Birthday swim

Scout turned nine end of July and to celebrate we took him down to the lake for a swim, possibly his favorite pastime e-v-e-r. The beach was packed but fortunately this area off to the side doesn't get much use and makes a perfect "dog" swimming area :) It's nearly impossible to get him out of the water once he's in, and with each toss and retrieval of the bright green tennis ball, he'll stay further and further back in the water - and simply expect us to wade in to collect the ball where he's left it floating sort of near shore. He is a smart one ... keeping just enough distance to ensure we can't quite reach him in order to coerce him out of the water when it's time to go home. The funny thing is, he acts very nonchalant about it. But we know he's always watching us out of the corner of his eye. In this case, after a nice long swim and many, many, tosses of the tennis ball, it took a few cookies to get him out. I think he'd stay in there all day if he could. I love that something so simple absolutely makes his day. Happy Birthday sweet dog.

A dog's life

In the midst of the non-stop activity and long hours that have been pretty much standard these past few weeks as we turn a house into a Modern Cottage, it's good to know some of us can just relax without a care in the world...

(More progress photos to come.)

Fun with paper

Saw this done recently (with humans :) and decided the other day what a delight it would be to honor Scout this way - a dog silhouette! It was ridiculously simple. I already had the frame, so we just ventured to the craft store to pick out some colorful card stock papers. Of course Scout had to pose in profile (he is quite good in front of the camera, has been since he was a pup), his reward being a couple of peeled baby carrots. Then I cropped and sized the photo appropriately for the 8x10 opening of the frame and printed it out:

Next we chose the paper...it's so inexpensive, we brought home a few options knowing we'd find a use for what was left soon enough.

Then we simply (and haphazardly - I was anxious to get to the end result) taped the two together and I cut out along Scout's profile.  I taped the left edge and bottom edge flush so I only had to cut the other two sides.

I then mounted the resulting paper cut out onto a piece of white cardstock to fill up the rest of the 8x10 opening. And voila! Cutest profile ever. And it really does look just like him, from the tiny bump on his head to the nose. Talk about instant gratification!

Happy Monday!

I was browsing through some old photos the other night and came across this one of Scout when he was a tiny puppy and we had just brought him home (it was nearly nine years ago!). He always slept like this when he was a little guy - legs straight out behind him. So sweet I almost can't handle it :) Hope it makes you smile this Monday!

Doggie dishes

A key element of Modern Cottage design is combining function and beauty...even when it comes to things like laundry hampers. Or dog dishes. Scout has eaten out of elevated stainless bowls since he was about a year old, as seen in the background here:

The stainless bowls have held up great, but the stand has unfortunately rusted a bit...watered-down slobber is an elusive adversary (and nooks and crannies + hungry dog just aren't a good combo). So we set about to identify some stylish alternatives...starting with these glossy white "Hi Rise" bowls ... kind of interesting, do you agree?

This next one also features removable stainless bowls (critical criterion for ease in heavy-duty scrubbing). Love that they show the scale with three charming (if a bit confused-looking) pups.

And this one is for the super-cool mod dog... The stand's plastic so should clean up nicely.

You may notice we've chosen styles that are a bit more about function and clean lines than those that go towards the decorative or novel side . That's because big dogs tend to be messy. And caked on drool-slash-slobber can be hard to scrub off. So while we love the lead-in image - full of coastal cottage goodness - we do worry how they'd look after a few meals.  No matter; it seems that although they were once available on Orvis, they aren't anymore. But if you must know, you can find similar ones on Etsy here and here :)

Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season :) Best wishes for a fresh, new, spectacular year in 2011! What will you do in the new year? (Taking in some beautiful scenery like the view from this bluff overlooking the San Juans is sure to be good for the soul).

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a beautiful dusting of snow yesterday to make this Thanksgiving holiday feel even more authentic, complete with masses of sledding kids (and many parents getting to be big kids again). We also have one happy snow-dog on our hands (as evidenced by the huge grin and sideways tongue). He literally bounced all the way down the hill, with a few impressive leaps and twists along the way. Here's hoping you have an equally good time this Thanksgiving!

Modern Cottage pumpkins

How perfect are these amazing, creamy-white pumpkins to finish off a Modern Cottage porch for fall? I knew they would look fabulous, but I think they actually exceeded my expectations once I saw them nesting on our front porch. The contrast is perfect! We have always loved white pumpkins but they don't seem to be widely available...so this year we ventured out to a pumpkin patch where they had small quantities of several unique varieties. Loving their petite size and curvy stems. Scout is all about the pumpkins, too -- clearly :) Such a good porch dog.

Welcome, September!

I'm not quite sure how it's already September, but I think if we can incorporate a fraction of the sheer exhilaration demonstrated by Scout, above, time may slow just enough for us to soak in the last bit of summer. Though we do really look forward to fall time - it's our favorite time of the year! Crisp, cool air and gorgeous sunset-colored foliage. There's just something fresh and meaningful in the air. What time of year makes you feel the most gleeful?

Modern Cottage soul

Things have been a bit insane as of late since we're moving. We're right in the thick of it, packing, loading, unloading, decorating, repeat. We're doing it in stages, organizing as we go - much easier that way (and it also helps that the new house is only about a mile away from the old one). So we're going from one Modern Cottage to another. Well... sort of. We are moving to a fabulous house with the heart and soul of a Modern Cottage ... great lines, engaging spaces, fabulous architectural details. Some of the interior finishes however leave something to be desired. It will be fun to post on our progress as we modify the design bit by bit. For now we leave you with Scout and his favorite part of the new house: the giant wrap-around porch. He has always dreamed of being a porch dog. Doesn't he look good on it?