Living Pretty With Your Pets: Heels and A Hammer
It’s another Living Pretty with Your Pets Friday and I have a really awesome story today again with many adorable furry kiddos. I couldn’t wait to share talented Samantha’s pet story. And not only her pet story but also her incredible talent. I have to pick my jaw off the floor every time I visit her blog. She’s an incredible furniture designer and I love to see her work. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do.
Hi Guys! First, I want to say thank you to Julia for asking me to be a part of this awesome series. I’m a huge fan. Second, I want to apologize to Julia for making this simple blog request into a novel about my fur babies. I might be obsessed…Anyway, Hello! I’m Samantha, and I am a furniture designer. You can catch me on my blog Heels and A Hammer talking about all things furniture and design OR shop my designs at AE Outdoor, but this post isn’t about me. It’s about my little menagerie and how they insert themselves into my designer life.
I guess the easiest introduction is to start with who came first: Hershey.
With everything this cat put me through in the first few years of having her, I’m surprised I took on any more…much less four! I adopted Hershey from the humane society in Savannah GA when I was a junior in college against my parent’s better judgment. LOL She was a kitten and SO ADORABLE! Admittedly I am more of a dog lover than cat, but she became my doggie-fill-in: playing fetch and greeting me at the door with meows and cuddles every time I come home.
As you can see she gets into everything and was a total terror with anything breakable when she was young. She loved pushing picture frames and vases off of shelves and watching them break. I did not find it as amusing as she did.
Luckily that tapered off as she got older, but she is still into everything. She helps with decorating and even comes to work with me on occasion. She rides loose in the car with her harness and leash and mainly lies on my desk next to me while I work.
About a year after I brought Hershey home, Bailey came into my life.
Yes, I promise this is a different cat. They look so much alike (one of the reasons I kept her) We found B, her nickname, in a grocery store parking lot in Savannah. Her back leg had been severed and she was pitiful and adorable. With some guidance from the vet my friends and I took her home and nursed her back to health. We bonded instantly and seeing how much she looked like Hershey, I obviously fell in love with her cross-eyed little face.
She’s missing her back leg but she gets around just fine. She’s very tiny, about 7lbs. We assumed she was a kitten when we found her but she never grew so we joke that she is probably around 150 years old, moving from family to family over the decades.
She’s very timid with strangers but loves the people she knows. She’s a major cuddler, whether you want to cuddle or not. She’s very stealthy, especially for a 3-legged animal; she will climb into your lap without you even realizing it!
Even with all that I have done for her, Bailey still dropped me like a clingy ex-girlfriend when Brian (my now husband) moved in. She adores him and acts like I don’t exist. I’m pretty pissed about it. Brian and I lived together for about a year with just us and the kitties, and we felt pretty content with that.
Then I met Tucker. (my pride and joy…sshhhh don’t tell the others!)
Everyone thought I was crazy when they saw him. Stereotypically, he was not the cutest puppy. But I saw through that and we had an instant bond and I knew he would grow up to be the handsome boy he is today.
Tucker, or TT as we call him, is a labradoodle who is now 8 years old. We adopted Tucker before the whole ‘labradoodle craze’ and I didn’t really know what one was at the time, I just knew I loved that little face.
He never leaves my side and he is definitely a mamma’s boy. He doesn’t mind posing for all my photos as long as he gets lovin’ while we do it.
He goes to my workshop with me and likes to lie in the sawdust while I work. As long as he’s near me he’s happy. I even have a section on my blog where Tucker posts about my projects from his perspective. (I know, I just took it too far)
Tucker is definitely our baby and is a handful all in himself, but being the gluttons for punishment that we are, Brian and I decided to add one more to the mix after about 3 years.
Meet Phoebe.
Phoebe was two and a half when we met her. We adopted her from the Great Dane Rescue in NC. And no, she’s not a dane. She’s a German or Australian shepherd mixed with a golden retriever, now 6 years old.
She took to us right away and loved the introduction of furniture into her life. This was her the first night we brought her home.
She’s eerily calm and so good with our cats. She and Bailey, B and Phe as we call them, love to cuddle. I think they know each other had a rough life before coming home with us. Now they enjoy the finer things LOL
It took a while, but Tucker and Phoebe bonded. Tucker still likes to think he is an only child, but he loves her.
They both come to work with me (at the office and my workshop) and were even asked to be on my feature for HGTV.
You can see my furry babies run my life, but they make it fun and keep me on my toes! All of my design decisions are based around them and what they may or may not destroy. I put products to the test for sure and share that on my blog from time to time. Feel free to pop over and see more of them as I talk through my life as a furniture designer and weekend worrier.
Again, thank you Julia for asking me to be a part of this awesome series, I’m honored!
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Oh my gosh I don’t even know what to say right? I love them all so much and they are clearly loved so much. What a wonderful story. Makes me so so happy and I now want Samantha to be my best friend forever.
Check this out, I love this dresser makeover of hers:
You also must take a look at her outdoor furniture by clicking HERE:
Don’t forget to pay Samantha a visit by clicking HERE (check her projects tab) and YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO (click HERE). She mentioned it above and it’s truly a must see. I promise.
Tschüß
(Youleeya)
I love this series, and this is another great feature! I can’t believe she has 4 pets in her house! I have 2 dogs and it’s craziness. The dog hair tumbleweeds can get intense. haha And I LOVE that dresser makeover!
wow 4 pets! 2 cats and 2 dogs. insane! they’re all cuties!!!!! i love the one of her and tucker up close! tucker is so human!
Oh Samamtha, I could hug you for taking the poor injured Bailey in. You have a very good heart. All your sweet fur babies are lucky to have such a wonderful home. I enjoyed reading your story and seeing some of your beautiful furniture creations.
Thank you for introducing Samantha and her pets, Julia!
I want to hug her too 🙂
What a clever and stylish idea! I foster Pugs which overheat quickly, yet they love lounging in the sun, this would be ideal for them!
Oh that would be perfect for you. I agree! Good luck
What a great series! I always look forward to seeing it. My dog, Ozzie, was diagnosed with a slow growing cancer (chronic lymphatic leukemia) a year ago. He loves to be with me in the garden but often can’t take the heat so the quick shade pet canopy would be perfect for him and easy for me to move around the garden! I have my fingers crossed to win it!
Oh your poor dogs, that would be so great for him. Good luck!
Love this series too! I have 4 inside cats. 3 of which showed up under my front porch each about a year apart. As typical, it starts with me needing to “at least feed and water” the poor little kitty Then my heart falls in love,,,,,I’ve had a recent addition to the family. A young tomcat showed up on the front porch with his arm badly torn. A weekend at the vet, a week safely recuperating in my barn, and he is my outside boy that has a cat door into the barn which is locked every night so he is safe. I adore all my furry babies and so enjoy reading about others that do too.
Oh my goodness I love this crew! Tucker’s sweet face makes me miss Sunny but they are all SO adorable and love Samantha too!
Oh bless your clearly enormous heart, with taking in all of these precious furry ones! They are indeed lucky, living the high life – and indeed you and hubby are lucky too.
As a fellow artist (altho a different medium), I just love your creations, wow.
Yes she is awesome and talented.
that dresser is AMAZING! and love all the pets, but i am partial to the pups!
Oh my goodness, love the heartwarming story and they couldn’t be any cuter!! What a sweetheart Samantha is!!
I grew up with 4 pets, same combo, 2 cats 2 dogs! Lots of fun,vanimals are such a great part of a family. Your Phoebe sounds like my Kona. I rescued Kona from a golden retriever rescue. Her mom was full golden, and we are guessing she is also part shepard. Her face looks similar to Phoebe, but she’s brindle with a black muzzle 🙂
All your fur-angels are precious. You are definitely a girl after my own heart. They know how much they are loved and don’t they ask for so little in return? I can’t believe how much Hershey and Bailey look alike. Tucker is adorable and his coloring is gorgeous and so unique. Phoebe has the sweetest little face. Thank you for sharing these precious angels with us.
Oh my gosh, I almost missed this great post. I love all of Samantha’s babies and for sure she is my kind of blogger. I too have a bunch of fur babies. 5 fur pups (the two youngest will be 5 MONTHIS this coming 25th of May……. and then there are the kitty kats…… four of those…. and please someone else take the next few that come crying to my door?
And I am a little late in reading, but must go to Samantha’s blog very soon.