Charley and the Old Navy Factory

The delightful Todd Oldham, creative director for Old Navy and self-professed Charley Harper fanatic, has combined his two loves and helped produce a line of Charley Harper products for the chain!



For those not in the know, Charley Harper was a wildlife illustrator who created charming, very modern works that have been reproduced quite a lot for calendars, greeting cards, etc. You can still buy some of his prints on ebay.



His work is a lot of fun, and the man himself seems like he was pretty fun too. The BF just gave me Birds and Words, which features his bird illustrations juxtaposed with his hilariously hokey and dad-humored writings.

Anyway, his stuff is great for kids. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for kids!), the Old Navy items are geared at children, but if you have to buy any gifts for little ones this holiday these would be so well-received.

Aside from the t-shirt featured above, which is $10 and comes in two other styles, there are books, games, and a coloring book.




These alphabet flash cards are pretty darn cute, too, and would look nice framed or even just tacked to the wall with nice metal push pins. (I may buy these for myself!)

Everything is under $15, and for the next few days they are offering free shipping and 20% off if you use the code "20FREESHIP".

Dogggggs Are the BEEEEST

You guys, dogs are so good! Ugh. This video has been making the rounds lately. It's some surveillance footage of a highway in South America. One dog gets hit by a car, and another (hobo) dog risks his life to run out onto the highway and drag the injured dog to safety.

This totes made me cry! I am a nerd.

New blog feature: CUTE THING!

I've decided to introduce a new feature to The Snuggle Factory: "CUTE THING!"

First up, this tiny parade of stuffed, silkscreened animals from IceBear on Etsy. Only $35 for the whole lot.

I.
WANT.

!

Puppies Are Warm

And these puppies saved a kid who wandered off from his babysitter into the woods!

The family dogs slept up against 3-year-old Jaylynn and kept him from freezing to death in 17 degree temps! Yeeow!

Billie Joe Roach, another member of the search party that found the boy, said the puppies refused to leave his side.

As the child was placed in an ambulance to be taken to a local hospital for examination, "The puppies were watching where he went.

"Where he went, they went," Roach said.

CUTIES! As someone who often has two cats sleeping ON her, I can confirm: pets are warm. Sometimes I move one of the kits on top of my feet if they're particularly cold. Is that bad?

Gender Roles!

Sara the Walrus really got me thinking. I was so sure she was a dude based on how she looked. But she wasn't! That's when I realized that some animals just seem to be one gender. Walruses, for instance, are total dudes. They have mustaches! Same goes for wire-haired dachshunds. Don't tell me this isn't a bro:


But it might be a lady!!

That got me thinking about which other animals seemed male or female. Here's a lil list:

Lizards

Guys. Specifically, CRANKY guys.



Lambs

Total girls.




Bald Eagles

Guys all the way. Note: this game only works with animals that look the same regardless of gender. (i.e. "Guy lions look like guys" wouldn't fly.) I just doubled checked and bald eagle ladies and dudes have the same plumage. Nuts!




Cats

Cats are ladies. All cats. Am I right?

Anyone have any other examples?

Remember that walrus????

Oh man. I can't stop thinking about her. HILARIOUS.

That's all.

Tinks, the Sick Sheep

Oh dear. This is so cute.

A family took in a brain-damaged sheep named Tinkerbell with the intention of bringing her to the vet and then giving her back to the farm that owned her. But they wound up rearing her themselves and keeping her. And now they take her for walks with their dogs!

Here's the mother of the family, Chiara Magarotto, talking about Tinkerbell and her daughter Scarlett, who took a liking to each other:

"She follows us about everywhere and enjoys going for walks with the dogs - she thinks she is a dog - and having tea parties with Scarlett. She even came to Scarlett's pre-school and was perfectly behaved."

A sheep having a tea party with a child! That I would like to see.