BRAVO Bad Rap! Thank you for always being the voice and heart of reason, compassion and justice! So love that you consistently lead the way…. excellent piece!
BAD RAP Blog
BRAVO Bad Rap! Thank you for always being the voic…
Great article! Everyone should read it. I am proud…
Great article! Everyone should read it. I am proud to call Farah a friend and my family is proud to call a Vafa dog a member of our pack. I pray that Trump's executive order is found unconstitutional by the higher courts as it helps no one and impacts so many in such a negative way.
BAD RAP Blog
HAIKU by Hudson: CHICAGO
Recently Ginger & I + Fuzzybutts were in Indiana and Chicago on business and he couldn’t help but pen another haiku. Here it is:
Hello Chicago.
Oh No H20! Won’t Go!
Hello Hotel Room.
Those who know him well know he absolutely hates even the thought of his paws touching water and I think our walk at Montrose Beach on Lake Michigan scared the crap outta him. And so he saw Chicago from the window of Red Roof Inn in Willowbrook.
Team Chicago
We’re hosting our first #PuppyUp walk in Chicago Proper and partnering with #PremierVeterinary in what we hope will be a successful collaborative platform for us to launch in other cities. Here’s a video recap while on my drive back to Memphis. I’ll be posting more about #TeamChicago soon.
Thanks, once again, BADRAP for reminding us that c…
Thanks, once again, BADRAP for reminding us that civil rights strongly parallel and affect animal rights. You know you have always been my heroes, and were once the only voice of reason ringing in the wilderness for me battling it out in the late 90s advocating for our dogs. So many people have chanhed their opinions of Blocky Headed Dogs. In no small part, to you. I don't know what I would have done without you. Great blog post! I have quite a few Pitbull loving Iranian friends whom I'll share your message with.
Always. Gemma
BAD RAP Blog
Last Few Days to Use Halo June Coupons
For blog readers, newsletter subscribers and Halo social media fans only, we’re happy to offer this month’s printable store coupons for Halo products!
Remember, these coupons are only valid at stores where Halo is sold.
For Halo store locations, enter your zip/postal code here. Products sell out fast, so please call ahead to make sure your nearest retailer has what you need (if not, they can usually order it for you quickly).
Westie Dog and Walker Find Missing Woman
Often when people walk their dogs, they’re in a hurry and wish that their dogs were a little bit less interested in everything off the path. Sara Wilce isn’t one of those people. She’s grateful that her dog, Dougal, has a keen interest in his surroundings. Recently the Westie became a hero when, during his morning walk, he spotted an elderly woman and her dog who had been missing for four days!
According to the Stroud News and Journal, Hazel Denham had last been seen at 1:20 the previous Tuesday afternoon as she headed out to walk her Poodle-Yorkshire Terrier mix, Bertie. Her husband, Richard Denham, reported her missing at 5:17 that evening when she and Bertie still hadn’t returned home. Richard is 85 and his wife is 71 with mild dementia. The Denhams live in Minchinhampton, an ancient hilltop town in the Cotswolds of England. When people learned that Hazel was missing, the community sprang into action. Volunteers and professionals with a number of agencies and services coordinated searching for the woman. Police officers and other officials gave out maps of areas where people should search. The National Police Air Service used thermal-imaging cameras to look for signs of Hazel and Bertie. The Search & Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) South Wales also participated in the search.
DIY Personalized Sofia the First Amulet Necklace
Essley’s current favorite television show is Sofia the First on Disney Junior. She loves Sofia’s spunkiness, the music in the show (she dances to and acts out the opening theme, every time), and, more than anything, all of the fantastic adventures Sofia experiences. And I love that she’s a fan, because Sofia is a great role model – she embraces her uniqueness, breaks traditional gender stereotypes, and encourages kindness. It’s a wonderful show for us to watch together, and it genuinely makes me happy that Essley enjoys it so much. Now that Essley is out of school for the summer we’ve been trying to work more on craft projects at home, and I decided it would be fun for us to make something together inspired by Sofia. While we both love to create, we’d never made jewelry together – and Essley had never made it at all. One of the things I most adore about Sofia is her consistent drive to try new things, which motivates Essley to try new things too. So in honor of this, we set aside an afternoon to make our own personalized necklaces inspired by Sofia’s Amulet of Avalor. Sofia’s amulet is pretty awesome – it rewards her with special powers (like the ability to communicate with animals) for doing good deeds, and does less fun things (like makes her temporarily croak like a toad after boasting) as a means to teach important lessons. After making our special matching necklaces, we could wear them for the FriYAY premiere of Sofia the First this week. Essley absolutely loved this idea, and we had so much fun. And today I’m teaming up with our pals over at Disney Junior to show you how we made them, so you can create them with your little one too!
Makes 2 necklaces.
YOU WILL NEED:
2 purple faux gem pendants
Plastic purple, lavender and pink beads in a uniform size with large holes (we used about 70 medium beads per necklace)
Variety of 4-10 decorative beads
8 letter beads (4 for each necklace in first letter of wearer’s name)
Elastic beading string
Scissors
Optional: toggle clasps (we didn’t use these, but if you have older kids you may want to beading wire and clasps instead of elastic string)
If your little one has never strung beads before, I recommend starting out by just letting them play around and practice for a while. That’s what we did, until Essley got the hang of doing it herself. Next, arrange your beads in the order you’d like them to appear on each necklace. Or it can also be fun to simply let your daughter or son choose how they want them to be arranged as they go – it allows them to express themselves and their creativity, even if it’s less than “perfect.” (I arranged mine in advance, and Essley made hers up as she went, with a little guidance from me.) Next, cut two pieces of string (about 22-24 inches long), one for each necklace. Slide your pendant over the string so it’s centered, then add two of the decorative beads on either side of it, followed a mixture of the rest of the beads evenly on either side until there is only an inch of two of string remaining on each side. (Tip: Be sure to include your letter beads in the bottom half of the necklace design so they’re not hidden behind the neck when being worn.) When the necklace is complete, tie the ends together with several knots, trim the excess string, and slide beads over the knot to hide the knots. That’s it! We made Essley a matching bracelet with the leftover beads too. It’s an easy project but can still fill up an afternoon, especially if you and your little one go shopping at the craft store beforehand (one of Essley’s favorite parts).
Essley is all sorts of excited to wear her own handmade Sofia necklace for the premiere of the new season (in four days – June 30th at 9 AM on the Disney Channel – but who’s counting) – and I’m pretty stoked to wear mine too, if we’re being honest here. Disney Junior actually has all new episodes of a bunch of our favorite shows this summer, every FriYAY (get it? get it?) morning on Disney Channel (from around 6-10 AM), including Mickey and the Roadster Racers, Puppy Dog Pals, Lion Guard, Elena of Avalor (another of our favorites), and, of course, Sofia the First. We love having these Friday morning shows to look forward to – it’s a fun, educational way to start the morning in the summertime before we head out to play at the park or pool. I always take Fridays off work to spend with the kids, and kickstarting the day with Disney Junior FriYAY programming makes the day feel special, and reminds us that the weekend is about to begin. When my husband is off the road with the band on Fridays, it’s something we can all do together as a family, with shows we all enjoy (yes, even the adults).
You can find Disney Junior shows are on two different television channels: Disney Junior (a dedicated channel that runs Disney Junior shows all day long), and Disney Channel (which airs Disney Junior shows during the morning block). New episodes, like our FriYAY faves, usually air first on the Disney Channel. We hope you enjoy the premiers coming up as much as I know we will! You can also find Disney Junior goodness on their Facebook page and on their YouTube.
What is your little one’s (or your!) favorite Disney Junior Show? Have any of you made jewelry with your kids?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Disney Junior. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Bubby and Bean possible.
ALSO FIND US HERE: INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN’
My 12 Favorite Kid and Parenting Themed Posts
CLICK THROUGH TO SEE THE REST >>>
When I started this blog (over six years ago!), it was a lifestyle blog with mainly a design focus, and I vowed to never let it become a parenting blog, even if we eventually had kids. The funny thing about writing about life, though, is that when you want to remain authentic, you’re going to have to include pieces of your own life. And while this is still, and will remain, a lifestyle blog that covers a variety of topics, I do find myself including parenting and kids posts quite often these days. I know not all of you have (or want) kids, but I hope these posts have still proven enjoyable for you on some level. And for those of you who are parents, I hope they are relevant and helpful. Because I really enjoy writing them.
All of that said, I thought I’d round up a few of my favorite kid and parenting themed post from the last couple of years to share. I only do a few roundup style posts a year, but they always get great feedback, and they’re admittedly fun to put together. For my regular readers, maybe you’ve missed a few of these and they’ll be new to you. Regardless, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did putting them together. Just click on the images (or links directly below them) to access each post.
ALSO FIND US HERE: INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN’
Happiest Father’s Day!
I don’t gush about Robbie nearly often enough around here, but that’s only because (unlike his wife), the dude isn’t an over sharer and would rather do just about anything than take selfies for Instagram. But I couldn’t ask for a better partner or father to my kids. He is an incredible role model and best buddy to them, and I’m so excited to celebrate him on Sunday after he gets home from the road.
To all the dads of human and fur babies, father figures, and those of you with dads and/or father figures in your lives, I wish you the happiest Father’s Day. Enjoy your weekend everyone!
ALSO FIND US HERE: INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN’
Vacation Time!
Happy Summer Solstice! We’re celebrating the official first day of summer by hopping on a plane tomorrow morning headed to California to spend some time in beautiful Sonoma County with my very best friends. It’s one of our favorite places in the country, and we try to visit every couple of years. The last time we were there (the photo you see above is from that trip; look how little Essley was!) I was pregnant with Emmett, so this will be his first time to really get to enjoy it with us.
There will be a post here tomorrow (and it’s a good one so be sure to come back!), but after that I’ll be taking the rest of the week off the blog. Our normal posting schedule will resume on Monday, June 26th. And as always, you can follow along with our adventures on our Instagram. (I’m sure I’ll be doing my usual oversharing in our IG stories.)
Enjoy the longest day of the year, friends!
ALSO FIND US HERE: INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST // BLOGLOVIN’