Well Done Architecture

 The Contemporist blog is always one which I go to to dream. The Spanish architectural firm A-cero did this house and I think it's amazing, I could definately live there.......

Hundred In The Hand

Turn this one up, this is a nice one too.......

Sitting By The Fire

Here is my son Jonah cuddling with Ruby by the fire. We had a really nice quiet day off for Thanksgiving with my husbands family. And the day after my husband puts all the lights up on the house, and we usually sit by the fire and decorate our tree with the kids. Ruby likes to sit by the fire as you can tell. She has been doing really well. After having her stitches removed the vet told us we could do physical therapy in the bathtub by filling up the water to her shoulder and letting her walk back and forth to get her strength back, she said the boyancey would be good as to not put too much weight on her back legs. I also made a makeshift sling out of old tights that works pretty well too that we use to give her back end a lift while she tries to regain walking. The sling did give her a false sense that everything was back to normal, and she tried to run around with her front legs running quikly to the front door as if we were going on walk, then looked at me dissappointed when she had to be confined again after the alotted 15 minutes of our therapy session was over. She has been able to lift herself to a standing position and hobbles a bit like a drunk, but is not able to move forward consistently. We are only on week three now, and hopefully the progress will continue, it seems like she is doing well to me, and her motor skills are funtioning at a slow rate but they are coming back, and we can only go up from here right?

Thanksgiving Hostess Gift

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I was doing some searching again on Etsy this morning and came across these cleverly repurposed succulent planters that I thought were high-larious! Wouldn't it be great to walk in to Thankgiving and hand the hostess one of these as your "thank you" gift instead of just another boring old  bottle of wine.... Check out The Giddy Spinster store for more.

Simply Wicked Store On Etsy

 I discovered Simply Wicked Store on Etsy and thought alot of the stuff on there was fabulous! They have alot of great products, such as goats milk soaps that smell like Turkish Mocha , Butterscotch Brulee, and Spiced Eggnog, you would probably be tempted to bite into them (or at least I would) they look so good! The lactic acid from the goats milk is supposed to be really good for your skin. The gift sets look pretty great too, with Eggnog Body Polish, Body lotion,  scented soaps and candles, what a nice gift this would be for Christmas! Check out their store they have alot of other stuff too.

Ruby Update

This is a photo of Ruby when she was a baby (puppy) I know, I think she is my baby. She is going in for her stitches on her back to be removed tomorrow so we are all very happy about that. And her progress has still been slow, but as of this weekend she started barely wagging her tail.  It's not consistent yet, but it's a start. She still doesn't have movement in her back legs, but there is muscle tone that was lost, so we are continuing doing physical therapy and bicycling as well as massage every day to help with the muscles tone and movement. She does not have the bladder control yet that I would have hoped, I still have to express her bladder as well as help her poop. But I did have to take her into the vet for a follow up the other day, and I ran into a lady who had a Dachshund that had had the same back surgery 2 months ago and she was in for her follow up visit and was walking around like a regular dog which gave me hope. I know it's a long process and she just had surgery 10 days ago, so we are now at the uphill part of the battle which is good. She has now stopped the pain meds and wants to play. She tries to drag herself, but we have to stop her because she is supposed to be very calm and actually remain in a crate for 6 weeks. The more mobile she gets the more difficult it will become to keep her still, I am sure. I will keep you posted as to what the vet tells us tomorrow.

D- Pulse Mix Tape

OK, initially I found this mix on Aordisco 's blog (where they have some really fun and interesting remixed versions of old really great songs) and of course the picture of Paul McCartney caught my eye, so I thought I would take a listen to D-Pulse Mix Tape. Not sure who he is, but I am really liking it. Definately gets your mind off things to listen to this mix. It starts out really mellow and relaxing, then takes you on a journey to outerspace, and then maybe to a church choir, or possibly chariots of fire around the middle, then finishing off with none other than Sir Paul himself for the grand finale.  This is a free mix which you can download or just listen to samples by dragging the surser. And if you go to his sound cloud site by clicking on the link above ( his name) he has many other mixes and songs to download, some are free and some are not.

* by D-Pulse

Gift Ideas

Gift Ideas by ColleenOkrey featuring a stripe handbag

Frank Llyod Wright's "Falling Water"

An inside look at the history behind the design concept for Frank Llyod Wrights "Falling Water", one of the his most amazing and beautiful masterpieces. It's crazy that it took him 3 months to inittially start the project design, and yet only 3 hours to draw the entire concept out.

Christina Murphy Interiors

 I really like the simplicity and restaint that Christina Murphy has when she does interiors. It seems effortless and polished at the same time, which can be difficult to do especially when trying to please a client. She was featured in  Septembers issue of House Beautiful  and her talents caught my eye.

 via Christina Murphy Interior Design

Kohler Dachshund Ad

 via Contentinacottage

Royksopp - You Don't Have a Clue

I really like the vocals in this song, she sounds alot like Kate Bush.....

J Lo and Marc Anthony For Kohls

 Looks like Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are going to launch a men's and women's line for the retail store Kohls. It should be interesting to see what they have in store. Following in the footsteps of Vera Wang, and the not so fabulous lines Britney Spears, Daisey Fuentes, and Averil Lavigne all threw together and called a "line of fashion", whats next for them? Depends commercials? Or maybe a thigh master type product for QVC?  Photo via thefashionmanifesto

Song Of The Day - Massive Attack - Teardrop

Commune Collective

I was reading about Commune in this months issue of House Beautiful, and I thought they sounded familiar. Commune has done the design for many private residences and commecial hotels, like the The Standard Hotel, The Ace Hotel and Swim Club, and retail establishments such as Hollywood Trading Company. They also offer design services from achitechts and graphic designers.

Commune was founded in 2004 as a collective focusing on enhancing life through design. We come from all over the world to share a vision and an aesthetic sensibility in everything we do. Our intent is not to dictate, but to facilitate through unconventional thinking and creative solutions. Our design process is a collaborative effort. Whether the project is a commercial space, a retail environment, a restaurant, a residence, packaging, corporate identity, or a website we approach it holistically. Our diverse backgrounds allow us to see the same project from many angles and to offer solutions that reflect this open-eyed attitude.

With a staff of interior designers, architects and graphic designers using a collaborative mindset, we assemble the best team for each job and maintain integrity in every project we do. Communedesign.com

Update on Ruby Post Surgery

So today is Thursday and Ruby had her surgery last Friday so it has been 6 days since her surgery. It has been very difficult for us. She still has no movement in her back legs and can't wag her tail. But I found a website that has a lot of information  regarding Dachshunds, and other dogs with Invertebral Disc Disease, and lot's of other spine issues Dodgerslist.com. So far the resources I discovered on there were really helpful, like how to express you dogs bladder, and how to help them poop. This is great because I am doing this up to 5 times a day right now until  her brain sends the nuerological signals to her back half of her body it must be done for her. I know this all sounds disgusting, and really it is...but she is like my child, and I would have it no other way. I have baby wipes stations all over the house right now. And the amount of laundry I have been doing is crazy because sometimes she leaks a little because she doesn't have full control of her bladder yet, and I won't even talk about the poop. But I am hopeful, especially since I have a friend who has a Japanese Chin who 7 years ago went through the same surgery, so it's nice to have someone for support. Anyway right now my life has been like taking care of a paralyzed infant who is very needy and has to be with me every second, there is alot of bending and sqautting, ( I hope that part somehow gives me a better looking ass at the end) I am trying to stay focused on the fact that at some point she will walk. And as for right now I will be resuming my regular blogging and intermittenly posting updates on Ruby. I miss the blogging experience and discovering fun stuff. God knows I could use some fun stuff in my life right now.

Ruby Came Home This Morning

Well Ruby finally made it home, thank goodness! The first  two pics are when we got home this morning (notice the look of "relief that she is home"), and the others were at the vets office yesterday when I went to visit her ( notice the super sad "please take me home" face). The vets office called us this morning at 7am which scared me because it was so early I thought something was wrong. They said we could pick her up by 8:30am, and I was very happy to hear that. She still has no movement in either of her back legs, as this was a major surgery so they told us it will take a few days and many months after that for her to walk. When we took her in originally she had use of her tail still, which was indicative that she was still somewhat happy, even when in excrutiating pain. But for now no tail wags yet. We gave her some food and water when she arrived home, and I think that was probably the dumbest thing I could have done... because then when it came time for her pill she had to take, she wasn't the least bit interested. I tried everything, cheese, bacon, pill pockets. My last resort was to put it on her tongue and hold her mouth shut until she swallowed. Hopefully our next pill installment at 10pm will be better. For now we have to make sure she stays hydrated, and comfortable, and take her out every few hours to express her bladder... which kind of reminded me of those doll's I had as a kid that would pee when you squeezed them except back then it wasn't real pee. Anyway, trying to stay on the bright side, life has been really crazy lately and it can be really easy for me to get overwhelmed. Right now I am trying to focus on the task at hand, and what lies ahead, the goal of getting Ruby back on her feet. My family is forever grateful to those that have helped us, and it has made me think how much this Thanksgiving will mean to us and especially to Ruby. I will keep updating everyone on her recovery progress.