I love to spoil our puppy Zoey and our new BarkBox subscription does just that. I came across this company a few months ago on DailyCandy Deals and knew I had to get one for our pup. 

BarkBox is a monthly box that gets mailed to your house with four or more dog products. 

Cost: The cost ranges from $17 - $25 depending on the length of the subscription. 

I got so excited when I received the tracking number for our BarkBox shipment, I couldn’t wait to go home and find out what was in the box. As soon as I put it down on the ground all three animals (Zoey (our dog), Deuce (Roommates dog), and Keagan (our cat)) all had their noses to the box sniffing. They knew there was something good in there! 

I opened up the seal and Zoey nosed her way into the box. Once opened, she sniffed over everything and then started licking at the Bully Stick that what inside. That was the source of the magnetic animal smell. Oh it smelt SO bad! Now I know why they sell odor free bully sticks.  Of course Zoey loved this treat but it sent me outside trying to escape the horrible smell in my house. She ate it all in one sitting and was not about to share it with any of the other animals. 

Meanwhile, when Zoey was chowing down on her bully stick, Keagen the cat decided to check out the rest of the box that was now on the table. When I was over taking a picture of Zoey I heard the cat run into the kitchen, I knew he had stolen something. I found him on the kitchen floor trying the chew open the sample bag of freeze dried chicken.  

I picked it up and he gave me the stare down hoping to get one of these chicken treats. I gave him one and he devoured it in 2 seconds (I really think he swallowed it because it was gone so fast). He was purring so loud after eating this treat.  I really wish it was more than just a sample. 

The BarkBox also came with a full size bag of treats from the same company; these were freeze dried sweet potatoes.  My little piggy, Zoey ate them no problem, not overly excited about them though. Keagan did not enjoy these, just sniffed and left it. We also shared these with Deuce. He is a very picky eater and ended up putting it down.  Zoey promptly went and stole it.  Deuce ended up eating one later on.  I was very surprised to read the ingredients listed on this bag of treats. They are 100% sweet potato, no additives. 

We also received a crinket in the box. This is a rubber toy that you put an empty water bottle in for your dog to play with. Because we signed up for the medium size dog box we got a medium sized crinket. The problem with this is that it takes the small size water bottles. We don’t have any of those laying around the house so we will have to fully test this toy later. Zoey did chew on the empty crinket for a while though so I have a feeling she is going to be a fan of this toy. 

In total, in this box, we got 1 toy, 3 treats, 2 samples, and 1 coupon. Below I have all of the products received listed with the cost, description (one give on card sent in box), and our reactions. 

LA Fresh: Wag Bath Wipes for Dogs          Website: LAfreshgroup.com

Description: Theses W.A.G. (Wash-and-Go) pet wipes are perfect for when your dog… smells like a dog! They’re great for when you’re on the move so you can quickly cleanse that scraggly fur and thse messy paws. 

Size: One wipe 

Reactions: We have not used this yet. I think it will be good to bring with on our next camping trip. Maybe we will have a less smelly dog sleeping with us in our tent. 

Price on website: They sell them in 20 packs for $4.99 (so 25 cents each), also available in 50 and 75 packs
Price on Amazon: Pack of 75 for $15.99 (so 2 cents each)

Would we buy this product? N/A

Description: This online haven is a one stop shop for all things dog. With over 20,000 items available, we can guarantee they carry your dogs favorite food! Get $10 off your first order using the code provided. 

Reactions: The prices are very comparable to amazon.com but they charge you for shipping for orders under $50. I will end up using the coupon with we run low on both dog and cat food and cat litter at the same time. 

Value: $10 

Total value of products in box: $34.31 without coupon
                                                 $44.31 with coupon

Overall impression: I think I got myself too hyped up for the first box. I am a little disappointed that Zoey didn’t like the toy. We will see how the next one goes.

Would I buy this box again? Yes, it is fun to test out new products. I don’t think it is worth the $25 price tag but I do think it is worth the $17 one. 

Do you want to order a BarkBox? Use this link and get $5 off you first order. 

Really, what is better than a patio table with a built in cooler! Who really wants to get up to get another beer?

Almost everyone has seen this picture of the wine cooler patio table ether on Pinterest or Reddit. 

Right after my husband saw this he asked me to make it happen. I was already in the process of designing a patio table so I decided to take a stab at it.  I wanted to make a table that was more than just a table with a cooler in the center all the time. I wanted to have to option of covering it when not in use so we can do full meals on it too. I pulled up SolidWorks and started playing around with the idea. Here is what I came up with: 

Patio Table with built in Beer/Wine Cooler with Lids

Like in my farmhouse table post I am going to be breaking the instructions into two parts. The first will be the construction of the table and the second will be the finishing instructions. 

Part 1: Table Construction

A little more about the design:

The first thing I did after having the initial concept sketched out in SoildWorks was go out and find the perfect cooler insert. We first looked into getting gutters but they come in large pieces and didn’t seem like they would work well for our design. Next we contemplated using sheet metal and bending it to shape we were looking for.  At this point we were still planning on installing a drain at the bottom to let the melted ice out. After walking up and down the aisles at Home Depot we came to the gardening department. The idea clicked, why not use planter boxes and instead of having one long one, having 2 short coolers?

Going back to the drawing board, I played around with the design to incorporate the two planter boxes. We decided to have the planter boxes be removable instead of installing a drain. This was much simpler and now we have the option of replacing the boxes if for some reason they break during the years of future use without having to do construction on the table.  The planter boxes also have a nice rim on the outside for the lids to sit on, another added bonus.

Instructions:

After the designs were done was head to our local lumber yard to get our cut list made. At the time, we didn’t have a way to cut wood accurately enough to do our own so we had the lumber yard do this for us (for a small fee). 

The first step after getting home with all the boards is to sand all of them. Alex jumped in and did this for me again; I think he secretly loves sanding. 

Using the Kreg Jig we put pocket holes in both ends of eight of the top center boards (2X4 @ 1' 11-3/4"), the other four are going to be used for the lid and do not need these holes. On a side note, this was my first time using the Kreg Jig and absolutely love it! It is super easy to set up and use. I used this website to walk me through the set up and how to use it. 

Arrange all the top boards on the ground, face down (pocket holes up). Put the planter boxes (PB) into place upside down (hole side down). This was to made sure we left enough space so the PB could lift out from in between the boards. 

Next apply wood glue to the ends of the now Kreg Jigged top center boards.  Using the 2-1/2" wood screws, attach the top center boards to the middle board through the pocket holes.  Make sure to hold both the boards down when doing this. I actually stood on both the boards while Alex screwed them in. 

After the eight boards are attached to the middle board, repeat the same thing for the two side boards attaching them to the center boards. 

The Kreg Jig was used again to make holes down the top long boards. Using a pencil, mark off points where the side and middle boards make contact with the long board (two spots at each junction were pocket holes will be made). Six pocket holes are made on each top long board. 

Attach the long side board through the pocket holes using 2-1/2" screws after applying wood glue.

The next step is to make the boxes to go around the PBs. The first step to do this is screwing together the sides of the box. This is done by first counter boring holes then adding wood glue between the attaching surfaces.  Make sure to use a square to make everything line up before using 1-1/4" screws to attach them together.. 

Then, using a pencil and counter bore bit, mark off and counter bore five even-ish spaced holes on both long sides of the box. The only thing that is important about this step is to get the cross holes to line up enough to be able to screw the bottom supports together. 

Put the pb inside the newly made pb support box. On a flat surface, place this assembly upside down. The plastic pb should be the only thing touching the surface.  Next take the box supports (1X4 @ 2' 1-1/4") and place them up against the wooden box so it is flush on both ends and also siting on the flat surface (the same as the plastic pb). 

Using 1-1/4" screws attach the box support boards to the wooden box. We did not counter bore these screw holes because they are not going to be visible at the end. We did add wood glue.

Here comes a little bit of a tricky part. We need to attach two of the cross beam boards to the box assemblies before assembling the table skirt. This was done by measuring and making the centers of both the cross beam board and the short box side of the wooden box. Use a T-square to make nice straight lines at the proper lengths. I love putting my T-square from my freshman Engineering Graphics class to use. 

After the cross beam board is lined up use a clamp to hold it in place. Don’t forget to put wood glue between before clamping, 

Then using eight 1-1/4" screws to attach the cross beam board to the wooden box (four screws in the box supports and four in the wooden box). 

Next lay out the pb assemblies and table skirt boards on top of the facedown table top. Mark out the placement of the needed pocket holes to attach the skirt to the table top. Using the Kreg Jig make the pocket holes at the marks. 

After making sure the pb box assemblies are completely center with the holes in table top, wood glue the table skirts and attach them to the table top via the pocket holes. 

Next pull up the pb box assemblies, added wood glue on the areas that make contact with the table top and placed them back down making sure the holes are still lined up. To attach the cross beams to the table skirt drill two counter bored holes at each junction. Using 1-1/4" screws attach all eight junctions together. 

Next line up the legs (2x4 @ 2' 5-1/4") and the outer long skirt (1X4 @ 5' 2-1/4"). The outer long skirt is just for on the long side of the table, it will cover all the holes made to attach the skirt to the cross beams. Attach the outer long skirt by first applying wood glue to the backside and screwing it together through the inside using 1-1/4" wood screws. 

Raise the table up onto sawhorses to attach the legs (this just makes it nicer for your body to get in the correct angle).  Attach the legs by adding wood glue and using four 1-1/4" wood screws in each corner. Use a clamp to help hold the boards together. We did the two holes closest to the corner then moved the clamp outwards for the second set of screws. 

The table is now ready to be flipped over onto its legs. Used wood filler to cover the few counter bored holes that are showing. Don’t forget the ones on the towards the bottom of the side of the wooden box (we forgot and they do show). After the wood filler is dry the last step for the main table in to sand down every imperfect surface to prep for the finish. 

The two lids are the final part to finish off the construction portion of the table. We made the lids by taking two of the center boards and attaching them together in four spots through pocket holes with 2-1/2" wood screws and wood glue.  Use a clamp to help hold them together. 

Using a 1-1/2" hole saw bit, cut a hole through the lids so they can pull them up after they are covering the coolers.

The lid ends might need to be sanded down to help them slid in and out easier. 

Section 2: Staining / finish 

Instructions: 

If you want a more detailed explanation on the wood conditioner and stain please look at my farmhouse table post (this was our first table built). 

Using a sponge brush apply Benite wood conditioner to all the surfaces of the table, top and bottom. Really coat everything! This is really going to help protect the table while outside. After applying it to all the surfaces wipe what little excess is left on the top with a rag. Let the conditioner dry for 24 hours. 

The wood stain comes next. Apply as thick of a coat on as possible, you really want it pooled on as much as you can. I applied the wood stain and Alex came about 3 minutes behind me wiping it off with a rag. We used a test piece beforehand to figure out how long we wanted to stain on to get the color we wanted. Wait 24 hours before starting the next step. 

The last step is to apply the Seafin teak oil to the table surfaces. We did this by using a sponge brush to put an even coat on all the exposed surfaces. We were told by the local stain store to do at least 7 coats and to let them dry at least 12 hours in between. Teak oil will wear down over time and will need to be recoated after about four years. The one nice thing about it is that we don’t have to take the table in or cover it during the Seattle winter. This might be different for a cold climate I am not exactly sure. I would recommend going to your local stain store and find out what your climate requires.  

Another top coat option the guys at Daly’s were telling me about was SeaFin Aquaspar. If I remember right they told us we would need to cover this table or bring it in for the winter. They also said that when this needs refinished you has to sand it all the way down to refinish whereas the teak oil you can just add coats on top of the old stuff.

Don’t forget to stain and finish your lids too. We hung ours from of garage ceiling using wire so we could do both sides at once. 

One thing I wish I had done before stain the table was pick out the chairs. We had a really hard time finding chairs they sell without a table that matched our stain. We ended up finding the ones in the picture from Big Lots. Very comfortable but they sit a couple inches to short for the table. Nothing we can't fix by cutting down the legs a little bit.

Now it is time to sit back and relax, with a glass of wine (or beer) and enjoy the rest of the summer!

I finally decided to do something with the huge double wide pallet that has been leaning against our house for about half a year now. There are so many different ideas of things to do with pallet wood. I really liked the idea of using the wood for wall art because it has tons of character. I have seen people paint and add stickers to create wall art. I decided to try something different and experiment with staining a image into the pallet. I am so happy this worked on the first try. 

The most time consuming part of this project was getting the wood off the pallet. Apparently we had one of the really well made pallets that are really hard to take apart. I was really determined to get this project done so I acquired the help of my husband. With a combination of a sledge hammer, crowbar, rubber mallet and pure strength we got four of the boards off the pallet. 

After getting the boards off I sanded down the parts I was going to end up using. I didn’t heavily sand them, I just sanded them enough so that we wouldn't get splinters. 

I then lined them up and drew a line where I wanted them to be cut. We used a circular saw to cut them on this line. I then sanded the edge I had just cut. 

Next I arranged the board in the layout I wanted them in. I used two one by twos and cut them down to a little under the length of the stacked boards. Using 1 ¼” screws I attached the pallet boards to the one by twos. 

In the Silhouette Studio program I designed the image I wanted to be stained onto the pallet boards. Using a measuring tape I measured the surface of the pallet wood assembly and sized my images accordingly before printing them out. 

I then peeled away the edges of the vinyl (the vinyl around the wanted image). Using scissors I cut the images apart and arranged them on the pallet wood assembly. 

Next I used transfer paper and a Popsicle stick to stick the vinyl to the pallet wood. I made sure the stickers were on really well so the stain didn’t get under them. 

Using a rag I wiped wood stain over the top of the stickers covering the whole surface. I made sure to use the smallest amount need to prevent stain from seeping under the stickers. Using the clean end of the rag I wiped any excess stain off. 

I then peeled away the stickers to see the image that remained. 

I love how it ended up turning out! The only two parts of the image that did not work out perfect is one of the robots ear (this sticker gave me problems when I was sticking them down) and the binary ones on the bottom (they were just too thin). I actually debated about stopping after putting down the stickers because I liked how the brown stickers looked on the wood. I am so glad I didn’t because I love the finished product even more.  

I actually flew this out to San Francisco for a house warming gift for a friend. Now I really want to make another one for our house. 

Day 7: June 17, 2012     

Our last day… fun, yet sad at the same time with the lingering thought of going back to our normal life. Most of the day was an at sea day; but because we cross through Canadian waters we are required to make a stop there.  I will get to more on this later, first I have to talk about the fact that it was father’s day! Katie and I made these really cute shirts for both of us and our dad. We ended up spending hours in the laundry room trying to get the iron-on material to stick. We finial figured out if we let them cool after ironing they would stick… I wish we had known this in the beginning. 

Our mom and dad happened to be up on deck 9 whale watching when we finished the shirts (bundled up head-to-toe because it was chilly).  Katie and I decided to walk around outside with only shirt sleeve shirts, eating ice-cream just because we wanted to show off our shirts. Oh and it was pineapple ice cream! So good!

The whole rest of the day we were finishing up the things we were planning on doing during the week. Katie and I went swimming. Really wish I had done more of this. The water is heated to a really warm, bath water temperature. The horrible part was getting out of the main pool and walking to the hot tub! The air was so cold! We got a lot of funny looks when walking dripping wet in our suits on deck 4; we had to make the trip from forward to aft and didn’t want to do so outside.

We ate lunch at Beach Blanket. The buffet line was packed with sea food. I decided to do a dessert only lunch… don’t judge, it was the last day! 

Due to the late port this day we had the option of seeing the farewell show early before early dinner seating. The show was called, “Remember the Magic: A Final Farewell” and brings back all the stars from the other night’s shows.  They also show a video, we were really excited because we got filmed to be in it!  My mom, Katie, and I were randomly wandering the ship one of the days when they asked if we would like to be filmed for the video. It was just us saying remember the magic but it was still really exciting!

All of our bags had to be packed and put outside of doors before leaving for port. This meant having them done before heading up for dinner because we were leaving straight from there (the boat docks during the first dinner seating). Make sure to save enough room in your carry-on bags that you can put everything you need for that night and the morning in it because everything left in the room after the bags are picked up you have to carry off.

At dinner they had a special father’s day cake that they served to all the males at the table. This was an awkward moment for my cousin’s fiancée, Jordan, when he got told Happy Father’s Day. Our waiter then got into a discussion on how all men are fathers. It was kind of fun watching his face. 

We were in Animators Palate eating from the "'Till We Meet Again" menu for our last dinner. They ended up doing the show this night because of technical problems the other night we were here. I don’t have a ton of food pictures because of the lights getting too dark for the camera expose. 

As soon as dinner was over we heading off the boat to catch a bus. It was about a 15 min ride to downtown Victoria from where the boat docked.  This is a very short port! We had about two hours total to explore.  This was a very strange port for me being from Seattle. I have been here before and is not that far way. I knew where the ferry station was that could take me home in a few hours. It almost made it feel like my vacation was already over. But if you have never been the Victoria it is a very cute town to walk around, it has a very European feel to it. 

We ended up walking over to the totem poles by the science center. They had a totem pole stake with no totem so all the kids decide to create one for a fun picture. 

We then took a walk up the water front and then headed back to the bus because it was already time to head back. 

One cool thing about this port is that it is already getting dark by the time we got back to the boat. It was neat seeing the boat all lit up.  I really wish I had brought my tripod with to take some pictures! 

Once we got back inside we stuck around the atrium for the “Till We Meet Again Party”. They do a little show on the atrium stairs with all the Disney characters and they all stay after for last minute pictures for anyone you may have missed throughout the week.  They also have the stars of the live shows and a lot of the cruise crew members to say your goodbyes to and snap a few pictures with. 

We then headed down for one last night of adult-only fun at Wave Bands.  The entertainment staff did a pub skit of “If I Were Not Upon the Sea”. You must not miss this, especial if you have gotten to know the staff over the week, very funny and a lot of fun to watch. 

We ended the night watching some more Disney movies in our stateroom. I really wish my tv at home had multiple Disney movies playing at one time! 

Our towel creature was not really a creature this night but here is the picture anyways.