we go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.

sometimes this song gets stuck in my head and i wish i can dance like the musical stars, but i can't. so i just pretend that i can in front of yangkyu and piri. i'm lucky there is a thing called unconditional love. probably applies here. 

we're supposed to have a beautiful weekend before the temperature plummets again on monday. gonna enjoy it as much possible. we don't have much planned but i'm thinking maybe a trip to the flea market and dog park. 

just sharing one link today that had us laughing for a good while. hope you have a good weekend. 

a birthday wish list. the bark edition.

01 // 02 // 03 // 04 // 05 // 06 // 07 // 08

for piri's 15th birthday we decided to center his presents around the theme of health, well being, grooming and safety. we do consider all of these categories on a daily basis and feel very blessed every time our vet tells us that piri is very healthy for his age. we like to think that it's because he gets his annual exams and vaccines done, goes to the vet when he is ill, takes supplements for his joints and skin and is on preventative medicine for heart worm and ticks/fleas. he also has health insurance through the aspca, and while his plan doesn't cover wellness exams, it has definitely helped us during times when he was ill. we could be doing a better job with his teeth and ears and hope to be more consistent in maintaining them.

so for his birthday this year, instead of overwhelming his toy bin and buying more treats than he needs, we thought that we could invest in some items and make some upgrades to things he already has. i have been searching online for the past few days and came across these really great items. i guess it's not really fair to say that this is piri's wish list {sorry, dude}, but here is a barking birthday wish list for the healthy pet.

what are some products you have bought for your pets for their health, safety and well being? i would love to know. 

a girl and her dog: tammy + nina.

thank you everyone for welcoming "a girl and her dog" series with much love and enthusiasm. it made me get even more excited to be rolling these out each month. 

today i'm so happy to have tammy + nina from japan on the blog for our second feature.

i can't recall the exact moment when i found tammy's instagram account, but once i did i was mesmerized by her beautiful photos {they literally look like they belong in kinfolk magazine. so beautiful.}. her feed is a mix of wonderful table spreads, delightful aroma filled coffee and, of course, life with nina.

here is their story.

the girl: "tammy" {it's her pen name}

the dog: nina {pembroke welsh corgi}

favorite treat: nina often eats anything. her favorites though are yogurt and banana.

from: japan

find them: @ninawanco 

i think that meeting nina was a miracle for our family. i wanted a corgi as soon as we moved into our house. and we did. the moment we met nina, we became partners. living with a dog was refreshing and each day brought so much fun into our lives. i had been longing for this life.

my hobby is to take pictures of all different things, but ever since living with nina, she has become the subject. i wanted to document everything, every day. one time, during a gathering of corgis in an athletic meet, we came in first place. we also traveled to many places together. 

nina is a great partner. she's smart and she doesn't ask for a lot. we have a lot of fond memories together. between me and my husband, there is always nina. she is like no other and she gives us warm feelings and much happiness. 

nina turned 6 years old last year and she has a calm demeanor. when she laughs, cries and barks, we know the reasons why. we have grown so much together, and we look forward growing even closer in the years ahead.

私たち家族とニナとの出会いは奇跡だと思います。私は今の家に引っ越す時に、すぐにでもコーギーを飼おうと思っていました。そしてあなたを迎え、パートナーになることができました。

犬と暮らすのは初めてで、何もかもが新鮮で毎日がとても楽しい。こんな生活に憧れていました。もともと写真は趣味でした。でもあなたと暮らすようになると、被写体はあなたばかり。毎日毎日記録したいと思うようになりました。コーギーだけが集まるパーティーの運動会に参加して1位になったこともありました。旅行にも行きました。いつもお利口で本当に手のかからない素晴らしいパートナーです。どれもとてもいい思い出です。私たち夫婦の間にはいつもあなたがいます。いつも幸せをくれて暖かい気持ちにしてくれるかけがえのない存在です。昨年6歳になったあなたは少し落ち着いて見えます。あなたが笑う時、鳴く時、吠える時、いまではその理由がわかるようになりました。あなたと一緒に私たちは成長しました。これからも仲良くしていこうね。

thank you so much tammy + nina. 

you can see more of the life they share on instagram at @ninawanco.

photos via tammy. 

*i worked with tammy to get the best translation possible, but it may not be 100% perfect. i wanted to publish what she wrote in japanese as well so that her story can be expressed the way she had thought them. 

read more "a girl and her dog" stories here. 

from where i stand {in gangnam, seoul, korea} by sara.

today's "from where i stand" post comes from sara who blogs at the lovely nest!

there she talks about making the home pretty {such cute ideas and diys!} and capturing the joyful life in korea. hop on over to say hello! 

// shoes: black patent leather mary janes with a killer heel by ivanka trump on her ; chestnut brown wingtips by cole haan on him // 

from where i stand 
in a wedding hall in gangnam, seoul, korea, with my favorite person. 

we're classic american shoe icons! mary janes + wingtips = a perfect pair. 


###

thanks, sara!

*** see other from where i stand posts

*** click here to see how you can submit a photo as well! 

this series is inspired by the instagram hashtag #fromwhereistand

diy party hats. it's a celebration!

hello! how was your weekend? 

ours was pretty good. the weather on saturday was beautiful and warm. sunday was a bit chilly but it was ok because we now get extra sunlight in our day. one crumby thing over the weekend was that i cut my finger pretty deep on a small knife while washing the dishes. that hurt a bit. actually a lot. and now i have a bigger appreciation for the ring finger on my right hand. it's kinda hard to function without it! 

today i thought i'd bring you all a fun little diy. last week, i made a guide on how to throw a doggy birthday, which of course could be modified to throw any kind of birthday, and i mentioned how i may make party hats this year. i saw this beautiful pin and decided to follow along here and modify a little.

what i used: 

 + paper mache cones

 + pom poms 

 + paint 

 + sponge paint brushes - one with square head, one with round head

 + ribbon

 + elastic band 

 + super glue for poms poms {i used gorilla super glue}

 + gel glue for glutter { i used one from martha stewart crafts}

 + glitter {i used one from martha stewart crafts in crystal mint}

 + scissors

 + cupcake liners {to use to hold paint and glitter}

 + nail {to make holes for elastic band/ribbon}

to make the polka dots, i used the sponge paint brush with the round head and started from the bottom of the paper mache cone and made my way up. i used white acrylic for one cone and a pearl finish for the other. on the third cone, i used my square headed sponge paint brush to brush the tip and bottom and pasted gel glue in the middle portion for the glitter. i set everything to dry for about 30 minutes, however, you may need more time to have everything completely dry.

next, i used super glue to glue on the pom poms on top of the hats. i left it to dry for about 10 minutes. 

then i poked holes on the bottom of the paper mache cones for the elastic bands and ribbon. i used elastic bands for two of the cones and ribbon for just one of them.  

and there you have it! diy party hats for any type of celebration.

hope have a good week. it's supposed to be warm here. finally!