Bark Box + Tuna Melts My Heart "Tuna Tour" Event!

As over 781,000 Instagram followers can attest, Tuna (@tunameltsmyheart), the tiny Chiweenie once found abandoned at the side of the road, is quite the special pup. So when Holly and I learned that BarkBox was hosting a meet & greet with Tuna at their New York offices, we knew we had to go say hello to her biggest celeb crush!

The event was running from 12-2pm, and we arrived around 1:15 to discover a line that wrapped around the block full of pup and people fans eager to meet Tuna! Luckily, the forecasted rain decided to stay away, and meeting fellow fans in line made the time pass quickly. Plus, our hosts at BarkBox were very accommodating--they came by with bowls of water for the pups (and bottles of water for the people), plus were on hand with treats and snuggles (exclusively for the pups), which made Holly one happy camper! Since she and I have braved the Shakespeare in the Park line together before, this wait felt like nothing, and before we knew it we were entering the building and taking the elevator up to BarkBox headquarters.

Patiently waiting to meet Tuna

A glimpse of the line from inside BarkBox HQ

By the time we got upstairs Tuna was no longer taking one on one photos (we weren't looking for that anyway, since Holly can be a very...enthusiastic playmate when she meets a new friend!), but there was still a line wrapping around the offices waiting to snap a photo. This gave us time to take in the very cool pup-themed space, complete with inflatable fire hydrants, doggie beds filled with toys, and a large photo of Andy Warhol with his pooch covering one wall. Holly was feeling the excitement of the crowd and was jumping all over our line neighbors and BarkBox employees who came to chat while we waited. Good thing everyone there was a dog lover!

The office space was so cool we had to get a picture. In the far corner are giant upholstered cubbies people and pups can lounge in!

Just before we met Tuna we were introduced to Marnie, a 12 year old Shih Tzu with an impressive Instagram following of her own. Marnie and her mom graciously agreed to a photo op with Holly, but the line waiting + excitement + all the pups in the room made Holly's posing skills fly out the window!

@MarnieTheDog has her posing skills DOWN. Holly refused to wear a hat, but she looks great anyway :)

Finally we arrived at Tuna's area. His mom and her friend were so sweet, first carrying Tuna into the crowd so everyone could get a few photos, then returning him to a little throne people could pose next to for a personal pic. While Tuna was in the crowd, he and Holly had a very long meet & greet/sniffing fest, and I definitely sensed a love connection! Sadly I was too busy playing wing mommy to capture the moment on film, but I promise it was very cute!

We did manage to (try) to pose for a photo with Tuna in his throne, but by that moment Holly had spotted a dachshund she was dying to play with. It seems she and I share the same curse of only taking terrible photos with celebrities, but we will always have the memories of those loving sniffs!

Neither of us can ever get a decent photo with a celeb. Oh well!

Before we left, we couldn't resist buying an official Tuna Melts My Heart mug and sneaking a peek at all the latest Bark Boxes out on display (Holly even worked the sad eyes until a sweet employee offered her a treat! Stinker!!). During the "Tuna Tour," new BarkBox subscriptions are 10% off, and $15 of each will be donated to the "Tuna Fund," which at the end of the tour will be split amongst 8 great rescue charities to help support their cause! We may be tempted to sign up with that in mind, and if you are as well you can check out barkbox.com/tuna for more info.

Obsessed with my official Tuna mug!

If you want to catch Tuna on the "Tuna Tour," be sure to follow @BarkBox and @TunaMeltsMyHeart on Instagram! And while you're over there, be sure you follow us @LittleHollysBigWorld for more wacky NYC adventures :)

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Store Spotlight: Pupculture SoHo

In an attempt to find Laduree in SoHo this afternoon, my friend Michelle and I got a bit lost and ended up on the corner of Thompson & Broome Streets. We started to see a parade of well-heeled pups headed our way, and noticed that we were across the street from Pupculture, a SoHo Doggie Daycare, Groomer, Dog Walking Service, and Boutique.

Pupculture's SoHo store front

Since I can never pass up an opportunity to shop for Little Holly, we decided to stop in and see what Pupculture was all about. We were greeted by a friendly staff and a well curated boutique filled with some of Holly's favorite brands such as Fab Dog and Kong. I was overwhelmed by the fashions and cute leashes--I especially loved one leash, collar, and harness set with the iconic "I Heart NY" print. They also had a large selection of puppy carriers that seemed like they would fit Holly, a rare find since carrier bags tend to be targeted to smaller pups!

A shot of the great leash selection and a small peek at some of the travel bags!

The store carried many of Holly's fave toy & treat brands, pictured here.

Despite the many tempting offerings within the store (and the even more tempting 50% off sale bin!) I managed to leave with only a new collar for Holly. The green floral collar can replace her fairly worn out purple one now that Spring has sprung, and I especially like that the brand, George, manufactures their products in the USA!

The collar I purchased for Holly. Get it here.

Of course, the most fun part of our adventure was getting to see all the happy pups at play while we were shopping! We had a few friends who came and visited us in the doggy daycare window, which looks into the boutique so the pups can get in on all the action (and help with your purchase selections).

Some very helpful pups made shopping even more fun!

Pupculture is located at 529 Broome Street and is open 8am-8pm weekdays and 8am-7pm weekends.

Super Holly, Fly in the Sky!

I have posted before a bit about my must haves when travelling with Holly, but air travel with a pet is still the thing I am asked about the most, so I figured I'd do another post expanding on our tips and tricks, since Holly and I are about to take our 9th (!!!) plane journey together.

Because of the risk factors associated with cargo travel, Holly only travels in cabin  with me under the seat in front of me, so all tips and tricks below are in regards to having an in-flight puppy accompany you on your journey!

Most of the questions I get about plane travel are in regards to Holly's size. At 20lbs, Holly pushes the limit for the maximum pup weight required for in cabin travel for most airlines, and many international airlines require that weight combination include your pet's carrier (domestic rules tend to be a bit less strict). Most airlines have a $75-$100 fee for each way you travel with a pet. We only fly Southwest Airlines because they do not have an in cabin weight limit for pets, just the requirement that they fit comfortably within an airline approved carrier, which brings us to...

The beloved Sleepypod Air! I know I have talked about our love for our Sleepypod before, but it is truly the perfect solution for those with a medium sized travel companion. Holly is long and fairly tall, so it was important to me that we find a carrier that she fit comfortably in for our fairly long flights back and forth to Colorado. When it is expanded, the Sleepypod Air measures in at a comfy 22 inches, giving Little Holly plenty of legroom to stretch out and sleep. I also like the feature that allows the carrier to collapse to an under-seat friendly 19 inches for takeoff and landing, but I have never had an issue with Southwest even with the carrier left at its full size.

The Sleepypod really earned its name--Holly knocks out as soon as she climbs in!

The thing I was most nervous about the first time we flew was the security screening. Now I have learned how to speed up the process and almost match my pre-Holly screening efficiency! Some airports require that those travelling with pets use a designated line (the same line families or those travelling with approved medications are in), but most allow animals in any line within the security checkpoint. You must remove your pet from their carrier and hold them while going through the metal detector and having your hands checked by the TSA (Holly has also had a couple of quick pat-downs, but usually she just gets a pat hello!). The carrier is then scanned with the rest of the luggage in the X Ray machine. The most difficult part for us is the post screening portion, where I have to perform a unique form of acrobatics involving simultaneously depositing her back into her Sleepypod, putting my own shoes back on, and grabbing my laptop quickly enough to satisfy the disgruntled travelers waiting for the line to move along behind me. Traveling with a pet is certainly an adventure!

As for the actual flight itself, I personally don't feel comfortable with the use of sedatives on Holly because many of them have not been FDA approved for high altitudes. Instead, I schedule my flights later in the morning so she can have a good long walk and meal before we leave, and try to give myself enough time arriving to the airport so I am not flustered and in a hurry, but not so long that she starts to get restless. The only times we had issues were when I was running to a flight that moved gates, and the time our flight was delayed 3 hours--that lead to a restless Holly AND a restless Mommy, though the Southwest attendants at the gate gave us permission to take Holly to the family restroom with a wee wee pad so we would not have to go back out through security to take care of business (pro tip for the future!).

All the travel worries are worth it when Holly gets to play in my parent's big yard!

Have you traveled with your pets? What tips and tricks do you recommend for a safe & happy flight?

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Weekend Wander: Springtime in the City!

My grandmother had a little poem she would always recite when the weather got warm:

Spring is here

The grass is riz

I wonder where

Them birdies is?

I feel like this has been Holly's mantra recently every time we have gone to the park, especially now that the weather is warm and the robins are out in full force! She seems to think it is her sworn duty to catch every single birdie in Manhattan, and I'm worried if I don't keep a close eye on her she may just succeed!

Holly in action, getting ready to hunt some birdies!

Target acquired.

The weather was incredible this weekend which provided the opportunity for a lot of outdoor activities besides bird hunting. It seemed like every pup in the world was out on the street, and Holly had a great time meeting new friends and neighbors (including a friendly basset hound and a Min-Pin mix she loved so much that we extended an invite to her birthday on the spot!). 

The first order of business, though, was busting out our Spring wardrobe. After a long morning of bird hunting, Holly wasn't as into this portion of the weekend, but I was excited to pack up the seriously overused sweaters in favor of some lightweight Spring dresses! Holly helped by sleeping on everything and furthering my mother's theory that she only sleeps (it's really just that she is only still long enough for me to take a picture when she's passed out!). 

A very rare and interesting picture of Holly sleeping (neither rare nor interesting).

Warmer weather means it's time to finally drink and dine outdoors again with pups in tow, so Holly and I placed a call to Lexi, her bestie from our old block, and her mom to see if they wanted to join us for an alfresco lunch in the sunshine. The girls met us at our apartment and we set off trying to find a place that wasn't packed to the gills (looks like everyone had our outdoor dining idea). We settled on Beyoglu, a local Mediterranean restaurant with outdoor dining frequently populated with dogs. We were seated quickly next to a couple with a Basset hound, and our friendly waiter acquainted himself with each of the pups, asking their names and bringing them each a bowl of water--so sweet! Holly was tired enough that she was fairly well behaved, but that didn't stop her from turning up the old Holly charm and trying to trick our neighbors into sharing some of their lunch with her!

Our waiter insisted on taking a selfie before snapping our picture--he was hysterical!

Ladies who lunch: notice Holly licking her chops while eyeing the food at the next table.

We finished up our weekend at Anthropologie, where there is a 15% off dinnerware sale. We are obsessed with their latte bowls both as cereal bowls and dishwasher safe doggie bowls, and swooned when we saw they came in polka dot styles. We snapped up four for only $20, though Holly would have preferred I went with the Chihuahua dishtowel instead :). 

Polka dot styles aren't available online, but the bright colors scream Spring!

This "Loved & Loyal" dishtowel will likely find its way into our collection soon.

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Paw-sitively Fabulous: Prepping for Holly's Second Birthday

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since Holly's First Birthday Bash! Knowing that this year has to be twice as nice (or two times the fun!), I have already been making plans for this year's event. While some details are still in the works, I wanted to share some of the early stage plans sure to make this year a tail wagging good time!

Once again, we decided to go with celebrations.com (formerly Pingg) to craft e-mail save the dates and invites. The website has a handy tracking process where you can see who has opened your e-mail and track RSVPs, and will automatically send a reminder the day before your event--much higher tech than your standard Facebook invite! I also love that the site offers a wide variety of templates that you can insert your own images in. We used ones with a bright, preppy feel for the Save the Date and Invite to create a cohesive theme.

As much as we love you, we can't invite everyone! Dates have been removed.

I used this picture on both the invite & the save the date since it makes me laugh!

An absolute must this year is matching outfits. Since I love the way my professional photos with Holly turned out, I decided to go with Ralph Lauren again, this time with classic polo shirts in black so my mom can get in on the matching fun as well! Holly will be getting a custom Big Pony Monogram Polo shirt from Ralph Lauren Home. Adding her name is complimentary and that way everyone will know who the most pup-ular gal in town is on her special day!

The polo comes in several bright colors, but we're sticking with basic black.

Finally, in the past year I have had several people say they have trouble getting gifts for Holly because a) she already has everything and b) since she is a rescue dog, figuring out sizing for outfits can be tricky. Since I hardly expect everyone I know to carry around a card with Holly's measurements on it for proper outfit buying, I decided to create a gift registry for Holly's party. Of course, the presence of our guests is the real present, but this way should they feel so inclined there is a list of pre selected gifts that Holly doesn't have, and outfits with the size already selected. We used myregistry.com since it can synch the registries from several sites (including Bloomingdale's), and pull items from sites without registries with a button similar to the "Pin It" button from Pinterest. Our registry pulls from some of our favorite places: Henri Bendel, Wag.com, and of course Bloomingdale's. Of course everything we picked is fabulous, but some of our absolute faves are below.

Isaac Mizrahi Leopard Collection Pullover. Buy it here.

Bloomingdale's Little Dog Bowl. Buy it here.

Henri Bendel "Squeak & Chic" dog toy. Buy it here.

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Good Paw-dicures Make Good Neighbors

There are many unique challenges to being a dog owner in New York City, from having to take your dog up and down the stairs or elevator every time they have to go out (rather than opening a door to a fenced in yard), to needing to patiently explain that while cockroaches may LOOK delicious, they are not an acceptable puppy snack. But one of the hardest things about being a pet parent in New York is the inevitable close quarters with other people who may not love dogs as much as you do. They say good fences make good neighbors, but since in this town your "fences" are actually shared walls and ceilings, here are some of the best solutions we have found to make sure the sounds of our adventures don't spoil our neighbor's fun!

1. Invest in some good (cute) rugs.

There is a rule that at least 75% of your flooring must be covered in order to keep noise for downstairs neighbors at a minimum, but the click clack of little puppy toenails on wood floors calls for a little bit more coverage. Since we have several large antique kilims down within the apartment, I didn't want to sacrifice style for the sake of noise control, but I also didn't want to spend upwards of $200 on rugs. I was so excited to discover the selection of runners, area rugs, and doormats at Urban Outfitters: there is a style for every space at a post-college grad's pricepoint! Our favorites are the kilim style runner and 4x6 area rug from Magical Thinking, which blend perfectly with the aesthetic of our space while muffling the sound of Holly's play.

I use this rug in my kitchen, the bright colors are also great for concealing spills.
Magical Thinking rug, Urban Outfitters. Buy it here.

2. Take your pup for regular paw-dicures (or do them yourself).

I have spoken before about my preference for using a nail grinder on Holly's toenails rather than a clipper, because I am deathly afraid of hitting her quick. Even with the grinder, I found I was too nervous when working on Holly's toenails, and she was picking up on that energy and getting very anxious. Luckily for us, our local Petco grooming salon offers nail grinding for only $15 (price varies by pet size), so we have added a bi-monthly paw-dicure to our routine, keeping downstairs neighbors happy and Holly's feet healthy all at the same time!

3. Find some quiet toys for early and late play.

At first I thought that the best course of action to avoid too much noise would be to focus simply on soft toys that wouldn't make too much noise when I threw them for Holly. What I didn't factor in was the deafening decibels of the squeakers. Maybe it's just me being overly concerned, but knowing my immediate next door neighbor's bedroom shares a wall with the living room suddenly made the squeak of some of Holly's favorite toys sound like a full brass band. We have since purchased several not so loud toys that don't thud on the floor when thrown OR squeak too loud, meaning happy neighbors on all sides, and a happy Holly inside! Here are some of our favorites:

Kong Beaver (with removable squeaker), available here.

Kong Wubba Snugga Wubba toy, available here.

Kong Tugga Wubba toy, available here.

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Happy April Fools!

April Fool's Day has a very special meaning over at Little Holly's Big World. Not only is it one of our favorite holidays (the now out of print tome The Trickster's Handbook was used frequently by myself and my dad as a child to pull off "pranks" on my poor mother, until her loyal pup Ozzie chewed it to bits in the ultimate prank), it is also my beloved horse Aida's birthday, and a day I remember her fiery personality, not to mention a few tricks of her own! She particularly enjoyed puffing out her stomach so a girth wouldn't tighten properly, and pulling the halters off other horses in nearby pastures so nobody had on a better outfit than she did :). Like many animals, Aida didn't get nearly enough birthdays in her time here on Earth, but she has since passed the mischievous totem to Little Holly, who I hope doesn't pull an April Fool's prank on me by devouring yet ANOTHER throw pillow!

Holly says the trick to pulling off this prank is pretending to look guilty when caught red-pawed!

Though I would never encourage playing a prank on your unsuspecting pup, this viral video posted by Finnish magician Jose Ahonen did give me the giggles. I bet Holly would be one of the dogs woofing in frustration if her treat suddenly vanished into mid air!



Have a fun, safe, and friendly April Fool's!

Until Next Time Darlings!