I’ve told you I’m a bad housekeeper. But there’s one area of my life in which I’m a female Felix Unger.
If someone tries to put a glass down on a side table, my piano, or the cherry dining room set, I’ll dive over furniture and push old ladies to the ground to get a coaster in place.
Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous. I have dog hair tumbleweeds blowing across the plains of my living room. I haven’t washed my windows since I moved in twelve years ago. And I’ve given up on wiping muddy paws.
I may be messy but at least I don’t have water rings on my furniture.
Bad Dogs Save My Furniture
It’s hard not to seem like a jerk when you interrupt someone’s good time at a party to shove a coaster under their drink. I temper my obnoxiousness with a little humor.
And Bad Dog coasters, available exclusively from UncommonGoods, let me do just that.
How funny is a bad dog? When he’s not yours, he’s hilarious.
Each coaster features a line drawing of a bad dog’s version of obedience: the dog lying down with a backward glance as a ball flies over his head and his person yells “fetch.” One coaster shows a dog fleeing with a mischievous grin as his person shouts, “Stay.” (Keep reading to see all four coasters and for a chance to win your own.)
See? When it’s not your dog doing these things, it’s really funny.
By the time my guest has finished giggling at the bad dog, I’ve slipped the coaster under his glass and sighed in relief.
Besides being cute, the coasters do what they’re supposed to do. The cork bottoms keep them from sliding around. And a slight texture in the glaze keeps the glass or cup from slipping off the coaster.
Even better, the tiles are made in England and printed in Canada. So I don’t have to worry about supporting sweatshop factory owners exploiting their workers.
Uncommon Goods from UncommonGoods
In their own words, UncommonGoods features “unique designs and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals and people.”
I like finding a selection of lovely gifts I don’t have to feel guilty about buying. And the company donates $1 of every purchase to your charity of choice. The company has already donated more than $700,000 to support charitable causes that fight violence against women, protect forests, and help end hunger in New York City. So I can even feel good about my spending.
Gifts from UncommonGoods got the most clicks in my recent Hanukkah and Christmas gift giving guides so I guess you agree.
Searching the UncommonGoods online catalog is fun and easy. For my gift guides, I searched for “dog” and came up with lots of cool things. You can also search by the price you want to spend (I wish more websites did that). Limit your search to gifts under $50 or gifts under $100 here and here.
Or give a truly unique present by searching UncommonGoods for personalized gifts.
Let Bad Dogs Save Your Furniture
Looking for a gift for someone special? Maybe even for yourself? Check out UncommonGoods.
Maybe you can tell people that Bad Dogs saved your furniture too.
Disclosure: I’ve recommended UncommonGoods products since before a company representative asked if I would do a review. I like their products and the way they do business. But they did give me a free set of coasters for my review. The opinions I’ve expressed are honest and not influenced by the company. The images of the coasters came from the UncommonGoods website.
Your Turn: Are the values of the companies you buy from important to you? What values matter the most?
Well, at least you keep the rings off the table – I’ve even given up on that. Now I’m attempting to keep the clobber off the table – I’ve found that it kind of ruins the finish…maybe these will help if I can get Jack to slobber on them instead of the table.
On the other hand, it’s helpful if you need to strip the varnish down enough to redo it. 🙂
thanks for offering this give-away!
Great company – I’ve done a lot of gift-shopping with them. So many unique and personalized items!
I really like to support companies that give back to others. Uncommon Goods sounds like a great company! Those coasters are fun.
What a cool site–I can see lots of things I’d like!
My dogs are never bad!…..Yea! Right!
The values of companies I buy from are usually not something I really think about. I look for quality and uniqueness in what I buy and if they happen to be a company that shares some of my values – so much the better – but I won’t cross them off my list unless I find out they are doing something really heinous. These coasters are adorable!
I’d argue that when you look for quality and unique products, you are judging a company’s values. Values aren’t just how a company pays its workers or whether they protest legal abortion. It’s also what they choose to sell.
Quality and uniqueness are important to me as well. Why bother buying something that anyone could have? And don’t get me started on my drive to find things that are well made and will last a while. 🙂
Those are clever. However I’m even more OCD than you are about furniture rings. I have a set of what are known as Jan’s glass pants, knit panties that I pull on the bottom of glasses for party time.
Oh my husband and I had an awful lot of fun reading this.
I’m thinking they must be granny panties. A thong wouldn’t give you near enough coverage.
I love these! I have glass tumblers with the same images on my holiday wishlist too. They make me smile.
We care about the companies we buy from, it does make a difference to us. These coasters are awesome! I could get them for Mom for Christmas as our coasters are falling apart and these are funny which we love!
I love Uncommon Goods! I actually have a set of the Bad Dog glasses – so charming.
Also, have you ever seen the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode about people putting their glasses down without coasters? “Do you respect wood?”
Such a fun giveaway! I seriously love that shop because I can find something for everyone!
cute costers 🙂
I love uncommon goods. They are one of the few catalogs I truly enjoy flipping through. And I love these coasters. They’re perfect. Great idea for a giveaway.
And yes, the values of a company are very important to me. That doesn’t mean I’ve always made the best decisions but I make the best decision I can with the information I have at the time. (I’m looking at you Google. Hrumph.)
The qualities of a company play a small role importance to me. It is not the first thing I look for, but it does help me feel better when they have a good reputation for caring for their customers and listening to them.
I might enter the contest later, but what I want to know is where you found the background “wallpaper” with all the GR heads on it?
That’s not just any golden retriever, Sue. That’s Honey.
We edited these face pictures of her because I was going to put them on my fingernails for the last BlogPaws. My husband created the wallpaper using SumoPaint.
We both think it’s a bit much for this blog. But thought we’d put it up and see what people think. Maybe we should just bring it out for Honey’s birthday.
What do you think? Does it suit Something Wagging? Or is it just too cute?
So glad I’m not the only bad house-keeper out there 🙂 The cleanest things in our house are the floors and dog beds, because of dogs having allergies 🙂 I think that the dog beds are cleaner than our own LOL
I can relate to being a bad housekeeper yet being obsessed with one certain thing. I have coasters everywhere too, but they probably have dust underneath them! But I’m more obsessed with just having no clutter. There may be fur and dirt on the floor, but everything else is neatly put away!
That company sounds great and I’m going to add them to my favorites for shopping online. I appreciate a company that cares about the environment and gives money to charity.
I like your background, and I actually think it does suit your site.
Well, you worry about rings on the tables, here the Mom Person worries about tails that knock those mugs and glasses right off the table. We also like Uncommmon Goods. It is an uncommonly good company.
I look for locally owned companies that support the community.
Cute! Yes, the values of a company is important to me. Although I often buy from Amazon or other shops with low prices, I will shop with a store if they have good values.
I look for good prices, honesty, and customer commitment.
The values of a company are important. I look for honesty, good working conditions for their employees and fair prices. It’s one of the reasons I don’t shop at Walmart.
I look for the things I love for a good price. The values of the company is important
Yes and no. I don’t support a company when I hear about something I don’t agree with. I’ll choose one company over another when offering the same or similar products if one *does* stand for something I agree with or gives back in a way that’s important to me. However, if I were to truly say that the company’s values were important to me, then I would have to research all companies I buy from. Probably something I should do.
They are fab and I love that the company is a caring one!