Black Animals Are The Best: MOnday



Black cats are the best!  I ♥ my sweet Frankie.

Advocacy:
♦Black dog syndrome: black dogs are often overlooked and have higher rates of euthanasia. More info: Black Pearls, Start Seeing Black Dogs
♦Cats have the same issue, so here are 13 reasons to adopt a black cat. Black cats are one of my favorites, I would have a heard of them if I had the room and $$$.
♦Keep your body comments to yourself! Dissecting the terrible things said to Fiona Apple at a recent concert.

Art:
♦Amazing satellite photos They look unreal!

Awesome:
♦Catster has a list of cat themed time wasters. Examples: a cat kaleidoscope,  cats snowflakes...
♦The most bad-ass cowboy ever. Hands down! [Trigger warning: homophobic slurs]

Beauty:
♦Nic Cage eye shadow....even weirder that it sounds! They also have an eye shadow set called Badger Mushroom Snake If you are unfamiliar here is the  Badger mushroom meme (Sound is on auto-play)

DIY:
♦Glamorous floral headband I recently found this blog, and I love it. She has great style, and her photos are gorgeous! She is all about over the top glamour.
♦Balm to protect sensitive ears. This is great if you have metal allergies, or just can't wear cheap earrings.
♦Drink can butterflies, would be cool as bats, or flowers. Oh hey, here is a how too for the flowers!

Fashion:
♦Another fashion gem: Style Crone. This gorgeous little pixie has wild and fun style. The best part is her extensive and amazing hat collection.

Feminism:
♦Indigenous womens' thoughts on how American men react to bear breasts. This is spot on!

Halloween:
♦30 gross Halloween treats [A note of caution, some of these are REALLY gross looking. You have been warned!]
♦Cool spooky weather-vane
♦Bloody broken glass cupcakes

Lol:
♦Fact: corgis have laser-eyes*
♦If you need a laugh...this cat will help


Noms:
♦Frico grilled cheese. Smitten Kitchen is genius!
♦Chocolate and pumpkin truffles
♦Homemade gnocchi OMG! Yum!


Are you working on your Halloween costumes? I am. ;)
Have a great week!

*Not true, thankfully or we would serve our fluffy over-lords!

Cow Cuddling Monday

The story behind this is even better!

Art:
♦Banksy is doing and art tour in New York.  Be sure to listen to the accompanying audio its its hilarious as rips on overly serious art.
♦Nature is an amazing sculpture: Striped Icebergs

Awesome:
♦26 cool facts about The Princess Bride One of my all-time favorite movies!
♦I am not a fan of the #hastag-maddnes...so this Jimmy Fallon skit cracked me up! (Watch all the way to the end, its worth it!0 ?uestlove rules!
♦If you aren't a fan of Antiques Roadshow, maybe Rookie magazine can convince you?
♦Animals yelling compliments It would be great if there was an entire Tumblr like this...get on that internet!
♦I love they way cats express love.

Beauty:
♦I am in love with Katy Perry's new perfume Killer Queen.  I am not a Katy Perry fan. I hadn't even have given it a second though, but as I was tossing out the sample I smelled it.  It smells great, I am reminded of cookies, and candied almonds.

Books:
♦For The Shinning fans: King's sequel Dr. Sleep is out.


Cute:
♦Adorable hibernating field mouse!
♦Fireman saves unconscious kitten. (video) Made me bawl my eyes out. The kitten looks so much like my Rufus!

Creepy/Dark:
♦Movie trailers re-cut: The Shinning, It,

DIY:
♦Butterfly badge. This is gorgeous!

Halloween:
♦Costume idea: Book fairy
♦Grumpy cat costume!! (Video) I am soooo glad that Threadbanger is back!

Music:
♦ Not in commercials, John Densmore (The Doors) talks about not selling out.

Hope you all have a great week!

Pumpkin Dance* Monday

Source

Art:
♦Interview and video tour of Artist/Tinkerer Blair Somerville's workshop. He makes really cool stuff from scraps and junk.

Awesome:
♦Phone App that helps you track products you are boycotting.
♦This is just like what happens when we brush our cat Frankie! Ha ha ha!
♦I know that these are for Halloween, but I would wear them all the time!

Creepy/Goth/Dark:
♦Video tour of the Suicide Forest in Japan. [Content warning, images of deceased persons, skeletal remains.] It is a dark subject. I wish I could talk each person out of it. Thankfully the park official who is on patrol is kind and companionate.
♦"You Rang, Mr. Addams?" video about Charles Addams, creator of The Addams Family.

Cute:
♦Holy CRAP! Origami corgi!!!!!!  The fox is super cute too!

DIY:
♦Have you heard of Poo Pourri?  (The commercial cracks me up!) Jillee has a recipe to make your own.
♦Cool bat decorations. Great for Halloween or everyday if you are Goth :)
♦Cool candle ideas: Wallpaper/scrapbook paper or dark and gothic
♦Bandana backed shirt Would also be cool with a plain shirt and patterned scarf.
♦Needle lace skeleton leaves Beautiful! These would be great for so many things. This  blog has loads of cool stuff, like this sweater update, and this feather pin....!!! OMG! This pendant necklace!
[I have to stop, before I link to her entire site! ;) ]
♦20 cookie ideas for Fall/Halloween Sugar Belle has fantastic ideas for cute cookies. I highly recommend her blog.
♦Fall scented play dough

Pumpkin DIY's:
♦Starry Night  Alexa of The Swell Life has tons more tutorials, These three are just my favorite!
♦Grumpy Cat
♦Gilded 
♦37 more ideas compiled by Buzzfeed

Noms Pumpkin:

 

♦Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Muffins YUM!
♦Crockpot pumpkin spice latte recipe. (Thank Deviant Dispatches for the recommendation.)
♦Pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust
♦Pumpkin Spice roll out cookies

 

Pumpkin Dance Meme source

WTF:
♦I do not like sock-monkeys. They really freak me out. So this scary version is horrifying!

I know that the dancing pumpkin guys is silly, but it really cracks me up!

Have a great week!

Valentine's Of The Past

When I was very small, my biological mother kept scrap-books for me.

These are Valentines I received in Preschool, and Kindergarten.

Snoopy!!!!!!

I really loved the sundae one. It was a scratch-n-sniff one. It (used to) smell like strawberries.

Hand-made Valentines, super cool! I love the fluffy haired person. It is very Dr. Seuss.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my awesome readers!

Hope your day is great.

A Tree Fit For The Pride

What a big scratching post!

Muciferous Monday*

Source

Amazing:
♦Someone figured out how to train mice to do tricks! (Roll-over is my favorite)
♦Incredible photos of wild African animals
♦Gorgeous animal portraits
♦Beautiful X-mas and winter cakes
♦Fun party idea...grilled cheese bar
♦If you need your faith in humanity restored...
♦Two incrediblely smart women invented "The Invisble Bike Helmet"
♦Rare "frost flowers"

Book Love:
♦If you haven't heard of F*** Yeah, Book Arts Tumblr...you Should Check it out!
♦My Favorite post of theirs^ is a great quote.

Feminism:
♦Film review: Addams Family Is Awesome(ly) Feminist
♦Beautiful art that celebrates Black Womens' hair
♦This makes me feel ill (Abortion law, comparing women to livestock)

Health/Wellness:
♦Strategies to stop emotional eating
♦Strategies to stop feeling overwhelmed
♦Start the new year on a positive note
♦Set intentions, not "resolutions"
♦An accurate description of anxiety and depression (Don't let the title put you off.)

Lol:
♦Beauty tips for the Apocalypse (That didn't happen)
♦I want a chainsaw file!!!
♦Mend moth-holes...with moths?

Noms:
♦Pizza bites (great h'orderves idea)  
♦Berry upside-down cake (Gluten free!)
♦Has your New Years part left you with random bits of cheese and tiny bit of  wine ? Try making fromage fort.
♦Gnocchi in brown butter sage sauce (I want to eat this now!!!!)

New Year:
♦13 Journal Prompts for 2013

WTF:
♦Woman gets stem-cell cosmetic treatment...ends up with bone shards in her eye!
♦We have an "evil human" problem not a "vicious dog" problem (This made me cry.)


: )





*Muciferous: containing or secreting mucus
Sorry, I couldn't help it. I am so sick, and my brain is snot-clogged.

Cats Being Cute With Paper and Snow

To counter the intense post of before...

Rookie magazine has a fantastic (and amusing) post about cats and wrapping paper.

If that isn't enought cute for you...here is a kitty rolling in paper:

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Bonus cute:

For best viewing, turn the sound off. The owner talking is very distracting.

 

Holiday Traditions

I had intended to publish this post weeks ago. Sometimes life gets in the way.

My gramma Honey had a bad fall and bruised her whole right side. She was in ICU for several days to monitor her heart and check for internal bleeding. She has now been moved a nursing home for recovery, and is doing well.

I had a surprise visit from one of my estranged parents on my birthday. (Wow, that was intense)

***************************

Very unexpectedly one of my co-workers died on Christmas. He was one of those rare folks who is completely genuine. He was hardworking, kind, and a devoted family man. He left behind several siblings, both of his parents, 4 children and one grandchild.

We were excused from work for a few hours to attend his funeral. It was touching, full of love and so bittersweet. He was only 53 when he passed. My heart goes out to his family.

***************************

I found out shortly after Christmas that one of my siblings are expecting their first child. (To soon to know whether it’s a boy or girl.

***************************

All of the emotional ups and downs in that last few weeks have been difficult for me. My anxiety has been unbearable. I have a difficult time functioning when I am “on anxiety high-alert.”

I had intended to write a nice round-up of traditional foods from many cultures. I even had an awesome collaboration from SpacemanSteve. Unfortunately I was unable to finish this post.

So please enjoy what I did manage to finish.

　

Czech, Slovakian:

♦Czech Honey Cake
 ♦Kolaches (Cookies)My grandma Mona uses a sweet dough, and stewed prunes.

Croatian:

This is an incredibly quick, easy, and hearty one-dish meal that is a perfect winter meals, and my favorite Christmas Eve tradition--especially because of the red and green peppers. It's a variation on a simple peasant recipe that probably is common in many cultures, but this version is a reminder of my Croatian grandma.

  1 package spicy sausage (I like Andouille, but keilbasa works too) 1 large red bell pepper 1 large green bell pepper 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves 2 medium sized, red potatoes or 4 small 4 tsp olive oil red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp paprika salt and pepper to taste water sour cream (for serving) Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees F .Chop sausage, peppers, onions, and washed but not peeled potatoes into similar sized chunks. Peel garlic but leave the cloves whole. In a large bowl mix olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and paprika. Add sausage, garlic, and and vegetable chunks and toss to coat meat and vegetables with oil and spices; spread onto a cookie sheet. Add a little water to the pan and bake for about 45-50 mins, turning and tossing the ingredients at intervals to prevent sticking, until potatoes are tender and sausage is crisp at the edges. Serve with sour cream.

Thanks Spacemansteve!

Mnemonic Monday

Source

Awesome:
♦Be yourself paperweight
♦Tips to be more comfortable in front of the camera
♦Tips for downsizing, and decluttering
♦Cthulhu Santa Tree

DIY:
♦Magical Gnome place mats. (very cute and whimsical)
♦Dangly earrings

Feminism/Advicacy:
♦Anti-rape posters

History:
♦A peek into the subculture of "Shifters"
♦Dorm pics from 1912-1980's

WTF:
♦Hamburger bedding...

Merry Corg-mas!

Source

 

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Monday

Source

Awesome:
♦40 most influential corgis of 2012
♦Amazing ceramic sculpture
♦As a former grocery store drone, I love this piece!

DIY:
♦Gold painted ornaments
♦Melted snowman oranment

Fashion:
♦Denim make-overs (I don't wear jeans much, but this might be helpful to you)

Feminism:
♦Don't want to have kids? You are not alone.
♦I am all for family planning, but don't force birth control on women
♦I ♥ this poster so much!

Heros:
♦Irena Sendler smuggled 2500 infants and children out of the Warsaw ghetto!
♦A pajama companies raises funds to help women get out of forced prostitution.

Mental Health/Self-Care:
♦How To Have Sex Again After Being Raped. (Tough subject, but I felt that this may be helpful to someone.)

Noms:
♦Gingerbread cake with lemon-ginger cloud frosting (sounds soooo good!)
♦Gingerbread Cheesecake bites
♦10 Vegan bread recipes

WTF:
♦Pizza purfume???

Cats and Paper

Source

How to wrap a cat for Christmas

Happy Holidays!

Greatful for Rasputin, And Snow-Throwers

Meet Mittens! Source

♥Trail blazing for the corgis is a tough workout! Its sort of a stomp/shuffle. I feel like I am doing the sloppy swish.
♥Watching the corgs running around their trails is so adorable! I did panic a little. I thought I lost Bud! (The snow is so deep that I can't always see them in their corg-trails. Sometimes all that I can see is the tips of their ears!)
♥Sometimes the classics are the best. Grilled cheese and tomato soup = yum!
♥So grateful that we have a snow-thrower!!!!
♥No one that I know was hurt in the snow-storm. : )
♥Our family Christmas gathering is coming up.
♥Finaly finished Gramma Honeys photo album/present. I really hope she likes it!
♥Glad that Blogger has spell-check. (I am a terrible speller!)
♥Raspi and I dropped off our car for an oil change. It ended up turning into a fun adventure. (Its a long story)
♥Raspi and I had a nice date at one of our favorite cafes.
♥Pick up Wreck This Journal. Can't wait to get started on it!

Rasputin hates having his picture taken. He always makes this face.

What are you greatful for this week?

X♥X♥

Finn

Gift Ideas*

Source

 

Need some gift ideas? I put together a list to help you get inspired. I broke each category down by price, from big spender, to affordable, and even a DIY option. Happy gifting!

For the perpetually cold

Hey big spender:
♦Smart Wool base layer separates Women's  Men's $30- $120
♦100% Alpaca Wool Reversible Throw Blanket, Dark Purple $90

Affordable finds:
♦Smart wool socks Women's   Men's $15-$30
♦Chenille throw $25

DIY:
♦Make warm boot toppers/leg warmers Free to $10
♦Make recycled mittens from an old sweater Free to $10

For the foodie:

Hey big spender:
♦Bon Appetit Gourmet Gift Basket $95
♦Sophisticated Gourmet Fruit Basket $100

Affordable finds:
♦Meat, cheese and snack baskets $9-$40
♦Stubb's Smokin' Bar-B-Que Grill Set, 6 pc $17

DIY:
♦Box cake mix cookies Approximately $3 per batch
♦Cinnamon sugar pretzels About $3-4 per batch

For the coffee or tea lover:

Hey big spender:
♦Great Arrivals Extra Large Jumpin' Java: Gourmet Coffee Gift Basket $100
♦Coffee Bean Direct Green Bean Sampler $60
♦Traditional Teatime Basket $50
♦Teavana® Tea Gift Set $70

Affordable finds:
♦Berres Brothers Holiday Coffees $10-$20
♦Newman's Own Organic Ground, Colombian Especial, Medium Roast - 10 oz $8
♦Strawberry Misaki Blooming Tea $20 (Blooming tea looks fun!)
♦Tazo flavor assortments from $3-12

DIY:
♦Dry coffee mixes from $5-$10 
♦Homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer $5-$8
♦Make your own tea bags  free -$5
♦Make Your Own Herb Tea Blend $2-$10 (depending on the batch size and spices)
 

For the music lover:

Hey big spender:
♦Beatles Box set $125
♦Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology [Box set] $101

Affordable finds:
♦A Charlie Brown Christmas: Sound Track $4 for mp3's up to $20 for CD
♦Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Nirvana $15

DIY:
Mixed CD's rule! Lots of options
♦Traditional Christmas mix
♦Funny Christmas mix
♦Non- Christmas mix

Or, if none of these suggestions will work:

Jillie's super list of simple hand made gifts! Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5!


*I am not affiliated with any suppliers, retailers or shops. I cannot guarantee the quality of any products or services.

HappyTurkey Day!

No outfit post today. I don't have time to worry about clothes today!

Please enjoy more photos from our latest trip to Mum's farm.

 

 

Legs, she is the only Holstein. She is easy to identify.

 

 

Legs has crazy-long eyelashes!

 

Tod and Merle.

 

Merle using a dirt pile as a pillow.

Lynn wasn't thrilled that I was taking a photo of a spider web in her house...until she saw the photo.

: )

 

Happy Thanksgiving folks! I hope you have a fun and relaxing time.

 

Go easy on your stomachs!

Give Me The Deetz...*

*Hint #1 is terrible pun!

 

 

One of my friends (Colin) says that I have 1930's newspaper comic strip humor. Yup, sums it up well.

 

The bangs were a nightmare!

 

 

Hint #2, the camera is part of the costume.

 

Hint #3:

 

"My whole life is one...big...dark...room."

 

 

I am guessing most people will know who I am supposed to be, but if you are too young to remember scroll to the bottom.

 

 

Had to have one silly one with the kids. (Although I look psychotic!)

 

Clothes:

Tuxedo Tank Top [hard to see] ~ Converse, from Target (couldn't find online)

Black cardigan ~ Old Navy (Hey, I was broke, don't judge)

Velvet skirt ~ The Goodwill (Woo-hoo, eco-friendly shopping)

Shoes ~ from Mum

Tights ~ The Goodwill, Halloween section

Choker ~ The sash from my bathrobe

 

The make up:

First layer was Elf concealer, I used the white all over my face

Second layer ~ Hard Candy's Nobody's Perfect Concealer Pallet (lightest shade)

Powder ~ Revlon Photo Ready Sculpting Pallet (just the white)

Contouring/eyeshadow ~ E.L.F. 144 count Eyeshadow Palette (Purples, and silvers)

Eyeliner ~ Elf cream eyeliner

 

Obviously I am not a makeup pro, I just did the best I could. ; )

 

gossmakeupartist channel ~ How to contour

(Just use silver, purple, and white instead of browns.)

 

 

Have a happy and safe Halloween!!

If you haven't figured out who I am...here is her bio.

Merveilleux Monday

Merveilleux

French

Adjective   wonderful     Noun   supernatural

I love that fluffy little belly!   Source

Art:
♦Beef jerky portrait of Sasquatch Ha ha!
♦Amazing pop-art dog paintings

Awesome:
♦Zombie Luau
♦25 cool tattoos based on childrens' movies [My favorites are: Toothless, Marry Poppins, and the soot sprites.]

Cute:
♦Even Maru's toes are cute!

DIY:
♦Mich has a great tip to prevent beads from turning the wrong way
♦Snazz up some white lites
♦Picture frame pincushions

Lol:
♦Murderous cats?
♦Killer cat..comic

Halloweenie:
♦Creepy/classics...13 films.
♦Make a skeleton wreath
♦Create folk-art pumpkins
♦Some spooky fun with milkshakes
♦Plethora of "vintage" poison label images
♦Fun bunt cake
♦Monster cakes

Noms Pumpkin:
♦Casting chocolate from home-made molds
♦Pumpkin streusel muffins
♦15 pumpkin recipes!
♦Pumpkin cinnamon rolls
♦Pumpkin toffee cheese cake...drool!
♦Pumpkin dream cake

WTF:
♦Ten bizarre gowns. [The last one really grosses me out!]
♦Someone photo shopped out half of a horse???
♦A $300 paper lunch bag?
♦An odd Tumblr called Black and WTF

Black Cat Day!

Happy Black Cat Day!

Make sure to give your black cat a hug, and some under the chin scritches.

: )

Greatful For Our Country

Valentine is such a cute girl!

♥Happy Birthday America!
♥So glad this story had a happy ending.
♥Rasputin had an MRI today, hopefully they figure out what is wrong soon. (Fingers crossed!)
♥Greatful that we have insurance!!!
♥Fresh peaches
♥Finding some cool lace headbands (On sale!)
♥Having an awesome cook-out with my Mother-in-law and her husband.
♥Super awesome bacon and cheese burgers. (Bacon and cheese mixed in the burgers, YUM!)
♥Shooting pictures of her cute cows
♥Seeing Rasputin smile while floating in the pond (at his mum's house)
♥Figuring out how to make inexpensive flowered hair clips (Tutorial tomorrow)
♥Finding the BMI Project (Its not what you think)
♥The Bloggess is so funny!
♥This cat is awesome!
♥Getting my hair trimmed. (I don't feel like a sheep dog with hair in my eyes)
♥So glad we have air-conditioning!!!

Happy 4th of July!

I found this adorable corgi to wish you a (belated) Independence Day!

Hope you had a safe and happy 4^th!