Thursday, March 4, 2021
Easy DIY Dog Leash Organizer and Friday Favorites Linky Party Week 569
Sunday, February 21, 2021
How to Build an Outdoor Dog Ramp
Our dog Lacey lives life at 90 miles an hour. She runs. She jumps. She barks. She barks some more.
So. Much. Barking.
When Lacey practically flipped a switch from her normal bouncing off of satellites self to barely and cautiously walking it meant a quick trip to the vet for x rays.
Lacey has two slipped discs in her back which is common for dachshunds. We left the vet with meds for the pain and inflammation, bed rest for two weeks (good luck with that!) and to eliminate jumping situations as much as possible so her back doesn’t get any worse.
I bought these light weight dog stairs with a washable cover for the living room furniture Lacey is allowed to sit on. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links for your convenience.) They aren’t the prettiest but they were cheap enough to buy a few more to add to what we have so that every chair/sofa in the living room has stairs leading up to it. We think jumping up on a chair that didn't have dog steps is how she hurt herself.
Sitting next to my people is my favorite place to be!
I also scored this exact folding dog ramp on Marketplace for a song because OMG folding dog ramps for cars are spendy! Hopefully we can get Lacey to use the ramp to get in and out of the car. No matter how many times we tell her to wait until we pick her up Lacey will catapult herself into the back seat of the car because waiting is for sissies – apparently.
How to Make a Down and Dirty Small Dog Ramp
Thursday, August 20, 2020
The Benefits of Pet Health Insurance and Friday Favorites Link Party Week 543
Sunday, June 23, 2019
How to Fix a Ripped Screen in a Door or Window the Quick and Easy Way
She watches out the patio door as cars go down the street.
She watches out the patio door as kids play in their yard across the street.
She watches out the patio door as the next door neighbor’s cat struts outside.
And she barks at them.
A lot.
While trying to tear through the screen door.
Save this quick and easy tutorial to your Pinterest boards for later! Share it with your friends!
Not only do I have a big ol’ rip in the screen in my sliding patio door but also the upstairs window screen where Lacey’s good for digging dog nails have ripped it too.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Easy DIY Paw Print Home Sign
Recently the super nice people at Stencil Revolution asked me if I wanted to try their laser cut stencils to make a project – no strings attached. Since there was absolutely no pressure and I wasn’t sure I was going to publish the project because I tend to overload the stencil with too much paint and ruin the project.
I saw the perfect dog related decorative Stencil Revolution stencil for our house, and given the no pressure requirements of the trial, I decided to cross my fingers and Lacey's paws, jump out of my comfort zone, and say yes to their kind offer.
I wanted to bump a sign project with more than just two different colors of paint to make the paw stand out. Think, think, thinkidy, think.... hey!
What about using that old woodburning tool?
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Quick and Easy DIY Non Toxic Carpet Deodorizer
I do.
My poor girl.
I thoroughly cleaned the incidents with my Bissell SpotClean (I really love this thing and don’t knew where I’d be without it! I can’t recommend it enough and believe in it so strongly I’m willing to use my affiliate links to do it!)
My priority was making sure Lacey didn’t dehydrate or get worse than pulling out the big Bissell Powerlifter Carpet Cleaner to deep clean the growing number of disaster recovery zones.
Once Lacey kept food down toward the end of the evening, my plan was to thoroughly shampoo all of the carpeting in the house with the Powerlifter to following day.
In the meantime, the former bio hazards on the carpeting were clean but the house still smelled like puke.
How to Make All Natural Carpet Refresher
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
How to Refill a Car Vent Clip Air Freshener
Yes, I know, I know. I’m fully aware of the questionable synthetic ingredients in plug in air fresheners like Glade, Air Wick, Yankee Candle, and the like but I was driving around in a car that smelled like wet dog and gym socks and it was too cold to clean out the car.
Feel free to yell at me and tell me what a horrible person I am in the comments below if you must.
Monday, May 8, 2017
How to make an Embroidered Dog Poop Bag Dispenser
Being responsible pet parents means we need to carry potty bags to clean up after Lacey when she does her her business outside and on walks.
Being the green minded people that we are, I keep and fill two grocery bag holder for the stray plastic bags that cross my path. I keep the empty grocery bag holder hanging in the kitchen to fill with random bread, frozen vegetable, and the occasional plastic grocery bag when I forget my canvas grocery bags when running a quick errand. When it is full I swap it out with the grocery bag holder I have hanging in the closet by the front door so we can reuse the bags for doggie duty. It isn’t perfect green solution but it works for us.
The big grocery bag dispenser in the closet is too big to take with us on walks. I sewed a small plastic grocery bag holder that attaches to Lacey’s leash to fill with repurposed bags from hall closet holder.
How to Sew a Clip on Dog Waste Bag Holder
Sunday, June 26, 2016
How to Keep Your Dog From Being Scared of Fireworks
Big bangs, sizzles, and firecracker pops in Dog World mean “Panic! Run away from the noise! It is something that will hurt you! Run!”
In Human World, we stand there and stare at gunpowder exploding over our heads and say, “So pretty!” Which probably isn't very smart Human World.
How to Desensitize Your Dog to Fireworks
Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to keep your dog from crying, whining, barking, and freaking out during a fireworks show on the Fourth of July.Tuesday, April 26, 2016
7 Dog Owner Hacks: Number 3 Makes Life So Easy!
Being a rescue dog with a truck load of fear and anxiety issues makes living with Lacey sometimes a little difficult. That’s why I try to make the day to day dog owner stuff as easy as I can as we work with Lacey on her issues. Here are a few of my favorite dog owner tips and tricks.
1. Use two plastic bag dispensers to collect extra plastic bags for doggy duty. Keep the empty disposable bag dispenser in the kitchen to fill with plastic bags. When it is full of plastic bags hang it by the door next to your dog’s leash and put the empty grocery bag holder in the kitchen to fill with empty plastic bags. That way you’ll always have potty where you need them - before you walk out the door with your dog.
Monday, December 14, 2015
How to Make Evergreen Window Swags for Free!
I saved some Amazon Subscribe and Save boxes and wrapped them as Christmas presents and put them in the barren flower beds. We’ll recycle them after the holiday because storage space for holiday decorations is at a premium.

Sunday, November 22, 2015
Star Wars Crafts: Princess Leia Ear Muffs
How to Make Princess Leia Ear Muffs
Friday, October 23, 2015
Renaissance Festival Handmade Craft Shopping Haul
It is also where we got the idea of starting our Christmas gift shopping early and somewhat year round. Years ago a fellow performer proudly declared that he finished all of his Christmas shopping at the faire and was chuffed he was finished in September. Naturally being the good friends that we are, we kidded him about it.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Quick and Easy Boat Cleat Towel Rack
Lacey’s vet has boat cleats on the main desk which allows you to anchor your pet’s leash (pun intended) over the cleat so your hands are free to make payments and sign paperwork. It is quite genius and something I’d totally expect seeing growing up on Lake Erie.
The guest bathroom is taking on a nautical vibe. I like repurposed and reclaimed design elements. So why not organize my bathroom by repurposing dock cleats? Sounds like a plan.
How to Make a Boat Dock Cleat Towel or Coat Rack
Pin this post for later!

Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Homemade Fairy Wing Dog Halloween Costume
Husband and I use dog charity events as fun socialization training to help Lacey work on her fear and anxiety issues (Read more about that on this dog training post on Condo Blues.) Unlike her humans, Lacey isn’t into wearing dog Halloween costumes or clothes (unless it is freezing outside.) We don’t push it because the costume thing is really for the humans, not the dogs.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
What Are Your Favorite Sore Throat and Ear Ache Home Remedies?
I have another ear infection. Well, actually, it is the same ear infection I had two weeks ago. I thought it went away but it got worse instead of better.
I shouldn't be surprised. I spent last Saturday practicing and performing with my high school alumni marching band in a bone chilling cold and drizzling rain. Sunday afternoon I felt a familiar pop! pop! pop! in my ear and couldn't balance during yoga for neither love nor money.
A photo posted by Lisa (@condoblues) on
I'm spending quality time with hot tea with lemon and honey in ol' Snoop dog more often than I'd like. It helps some but most of the time my throat feels like I swallowed a fistful of straight pins. Ouch.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Decorating with Real Pumpkin Topiaries and Mosaics
Doing it is another story.
Carving pumpkins is messy, goopy, and if you do it too early, moldy by the time Halloween rolls around. Besides, if don't carve the pumpkins, we can make fresh pumpkin puree (learn how on my food blog Lazy Budget Chef) and use it to make fantastic food after Halloween. Lacey likes this idea very much.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
How to Build a Rain Barrel Drainage Pad
Or in our case, you end up with a bunch of extra bricks from repairing your vintage brick garden border and want to do something with the lovely, worn, and free reclaimed bricks.
Thanks to two months of never ending rain and me replacing the broken spigot on the rain barrel (read the tutorial here) before the rains came, Husband and I have plenty of water to use for watering our new plantings. Eco Dork that I am, I get positively giddy watering my plants with rain water but I’m not happy with stepping in the mud that sometimes surrounds the rain barrel spigot.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Lawn Fertilizer Made My Dog Sick
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Ant Killer Caution: Ant Pesticides Can Kill Plants Too
Apparently this year’s ant colonies are particularly devious and tenacious because even after following all the steps in my post How to get Rid of Ants in a Pet and Kid Safe Natural Way some of those little jerks found a way back into my house, although not as many as before.
The last straw came when the concrete ants bit me because they though I was standing too close to the pot of chocolate mint they use as a summer party pad on my patio. We’ve been doing our own thing on the patio for years without bothering each other until now. What’s up with that ants? Why won’t you let us use the grill without annoying ant bites?