DIY: Puppy Peanut Butter Rounds- A Great Gift for Our Furry Friends

Ever seen those booths at the mall or even at the Farmer's Market that sell gourmet pet treats? Well, being inspired by what I had seen and knowing that Bailey loved them, I decided to make some of my own to save some moolah and enjoy knowing that I had made something. I love that feeling.... Anyways, these were SUPER easy and would make a great holiday gift for our furry friends! We have lots of neighbors since we live in an apartment complex and many of them have dogs.  Pop a few of these in a cute paper sack with a little note written on the outside and these will be a much-loved gift. 

These are Peanut Butter Rounds and Bailey can't get enough. The best is that they are healthy for puppies with no preservatives (at least in my ingredients), no fake additives, and no yuckiness that might be bad for pups.

Peanut Butter Puppy Rounds

1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup water

Simply mix together the ingredients.
I mixed them in our super duper KitchenAid mixer. Can't beat it.


Then separate the dough into small balls.
The original recipe called for 1 1/2 inch balls.
I made mine smaller because Bailey is a small.

Then flatten the balls with a fork (or your hand/finger like me) and
place on cookie sheet.


Then bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 mins or until golden brown. *


*Note: I have dark baking pans so I baked mine at 315 degrees for 10 mins. My treats weren't golden brown, but they were done all the way through and Bailey didn't seem to complain.


This is Bailey's serious face. Her "I will do whatever tricks you want me to even the ones I won't normally do just to have that treat in your hand" face, which means she LOVES them. Let me know if your pup does!

**Note**  This makes a rather large batch and we don't give Bailey tons of treats. (She's little so maybe one or two a day).  We, in error, did not store the treats in the fridge and some of them started to get a bit moldy within a week and a half or two so I suggest cutting the recipe in half and/or store the ones you aren't using soon in the fridge to help them last longer.  


Enjoy! 

Sustainable Gift Wrap Ideas

If you haven't noticed already, the holidays can produce A LOT of waste which is a big no no when it comes to living consciously and sustainable.  

Not so good for the environment = not so good for us.  

In our apartment, we have done about half online shopping- half in stores.  The extra boxes that we receive from online purchases go into packing the other gifts.  We reuse EVERYTHING  or at least try to and recycle everything we can't use.  Take this box for example, it does not contain tea, but a special surprise.

This year, I wrapped my gifts in traditional wrapping paper for the most part.  While this can be used and recycled, next year and for the holidays and special occasions in between, I'm going to try out some more sustainable methods of wrap like using reusable grocery bags and newspaper (which I've used in the past).

Simple Organic has fabulous ideas that are so cute, while being sustainable and cheap!

Click here to check it out!

And.... Calamity Wilde Mercantile had some great ideas here.

An Easy DIY Gift for Pups!

If you're looking for a little treat for your pup for Christmas or maybe looking to wrap something up for the neighbor's cute dog this holiday season consider making this chew rope which is SUPER easy and cheap.

Supplies: scissors and fleece material

 

step one 

Cut 3 strips of your fleece to a desired length.  They by no means have to be perfect as you can see in the picture.

For small dogs, I suggest about an 1.5" wide, 9-12" long. Bigger for bigger dogs.

 

step two

Tie a knot in one end.

 

step three

Braid the rest and tie a knot to finish.

This is so easy and dogs love them, especially smaller ones like Bailey (miniature schnauzers).  Fleece is easy to come by on the cheap too.  I got this fleece at the thrift store in plain fabric form, but you might have an old worn out fleece blanket lying around you can upcycle or find one at the thrift store.  Fleece of some pattern is also usually always on sale at arts and crafts stores.  

Super Easy and Cheap Christmas Decor DIY

Andrew and I were gifted a very large and very pretty vase for our wedding.  I think it's beautiful, but I wasn't sure how to decorate with it for Christmas until... I went on a walk with Bailey one day and was inspired.  So here's a very easy and cheap decor DIY for Christmas that is very easily customizable to your tastes and needs.

Step 1
First things first, gather your supplies.  You will need branches that fit your space.  Mine are about 2.5 feet tall. (yeah BIG vase)  You want your branches to be DRY, clean, and branchy.... with lots of little branches shooting off everywhere to create interest and movement. 

I found mine by just walking around outside.  You really shouldn't have to cut them off a tree so just keep looking so you can keep our trees intact. 

Step 2

Gather some ornaments, bows, ribbons, candy canes, lights, etc to decorate your tree. I grabbed some simple glass ornaments I got at the thrift store.

Step 3
Because I liked my branches the way they were, I skipped this step, but if you want, you can paint your branches to compliment your decor.  Gold, silver, etc.

Step 4

Arrange your branches however you want in your vase.

 

Step 5

Decorate till your heart is content.  For me, simple was better :)