I know its been years and so much as happened but Basil’s Travels hasn’t stopped. For those of you who have been following us on Instagram, you have seen this little gentleman turn grey and never stop smiling. From here we are going to continue this crazy journey and share our life and experiences in this dog-friendly world. Look out for tips and tricks for traveling with your dog, hipster dog locations we recommend, and like 1-million (or like 12, who knows?) dog Halloween costumes.
We love you guys, old and new.
Welcome to the *new and improved* Basil’s Travels!
Hey internet friends! Its been a while! How are you? How has your summer been going? Been anywhere fun? Basil and I have been super busy working on relaunching this blog (good stuff coming soon) and going on all sorts of wacky adventures.
Todays post we are going to dive into the brain of a Boston terrier. Don’t worry you won’t have the sudden urge to pee on everything and hump every warm body, unless thats your life and then, by all means, do you boo! No, we are going to count down the 10 best dog friendly cities in the United States of America – A Boston terriers opinion!
#10 San Antonio, Texas
Southern hospitality + good food + pet friendly hotels = Happy puppy!
Basil takes The Alamo
#9 Bend, Oregon
Outdoor loves dream! Beer for you, 1 billion trees to pee on for your dog!
#8 Charlotte, North Carolina
An up and coming city growing faster than that 8 week old great dane puppy at the pet store.
Dog Friendly Charlotte
#7 Austin, Texas
Great music, BBQ, and hipsters as far as the eye can see… So, pretty much heaven!
Banger’s Sausage House – Austin, Texas
#6 Leavenworth, Washington
Modern mountain town meets Bavarian village. Grab a brat and a beer and then hit the river!
Dog Friendly Leavenworth, Washington
#5 Portland, Oregon
I don’t have anything clever to say here. Seriously, just go!
Dog Friendly Portland, Oregon
#4 Friday Harbor, Washington (San Juan Island)
Feels like its a world away but only a few hours from Seattle or Vancouver. Do some shopping downtown, every shop has dog treats, and relax on the beach.
4 hipsters and 2 dogs on South Beach, Friday Harbor, Washington
#3 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The birthplace of this country and home to some amazing pet friendly hotels!
Dog Friendly Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#2 Asheville, North Carolina
I can’t say enough good things about this “sleepy” mountain town. Beautiful, fun, and not what you are expecting. If you get the chance to go please do. Do it for us! DO IT!
Dog Friendly Asheville, North Carolina
#1 Seattle, Washington
What can I say? I am totally biased! We love this amazing city and you (and your dog) will too!
The Best Dog Friendly City Ever! Seattle, Washington
So, now that we have told you where we like to visit how about you tell us where some of your favorite places are. Where should we travel next?
Like I said up top we are working on a relaunch of Basil’s Travels so keep an eye out for some new amazing content soon. Also, make sure you are following us on Instagram, http://www.instagram.com/basilstravels for daily cuteness and the dog friendly information.
Art is what you can get away with. -Andy Warhol Hello internet friends! Mother’s day is right around the corner and if you are still in need of a fabulous gift for the mama/grandmother/nana/stay at home dog mom in your life check out this DIY pet paw canvas art.
Today on Make it Monday!(Wednesday…whatever) we got a little creative, Basil and I did some custom paw print art work. It was super easy and we had a lot of fun. I seriously love the 2 pieces we made and can’t wait to hang them in our new home!
What you need
Blank Canvas (Any size. I used square)
Non-toxic water based acrylic paint (I used Crayola washable kids paint)
A plastic shower curtain liner or painting drop cloth
Wet wipes
I found all these things at Target at a great price. I was surprised to find the canvas but I guess Target is getting pretty artsy. That worked in my favor! I decided to use the shower curtain liner as the floor covering and I couldn’t be happier. I purchased the cheapest one they had, $2.49, and it worked like a charm. The magnets those things have weighted down the sheet so when I throw it out on the lawn it stayed put, even with a bit of a breeze. Next all I did was set out the canvas onto the shower liner, poured out a small amount of my desired color onto the liner next to the canvas, and let Basil walk through it. Then I had Basil walk directly onto the blank canvas. He wasn’t super into that part but he put up with it! You can also apply paint to 1 paw and press that paw onto the canvas. We did both.
After its all said and done the clean up was a breeze. I used the wet wipes to clean the paint off Basils paws and to clean the paint off the shower liner. I thought about just throwing the liner away but we really didn’t make that much of a mess. If you have a larger dog with bigger paws I would recommend a large wet wash cloth and maybe just saying good bye to the liner.
Once back in the house (We did this all in the front yard. I’m sure my neighbors and the UPS guy were all very curious as to what was happen!) Basil got a short little puppy bath with our favorite Burt’sBees Apple & Oatmeal dog shampoo and is now happily napping.
Here is what our final creations look like. Once they’re dry I’ll add Basil’s name to the corner. He did do the majority of the work after all!
What do you think of our art? Do you love it? I think it’s so post modern.
Let me know if you try this project and how it came out. I would love to see it!
A big thanks goes to Treats a la Barkfor the original idea. I saw their take on this fun little art piece on Pinterest and had to give it a try.
Also, 57 days to the Blogpaws 2016 pet blogging conference!!! Who is excited!?
The weekend may be over but don’t let Monday get you down. Lets get creative! Today on Make it Monday! Basil, and I, with the help of my brother in-law Jake, turned a super cute vintage suitcase into a new unique dog bed.
What you need!
Hard case suitcase. (I found this yellow Samsonite case at an antique store for $9!)
4 short table legs. (The ones we used were actually banister toppers found at a hardware store. The leg came with hardware already included.)
2 2×4 pieces of wood cut to size.
Hot glue gun or sewing machine. (My Sewing machine is currently out of order so I went the glue route and it worked just fine.)
1 yard of fabric
1 or 2 standard size pillows or square thick foam. (I used 1 pillow and a small old quilt for padding.)
Drill
Optional: Trim
I told him I wouldn’t photograph his face… I lied! Oops!
Okay so if you are anything like me you probably don’t have a clue how to build things using power tools. The extant of my knowledge is limited to hanging a picture straight on the wall and using an allen wrench to put together my “affordable Swedish crap.” This is where my brother in-law Jake came into the picture. He is a construction work and has every tool under the sun. For the first part of this project, the hard part, putting on the legs, I pretty much just handed him the pieces and said “help me!” In the following pictures if you see hairy forearms, they are not mine!
Part 1: The Hard Part! Attaching the legs!
Step 1: Mark where you want to position the legs and drill holes. Step 2: Attach the wood beams to the inside of the suitcase. These are going to act as the anchor for the legs. Make sure to position them over where you drilled the holes. Step 3: Screw in the legs, with the already attached hardware, through the drilled holes and into the wood beams.
Part 2: The Fun Part!
Step 1: Find a cute fabric to match your case. Step 2: Use fabric is cover your pillow/foam padding. Make a pillow case using your sewing machine or hot glue gun. FYI, they make fabric glue for your hot glue gun! It’s washable! (I’m not going to show you how to make a pillow case. Thats not fun. If you really don’t know, there is this magical thing called Googlethat will help you out. Step 3: Attach your trim, if you so choose. I liked how it looked with the trim so I went for it. I used a chevon red burlap ribbon that I found at the craft store. I used my hot glue gun to glue it around the inside of the whole case. Step 4: Insert padding and pillows!
Done!!
I put the adorable new bed in Basil’s new “dog cave” and he and our cats love it! The best part is now I have a dog bed that doesn’t look like a gross ugly dog bed!
Thanks to HGTV for the idea. If you want to see how they did it, its a little different, check it out here.
Let me know if you make this project. I would love to see your pictures!
Happy Travel Tuesday Internet friends! We have been having an amazing time in Texas. The weather is beautiful and we really couldn’t ask for better company.
Basil has been running around the hill country every moment he can.
More fun to come soon. Make sure you’re following us on Instagram @Basilstravels for even more crazy Boston terrier in Texas shenanigans!
Look at the face! How could we stay away!?
Step 1: Mark where you want to position the legs and drill holes.
