Have you ever read the book, “Cheaper by the Dozen”? It’s charming and fun, and what’s cool is that the parents are efficiency experts (who want to run their household like one of the factories for which they’re hired to conduct time and motion studies). If my writing career weren’t so lucrative—I am laughing so hard that no sound is coming out—I would think about becoming an efficiency expert. One of the things I particularly strive to pare down is time spent shopping. For example, I used to visit many of the dog boutiques in Los Angeles (surely you don’t think dogs should go without clothing and lie on the floor), but now, I just go straight to the best shop, which happens to be online: Olive. They have the most beautiful beds and blankets and the cutest collars and harnesses I’ve found. And the only thing better than the product offering is their service. Gina and Barbara could not be nicer or more helpful. Which is not surprising when you learn they’re Texans. Their company is located just outside Austin (but they source products from all over, including from Brooklyn, whose notoriously hip hipsters are producing some of the neatest dog beds around).
p.s. If you’re open to trying a natural product in place of Frontline or Advantage chemical treatment for fleas, try applying neem spray to your dog’s fur, massage it around a bit, and do it again the next day or two. We used it on our dogs last summer and haven’t seen a flea since!