DoggyStyle: The Pups' New Bed Arrives: The Orvis Deep Dish Lounger

While we've always liked using human decor as pet beds to give us more options, as our pups are aging we decided to invest in something more comfortable that will be a bit kinder on their joints.
And after a long search, and this great discussion, the bed that has been on backorder after backorder has finally arrived.
Enter, the Orvis Deep Dish Lounger in a size to fit both pups (with room for a third!)

E had been eyeing this bed for awhile, and now that we finally have the room we decided to make the investment.
Since it was something new, Miss M was quick to claim it as her own. Mr. B will only lay in it tentatively with one eye open anticipating the exact moment Miss M might appear and he becomes a pillow:

This bed is huge! We have an extra bedroom upstairs that we've dubbed "the dog bedroom". Ironically, it was the one room in the house that they never wanted to go in. So it lives in there. It takes up as much room as a dresser. Which we don't have in there. Because it is the dog bedroom.
While we've only had it for a few weeks, this is what we've noticed so far.

What We Like:
-The bed is super-plush and comfortable and it is the dogs' bed of choice. Once we brought this bed home, we didn't see Miss M for several days.
-We like that it has the bolsters as a type of built-in pillow. Since our dogs are pillow dogs. 
-We like that it has a type of cut-out front which will make it easier for the pups to enter and exit as their joints get a bit more rickety
-We like the color (remember how we are prone to gray?) and the velvet/microfiber texture which make it seem modern. The bolster and bed unzip separately, and it seems really well-constructed.
-With a name like "Deep Dish", it seemed destined for this Chicago family.

What We Don't Like:
-The bottom insert is stuffed with a polyester fill and we wanted it to be even more stable and plush. We ended up buying a foam egg crate bed topper to stuff inside to make it sturdier and more comfortable.
-For a dog bed, this thing is a fur magnet. It shows fur like crazy which will happen often. Because dogs sleep here.
-It is quite pricy and an investment. It cost around $200 which is similar to most large higher-end dog beds. Though we rationalized that our dogs are nearly pre-teens and if this is going to help them to be more comfortable than it was worth it to us (and we just really haven't gone out to eat for a long time).

We are still casually looking for another stable comfortable bed that we can have on the main floor so the pups don't need to climb as many stairs to get to the good bed.
And if we're looking for Miss M, now we always know where to find her.

Also:
We also have these beds that are perfect for people but not so great for dogs.
For a "bed" in every room.
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DoggyStyle: Mopping a Dog Home (The One That Finally Works!)

Despite what a lot of people think, my apartment was actually much dirtier when I didn't own dogs.
I've realized that part of it is having more self-awareness to prevent messes, then just finding cleaning products you actually enjoy using.
Our elusive product was finding a mop that was actually easy to use. We had high hopes for the Dyson Hard DC56, but it ended up being hard to use.
Though we think we found something that works:

Miss M is skeptical of mops

We decided to try the Twist and Shout mop which seems to have all of the solutions that people complain about in a mop. It has an extra-plush microfiber head which is easy to slide along the floor and it doesn't need a lot of arm strength. It is circular and it has a swivel head which makes it easy to fit into angles and crevices. With the microfiber head it can be used as a dry mop to dust the floor, but it really gets fancy when it's used as a wet mop. It has a lever and comes with a special bucket where the mop actually spins to wring all of the water out. With a couple of pushes it becomes super-dry, which is really important for hardwood floors. 

They recommend watching the Youtube video to make sure you know how to spin it correctly--basically just make sure that it's upright and none of the strings are hanging out of the bucket--but it is really easy to use.

I like that you don't need to use special formula or wipes, and the mop head can be put in the laundry. If you need to buy replacement mop heads they are only about $5 each.

Out of all of the Swiffers, sponge mops, Martha Stewart mops, general cleaning mops, and the fancy Dyson,  this has been the easiest, and most "fun" mop to use. Even though I wasn't singing and dancing like the commercial.

                                                                          Miss M wrings out the mop

The only thing I didn't like was that you need to use the specific bucket it comes with and that bucket can be large and hard to store. Beyond that, I think our search is over and we have found the mop that makes mopping fun.

I've also been hearing a couple of different things about caring for hardwood floors.
I've heard that you should really just use a dry mop, and only use a very dry wet-mop with vinegar and water on rare occasions.
What is everyone else doing for your hardwood floors?

Also:
The well-scented dog home.
Being preventative.
How we make cleaning fun.
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