Here's me and my guy. Merlin has had a bit of a rough go lately, and we're just not sure how much juice is left in this old guy's battery. Some days (like today!) he's fantastic and curious and sweet and loving and in need of attention. And other days he just sleeps and barely moves around. Oh how I wish dogs could live 20-30 years... not that it would be any easier...Anyway, one regret I have about Miss Memphis is that while I have a MILLION photos of her, and tons of them include Merlin and Jamie, I don't have any photos of me with her.So I asked my amazingly talented buddy Margaret to come over yesterday and snap a few photos of Merlin and I during our morning snuggle routine. The photos are, of course, phenomenal. Margaret has such an amazing photographic eye. Anyway, this was one of my favorites, so I thought I would share it with you.For your internet share of the day, one of my favorite old school bloggers has returned to the internet to fill in for a friend, and she wrote this piece about those ridiculous Restoration Hardware catalogs. Did you get those in the mail? TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY AND PAPER AND RESOURCES. I was infuriated. Anyway, Sarah's humor here is fantastic. Enjoy!
And you thought frozen grapes made me lazy! Ha! I can beat that!Sometimes, in the summer, when I really cannot stand the thought of cooking, I have a night of "snacks for dinner." I actually love doing this because, c'mon, it's just like American tapas! And you can mix and match and keep it totally healthy. And? It's even more awesome with wine ... (oh, how I miss my wine...).The key to "snacks for dinner" not turning into "cheetos in front of the TV" is that you have to plan out the food groups, and I always find it nice to still present it on the table for a sit-down meal. See? Not *quite* as lazy as I seem...This was the "snacks for dinner" that I put together last week when my parents were in town. But you know who else it works well for? Kids. Because they can nibble on a little of everything.I try to represent all the food groups with my snacks, and I also strive to get a lot of bold color (ie nutrition) in the mix. Here are some standbys that I try to include:Carbs/Bread: Crackers, sliced baguette or pretzels. Dinner rolls or croissants also can work well here.Fruit & veggies: Any kind of berry works well, grapes, sliced apples, cherries, baby carrots, pickles, cauliflower, for instance.Meat/Protein: Nuts, smoked fish (perfect for summer!), thinly sliced prosciutto, sliced salamis or sausages, pepperonis all work well.Dairy: SO MUCH CHEESE. Seriously. That one is a gimme. I love hard cheeses like shaved parmesan or Manchego, but brie or other soft cheese are great as well (oh... bleu cheese... you steal my heart).Fat and randoms: I love olives! I don't know what food group they fall into, but they are so good -- especially warmed up. I also will peruse the deli counter for a good cold salad. Up there I have included a chicken & pasta salad from the grocer, but I've also been known to add a tuna salad or smoked fish spread for the baguette.And how easy is that? You just put it out on the table and let people tear into it. And you know what you should have for dessert? 
This little girl was a bit of a pain this morning. Lots of barking, lots of knocking her sweet, old brother over, lots of nipping and wanting to play tug-of-war while mom was working. Finally, she went to the living room and calmed down. And then 30 minutes later I walked in to check on her, and she was EATING MY WOOL LIVING ROOM RUG. Bad, bad girl.After a chewing out and a time out, I then gave in and took her for a long walk, which seemed to appease the wild beast. I swear, I haven't had a day like this with her in about 8 months! I blame it on the lack of attention this weekend due to company etc., plus no walk yesterday due to the heat. Hopefully we can fall back into a routine again and get my sweet girl back.As for the collie? He was a super star. As usual. And isn't he handsome down there? I couldn't resist a snapshot of his sweet face.
For your internet share of the day, I found 
Magda here would like to wish you all a wonderful Fourth of July week! We are having some work done on the sidewalks/foundation outside of our house to make sure all this rain continues to flow away from the newly remodeled basement, and this poor girl thinks all that noise sounds like someone is trying to tear down her castle. She is very worried about it (resulting in lots of angry barking).In other news, my parents are coming to visit this week, which will be super exciting for both us and the dogs. My folks (ie, my dad) don't visit us very often, but this is what happens when you refuse to send them photos of yourself all big and knocked up and they want to see how you're doing. I predict lots of popsicles, dog walks and gin rummy once they arrive.For those of you wondering how Merlin is doing, he has recovered quite well from the cabin trip up north after a good, long acupuncture session. He's happy, eating a ton and barking at the neighbors again. He still struggles a bit to get up the stairs, but overall he's pretty great.For your internet share of the day, have you seen how 
Today things returned to normal around here. Jamie is back at work, I'm working from home, Merlin is napping and Magda is guarding the castle. This is how she stands when "on guard," despite our many attempts with "no!," "off!," and the squirt gun to break the habit. But she's highest here and can see out two sides of the house to ensure that no other dogs being walked dare approach our yard. It's, apparently, a very serious responsibility.For your internet share today, this one is for all you fans of The Wire. My very favorite character on the show, hands down, was Omar Little, and 
Today I thought I would entertain Magda with bubbles. And just like any kid, she just couldn't wait to pop them. There would be no sitting, staying or holding still while these Creatures of Evil floated around her, so finally I just embraced it and shot what I could. Admittedly, this shoot would have gone a lot better had I had my trusty assistant to help with food etc. But he started his first day at his new job today, and believe it or not, working as a director of internet marketing strategy at a large company tends to pay more than working as a lowly Shuttersmack photo assistant. Although, working with Magda and me might be more fun. Just saying.Below are a few more outtakes. The last one isn't tack sharp, but my word did she get angry! Too funny!
This little pup was a bit fed up today. You see, she was at the dog sitters all weekend while we were in Chicago. and she ran and played and ran and played and ran and played. And all day yesterday, after returning home, it was nothing but sleep. And all night? Sleep. And all morning? Sleep.But then.Then, this afternoon, the doorbell was ringing and strangers were here a LOT. Why, you ask? Because Jamie and I are purging a ton of crap from the house to make room for a new person, and we're giving away / selling a bunch of it. So people were coming by today to get their goods, and Magda was stuck inside not greeting strangers.And on top of that? Merlin was outside with them all. Oh, life is so unfair. So I tried to distract her by taking photos, and this was the best I could get. This was her writhing around, talking and moaning (literally) about being stuck indoors with no strangers to greet.I kept trying to tell her that her grandma Plesser is arriving tonight, and she's about to get some serious love and spoiling, but I don't think she got it. She will soon enough, however. :)For your internet share today, how about looking at these 
There's my sweet vizsla! I told you I'd get her on the blog this week.She's had quite the eventful past few days. The weather has been phenomenal here, so there have been many walks, plus she got to have a play date with a 2-year-old german shepherd mix and they ran and ran and ran and ran. We love that around here. She also tried her first almond (jury is still out on if she liked it or not -- she picked it up from the floor where it fell and carried it around in her mouth for a good 5 minutes before working up the courage to bite into it), and while people cooking in the kitchen tends to make her extremely nervous, she is slowly tip-toeing in every so often to look for scraps on the floor. Pretty darn cute.For your internet share of the day, I just found out that Anthropologie (where I would buy 100 percent of my clothing if I were A) a millionaire and B) a size two) has a wedding branch! And I was checking it out this morning online and it is LOVELY. And in terms of wedding pricing, it's not as spendy as you would think! While I have no more weddings to plan in my future, perhaps you do? Or maybe you know someone who does? Anyway,