Living Pretty With Your Pets: Charming Zebra
Today I want to introduce you to a blog that I have been reading for a pretty long time now. I’m talking about the funny and talented Gina from the Charming Zebra. I can’t remember how I found her blog but I think it was because I loved (and still love) her gorgeous blue and white thrifted chairs that she has by the fireplace. And of course the occasional cute cat photo made me completely fall in love with her blog. I’m saying cat photo because I didn’t really see her pup ever. I’m delighted to see her cute fuzzy face in this post though.
Hello Everyone, this is Gina from Charming Zebra! I’m a big fan of Julia’s blog and absolutely love her stylish design. I am just thrilled to be able to introduce my pets to you today. I refer to them as pets, but who am I kidding? They’re more like furry children who never fuss or complain and are always overjoyed to see me! About seven years ago, our family brought home a sweet little puppy from the animal shelter. We named her Bella. Getting a dog had been years in the making and when my husband and I finally agreed to having a new canine join our family, the kids were ecstatic. I originally planned on bringing home an older dog, but once we saw that precious pup, we knew she was meant for us.
Bella is a mixed breed, who obviously has a lot of schnauzer in her. When she was a puppy, every time we went out with her, people would stop us and remark how incredibly cute she was. She prances when she walks and is generally quite friendly so strangers were quite drawn to her. The funny thing about Bella, though is that she detests having her photo taken. If the camera is in the vicinity of my hand, she will either turn her face away or get up and leave. Consequently, I don’t have many pictures of her. I’m glad we decided to bring home Bella when the kids were young. They were so anxious to play and run around the house with her as a puppy. Now that she (and they) are a little older, Bella prefers long walks instead. She used to bark at everything, too. She would look out the window, see the garbage can moved to the curb and continue barking until we distracted her or took her out to “meet” the can and realize it wasn’t a threat. She would bark at anything that was out-of-place. She still enjoys barking though, but it’s usually reserved for strange people, other dogs or unexpected noises.
About four years ago, a stray cat wandered onto my sister’s farm. My sister, Sharla took the cat in and two weeks later, four tiny kittens were born under my sister’s bed. And soon after, the fluffiest one came home to live with us. Our cat’s official name is Lacey, but generally only the vet calls her that. Around here she is usually referred to as the cat or kitty. She favors me, but exhibits typical cat behavior by showing a general disinterest in the rest of the family. It drives my husband, Shawn nuts since he’s the one who feeds her each morning. Throughout the day, I pet Lacey and tell her that she is the “cutest kitty”, “the sweetest cat ever”–things to boost her self-esteem, of course. My husband will invariably yell from the next room, “No, she isn’t!” Now, is it any surprise who our cat prefers?
My daughter, Madeline and the cat tolerate each other at best. When Lacey was younger, she would sneak into my daughter’s room and bring items downstairs into the living room. Clothes, toys, stuffed animals or hats. She never took anything from any of the bedrooms of my three boys. Just my daughter. So even now, if I’m in Madeline’s room, the cat (who follows me around the house) will try to creep into the room too, undetected. It’s funny to watch. She’ll sit just outside the room staring in, and when she thinks Madeline isn’t paying attention, she’ll try to sneak past the doorway into the room. All Madeline will have to say is “get out,” and the cat will immediately flee the scene.
Lacey is extremely curious and rather quite nosy. Anytime I’m working on a project or trying to photograph something, she has to be the inspector and come snooping around.
The cat is not very big, but is covered in long, fine, fuzzy fur. When she lies down, she resembles nothing more than a big pile of fluff. She has had many kitty adventures, despite being a strictly indoor cat. Like the time she was missing for hours and was finally discovered fast asleep in the desk drawer. (She had crawled in through the back.) Or the time she fell through the stair spindles from the second story (on her second day here) and landed on her feet. She continued scampering about as if nothing had happened.
All in all, both Bella and Lacey bring so much joy to our lives. I can’t imagine our home without them. I hope you enjoyed this little snippet into our life with pets. (If you are interested in the events that led us to getting a pet in the first place, click here.) Thanks so much for featuring us, Julia!~Gina
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
they are adorable and i loved reading about the kitty and madeline!!!! ha!
Bella and Lacey aka “the kitty” are so beautiful. And if you really think about it, I believe Lacey really does love and adore Madeline…. that is why she borrows all of Madeline’s stuff. They are both girls, what do you expect her to borrow? Not the boys stuff. GRIN.
I too have a kitty kat that loves precious metals and anything that resembles a diamond. Things do go missing around here and sometimes found later where she has left them.
What sweet pets. That cat – omg – LOVE those funny pictures!
So cute! I can’t handle Lacey’s poses. Hilarious.
Precious pets! I’m not a cat person but Lacey is quite the character ~ 🙂 Bella is adorable! Pets bring so much joy to our lives. I feel like my boy keeps me sane. 🙂
xo
Pat
Bella’s face is irresistible, and the stories about Lacey are cracking me up!
Awww, they’re both SO cute and I love the antics of sweet Lacey, what a personality!
Thanks so much Julia, for featuring my furry family members! Their animal antics always keeps me smiling.
Your “Living Pretty With Pets” series is my favorite. So glad I could be a part of it!