Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Happiest Dog in the World
Basil’s Favorite Things — BlogPaws
Happy Friday everyone! Today is the first day in over a week that I have been able to sit down and collect my thoughts. Once we got back from BlogPaws on Monday my in-laws came into town. For Basil it was a never ending vacation! Now that the house is empty Basil has been in bed, catching up on sleep, all day.
For day’s Basil’s Favorite Things I thought I would share my favorite photos from BlogPaws. It was 4 days of fun, sun, and networking. We can’t wait until next year in Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks again to everyone we met and all the connections we made. Also, a big thank you to The Westin Lake Las Vegas. They made us beyond comfortable and I know Basil, Nate, and I will for sure be back.
Enjoy your weekend!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
More Love, Less Hate!
This is the story from last Friday, Basil’s favorite BlogPaws day.
Friday was the day of new friends, famous and otherwise. We got to met Tillman, the skateboarding English bulldog as well as Manny the frenchie, of Instagram stardom. This day was only made better by the meeting of a new (“average joe”) friend, Jake. 
We met Jake, a 10 month old pit bull terrier/mastiff mix at a social networking event at BlogPaws. The event was full of people, dogs, food, and drinks. The whole thing was centered around a off leash dog park. The dogs could “mingle” while the people could also mingle.
We got our snacks and starting searching the area for a shady space with friends and chairs. Basil, Nate, and I rounded a corner and found what we were in search of. A few people had also found this little oasis and were grouped together on the lawn. I spotted a set of chairs free next to a women and her dog, Jake. We quickly move to meet them and have a seat.
Basil and Jake hit it off almost instantly! They shared the same high level of energy and love of laying in the cool grass. Jake’s mom and I chatted while these two “wild bucks” ran circles around us and each other. I learned that they were at the conference working for the sponsored PetSmart booth and was giving out information about their pet adoption program.
We talked and they played and I started to notice something. Some people (This was not everybody! Just a few!) were making an extra large arch when passing the two hooligans. I found that strange because usually no one can avoid Basil cuteness/charm. I mentioned this to Jakes mom and she told me that she has come a crossed a few people in her short time with Jake that said they didn’t want their dog around Jake because he is a ” big, scary pit bull.” Now I can understand being worried for your dogs safety and looking out for warning signs, that is just being a good pet parent, but just to make a judgement solely based on the dogs breed is not cool.
This is breed discrimination and unfortunately it is a big problem. The idea that some dogs are just “born bad” is wrong. All dogs are born good and can be taught to be a good dog or a bad dog. Any dog, not just pit bulls, can be aggressive and can attack. I found a great website called BadRap.org. Check out all the information that can be found over there. It really did open up my eyes to how bad this problem really is.
So, next time you see a pit bull walking down the road, on a leash of course, with that goofy smile and not a care in the world, maybe stop and talk to the owner. Ask if you can say hello and give the pup some love. I can tell you that Jake was just a love-bug. His smile was contagious and he was as sweet as can be with Basil.
We had a blast at BlogPaws and we wanted to thank everyone that we met while we were there! I’ll be posting a lot more photos soon so make sure to check back.
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
BlogPaws 2014! So far…
We are here! BlogPaws 2014 on beautiful Lake Las Vegas! Basil is loving it so much it’s almost impossible to get a post up! Nate, Basil, and I have been go-go-going for the last couple of days. We are making a lot of new friends and learning a lot. I finally have a moment (Basil is napping!) to share a little collage I put together of some of my favorite photos so far! Enjoy and I’ll continue posting when Basil lets me!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Hot dog loves hot dogs!
Its been a sunny weekend out in our neck of the woods so we decided to spend a little time outside. But because the BlogPaws 2014 conference is just a few days away, we have been really busy!
Nate, Basil, and I decided that a causal BBQ was just what the doctor ordered. The only hiccup in this plan… we don’t have a back yard! Well, that wasn’t going to stop us. We got out our mini BBQ, a few lawn chairs, and everything Basil may need for lounging outdoors. The next few hours were spent cooking, eating, and throwing the football around. A good time was had by all. I give you the “I don’t have a backyard… backyard BBQ!”
Now its time to get back to getting ready for our BlogPaws trip. We leave in 3 days! Vegas or bust!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Wordless Wednesday — ‘Cause I’m Happy!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
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!
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!
Only 10 days until BlogPaws 2014 conference in Las Vegas!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Wordless Wednesday — Road Trip Warrior!
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. 
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.
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.
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.
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! 
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! 
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