on MUCH MORE THAN ME (& a GIVEAWAY!)

Sometimes you just stumble onto something so cool, you can't believe you hadn't heard of it before. That's what happened with Much More Than Me. As soon as I got to the website I was in shock I hadn't ever been there before.

Much More Than Me is an amazing company that was founded "out of a joint desire to give people a creative way to advocate for acting with greater compassion toward human beings and animals". To that end, Much More Than Me has a shop full of awesome t-shirts, and for each one purchased, a percentage of the sale is donated to a cause. And even cooler yet, is that you get to select what organization to donate to, from a great list of options. While MMTM was founded from the core passion to advocate for rescue animals, they support and promote lots of organizations. So, in short, you pick your tee, and you pick where you want your donation to go. Plus, you get to join ranks with the celebrities and actors that support the company. Win-win-win.

One of the co-founders of MMTM was incredibly generous and sent me the Rafferty Reasons t-shirt, which I (honestly) wore four days in a row. Yes, that's right, four. Mainly because it's so incredibly comfortable, but also because I was so honored to wear such a great message around town.



You have a chance to win your own t-shirt from Much More Than Me! If you win, you'll get to select the item you want. Make sure to enter below, and to follow them on their Facebook page and Twitter (definitely find the coupon code currently being offered, too).

Please note: this giveaway IS open to International followers :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ON Dollars For Doggies (A Birthday Fundraiser & GIVEAWAY!)

Last year, for my birthday, I asked friends & family to donate to an animal rescue instead of buying me any presents. The result? $600 and my best birthday yet. This year, I'm sweetening the deal with an amazing GIVEAWAY and by reaching out to the incredibly supportive blog community to see if we can beat last year's total for two amazing dog rescues. Without further ado, I present to you...

With these kindhearted bloggers...

Ten Feet Off Beale / Katilda / Head Over Heels 

Let Me See You Sparkle / Of Corgis & Cocktails / Bubby & Bean

Heather Hearts / Walking In Memphis In High Heels

And these generous businesses...

Ziva Mind / Viesso

All to benefit two incredible rescues:

Second Chance Rescue NYC / Dogs Without Borders

Here's what you'll be entered to WIN:

a dog print from Bubby & Bean // gorgeous teal triangle earrings from Katilda

beautiful lavender earrings from Walkin' In Memphis In High Heels // custom hoop art from Ten Feet Off Beale

$25 Sephora gift card from Heather Hearts // $25 Starbucks gift card from KerryingOn (that's me!)

custom blog header and social media icons designed by Of Corgis & Cocktails

$25 Etsy shop credit from Let Me See You Sparkle

$20 Etsy shop credit from Head Over Heels

the stunning Muuto Flow Jug, generously donated by Viesso

and.. a FULL Scholarship to ZivaMind, generously offered by Ziva Meditation!

To Enter, please make sure you complete your donation here.

The minimum donation requirement is $1 but if you can give more,

the dogs and rescue folks would surely appreciate it :)

The giveaway will run through the end of the day (11:59 pm EST) of May 20th, 2013.

THANK YOU so much to the generous bloggers and companies for their support,

and Thank YOU for donating & Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ON a Dog That Needs Your Help (& the rescue that's saving her life)

EDIT: If you want to keep up with Misty and how she is doing, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mistys-Journey/326106977514930

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**please note that my dogs are safe and sound and this is not about them**

If you know me, you know I love dogs. Fiercely. You would also know that my Henry is the love of my life, that there is nothing and no one I love more than him. And you would know that Lady is the latest addition to my heart, and is my foster girl from Los Angeles. If you know me, you know that I would do anything to protect these two, but that my love for pups extends far and wide to babies I don't know and will never meet. You'd also know I call them babies, shouting it down city streets when I spy one! "Look! A baby!" "Uh, Kerry.. that's a dog.."

These pictures show how dogs deserve to live. They are both tucked into warm beds at night, have stuffed animals to snuggle with, clothing to keep them warm and dry in bad weather, and someone who holds them and loves them. They both reach for my hands all the time, and hold them. Those hand pictures are not staged. They both still constantly tell me how grateful they are, and teach me things that I know humans can't teach me. They fill my heart up so much.

There is a little girl pup who - excuse the language - has had the living shit beaten out of her. By humans. Human beings. Luckily, an amazing rescue group took her out of the shelter she wound up in, with her week old gashes and cuts that have turned to infections. It's really bad. I'm not going to post a photo of her here but you can visit the Second Chance Rescue Facebook Page and see for yourself (do note that it's graphic). Second Chance takes in dogs that are in horrifying conditions all the time, and they really need your help. If you can donate even one dollar to them, you'll be helping to save this little girl. If you can skip Starbucks tomorrow, donate the three dollars that costs. If you can skip sponsoring a blog next month, donate the ten.. you get the idea.

Dogs need us to be their voices. Speak up, get educated on dog fighting and how to stop it. Learn what a bait dog is and then pray like hell for the ones who end up being one. Get informed on the living hellholes that are puppy mills (like the one Henry came from) and always, always spay and neuter your pets and never support buying a dog from a pet store or breeder. Blogs are fun, pretty clothes, giveaways, I know. But this post has to exist, too. And if you can't stand it, if you can't stomach it, that's okay, I get it. But hug your dog tonight and tell them they're safe with you. xoxo