Bitter Apple and Other Oddities

Ruby is currently going through a phase. I can't decide if it's equivalent to the "terrible twos" or the dreaded "rebellious teenage years." Maybe it's just a horrid mixture of both. Regardless, she is quite literally tearing my apartment to shreds. I'm talking destruction that entails eating baseboards, window sills, and my roommate's favorite shoes....

No big deal... just $80 shoes I now have to replace. I made the venture to PetSmart yesterday in desperate hopes that someone would be able to help me release Ruby of her chewing demons. Cue Bitter Apple:

This, my friends, is liquid gold if you have a dog who chews. It is colorless, odorless, and apparently tastes god-awful to dogs. It's also safe to spray virtually anywhere, including most fabrics. I sprayed some on the baseboards and my window sill as soon as I got home yesterday, and then patiently waited. It wasn't until this morning after running a quick errand that I got back and knew Ruby had had a lick of this magical potion. Trust me, she was NOT a happy camper. In fact, she's been hiding under the futon ever since... but I can live with that. Additionally, I purchased a handsome new choke collar (because I don't enjoy having my arm ripped out of socket everytime I take her downstairs to potty), a fire engine red leash (because it makes her blue eyes pop), all-natural peanut butter doggie biscuits and raw hide bones (because she needs encouragement for good behaviors), and some fun little toys...

(because in the end, I'm a big softie). The rubber foot squeaky toy is my personal favorite, but I can't help but wonder if that will only initiate bad behaviors in the form of cannibalism... Guess we shall see.

Dress a L'orange

Let me tell you about my current predicament. A predicament that seems to find me this time of the year, every year. I go to Clemson University (go tigers) and our team colors are orange and purple. Quite a unique combination, no? Being a southern insitution, it is completely expected of female attendees to deck themselves in stylish sundresses for the first few games of the season. Here's the issue... our first four games are all at home and I am quickly running out of options (and funds for options) for gamedays. We're coming up on home game #4, so I have set out on a personal quest to find inexpensive-and actually attractive-orange and/or purple garb for this weekend's festivities. Take a gander at my finds thus far..

Ahh.. simple yet classic. And orange, no less! This little beauty is by Renn and I found it on Amazon.com for $33.66 (no shipping because I'm an Amazon Prime member..hollaa!). Definitely a do-able price considering I could wear this again for a number of different occasions. Ideally, I would dress it up with some fun jewelry.... observe:

This party-on-your-neck is from Francesca's Collections and I happen to love it. It's like a necklace made of Nerds candy (cue Willy Wonka imagination room daydream) and a reasonable 18 bucks.

And now.. for the more subtle fan...

Voila! Both orange and purple are adequately represented. This would be p-resh with a nice little orange scarf and some booties. Also, I'm a huge fan of the criss-cross straps cut-out in the back.. sassy! This number is by my good friend (and probably yours), Forever21.. and on sale for $12! Hellooo, college budget!

Have a Listen, Have a Gander

YouTube is arguably one of the best inventions of my generation. While entertaining, it is also a major cause of procrastination from my studies (or lack thereof). Here's what I'm listening to/watching instead of reading up on the fundamentals of persuasion...

I love it. It's a perfect combination of a Marc Jacobs ad on acid, Marilyn Manson, Slumdog Millionaire (cue blue Indian go-go girls), and a slew of cross-cultural references (African American bongos + clapping choir).

I don't know about you, but I vote for Vampire Weekend to make a cameo appearance in this year's winter Gap Campaign.. Those sweaters are on point.

Annnd finally, over a year before Beyonce debuted her one-shot choreography masterpiece with Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).... there was Feist. Is it any wonder Sesame Street snatched her up as a guest star shortly after? I think not.

Vintage Vixen

Confession: I spend a large majority of my funds on vintage items. From a financial standpoint, this may be considered by most to be a flaw. Personally-and probably only in an effort to justify it-I see it as a skill to be able to find these now one-of-a-kind items and make them my own. I'm not going to sit here and lead you to believe I'm one of those girls that only wears awesome vintage clothes and nothing mainstream (I am a poor college student, afterall), and I will say that I do frequent retail stores of all shapes and sizes. However, set me up with a good antique store, flea market, or online vintage boutique and things have the potential to get out of hand. I rarely shoot for high priced items... except in the case of the chenille bedspread...

It was love at first sight. I found this little beauty out of sheer luck at the antique store in the bustling metropolis of Little Mountain, South Carolina (my hometown). Either the dealer or some other smart shopper had hidden it in the drawer of an armoire and I just happened to find it! It was severly out of my price range at the time, but with a little haggling from mi madre, it became mine. I love it.. not only because of the peacocks (one of my favorite birds), but also because it's not just your run of the mill Pottery Barn-esque bedspread. Ahh, the beauty of vintage!

Other purchases include a sassy sequined going-out shirt (very 80's), a long bright yellow pea coat (very Jackie O, no?), and multiple pieces of jewelry (me likey the clip-ons). Enter my newest obsession: Etsy. My sister introduced me and I am a huge fan. Everything from vintage buttons to alarm clocks is on this site.. so if you, too are a lover of all things vintage, you must venture on over!

Ruby the Wonder Pup

Puppy Fits

Ruby is my dog. Her father was a very handsome Siberian Husky and her mother was a dainty little Catahoula Leopard Dog. Ruby has striking blue eyes and a question mark tail and is very beautiful. She, like most other good looking dogs, uses this attribute to her complete advantage. I guess you really can't expect much more from a dog that cost $25 on Craigslist and since her arrival has been spoiled rotten to the core.

Ruby has puppy fits. You may be wondering what this entails.. and the answer is simple. A puppy fit consists of 5-10 minutes of sheer hell in the form of sprinting, panting, barking, talking (if you're half Husky, apparently), and jumping from one piece of furniture to another in a highly sporadic manner. The severity of a puppy fit, of course, lies with the candidate at hand. Ruby is 6 months old and 45 pounds.. I feel confident that one day, she will blossom into a majestic creature that poses snout-up on a mountain top somewhere in Siberia... but for now, she is very much in her awkward teenage years.

Initiating a puppy fit is much simpler than you would imagine; all one really needs is a racquetball. And it must be a raquet ball. Tennis balls are much too dense to deliver that perky bounce that drives a dog crazy. Smaller junk machine kaleidiscope-esque bouncy balls are much too bouncy and very hard for a dog of such clumsy nature to tackle down. Racquetballs, on the other hand, are ideal because they provide just the right amount of bounce and fit perfectly in most dogs' mouths (All of this was discovered by complete accident, of course, but now I feel inclined to share).

On the evening of August 31, 2011 (last night)... the puppy fit to end all puppy fits occurred, right here in this very apartment. In retrospect, I could honestly be held responsible for instigating the whole thing. Blame boredom mixed with procrastination. While entertaining, said fits are also mildly terrifying sometimes, and at one point I honestly thought one of my roommates might be attacked by this viscious creature that had replaced my little blue-eyed dreamboat. In the aftermath, I was trying to figure out what would trigger such an episode. It occurred to me that maybe this was Ruby's way of releasing some inner demons that were really stressing her out. It was then that I realized that maybe we should all have a puppy fit once in awhile. Perhaps not in the way that Ruby goes about it (she is a dog, afterall), but wouldn't it do us all a world of good to go outside and run around in a completely unplanned and organic fashion? Or-in the appropriate place and time, of course-maybe just let out a yell/scream/holler/jibberish.. one that satisfies you to the core and makes you forget the worries of your day, even if for just a second. Keeping all of that in cannot possibly be good for us as individuals, let alone as a society.

I've read that we can learn alot of things from dogs. While I do not necessarily agree with most of Ruby's day-to-day methods (I've lost 3 pairs of panties in the last month, not to mention her love of pillows as play toys), her puppy fits may or may not be a life lesson that sticks with me. For now, my mission is to formulate a way in which to combat her spazz-attacks in a way that is safe and effective. Wish me luck.