Happy 7th Birthday, Ike!

Today's a big day!  Ike turns 7.  

One day you're bringing home the world's cutest puppy.

The next thing you know, he's 7. And then you start sobbing because you can't imagine life without this tennis ball loving mess of a dog.

I know everyone thinks they have the best dog but this guy truly is.

A Wire Fox Terrier won best in show last week.  The owner said that the breed is bred to "look for trouble".  That sentence describes Ike perfectly.  He's fiesty.  He's spunky.  But he's also the sweetest dog in the world.

The thing I find the most interesting about Ike is that he loves Nate and I equally.  Most dogs I know have a favorite.  We're both his favorite.  Unfortunately I think tennis ball trumps us both but you can't win them all. 

What does a special dog get on his 7th birthday?  A cake, of course. 

A cake I made from scratch. Eaten at the human table. Yeah, it's probably about time Nate and I think about human spawn because this is seriously ridiculous.

And awesome. 

Peanut butter tongue.  The sign of good cake. (I made the cake using this recipe.)

Happy birthday little buddy!

Stenciled Terra Cotta Herb Pots/Pinterest Party

Happy Friday!  We made it through another work week.  High five!  Go team.

On Monday,  I mentioned that I am hosting a Pinterest party on Sunday at the Davenport Michaels.  I'll be crafting there from 1-4pm.  You should join me.  If you're not local, you can join another fabulous Hometalk blogger near you.  It's a great group of bloggers so be sure to check out the list!

We have all been sharing our projects with each other, answering questions, etc.  It's been a bit intimidating.  There is talk of business cards and all day photo shoots.  I'm all like "What's a business card?  What's a blog?" while everyone else is whipping up 27 projects with perfectly styled photos.  Eh.  I'll stick with Michelle good at crafting.  Craft with Michelle.

Sooo, I felt a little pressure to whip up another craft.  I've been wanting to try my hand at painting terra cotta pots with stencils.  My stenciling on pot #1 didn't turn out bad but it's also not great.  Luckily I was originally aiming for a distressed/aged/imperfect look.  Sand paper will made the blurred lines look intentional.  I will be working on more of these babies on Sunday.  

Here's what you'll need to join me for stenciled terra cotta herb pots.

• Terra cotta pots (mind blown)
• Chalkpaint (or any color you'd like)
• White paint (or whatever color you'd like to paint your pot)
• Stencils (I used a label stencil and some herb stencils.  All reusable.)
• Paint brushes
• Sand paper (for a distressed pot)

Start by painting your pot whatever color you'd like. I chose white because I'm boring.

Let it dry and then rough it up with some sand paper if you're going for the aged look.

Paint inside the stencil with chalk paint. I used chalk paint so I can write which herb I am planting in here.  Because that's what bloggers do.   I mean, mint and chives look nothing alike but it's always good to have them labeled.   Once this pot dries, I will write "fake Ikea plant". 

Next I added my herb themed stencils along the top of the pot and also painted them.

Remove the stencils and enjoy your rustic, chippy-ish herb pot.

So, Sunday.  Be there.  Micheals that is. 1-4pm.  Right during nap time.  That's how dedicated I am to crafting.

Looking for more project inspiration?  Here's a list of all of the projects the Hometalk bloggers will tackle on Sunday!  Happy weekend!

Your Nose is Running. Better Catch It. (Kleenex Style)

This post is brought to you by Kleenex. All opinions and talks of snotty noses are my own.

Let's take a quiz. True or False.

Michelle's nose has been running non-stop since the beginning of January.

Michelle likes cute things.

Kleenex started out as a facial tissue for removing makeup.

If you answered true to all of the above, you are correct! You win a chance at a trip to NYC and $5000 for shopping. Seriously.

When Kleenex contacted me about sharing their awesome Kleenex Style Studio I couldn't pass it up. I've seriously had a box of Kleenex stuck to me since the beginning of January. No joke.

To celebrate Kleenex’s 90th anniversary, they’re bringing you another innovative first: The Kleenex® Style Studio . It’s a fun, inspiring way to discover more of the Kleenex® Brand designs and products you love. And maybe even a few that’ll take you by surprise. It sucked me in for a good 20 minutes. Oops.

Tissues boxes aren't always the most attractive way to spruce up your home decor.  At this point, I have no choice.  Well, I have a choice but the lack of tissue would just be ugly. Luckily Kleenex has cute styles to choose from.

I have a box next to my spot on the couch. Not ideal but it blends nicely.  This is my traveling box that also follows me to the kitchen.  

I have a box next to my dog.  He's a big fan of Kleenex. Kleenex is his favorite brand to shred.  He's picky as tissue shredding is one of his favorite past times.

Note: No Kleenex tissues were harmed in the photographing of this post.  I can't, however, say that about other boxes.  

And lastly I have a box next to my bed.

Over at the Kleenex Style Studio there are a ton of designs you can look through.

I thought the It's a Hoot design would look adorable in my craft room.

Or how about the Rendez Vous in our powder room.

I totally need a box in our office while giving it a makeover. The Typo would fit in nicely. Don't you think?

So many fun designs!

If that isn't enough fun there is also a quick style quiz to see how you do judging between fashionable cat walk designs and the designs of the new Kleenex boxes at the Kleenex Style Studio Test your fashion sense for a chance to win a trip to NYC with $5000 for shopping. (I hope you do better than I did. I need to get back to watching Project Runway. Stat!)

Visit the Kleenex Style Finder landing page to play and click on “sweeps” tab in the top right corner of the page. Then click "play to enter".

Also, can you take this quick, 1 question survey ! You all know I love a good survey!

How did you do on the catwalk versus Kleenex design quiz ? Is your dog a Kleenex shredder? What design would work best in your home?