MY LIFE HAS GONE TO THE DOGS!

This past week I have been dog sitting. I'm watching the dog over at her house. It's hard being away from my own dogs but my sister is taking very good care of them and I do come home for a few hours every day to visit them.

Every afternoon I take Chloe (the Basset Hound) to the dog park in Seal Beach. She loves going there and we stay about 2 hours.

True to her breed she loves to sniff everything.

She loves to wonder all over the park and see what the other dogs are up to.

This is a really nice dog park. Very big and every kind of dog can be found here. The big dogs and little dogs all get along. It's so cute to watch them all play.

But Chloe's favorite thing to do is to go up to the humans and get lots of love and pets. Most of the time she rolls over and hopes for tummy rubs.

The dogs take turns being the greeting committee. Any new dog that comes in is greeted with a bark and sniff.

I've really come to love this dog. I'm going to miss her when my time is up. She is so sweet and lovable. I want to take her home but I don't think her owner would be to happy with that.

The only real bad thing that happened is this dog loves to find things and take them then chew them up. I tried to put everything up in high places. Some how she finds ways to get in places you would never think she could.

She has found ways to grab things without me seeing her. Sadly she got hold of my glasses and chewed them up before I noticed she even had them. Oh no! I'm blind without my glasses.

Good thing they have one of those one hour eye glass places by me. Guess where I'm going today?

No, I did not yell at the dog. First of all they say if you don't catch the dog in the act of doing something wrong it is useless to punish the dog because they don't understand why they are being punished. But the main reason I didn't do anything is because I don't believe it's the dogs fault. She has never been taught to not grab things and chew them up. The dog doesn't know what she did was bad.

Now my question is...do you think the owner should pay for the glasses? I've had some people tell me she should because she never trained the dog and knows she can get things even if put up high. Also, before she left she did tell me the dog chews things and to keep my things up high. I said to her "Oh I hope she doesn't get anything while you are away." The lady then said "Just keep a list of everything she gets and I will pay you for them." I laughed and said "No, I was hoping she doesn't chew up any of YOUR things while you are away. " So, she was expecting the dog to get into somethings while she was gone and did offer to pay for anything she got.

But, I am thinking I was watching the dog and she was under my care so I should pay. Even though I did put my glasses up on the tallest dresser in the room and it is where she keeps her glasses at. I know this because there were two other pairs of glasses up there. How the dog got up there is beyond me. I swear this dog is magic and can get things she just should not be able to reach.

I would love to hear what you all think. Who should end up paying?

Hugs,
Joanne

ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MAGAZINES

I love when it's that time to go to the book store and pick up a stack of newly released magazines.

I love to sit down and just be quiet for awhile and read all the stories, look at the beautiful pictures and get some great recipes.

One of my favorite magazines is Tea Time. It comes out every other month and I look forward to each issue with as much excitement as a child on Christmas morning.

Inside you will find lovely pictures with great decorating ideas.

Tips on having a tea party or tea for two. Sometimes it's great to just have a nice cup of tea and relax alone.

They also have some great treats for your tummy too.

If you have not ever picked up a copy of this magazine, I suggest you do. I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Hugs,
Joanne

THE MIDAS TOUCH

Car repairs! Everyone has them but no one likes them. No matter how small the repair is sometimes it can put a damper on our whole day!

I noticed my tire was low. I tried putting air in it but then by the end of the day it was low again.

Great! I needed to go find out what was wrong. I had hope it was just a nail and a quick repair, small bill and then I would be on my way.

I went to the local tire store down the street from me. I was told there wasn't a nail that they could find. I needed a whole new tire. It was going to cost me around $150. Oh no! I wasn't ready to pay that much. I'm trying to save my money for my cruise later this month.

So I thought I would go tire shopping.

That's when I drove by Midas in Huntington Beach. I saw they had a big sign saying Firestone Tires. I knew that was the tires that came on my car so I quickly pulled in.

I was greeted right away by the very pleasant staff. I told them what the other tire company said. As soon as I did I knew I shouldn't have. Why? Because now they know I know I need a new tire.

I've seen the shows on TV. The ones like 20/20 or 60 Minutes. You know, where they went under cover to the car repair places and how they take advantage of you. If you are a woman you really have no hope. Oh well. To late I knew I was going to get ripped off.

What! Did I hear right? Did the guy just tell me I DON'T need a new tire. It's just a nail. OMG!

I was very impressed. This shop was NOT going to take advantage of me. In fact, they were very honest. Wow! This wasn't what 20/20 or 60 Minutes showed. They need to come to this Midas.

My tire was put up on the machine, fixed and my bill was less then $20.00!

So, what could have turned out to be a costly day turned into a quick tire repair.

From now on I will be going to Midas in Huntington Beach. They are honest, fast, friendly and very knowledgeable.

They didn't care if I was a woman or a man. I was treated with respect and treated very very fairly. They don't take advantage of their customers.

Thanks Midas!

Don't you just love when you find a car repair place that you can trust.

Oh, in case you were wondering...NO I didn't get paid a penny to write this review. I just thought since honest repair shops are so few and far between I would let anyone in this area know where they can go.

Hugs,

Joanne

NOT YOUR MAMA'S HALLOWEEN SHOP

This shop is off the beaten path in Costa Mesa CA. The name of it is Paris Underground. It's in back of a darling shop called Paris to the Moon. I'll show you that cute place later.

You can tell by the front door that this isn't your everyday typical Halloween store.

The whole place is NOTHING but Halloween decor right now. Though they do change it at other times of the years.

Every space is full of great items. I loved this display as this year I'm decorating with a black and white theme for Halloween.

This guy just made me smile.

You can even gaze into this crystal ball and see what your future holds in store for you. Or you can learn how to read palms.

This area is like a big science lab. Creepy eye balls and body parts can be bought.

I fell in love with this little book but I was good and didn't buy it.

I bet the owner of this shop has the best Halloween parties! Look at all the things he could use. Yes, it's a man who owns this shop and also the Paris to the Moon.

If you don't want to learn to tell fortunes then you can buy this vintage type machine to do it for you. But, I hope you have a lot of money to buy it or it isn't going anywhere.

How about a sparkly skull head? I bet a woman makes these. A little sparkle can never hurt you.

Lot's of black, white and orange candy can be purchased.

There is a great costume for you to wear this year!

A whole bar set up for Absinthe. I hear one goes a bit "crazy" when drinking this. Sorry, but it's not legal to have this in USA. Though in other countries this is a favorite drink by many artists. They say it helps them to create.

Then of course there is the cheerful and vintage inspired items too.

I have to say, I could have spent hours in this shop. It's tiny but packed with so many unique things.

It's a shop you don't quickly forget once you walk in. It sort of "Haunts" you when you leave.

Every year I have a have a Halloween party for Trinity and her friends. Each year we do a different theme. I've noticed as she gets older she wants to get a little more scary in the themes. Gone are the days of the Tinker Bell costumes.

How about you? Do you do anything special for Halloween? Do you decorate with a theme? A style?

Personally I love vintage inspired items. I would love to own real vintage things but most of them are way out of my price budget.

Hope you enjoyed shopping with me. Oh you want to know what I bought here? Sorry, I left empty handed.

Hugs,

Joanne

I LOVE THIS SHOP!

There is a store near me called Gibson's. They have great outdoor items, such as patio table and chairs, fountains, statutes and lighting.

Like this cute little cat that looks like the bird has tied up in yarn.

They also sell faux flowers that look so real it's hard to tell even up close.

They have beautiful decor for inside as well. Look at these pretty mermaids.

I love the Fall flowers and decor they have now.

They have indoor furniture as well. I love the hutch they have done up in the golds, oranges and reds.

They have the such wonderful paper products too. Some you would never know were paper. I love this pattern though I don't think I would use the white plate with this.

They have place settings set up all through out the store. This table had an Italian look to it.

They set each table up with a different theme and use their lovely paper goods. This one was for Fall with the colors and flowers.

It's hard to tell but this table is all in parrots.

This little section caught my eye with the pretty pink roses and bird items.
But I had strength and didn't buy any of these things...even though I really wanted to.

But when I saw these little guys I knew I had to get them. They would be darling with my Fall decor. Which of course I will show you once I put everything out.

Gibson's decorates so pretty at Christmas. I promise to take better pictures when I go back then.

Don't forget you still have time to sign up for my Fall/Autumn giveaway. If you have not yet done so please click here http://cottageinthemaking.blogspot.com/2008/09/autumnfall-giveaway.html and do so. It's open until 9/22/08.

Hugs,
Joanne

EAST MEETS WEST

One of my favorite blogs I have been reading belongs to Pat at http://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.com/ Pat lives in New York and writes about her great life there. Every time I read her blog I dream about going back to New York and one day getting to meet her in person.

Then I got an email from her saying she was going to be coming out here to CA with her husband. She was only going to be 2 hours away from me down in San Diego.

I was so excited! To top off the excitement she told me about another wonderful blogger Cori, from http://gingerbreadcrumbsandcompany.blogspot.com/ who happens to live very close to me, was going to be meeting up with us too. Cori used to live in San Diego and was going to be our tour guide!

Our first stop was to Old Town. The picture above is of Cori on the left and Pat on the right. It was pretty funny because none of us wanted our pictures taken. So when we did give in we would try to hide behind something.

Old Town was very pretty. There were several stores and places to eat.

Everything was so pretty and brightly colored. I felt almost like we were in Mexico.

The pottery was so cheerful and bright.

There was one wall that had so many pretty crosses hanging on it.

I would love to be able to set a table with these colors!

Even the halls in the court yard were festive with the paper cut outs hanging.

One shop had all these beautiful hanging hand made eggs. The man was even making one while we were there.

This is where we ate. This picture was taken when we first got there and it was not even open yet. The resturant is called Casa Del Rey. The Mexican food was great.

This water fountain is just outside the resturant.

We also got to go to Point Loma Light House. It was the first real light house I've ever seen.

At first I was taken back. It wasn't anything like I thought it was going to look like. But the more time we spent there the more I fell in love with it.

We even got to go inside and see how the light house keeper lived back in the late 1800's. It was very small but cozy.

We all agreed we wanted to stay up there as the views were beautiful, the cool breeze felt wonderful and the house was so sweet.

We were not able to go up to the tower though. It was closed off. This light house no longer is in use.

We also stopped at a small town called Heritage Park. The houses there were so pretty. Though most, if not all are now businesses. There is a B&B there.

Cori had been married here and got to stay in the B&B. Lucky girl!

This house was turned into a gift shop but it was closed. There was even a chain blocking the stairs off but I made Cori and Pat take the chain down and go up there anyway. The stairs were decorated so cute for fall I didn't want to miss out on their photo there.

There is even a little stone rabbit. We all took a picture of the stone rabbit in memory of the blog Stone Rabbit. My close up didn't come out so this photo will have to do.

This darling little tea house was there also. While we had already had lunch we still had to go check it out. They had a little gift shop so we browsed around.


No one was having tea there. I don't know why as it is so cute. Plus it was only $20. I would love to go back someday and actually eat there. Cori!! Did you hear that? Want to go with me?

I loved how they did this display. I've never seen anything like that before. Such a great idea.

Our last stop was to The Hotel Del Coronado. This was another first for me.

The lobby is all in dark woods. It's so rich looking.

The chandelier is huge and so beautiful. This photo doesn't do it justice at all.

We walked around in the shops.

They had such great things. Not your normal hotel gift shop.

But, I did not look at the prices because I'm sure the cost was way up there.

We did not buy anything here. Well, we did get a drink and we sat outside. The weather was great there. The view was lovely and the company could not have been better.

Sadly our time was up and we had to get Pat back to the hotel she was staying at so she could meet up with her husband for dinner.

We did take the longer path back to the car just to stretch the last few minutes out.

I had a blast. I got to meet two great women that I hope will remain life long friends.

Cori and I have said we were going to get together and I hope we really do.

I'm planning a trip to New York and I hope Pat will be willing to meet up and show me around, at least for a little while.

If you get a chance to meet either of these gals I hope you jump at the chance because you won't be sorry.

Hugs,
Joanne