342 : kallie

Just about a year ago, as I was pulling into my usual parking spot at the studio, I thought I saw a cat by a storage unit. I got out of my car and went to check it out, and sure enough, a scared, skin and bones kitty ran to hide. A few minutes later Monique got to the studio, and we went to Petco to grab some food. The poor little thing was starving. As she was eating, I grabbed her and brought her into the office. She had been neglected for so long, I couldn't just leave her outside to die.

After tons and tons of calls to try and find someone that would take her, it was mentioned that a client/friend, Lenore, volunteered at an animal rescue, Much Love. She told us to take the cat to the closest shelter, and that she'd keep in contact with them to get updates on the cat. Three days later, the cat was red-listed to be put to sleep. She had chronic gingevitis and stomatitis – due to prolonged deprivation – and needed several teeth extracted. She also developed pneumonia because she had been outside for so long, and they believed that she was depressed. Luckily, Lenore and Much Love decided to step in and rescue the kitty, believing that she could be saved with some medical attention and TLC.

Today the cat, (which Much Love named Kallie (in honor of yours truly)) is now happy and healthy in a forever home. Knowing I helped save a little feline life makes me happy beyond words.

Oh, and If you're feeling a little generous this holiday season, Much Love is a great organization to help out.

202 : hamsters

I have a weird desire to get a hamster just so I can watch it roll around on the floor in it's little ball. So when the bf and I were in Target tonight, and I saw these cute stickers, I knew I HAD to get them. And since they made me smile, the bf got them for me. The balls are actually raised plastic, so the little hamsters move around as you move the stickers. So cute.

192 : ducks/geese

Back in May the bf and I took the monster for a stroll around the lake. It was such a beautiful day and I was more than a little happy to see that there were TONS of ducks hanging out by the water. There is something about ducks that just puts a smile on my face. Maybe it's their "quacks", or their little waddling bodies, or maybe it's their webbed feet. Whatever it is, they just make me happy.

And one of my monster watching the ducks because he's just so darn cute :)

150 : piper

As mentioned, the stray kittens seemed to flock to us. A year ago today, Monique found this adorable little girl, whom she later named Piper. She was our "office kitty" for a few weeks before she found a home, and boy did I fall in love. She'd lounge on my keyboard, or hang out under my computer screen, and turn to putty when I'd rub her little sides. Such a cutie.

132 : the new clan

We're sorry to report that our dear little Lulu went to fish heaven earlier this week.

That being said, we couldn't just let that big ol' aquarium of ours sit empty, now could we? So what did we do today, you ask?

Yup, we now have 4 new members of our designhappy team.

117 : olive garden

At the studio we have lunch together nearly every single day. Lately we've been heading over to the Olive Garden on Thursdays for soup, salad & breadsticks. Yum! It's always the same order but thats what we seem to do with the restaurants we go to. If we went downstairs to Giorgio's, they know what order to put in even before we say hello. At Creme de la Crepe, we always get the same crepes.

For Thursday lunches it's now Zuppa Toscanna, breadsticks and salad every time. We are creatures of habit! It helps that the location near us comes along with its own entertainment too. Just outside is a small pond with loads of ducks. We have yet to steal some breadsticks and head over to the pond for feeding time, but we will soon. And today we had another little visitor during lunch when we ended up face to face with a squirrel that happened to mozy on up to the window sill next to our booth mid-meal. Too cute.

82 : zoe

In 2008 stray cats seemed to gravitate towards us. In one year, we either tamed, rescued, or found homes for 6 cats...crazy but true.

One day in my grandma's backyard, three little kittens emerged. I got the lovely job of taming them. Lucky me. Two of them were incredibly sweet and found homes quickly. The third? Not so much. I couldn't walk by her without getting hissed at, and she'd try to bite me whenever I tried to give her food or water. Not to mentioned she'd cry non-stop, day and night. One night we left her on our enclosed porch in her carrier (with food, water, a litterbox and blankets) with a towel over her. The next morning we discovered someone came on the porch and either took her, or let her out.

A week later she was at the back door hungry. She still wanted nothing to do with me. But the plate of food in the house was too much for her to bare, and when she came in the house, she was caught.

After 3 weeks at home, she was brought to the office. For the first week, she still wanted nothing to do with either of us. If you'd look at her, she'd run. We left her there over the weekend, going to check on her periodically.

Monday morning we were in for a shock. She suddenly wanted to be pet and loved. Umm...wasn't this the cat that tried to bite my hand off two days ago? Yup. Completely transformed. She'd sleep on my desk and want to cuddle non-stop. She was the only one we had long enough to actually name...zoe.

 

 
Far too soon, the day came that we needed to find her a home. The man that adopted one of her sisters, took her as well. It was one sad day for me. I still miss that little girl like crazy. Who would have thought?

She even helped with projects...

And one of her sister (which we didn't name) because she's just so darn cute.

73 : puppies

Puppies make us happy. How many people don't smile when they see a puppy? Seriously.

Today being National Puppy Day, we thought we'd once again share a photo of the monster... A little over 3 years ago I saw this face on Recycler.com and fell in love.

Cutest. Thing. Ever.

68 : gizzy cuddles

We know what you're thinking...we already did the 4 pound firecracker as our post for Day 01... And you're right. But he's so flipping cute, plus we needed to show just how cuddly he actually is. Luckily the camera phone was able to capture him and all his cuteness.

How could you not love this cute little face?

It's actually amazing we get any work done at all.

Oh how I heart you my little guy. <3

67 : clean fish tank

When we first got our office in 2007, one thing we knew we wanted to have was fish. Being the designers we are, we didn't want a standard old bowl. So we tried various glass vases, until we discovered that if we really wanted goldfish, we'd need an aquarium.

So we scoured the internet and finally found the mini biOrb aquarium. It's super modern and looks great sitting centered on the edge of our desks.

After purchasing 3 goldfish, we learned just how dirty they actually are (they're called "pigs of the water"... harsh?). We also learned the aquarium needs cleaning pretty often.

With the tank in plain site for us and visitors, there's nothing like having a freshly cleaned, crystal clear tank. Even if we have been guilty of waiting...a bit too long to clean it (Monique told the guy at the fish store that we clean it when it gets "funky"... I'm surprised they didn't kick us out on the spot).

But hey, we still have Lulu, our lone goldfish, alive and well for almost 2 years!

42 : goats

There's just something about goats that make us happy. Luckily for us, they aren't just reserved for petting zoos and pumpkin patches anymore. In fact, their amazing ability to eat anything makes them incredibly useful to builders and contractors.

Almost every day on my way to work I see these guys grazing in a huge section of empty land. With their mouths to the ground, they're busy clearing away the vegetation for whatever the contractors have in store for the space.

Today the herd was on the move and could be found right at the fence, within petting distance :)

15 : baby lizards

Ok, this may sound slightly strange, but baby lizards make us happy. Even though, across the street we have the main library and a mall, everywhere surrounding the area is pretty rural. Hey, there are horse stables and people that walk a goat (on a leash) not too far away. Right in back of our office building is a large grassy hill and from that hill come a bunch of critters. We are constantly running into little lizards in the parking lot. But we were completely surprised when we found this little office stowaway hanging out on our curtains one day...he obviously crawled in under the door. This little guy let Jen pick him up and posed for a photoshoot before we put him back outside. So cute!

We've had some not so welcome visitors too...lots of spiders like to find their way in. Just last week we found a HUGE black widow. My scream, when it popped up just by our desks probably could have been heard for miles.

04 : sea monkeys

For years I have wanted Sea Monkeys. When I was young, I knocked mine over and never got to actually see them hatch. So a few weeks ago I decided to go on a hunt to find some. It was just after Christmas so it was a little more challenging than expected. Low-and-behold, Aaah's had them. We even got a choice: classic red or a snazzy purple.

We're going on 2 weeks now, and currently have 5 tiny little things...let's hope we have better luck with Sea Monkeys, than we do with plants.

01 : the monster

Our list really couldn't start out with anything but our frequent office visitor & the cuddliest boy you'll ever meet...gizmo.

Don't let the cute face & chicken hat fool you...his nickname isn't "monster" for nothing. If you come by the office and your pockets happen to be full of Pup-Peroni, you'll have a friend for life.