Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Our Favorite Gifts


Today's post is a little belated show-and-tell about some of the nifty things Brutus and I got for Christmas. My turn first!!

My husband Paul came up with an amazing idea for a gift for me. He started planning way back in early Novmeber to get the surprise together, and did he even hit a home run with this one!! From looking at some of our followers/friends posts, Paul noticed the artwork of Dasha Goux (click to see her blog, French Bulldog Works). She does fun paintings and sculptures, all inspired by Frenchies (she also is mom to Frankie the Frenchie). Paul saw her work while browsing about links from my blog, got in touch with her and asked her to do a custom piece of me & Brutus. Since Dasha was already a follower of Brutus' blog, all she had to do for inspiration was come here and poke around a little. Here is what she came up with, isn't it fabulous??

It is an original oil painting on an 18x18 canvas. Not only did she manage to capture so much about me & Brutus, Dasha even managed to include our passion for Ohio State! I just love it, still looking for the perfect place to hang the treasure! What a great idea, not to mention a great husband for thinking of it :) Here is one more photo that I took of the actual piece, kind of gives you a little better idea of how it looks (it's sitting against the back of a chair).



Speaking of significant others, now on to the gift Brutus got from his main squeeze, Stella the pug (she lives in California). She picked out a fun collar charm & sent it along with holiday wishes from her pack!


Brutus was so excited to get mail, especially when he found out it was from Stella:

Stella!! Hey there beauty!!


Ahhh.... If only you were really here.... *sigh*


Brutus fussed around while I fumbled getting the charm on his collar (note he is naked in the previous photos), then did some of his best posing to show off the new bling from his sweetie:

Here's lookin' at you, babe!

Here's a close-up. That's his CGC (canine good citizen) medal/name tag underneath. I keep it on a clasp so I can easily change the tags between collars as we swap them out. The charm shows up so nice against his black fur!!


Brutus is happy to have a little something to carry around at all times (except when he's doing agility, then he has to be naked) as a little reminder of his gal Stella. Since he couldn't give you a kiss in person, we figured this was the next best thing (I didn't have the heart to tell Brutus that he was actually kissing Gunther, oops!).

MUUUWAAAHHH!!!

A huge thanks to both of our sweeties (Paul & Stella) for thinking of such wonderful presents. You can be sure I gave Paul a big smooch too! Sorry, no photo of that... The only bad thing is that Brutus is already bugging me about what he wants to get Stella for Valentines' day!

26 comments:

Smushie Ranch said...

Brutus & Michelle, the painting is fabulous. How thoughtful of Paul to have Dasha paint something for you. He's definitely a keeper!

Brutus, you should have seen how long it took Stella to pick out the charm for you. There were so many to chose from. She had them all laid out and first couldn't chose which one, then couldn't chose which color! Oi, decisions decisions... I'm glad she decided to go with the green because it does look very nice against your black coat. And, well I won't tell anyone Brutus really kissed Gunther's picture. No one needs to know. bol!

Love,
Shannon :)

Sandy said...

The picture and the charm are great--and IOWA beat Georgia Tech last night ;-) So the Big 10 done good this year!!

Kari in Alaska said...

That is an amazing painting

Brutus, Ellie, Pippa and Otto said...

What a thoughtful gift - that painting is great! So nice of Stella to give Brutus a charm for his collar - it does look nice against his black fur.

Pugs & Kisses,

Yoda & Brutus

Martine said...

That painting is FANTASTIC!! What a great keepsake!

xo martine & the kiddlets

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

What great pressies you both got from your sweeties!!! You need to tell Brutus you will help him with his Valentine's Day present for Stella if he will go whisper to Paul what you want too:)

Play bows, Phantom and Thunder

RILEY AND STAR MY MALTESEKIDS said...

Hi Brutus,

Oh, we just luuuv that painting! It's beautiful and we know you and mommy must be sooo proud of it! What a sweet and thoughtful daddy you have.

Stella? Oooooh, she is sooo pretty! You lucky pup, you! And a charm too? How are you going to top that? With a diamond maybe?

Luv ya,
Riley and Star.

Bijou said...

Love the painting Michelle! Your sweetie did good. ;)

Pawesome charm Burtus! Stella is a keeper.

Waggles,
Bijou

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

Loved the painting.
Loved the collar charm.
Loved the... KISSING stuff.
Perhaps you should have saved this grrrreat post for Feb. 14. OR you could just re-post it.
I'm just sayin'.

PoochesForPeace said...

You and Brutus got some great stuff!! Loved the pics too :)

Two French Bulldogs said...

What a cool charm Brutus from that hot number over here in CA. She has good taste, huh? We saw your picture on Dasha's website. Very nice. Have a fun day dreamin of Stella
Benny & Lily

dw said...

Wow, what a great gift you got for Christmas!! And what a thoughtful hubby who pays attention!! Extra points for that!

And Brutus, your sweetie really got you a wonderful gift, too!! You're all very lucky in your household (and you even got an Ohio State win, to boot!).

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

Our Mom is loving that painting.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Java

Sonic said...

That's an awesome painting!

And it's so cool that you have a girl that thinks of you and sends you gifts. I'm still a bit too young to think about girls, but when I get a girlfriend, I hope she's like Stella.

Sonic

Joe Stains said...

omdog what a GREAT painting! The hubby scored major points for sure. Brutus your gal sure knows how to pick nice gifts.

Lorenza said...

You two got pawesome presents!
The painting is soooo beautiful!
And the charm is very nice too!
Congratulations!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Unknown said...

That painting is perfect!!

Brutus is a very loyal pup to have such a long distance relationship!

Puglette said...

what a beautiful painting! what a really thoughtful gift from your hubby. i'd say he's a keeper!
hugs,
puglette
:o)

Sam said...

Awww, what a thoughtful present! Really awesome idea by your hubby!

I really like the idea of the clasp for collar tags. May use that one myself!

Scooter said...

Those are some cool pics of you and Brutus. He did a good job on that gift, wow!! and of course Brutus looks great in his bling!!

Smiles
Jazzi

Cocorue said...

that's soooo lovely....

and such a thoughtful gift from your dadster (a true gem, your wonderful dadster)

you and your mumster look so good Brutus...
chikisses
coco

Cheryl, Indiana, Shingo and Molly said...

The painting is PAWSOME! What a terrific gift! Brutus sure looks handsome with his new charm too!

Woofs and Kisses!

Achieve1dream said...

That painting is beautiful! What a Christmas present! Wow!

I love the picture of Brutus pawing the card. So cute!

Dasha and Frankie the Frenchie said...

Hello Brutus and Michelle, thank you so much for posting our painting on your wonderful blog! We are so happy you liked it. Happy New Year!
Kisses, Dasha and Frankie the Frenchie

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

What an awesome painting!!! It does capture the bond you and Brutus have (along with the bond you and Ohio State have..;-))

Brutus, you have one pawesome girl to get you pressies like that charm!

Smileys!
Dory and the Mama

Agui and Jenn said...

OMG! How FABULOUS is your painting....LOOOOOVE IT!!! I have mine on the wall next to my bed. I am always receiving compliments on it. I will have to commission Dasha for another with Spock and Sophie. Enjoy the beautiful work of art created for both of you.

Woof,
Spock & Sophie