Wintertime Fun: The Guru Crew Goes Dogsledding

You know I have a love/hate thing going with ski vacations. I love the idea of them. Rosy cheeks, cute ski gear, the wind wooshing through my hair as I slalom down the hill.

The ski vacation, in reality, is something I don’t love so much. Because it involves none of these fun things and, worse, it includes work. More work than a 9 to 5 job, and you’re doing this work while on vacation.

Clearly, I am not the only one with this problem because mountain resorts have caught on. They now offer a whole host of activities that let you be in the great outdoors without breaking a sweat, much less a bone.

Exhibit A: Dogsledding. The guru crew tried it earlier this week and the verdict is in: thumbs up.

 

Here’s how it works: You and your 10 year old sit on a sled, which is pulled by a team of 10 dogs and guided by a musher, who stands behind, as you glide through the forest. The dogs gallop along at a good clip while you admire the scenery and pretend like you’re doing the Iditarod.

Christina, the musher, tells you all kinds of interesting dog facts, something the 10 year old really enjoys. And she tells you interesting facts too. Did you know you can go dogsledding even in summer?

Except then it should be called golf carting. Because in summer they harness the dogs to a golf cart and whisk you through the forest. Am not sure this set up has quite the same allure. Why bother with dogs at all? Why not just drive the cart?

But I’m quibbling with details here. If you live in a snowy area and enjoy nature, don’t quibble and book this offbeat, mountain experience. Rosy cheeks guaranteed, without the frustration of ski boots or lift lines. How’s that for guru good?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Cheer (& Snow Shoveling & Squat Walks)

Hope you’re having a great holiday, filled with rest, relaxation and well chosen gifts. We had lots of that around here today, including some gifts that were the biggest hits and cost the least amount of cash.

How is that even possible?

Santa brought his “A” game and the robotic dog, Zoomer. The 8 year old liked Zoomer, but it was the play list my fella downloaded onto her Kindle that really sparked the 8 year old’s interest.

The Kindle wasn’t new. Neither were any of the songs. But the fact that the playlist was loaded onto the 8 year old’s Kindle, accessible anytime, anywhere, was positively intoxicating.

 

The playlist gives the 8 year old power, specifically the power to start impromptu dance parties… which she immediately did. Over breakfast. You might have wondered what could give your Christmas quiche that special something?

The answer is Jay Z and some squat walks. Throw in a chest pump or two. Takes Christmas brunch to a whole new level.

Sometimes, a little personalization is all it takes to get a gift to the next level. This was the premise behind today’s most unexpectedly popular gift: the shovel.

It is true that my fella received a snow shovel for a gift today. (He asked for one!) It is also true that he loves it, far more than the sweater or the book he also received. He loves the shovel because of the inspirational sayings the Dynamic Duo wrote all over it.

The Dynamic Duo had free reign for this project. I told them to write encouraging phrases, things that would motivate Dad to do his best snow shoveling.

 

Here is what they wrote: “Dig harder”, “Watch your back”, “Use your guns” and, my personal favorite, “Show us what you got”.

We didn’t have a white Christmas today, but the whole family is excited for the next snowfall. The new shovel coupled with the 8 year old’s playlist?

Merry Christmas indeed!  

Free App That Increases Free Time: Can It Be?

Sometimes there are products that are beyond unnecessary. Such as numbing spray for your feet. This newly invented product eliminates the aching feet that result from wearing high heels.

 

It eliminates the pain by also eliminating any and all feeling… in the body part that is hurting but also keeping you upright, balanced and in motion.

I’m not a science girl, but it seems like this would be an important body part to be able to, um, feel.

This is not a necessary product and, in fact, sounds downright dangerous. But here’s another new product that is the opposite: “Beat The Traffic” is my new, favorite app because it is the trifecta of things I like: necessary, non-dangerous and free!

BTT is a free app for your phone. It pinpoints where you are and shows you how fast traffic is moving on the major highways in your area. If the highways appear in green, all is good. If they’re orange, it’s stop and go. If a section appears in brown, traffic is at a dead stop so take the back way, pilgrim.

So easy, so quick! BTT is your own personal, traffic reporter (minus the annoying d.j. banter and car crash sound effects). In a world that sometimes abounds with these irritating things (and high heels… and high heel numbing cream!) it’s better to focus on life (and traffic) enriching elements instead.

Guru girls & guys, start your engines (but not before you’ve checked BTT). (Click this link to read more about "Beat The Traffic".)

 

Increase Your Happiness: Wear These Pants

Whew! Is December over yet? Guru girl has been on the run, trying to get everything done. I haven’t broken my cardinal rule: always wear mascara. But I have broken my friend Jane’s, which is: you can’t wear yoga pants all day.

You actually can wear yoga pants all day. But it’s not pretty and worse, I’m not fooling anyone that I’m actually going to the gym… after the mall and the grocery store and the post office and the school.

I wear yoga pants because they’re easy and comfortable. This is precisely why I fought the skinny jean trend for so long. Because skinny jeans are the exact opposite.

Until now.

I just found some skinny jeans that I love so much I have given them a nickname. I call them my happy pants. Because it makes me happy just to put them on.

That’s how fantastic they are. The Ann Taylor skinny jean is as easy and comfortable as your favorite yoga pant. The jeans are made from some miracle material that is somehow stretchy, forgiving and beyond flattering.

They are genius! Pair them with black boots and a slouchy shirt and – presto! – you have a stylish outfit that’s as comfortable as your gym gear.

I got my happy pants last week and have tested them out on several different days. There’s no butt or knee bagging out issue, as can sometimes happen with stretchy materials. They also look fine if you have to do a mid-day switch into tennies and a fleece to walk the dog &/or trundle stuff around in the house that you still haven’t fully unpacked.

Handsome and hard-living, these are the 007 of pants

 – the Sean Connery 007, not that creepy Roger Moore.

The picture doesn’t do them justice. Throw caution to the wind and order them online – if you do it soon, Ann Taylor’ll give you 50% off your whole order… which means your happy pants will only cost you $45, a fact that will make you even happier. And Moneypenny too. (Click this link to go to ann taylor's website to view the modern knit slim pants.)

2 Top Titles: "The Husband's Secret" & "The Silent Wife"

 

Clearly I’ve been watching too much “Homeland”. Because when I found out every important political leader from every important country will be at the funeral for Nelson Mandela this morning, I got worried.

It doesn’t seem to be a good idea to have all these important people – and Oprah! – gathered together in the same place.

What if there’s some kind of terrorist event? Who will run the world then? And the Oxygen network?

I blame these paranoid thoughts on my “Homeland” obsession, but books could also be the culprit. I just finished two of them that were based on the same disturbing premise: most fellas are up to no good (and some women too!). Especially if they’re attractive, successful and good with kids!

There are four, interwoven storylines in The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty. They’re all hook you in pretty much immediately because you really like the characters – the girls and guys both – so you want to find out what’s roiling the waters of their seemingly happy, suburban lives. Let me tell you. The secret is a total shocker, one that not even paranoid me guessed!

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison plays with the same concept. Only in this book, Harrison leads with the disturbing truth: successful therapist in her early 40s kills her own husband. Harrison spends the rest of the story showing us how it got to that point. Even though we know how it ends, the story somehow manages to be both suspenseful and gripping.

Both books ask you to rank bad choices. It’s like that ethics game where you have to rank who is the worst in terms of ethical flaw. Can good people do very bad things? Are those choices ever justified?

So many moral quandaries! The books are like an episode of “Lost” without the confusing time travel. For a good, quick read try either book. They will raise your paranoia level but not about polar bears.(Click this link to go to amazon.com to learn more or order "The Silent Wife" and "The Husband's Secret". )

One Great Read: "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt

I just took 30 seconds out of my day to look at the Kardashian holiday card.

Really.

And earlier, when I saw a poster about the casting call for “America’s Got Talent” happening in Denver on Saturday, I took another 30 seconds to think about it.

For the Dynamic Duo have many talents.

And then I snapped out of it. My interest in trashy television is going to get my parenting license revoked. So I am just saying no to the “America’s Got Talent” casting call.

America will simply have to watch some other elementary schoolers burp “America The Beautiful”. My two will be busy reading this weekend, in an attempt to enrich their brains and offset the negatives of having a pop culture fiend for a mother.

This prescription works great for me. Whenever I go on a trash t.v. binge, I simply follow it up with a literary fiction binge.

So I just finished The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It was excellent and multi-layered and 1,200 pages long! It was also chock full of symbolism and meaning and thoughtful messages about our life and times, but mostly it was just a really good read.

The book’s about Theo, a 12 year old who lives in New York City and has the misfortune to be visiting an art museum the day some terrorists blow it up.

Theo survives, and The Goldfinch is the story of Theo’s next 18 years as he cobbles together both a makeshift family and a sense of himself. He’s survived the unthinkable, which is good. But then he starts to make choices himself that are unthinkable, which is bad. And Theo’s friends and neighbors aren’t exactly paragons either.

But just as you start despairing for our society and wishing you’d just watched another Kardashian marathon instead, Tartt brings it around to a conclusion that feels honest for the characters and – huzzah! – inspiring to the reader.

I love books that keep you thinking days after you’ve finished them. That’s staying power. And, in a world that churns through ideas and new, reality stars every week, there’s something to be said for a book that not only talks about legacy but makes a bid to become one. (Click this link to learn more about "The Goldfinch", available at amazon.com, for around $15.)

Ready, Set, Go: Gentlemen, Get Your Stocking Stuffers

It wasn’t until I was enjoying a tranquil walk this weekend with my friend Sarah that I learned she walks with a switch blade.

Yes, a switch blade. Sarah doesn’t mess around with matters of personal safety. Neither do I. Which is precisely why I don’t carry a switchblade. Am pretty sure I could inflict some damage with a knife, but not on any bad guy.

Which is why another friend encouraged me to carry rocks in my pockets. Rocks to throw at the bad guys in my neighborhood. Bad guys who travel in packs, specifically: coyote packs.

The big problem with this solution is that my aim is terrible. So I was excited when I came across this new gadget: the clip on personal alarm from the Container Store. It goes for$14.99.(Click this link to go to the containerstore.com for more info.) When you pull the alarm off your jacket, it emits an ear-piercing shriek, perfect for scaring off a mongrel or two.

The clip on alarm would be a great gift for the switchblade carrier, I mean urban walker, in your life too.

Nothing says I care about you and your health like a good, old-fashioned, personal alarm. But if you want to continue to risk personal life and limb with your switchblade, the Container Store has you covered there too, with some very cute retro ice bags for $12.99.

Stocking stuff away, guru girls & guys!

Gobble Up: 1 Healthy Turkey Meatball Recipe

 

In anticipation of Thanksgiving I was perusing my mom’s stash of gourmet cookbooks. I love gourmet cookbooks because the recipes are delicious. But they are also often fattening, complicated and requiring of ingredients I have never heard of.

So the cookbooks were a bust for Thanksgiving, but in my mom’s humble, scrawled, recipe notebook I found just the ticket: a recipe for turkey meatballs that sounds both delicious and healthy. And * hallelujah * it doesn’t involve butter, frying or mysterious sounding ingredients like Pernod.

Since I am not making the dish requiring Pernod, I will be saving all the time I would have spent hunting for this damn thing at Whole Foods. And I am instead going to use this time to make Mom’s turkey meatball recipe! Not for Thanksgiving… but sometime over the holiday break.

 Turkey Meatballs & Spaghetti

Ingredients:

3 cups bread crumbs

 

2/3 cup whole milk

2 pounds ground turkey

½ pound sweet Italian pork sausage (take casings off)

3        ounces thinly sliced prosciutto

1 cup grated Asiago cheese

½ cup minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large eggs, beaten

3 jars marinara sauce (They should each be 24 ounce jars.)

2 pounds spaghetti

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In bowl, add bread crumbs & milk. Set aside.

 

In a large bowl, combine turkey, sausage, prosciutto, bread mixture, Asiago, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 ½ teaspoon pepper.

 

Combine ingredients with your hands. Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the eggs and stir with a fork to combine.

 

Wash hands.

 

Roll mixture into 2 inch round meatballs and place them on the prepared sheet pans. Brush meatballs with olive oil. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the tops are browned and the centers are cooked.

 

Pour marinara sauce in a large pot, add meatballs and bring to a simmer.

 

Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and place spaghetti in individual bowls and top with meatballs and sauce. Serve with Parmesan cheese on the side.

 

Make this recipe to power yourself up after hunting down all those Black Friday deals, guru girls & guys. Happy upcoming Thanksgiving!

2 Ways To Twinkle This Holiday Season

It’s not that I have no willpower about all trends. I did not, for instance, buy the magic bun maker. Even though it’s advertised on t.v. all the time, and positioned on end caps at stores everywhere.

And I’m not getting the Vitamix blender, even though it’s this season’s “it” item, especially if you juice, says one of my friends. I don’t juice. Regular juice has too many calories. And juice made from kale is – gah!—made from kale.

But I might give into this lamp trend. Funky, enormous letters have been a home decorating trend for awhile now. This season they’re showing them adorned with little lights. I have never met a twinkle light I didn’t like.

This lamp gives off a great retro vibe. And light too. It’s a two-fer. And I love two-for-one deals! The lampersand light by modcloth retails for $90.(Click this link to go to modcloth site.) If that’s on the spendy side, you can still embrace your love of twinkle lights and retro cool.

 

One catalogue is showing a bunch of twinkle lights – little, white ones – coiled up inside a clear hurricane vase.  So festive, so easy, so cheap. The trifecta of good!

The holidays are coming. Twinkle away, guru girls!

Fall's Best Fashion Find: The Mirabel Jacket

What does this coat have to do with the NFL? Read on to find out...

 

In a departure for me, I am very interested in the NFL. Every few years this happens. NFL players start acting like soap opera stars, and suddenly I’m engrossed in the pigskin. Wow, that sounds kind of dirty. But you know what I mean.

What has my interest lately is the bullying scandal featuring Miami Dolphins players Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. One of them allegedly bullied the other. When is it bullying? When is it life? So many questions.

Here’s the other thing I’m obsessed with these days: sweater coats. Every year there are 3 things that happen to me in fall: daylight savings, Halloween candy binges and new coat lust.

This year I’m all about the sweater coat. Because it’s a winter wardrobe’s most versatile piece. You wouldn’t want to walk the dog in it, but if you’re running errands around town, and you need a cute jacket to take the edge off, a sweater coat is just the thing!

You can throw it on over a basic, long-sleeve t-shirt and suddenly you look stylish with minimal effort!

Anthropologie has got some really cute ones these days. I’m either hot or cold on Anthro – I either love all their stuff or hate all their stuff. This season, it’s “love”. Here’s their cutest sweater coat: the Mirabel jacket. It’s also available in burgundy, which is the color I’d go for, instead of the cream. It retails for around $148.(Click this link to go to Anthropologie to see the Mirabel jacket.)

Spendy? Yes. But if you wear it a few times a week for the next few fall/winters, it will be your smartest purchase this season.

I got my last sweater coat from Anthro 5 years ago and still wear it. Now that’s style with endurance. So basically the sweater coat is the NFL athlete of outerwear, soap opera hijinks not included.

Talk Less, Be Happier, And Know Who Kim Jong Il Is

This is me, being wordy on the blog. Or else online shopping.

 

As someone who loves words – the more, the merrier – this pains me to admit: there’s something to be said for brevity.

The fewer the words, the better. Over the past month I’ve read this advice from two, separate experts. This is either the universe telling me to button it up or there could be some wisdom here. (Or possibly both.)

One article was about what you should say to your kid after she plays in a soccer game or performs in a musical or any kid event.

The words are the same.

“I love to watch you play.”

That’s it. No play by play analysis of her moves. No subtle encouragement or not-so-subtle critiquing. Just 6 simple words.

I tried it. And, just like the writer said, my kid liked it.

Huh. How about that?

Then I read an article in “O” Magazine about simple steps to a happier life or something. The secret to domestic bliss lies in 4 simple words that should be uttered the next time you’re arguing with your beloved or your roommate or your offspring.

“You may be right.”

I may have to get this tattooed on my wrist for easy access the next time I’m angered by my fella.

Because who wants to win the battle on the home front but lose the war? I’d rather be happy more of the time than right all of the time. So I’m gonna try this one too.

And the last brief-is-better entry for today is the Skimm.com. This website is my new favorite because every morning it e-mails you a summary of the biggest news events of the day.

So much less wordy than a newspaper! Editors at the Skimm share the highlights of each story in the chatty, accessible voice of your favorite girlfriend. None of the summaries are longer than 3 paragraphs so it takes only 5 minutes to read and send your world knowledge -- even of sports! --  skyrocketing.

It’s free to subscribe, which I did just yesterday, so expect a lot more geopolitical references on the blog here. Because, thanks to the Skimm, Guru Girl’s gettin’ schooled. (Click this link to go to The Skimm to check it out.) 

Houzz.com: Soccer Mom Crack

Sparsely decorated bookshelf that my realtor made me do.

 

There’s nothing like a public proclamation that you’re going to do something to make you, well, do it.

A few months back I grandly proclaimed that I was going to color code my bookshelves, style them up in a way that would make Houzz.com proud. (Have you checked out the houzz site? It is home decorating crack. Positively addicting and tough on the pocketbook because you will want to redecorate every room in your house once you check it out. But on the plus side, houzz.com addiction has no negative health repercussions and, despite frequent use, you get to keep all your teeth.)

So I said I was going to color code my bookshelves, then I went and moved to a new house that has no bookshelves. But I now have a bookshelf (actually, it’s that credenza that I dumpster dove out of the alley last year), and I finally had time to style it up.

Before shot of the bookshelf. A little sterile, no?

The process is still underway as I need to get some cute tchotchkes to intersperse among my favorite titles, but the color coding made such a huge impact that I had to share it immediately.

After shot of the bookshelf.

A color coded bookshelf is a cheap and easy way to cozy up a room immediately. I recommend it, even if you don’t have a million books stashed in various boxes. In most towns the public library has an annual sale where you can buy dozens of books for hardly any cash. Hit the sale, and buy a bunch of books with spines of different colors. Then get yourself a bookshelf. It doesn’t even need to be a nice one. Outfits like walmart.com will deliver one to your door!

Once you style your bookshelf up, it transforms this corner of your house into a cozy library where you can lounge and do nothing more literary than peruse “In Style” magazine. Lotta look for little lucre.

Try it, you’ll like it! Or at the very least, check out houzz.com which has dozens of pictures of rooms decorated in every style imaginable. (Click this link to go to houzz.com.)  

 

 

 

Gotta Read It: "The Goldfinch" & John Mayer's Liner Notes

I love a good back story. It’s what makes Taylor Swift and some other pop stars’ songs such guilty pleasures. Because yes, you can dance to them, but you can also psychoanalyze them all the live long day.

Which is what I just did to the latest John Mayer album, specifically: “Paperdolls” and “Love Who You Love”. Both are totally danceable and

 ** bonus ** both are filled with “Where’s Waldo” clues about John’s former girlfriends.

Give “Paperdolls” a listen and try to determine if it’s about Jennifer Aniston or Taylor Swift. Bonus points if you think about how mad Jennifer and Taylor were when they first listened to “Love Who You Love”, a duet which features John crooning sweetly with current lady love (and bad judge of boys) Katy Perry.

Because c’mon, you know Jennifer and Taylor listened to the songs, at least once. Wouldn’t you?

This is how I feel about subsequent books from authors whose debuts I absolutely loved. Even if the reviews are bad, I read them. Because the first book was just that good. I can’t help myself. Once an author has my heart, she or he has it forever.

This is why I just ordered up Donna Tartt’s latest, The Goldfinch. And why I’m planning to go to bed at 8 o’clock tonight so I can burn some serious pages. Because Tartt’s debut novel The Secret History was one of the best books ever. And even though her last book wasn’t that hot, I remain hopeful about this new one.

Hopeful in a popstar-with-blue-hair kind of way, that recent history can be bucked and a happily-ever-after can be found. (Click this link to go to amazon.com to see ordering options for "The Goldfinch", available for download starting at around $10. )

Happy reading, guru girls & guys!

 

1 Trick For Bettering Your Neighborhood & Your Brain

 

I am a sucker for “power to the people” movements. Except for Occupy Wallstreet. And folks who hang political banners from overpasses.

But there’s another community trend cropping up that I’m all over. Free libraries! Book lovers are building mini libraries themselves – they look like bird houses – and plunking them down in front of their houses.

“Take a book, leave a book, be on your way” is the idea. I love it!

What a great way to share the love (of books) and prompt neighborly conversation beyond “Can you water my plants while I’m away?”

The Dynamic Duo and I are very excited to embrace this trend. Our book birdhouse is currently in the design phase. I can already tell there will be fisticuffs between the architect (the 7 year old) and the G.C. (the 10 year old). But I’ve lived through house construction before. The end result will be worth it!

There’s even a website dedicated to the idea. It’s called “Little Free Library”. The movement started in the Midwest a few years ago, and there are already 10,000 little free library birdhouses out there, in 55 countries!

Check out the website for more details and an option to order a pre-made library birdhouse if you lack the time/know how/infinite patience to listen to your in-house design crew battle it out.(Click this link to go to little free library.)

Happy reading, guru girls & guys!

1 Easy Trick To Glam Up A Dinner Party

In theory, I love these.

-         Burlap?

-         Cute font?

-         Message preached by placemat instead of mother? (They sport sayings like "put your napkin in your lap" & "elbows off the table".)

All things I love. The trifecta of good.

And then I looked at the price.

$69 for a set of 6.

$69 for placemats that will need to be dry cleaned once anyone uses them.

Shoot. At my house they’d need to be dry cleaned once anyone looked at them. (And yes by “anyone” I mean the 7 year old ;)

So the manners placemat is off my “gotta get” list, but here’s what’s on it instead: paper placemats. So cute! So clever! So disposable!

 

They glam up Chinese takeout and make you shrug when the 7 year old makes a beeline for them, markers in hand. (I'm not saying use them every day but for a big dinner that you want to make a bit more swanky? These are the ticket!)

Gives new meaning to the phrase “try it, you may like it”, doesn’t it? A set of 50 goes for around $24 on amazon.(Click this link to see the Italian scroll placemat pads on amazon.)

Happy dining, guru girls & guys!

 

The Challenge Of Parenthood

Sometimes it’s fall break and you spend lots of extended time with your children. And you become desperate enough to play the “quiet game”, which they are still young enough to believe is really a game and not a desperate parental attempt for peace.

So they play.

And they are quiet.

For the first time in 4 days.

And then the littlest one hands you a note.

That looks something like this.

 

Here is what the note says:

“I would really like to speak. Is there a prize for the winner? Why? YAY! Are you in a bad mood? Ok, is this bugging you? Well, I’m sorry but I’m not stopping.”

And you realize the 7 year old has captured a truth about the parent/child relationship, indeed all family dynamics. “Is this bugging you? I’m sorry but I’m not stopping.”

You have to laugh. Because otherwise you’d cry and become one of those people who goes to the Alaskan frontier and lives with grizzly bears.

Because at least cubs can’t write. Or be sassy.

But they also can’t make you laugh so hard it hurts.

Happy end-of-fall-break, guru girls & guys!  

Steal Of A Deal Furniture: Overstock.com

I love free shipping. Especially when it concerns furniture. So imagine my glee at finding a company that ships for free, most of its merchandise, stuff that’s also really cute.

I just turned my mom on to a site that does this exact thing. It is great news for Mom that she now knows about overstock.com. It is less good news for my dad as I see redecorating – lots of redecorating – in their future.

I recently helped my mom purchase a coffee table from overstock.com. It turned out great! Just like the fantastic metal stools I got from this outfit last year.

It’s a little nerve wracking to buy furniture, sight unseen, from a website. Especially a coffee table where the quality of wood could be sketchy. Happy to say Mom’s coffee table is decidedly non-sketchy and pretty fab.

It looks Restoration Hardware-y, but she got it for a song. Which means grandkids and dogs and life can happen to it without my mom breaking a sweat. Not that Mom sweats. Like me, she glistens.  

Restoration Hardware stuff is beautiful, but every time I’m in that place I feel like I’m in a reverent museum. If I got a Restoration Hardware coffee table the only thing I’d be putting near it would be holy relics, not juice boxes and dog bones.

If this sounds like your approach to life and furniture and shipping costs, click on over to overstock the next time the dog can’t find the bone and chews on the furniture instead. (Click this link to check out overstock.com.)

 

Photo credit: This is a photo, of a chair, from Restoration Hardware. Bet my parents would be happier with the dog if the chair was from overstock.