Month: April 2014

Reading with Abbey & Basil — Wine Dogs USA 3

HappyMonday! Today’s Reading with Abbey & Basil is a book about my two favorite things; wine & dogs!Wine Dogs USA 3

I picked up Wine Dogs USA 3 while in Texas over Christmas. We were taken to the world famous Salt Lick restaurant and winery just 15 minutes outside of Austin, TX for a family dinner. After enjoying some truly tasty BBQ and good conversation, Nate & I wandered over to the Salt Lick Cellars, right next door. Inside their tasting room/gift store I found Wine Dogs.

Wine Dogs USA 3 is the newest edition in the Wine Dogs book family. This gem of a book features over 190 wineries from North America and the dogs that call these wineries home. Each page highlights a winery dogs personality with a full color photo and a little information about what makes that dogs tail wag. Throughout the book you will also find winery dog stores written by wine and dog experts from all over North America.

Basil and I highly recommend picking up a copy of Wine Dogs USA 3. You can find it on Amazon, winedogs.com, and in 100’s of wineries from Napa to Rhode Island, Washington, to Texas and every where in-between.

Maybe someday we’ll hang up our traveling shoes, move to Napa and run a winery. Then maybe they will feature Basil in Wine Dogs 15! Until then we will just keep on dreaming!Basil-winedogs

Only 10 days until BlogPaws 2014 conference in Las Vegas!

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

 

Thirsty Thursday! Talking about Water Bowls!

Its thirsty Thursday and to most human people that means going out and have a drink or two at your local watering hole because “Thursday is the new Friday!” Well, Basil is a hair under the legal drinking age; Oh, and is a dog! So I thought I would share some of our favorite, super chic, hipster dog food and water dishes currently available online.

Dig in! Dog bowl on Modcloth.com $17.99. A fun water or food dish for any breed of four legged friend!

Dig in! Dog Bowl Modcloth.comOre Pet Meilleur Ami Dog Bowl on Petfancy.com $10! Yes! Its only $10 for a super adorable ceramic dog dish that says “Best Friend” in french on it! Love!

Petfancy bowl 1

 

Sleepypod Yummy Travel Bowl on Petswag.com $29.99. Sleepypod describes this bowl as, “The Sleepypod Yummy Travel Bowl is a modern and convenient three-in-one pet product that allows a pet owner to store, transport, and serve pet food and water simultaneously, without mixing or spillage of the contents.” So we are talking serving wet food, dry food, and water all at the same time without mixing. To me, thats magic! Also, comes is a lot of fun colors to match any dogs personality!sleepypod-yummy-lime_2

And there you have it! Make sure to check out the other awesome bowls & mats at Modcloth.com, petfancy.com, and petswag.com.

Also, a little birdie told me we will be doing a giveaway soon and one of the prizes will be your choice of one of these featured bowls. So check back daily for updates!

Have a happy thirsty Thursday! Don’t forget to drink responsibly!

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

Arf! Arf! Arf! Three cheers for Arf!

Hello all! Its #travelTuesday and today its all about Arf… Animals are Fun! We were introduced to Arf when we stayed at the amazing hip Aloft in downtown Asheville. Once we checked into our room an Arf package was delivered. We have stayed at more than a few pet friendly hotels so I expected a little goodie bag with a milk bone and some poopy bags. What we got was beyond my expectation. Aloft ARF Downtown Asheville

Basil was given everything he may need to make his stay just as comfortable as ours. The hotel staff set up a large comfortable and stylish (style is very important to Basil!) dog bed. As well as his own food and water dishes. We also received a goodie bag but what was inside for far from a generic milk bone. Inside I found multiple treats from the local Three Dog Bakery, a few of their poopy bags, and a brand new Kong SqueakAir tennis ball toy.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Basil loves ARF Aloft Downtown Asheville

Well, once Basil “inspected” the entire room and decided that these accommodations will “do” he positioned himself on the Arf bed for a very much needed Boston terrier power nap. As you can see from the photos, he very much enjoyed it. 

While this nap was happening Nate & I went and checked out the hotel. We found ourselves on the roof top pool deck. After a quick dip and a little sun bathing we headed back to our room to find Basil fully rested and ready for more of what Asheville has to offer.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

We spent the rest of the evening exploring this very dog friendly city and making new friends. That night when we decided to retire back to the Aloft, Basil found his way back into that dog bed and promptly fell asleep.Basil loves ARF Aloft Asheville Downtown

Once the sun rose above the horizon and peaked through our windows the next morning we took Basil back to the roof top deck to find a well kept, fully in fenced dog run. Complete with faux fire hydrants and clean astro turf. I was unsure as to what Basil would do in this situation because every time we are somewhere with turf Basil refuses to use it. I think in his mind its carpet and he is a good dog and doesn’t potty on carpet! Well, I don’t know if it was how the dog run was set up or if it was Nate & I encouraging him to “do his business” he quickly found the right spot and business was done.

The rest of our time at the Aloft Downtown Asheville was spent relaxing around the hotel. Basil was welcome everywhere we went and he was treated just like one of the family. Arf is a great policy and because of it we will for sure be back to Aloft Downtown Asheville as well as other Aloft hotels. Make sure to check out their website at http://www.alofthotels.com for locations.

I’ll be post more about our long weekend in Asheville in additional posts for make sure to check back daily.

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

 

Reading with Abbey & Basil — Photo Booth Dogs

But first… Let me take a selfie! Basil loves taking selfies!

This Monday on Reading with Abbey & Basil we are talking about Photo Booth Dogs by Cameron Woo.

First off the bat, you may look at this book and say “You only buy books with Boston terriers on the cover!” Well, that may be a little true but if you remember last weeks Reading with Abbey & Basil, that was about cats! So there! Photo Booth Dogs by Cameron Woo

This little coffee table book is chalked full of old, antique photo booth photos. Other than the intro, where the author gives us a short history of the photo booth, the book lets the photos speak for themselves. With almost all the pictures included being in black & white you can really feel the history. I look into the eyes of these like-minded dog people in some of the photos and can really feel how much they enjoyed their dogs. And even though most of these pictures are at least 30 years old, some even from as far back as the 1930’s, one thing has stayed the same; our love of man’s best friend.

Photo Booth Dogs is a great book to pick up if you are interested in photography, dogs, or just to look great on your coffee table or book shelf. I would also recommend it as a great house warming present. I can truly say this book makes me smile with every viewing and I’m happy to include it in my book collection.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Monday. Remember, if you need a Monday pick me up check out our Sunny Monday post from a couple weeks ago. It is sure to help!

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

 

Reading with Abbey & Basil — How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity

What?! So you are telling me that for the cost of 1 book I can gain “financial freedom” by learning how to pimp out my fat cat? Now that is a deal!

In How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity you will find a large number of helpful tips such as smaller box = Bigger $$$ or cat + props = success. You will learn how to classify your cats personality and which role he or she should play online for maximum payoff.

This book is so funny and packed with cat photos I would recommend it to anyone with or without a pet. So, just ask yourself… Do you have a cat who is not yet internet famous? Do you have at least 1 box and 1 cat? Do you love cats and/or cat photos? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity is the book for you! I mean, just look at these before and after photos!

Before!

After!!!

Wow!!!!

Travel well, nap well, live well!

-Abbey & Basil

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