Lassie books

In yesterday's Black and White Sunday post I mentioned that we got a new book.
We actually got two new books.
Both of which are Lassie books and both are from the generous Jade.



She sent me Lassie and the Cub Scout,


She also sent me a copy of Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight.
I could not have been more excited about this one.

When Jade tagged me in her Instagram of these lovely books and asked me for my address so she could send them to me, I think I had stars in my eyes. Was that seriously Lassie Come-Home? It can't be.

I contained my excitement as best I could when sending Jade my mailing address. 

Why?

Because I didn't want to jinx anything, but mostly because I am going to be 22 and the 12 year old girl inside me was screaming at the top of her lungs with excitement. 12 year old me use to check this book out from the library over and over again. She couldn't wait to get her hands on this book.
However, I am an adult now (don't laugh), I did not want to look ridiculous. So I kept my excitement at a reasonable level.

But forget that because OH-EM-GEE, YOU GUYS, I OWN LASSIE COME HOME! OWN IT. 

I own it! I own it! I own it!

Ahem.

Enjoy these pictures! :)

"What are we reading?"


I had a "I can't believe this handsome Collie looking up at me use to be nothing but a dream." moment while taking this picture.


Long nosey nose.

Some of you may remember when Jade sent me my first Lassie book. Since then I have received four more Lassie books making a grand total of five. I went from having zero Lassie books to five in less than a year thanks to kind friends.


Bottom two are from my best friend Carly and top three are from my lovely friend Jade.



Who would've thought that one day I wouldn't just be reading about and dreaming of owning a Collie, but writing about and being loved by two of them?
I'm incredibly lucky.


Thank you again, Jade!

P.S. Love vintage stuff? Check out Jade's Etsy shop for vintage treasures!

Junk in Da Trunk Girls Pre Loved Vintage

Just a quick note so you guys know: I was not asked to share a link to Jade's shop in exchange for these books. I was not asked to blog about them or Jade or her shop. Jade sent them to me out of kindness. I'm just sharing the link to her store for anyone who may be interested (she's got some great stuff in her shop!) and as a small token of my appreciation.

Black and White Sunday: Lassie & Lassie

We got a new old book. More about that later. ;)




Today we are participating in the Black and White Sunday blog hop hosted by You Did What With Your Weiner, Dachshund Nola and My Life In Blog Years.

Review: Ropes 4 Dogs

We are reviewing two great leashes from Ropes 4 Dogs, an Etsy shop.

They make leashes, toys, and leash hooks too!
And for every 3 products you buy from Ropes 4 Dogs, they will contribute one free toy or leash to a non-profit animal shelter or rescue group. How wonderful is that? Very!
Their leashes and toys are handmade using recycled climbing-grade materials, so they're strong stuff!



We received the orange 4 foot lead for large sized dogs and a training lead for medium-large dogs to review.

We'll start with the 4 ft. lead.


The 4 ft. lead
is 9mm in diameter with a high-quality snap hook imported from Europe.
The snap hook does indeed feel very sturdy to me, sturdier than a lot of snap hooks I've seen/had.
The rope feels very strong and sturdy. Not a single snag after 2+ weeks of (very nearly) daily use, not even with Penny Piranha taking a snap at it on multiple occasions (I have had other rope leashes that snag very easily, especially when puppy teeth grab it, so I was impressed).
I love the knot at the hand loop. It's great to hold on to, to keep your hand from slipping, or if you just like having something to hold. It feels nice, not uncomfortable at all.



My dogs don't tug... most of the time, and when they do, it's not much (except in special cases, but we won't get into that since Petal has been trying her hardest to contain herself and has yet to have one of those "moments" while wearing either one of these leashes), so I can't tell you if hard tugging would be extra painful (let's face it, being tugged on is uncomfortable/painful regardless of the leash) with this leash or not. But for me, light tugging didn't cause me any rope burns or discomfort at all.



While the leash isn't super soft, it isn't rough either. When it first arrived it was a little bit stiff, but after a few uses it softened up a bit, not to a point where it feels less sturdy, just to where it feels more comfortable and easier to roll up.



Now onto the training lead.


The Training lead
is 18 inches long and 7mm in diameter with a high-quality snap hook imported from Europe.
This training lead is for medium-large sized dogs.
I'll admit that when I first pulled it out of the box I thought it looked a little too small, but I was completely wrong. It's the perfect length for a training lead.



We received this training lead at the perfect time. I was really wanting another. The one I have is one of the only things I have with Ella's name on it. Call me sentimental (or just mental), but I don't want to use it. I like to see it hanging on her leash hook.



This training lead has been extremely useful already. Penny has this... charming habit of tying anyone and anything up with her leash, even on a short walk to the mail boxes. This leash is too short to do that with, thankfully.

It's great for Petal (the lovely model) too. We often like to walk around Main Street and the neighborhoods nearby and with summer coming, the crowds are returning as well. We live in a fairly small town, so it doesn't get insanely crowded or anything, but it's nice to keep the curious, excitable dog close when people are walking by. Not everyone appreciates being nudged or licked by a random dog, apparently (strange, I know). I also like to keep the dogs close when crossing a busy street or taking a trip to the vet; it'll be extremely helpful then.



Though much smaller than the 4 ft. leash, this training leash feels very sturdy.
It's very comfortable to hold and I really like that I can easily toss it into my purse on the way out the door, just incase I need a short leash while we're out.
I also love the colors in this rope leash.

Our Personal Ratings:

The dogs give the 4 ft. leash four out of four paws up for durability.

I give the 4 ft. leash 5 out of 5 hearts for comfort.

And 4 hearts for style.

The Training leash gets 3.5 paws for durability (simply because it would get chewed through faster if left out, so be careful).

Comfort.

Style.

Cost.

Personally, I don't think either leash costs all that much for what they are (handmade, very strong), but they certainly are not your extremely cheap leashes. However, that being said, they aren't made like your extremely cheap leashes either. They feel and look like they're built to last, so they're worth the price tag.

I highly recommend these leashes. They're comfortable, strong, well made, and cute too!

I've got my eye on the tug toys made of the same recycled climbing rope, too. Bet those are nice and strong!

Go check them out! Tell them we sent you!

Ropes 4 Dogs.

Disclosure: I was sent two leashes from Ropes 4 Dogs free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid to give a positive review. All opinions shared here are entirely my own and not influenced by any outside party.