I love loud colors, can you tell?

Here’s Roxie’s new bandanna, with some Dash of East placemats.

And here is Aubie’s more masculine bandanna.

Check it out! New doggy bandannas and doggy supply pouch, we’re ready for the beach!

I heart fabric is a post from: Melissa Crane

1. Mario & Friends Italian stone coasters: How awesome are these? Makes me yearn for a Nintendo. I love how these coasters are both fun and playful, but made out of Italian stone so they also have a sense of refinement.

2. Miss Robot keychain: If you know me, you know that I’m a sucker for cute little creatures.  And this little robot is adorable!

3. Peacock Feathers Silk Brocade Clutch Purse: If you notice the colors and background graphics on my website, it should be no surprise that I feel in instant product lust with this clutch.

4. Custom Monogram Mugs: What designer doesn’t love coffee? Or rather, can live without coffee? HA! I will admit, I am completely addicted to coffee… lattes, specifically. And why not enjoy your coffee in a stylish mug? I think, yes.

5. 50s Mid Century Modern Slipper Chair: This chair just oozes with fabulousness. A tad out of my price range, but c’mon… it’s beautiful!

6. Needle Felted Brown Owl: This little guy just made me squeal in delight, so of course he had to be included.

Things I love Thursday is a post from: Melissa Crane

See? Major nerd. So what business do I have writing a book?

Well, the thing is… even since I started my food blog, Dash of East, I’ve realized that I really enjoy writing and telling stories.  It’s been a great creative outlet.

I’ve never considered myself to be a language arts type of person.  But as I reminisced about my childhood school days, I remembered one time when I was the only person in my 6th grade English class who got a 100 on an instructional essay assignment.

My subject: How to Give Your Cat a Bath.

After attending Hollis Gillespie’s Food Writing: Eat, Drink & Get Published! writing workshop back in June, the idea of actually writing a book stuck with me.

I’ve been working on some ideas and I believe one has stuck.  So, now I’m in the process of outlining each chapter in the book. Excited to see where this will go!

Do I Have What It Takes? is a post from: Melissa Crane

The kids were super cute, and some of them had pretty impressive tennis skills!  After a couple hours of play, Melanie Oudin – Marietta, GA native and world class tennis star, dropped by to sign some autographs, play a little tennis with the kids, and offer some words of wisdom.

Lil’ ol’ me is going to put together four teams in the spring and dotdot interactive is going to coach one of those teams.  I’m so excited!  After my 8 year hiatus from tennis (played four hard-core years in high school), I think it may be time to join the tennis community once again!

Melanie Oudin hangs with the kids is a post from: Melissa Crane

This is Aubie (formerly Pudge), an adorable 6 month old Collie/Spaniel mix. We found this cutie pie at the Forsyth County Humane Society.

He was a little timid and shy when we met him at the humane society, likely from being bullied by other dogs since he’s a submissive one. But now, after being at home with us for just over one day, he’s definitely acting like a puppy. He jumps up into our bed in the morning to give us puppy kisses, wrestles with his big sister Roxie and wants to chew on everything.

Hi, I’m Aubie is a post from: Melissa Crane

But with the prospect of starting a family on our distant horizon, we decided to come up with a sort of “bucket list” of things that we want to do before children arrive in our little family. We realize that a lot of these things are still possible after having kids, but it would just be easier to do before.

1.  go back to Hawaii, specifically the island of Kauai
2.  skydiving
3.  scuba dive to a large ship wreck
4.  own a house
5.  dog sledding in the Canadian Rockies
6.  go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
7.  swim with dolphins

8.  ride in a hot air balloon
9.  rent a sports car and drive the Autobahn
10.  go biking on the Great Wall of China
11.  go win tasting in Napa Valley
12.  volunteer abroad for a month
13.  kiss the Blarney Stone
14.  go on a safari in Africa
15.  go horseback riding on the beach

16.  hike the Grand Canyon
17.  go skiing in Colorado
18.  write a book – even if it’s never published
19.  walk on a glacier
20.  compete in a Pro-Am ballroom competition
21.  learn to cook gourmet meals
22.  train and run in a marathon
23.  own a sports car
24.  go on a cross-country road trip
25.  grow the company to a point where neither one of us has to go to work

What’s on your list?

25 Things To Do Before We Start A Family is a post from: Melissa Crane

We stayed at a local Bed & Breakfast near the Volcanos National Park – My Island Bed and Breakfast Inn.  This was my first stay at a bed and breakfast, and it was pretty great!  The rooms were quaint and clean, and a decent place to stay for an evening.  The breakfast though, was amazing.  They made all of their own bread and jams, and the fruit was delish.

Outside the My Island Bed and Breakfast Inn, highly recommend this place if you’re going to be staying in the area

Delicious breakfast!

We took a hike on the Kilauea Iki Trail to start off with.  The Kilauea Iki Trail started in the rain forest on the crater’s rim. The trail then descended through the forest to the crater floor.  We then crossed crater floor, some parts of it still steaming.  The end was a fairly challenging hike up back up to the crater’s rim.   The whole hike took about 2.5 hours and we were pooped at the end!  It was definitely worth it though, we got to hike on volcanic rock!

At the top of the volcano crater

Now, on to the best part of our visit to Volcano.  The lava viewing at dusk.  The lava flow and direction will change so find the most current lava information here.  When going to the lava viewing, the best thing to do is to arrive right before sunset and stay till after the sun has set.  That way you’ll get to see the lava in all lights, it’s amazing.  Make sure to bring the following:
- comfortable hiking shoes because there will be a .75 mile (or so) hike to the viewing area from the parking lot.
- a flashlight – it will be pitch dark if you stay after the sun has set
- camera/camcorder
- optional: light dinner – sandwiches, etc.  you may be out there for a couple of hours so a snack may come in handy.

Hiking to the lava viewing area

Volcano, HI is a post from: Melissa Crane

Surprisingly since I grew up in rural Southwest Virginia and currently reside in Georgia!

This was our first adventure activity on Oahu.  We decided to do the ATV tour at Kualoa Ranch, on the east coast of Oahu.  Kauloa Ranch is famous for being a location where many movies and television shows are filmed, including Jurassic Park, Lost, 50 First Dates, Godzilla, Pearl Harbor, and many others. Once you witness the beauty of the landscape here, it’s easy to see why so many films are shot on location here.

We were lucky enough to have one of our guides capture some video footage of the last part of the tour, enjoy!

Kualoa Ranch: ATV Tour is a post from: Melissa Crane