Doggie Wash

Last weekend Holly was smelling rank not so fresh and was in desperate need of a bath.







Good thing you don't have smell-a-vision on your computer, because you would be smelling rank malodorous dog right about now. The latter picture is in the parking lot of the Doggie Bathhouse, where she has realized what the purpose of the car ride was--hence the "poor me" look on her face.





CritterTown BathHouse is awesome...and also conveniently located beside a great local wine shop, Once Upon a Vine



Sorry to get distracted...back to Crittertown! They provide the shampoo, the conditioner (which with a Golden we often need to use), the bathtub complete with hand sprayer, towels, brushes, scissors, blow dryers, and pretty much anything else you might need to groom your favorite pooch.



It was a beautiful day in the RVA, and the temperatures were above freezing, so CritterTown was a tad crowded and we had to wait a few minutes. Here are some fellow patrons.




















I love this place and Holly has been coming to get her bath here for awhile--since she outgrew our bathtub (probably when she was a bit smaller than the Golden puppy above).

Here is the wall o' shampoo to choose from (stock is a little low due to the large amount of patrons that day):




Here are some shots of Holly getting her bath. (Please note the look of excitement and joy in her eyes.)











It is so sad to watch how sad her eyes get the cleaner she gets.

This being said, the bath is not even her least favorite part. She H-A-T-E-S the dryer. She hides her face, paws at her face to, she moves her head all around--it is not pretty and my already overreacting drama queen sensitive pooch kicks it up a notch.

Warning: Extremely Pathetic Pictures to Follow

Have you seen anything so sad?

This little guy is sticking his head around to make sure Holly is going to survive.
After the torture drying session, it was time for some doggie cologne.



I chose "Jungle Mist" and it smelled mucho better than rank dirty dog.
After the dryer was cut off, I had a much perkier canine companion!



She knew treats were involved. It is amazing what a treat can do to an attitude.

Here is my fluffy, lovely, sweet-smelling Holly Belle!

All tuckered out from a trip to CritterTown. It is such an emotional drain on doggie senses.

Any RVA-ers, if you have a dog and need a good place to wash them, CritterTown is the place to go!

~Lexie

Veteran's Day 2010

I know Veteran's Day was last week, but I wanted to share with you all that I accomplished!  I spent a lovely morning with my precious godson (went on a run and to Lowe's), completed the priming phase in our bathroom, and spent an evening bonding with my Momma!

Amity and I met for our last run before the Richmond Half Marathon to do a little 3 mile jaunt--we took Holly and Thomas along for the ride.

After the run, we played in the backyard...

 "Cheese!"

 He loves flowers.

 And he really liked this green ball/globe.

 Holly was happy to run and romp with Thomas, too.  She says, "it's a tough job, but someone has to do it."

The, I dragged fulfilled Thomas' dreams of a Lowe's outing...

 He gave me his input on possible colors for the bathroom.

He helped my pick out the best paintbrush for the job--later he tasted it to let me know it was pretty good.

 He pointed to the neon pink reindeer that he wants for the front yard (don't worry, Thomas, Godmommy will come through for you on that, one--we just won't tell your Mom).

 He was amazed at how Lowe's has been taken over by all things Christmas, and Thanksgiving hasn't even rolled around yet.

 

 Now this is a scary Santa (the pretty lady with the awesome yellow purse is Lissa, one of my best friends and Thomas' mom--we were discussing all of the possible children who might be traumatized filled with joy by this Santa during this Holiday Season).  The traumatizing filled with joy discussion started because as we were walking along, all of a sudden this Big Boy starts moving and a grooving--I startled and said "scary!"  Thomas then repeated "scary" for the rest of the trip--I hope that Santa has not been ruined for him--he is only 2 years old and has lots of Christmases left.  But that Big Santa that moves all of a sudden IS SCARY.



After I tucked my sweet boy into his car seat in the back of his Momma's car, I zoomed on back home to get my priming on...here is a bit of my handiwork.

Don't worry, I got a TON all over my hands, legs, arms, etc.  Luckily it was latex, so it came off pretty well in the shower.

After I took a nice exfoliating scrub to all of the paint covering my body shower, I got ready for a Night out with my Mom!  We started for a quick bit at Europa--it was quite yumm-o!!  We went at the right time (around 5:30)--they were having HALF-PRICE TAPAS and HALF-PRICE GLASSES OF WINE!!!  There were some super scrumptious tapas--my favorites were the sea scallops, fried oysters, and the stuffed peppers with chorizo, chicken and mascarpone cheese.  I give this place a 3.75 out of 5 stars and will definitely go back--especially to try the baked artichoke and lump crab, chorizo quesadilla, artichoke misto...and get more of the sea scallops!

 Sea Scallops and Fried Oysters

 Mom, showing off the menu--what a goofball!

 Stuffed Peppers and Flatbread Duck Pizza

 If that wasn't a great evening...there is more!  I was the lucky winner of the tickets to RHome Holiday Event at La Diff where Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan from Apartment Therapy was the Guest Speaker!

 It was great!  We got to wander around La Diff and ooh and aah at all of the chic, cool, modern pieces and fun accessories; look at some very cool and festive wreaths and holiday tablescapes on display; and be entertained by ballerinas from the Richmond Ballet's Nutcracker! 

Here are some of the cool things I perused in La Diff...

 LOVE these wall thingies (I'm sure there is a name, but I am not sure what it is, so I'm going with wall thingies).  I can just see the flowers in a little girl's room, or maybe in a family room.

 Doesn't my mom look relaxed and stress-free???  I guess that is why they call this "Stressless."

 This...is outside furniture!  Cool, right?!  And, it is comfortable!  I tried it out!  I LOVE it!  It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland or something...I don't know why, but it does.

I LOVE this chair and would like for it to be in my house---Santa?  You hear me? 

 

 I like this dragonfly pillow--I could see it on my screened porch in a big fluffy chair for reading in...

I LOVE this rug!!  It is in French!  Je l'adore!!! 

 I just thought these were funny.

 Maybe you would like them in gold?

I LOVE this swanky sofa.  One day, when I have a more formal living room, I think I will purchase this... 

 

 I don't know about you, but I always wanted cardboard animal heads mounted on my wall...actually these would be cool in my office and I could dress them up according to the season.  I could also see them adding a little something extra in a boy's room.

 I love over-sized jars for home accents.

This chandelier is awesome. 

The wreathes that were on auction were awesome!  I was tempted to put a bid in on these two:

but I've decided that I am going to do a DIY wreath this year, here are some I've seen around the Blogging World that are inspiring--

 
From Apartment Therapy

From Apartment Therapy

From Tatertots and Jello



Anyway, back to the RHome Event...check out this beautiful holiday tablescape Strawberry Fields put together.

I love this little birdie--if you look closely, you can see the robin eggs tucked inside!

With Thanksgiving next week and Christmas around the corner, I will leave you with some twirling ballerinas to get you in the holiday mood!  I'm thinking that I might want to check out the Richmond Ballet's Nutcracker this Holiday Season after seeing these lovely ladies! 

 

 If twirling ballerinas and Nutcracker Suite in your head don't get you in the holiday spirit, then I'm not sure what else will, besides maybe some hot cocoa, fleece pajamas, and A Christmas Story.



~Lexie