Pet Blogger Bloopers Round-Up & Friendly Fill-Ins

Meows from Mudpie!

Today we're joining the The Pet Blogger Bloopers Round-Up, hosted by The Lazy Pit Bull. It's the place to be on the second Friday of each month to see your favorite bloggers' blooper photos. This is a blog hop dedicated to showcasing the results of those photo sessions that have gone off the rails!

I love to mess with Mommy's head. (Are you with me, kitty friends?) Every time we do a review she tries and tries to get me to pose with the product with little luck. When we did our recent Stella & Chewy's review for a brief moment I sat next to the package and she was so happy she wanted to cry.

Not so fast, Mommy...this is what happened. (And yes, it does reflect how I felt about the food...)

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And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader!

Mudpie's answers:

1. It is good to have a spare box full of toys.

2. I don’t understand why wet food is so popular.

Mommy's answers:

3. The spookiest thing that ever happened to me was my trips through the Haunted Forest. For many years it was a huge family event in my area which included a walk through a forest with something spooky going on at every turn. Unfortunately as of last year it seems to be a thing of the past. I can't think of anything "real life" spooky that's happened to me.

4. My favourite Halloween tale is The Tell-Tale Heart. I still have an old cassette version of the story that I listen to every year.

Book Review/Giveaway: KeeKee's Big Adventures in Amsterdam, Netherlands

From the publisher: KeeKee is the adventurous calico kitty traveling the world in her hot air balloon. Hoera! In this charmingly illustrated picture book, she lands in Amsterdam, Netherlands. KeeKee explores the city with Jasper the Lion. Together they speak Dutch, cruise the canals, and enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of this beautiful, colorful and historic city. Entertaining and educational, KeeKee's adventures will spark curiosity and inspire appreciation for our great big wonderful world!

In KeeKee's fourth big adventure she flies her hot air balloon to Amsterdam where she befriends a lion named Jasper who offers to give her a tour of his beautiful city while making a flower delivery. She's in awe of Amsterdam's canals and tulip fields, she visits a windmill and watches wooden shoes being made, she's exposed to a new language while experiencing their culture and cuisine.

In my opinion a great children's book inspires kids to want to learn more about the world around them...and the best ones teach an adult something new too! That was the case for me when I read KeeKee's Big Adventures in Amsterdam, Netherlands and found out about De Poezenboot: The Cat Boat, a houseboat that serves as a cat sanctuary! It's been in existence since the 1960s and is a huge tourist attraction, yet I'd never heard about it before KeeKee's book.

KeeKee's adventures belong on the bookshelves of children of all ages. Featuring illustrated city maps and pronunciation guides to key words, they are sure to whet a child's appetite for knowledge!

About the Author: Shannon Jones

For Shannon, her love of travel began at a young age. It opened her eyes and ears to the world. As a grownup, living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with her husband Paul and kitty KeeKee, the idea for KeeKee’s Big Adventures was born. After twenty years in the marketing field, Shannon is launched on her new adventures, following her passion for writing and excited to be helping kids in their quest for learning and discovery. She now lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with Paul, KeeKee, and little sister kitty Luna.

About the Illustrator: Casey Uhelski
Casey graduated with honors from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. As a little girl, she loved books, doodling, and daydreaming. She’s never outgrown these early enthusiasms, and has happily gone on to pursue a career as a children’s book illustrator. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Grand Prize Giveaway:

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Help!!! My KatKabin is Haunted!

Ok Mommy...you may have taken this whole decorating for Halloween thing a bit too far...

Decorating for Halloween

Meows from Mudpie!

Last week on our Etsy post I mentioned that Mommy had begun decorating for Halloween. She's found some really cool things this year and we thought you might like to take a look at some of our favorite cat-related pieces (because of course that's all she buys!)

Our Truffles memorial table contains a pair of Day of the Dead figurines, mugs from HomeGoods and Christmas Tree Shop, Yankee Candle's Sophia Fishtini Tea Light Candle Holder, and an Annalee cat we've had for several years.

We were up *way* past midnight to order the Boney Bunch Cat Nap Cat Lady from Yankee Candle on the night it was released...

Speaking of cat lady figurines, we also got the new Former Cat Lady from the Lemax Spooky Town collection...

A pair of black cat signs from AC Moore...

Cat in a witch's boot from TJ Maxx and Black Cat's Hiss bottle from Michaels...

Another mug from HomeGoods...

Shirts from Walmart...

And for the little girls room, Purrfect Pumpkin body cream from Bath & Body Works.

One new item this year Mommy hasn't bought that she adores but it's way too expensive is the Black Cat Shack from Department 56. It's probably going on her Christmas list :) 

Do you like to decorate for Halloween? Do you have any favorite pieces?

Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday

Welcome to this week's edition of Tortie Shorties on Mystery Monday!

We hope you enjoy our choices.

Behind Chocolate Bars (A Chocolate Covered Mystery Book 3) by Kathy Aarons

From the publisher: Best friends and business partners Michelle and Erica have a monstrous to-do list as they prepare for the annual West Riverdale Halloween Festival. Their shop, Chocolates and Chapters, will have a booth at the event, where Michelle will serve spooky delights while Erica displays an assortment of spine-chilling books. Thank goodness the teenagers from Erica’s comic-book club are chipping in to help. But one of their volunteers winds up in trouble after a woman’s body is found in an abandoned house—with the teen’s superhero key ring close by. 

The teen swears he didn’t do it, but he’s obviously hiding something—leaving Michelle and Erica with a witch’s cauldron of questions. Soon they discover that the dead woman was tricking a whole bunch of people out of more than just treats. Now these two friends must go door-to-door if they hope to unmask a killer…

Tortie Shorties Review: Chocolates and Chapters, owned by best friends Michelle and Erica in West Riverdale, Maryland, is the setting for the Chocolate Covered Mystery series. The town is preparing for it's annual haunted house to benefit the Boys and Girls Club when a dead body is found in an abandoned house and Dylan, the shop's teenage intern and comic book club member, is the prime suspect. The victim had been dating Dylan's father as part of an online dating scheme that ended up leaving many unhappy people in its wake, leaving no shortage of suspects for Michelle, Erica and friends to sift through.

One of my favorite characters in this series is Michelle's brother Leo. Leo raised Michelle following the death of their parents in a car accident, then lost a leg in Afghanistan and now suffers from depression and PTSD. Leo has recently had a motorcycle accident, spiraling him into depression once again as he becomes extremely overprotective of his loved ones, especially Michelle. And the saga of Coco, the brown tabby kitty cared for by the entire town, continues as her kittens are born and a Kitten Shower is held to help them all find their forever homes. Michelle has the honor of naming one and of course chooses Truffles (yes, I teared up a bit)...but will she be able to take the little guy home?

Advance warning: while reading this book thoughts of chocolate will invade your senses. Resistance is futile so go ahead and pop a truffle or two into your mouth. We won't tell.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Cupcake Caper by Kelle Z. Riley

From the publisher: Science is about solving puzzles. Why should solving a murder be any different? Dr. Bree Watson (aka Gabriella Catherine Mayfield-Watson) is comfortable solving chemistry problems. She isn’t comfortable finding her boss dead and being a suspect in his poisoning. Now she’s juggling: • A sexy marketing manager—who may, or may not—be a contract killer. • A handsome lead detective whose interest goes beyond the case. • The dead man’s cranky cat. • A goose-chasing dog in hot water with an animal rights group. • The search for the perfect cupcake recipe. • And, of course, someone who wants her out of the picture. And she thought getting a Ph.D. was hard.

Tortie Shorties Review: Readers with an affinity for science will enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the life of a chemist...except for that whole problem of finding your boss dead in his office and being the #1 suspect in his murder. Bree certainly has her hands full trying to clear her good name while also dealing with office politics, a pair of mysterious yet hunky love interests, and the addition of the victim's cat to her home. With the "Undercover Cat" subtitle I was hoping the book would revolve more around Sherlock the cat, yet the role he plays in uncovering key clues and the killer's capture is quite clever. By the end Bree's future looks quite interesting and hopefully Sherlock will continue to be her furry sidekick!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

How You Doin'? #SundaySelfie

We're joining our friends at The Cat on My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Caturday Art, Sunshine Blogger Award & Fill-Ins

Meows from Mudpie!

I'm going to hurry up and show you my Caturday Art for this week because Mommy is commandeering the rest of today's post with talk about *her*. Doesn't she realize people visit our blog everyday because of moi? 

And now I'm going to reluctantly turn things over to Mommy...

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We were so honored to receive The Sunshine Blogger Award from our dear friends at Four-Legged Furballs (thank you!!!), which is meant to shed light on those fellow bloggers whose positivity and creativity you admire. Our answers to their great questions are in italics below:

1. How many animals have you had in your lifetime thus far? Six cats: Patch, Sebastian, Sashi, Tara, Truffles, and now Mudpie.

2. Do you have a favorite blog topic, blog hop, or blogging day? I love Mudpie's interviews with real life cats who have amazing stories to tell, like our recent feature on Raggedy Ann. Introducing our readers to such inspirational kitties is what it's all about.

3. What is your favorite book? Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol...I have a large collection of various editions of the books, figurines, and ornaments, and display my collection during the holiday season.

4. If you had to change your first name, what new name would you choose? Tara. My mom has always said she wished she'd named me that because of our mutual love for Gone with the Wind, so I named a cat that instead!

5. Are you an early bird or a night owl? 100% night owl

6. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas...while everyone else is disgusted to see Christmas merchandise on store shelves before Halloween, I'm ecstatic!

7. What is your dream job? Growing up I wanted to be a vet but changed my mind after my first cat passed away. I wish I'd followed that path. Now my goal is to continue to expand this blog into more cat writing opportunities and anything else that might pop up in the cat world because of it.

8. How many siblings do you have? I'm an only child

9. What is your favorite candy? Lindt truffles

10. What is your absolute least favorite food? Blood sausage...don't even ask

11. What do you call it: pop or soda? (Or something else altogether?) Soda

The next rule for this award is to nominate 11 bloggers that you're inspired by, but since we could never narrow that list down to only 11 we're going to offer the award to anyone who'd like to answer these same questions :)

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And last but not least, our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader!

1. My favorite store is The Country Christmas Loft. It's a local store in Shelburne, Vermont, featuring everything Christmas all year long, even down to an authentic Victorian Christmas village through the center of the store. Anytime I need a little taste of Christmas, even in the middle of July, that's where you'll find me!

2. An unanswered prayer I am thankful for is that I didn't find a job out of state like I was hoping for after I finished school. I'm very thankful I ended up staying home because my parents have needed me so much.

3. At Halloween, I love to watch all the Travel Channel shows that feature Halloween attractions and haunted locations.

4. I believe in the supernatural, because there's just too much that has no other explanation.