bubbledog blog

happy new year

we will miss you poppy

Our sweet Poppy passed away quickly and peacefully on November 19th at the age of 17 years and 4 months. I was able to spend the entirety of the last two days of her life with her and I am so thankful for that. It is very hard and sad to see her go, but I am happy knowing that she lived a long and healthy life. She was a hearty, loyal, and extremely intelligent dog with a tenacious personality. Though her body slowed down over the last two years, it was only in her last week that her will seem to change. She was my first dog and was in my life just about every day since I took her home on September 28th of 1998. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.

we will miss you ginger

Our family got a little smaller on December 24^th as our beloved Ginger passed away that morning.  It is amazing how quiet and dulled my life feels minus a tiny four pound four pawed friend.  Though people that didn’t visit our house regularly may only remember Ginger as a high pitched barking machine, those that she knew well will miss the ball of love that she was.  Always ready for hug or a cuddle, this little dog could brighten my toughest day with nothing more than a gaze into those big brown eyes and little kiss on the nose.  Ginger became ill in late October and has spent a lot of time back and forth to the vet.  Though there is a painful emptiness nagging at my heart, I take solace in knowing that she passed quickly in my arms on Tuesday and that she is now at peace. 

turkey surprise

 While I was out for the entire day at a craft show in Philadelphia, my parents and grandmother stopped at my house to help me out and feed my dogs.  Upon returning this evening, I found three fed dogs and a lovely surpise on my dining room table... this awesome tissue cozy!

My Grandmother made it for me using this free pattern from Twinkie Chan's blog.  She did such a great job... I am just in awe of the the pattern AND in awe of my 89 year old Grandmother's handywork!

happy thanksgiving

My very best wishes to everyone for a happy and restful Thanksgiving!  I'm looking forward to spending the day with family and to gorging on some yummy foods made by my parents.  Preparing meals is not my forte (though I am very good with a takeout menu), but I wanted to make something to contribute to the festivities.  I will be bringing a jello mold... as I can handle recipes that include boxes of sugar, tubs of cool whip, and cups of water at varying temperatures :)

 

another great crafternoon

It has been just about one year since my friend Gina came to visit with her daughters Bea and Lily for a day of eating and crafting.  They made the trek out on Monday and we had a very busy afternoon!  After wolfing down some delicious arugula pizza from Galasso's in Frenchtown (you have got to try this if you can get there), we got right down to business with the crafts.

We started the afternoon by making cupcakes out of Crayola Model Magic.  My friend Laura had suggested trying this acticity and after a quick google search, I found some samples on this blog.  I tried to imitate one of their pictures and these are the cupcakes we came up with...

Following the cupcakes, we made some glow in the dark ghost magnets using some little wooden circles that I got at Michaels, magnet backs, and some black, white, and glow in the dark paint.  They came out looking really good, but I don't think the glow aspect works too well.  We used three coats of Martha Stewart Glow-In-The-Dark finish and I still don't see anything glowing.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Had it worked, I think they would have been really awesome!

Bea and Lily had started sewing on their own a few months prior to visiting, so I showed them how to make felt applique tote bags using some premade totes from the store.  I think the designs are awesome and I think the results came out really great.  However, next time I am entertaining six year olds, I may decide against embroidering on canvas... I think I might have forever bruised their tiny fingers!  They were troopers though and really did a great job on these totes.  Please notice the two adult made totes on the right have been barely appliqued as we were forever threading needles....

As if crafting and pizza were enough, what kind of host would I be without serving gelatinous cherry flavored finger snacks in a variety of shapes?   I had to keep the sugar flowing to keep those tiny hands sewing. Thanks Jell-O!

 

searching the high seas in search of cupcakes....

I am very excited for my friend Laura who has started her own cupcake business, The Pirate Cupcake.  Of course, setting aside her super cute pirate cupcake design and the delicious cupcakes, this post is really about her eye catching new Pirate Cupcake Truck!  It was so exciting to see her pull up in my driveway today so that I could see it in person. It's a cool vintage truck and the newly designed exterior looks amazing!

This is such a great idea for parties and I think she is really going to be busy shuttling her sweets around the state.   If you live in the area and are looking for a unique party idea, check out her site!

Now I want a "bubbledog" truck....

merry christmas

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy holiday!

mid-week crafternoon

I was lucky to have the day off from work today and my friend Gina came over to visit with her two girls Bea and Lily.  Whenever possible, I love to get together with them because Bea and Lily have an amazing appetite for crafting.  Today's activity was making t-shirts with fabric crayons. I hadn't done this since the eighties and they came out much better than I remembered!  Bea made a rainbow (enhanced with lots of jewels), Lily recreated a page from an Elephant & Piggie book (enhanced with lots of jewels), Gina made a Jack-O-Lantern (though she tried, she could not escape adding lots of jewels after the insistance of her daughters), and I made a happy cheeseburger (which just barely managed to escape the be-jeweling process). 

rehoboth beach

We just got back from an amazing trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Since I live in NJ, you always hear about the beach because people love going to the Jersey Shore (which in most places is not like the TV show of the same name).  We thought of going to Wildwood or Cape May, but I am so happy that we chose Rehoboth because it turned out to be a great choice... it was cute town with lots of things to do, the beach and boardwalk were beautiful and really clean, and the restaurants (always my favorite part of a vacation) were awesome!  I would highly recommed checking it out if you haven't been.

One of my favorite things to do when I am down the shore is to check out old signage.  That was actually why I had considered going to Wildwood... they have the most amazing old motels and motel signs.  Rehoboth couldn't compete with Wildwood in that department, but I was very fond of these two beauties:

Though the restaurants that I ate at were all great, my favorite part of the trip was snacking on all of the fattening foods that you are not supposed to eat in between meals!   Thrasher's French Fries had excellent fries and, should you choose a large, you could enjoy (literally) a bucket of fries.  We almost made a daily trip to The Ice Cream Store.  Their ice cream was amazing and there were tons of flavors to choose from... if you couldn't decide, you could spin the "Wheel of Indecision" (on right) to help you out.  On way home, we stopped at The Fractured Prune and got hot hand-dipped donuts.  I cannot stop thinking about these... they were so good.  The donuts are made right in front of you, hand dipped in the toppings of your choice, and then delivered to you piping hot.  We had a lemon glaze, cinnamon and honey, maple glaze, and of course... sprinkles.  I want to go back NOW!