Halloween Recap 2011

Now that it’s after Thanksgiving, you’re probably in the mood for some Halloween stuff, right?  No?  Me either.  But some of these pictures are too funny not to share.  So bear with me.  Or just scroll down and feast on the eye candy – you don’t even have to trick-or-treat for it!

This being the first time in five years that I’ve been living in a house (versus an apartment) for Halloween, pumpkin carving was definitely in order.  No, there’s not a rule that says you can’t carve pumpkins in apartments but it sure is more fun when you can put them on display where people other than the two who lived in said apartment will see the jack o’ lanterns.  Being as in love with Hamlet as I am, I decided to carve a Boston Terrier into my pumpkin.  I found a stencil on the Better Homes and Gardens website, purchased my pumpkin carving kit and I was all set.  Here’s how it turned out.

I called him Hamoween.

On Halloween night I invited my mom and stepdad, my sister-in-law Kari and brother Gabe, and my friend Melissa over for dinner and giving out candy to the trick-or-treaters.  Poor Melissa got in a car accident on the way to our house (don’t worry, she’s a-ok but her car got totaled) and my brother couldn’t make it.  So Mom, stepdad Steve, Kari, and I forged ahead without them.  We are baked ziti and salad and ate a lot of Halloween candy.  Mike got home later and got into the spirit so we put on our costumes.  Mike is the three stooges and I’m a cupcake.  Hamlet is a reluctant sheriff, who would not wear the cowboy in a saddle on his back.  Sorry for the blurry photo, darn cell phone camera.

Moe and the sherrif were all business while the cupcake was happy to eat candy.

Mom and Kari got in on the fun too.

Mom was a more fun-loving Moe.

Larry loves cupcakes.

Of course Hamoween got lit and put out on the front porch.  No, that doesn’t mean he was too drunk and banished to the outdoors.

Don't let his droopy eyes fool you, Hamoween was sober as a judge.

Hamlet was the constant surveyor.  Well, “constant” is a bit of a stretch.  At first he was diligent about barking in response to the doorbell and running to the front door to greet trick-or-treaters.  But when I pulled the baked ziti out of the oven and served dinner, he was totally uninterested in the doorbell or trick-or-treaters or Halloween in general; his only focus was cheesy baked pasta (don’t worry, he didn’t get anything but dog food and a dog treat or two).

"Hey, you! What are you doing out there? Get off my lawn!"

My mom might have had a little too much candy because this was the last picture I took of the evening.  Yes, she is wearing Hamlet’s sheriff hat.  I love the smile on her face – isn’t my mom the best?  I sure think so.  I also love that you can see sister-in-law Kari in the window reflection.

There's a new sheriff in town.

Does anyone have any Halloween stories they want to share a month after Halloween?  No, just me?  Alright, I promise to share my Christmas recap in a more timely manner.  I also promise to include a picture of my stepdad, as he was somehow (inadvertently) not included in any of these pics.

Homemade Boston Terrier Stuffed Animals

What’s better than a Boston Terrier of your very own?  A stuffed Boston Terrier that doesn’t poop, throw up at the top of the stairs, puke in your lap, or vomit on the floor on your side of the bed so you step in it when you wake up in the morning.  (Yes, Hamlet has completed all of those barf adventures in real life. What can I say, he has a gentle constitution.)

How to transition from vomit to stuffed animals?  Stuffed animals are usually for kids and kids throw up a lot so they already have a lot in common with Hamlet.  I figured the boy’s nieces would love a Boston Terrier of their very own.  The problem is, they already have a real-life, snorting, farting, humping Boston Terrier named Munson.  But stuffed animals are better because you don’t have to share with your sister.  Or so I hear.

I found the most darling patterns for Boston Terrier stuffies on Etsy.  The name of the shop is StichyWitchyDesigns and it’s the cutest patootest.  Missy, the owner/operator/seamstress/designer extraordinaire is so kind and helpful and fun.  Plus she ships everything fast and she provides great instructions and is generally fantastic.  You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook too.  Oh my goodness, I just checked out the latest in the Etsy shop and there are super fun things for Christmas like “Boston Terriers are Merrier” dog collars (I told you Missy was fun) and Pit Bull or French Bulldog advent calendars.

I am a lame sauce sewer but even I could put these together, so you can too!  When I say lame sauce, I’m serious.  I’m super slow speed-wise and not very bright smarts-wise when it comes to sewing.  I always ask my mom 79 questions and have to look in the instruction manual every time I sew to re-learn how to thread the bobbin on the machine.  Yes, even with a machine I’m slow as mo-lasses.  But these patterns are literally cutting out the pieces, sewing the pieces together, turning the whole thing inside out, stuffing it with batting, and sewing it closed.  Take a look for yourself, are they not adorabs (adorable for anyone who isn’t following my Shelley-speak)?

Hamlet, it looks like someone is rather interested in you.

Coming in for a closer look...sniff, sniff.

Oh, isn't she pretty?

Is that a custom cupcake ribbon collar you're wearing? And how about that bow? Aren't you pretty!

Just two peas in a pod.

Sometimes best friends don't even have to talk. They can just hang.

We keep an eye out for one another.

What do you think of them?  Do you make handmade gifts?  I always get excited about making handmade and then leave it to the last minute and get stressed and end up eating eighteen Christmas layer bars in one sitting to compensate.  FYI, it doesn’t really help at all with the stress, just with the love handles.

The first pattern I used (the Boston Terrier walking on the grass) is the Boston Terrier pal fabric panel while the second one (the Boston Terrier head) was a pattern called Dottie the Boston Terrier that Stichy Witchy no longer carries.

*I wasn’t compensated in any way to write this post.  I just happened upon Sitchy Witchy Designs while browsing Etsy, loved the products, and wanted to share the news with my favorite blog readers.

Happy Thanksgiving and Thank You to You!

Just popping in to say hi and wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.  Hamlet is overloading on stuffing and mashed potatoes so his mouth is too full of carbs to form any words right now.  I’m pretty sure there’s nothing but gravy running in his veins now.

I’m just kidding.  But if I could give him Thanksgiving dinner without harming his health or cleaning up the resulting barf-fest, I would.  I love that dog.  He’s my baby and one of my best friends.  I’m thankful to have him in my life and I hope he’s gaga for me too.  We’re like the duck and the chicken all stuffed inside of the turducken, that’s how close we are.  Turducken besties.

I say all this because, as you know, today is a good day to tell the people in your life that they matter, you love them, you’re grateful for their presence and friendship and jokes and support, all the good stuff that goes with green bean casserole.  So I want to send out a big virtual turkey drumstick to all of you and tell you how much I love it that you stop in on this blog every so often and say hi, read about Boston Terrier antics, and tolerate my not funny jokes and chatty Cathy-ness.

It wouldn’t be the same without you.  You put the green in Green Eggs and Hamlet.  Or the eggs, whatever’s your favorite.  Or the Hamlet, which is why I leave you with a beauty shot of him.  It’s just one of many things I’m thankful for but I sure love seeing that sweet face first thing every morning.

Boston Terrier Nesting – A Breakdown

Hamlet’s new favorite thing in our new house is this old rug that I’ve had since 2004 when I purchased it on clearance at Target.  I think I paid $2.99 for it and I used it in my first ever rental house in Boulder, CO.  We had it at the apartment too but it was in the guest room so Hamlet never noticed it.  He never noticed it because there was a bed in the guest bedroom that got perfect sunlight in the afternoon.  Who would nap on a rug when they have the choice of a sun-drenched bed?  I certainly wouldn’t.  Neither did Ham.  More proof that he’s a genius.

Anyway, back to the rug.  It’s his new favorite thing because he now has a soft place to hang out in the kitchen.  Anyone else have a dog that does not like to sit on hard surfaces and all out refuses to lay down on them?  To the point that when he sits down on the sidewalk he often backs his butt up until he can rest his rump on my shoe.  No, just me?  Moving on, then.  We were the people in dog training class whom the teacher had to lay out a carpet scrap for, otherwise Ham would not do “down” because of the cement floor.  It’s a miracle he passed the Canine Good Citizen test without the use of his beloved carpet scrap.

Back to the rug, again.  A lot of times I am cooking or baking in our new (to us) kitchen.  I could tell Hamlet wanted to sit in there with me but I knew he didn’t like sitting or laying on the hardwood floor.  So I found the rug in a box I was emptying and put it in front of the cabinet with the sink so I can stand on it when I wash dishes.  It’s also one of Hamlet’s favorite spots, provided one of us human-givers-of-food is in the kitchen.

Tonight he decided he loved the rug so much that he tried to nest in it.  Anyone else have a dog who digs and roots around in blankets until he makes a perfect nest and then circles around and lies down?  No, just me?  Nesting in an 18″ long rug is a difficult feat.  No way to fluff it up and pat it back down or make the perfect tunnel to burrow into like with a fleece blanket or comforter.  The rug does not want to be nested but Ham is insistent.  Here’s a photo breakdown of the nesting attempt on the kitchen rug.  It’s a lot of pulling this way, pushing that and it ends up the exact same as it started.  But he seems to be pleased with his efforts and that’s what counts.

Friday Funny: Berkley Illustrations

Thanks to the latest post from Urban Grace Interiors I was turned on to Berkley Illustrations, a lovely Etsy shop of animal art prints.  These are no ordinary animals, though, as evidenced by the dapper Labrador below.

I am getting the biggest kick out of animals in fancy dress!  It doesn’t stop at dogs, though.  Berkley Illustrations has lions, cheetahs, sloths, goats, even Tyrannosaurus Rex.  There are ladies as well as men – check out the classy cow.  And the goat eating his own tie?  Kills me!

I am also loving the high school superlative magnets!  Best eyes for the deer, get it?

Of course Shark wins best smile with his toothy grin.  Don’t miss Lion hanging out in the corner.

And the yearbook pages used as a background, just the frosting on this delicious funfetti cake!  You can check out all of the Berkley Illustrations goodness in their Etsy shop.  I think a few of these would be fantastic in a kid’s room or nursery.  Or my master bedroom but don’t tell the boy fiancé I said that, not sure if he’d agree.

All images sourced from the Berkley Illustrations Etsy page.

Spotted: Jenny Yoo Bridal Collection

The latest in our Spotted feature is very timely.  Just over a week ago I got engaged and now I’m spotting Boston Terriers on bridal gown websites.  Yes, I’m already on the great hunt for a wedding dress but while checking out Jenny Yoo’s bridal collection, I happily stumbled across this adorable Boston Terrier.

I like to imagine that it’s a female Boston Terrier named Penelope.  Isn’t the white blossom on her collar just the bees knees?  Yes, I still use that expression.  No, I’m not 84 years old.

Jenny Yoo is one designer currently on the top of my list for wedding gowns.  I love the classic, elegant lines that also seem to maintain a comfortable, easy feel.  I even love the necklace the model is wearing in this photo.  And for any brides out there, the dress in the picture is a style called Aimee #1116B and costs $1,199.

I promise Green Eggs and Hamlet won’t turn into a wedding blog.  I may foray into wedding details now and again but ultimately this blog is about Hamlet and that’s happily how it will remain.

Image sourced from the Jenny Yoo website.

Bedtime Beauty

Now that we live in a house instead of an apartment, I have decided that Hamlet needs another dog bed.  I just realized that I haven’t done a post on how we moved from our rented Denver apartment to our all-ours, owned and paid for (well, paying for) Denver home.  I promise a post on that later.  But back to the bread and butter of this post – dog beds.

At the apartment we kept a dog bed for Hamlet underneath the coffee table in the living room.  He loved to lay in there and chew toys or nap while we watched TV.  If he wasn’t in his bed then he napped on the guest bed (a human bed) or on our bed (also a human bed).  There weren’t really any other places to go.  In the house we have 2,700 square feet versus the roughly 800 we had in the apartment so there are a lot more places to nap and lounge.  Hamlet still loves to spend time in the dog bed underneath the coffee table so we have that set up in the house as well.  However, there are many other places in the house that he likes to hang out but there aren’t comfy spots for him to lay (we don’t have a lot of furniture yet).  The sun room and the family room, both on the back of the house, get good sunlight so they’re favorite spots.  Also, sometimes he does not want to sleep in our bed at night and prefers to make a nest on the floor.  This all added up (in my mind, at least) to the need for another dog bed.  Two dog beds would mean more spots for Ham to lounge and less moving around of the current dog bed by the humans.

The dog bed we have now is one I purchased at Target two years ago in preparation for Hamlet’s arrival as our beloved pet.  He likes it, it’s washable, and it was inexpensive so it works.  This is similar to the bed I’m talking about, except ours is navy blue and is from the Boots and Barkley line at Target; the classic oval shaped bed with a little cutout at the front for the dog to easily step into the bed.  But I wanted to try something new for the new dog bed.  I had read about Molly Mutt beds online a couple of times so went back to their website and did some more poking around.  Molly Mutt beds are described as dog duvets – it’s essentially just a dog bed cover.  The cool thing is that you stuff the bed with whatever you want – your old clothes, sheets, towels, pillows, or former dog beds/dog bed filling.  I like this idea because I know how much Hamlet likes to dig around his bed and fluff it up, moving the filling this way and that until it’s just so.  The Molly Mutt bed sounded like it would fit the bill perfectly.  Also, it makes the entire bed – cover and filling – easy to wash.  As an added bonus, whatever filling I choose to stuff into the duvet now stays out of a landfill so it’s eco-friendly too.  Normally I donate all of that stuff to Goodwill but we have some particularly grody pillows and sheets that are too disgusting to donate.  Now I could save those and use them to stuff the Molly Mutt bed.

Molly Mutt dog bed duvet with clothes, blankets, etc. as stuffing. *Note: the black mesh stuff sack is sold separately.

The one concern I had about the Molly Mutt bed was that it’s just essentially a big rectangle, no bolster-like sides to snuggle against or rest a head on.  Ham is a big snuggler so I really wanted something to fulfill that requirement.  Thankfully, Molly Mutt has now added Pillow Packs to their product line.  Pillow Packs velcro on to a Molly Mutt bed, adding a snuggling/head resting bolster-like pillow on one side of the bed.  It’s the best of both worlds.  And Pillow Packs get stuffed with whatever you want, just like the Molly Mutt bed.

Molly Mutt dog bed with pillow pack.

I found a Molly Mutt bed that was on sale – hooray for saving five bucks!  It’s the rectangle bed, size small, in wagon wheel color (rusty orange).  Size small is 22 inches x 27 inches x 5 inches, which I thought was a good Ham size.

Molly Mutt dog bed duvet in the wagon wheel color.

They don’t offer a Pillow Pack in the same color (I think that color is being discontinued, hence it being on sale) so I got a green and white lattice patterned one (the color is called title track).

Molly Mutt pillow pack in the title track color.

I’m decorating our sun room in orange and green so I think the combination on the dog bed will look cute.  And when the dog bed is moved around the rest of the house I think it will look just as cute; I’m not one for having everything match, so it will be fine.  But who knows, maybe we’ll love the Molly Mutt bed so much we’ll have to order another one.  I’ll be sure to do a full review after we’ve had the bed for a while and Hamlet has used it consistently.

Here’s the price breakdown of what I ordered.  Molly Mutt dog beds are sold in local retail stores so you might be able to save yourself some shipping if you go that route.  There’s a helpful store locator on the website.

• Molly Mutt dog bed duvet, wagon wheel color, size small: $20.00 (Normally size small dog bed duvets are $25.00)
• Molly Mutt pillow pack, title track color, size small: $20.00
• FedEx Ground shipping: $7.95
• TOTAL: $47.95

Do any of your dogs have a Molly Mutt dog bed?  Or what is your dog bed of choice?

All images sourced from the Molly Mutt website.  This post was not paid for or sponsored in any way; it’s just my opinion and experience so far with Molly Mutt.

We’re Engaged!

Now that I’ve shared the great news with all of my family and friends, I thought it was time that I share the news on the blog – I’m engaged to be married to the boy.  We’re so excited!  I guess I might eventually have to stop calling him “the boy” and change it to “the hubs” or something more appropriate for our new stage in life. 

Mike proposed to me on Boreas Pass, just outside of Breckenridge, Colorado.  It was Sunday, October 2 so the Aspen trees were showing off their gorgeous fall colors.  We stopped to take pictures near the top of the pass, very close to the Continental Divide.  We took some pictures and after a while Mike made a little speech, got down on one knee, pulled out a beautiful diamond ring from his pocket and asked me to marry him.  It was perfect, very much our style and even better because Hamlet was there.  We couldn’t get engaged without little Hammy being present!

When I called my mom to tell her the wonderful news, one of the questions she asked was, “did you tell Hamlet?”  How cute, right?  She’s such a good Grammy.  I said, “yes, he knows, he was there for the whole thing.”  Mom replied, “oh good, he knows his future is secure.”  That made me laugh.  I love that Mom loves this dog as much as Mike and I do and considers him part of the family, just like we do.  That’s what marriage is all about, right?  The joining together of two people and ultimately two families.  Hamlet’s just lucky enough to be a member on both sides.

We’re Famous (or at Least We Feel Like We Are)!

We’re doing backflips in the Green Eggs and Hamlet household because we were linked to from THE wonderful Young House Love.  If you’ve been living under a rock on the internet or don’t follow do it yourself/design/home improvement blogs, then I’ll briefly explain that Young House Love is just such a blog and happens to be best in breed.  It doesn’t hurt that the couple who runs it have a fantastically cute Chihuahua, Burger, and an equally adorable baby girl, Clara.

If you’re visiting here from YHL, thank you for coming!  You’ve probably noticed that this is not a design blog, but rather a place where I occasionally blah about how cute/funny/farty/smarty/loving/wonderful my Boston Terrier, Hamlet (a.k.a. Ham), is.  In other words, this is a dog blog.  I hope you find something you like.  Please leave a comment and let me know you were here.  It can even say something oh-so-sixth grade like, “Joan was here.” 

And for those 3.5 of you who came not via YHL, thank you for coming!  Please also comment because you are wonderful.  You can write somethin as simple as, “I’m wonderful. The end.”  The story of the linkage is that I recently tweeted to John and Sherry of YHL about a “find your design style” type of quiz that I saw on Ethan Allen’s website.  John and Sherdog love those things so they took the quiz, wrote a post about it and very sweetly and kindly gave me credit for telling them about said quiz.  I know this has nothing to do with dogs but I love me some DIY, design blogs so had to share the love.

Also, to readers both old and new, please use your imaginations and pretend that Green Eggs and Hamlet is chock full of witty, smart, funny, endearing posts that make you want to come back for more.  I’ll love ya for it.  And Ham will lick your feet for 22 minutes straight in appreciation.  You will end up with a heart full of love and prune feet.  In the meantime we’ll ignore the fact that I haven’t posted anything in approximately 472 days.  Perfect, thank you.

I’ll bid you adieu with this adorable picture of Ham.  He was apparently exhausted from all the YHL attention today and promptly collapsed in my lap so please ignore my pale, pale legs in the background.

Friday Funny: Don’t Mess With the Old Dogs

Today’s Friday Funny comes in the form of a little story, sent to me by my madre.  It’s one of those silly email forwards but I thought you all might get a kick out of it.

One day an old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he’s lost.  Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old German Shepherd thinks, “Uh, oh! I’m in deep doo-doo now!”

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.  Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, “Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder if there are any more around here?”
Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.  “Whew!” says the panther, “That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!”

Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther.  The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.

The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, “Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!”

Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, “What am I going to do now?”  But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says, “Where’s that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!”

Moral of this story…Don’t mess with the old dogs.  Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery!  BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.