J + A : June 2013

Friday, June 28, 2013

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

When we attended our local pet festival we found out about a new doggie daycare facility in our area. In addition to an information packet, we were given a coupon for a free first day. Until today we had been using a different daycare in town.

Well, today was the day to try the new facility - and I think both puppy and parents liked it. My favorite feature is the live webcam in each room. So while I was at work today I could check on Allie any time I wanted. It seemed from the webcam like she's quite the playtime ringleader, and my observations look to be supported by her report card.

That's right, she got a report card at the end of her first day. Cute, right?!

I especially liked how clean the facility is. It smells good (impressive for a place with so many dogs) and is spotless - cleaning is ongoing throughout the day. To top it off, the employees (and owner who we met today) were incredibly friendly and helpful.

Allie certainly seemed to enjoy her day, and she has been worn out since we got home tonight.

Daycare for the win!

Sofa

Allie's favorite spot on the sofa:

So true.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Weekend Update

I've started using SNL skit names as blog post titles. We must be watching too much Parks and Recreation - which is fabulous, by the way. Amy Poehler overload.

Allie was busy supervising us this weekend as we worked around the house. She spent a good amount of time watching us out the screen door since we were working on the driveway and porch.

She was also very interested as we caulked and painted inside. She gave us her very best puppy face in an attempt to be allowed near where we were working.

Unfortunately, she had to stay away from the wet caulk and paint. And she made our hearts melt when we turned around to see her like this:

Related note: we're in the process of patching and resealing our driveway - photos coming soon!

Friday, June 21, 2013

(Allie)Gator Grooming

Yesterday evening was our first attempt at grooming Allie ourselves. We had tried small touch-ups in the past, such as trimming her eyebrows and clipping her nails.

For the record, nail clipping went about as terribly as it could have gone (imagine our kitchen and bathroom looking like a murder scene after the quick of Allie's nail was cut and she ran around like crazy). Needless to say, that experience involved a trip to the vet - but luckily they took care of us right away at no charge (apparently this is something that happens a lot).

We now pay PetSmart $9 to clip Allie's nails for us. It's worth it - trust us.

Back to grooming. We already had a few of the grooming tools we needed, but we purchased a few more on Amazon so we would have everything. Buying all of the supplies was about the same cost as one full-service visit to the groomer so it was well worth it.

We bought a coat rake (which seems to work better than the Furminator we had been using), scissors, a dual-sided brush, a metal comb, and a grooming arm. The grooming arm temporarily attaches to any table, which is much more cost-effective and space-saving than buying an actual grooming table with arm. J attached the grooming arm to the picnic table on our back deck - voila!

Before

I did the trimming while J stripped undercoat with the rake and helped hold Allie's face still while I was working around her eyes. Cutting the hair around her eyes is nerve-racking. But no trips to the vet this time!

Allie was actually much more calm and well-behaved than either of us were expecting. I don't want to jinx us for next time, but I don't think she minded it much.

After

I like having the freedom to do small touch-ups as needed instead of waiting for a full grooming and feeling like we need to have everything trimmed during one visit to get our money's worth.

Plus Allie smells so good and her fur is so soft - the perfect reasons to give her extra cuddles!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

The Letter S

This post brought to you by the letter S.

Snoozing in the car.

Super dog!

Silliness with daddy.

Sleeping on pajamas.

See you later!

Monday, June 17, 2013

It's All in the Details

The last couple of weeks have been hectic as I co-coordinated a short notice reception for about 250 people. Thankfully, everything went really well. Here are a few of the decorating details I just love.

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Dad Day

Happy Father's Day!

J's Dad

A's Dad

Allie's Dad

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Anniversary Recap

Our fourth anniversary was on Thursday. Has it really been four years already?!

This seems like yesterday:

J brought me the most gorgeous flowers on Thursday:

Today we went to National Harbor for our anniversary lunch at a Thai restaurant. I think the waitress must have figured we were on a date because the carrots on J's dish were cut into heart shapes. The other times J has been to this restaurant he said the carrots were just thinly sliced on the side.

After lunch we walked around by the marina. It is an amazingly beautiful day in DC.