Well I did it again – I totally neglected my blog for nearly three WHOLE months. Wow. I always think I am prepared for the sheer volume of shutter-clicks, late nights, design deadlines, plane rides, print orders, post office runs and various social, family and business events that come with the months of November + December, but yet again I was totally bowled over by the holiday season.I needed nearly the entire month of January to recover!

But here we are, February!  I love this month… I just celebrated my birthday this week. It’s amazing how every year they seem less and less important. I was in San Francisco this time with two of my dearest friends, working the Dog is Good booth at the San Francisco Gift Show. If it weren’t for the celebratory cupcakes and super sweet gifts from my compadres (I totally scored – Nordies gift certificate, awesome photo frame and LUSH bath products *yay*) I might have forgotten it altogether.

Well, I take that back… with facebook, no one can forget it’s their birthday! Although, it is nice to see dozens of special greetings pop up all day online, some from people you haven’t even talked to in years. I should also note – Olivia and I share a birthday – pretty cool eh?  We’re both Aquarius’  – I was sad to have been out of town for her sixth birthday (yes, she’s now 42 – nearly middle-aged! )  She’s gotten a bit lazier in her years, but is still regularly mistaken for a puppy. Love ya’ girl.

Ok so on to the FUN stuff!

Since I last wrote so much has happened that I am not even going to TRY to re-cap. Lots of trips to California, lots of photography, a move, lots of design – several exciting press debuts etc. etc. I am, however, going to post a few of my most recent puppy shoots this weekend. I have another puppy shoot scheduled on Monday (t’s definitely puppy season) and let’s face it – who isn’t excited about the prospect of squishy adorable puppy faces!?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.

We also have a flurry of exciting announcements to share in the next month or so – so definitely get back in the habit of checking this blog again!

So… to quell your fears – no, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth and yes, I am still shooting like crazy.

In conclusion: photos… because every blog post should have them.  These are some fun, random cell-phone moments from the past few months – please forgive the quality, my iphone is in failing health.

{ P.S. the photo at the top represents two of my favorite things in the whole world: sushi + Olivia – I indulged in a lot of both over the holidays }

Cheers!

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This is Njala { Njala means “hunger” in Chichewa – this little guy was a gift from my dear Amy – he accompanied us to Malawai, Africa last fall }

This is SeaTac airport – feels like my second home. I often sit here and eat a bagel sandwich, sip a yerba mate latte, and make use of the free wifi!

My mac baby got sick during my busiest season ever – ahh!  Now she’s all fixed up with a new logic board, new operating system +  a CS4 upgrage – whew!

These are the  inks we were testing as we screen-checked a new Dog is Good design.  After hours of work we decided we didn’t like it + scrapped the whole project.

One of my favorite part of regular visits to LA — In N’ Out with my little Abby.  It’s actually pretty amazing how fresh their fries are… and sooooo tasty!

The view from the ferry window on my way home to Whidbey Island for Christmas – glorious isn’t it?  And this is a crappy camera phone photo. *swoon*

I am positive this is how I managed to avoid getting the great sickness of 2009  { swine flu, the plague, whatever – everyone was sick } Not me, thanks to Pho!

And finally – Palm Springs. Ahhhh. Every sunrise + sunset was more glorious than the last. Can you guess which is which?

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More soon my patient and loyal friends… xoxo

]]> http://dane-dane.com/blog/back-to-the-land-of-the-living-finally/feed/ 0 http://dane-dane.com/blog/dog-is-good-second-time-on-national-tv/ http://dane-dane.com/blog/dog-is-good-second-time-on-national-tv/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:41:00 +0000 admin http://dane-dane.com/blog/?p=630 So I woke up this morning to find frantic text messages from my dear friend Joanie (owner of the fabulous Idawg Clothing Co.) These texts contained delightful news.

Apparently last night, while I made my boyfriend switch from “Dancing with the Stars” to “So you Think you can Dance” (because for some unknown and terrible reason House wasn’t on?) – I just barely missed seeing the lovely Karina Smirnoff modeling our Dog is Good Blue Bling tee on National TV.  I can’t believe I missed it!?

Apparently Karina showed up for rehearsal with the bling tee on, partially covered by a hoodie – but because of the steamy nature of dancing, she quickly ditched the hoodie and there it was in all it’s electric blue, sparkly glory!! Ahhhh I love it.

We met Karina last year at the Emmy event and gave her the tee and got to hear all about her awesome pups (including one very darling pit bull back at her home in New Jersey) – we instantly liked this dancing girl (and her awesome PR gal Melissa) but I have to say I extra-super-duper lover her now

Thanks Karina!  If you want a matching blue bling tee of your very own (only $19.95) or you want to see more photos of celebs with Dog is Good gear – visit the Dog is Good web site.

I will post the video from last night as soon as I can get my paws on it and edit it for web!

(P.S. if you’re wondering what the first National TV appearance was for Dog is Good – it was on Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog” with Victoria Stilwell which was filmed at Dog is Good world headquarters in Seal Beach, CA)

I just had to share a little tidbit that brought a smile to my face today.

We recently released our two new Dog is Good boxed holiday cards and they were instantly met with a wildly positive response.  In the Company of Dogs will be carrying both designs (some of the first and only greeting cards they’ve ever considered – oooh!) and this is what Bark Magazine co-founder/publisher Cameron Woo had to say when he saw them today:

” …your cards are smart, handsome and full of attitude (the good kind)”  — Cameron Woo

If you haven’t seen them (and chances are you haven’t because they’re brand-spankin’ new) You can learn more about them, drool over them and buy them now at dogisgood.com

Yes, it is already time to be thinking about these things. Seriously it’s September. Can you believe that?

I suppose the fact that I actually enjoy it makes it feel like an indulgence, which then makes me push it to the bottom of the daily “to-do list” in my journal (along with pedicures, long walks around the lake, and happy hour with my buds.) *sigh*

So here you have it – a confession of neglect and with it a promise to be better!  To give you an idea of what I’ve been up to I will give you a list – partially to remind myself what the heck I’ve been so busy doing, and partly to give you an idea of the awesome back-blogs that are to come, and maybe point out a few awesome ones you might have missed

The madness started mid-June…

June 13: Day 1  filming + shooting (10hrs)  for “Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart”

June 14: Day 2 filming + shooting (8hrs) for “Tales for the Pet Lover’s Heart” + drive to Portland (3hrs), stay at Hotel Lucia

June 15: Shoot at Hotel Lucia, drive from Portland to Calistoga, CA (11 hrs): Stay at Calistoga Ranch

June 16: Shoot at Calistoga Ranch, drive from Calistoga, CA to Hop Kiln Winery in Healdsburg, CA – meet pet-sitter to drop Olivia, shoot at Hop Kiln, drive to Santa Rosa, CA to pick-up Olivia, drive to stay at the Meritage in Napa, CA

June 17: Shoot at Meritage, drive to Kenwood Inn + Spa, meet BEST santa rosa, CA pet-sitter EVER to drop Olivia, shoot at Kenwood, meet consulting client who just happens to be live in Napa, drink wine + relax at Kenwood.

June 18: Meet pet-sitter to pick-up Olivia, drive to Hollywood, CA (7hrs) to meet Jamie – drive to Seal Beach, CA

June 19: Jamie and I work all day to the melody of leaf blowers and lawn mowers before finally indulging in a dinner of In-and-Out at 10pm and deciding to wait until the next day to head to San Diego

June 20: Jamie and I pack up and head to San Diego to check out the Coronado Bay Surf Dog competition, stay at the Sofia Hotel and meet up with fellow pet photog friends for yummy mexican dinner

June 21: Wake, eat, drop Jamie off at the San Diego airport and head to the Westin Gaslamp to meet up with buddy Janine + Beau of Luxurypaw.com – explore the Gaslamp district, listen in on  a Padres game, dine, shop, pass out. (Happy Father’s Day!)

June 22: Check out of the Westin, drop Janine off at Rancho Valencia and head back to Seal Beach to get down to business!

June 23: Dog walk on the beach with the pups + photo shoot with Roxie Heart in LA

June 24: Screen check in Long Beach, CA for our new Dog is Good tee (6 hrs) Very excited about this one!!

June 25: Hop a plane back to Seattle for the weekend to work – stop in at Urban Beast for their Yappy Hour

June 26: Treck down to Tacoma (braving rush-hour traffic) with Amy to the Hotel Murano – eat at “bite” – fall in love with Fried Green Tomatoes and Fries + Gravy

June 27: Shoot the Hotel Murano, spend FOREVER trying to find an open Tully’s (seriously testing our sanity) – score our Yerbas and some snacks  + water to sustain us for the day – head to find our bride at her hotel and then off to the Tacoma Museum of Glass for a gorgeous wedding (Congrats Crystal + James.) Dinner with the boyfriend at Benihana and then collapse.

June 28: Venture to Lake Union to meet up with bride + groom at the Skansonia Ferry. All day wedding (with Opus, the most AWESOME ring-bearer EVER) and then home again to upload and collapse.

June 29: Meeting with potential commercial client, errands then product shoot + pizza at the studio with two Great Danes and a black lab mix. Weeeee

June 30: Fly back to Seal Beach, CA

July 1-9: Work like mad on Dog is Good: Greeting Card designs, new hat designs, tee screen-check, booth configuration, choosing a commercial space etc. etc. + LOTS of beach walks with dogs

July 10: Pick boyfriend up at Long Beach airport, shop for road trip snacks,  test out local sushi joint

July 11: Wake early, one last beach walk with pooches, pack, shower hit the road- drive to Carmel, CA (9 hrs) – check in at the Cypress Inn and hit the beach for sunset.

July 12: Breakfast at Cypress, hit the highway, following the coast up to San Francisco (2 hrs)- Lunch at awesome an Burmese restaurant in the city, kite flying in the Presidio, photo shoot with the lovely Pam Biasotti + Karma at Baker Beach then off to Santa Rosa, CA to drop off Olivia with Mandy (super awesome-amazing pet-sitter) and on to Kenwood Inn + Spa again.

July 13: Amazing breakfast at Kenwood, pack + acquire the the pup and head up to the coast, through the Redwood National Forest, stopping at beaches here and there– all the way to Portland (12 hrs) to the Hotel deLuxe.

July 14: Shoot at the Hotel deLuxe, breakfast and back on the road to Seattle. Unpack, laundry, collapse.

July 15: Breakfast at Luna with the roomies + catch flight to Tucson, AZ for Family Reunion

July 16: Drive to family cabin near Sho Low, AZ  (6 hrs)  lose, cell reception + internet

July 17-19: Family reunion goodness – visiting and exploring and getting dirty in the sand car

July 20: Drive back from family cabin to home in Tucson, AZ (6 hrs) see the new Ice Age + eat pie with the fam

July 21: Fly back to Seattle

July 22-31: Catch up on many, many, many projects… (including this blog!) *whew*

We had a fabulous day today! After a slow start, we were pleased to meet tons of fabulous store owners, groomers, distributors, fellow exhibitors and of course, dogs! We pitched Dog is Good to the Tonight Show and made a YouTube commercial.

There are some very fancy poodles prancing around as well as several very spoiled little lap dogs in strollers. I wonder if Olivia would enjoy being here or just be totally overwhelmed?

Vegas observations: Everything is expensive, I have not yet been outside because all the hotels and convention center are connected, there are very few windows and therefor little to no concept of time, wearing knee-high boots all day while standing on a concrete floor perhaps is not the best plan and smoking is allowed nearly everywhere! Boy am I a long way from home…

Tonight: We celebrate and do some Vegas!

We all arrived in one piece and right on time. Our boxes were waiting for us in booth #3630 and we got right to work!

The booth came together just as we planned after a few hours. We are excited to see how Dog is Good is received by SuperZoo attendees!

Despite being in Las Vegas for the first time, I am really looking forward to dinner and a shower and then resting up for our first big day at SuperZoo! Yeeehaw.

The cover isn’t the only sunny part of this issue, inside you’ll find lots of goodies (as usual) including my travel articles: a weekend getaway to Seabrook and a Deluxe Digs at “Sheep Dung Estates” in California wine country- You’ll also find some FABULOUS illustrations care of our disgustingly talented dane + dane design intern Ariel Payopay.

This issue also includes the annual “Top Dog” awards AND Dog is Good tees and camo hat in the “Cool Product” section.

:::::AND AS IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH::::

Check out our Ad for three coupons for great savings on pet portrait sittings, wedding photography and graphic design!! Get it while it’s hot!