Owning a Bloodhound

 After writing about what it is like to own a staffie, I thought it would be great to expand this and focus on other breeds as well. SFL rounded up a few other bloggers to tell us about what it is like to own their dog.

 This will be a weekly feature, each week showing a different breed.

 ..............

Hi SFL readers, I’m Kate from a Peony for your Thoughts where I blog about being a newlywed, my puppy, and just life in general.   When Megan asked me to blog about my puppy I said of course, because talking about my adorable puppy is what I do best! 

“Why a Bloodhound?”  It’s probably the single most asked question we get about our pup.  We don’t really have a good answer, other than I love hound dogs (we had a beagle growing up) and how could we resist a face this cute?  

But people do stop to ask what kind of dog Henry is every time we go anywhere.  At first people thought he was a basset hound, we were tempted to tell people that he was but that he just kept getting taller and we didn’t know why! ;)   My other favorite thing to joke is that we’re combing the park for missing people because he’s got his nose to the ground most times when we walk.  

Besides being completely adorable, hounds can definitely be stubborn.   Henry can be really bull-headed once he gets set on something (jumping on the couch – which we don’t allow, trying to steal items off the counter, etc).  But for all his stubbornness he definitely looks to us for direction and wants to please us. 

 So I know we need to just keep at his obedience training, and be persistent.  With a dog who could potentially reach 140lbs we need him to be well-behaved.   Already, at 6 months and 70lbs, he can pull me around when we don’t have him in his Easy Walk harness.  

We’re having a tough time with his teething, he gets crazy at night – we call it his terror hour – and he nips relentlessly.  We’ve tried many different distraction techniques, with not much luck.  It’s just typical mischievous puppy behavior, but he’s a huge puppy so it can be daunting.    We’re also working on him not jumping on us and guests.   But for all his bad puppy habits, he has one of the sweetest personalities.  He is a totally love bug, and a real people “person”.    

Oh, and how could I forget the one characteristic that we didn’t really bank on: SLOBBER!   We have designated drool towels, and he has to be wiped after he drinks or strings of water/drool follow him wherever he goes.  If we’re on a walk I worry that people might think he’s rabid, since he’s foaming at the mouth!  He especially likes to wipe his face on the couch after drinking – it’s lovely.  We did research bloodhounds before we got him, and most things we found said the amount of slobber depended on genetics.  I guess Henry had some slobbery parents!  

We keep joking that a baby will seem easy after this!  At least a baby won’t be trying to eat the couch (we hope)!  But for all his quirks and bratty antics we love this puppy a whole lot. 

..........

Thanks for sharing Kate! Henry seems like such a lovebug!

Would you like to participate?

Drop me an email or comment here.

 

Cape Vidal

This is a bit of a throwback, but back in August, when we were in St Lucia, we also took a drive through the estuary, which includes a game reserve and Cape Vidal, which in a few words is simply amazing.

I just had to share these photos.

We spent most of the day just splashing around in the rock pools, trying to catch little fish, sticking our fingers in anemones {or amenemies as Nemo would say it}, chasing crabs for a photo or two and well, doing a bit of illegal stuff.

Flip found a few mussels on the rocks and decided that he wanted to make us Mussels in White Wine sauce for dinner. I protested by not eating it. What if I got some sort of tummy bug from eating mussels that weren't made {came out of a box} in a restaurant? haha

 

Lastly, I take all my photos myself. And this stunner of a photo above {even if I say so myself} was also taken by me. Unfortunately, on my mom's camera. We have the same brand and get easily confused. She emailed it to me, and this is the size it came in. Pity.

the day I had to walk to work

Mondays are generally blue by nature. It's the first day of the workweek and you are away from your family and friends, pets and cozy house. Usually, it sucks.

But today, my Monday sucked extra hard. I live about six kilometres from my office. Not far in Joburg standards but seriously not close enough to walk, but this morning I had no choice. My cellphone had broken last week, after I accidentally dropped it, but with a force hard enough to crack the screen and make its brains go haywire. Then my simcard started getting rejected by other cellphones, which means that I have been stuck without any phone.

I was planning on getting it fixed this afternoon. Anyway, so as Flip leaves, and my friend/colleague Idele drives off, I finish up for work, gather my last things and head out the door, about five minutes after they left. But my car keys are nowhere to be found.

I finally figure that they are in Flip's car, because I left them there this weekend. I'm stuck.

Finally, I decide that I have to get to work so I started walking. In heels. Wrong move number one.
I then decided that heels are not going to carry me the whole six kays, so eventually started walking barefoot. Wrong move number two. I am now sitting with blisters making it nearly impossible to walk.

Yes, there are millions of people who have to walk to work everyday and do not complain about it. They even have to walk further than I did. But, I'm not used to it. I'm probably a bit pampered in this sense.

What pissed me off the most, is while I'm walking in tears {because my ego was a bit more bruised that my feet} with my shoes in my hand, about 100 cars passed me, not one stopping to find out what the matter was. And I mean, I'm in business attire, not just some random.

Even worse, while walking, some men {would rather like to call them pigs} had the audacity to hoot at me, wave, catcall and almost giving me stares that would, in their minds, make my clothes fall off. They could see that I was in a state, crying and walking with a limp, but would they stop? No!

I stuck out my thumb, like a hitch hiker and still nothing. What is wrong with society? I'm not blowing my own horn, but when I see people struggling next to the road, I stop and hear if I can help, so much so that Flip has practically forbidden me to do it, in fear that something might happen to me.

I still do it though.

At least I do have a kindhearted Samaritan, in the form of Flip. After phoning him from the office, he brought my car and my keys to me and bought me a pair of fluffy slippers, so that I wouldn't have to walk barefoot anymore. Heels were definitely not on my list anymore.

I love my knight in shining armour.

Sunday munch

After a harrowing evening at a beerfest and a whole day of paintball for Flip last week Saturday, neither of us felt like practicing our debuts on Come Dine with Me or Masterchef and decided to head out in search of a proper Sunday lunch, or a carvery.

I suggested a place close to home, but after much resistance from Flip, who dubbed the place a feeding pit, we grabbed the Google machine. "I don't feel like looking like a pig a trough," he said.

I typed in 'Sunday Lunch JHB' and after about five seconds we decided on a place in the CBD of Johannebsurg. "We're going to get raped of hijacked here today," Flip said on the drive, but I reassured him that we would be safe at Arts on Main.

After finding parking and making our way through an eternal maze of little arty shops, we found the holy grail,  The Canteen. Good vibes, good food, good service. But I did feel a little overwhelmed by the smells and the music.

The restaurant is situated in a quad, where you would find a mix of Joburg's finest. There was the I-wear-wayfarers-and-cigar pants-people, the families you would find in health care ads, an old lady who dresses like a hipster and a whole lot of people who love their neutrals.

We sat in the shade of the waiflike olive trees and listened to music from four different corners. We could smell our own food, but at the same time our smelling senses got smacked by the incense from the Ethiopian "coffee shop" a few metres away. I use shop lightly, as it was actually a bunch of crates with pillows on top.

Lunch was followed by another trip through the "hoi-polloi flee market" (Flip's words), where we found upside down herb gardens, beautiful clothing, chilli chocolate and a not-so-nice t shirt.

My first time wasn't prolific, but isn't that what Sundays are about?

A questionaire of sorts

This week has absolutely been a crazy day upon a crazy day, and it doesn't look like it's going to calm down any time in the coming week. It seems that October is the month that every single company in South Africa has something to say, and being a journalist, means that I'm at every single one of their events.

I'm not complaining, I love getting paid for what I do, being a business writer, it's just the getting up early.

Probably one of my biggest pet peeves.

So to take it a step back and just relax, I bring you a little Q&A.

Miss hotness-herself Caley-Jade Rosenberg at Ellie Loves gave these questions

and I am thrilled to answer them!

What area do you live in, and why do you love it?

I live on the border of Bedfordview, in Johannesburg. Not too long ago, I wrote a little post about what I love about living here. The hustle and bustle, but then again, the chilled green spaces. Did you know that Johannesburg is one of the cities with the most trees in the world? There are more trees in certain suburbs than there are in the entire Central Park of New York. 

Now if all this had an ocean, I would be even more impressed with my city.

Which 4 people would you invite to a dinner party, and why?

This is quite a difficult one, because I am a social being and I would love every single person I love at my dinner table. But to be honest, it would probably be a couple of musicians, say John Lennon, Matt Bellamy, Michael Stipe and Thom Yorke. It would have to be in an era where drugs wasn't that taboo, because I would love to get high with John. Can I bring George Harrison too? 

    Holy crap batman! I am obsessed with this man. John Lennon image

Where did you or where do you want to get married?

Man, what is up with these difficult questions. I have a few places in mind, but I'm not too worried about it, because I have two split personalities when it comes to certain things. I would love to have a classy wedding with lobster and expensive champagne, but then I am also crazy about the rustic, bohochic look, an outside weddings of sorts. It's a dilemma and I am only going to start worrying about it when I'm engaged. 

Do you believe in love at first sight?

No not really, I am probably not a romantic person for saying this. But isn't it so much fun to learn more about a person and fall in love with their personalities and become best friends rather than just having an instant physical attraction? Looks will wither over the years, whereas personality will probably get stronger and better! I'm not saying that looks don't count.

In case the guy was Ryan Reynolds, my answer would be yes.

What would you name your son/daughter one day?

Future dreaming, and I can promise you that the boy's name will bring much turmoil between Flip and I. We have talked about it a bit, couples do that. And we have both liked Ruben. But then two of my cousins had boys and both of them got the name. And then someone in my bible study group had a little boy and also named him Ruben. So the name went by the wayside.

I like Markus. It's strong and manly!

And for my girl there is no competition or question about:

Lia.

Where would you like to go on your next holiday, and why?

Mozambique for sure! I'm deadset on going there in December.

   Beaches of Mozambique

.............................

Are there any questions you would like me to answer?

Leave me a comment.

Maybe I'll even do a vlog ;)

Royal Simple Sheep {giveaway}

........................................................................................

Having a full time job didn’t stop husband-and-wife team Rayno & Michelle von Schlicht from Cape Town to dig into their creative flair and start their own business, called Royal Simple Sheep. SFL had a little interview to find out about this inspired duo.

........................................................................................

                                

 Royal huh? Yes, Royal Simple Sheep, Michelle explains. Her maiden name is Schaaf, which means sheep, while Von equals royalty and Schlicht means simple.

The pair are currently only selling their goods through We Heart This and manufacture everything they sell themselves. “Our aim is to distribute our products to sellers all around at different markets. We would love to be at the markets and sell the products ourselves, but we are already constrained with full time jobs,” Michelle added. 

     Royal Simple Sheep pictures c/o their facebook page

Why did you start this business?

We totally did it as a once off thing for a friends market last year and had such a great response that we decided to ride the wave a little longer. My husband has a CNC routing company and the tools to create the products at a more effective price than by normal means. I am a graphic designer working in publishing, but find a means of expression by making things. Also , this being a colab between me and my husband makes it fun for us to do something together.

Originally we tried to create stuff that is functional as well as pretty to look at. We wanted to use bamboo because of its sustainability and tough qualities. 

What was your proudest moment?

Proudest moment was probably at Our Favourite Things market at Gabrielskloof when we got lost of interest and great feedback. 

Michelle concludes with the words of the ethereal Roald Dahl: 

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely"

Guess what? The twosome have been so awesome to host a giveaway on SFL.

You stand a chance of winning this awesome handmade bamboo Toastie chopping board.

Want to enter? It's easy:

How to win:

(only mandatory entries)
*Like Royal Simple Sheep on Facebook. Then leave a comment on this blog post to tell me that you did.
*Like Second Floor Living on Facebook


But wait, there's more:
(make sure to leave a comment for each entry, mkay?)
* Follow Second Floor Living on google friend connect (the thing in the sidebar that says Join This Site, with all the faces underneath)
* Follow SFL on Twitter and leavea comment here to let me know that you did
*Tweet about it and leave a comment here to let me know that you did
* Pin a photo from Royal Simple Sheep to Pinterest (tell me that you have done this)
*Share SFL's facebook post about the giveaway.May the best one win!

Succulents don't suck

I have been noticing that succulents are a growing favourite, both for party favours, and decorations in the home, at weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties and so much more.

These heat-beaters are also the perfect solution for empty pots that might be lying around your house, or that empty spot that you just don't know what to put there. And their thick heavy leaves are easy to upkeep, as they store water. Perfect for those of you who forget to water their plants. Ahem, I'm also guilty of this.

Here are a few inspirational pictures to get those green fingers going. Or if you're planning a wedding.

I think they make lovely centerpieces.

All pictures from my gardening board on Pinterest.

Gorgeous isn't it?

Since I was a small girl, I wanted a real legit staffie, one of my own. It is even on my bucket list.

It started with the mixes.

We had Bobby, a staffie x maltese, who had the personality of a staffie, but the cheekiness of a maltese. Regrettably  the last photo I took of him was shortly after my mom and I shaved his long curly hair, because we thought we would do him a favour in the summer heat.

My brother, whose dog it was, didn't think it funny. He didn't speak to us for quite some time.

Then came Liefie, my first child, a cross between a rottweiler and a staffie. Personality of a staffie, hated children like a rottie. She's still around, very happy, with three legs.

Next came our first legit purebred staffie named Jock.

For the sake of keeping this post fairly short, you can read a bit about all the staffies I've had:

All things Mila

All things Liefie 

{the above posts also includes titbits about my other staffies}

I got a lot of flack from people when I said that I intended on getting a staffie. And I have noticed that they have almost as bad a reputation as pitties, which in my view is wrong. Both are amazing breeds.

But coming back to staffies, which have often been called nanny dogs, I thought I would set the record straight with these observations made not only by owning Mila, but observing the breed as a whole.

Staffies are a breed who:
*will try and apologise if they did something wrong (as shown in this video)
*will sulk for hours if you scold them
*talks for the heck of it
*despite their builky size, think of themselves as lap dogs
*hates to be away from their people
*really loves a couch
*would rather lick you to death than bite you, which makes them the worst guard dog ever
*are happy to spend the whole day on their backs, feet in the air
*will play for hours on end
*loves to cuddle

The end

What is your favourite breed?

What funny things does your dog do?

Let's talk about money, baby

-->

Have you ever had buyer’s remorse? Most of us have, but I take it one degree south of extreme.

Last year, Flip took me to a number of shops to choose a handbag for my birthday. I am very particular when it comes to accessories, so this was the best option. I still use the bag I chose every single day, so it was the right choice.

But the process of choosing a bag was a proper clusterfuck. Tears were shed, serious crocodile tears, because “I want this one, but it is so expensive, I can’t do this to Flip, but now this one is so much cuter and it is cheaper, but what if I find another bag at another shop that I like even more and is even cheaper. Clusterfuck, I tell you.

Do you see my dilemma, and this happens almost every single time I have to make a choice, especially one regarding money.

It is not that the money is the real issue, but it’s what I do with it that bugs the living shit out of me. For example, there is a bonus coming up sometime this year, and I want to buy a DSLR, but then I could actually be buying some nice outfits, or how about that patio set I’m so longing for, or that piece of décor, or how about a holiday (because Canon’s aren’t cheap), and then there’s that treatment I want to get. There are so many things I would like to do, but I dread that every single decision that I will make will be the wrong one and I will regret it in the end.

How do you work through something like this?

I know most people save for one particular thing and then do /buy/eat this and start saving for the next thing, but I’m no good at that.

Credit cards are also out of the question.

As are loans. Debt free and loving it.

What are some of your tips?

Getting baked with Tracy: Crispy wholewheat pizza

 Getting baked with Tracy is a weekly feature on SFL. Unless otherwise stated, all words and pictures are by Tracy.

-------------------------------------------------------

I am having one of my health kicks again and miss my favourite food – Pizza! The smell of a hot crispy pizza base adorned with a tangy tomato sauce, juicy nibbles and melted cheese is hard for most to refuse. So I searched for a whole wheat pizza dough recipe and found this beauty on Allrecipes.com. If my waist line allowed, I would eat this heavenly food always.

This pizza dough recipe is really easy to prepare, but be warned it is not a quick process. It is best to leave this recipe for the weekend or prepare the dough the night before; if you are like me and turn into a monster when you are hungry. 

Equipment

Large mixing bowl

Measuring jug

Cutting board

Rolling pin

Pizza pan or baking sheet

Ingredients

1 teaspoon white sugar

1½ cups warm water (45 ̊C)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

1½ cups all-purpose flour

 Tracy apologises for the quality of the photos. Her camera has broken.

-->

For the pizza dough

Dissolve sugar in the warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the top of the water and allow it to stand for 10 minutes. The yeast should start to froth.

Stir in the olive oil and salt, followed by whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour until the dough forms a moist ball. Flour a cutting board with the remainder of the all-purpose flour. Tip dough on floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until all the flour has been incorporated. Oil a bowl with some olive oil and place dough inside. Allow the dough to rise for an hour. It should double in size.

Tip dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board. For a thin crust, cut the dough into two pieces. For a thick crust, leave the dough as is. Form a tight ball and then allow to rise for 45 minutes. Dough should again double in size.

Preheat the oven to 220 ̊C. Roll out the dough using a rolling pin until it cannot stretch any further. Place on a baking sheet or a pizza pan. Stretch the dough out to the shape of your pan. Top the pizza with whatever your heart desires. I stuck to my healthy ways and topped mine with a tomato sauce (a reduced can of tomatoes, Italian if possible) thinly sliced precooked baby marrow, pitted Calamata olives and feta.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough, until the pizza dough is golden and crispy around the edges and your cheese is melted. 

Et voila! Enjoy the pizza people!

----------------------------------

PS: Let us know if you have tried any of the recipes in the series or send as your recipes if there is something you would like us to try!

Festing it up

This weekend was the conclusion of a big week-long Afrikaans festival that takes place every year in my varsity town, Potchefstroom. It is the Aardklop National Arts Festival {the beat of the earth} and it’s a cultural mix of onstage theatre productions, good bands and up-and-coming singers {and by this I mean crappy, and no one has ever heard of them}, boozeflies, arts & crafts and overall good times!

  

The perfect ingredients for a festival includes the following: some alcohol, some festival food, some people who are already so drunk out of their minds that they start doing really weird things, good friends, good music {well, most of the time}, funny people and oh, did I mention alcohol?

There were the really normal people.

{normal at this time of day perhaps}

And then came the not-so-normals.

The story behind exhibit number one, or what we thought, is that this guy, probably about 19 years old, scored the night before and decided to name and shame by stealing the girl’s undies and wearing it as a trophy.

 

Exhibit number two I believe were cousin It’s punk daughters 

And my favourite story of the day, exhibit number three. It was his bachelor’s party {classy mate}. His good friends fed him gallons of beer, causing him to eventually pass out. At some stage I poured a bottle of ice cold water over him, to wake him. That didn’t help.

Tough guy here then decided to vomit. And all his good friends proceeded to leave him there. In his own vomit for the rest of the night. We found his friend’s throughout the evening, at every venue we went to, but he wasn’t there. I suppose his very good friends left him there and only went to fetch him the next morning.

Great friends.

Goals are dreams with deadlines

October is my favourite month of all time. To me it symbolises the start of summer, it bears the scents of rain, freshly cut grass and flowers. Personally, it resembles the month of love, growth and good times. Looking back, to October a year ago, I can see how I have grown (perhaps in girth as well), but emotionally and spiritually I have changed quite a lot.

image by Mallorie Owens. words added by me

In terms of my blogging, I am happy to report that this has changed, quite a lot, too:

Last October I was:
- giving people something to baa about
- using {some bad} quality pictures
- getting almost no comments
- getting angry at the people running our country, but pleaded that people not give up on their passion
- at the sea
- looking at cars

This October I am:
- planning on planting my agupanthii
- secretly hoping (and dropping hints as subtle as the Hiroshima/Nagasaki atom bombs) that my life will change in some big ways
- planning on hacking out the tar that surrounds our house & planting some grass
- taking my gymming and dieting super seriously. December is only two months away
- getting as much oustide time as possible
- breaking away for a few weekends, ie roadtripping
- just going to be a nicer, more understanding person

Next October I hope to:
- to be married {or at least be putting the finishing touches on wedding planning}
- to have a full lush garden
- to have the house exterior painted
- have longer hair
- have an awesome body

The idea of this blog sprouted from the genius mind of this lady

What are some of your goals for the month?

Friday Fancies: Monotone

This week's Friday Fancies theme was monotone, and I decided to interpret the theme for a nice summer's day. Perhaps a fancy champagne breakfast or a lazy afternoon lunch.

My starting point for this outfit was the breezy and flowy sheer Colette Sleeveless top from Otte.

I found the picture on pinterest.

And then I remembered these gorgeous Sissy Boy pumps I have been drooling over.

These are available from 36 boutiques.

Gorgeous aren't they?

Finally, and because I can't go out in public with just shoes and a top, I decided on 

these super lovely Levi's Demi Curve skinny leg jeans,

also from 36 boutiques.

What do you think?

Hit or miss?

#instadam

I took some pics with my phone at the Rietvlei dam and thought they were just to nice not to share.

{follow me on instagram @waitingformeg}

                                the dam                                                                 smoke on the water?

                      sticks and stones                                                              moss and tree

                             me                                                                                    my lubb

                                   sunset                                                                my mila - just for kicks

A body of water

There is something about water that just attracts me, whether it be the ocean, a small little pond close to your home or in this case, the Rietvlei dam, just outside Pretoria. Just don't try and get me in our own pool at home. The temperature of that thing just isn't doing it for me. I swear that it would make the Arctic ocean feel like a sauna bath.

Anyway, the Rietvlei is the perfect escape from the city. It's situated almost right next to a highway and a suburb, and you couldn't even hear a single car. It was serene and lovely! Summer isn't even here yet, but I think this would be a summer favourite.

It's the absolute serenity of water, the knowledge that you are loved, the good weather, the wind blowing slightly, just enough to cool you off, that makes one appreciate life and makes one thankful for what you have.

I am thankful for my health today. I am thankful for having a roof over my head. 

For having food, friends and Flip. 

What are you thankful for?