A Sneak Peek at our Barkfest at Sniffany's photos!

While we wait patiently for our ah-mazing photographer, Seriously Sabrina, to work her magic on our Barkfest at Sniffany's photos, I thought I would share a little sneak peek and talk about how Holly and I achieved our paw-sitively fabulous Audrey Hepburn look! We loved spending the day with Sabrina and my mom running around one of New York's most iconic areas and playing homage to Holly's namesake :)

Sabrina has some Serious photography chops (pun intended), as you can see from this teaser photo she posted on Facebook last week! I can't wait to share the rest of the photos soon!

Photo courtesy of Seriously Sabrina photography.

To copy Audrey's classic style from the film, I used a sock bun form as a base and wrapped pieces of my hair around it to create a structured bun (held together by approximately 6,000 bobby pins). Audrey topped hers off with a sparkly broach, but to make our approach more modern and whimsical I turned to my incredibly talented friend and fellow Chihuahua Mommy Molly, who custom made me not only a fabulous sparkly bow to top off my top knot, but also a sparkly black and white coffee cup cozy to give a nod to Audrey's 5th Avenue coffee break in the film!

You can now buy the black & white cozy and the bow in Molly's Etsy shop, Jumping and Jellybean

I wore an old dress from Banana Republic (similar style here), pearls I picked up at the Albuquerque Museum, a Chanel charm bracelet, and Christian Louboutin pumps. Holly wore a Smoochie Pooch sweater from Petco's winter collection that is now sold out, but we are loving the classic black & white pattern on this dress for a similar look!

My mom captured this shot of our complete ensembles as Holly and I set up for a fun pose.

I was concerned about achieving Audrey's classic black cat eye from the film because I have eye allergies that have caused me to wear very little eye makeup, and thus my eyeliner skills were a tad rusty. I also am very self conscious about my hands (I know, it's weird) since my years as a horseback rider and as a pottery & photography enthusiast in high school has made them less elegant and ladylike and more weathered. Luckily, the answer to both my dilemmas came in my Spring VoxBox courtesy of Influenster*, which included my all time favorite Kiss Everlasting French glue on nails (I have long relied on them to create a chic, elegant French manicure look when I have no money and no time for a mani, which is always), and Rimmel Scandeleyes Retroglam Mascara, which in it's name alone promises a retro chic look perfect for emulating Audrey (and, I am happy to report, has not caused a single issue with my very sensitive eyes)! When paired with a winged black eyeliner that took more tries than I am willing to admit, they provided the finishing touches to my Holly Golightly style and really helped me feel in character on camera.

I can't wait to share more details on our experience from the day and of course, more photos!!!

Another picture from my mom in the cab on the way home. Being this chic is exhausting!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

*I was provided with these products to test courtesy of Influenster.

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'?

I noticed a few weeks ago that Holly was less interested in her dry food. While my mom guessed that she was merely changing her mindset from "I don't know when my next meal will be" to "I have a happy home and this will still be here later," I was still concerned about a possible underlying issue. I tried switching to a new brand to see if perhaps she had grown sick of the taste, and even added wet food and chicken broth as an incentive (all transitioning slowly of course so as not to upset her tummy).  Then, a week ago, she started to show symptoms of an upset stomach. When nothing changed after two days of chicken and rice, we decided it was time to visit the vet.

After taking her sample and looking her over, the vet remarked how unlike with issues such as Giardia (which can be a huge problem back here, since it lives in puddles and other unmentionables on the street and in the soil that pups love to lick and dig in), she seemed alert, energetic, and otherwise healthy. He asked what kind of dry food I had been feeding her and suggested that it was possible that rather than a specific illness, Holly might have fiber reactive colitis, a condition which reacts to low levels of fiber in dog food. After the sample confirmed that she did not have a parasite or other issue, he suggested either looking for a dry food that offered at least 5% dietary fiber (but cautioned that these levels can change often and I would need to be an obsessive label reader), supplementing the food we liked with canned pumpkin, or taking the step to transition Holly fully on to a home cooked diet.

I had been considering home cooking for Holly for a while, particularly when looking at the less than appetizing wet food I was trying to tempt her with. I like the idea of knowing exactly which ingredients are going into every meal for her, and that I can monitor that they are all natural, pesticide free, and prepared properly. The vet's suggestion was all I needed to push me fully into the home-cooking camp! That evening I went on to Amazon and purchased Home Cooking For Your Dog and started researching what meals I could start cooking up for Holly!

Our new answer to "dog food!"

What Holly seems to enjoy most is the variety in taste and texture provided by her home cooked meals. She loves hard boiled egg with mashed yams & plain yogurt, ground beef with peas, and grilled chicken with brown rice and beets (tonight I subbed in no salt added albacore tuna for the chicken and she went crazy!). I vary my ingredients based on store availability (she loves canned pumpkin, but it can be tricky to find), which allows her taste buds to try new things and keeps her interested! 

even though it's tough to find, canned pumpkin is a great source of natural fiber and can help with tummy issues! Make sure it is 100% pumpkin (not pie filling), and I like to make sure mine is organic and the can is BPA free.

I was surprised by how much Holly loved beets, she practically inhaled them! I bought a frozen bag of organic sliced beets from Whole Foods and microwaved them for a few minutes (then made sure to let them cool completely before serving).

I will not post the amounts of each food item I provide for Holly, since my expertise is a far cry from that of a Veterinary professional. However, in the week that we have moved from traditional "dog food" to home cooking, her tummy problems have vanished and she has begun begging a bit less at the dinner table and picking up fewer things on the street (not everything, of course, there is no miracle cure to keep Holly from her beloved disgusting things on the street/whatever is on mommy's plate!). My vet warned me in advance that now Holly is on a home cooked diet, dog food is not going to appeal to her refined palate, so we are in this for the long haul :). We are ready to take the plunge, though, and I am excited to try more meals for her and inspired to incorporate more healthy & whole foods into my own diet as well. 

Unfortunately for Little Holly, macaroons are not included in the home cooked diet :)

If you are thinking about transitioning your pup to a home cooked diet, speak to your vet to see if it is a good idea. Though the time and money are more of an investment, I look at them as an investment into Holly's health, and I hope a savings in future vet bills for mysterious tummy troubles!

Happy & healthy Holly joined my friend and I on a 6 mile hike through Manhattan yesterday! Good thing she had all those yummy whole foods to keep her energized!

What do you think about cooking meals for your pet? Is it something you would ever consider committing to?

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Paw-sitively Fabulous: Holly's Second Birthday Party

Holly & I were sad to send her Grandma back home to Colorado this morning, but loved having her in town for the past week! We had so much fun hanging out and enjoying the city, and this past weekend was packed with Holly's Second Birthday Party Saturday and our Barkfest at Sniffany's photo shoot Sunday (more on that later, though you can see a preview of the pics over on our Instagram).

Saturday promised bright skies and warm weather after a few days of rain, which was perfect for our outdoor venue of the West 79th Street Boat Basin. Lucky for us, even if it had rained, the covered portion of the restaurant is also pup friendly, but the sun stayed out and there was a breeze off the water that made the weather positively party-ready! We decided to ditch the matching black polo shirt idea and instead went with a polka dot theme for our ensembles--me in an old Betsey Johnson dress, and Holly in a cute little number from Baxter Boo. Even Grandma got in on the matching fun with a polka dot blouse!

Holly, my mom, and I ready to party in polka dots!

We arrived a little bit before 1:00pm and there was plenty of seating, so we were offered a large table in the back where we could set up shop and display our custom cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake (a custom "logo" or photograph can be added free of charge to large orders, just e-mail the store's catering manager for more info), and home baked pupcakes using Puppy Cake batter. Many more pups came with their parents this year, so Holly was glad we came prepared with treats for them too!!

A close up on the gorgeous and scrumptious cupcakes created by Georgetown!

Lexie is Holly's bestie from our block--they wanted to play so badly they wouldn't even hold still for a picture!

Holly with new friends Zoe and Guiness (and their humans)

Our registry at myregistry.com proved to be a huge success--but there were some great gifts from off the registry as well! Michelle's beau picked out a couple great toys including Holly's new favorite rope chew (she has since brought it with her everywhere she walks in the apartment), and Mariel brought some hilarious (and great smelling) Juicy Crittoure by Juicy Couture Pawfum Puppy Perfume that I know will come in handy between baths when Holly still needs to smell her best at the park!

Holly checking out the Juicy Crittoure Pawfum. Sniff approved!

Posing with the Bloomingdale's "Little Dog Bowl" from the registry! Thanks Michelle!!

It was great seeing all of Holly's human and pup friends, and we can't wait until next year's celebration!

The whole crew--thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate!

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Happier Than a Cat on the Beach!

Holly's Grandma is in town, so we won't be posting much until this coming weekend, when we will have the wrap up of her second birthday party as well as our Bark-fest at Sniffany's photos! In the meantime, I had to share this super cute video my friend posted on Facebook...you could say having her Grandma here makes Holly happier than a cat on the beach (and apparently, that's pretty darn happy)!

Paw-sitively Fabulous: Bark-fest at Sniffany's!

Ever since I had my professional photos taken with Holly last year, I have been dying to do another shoot, this one inspired by Holly's namesake, Holly Golightly, and the iconic New York City scenes of Breakfast at Tiffany's. I was lucky enough to snag the only NYC portrait session with Seriously Sabrina Photography, a super-talented Kentucky photog who luckily loved the idea as much as I do! We are currently planning out the session, which will take place just after Holly's second birthday party, but I thought I would share some of my ideas in advance!

In case you aren't familiar with it, Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 film based on the Truman Capote novella of the same name. In one of her most iconic roles, Audrey Hepburn plays Holly Golightly, a girl who came from a small farm town to the big city and reinvented herself as an Upper East Side socialite (sound like a little dog you know?). I plan on styling our shoot based off of the opening scene, which was shot in front of the Tiffany's Flagship on 5th Ave at 5am, and to this day is a dorm-room poster fixture for just about every female college student:

To get the look, I plan on wearing a similarly shaped black sleeveless dress I have from Banana Republic, my string of large freshwater pears (my mother refers to them as "jawbreakers"), and vintage Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses in white and gold. Etsy has some great vintage black glove options that I am excited to try out (I have my eye on a pair from the 1930s covered in rhinestones!). I will still have a fresh blowout from Holly's birthday party, so I may stray from the image a bit and go with my hair either down or half up rather than trying to execute a complicated updo!

Of course, the most important styling will be for Holly Golightly (pup version) herself! I plan on having her wear her fancy birthday dress (we won't reveal that until the post on her party), dressed up with some Audrey-inspired accessories. I found a pearl collar and leash I love on Etsy, which I think will add the perfect touch of glam and make her look the part of a fashion icon and movie star!

Pearl collar via Etsy. Buy it here.

Faux Pearl Leash for Toy Breeds. Buy it here.

And of course, the photoshoot would not be complete without a certain Little Blue Box...a Little Blue Squeaky Box, that is!

Sniffany & Co. Toy; Haute Diggity Dog via Amazon.com.

Would you do a movie-inspired photoshoot with your pup? Which movie would you choose and how would you style it?

Until Next Time, Darlings!

Yet Another Reason to Love Kate Middleton

Maybe not everyone thinks Kate Middleton makes a great role model, but Holly & I are definitely big fans. I jumped at the chance to get my hands on her classic Barbour waxed cotton jacket when it showed up at my local consignment store, and I am currently coveting the pup version so Holly & I can match on our Springtime walks.

The Duchess and I modeling our Barbour waxed cotton jackets

The pup version (via Orvis. Currently unavailable.)

Despite my already existing Kate Middleton worship, when I saw this story on US Weekly today, I fell in love with the her all over again. While Duchess Kate was off living the dream, touring New Zealand with her Prince Charming (literally) and their adorable son, she admitted to missing her pup, and being thrilled that someone finally brought a gift for him!

The Duchess and her beloved pup, Lupo. Via US Weekly.

Of course Holly is pro anyone who thinks fur babies deserve presents just as much as human babies, and for that matter, so is her mommy! It's great to read that even with the responsibility of being married to one Prince and raising another, Kate still has a special place in her heart for her four legged bestie.  

Something in that look makes me think Prince George is quite fond of Lupo as well! Image via Vanity Fair.

Until Next Time, Darlings!