Category Archives: Jack

Yoga For You

Now, I understand that this post is a bit out of the norm for me. I thought I would change it up a bit. You know, give you a break from reading about spray paint and glitter.

You see, I’ve been kind of a yoga fan for a couple of years now. By yoga fan, I mean I attend yoga classes here and there. Two a week tops. This might not seem like a huge deal to the average person, but I’m probably the most athletically incapable person you’ll ever meet. Sure, I’m great at lots of other things, but sports have never been one if them. So for me to stick to a mildly regular exercise regimen is pretty huge.

Sadly, not everyone is as impressed by my ability to exercise semi-regularly. You see, my dad has repeatedly voiced that what I’m doing is not actually ‘real yoga’. Apparently what I’ve been doing is ‘just physical exercise’ and not representative of the true meaning of yoga. A couple of years ago, he gave me this book for Christmas. You know, to teach me the true meaning of yoga.

The book written by Indra Devi, who is often credited with bringing the practice of yoga to the Western world, is intended to be a 6 week course to teach you to apply the principles of yoga (real yoga) to your life.

I will say, I do tend to notice an improvement in my overall health when I attend yoga classes more regularly. I sleep better, my joints don’t bother me as much, I’m better at dealing with stress..the list goes on and on.

So, I’m thinking it might be a good idea to give this 6 week course a try! I mean, what do I have to lose? Obviously, there’s something to be said for this practice that’s been around for 6,000 years or so! All of these famous yogis live to be like 400 years old! Ok, that was an exaggeration but most do live to close to, if not past 100 (Indra lived to be 102!).

Ready for my plan? Here it is! I’m going to work my way through a chapter, (try to) apply it to my life, and write all about it right here! I’ll give you a brief summary of the lesson, whether or not I found it doable, and if I have actually noticed an impact on my physical or mental well being.

I know what you’re thinking. What qualifies me give out yoga advice? Absolutely nothing! I am not by any means giving yoga advice…I’m just giving this a try and reporting my honest results.

Why do I feel the need to share this? Primarily, to push myself to actually finish it. Having an audience definitely increases my chances of success, no? Secondly, I feel like there’s always value in an honest opinion from an average person. As you’ve probably already realized, I’m not some Birkenstock wearing, wheatgrass juice drinking hippie type. I would much rather a pair of stilettos and a glass of wine. I lead a pretty average life with a full time job. So, if something just isn’t doable for me, I’ll be sure to report just that! And I promise never to utter things like ‘we are all on the same path to enlightenment’ or anything of the sort.

The first chapter mentions observing the behavior of animals, so I did. Here is Jack during his morning practice. I’m kidding, he was bribed into these poses with treats.

Upward Dog

He does love yoga mats though! Whenever I lay it out at home, he runs over and starts stretching on it. Probably because he thinks it must be playtime since I’m sitting on the ground.

Child’s Pose

I would love to hear your thoughts on my little yoga challenge! Namaste!

The Dog Behind The Blog – Meet The Terrier!

Recently, I’ve come to notice that up until this point, I’ve somewhat neglected a very important part of this blog. With a name like ‘Tulips & A Terrier’, I’m assuming you expect some posts about, well, a terrier. Therefore, I decided to take this opportunity to let you get to know the dog behind the blog! If you know him already, enjoy the pictures and fun facts.

In case you are not ~~obsessed~~ familiar with this spunky breed known as a Boston Terrier, here are a few tidbits I find most interesting about them!

Boston Terriers originated in the 1870’s in…you guessed it! Boston, Mass! They were a combination of the English Bulldog and the now extinct White English Terrier. The Boston Terrier was the first breed to originate in the US!
They are commonly called the ‘American Gentleman’ as their markings resemble a tuxedo.

They were originally bred for pit fighting, but have since been bred to a smaller companion size.
They are not terriers! Boston Terriers are considered a ‘non-sporting’ breed.
Famous Boston owners include Hellen Keller, Gerald R. Ford, Warren G. Harding, Denise Richards, and Rose McGowan.
The Boston Terrier is the official state dog of Massachusetts, as well as the mascot for Boston University.

Now…a little about this Boston Terrier specifically…

His name is Jack, and we adopted him from Iowa in January of 2009. This is what he looked like when he crawled into our hearts. They grow up so fast..

This guy LOVES his sleep. I hear about people being awoken by their dogs at 6 am, not this kid. He would sleep until noon given the opportunity.

He is very affectionate and demands attention back. Literally, demands it. Nudging you with his paw to pet him, putting his toy on your head/shoulder/laptop keyboard when he wants it thrown.
Despite the first picture, he’s not aggressive at all! He loves people and other dogs (you may remember a recent beach trip with his buddy Oliver). He does harbor an inexplicable hatred towards several inanimate objects including rakes, weed wackers, brooms, mops, vacuums, and strollers (I think it has something to do with it dragging on the ground?).

Jack - Sitting

He is very tall for a Boston terrier and has longer than average legs. This causes him to be very fast and bouncy. The latter is part of what makes him a never-ending source of entertainment.

I hope you enjoyed learning a few things about our little guy!

Chalk Paint Storage Crate

A few weeks ago I was rambling on to my boyfriend about an idea I had to make a bookcase out of wooden crates and was disappointed that I wasn’t able to find any at Home Depot. Truthfully, the lumber section terrifies me. It’s so intimidating with all those big beams and heavy boards. Plus, I look ridiculously out of place. Everyone I walk by looks at me as if to say ‘what could she possibly need in the lumber section’. It’s like the free weights area at the gym all over again.

Long story short, I left without any crates. A couple of days later, my boyfriend scored me some crates. Free crates! These aren’t the same kind of crates I was originally looking for…they’re produce crates (in case the fresh beans stamp didn’t already give that away). They’re not the sturdiest of structures so I wasn’t going to try to make a bookcase out of them.

But I do love me some pretty storage solutions…

I’ve also been dying to work with chalk paint! Covers well, distresses beautifully, and dries quickly…I don’t see the downside. And obviously I’m going to attempt the DIY version first. There’s a couple variations of DIY chalkpaint recipes around, but I went with this one. The paint is a super pale shade of pink called ‘French Heirloom’ by Behr.

1/2 cup of Plaster of Paris
1/2 cup of hot water
1 cup latex paint

Combine hot water with Plaster of Paris, mix well. Combine mixture with paint. The mixture is a little waterier than regular paint. Did I mention it dries really fast? It felt completely dry within 20 minutes or so. I’m usually very impatient with paint, so this was definitely a plus.

First, I tried to fix up the crate a bit using some nails and a glue gun. It needed quite a bit of sanding since it’s not exactly a good quality wood and had splinters sticking up everywhere.

Two coats of chalk paint, and some sanding over the paint to distress it a bit, and my crate is complete! I love how rustic it looks! I was thinking of keeping it in the living room and using it to store blankets.

The great news is that Jack likes it too! I actually couldn’t get him to leave the frame. Probably because I stuffed his blanket into the crate to photograph it, and he maybe thought it was a new bed.

I ended up moving the crate to photograph it alone. Can’t you totally picture this in a Pottery Barn catalog? The paint looks almost white but has a very subtle pink tint to it. It would look perfect in the living room which has lilac walls.

In case you didn’t know, I also enjoy making throw pillows. The one in the photo was actually a solid ivory fabric that I had painted using a stencil and some craft paint. I’m considering including this in a future post!

Desk/Vanity Drawers – Preview!

I finally got around to starting on my desk turned vanity last weekend! You might remember the ancient bedroom set I had made over a while back. Well, this desk is actually part of the same set. Yes, I’ve had this desk for 18 years.

Originally, I was just planning on sanding it down, giving a fresh coat of paint, and updating the hardware. For some reason, this ‘been there, done that’ feeling kept creeping up. I wanted more for this desk…

On a completely unrelated trip to Michael’s, I broke down and bought a book of scrapbook paper. I figured, why not have some on hand just in case. I was having a hard time deciding a single book (shocking, I know)…

…and then I kind of fell in love with this paper. I’m a total sucker for a pretty floral pattern.

Don’t get me wrong, the other patterns in the book were pretty great too! But this was certainly a deciding factor.

The idea came to me randomly on a particularly miserable commute home (is anyone else counting down the days left in the school year simply for the reduction in traffic?)

Anyways, I was trying to think of ideas for both the desk and the paper at the same time. I’m sure you can see where this is going. Seeing as I’ve only really attempted decoupage in pretty small doses, an actual piece of furniture is probably overambitious. Worse comes to worse, I can sand and repaint.

I’ll post a full before and after when I’m done with the whole desk (hopefully this weekend!), but I am just too excited about these drawers!

I did the usual sanding/painting. I’ve recently relocated my painting area to the spare bedroom (turned shoe closet/craft room!) from the front porch. The reason being that I am a ‘messy painter’ and left [removable] paint splotches on the front porch. I don’t understand why this comes as a surprise, we’ve lived together for years.

Also, I picked up some peonies over the weekend! I love peonies! I wish they were more accessible (by accessible, I mean cheaper.)

I’ve only done two of the drawers so far, but I absolutely love them! I can’t wait to finish the full desk and actually get to use them!

In other news, we had a little barbecue on Memorial Day…and Jack had it out with the garden hose. Can you believe this picture?? He looks like some sort of feral creature! Note the splayed paw. Attacking the garden hose is one of his favorite summertime activities. Seriously, the second you pick up the hose he starts bouncing around in front of you expectantly.

Jack vs. garden hose

Day At The Beach

Having spent the last couple of weekends mostly indoors and busy with spring cleaning and various home improvement projects, we knew Jack wasn’t terribly happy with us. He absolutely HATES cleaning. I’ve never seen anything like it. He seriously sulks on the couch the whole time, every now and then letting out a very loud sigh.

So, with an entire Saturday afternoon at our disposal, we decided to grab the little bugger and head to the beach! I was under the impression that you could take dogs on the beach up until Memorial Day. This is false. It’s actually until May 1st. There weren’t too many people out so we decided to ignore the signs and head on in. We live right on the edge.

At first, he was a little weary of the water. And the sand. Come to think of it, I think this is the first time we’ve ever brought him on the actual beach.

He got the hang of it soon enough! These two were having a grand old time! Jack’s rather bouncy. He sometimes looks like he’s bouncing as he runs. Note that he is actually completely airborne. Not one paw on the ground.

Honestly, it’s like he’s flying!

Oliver joined us a short while later! Handsome little guy, isn’t he?

These two go way back. Oliver was actually Jack’s first ever play date! He made three-month-old Jack feel badly about his inability to jump on the couch…

They had such a great time together! Running around in circles, taking turns peeing on things, terrorizing an elderly woman walking down the beach…

Outside of the single incident with the elderly woman and Oliver’s attempted escape, they were surprisingly well-behaved! It makes me so happy to see the two of them having such a ball together!