Sisal Rug Remnants from Sisalrugs.com

When we installed shelves for our cats, we knew we would need something to place on them so that they wouldn't be slippery and a potential falling hazard to the cats.

While researching for cat friendly surfaces, I stumbled upon sisal. Sisal is natural, easy to clean, very durable, comfortable to walk on, great for indoor/outdoor use, and apparently cats love to scratch it and it is often used in scratching posts for cats.

Couldn't sound much better, could it? Well, I was on a quest for sisal when I stumbled on sisalrugs.com and discovered that they sell remnants! The remnants vary in size but they guarantee a minimum width and length.

You can only order the remnants in 10 lb quantities for $24.99. The order doesn't guarantee a specific thickness of the weave or color, but all of the remnants come with a non-slip surface applied to the bottom.

I ordered way too much (hah!). I believe I ordered somewhere close to 30 lbs of remnants. We have 4-5 rolls left of the stuff and I plan to make my own scratching posts for the kitties and considered distributing it to fellow cat owners or saving it for potential shelf expansions.

The remnants were of high quality. They function perfectly for the shelves! I simply laid them across the shelves after they were measured and cut to size. They don't slide very much and require little attention. We've had them up for over six months and there is no obvious fraying (despite daily abuse).

During the information gathering process, I e-mailed the company to ask questions. The response was very fast and incredibly polite, offering further assistance if new questions arose.

I'm very pleased with my experience with sisalrugs.com and look forward to using them in the future for my cat and human sisal needs! I would highly recommend using their services if you're in search of sisal rugs or remnants.

Cat Shelves

Well, some might say that our family has moved into crazy cat people territory. If that is the description for what we’ve done, I’ll proudly embrace it. Our cats are members of our family and we wanted them to feel comfortable in their home. 

 

Having been introduced to Jackson Galaxy’s show by my mother, I immediately was intrigued by the concept of shelving on the walls around a room for your cats. Having lived in our current house for just over a year and having nothing really inspiring me for a space on my living room walls, I made the decision to propose cat shelving to Brandon. 

 

Our oldest female cat, Booger, is very shy. Since we’ve moved into this house and installed a cat door in the kitchen door connecting to the garage, her preferred place is alone on top of the 6’ cat tree in the garage (to stare out into the backyard). I thought that she might develop some confidence and join our family more with a high perch inside.

 

Brandon was quite reluctant about the cat shelving proposition at first, namely due to the amount of work and money to be invested, but with a little discussion, he agreed to green light the project and has since said that he’s glad we went forward with it. 

 

I looked at IKEA’s shelving (and brackets) to determine what lengths were available. With those lengths in mind, I went about the room to see how much space I’d like the shelves to cover. With that information, we determined how many of each shelf size we would need. 

I cut twine to the lengths of the proposed shelves and taped them onto the wall with painter’s tape to decide on shelf locations. It was really nice to have an idea going into the project of where everything would hang and how it might look.

 

**Taking Jackson’s recommendations about multiple exit/entry points to heart, we made certain to include them and it has proven helpful for our less confident cat to have a getaway when our playful cat decides to poke fun at her.** 

 

We ended up purchasing 4 of the shelves in the 74 ¾” x 10 ¼”size, 2 of the shelves in the 43 ¼” x 10 ¼” size, and 4 of the shelves in the 11¾” x 10 ¼” size. Given that the recommended weight on some of the shelves (they’re intended to be free floating) was between 7-33 pounds on the small and medium shelves, we opted to buy some brackets to reinforce the small and medium shelves just in case. 

 

We also wanted the cats to have more comfortable spaces to lie down in addition to the actual shelves, so we made sure to incorporate these really fun cardboard scratcher/loungers (which were surprisingly cheap on amazon) in addition to the jumbo fleece pet bed atop the china cabinet.  

The only problem we have encountered with the scratcher/loungers has been that our more rambunctious scratcher has gone at one of the loungers so vigorously that she has flung it off the shelf. Fortunately, she has not been hurt (or any property, it’s very lightweight) and it has not scared her off continued scratching.

 

In addition, I wanted to provide a surface on the shelving that would prevent the cats from potential slipping as they hopped up or down as well as ran on the shelves (which they do often!). In my research I found that sisal rugs are easy to clean, hold up well indoor/outdoor and to abuse, are comfortable to be on, and cats love to use them for scratching. Through this company, I was able to buy sisal remnants (which are already backed with non-slip materials). We ended up having to cut the rolls to size for our shelves but saved so much money doing it that way over having custom sizing done. 

 

The sisal isn’t stuck onto the shelves with anything (I wanted the freedom to change it out or repurpose the shelves down the road if our new spaces don’t accommodate all of the shelves), but we’ve had no real problems with them. The non-slip material holds them onto the shelves really well and the only displacement we’ve had have been on the small shelves when a cat decides to push off really hard in a fast jump. The rug will shift the smallest amount and we’ll just push it into place as noticed.  

 

You can see the rug shift on the small shelf of this photo. Our most used entry/exit way and the most likely to get slippage. I might consider nailing the carpet to this shelf in the future or perhaps attempting velcro strips.

We added some wall vinyls of cats for fun six months into the shelves being up. I think they're a cute addition, but probably wouldn't put as many up again.

Overall, the shelves have been wonderful. Our shy cat has definitely made the shelf above the couch with the scratcher/lounger her preferred place during the hot/cold extremes. She comes inside so much more now. 

 

Our second female, Sophie, loves the shelves and is on them daily. When not sleeping in our bed, she is leaping onto the shelves, scratching ferociously before jetting around the longest shelves to sleep in the pet bed on top of the china cabinet. Her second favorite spot is nearby the pipe from the wood stove in the winter: staying warm and getting a view out the front window from her high throne.

 

Our youngest and most playful cat, Luca, has only recently acquired a love for the shelves. 

He is constantly seen peeking over the shelf that is above the entry to our kitchen or laying down on “Boog’s shelf” much to her annoyance. 

 

My six year old enjoys throwing small cat toys onto the shelf and Luca racing up the shelves to retrieve them. 

 

We also like to bounce the laser along the walls and watch the cats go racing up the shelves after it.

We love the shelves. We will definitely re-install them as we move into a new home. We think that cat shelving will become a permanent fixture in the rooms that our family frequents the most and might even make way into bedrooms, but to a lesser extent than this living room undertaking. 

Items purchased for the shelving are linked above, but a list below as well:

74 3/4x10 1/4" Lack Shelf (black-brown) - IKEA

43 1/4x10 1/4" Lack Shelf (black-brown) - IKEA

11 3/4x10 1/4" Lack Shelf (Black) - IKEA

Ekby Mans Brackets (Black) - IKEA

Sisal Rug Remants - Sisalrugs.com *Note: the remnants will come in differing sizes and colors/textures of sisal, we received a nice mix of dark/light scraps and varying thicknesses and incorporated a few different ones for the cats*)

Curvy Scratcher/Lounger - Amazon

“U” Scratcher/Lounger - Amazon

Cat Wall Vinyls - AliExpress.com

Kindergarten Teacher Gifts

We were given an opportunity to get gifts for Cole's Kindergarten teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day. Cole has a staff teacher and a full-time teacher's assistant in his class.
Sheets were sent home to the children with a craft that was relevant to the class for them to work on and two plain sheets of paper to make a card for the teachers which would then be bound into a book. Additionally, we were given information with both of the teachers' favorites. These were crucial!

I wanted to get his main teacher more than one gift for her insane hard work and I didn't want to get gift cards to her favorite places as I expected most families would be doing that. So moving off of interests, I began to look around.

I finally settled on a miniature succulent terrarium with a bee charm in it from EdenCondensed on etsy for her first gift. I wanted something earthy for the very earth friendly teacher that was also low maintenance. She loves bees so the bee charm was a must. EdenCondensed responded very quickly to my initial inquiry and the time from order request to receipt was very expedient. Her manner was very professional as well as the packaging.

For her second gift, I wanted to touch on as many interests as possible. Cole and I found this hand painted feather bookmark from etsy seller marymare58 and instantly fell in love. We requested a bee on a purple flower (favorite color) with a purple backing.

This is the picture that marymare58 sent me to show her progress. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the final product before gifting it, but his teacher absolutely loved it and took a deal of time to express that to Cole, pointing out all the things she loved about it. Money very well spent! I was incredibly satisfied with the speed of which the item arrived (being created upon order - it arrived in under 2 weeks), and the communication from the seller.

Finally, I asked Cole what he'd like to get for the classroom T.A. He wanted to get her a necklace because "she wears them a lot." With the information of her favorite colors and her love of art in mind, we found this necklace from etsy seller cutependants.

I was shocked at how beautiful the necklace was in person. It didn't come in particularly beautiful packaging but I re-boxed it in an unused velvet necklace box I happened to have on hand from a past gift. The seller and I didn't communicate but shipping was prompt.

I had so much fun shopping for Cole's teachers and I felt that the costs were very reasonable for the products received. I would buy all three items again.

Camera Strap Review

I wish I could show a decent picture of this strap cover actually on my camera.
 
I fell in love with the fabric of this cover when I ran across it on etsy from seller TwoLittleLollipops. The price was right, the functionality was perfect -- this strap cover slides over your existing strap --  and comes with a perfect pocket for smaller lens caps.

Having received the strap cover and used it for a few months, I'm happy to report that the quality is wonderful. There is a fleece (?) or felt (?) lining inside the cover that makes it a bit of an effort to get onto the strap but when it's on, it really stays in place quite nicely. I've only had to make very minor adjustments to keep it evenly straight.

The professionalism from this seller was what I would expect from a business to a potential customer. The owner of the shop was very quick in replying to my messages and prompt in getting the product made and in the mail as soon as she could given the weather (heavy snowfall).

I was very satisfied with the speed in which it arrived as well as the product quality. I would absolutely do business with this seller again.

A First Birthday

Collin turned one year old on May 5th, 2013!
 
We celebrated his birthday by inviting the immediate and extended families of Brandon and myself, as well as a friend of Cole's from preschool.


Due to unforseen circumstances, I didn't get any photos of the party beyond the cupcakes that I assembled (purchased uniced from Freeport Bakery in lemon cake flavor) and the tables before guests arrived.

I really would have liked more photos but ah well -- roll with the punches.

I was inspired by Martha Stewart's website for the cupcakes. We had a very casual BBQ style party.

I ordered un-iced cupcakes from our go to bakery -- Freeport Bakery. You can find past decorated party cakes in the reviews page (tab on top under blog banner). I then iced them with store bought icing -- some vanilla, some lemon.

I cut banana laffy taffys into halves to represent a pat of butter. I took a heck of a while putting two types of lemon flavored jelly beans on top to represent corn kernels. Finally, I sprinkled some edible black glitter flakes over the top to look like pepper.

And pretty cute cupcakes were born! These took forever to assemble. If I had to do it again, I'd pay someone for it, plan to make them the night before, or have a second or third person on hand to help with assembly.

We used a car canopy that we've owned for a few years to create a shaded area in our backyard. We used tables we purchased at Costco for entertaining and rented chairs from a local company.

For decor, I kept things very simple. Using mason jars gifted from my mother, I cut sprigs of geraniums from the front flower bed (no shortage of blooms there) and just placed one at each table. Simple, sweet. We had buds on the rosebushes.

For entertainment, we had squirt guns for the older children and the playroom opened for the kids. The adults all had large groups of known family to spend time catching up with so no entertainment was necessary there.

I would love to attempt hosting another get together in the future. Perhaps more of a potluck next time though.

Bonus picture: my little trowel wielding one year old.

Christmas Gift doubling as a Etsy Review

My family is large and continues growing between the children and the significant others'. Our core family is six people large. There are now three grandchildren in the family. Three of the children (myself included) are in relationships. One of those relationships has two children which totals out to five children, nine adults.

My family opted to buy each of the children a gift and do a secret santa between the adults. This saves money at Christmas and enables each of the adults to funnel more money into a nice gift for one adult rather than a bunch of small gifts over all of the adults.

But I still wanted to get my parents small gifts so I decided to give them thoughtful gifts from my children. My dad is hard to buy for but my mom is much easier. She has a Shetland Sheepdog and she is absolutely, irrevocably obsessed with her dog. I made her a plate with his silhouette for Mother's Day years ago.

Additionally, she has a cat. The cat and dog are often cute together although less often now that they're both grown. I wanted to give her a memento now that her dog is getting much older. I stumbled upon ClayGreys etsy shop.

Emily does custom ornaments of dogs and cats. She's even done turtles and hedgehogs. I sent her the following photos.

Scout

Phantom

Them together when we first got Phantom.

And again when they were a little bit older.

The instructions I gave her was to have Scout laying down with his head up and Phantom sleeping between his paws.

This is what I received.

Isn't it just perfect?

I mean the long fluffy fur would be hard to replicate adequately, but the coloring and markings are spot on.

I couldn't be more pleased. I am especially in love with the shiny, "wet" nose.

My communication with Emily was very comfortable, professional, and friendly. Her pricing was fantastic and reasonable. I felt that the item arrived in good time given it was a custom order. I'm already itching to buy more from her and wishing I could somehow reason it away with Brandon. I'm itching to have custom ornaments made of our past pets and our current ones. It's definitely on my to do list in the near future.

You can find Emily's etsy shop here. Her facebook page is here. It has so many more photos of her work and it's always beautiful. I'm especially in love with her little Scottie.

Custom Photo Calendar

With life so busy between appointments for health maintenance, family engagements, and school across our family -- I've become a bit of a planner obsessive girl again. I'm constantly referencing my planner.

Add to that our intentionally introducing Cole to the concept of numbers and time and I wanted a calendar. I decided to print basic monthly calendars for Cole through the end of this year. I used these calendars at calendarlabs.

But for 2013, I wanted something more. Then I saw that calendarlabs has the option of making your own photo calendars. I thought that it would be pretty fun to make a photo calendar for our family using a photo from that month in the year past.

So for January 2013 I'll use a photo from January 2012. In this way I can pick a favorite photo of my children or our family and see how we looked a year ago.

It might be cheesy but it's totally us. I need to decide which are my favorite photos of the fall months and print them out already.

Printing from Calendarlabs has been super simple. The only thing I wish was different is the inability to save the calendar template with photo inserted. When you're done printing and close the window -- you lose it. Boo!

Maybe one of these days this girl will get a photoshop program and make my own calendars.

Take cake two!

Since Cole's birthday fell the day before Thanksgiving this year, we had his birthday party 11 days early. We decided to get cake for his actual birthday.

Let me tell you, do not go to the bakery voted #1 in Sacramento the day before a major holiday. I've never gone to Freeport the day before Thanksgiving before but I'm convinced that a good lot of Sacramento doesn't bake and they want something tastier than store bought pies. Not that this Freeport Bakery fan blames them at all.

We initially intended to buy slices of the Seville Marnier cake that we got for his birthday (minus the cobra decorations of course) but that was foiled when I found out that they reduce their menu for the Fall holidays and introduce specialty flavors. I had a massive line behind me and felt bad for holding up people so I made the snap decision to get their Fudge Cake in the 7" round size (serves 10 people). The cake itself cost under around $25.

The attendant was fantastic. She was very patient and nice. She asked about decorations and took the time to scrounge up the types of sprinkles they had in purples and greens to show me.

We ended up with this.

I love it. It's beautiful!

I couldn't be happier with the snap purchase and the resulting appearance, even if I was disappointed that neither of my favorite flavors were stocked. I suppose that's what I get for waiting to walk-in and order the day before a holiday. They do make them custom even when they're not on the regular menu seasonally so had I known I could have ordered it ahead of time and picked it up.

As for flavor, the Fudge Cake ranked one of the lowest for me on the cake testing. I'm not a big chocolate lover and it's certainly for the choco-holic. It could be named Death by Chocolate. There is actual fudge in the cake! Chocolate cake, chocolate fudge, and chocolate frosting = chocolate overkill for this girl. But if I did love chocolate, this cake would be amazing in my opinion.

It's very rich though. It's the type of cake you want to cut small slices for because after a few bites it's overwhelming.

Even though I'm not a big flavor fan due to my touchy relationship with chocolate, I'd call this another win for Freeport Bakery.

See some of our custom cake experiences with them here and here.