Have you ever wanted to boost your space in a fun and fresh way, but didn't know how? That was me! I wanted a "cool" office space but really didn't know what to do to make it match my vision. I like stripes, but taping off and painting really did not call out to me because let's be honest... who has time for that? I wanted simple and easy. Thanks to my current job, I knew about Tempaper - a revolutionary temporary wallpaper solution for those who want something a little extra for their design but don't want to go through the hassle (or permanence) of applying traditional wallpaper. So, I reached out to see if I could test this product after realizing it was exactly what I wanted. Fun patterns, easy to apply, and temporary- so if I ever decided I didn't want it anymore, all I would have to do is remove and move on! Well, when I heard back, I found out I could not work with Tempaper, but the silver lining is that they have a sister company, Repeel, which was willing to work with me! So thanks to the help of my wonderful contact, I was told I could select and of the patterns and to measure to ensure I was being sent the right amount for my project.
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How many of you have dogs that love water? I know I do! Adelaide is all about water- from puddles to the ocean, she's swam in it all. I always have her decked out in her best water gear to ensure not only that she is safe, but also that nothing gets ruined. She becomes a savage near water and all bets are off. The second she spots water- she is in it. Thanks to a couple of our affiliate partnerships, I am going to list out some of our favorite water products from Kurgo below, which can all be purchased on Kurgo or Amazon.com. Thanks to our partnership with Kurgo, we do own almost all the listed products ourselves, but there is one product on the list- a collar- that is on our wish list and is a perfect option for those water loving pups!
Be sure to follow our links proved with each product for direct access to shop! And as always, if you have any questions or concerns, you can always send us a message and we would be happy to help you or direct you to someone who can! Disclosure: Leesa® provided a free product for us to review. However, all opinions stated here are our own. Hi friends! It has been a little while since we posted a review, but in reality, we have been working on this one for the past few weeks trying to make it just right. Meet Leesa®, our new mattress! This is one of those direct to consumer online mattress companies and boy do we have a lot of good things to say about our new mattress! First off... Delivery. How many of you hate having to go to the store for big purchases? I know I do. I can't stand being gone all week for work and then spending my weekend driving around trying to find what I need. So, that being said, if a product can be shipped to me, I am probably already sold. Anyways, this fantastic mattress arrived on my doorstep compacted into an easy to maneuver box. All you have to do is bring the box to the area you plan to set it up and then unbox! And let me tell you- unboxing went is nice and easy. I pulled out the mattress, which is compressed and rolled up inside the box, and laid it on top of the bed frame. And then from there I began cutting off the plastic material around the mattress that had been keeping it compressed. And before my eyes, it began to expand! Once expanded, I made sure it was set up properly- which means the iconic stripes are to be at the foot of the bed. And, voila! I had a new mattress! It was love from first sit. A little about Leesa® mattresses: The Leesa® mattress is made in the USA and composed of 3 layers of premium foam ( I am covering the layers from top down) and then covered in the iconic 4 stripe cover (which I personally love- it's classy and simple- so perfect!!): 1. Top layer: Aveena foam - this is a 2" top layer that is perforated to keep you cool and provide cushiony bounce 2. Middle layer: 2" memory foam layer for body contouring 3. Bottom layer: 6" dense core support foam for durability and edge support If I had to pick , my favorite part overall is the top 2" of Aveena foam - talk about comfortable! I just sink right in. And dog dad agrees on this too! He is really loving this new mattress. Overall, I would say our quality of sleep has greatly improved. I was always a huge toss and turn kind of person. Could never get comfy. Could never stay comfy. I always would wake up with back aches (as did dog dad) and I also very frequently would wake up with quite headaches assumedly due to pain in my neck from an uncomfortable nights sleep. I can happily say that since receiving our Leesa® mattress, we are all sleeping so much better! And a perk... even the dogs are sleeping in! No joke. Decker, our border collie, was up every single day between 6 and 6:30 AM. Which has always frustrated me because I dont even need to get up until 7 AM to get myself ready for work! I can happily say that he has been sleeping until my alarm now. And on top of that, he stays laying down until I get up, something that never happened. So.. comfy for humans, comfy for dogs! The next thing I have to tell you about is how great they are overall as a company. Forget the mattress- I am talking about stripping them down and giving them the props they deserve. Have a question? They are there to answer it for you. Did you order a mattress and decide it's not the right fit for you? Not a problem! Leesa® has a 100 night risk free in home trial, and if you don't like the mattress, they will arrange to pick it up for you and handle the return! Talk about a great company, right? Well, it gets even better! Below are their wonderful social impact movements that I think everyone should know about! One-Ten®: For every 10 mattresses sold, one gets donated to a local homeless shelter. One-Earth®: For every mattress sold, a tree is planted. One-Community®: The idea of balancing the goals of profit and purpose. If sleep is just as important to you as it is to us in our home, Leesa® may be just the right mattress for you to lay down on night after night. After all, sleep matters. Sleep rejuvenates your mind, body, and soul. And Leesa® is "a better place to sleep."® Thinking of ordering a Leesa® of your own?! Here is what you need to know: 1. Leesa® mattresses start as low as $525 and none cost over $1000. 2. Leesa® mattresses are made in USA and can exclusively be ordered online. 3. Your new Leesa® mattress will be compressed in a box and delivered right to your door (shipping to US, UK & Canada is free). 4. The Leesa® mattress is a 10" hybrid foam mattress with a universal adaptive feel that is constructed with three layers of premium foam. I think that just about covers it! Great mattress, great customer service, great community mindset! Check them out at https://www.leesa.com to order yours today! Leesa® provided a free product for us to review. However, all opinions stated here are our own. Okay, so heres the thing. I care deeply about what my dogs eat. I have mentioned it before, but I will say it again. The three chuckleheads that I am responsible for will not eat anything harmful to them under my watch. I monitor everything that goes into their mouths - from treats, to food (both dog food and non dog food). I research any brand of food we may switch to, because not only do I want them to be healthy to live long & happy lives, but I also want them healthy to hopefully lessen vet bills throughout their lives. Happy wallet equals happy dog mama. Now, because of Winston and his extremely sensitive stomach, we have been through countless brands of food. And when I say countless, I mean it. I owe chewy.com my life for being so accommodating and refunding us when brands/protein sources just did not work. It has been frustrating to say the least, but, Winston's sensitive stomach is the reason I stay both informed and on my toes when it comes to the pet food industry. Now, when it comes to dog food, what do you choose? Who do you trust? It is so easy to grab a bag at the grocery store when it's staring you down and you know you are almost out of food. Its cheap - so it's good for your budget. So why not grab it? Well. What you may not know, is that those specific foods are just all fillers. Corn, for example. It is cheaply put together and who knows what sorts of chemicals may be hiding in there. Have you seen the recent articles going around about traces of euthanasia chemicals being found in the lower quality dog foods? I know I have, and it has turned me even more into a crazy obsessive dog mom who wants to research every molecule of my dogs food before it enters their precious mouths. Many of you will say, "Well, okay. If you don't trust the dog food companies, make your own food. Or feed raw." Let me tell you, it is not that easy. I would love to raw feed. But, with my lifestyle and my budget in comparison to what is available near me, it is not cost effective. Another issue: raw feeding and homemade meals need to be perfectly balanced to avoid your dog lacking proper nutrients. I am not confident or trained enough to be comfortable doing this. I don't want to risk my dogs not getting proper nutrition just because I want to save some money or because I don't want to feed commercial foods. This is where The Simple Food Project came into my life. A little bit about them: They believe that if humans can get the nutrients they need without having to take in things such as synthetic vitamins and minerals, then so can dogs. That was the first thing that drew me in. Their About Me page on their site (www.simplefoodproject.com) is chock full of helpful info regarding their food. Second thing I love - it is a freeze dried food crafted in small batches. Have I gotten your attention yet? How many dog food companies do you know that craft in small batches?! This was huge for me. That simple fact ensures they are able to keep on top of quality ALWAYS. But wait guys, it gets even better! It is made in the USA! Did you catch that?! Made in a state of the art manufacturing facility in Wisconsin, USA! Now tell me thats not appealing. I know its usually pretty hard to pin down details like this, but the fact that this is right on their website gave me such peace of mind. And finally, the last bullet on their main about me page reads - "From Our Dogs to Yours." This company is making food with their dogs in mind. They are making a food they feed their dogs, so you can be assured they care about yours just as much. Now, lets circle back and talk a little more in depth on my favorite things about this company. First, the fact that this food is freeze dried instead of being like a normal kibble. The Simple Food Project's food contains the following: freeze dried nuggets ("A blend of meat-based proteins, fruits, veggies, and a few grains and spices is freeze dried pasteurized at a low temperature and crumbled into little nuggets. The freeze-drying process allows for a flavor-packed morsel of deliciousness in every bite, while still maintaining the natural vitamins and minerals in each ingredient"), dry roasted nuggets ("The same blend of meat-based proteins, fruits, veggies, and a few grains and spices is also dry roasted and crumbled into little nuggets. The dry-roasted pieces (a direct request from our doggos) put to use those pearly whites. The dry-roasting process makes for a nice, crunchy morsel of taste with that extra chomp dogs love."), freeze dried fruits & veggies ("We put a different combination of whole fruits and veggies in each of our recipes. All the natural vitamins and minerals in the fruits and veggies are retained through the freeze-drying process, and the taste too! Plus, they're cut down into small enough bits that even picky pups can't eat around them."), freeze dried organ meat ("To top it all off, we add in some good ol' fashioned freeze-dried organ meat. Organ meat is a natural and important part of a carnivore's diet, as it supplies dogs with all sorts of nutrients and digestive enzymes that they may not otherwise get from their other food sources."). Freeze dried food has the ability to allow you to get every nutrient out of the food. Because the method does not require high temps, you can be assured the nutrients stay with the food (97% to be exact, as stated by the American Institute of Cancer Research). So, not only do they show you what goes into their foods, but on the same page as the link below, they show you their process. How much better can it get?? You get to see what goes into the food and how its made! Count me in! [** all direct quotes pulled from https://simplefoodproject.com/about/freeze-dried-vs-kibble/ ] My next favorite part about The Simple Food project is the fact that it is crafted in small batches in Wisconsin. They are calling it "the craft beer of the pet industry." Their facility is brand new, and you can see a photo of it here: https://simplefoodproject.com/about/ourfacility/ . In this facility they are following food safety to the highest degree, while crafting in small batches to ensure all of the food that goes out has been handled with the utmost care. Human grade ingredients (huge perk that circles back to my worries in paragraph 2 regarding traces of euthanasia drugs being found in dog food) that are shipped directly to their facility. All ingredients are inspected before they enter the doors of this state of the art facility. Have I sold you yet?? Keep reading on because I have one more bullet to cover! "From Our Dogs to Yours." This resonates with me. I know if I wouldn't feed my dogs something I surely wouldn't recommend it to others. On this page of their site you get to meet the resident pups. First up is Schmiddy, a black Labrador. They go on to tell you his signature move is the "tender tug," where he softly grabs the corner of his human's clothes and will gently tug to get attention. He also retrieves the mail - how cool!! Primer is the next pup introduced. He is a Springer Spaniel full of personality! During the day he hangs out with group home residents, and when not on the job, he likes to hang in the trees! And finally, there is Dr. Astronaut- Cosmonaut, Ph.D, who is a wheaten terrier. She sounds a lot like Adelaide - loves getting into trouble, ha! She is also a huge snuggler (I swear, they're describing Adelaide still) and loves sleeping on her human's bed (still Adelaide! Seriously, should Dr. Astronaut be Addie's friend?. You can read more about the resident pups here: https://simplefoodproject.com/about/ourdogs/ . I feel like the fact that they introduced the dogs behind the brand really puts it into perspective what the reason this company was started for. They love their pets and they know others do also. I was lucky enough to get samples of this food free of charge to try out for my pups. And honestly, I think their minds were blown. I opted to mix it with water for them, which is an optional step in the preparation of this food, but I like to ensure my pups are always well hydrated. The first time I gave it to them they gobbled it down without a second thought. Now, if you now my maniacs, then you know they love all food. But, the difference here was I literally had to hide the boxes. Winston was going nuts trying to get more. He kept using his paw to knock on the pantry door while simultaneously using his Chewbacca noises to get my attention. So, as any loving dog mom would do, I hid some away for his birthday, which was February 19th and he got to feast for his 4th birthday. This is a food I would be happy to feed my pups on a daily basis and I hope to be able to incorporate it into our daily routine. It is high quality and comes backed by a team who loves dogs. If you are on the fence about your dog's food and want to try something new, please consider checking out The Simple Food Project. I promise you will not be disappointed. Thanks as always for reading! With Love, the Eastcoast Herders Hi friends! So, this is our first review via blog and today we are reviewing two products from Only Natural Pet!
First up, we will be discussing Only Natural Pet All Meat Bites. Only Natural Pet All Meat Bites are 100% freeze-dried meat dog treats - the ultimate in pure, natural taste for your pet. Completely natural with no fillers or preservatives, these free-range sourced meat “bites” have no added anything - just the natural, highly digestible protein goodness pets love. The meat is not cooked, heated or steamed before it is freeze dried, so these healthy snacks have all the valuable nutrients of raw meat - which is what cats and dogs are designed to eat by nature! Grain-free and gluten-free, All Meat Bites are terrific for pets with grain allergies (www.onlynaturalpet.com). Now to start, I have to say, these treats are fantastic. Personal preference, but, I love freeze dried or dehydrated treats more than the traditional "cookie." I feel like you get a lot more bang for your buck, not only in quality for price, but also amount & nutrients. One thing I noticed is that these treats are super lightweight. So much so, that the 2.5 oz bag packs a punch! I don't know how often you all treat your pets (we give treats on the way out the door for work in the morning & also for training), but we got quite a lot of use out of this bag. This product's main purpose in our home has actually been to be used as a high value reward in training. For those of you that don't know what this means, think of it this way. You are trying to teach your dog a new behavior. You grab a handful of their everyday kibble to use as a reward. You also grab a handful of chicken as a reward. Which one do you think your dog will be more inclined to learn the new behavior for? Bingo! Probably the chicken. Why? Because it is high value! It has the ability to hold their attention more than the kibble they are used to seeing every day. Now in my case, I need to be cautious about what goes into Winston's mouth. He has a very sensitive stomach and is actually allergic to chicken. He does best on unusual protein sources - this is why I was pumped to see we received these treats in Bison! He loves them and is willing to basically bend over backwards for me just to get a taste of one! On top of the whole premise around this company being on par with our personal standards and beliefs, I have to say I was extremely happy to see the words Made in USA on the bag. This is huge to us. On a daily basis, I see far too many posts showing sick dogs after eating treats/bones/food made in China. No pet owner should give their pet something with unknown ingredients. It is a huge reason I started making 95% of my dogs treats at home. I wanted that satisfaction of being able to say, "Okay. I know what is going in their mouths and I am comfortable with my decision to give it to them." So, that reassurance is huge for us and this is totally a company we can get behind. The second product we will be reviewing from Only Natural Pet is their calming medallion. This products description states: Keep the naturally calming power of botanicals with your dog at all times thanks to the Only Natural Pet Just Relax Calming Medallion. Featuring a unique fusion of time- proven calming power of valerian root and lavender, Just Relax Calming Medallion uses aromatherapy to keep your dog relaxed throughout the day. The medallion is with your dog at all times, allowing the essential oils to effectively calm anxious behavior in a natural, non-sedative way. Just Relax Calming Medallion simply attaches to your dogs collar and works for 15 days, making sure your dog is never caught off guard by car trips, fireworks, thunderstorms, separation anxiety, veterinary visits or any other stressful situation (www.onlynaturalpet.com). I requested this product specifically for Adelaide, because girl has no chill. She is a decently anxious dog, and it gets heightened during stressful situations, thunderstorms, and car rides. She also has a very difficult time settling at night. She instead decides to pace, burrow on the couch, and tackle Winston & Decker. I attached this product to her collar a few days ago now and have noticed her aura and demeanor just seems much calmer. I will update this post with a photo of it on her collar as well as an update on if I notice it her acting calmer in the car this weekend. Thanks as always for following our adventures! Love, Eastcoastherders *These products were given to us for free in return for our honest reviews thanks to both Pupfluence and Only Natural Pet. I thought it would be best to start this new blog site with an introduction. Plain and simple, photography was not my game plan for life. Ever since I was 5, I wanted to be a vet. Any time you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always say " when I grow up, I would like to be a vet." Sometimes, it was more than that - a cheerleading veterinarian (because you could be more than one thing) - but, always a vet. So, when it came time to go to college I naturally entered into a pre- vet program at Bloomsburg University. I did all the right things. I worked in a boarding kennel caring for and grooming both cats and dogs. I volunteered at my local animal shelter walking dogs on Saturdays with my mom. I shadowed my family dog's vet. I did this for years. Then, one day I realized I just could not do it as a career. Have you ever had one of those a-ha moments? Because I did. I was shadowing the same vet I had shadowed numerous times before. All was fine. Until a sick dog came in. It was his time. It didn't even matter to me that it was his time. I felt for him. I felt for his family who had to see him in his last moments. I love animals and I have a passion for helping them, but I knew I could not handle the sad cases that would come in to see me. So, I did what most college kids do. I decided to change majors. But, what does someone who was engulfed in the sciences go to? What would I be good at? What could I make a career out of? So many questions, with no answers. So, I just decided to start off my junior year by taking random electives because I could. I signed up for fabric design. Why? Because it sounded interesting. Because I could. I worked my butt off learning dye techniques for fabrics. Shibori was my favorite technique. I learned how to screen print on fabric. I learned how to take what was in my head and create it on fabrics. And even more so, I was able to make a statement about animals in a medium I never would have considered before. So, on my first day of fabric design, I signed up to be an art studio major. I was terrified because I had no idea if I could make a living off of it, but something drew me to do it and I have never regretted that decision. How the art studio major worked at Bloomsburg was you had to take all of the courses and then concentrate in one. So, my course load over the next two years consisted of fabric design, 3-D design, 2-D design, graphic design, sculpture, lithography, photography, drawing, painting, and fiber arts. I then fell in love with photography and chose that as my concentration, which led me to where I am today. As an art studio major with a concentration in photography, I was required to take 3 photography courses (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). I dove right in, missed just about every party and social event, and cranked it out to finish my new degree in 2 years to ensure I didn't have to be in college for anything longer than 4 years. The hands on nature of photography really drew me in. I loved learning how to manipulate prints in the dark room, from double exposures to solarization. I was the class guinea pig. I was always the first to try a new technique. Both beginner and intermediate courses were mostly in black and white film. We did not touch on digital, because film is where its at... am I right? I dabbled a little in color film photography, but I felt the whole printing process for color was too overwhelming. Imagine... having to somehow, in complete darkness, center your image on the paper and run the exposure for the perfect amount of time. Yeah, thats what I thought. Frustrating! So, I stuck with the black and white for the most part. I tried and tried to solely take pictures of Winston come my senior year, because puppies are cute and I was obsessed with him. My professor however, was not. She was not about my endless dog pictures. She forced me to get out of my comfort zone. To photograph humans. And boy was it hard. I am shy by nature. So, asking people if I could take their photo was basically like asking me to give a statement in front of the world. But, I did it. Because I had to. And some of the best photos I have ever taken came out of it. All of this led up to the end of my senior year... my advanced course of photography. While I could have taken it in film, I have to be honest. The paper was getting super expensive. Each piece of paper I printed on in intermediate was $2 a pop. Now, think about this. To get one perfect print, I was probably going through at least 10 pieces of paper. Minimum. Each assignment needed 10 prints a piece. Talk about a money pit. So, I naturally did what any 21 year old would do... I opted to study abroad for my advanced course. And I did it in digital. Cue first DSLR camera! I swear my Nikon D3200 got me through so much. The trip was set to go to Africa... until the ebola outbreak prevented it. So, off I went to China! I had 3 wonderful weeks traveling around China for my photo assignment. Talk about culture shock! We stayed mostly in small villages. Ate very native foods. And saw the most incredible sights we would probably ever see in our lives. I went to cities like Lijiang, Hekou, Kunming, and Dali. I saw women working in the rice patty fields, explored the historic Bisezhai railroad, and took courses in both Chinese language and photography at Yunnan Normal University. It was this experience that really made me realize I had made the right choice 2 years prior. Who else gets these kinds of experiences from school?! Back home from this trip, I was preparing to graduate. I had lined up a gig as a second shooter for weddings. This my friends, was short lived. Weddings are wonderful. They're a beautiful reason to come together. But guys. They are so stressful to photograph. Scrapping this brought me full circle to why eastcoastherders became a thing. I love animals. I just want to use my love for photography to photograph animals, specifically my own dogs. Now, I am a full time image editor for Hudsons Bay Company, working solely on gilt.com and I get to build up my dogs Instagram account while using my love for photography and editing in my free time. And now this blog- see! You can do more than one thing y'all! Now that I have introduced myself and told you all how I found photography and Instagram, all future blog posts will be solely focused on Winston, Adelaide, and Decker and our adventures as a family as well as featuring our favorite companies in reviews. Happy Adventuring! With Love, Eastcoastherders Below are some of my original photos. All black and whites were shot with film, developed, and printed in a dark room by myself. All color photos are digital shots from my time in China. |