TGIF: Dance The Day Away

A is for apple, crisp and sweet

Once again it's time to celebrate 5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday! TGIF, everyone!


1. Crisp apples

I made a delicious salad this week that featured some apples which I found at the store. They were Fuji apples, my favorite kind, and their flavor was so sweet and intense that they really stood out in the salad. Here's a delicious Apple and Ham Salad recipe!

The Painful Loss Of Atiya The Guinea

A guinea hen surveying her domain - OpenCage, A-Z Animals

On Sunday tragedy hit the Girlz Best Friend family. One of our beloved guinea hens, Atiya, went missing. I searched for her for hours, scouring every inch of the surrounding woods and bushes, but there wasn't any sign of her. My sister came out to help me look and I brought my dog, Hailey, who has an amazing talent for finding guineas but we didn't have any success locating Atiya.

Rescue Pet Wednesday: 8/5/15

Hi! My name is Stormy!

Rescue Pet Wednesday is here once again! I hope you enjoy looking at this week's featured rescue pets as much as I did. If you want to help rescue animals you can adopt a rescue pet, volunteer at a local rescue organization or as a foster home, or donate to a rescue organization. Enjoy!

The Weekly Roundup: Mutt's Are Awesome!

Photo Of The Week: An adorable mouse resting on a patch of moss!

Saturday is here, once again, and so is your Weekly Roundup of awesomeness! Enjoy...

TGIF: Summer Heat Wave!

Mint is a delicious addition to chocolate ice cream

It's the end of the work week, and here once again is TGIF: 5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday!


1. Chocolate mint ice cream

I made an ice cream pie this week with some delicious homemade ice cream. I couldn't find the perfect recipe for what I wanted so I just made a basic chocolate ice cream base and then added peppermint flavoring until it tasted the way I wanted. The result was a creamy, minty ice cream with a rich, chocolate undertone. For anyone who wants to make their own ice cream this weekend, here's a wonderful recipe.

Rescue Pet Wednesday: 7/29/15

Hi! I'm Lessa

Welcome once again to Rescue Pet Wednesday, the day when I feature adoptable rescue pets from around the country. If you want to help you can adopt your own rescue pet, donate to an important animal rescue organization, or consider fostering a pet in need of a temporary good home or volunteering at your local animal rescue or humane society. I hope you enjoy the adorable rescue pets that are featured here!

The Weekly Roundup: Hello Moon

Photo Of The Week: A cute little toy motorcycle race!

Here's your roundup of awesomeness for the week! Hope you enjoy!

TGIF: Libraries And Lakeside Parks

Yoga is the perfect way to relax

Friday is finally here and so is your weekly installment of TGIF:5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday!

1. Relaxing yoga

It would be hard to get through a day without some yoga to relax and soothe my soul. Not only does yoga stretch my muscles and reduce pain and stiffness it also makes me feel more peaceful and happy. I always feel rejuvenated and calm when I finish a yoga session.

'Kicker' Is My Favorite News Source

What's the news?

I've been looking for the perfect online source for news for a long time. I want a website where I can catch up on all the important news of the day in one place, without any bias or political slant. It was harder than I thought to find the perfect news site but I've finally stumbled on a place which satisfies all my requirements and then some.

Homemade Dandelion Lotion Bars

Dandelions are full of healthy benefits for your skin

I was browsing one of my favorite websites, The Nerdy Farmwife, this week when I saw an amazing recipe for Dandelion Lotion Bars. I have tons of dandelions which grow wild in my yard so it's a ready to use resource. Apparently dandelion oil is especially good for helping chapped or sore skin. I decided to whip up my own batch of lotion bars to see how they work.

The Weekly Roundup: Fresh Spinach And Cows

Photo Of The Week: A beautiful image of a bee pollinating chive flowers

Here's the Weekly Roundup, so you can catch up on all the awesomeness you missed this week... Enjoy!

TGIF: Sun And Fun

It's easy to make beauty products at home

It's Friday so here's your newest installment of TGIF: 5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday!

1. Herbal salves and beauty products

 I love making homemade beauty products almost as much as I like cooking. It's the perfect time of year for harvesting fresh herbs so I've been really busy making some herbal lotions, facial moisturizers, and lip glosses. I'll be posting a few of the recipes I used to make some of my favorite products in the coming weeks!

Rescue Pet Wednesday: 7/15/15

Hi! I'm Gordon!

It's time for another installment of Rescue Pet Wednesday, a feature which I created to spotlight adoptable rescue pets from around the country and raise awareness about the ways that people can help rescue animals. If you want to learn more about what you can do to make a difference here's an article about 10 ways you can help your local rescue.

3 Useful Additions To Every Chicken Coop

Fresh eggs!

During my eleven years as a poultry keeper I have discovered a few additions which make every chicken coop a little more convenient to use. Most of these things are so simple and easy that you'll wonder why you never thought of them before!

The Weekly Roundup: Kiss And Tell

Photo Of The Week: A boat in the Netherlands

I'm here once again to round up all the awesomeness from the week! Enjoy your weekends everyone!

TGIF: Summer Love Is In The Air

Summer love...

It's time for TGIF: 5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday! Enjoy!


1. Romantic summer evenings

Summer is a perfect time to spend long, romantic evenings with a significant other. Walking on the beach, kissing under the stars, watching fireworks snuggled under a blanket... There are so many possibilities for perfect moments. I'm currently in a long-distance relationship and, although we talk on the phone almost every night, I can't wait for the day that I can do all those things with my sweetheart in person!

Rescue Pet Wednesday: 7/8/15

Hi! My name is Tomato!

It's a day late this week because of all the after-holiday business, but it's finally time for Rescue Pet Wednesday (on Thursday). I hope you enjoy browsing all these pictures of adorable, and adoptable, rescue pets from around the country. If you want to help you should consider adopting a rescue pet, volunteering at your local humane society or animal rescue, fostering a pet while it looks for its forever home, or donating to one of the non-profit organizations who devote their lives to caring for rescue animals. Thanks for reading! Enjoy...

A Bear In My Backyard

Black bears... Yikes!

I was brushing my teeth as I got ready for work a few days ago when I heard a commotion outside in the backyard. I hurried over to the window to look, the first thing I noticed was that one of the bird feeders was pulled apart and laying on the ground. That was when my mom, who had been sitting outside on the deck, came running inside the house and yell "There's a bear out there!!!!" I raced back over to the window and sure enough there was a small, adult, black bear in my backyard!

The Most Awesome Photos (So Far)

Up and away!

I love looking at cool photos online so I thought I would collect some a my favorite eye candy for you to enjoy!

The Cat Who Wouldn't Be Caught

The mysterious Christian Grey...

A few weeks ago a cat started showing up around my house. I would often glimpse it in the mornings and evenings, when a lot of people and animals weren't really moving around. I tried going outside to see if I could coax it over a few times but as soon as it saw me the cat took off running like the devil was chasing it's tail!

The Weekly Roundup: Happy 4th Of July!

Photo Of The Week: An artistic shot down the barrel of a tank

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you enjoy The Weekly Roundup, where we round up all the awesomeness that you missed this week!

TGIF: Swimming With Dogs

Swimming is tons of fun!

Happy 3rd of July! It's Friday again which means it's finally time for TGIF:5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday!

1. Swimming with dogs

I love to take my dogs swimming with me and they always have so much fun splashing around in the water! Sometimes the two of them will just chase each other around and around through the shallow water and over the sand. They both like to swim too and will sometimes chase toys out into the water or just swim around after their two legged family members.

A Typical Morning On My "Farm"

Gathering the eggs...

Mornings usually start with an hour of much needed "me-time". I check my emails, scan the headlines, read about any exciting sports news which happened over the night, and try to get an article or two written and scheduled to be published on my blog. After I finish up with my morning blog maintenance it's time to head out to the chicken coop.

Rescue Pet Wednesday: 7/1/2015

Squawk! My name is Sadie...

Hi, everyone! Welcome to Rescue Pet Wednesday, where I highlight adoptable rescue pets from around the country every week. If you're looking for a pet you should think about adopting one from a shelter who desperately needs a good home. You can also donate to non-profit shelters to help them continue their selfless work.

Meet The People (And Pets) Of Girlz Best Friend

Let me introduce myself...

Hi, everyone! I hope you had a great weekend and have a great week! I thought that since I've been writing here for almost two weeks it was probably time to introduce myself and all  my menagerie of pets!

Book Review: "Fresh Eggs Daily" Is A Must-Read For Any Poultry Keeper

Farm fresh eggs!

When I first started raising chickens, 12 years ago, I didn't know anything about caring for poultry and there was very little information available. I made do with a few books from my local library and a lot of intuition. Then I stumbled upon Lisa Steele's website Fresh Eggs Daily which completely changed my chicken raising experience.

The Weekly Roundup: Chocolate Eclairs

Photo Of The Week: An awesome long-exposure of a waterfall

It's time to recap all the awesomeness from the week with the Weekly Roundup!

TGIF: Ice Cream And Swimsuits

 I scream for ice cream!

It's Friday which means it's time for TGIF: 5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday!


1. Ice cream

Ice cream is a summer dessert staple and it's as versatile as it is delicious. Not only can it be eaten in ice cream cones, covered it in sprinkles, and piled it on banana splits, it can be turned into a wide range of amazing desserts. Mint ice cream cakes, baked alaskas, raspberry charlottes, mud pies... I'll have one of each please!

Blog, Sweat, and Tears

Early morning blog maintenance...

I never realized how much work running my very own blog would be until I had actually tried it. I have been writing blog posts for over a year but have never actually had to deal with the day to day maintenance of a website until now.

Rescue Pet Wednesday

Hi! My name is Nala-Lilo...

Hi, everyone! I am introducing a special weekly feature here at Girlz Best Friend! It's called Rescue Pet Wednesday and it's going to be an article every Wednesday featuring adoptable rescue pets in need of a good home. I hope these posts will help facilitate more pet adoptions in addition to raising awareness of shelter pets around the world. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Beware Of Dog (Toys)

All this playing is hard work!

Dogs bring a lot of wonderful things to our lives; companionship, friendship, and unlimited joy. They also bring an immense amount of toys into our homes. My dogs collect toys like they're auditioning for a spot on the TV show "Hoarders". Some mornings I wake up and wonder how long it will be before I'm crushed in my sleep by a mountain of chewy Kongs and canvas frisbees in cheerful colors.

Easy Herb Drying Rack

Healthy and delicious herbs

I use a lot of herbs in my chicken feed, nest boxes, and other places around the coop. I like to harvest as many of them myself as I can. I grow basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, lavender, thyme, mint, dill, fennel, comfrey, roses petals, marigolds, nasturtiums, and yarrow in my garden and in pots in the coop and I gather bee balm and dandelions from the woods around my house.

3 Reasons Why My Dad Is Awesome!

Happy Fathers Day!

1. He can fix almost anything!

My dad is one of the handiest people I know. He can literally fix just about anything; from the car when it breaks down to kitchen utensils with broken handles or whisks, my dad is the guy everyone turns to when something breaks. I can't count how many times my dad has repaired things for me - from my toys when I was a child to my chicken coop door now - or improved things so that they worked even better than before.

The Weekly Roundup: This Week In Awesomeness

Photo of the Week: An adorable duckling sunbathing!

Hi, everyone, and happy Saturday! It's time to recap all the excitement which happened this past week!

TGIF: 5 Things To Be Thankful For This Friday

Finally! Summertime...

1. Summer officially starts on June 21.

I can hardly wait to slather on some sunscreen and spend a day outside lounging in the sun! The water is still much too cold here to swim in but at least the weather is warm and sunny right now and I can spend lots of time outside.

Dear Readers:

Hi, everyone! I hope you enjoy my new blog, Girlz Best Friend!

In the coming weeks and months I will be sharing tips about cooking and pet care, recipes, book reviews, and easy DIY projects, as well as stories about my pets and life.