and four felt pads are placed on the bottom to protect your furniture from scratches. The tile is dishwasher safe, but not for use with abrasive cups and mugs.  This tile is a piece of ceramic artwork at its best and it’s currently livening up my living room as we speak.  It’s one of the prettiest ceramic coasters I have ever seen and I can’t wait to order a few more pieces!

The Giveaway - a $50 CafePress Coupon Code for one lucky reader!

How to Enter-
We have several ways to enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below; as always, you can enter with as many or as few methods as you like. You have to be 18 years old to enter, and US/CA residents can enter. The giveaway starts on June 16th and ends at 12:01am Western on June 23th. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.cafepress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/cafepress
Twitter: @cafepress
Disclosure: CafePress is providing the prize for this giveaway; we were not compensated for running this giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

One of the first things people said to me after learning that we would be moving to Carmel was that it is a super dog friendly place.  I thought to myself, “great, I have two super friendly dogs!”  I made it a goal to find a dog walking group after we’d settled down in our house, so that we could socialize Luna and Penny and try to integrate ourselves into the quaint little town a bit.  Plus, you never know if a member of Clint Eastwood’s family walks a dog around town!
Today we met up with a group of about fifteen owners and dogs at our local pet store and joined them for their weekly walk in The Crossroads of Carmel.  The walk took about 60 minutes and upon our return we got to treat our dogs to water and free samples at the store’s special "Dog-Walk Table".  It was quite fun, the girls got to meet some new doggies, and the weather… well, it was absolutely wonderful!
We continue to be very pleased at how social Penny is with other dog breeds and humans – a bit uncommon for Dachshunds, which are notoriously xenophobic.  In a manner entirely contrary to our experience at the Weiner Dog Walk in Seattle – where she was the only one NOT barking – here in California, Penny was the only dog making any noise at all. It was mostly in her unique, “I’m excited” sing-song squeaking – but still, very entertaining.