gratuitous dog pictures + a psa

first of all, i'm so thrilled with all of the positive feedback on my chair makeover! thanks y'all! i really enjoyed doing it and am in love with the final product. this week's life plan is to quit my day job and refinish furniture for a living. yes?

second of all, rebecca recently left a comment inquiring as to whether the dyson vacuum lives up to the hype.

short answer: HAIL YES. long answer: see below. or, you know, skip it and go get one.

i love our two muttdogs, marley and sterling. a lot. i love them so much that i refer to myself as "mommy," frequently engage them in conversation and let them lounge on the furniture.

marley dog enjoys a day on the lake

sterl girl picnics by the mighty mississip

the problem is that marley is in the neighborhood of 90 lbs, sterling 60ish lbs, and both are veritable shed-machines. i could brush them all day with the fuuuurminatoooor and still be pulling out clumps of hair tomorrow. woe unto the guest who wears black pants to my house. here's an example of what my living room looks like after i've been too lazy to vacuum for three days (like, say, today):


thanks vanna sterling. that picture gives you an idea of the muddy paw prints, dirt and other detrius that finds its way inside our house. marley models for the close-up of the fur fiasco:


awesome, right? wrong. enter: dyson dc15 animal vacuum cleaner. it comes with a hefty price tag, i am well aware. but buying a new vacuum every few months because your old one is ruined is also expensive. and this baby gets so much use, it's practically already paid for itself. or something. i don't really understand that expression. kinda like when i get excited about getting something on sale and captain fantastic rolls his eyes and says, "wow, you practically made money on that."

anyway, the dyson takes care of our furry messes lickety split. it even cleans carpets that don't appear to be dirty (not that there are any of those around here...) i swear it sucks every last particle of dust out of our flooring. amazing. it's easy to maneuver too, thanks to the ball design. originally i thought that was just a clever marketing tool, but no, it really is extremely easy to navigate around furniture. and it comes with great attachments that work well for cleaning baseboards, upholstery, etc - even an awesome mini-turbine head that can be used on furniture and stairs. you can turn the spinning brushes off to vacuum hardwood floors, and it's so quiet that you can barely even hear the darn thing. again, amazing. if i only have time to vacuum my tiny house one time in a week, it fills the canister 2-3 times with dust and dog hair. gross? yes. overshare? maybe. but awesome? most certainly.

ARE YOU BORED YET?

i'm not. i love vacuuming. i love my dyson. if i love it so much, why don't i marry it? already taken. sigh. unrequited love.

but seriously, 5 out of 5 stars kids. totally worth the investment.